Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Although they were a big family, the Todoroki house is generally a very quiet one. Their residence was a large traditional Japanese mansion with high stone walls and trails that led to ponds with koi fishes swimming freely. The domestic serenity could be seen in the way the books were neatly arranged on the large wooden bookshelves that took up entire walls. Fresh flowers were placed in transparent flower vases and the tables were covered with pristine white tablecloth. The wooden structure of the house gave off a nostalgic sense of the past but the heavy atmosphere was washed away by the light warm colors inside. Soft orange lights and the savory scent of cooking filled the house, making the place fitting to be called home.

A young man with white hair stood in the kitchen with a blue apron on. He was dressed in simple dark trousers and a long sleeve shirt. His eyes were grey and his skin was pale like snow, it looked like he hadn’t seen the sun in a while. The man had soft feature, with round eyes and a gentle curve at his lips while he hummed happily. Although lean, he easily lifted the heavy pot containing the boiling soup off the stove.

“Touya,” the man called out loud as he poked his head out into the hall. “Can you please go get your siblings? Dinner’s almost ready.”

“Sure, Dad.” The boy in the hallway was about ten years old and he had bright turquoise eyes. His skin was pale like the man with white hair but half of the boy’s hair was red. Todoroki Touya moved down the corridor and knocked on his sister’s bedroom door since it was the closest.

Their family was large and very different from what was considered normal but also not at the same time.

Endeavor, the No.2 hero in Japan, was one of their parents. The man filled with fire was a workaholic and not around often. Tall and built with strong muscles, he was stern and serious both on the job and when off duty. It was no secret that Endeavor never smiled much or that he had a short fuse and bold personality.

He was the complete opposite of his spouse.

Todoroki Ken, or Kaneki Ken before he got married, was a soft-spoken man with a scholarly disposition. Gentle and caring, if he wasn’t tending to the children or doing house chores, he was often preoccupied with a book and a cup of coffee somewhere in the house. He was a quiet man, with more patience than a saint but the Todoroki kids often wondered if he was ill. The man never ate much even though he cooked wonderfully.

A few minutes later, all the children and Ken were sitting in front of the dinner table. Touya noticed that their dad wasn’t eating again since there was only a cup of steaming coffee in front of him. They were having beef stew tonight, with stir-fried vegetables on the side and a meaty pork patty to accompany the rice.

The paper sliding door opened and a towering figure stood at the entrance.

“Welcome home Enji,” Ken said with a smile on his face. The man got up to greet his husband and helped put the hero’s coat away. “Did you have a good day at work?”

Endeavor grunted, looking a bit short on patience. “Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Seeing that his husband wasn’t in the mood for talking, Ken simply nodded as they settled down around the dinner table. The TV was on, broadcasting the news that was filled with heroes as usual. Ken was talking, conversing with the children about how their day at school was while keeping an eye on their youngest. Occasionally, he would sip on his coffee or add a few more brown sugar cubes to it.

“Dad, are you not eating again?” Fuyumi asked with a bit of worry in her voice.

“I’m not that hungry,” the man said, still smiling at them and looking content with the fact that they were enjoying the food.

“You say that every time though,” Natsuo pointed out while picking at the vegetables on his plate. “It’s not healthy to be surviving on just coffee.”

Touya also chirped, “Yeah, the teachers at school said we eat balanced meals.”

Shouto raised a piece of his patty meat to their dad’s lips. His large eyes focused on the white haired man with a pleading watery shine. “Dad, have a bite.”

“Stop bothering your dad,” Endeavor ordered without lifting his gaze. “He doesn’t want to eat.”

His command made the four Todoroki kids hesitate. Endeavor always had a tight control on this house even if he wasn’t around often.< /p>

“Enji, it’s alright.” Ken shook his head while patting his partner gently on the back of his hand. Turning around, he leaned down and swallowed the piece of meat on Shouto’s kiddie fork. “Thank you, Shouto. It’s delicious.”

The youngest Todoroki beamed and attempted to feed their dad more food but the man stopped him. Touya eyed his sister. It was one bite of meat but it was already an improvement than normal. To be honest, they haven’t seen their dad eat or drink anything other than coffee before. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, since Touya vaguely remembered the man eating a plate of what was probably raw sashimi or beef before.

Dinner went by peacefully and the kids helped piled their plates into the sink. Endeavor was actually the one washing the dishes. While most would think that he was incompetent of house chores, in reality he wasn’t as helpless as the public suspected him to be. He just wasn’t home often enough to do it on a daily basis.

Natsuo and Fuyumi were pestering their dad to read them a story and pulling him towards the living room. He smiled and took out one of those classic novels that was thick as a brick but the kids made a face at him for picking that. Laughter filled the house that was lit by the warm yellow lights and the scent of coffee.

It was just another regular night at the Todoroki house.

—

With one hand steadying himself against the cold bathroom walls, Ken vomited into the toilet. It was later in the night and the kids were already all snuggly tucked into bed so he wasn’t afraid of them catching him.

Flushing his vomit down the toilet, Ken sighed as the dizziness took over his head, making him feel like a lightweight. His stomach still churned, protesting violently about how it was unable to digest the human food that he shoved down his throat earlier.

A glass of water was placed on the counter near him.

“That bad?” Enji asked with a blank expression.

“The worst.” Ken tried to smile but it came out as more of a twitch of his lips. “Tasted like dead maggots that had been soaked in sewer water for three days.”

“You didn’t have to eat it.”

“But the kids would be disappointed if I don’t.”

The pro hero hummed as a response of acknowledgement. Gesturing towards the water, he watched as Ken rinsed his mouth clean and washed his face in the sink. While Ken dried his face, Enji leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed in front of his chest. “You know…you could just tell them about why you only drink coffee.”

“No!” Ken raised his voice and his hand slammed down on the marble counter, causing a small spider web of cracks along the stone. Seeing that, he quickly pulled his hand away as if he touched sizzling iron. His voice quieted down too as he stammered, “S-Sorry…I-I will get s-someone to fix that tomorrow…no, we can’t tell the kids. T-They are human enough…that they would never have to know the horrors of their lineage.”

Ken, being only a half ghoul that was transformed later on in life, the children he created with his fully human partner didn’t inherit any of the ghoul’s traits other than in appearance. All of the Todoroki children were able to consume human food and gain nutrients from them. None of them had to suffer like Ken did, being forced to participate in cannibalism in order to survive.

They were lucky. The ghoul blood in them was too thin to impair with their lives. They could live happily in society without having to worry about the horrid looks on other people’s faces or deal with being hunted like rabid animals.

Ken would like to keep it that way.

Shrugging, Enji placed a hand on his lover’s head, messing up the younger man’s hair. “Are you going out tonight then?”

“…Yes,” Ken answered quietly. Casting his eyes to the ground, he extended his arms and hugged his husband tight. He buried his face against Enji’s chest, listening to the beat of their hearts in order to calm himself. “It will just be a quick trip.”

His primary food source was still people who died by suicide in the rural forests. Once every month or so, he would venture out there and grab himself something to eat. Usually Ken would finish his meal outside of the Todoroki house so it wouldn’t bring the hero any trouble.

He was really lucky too. Even though his life had been turned upside down after he became a half ghoul, he managed to find someone who was still willing to accept him. Todoroki Enji wasn’t a compassionate man or even a very talkative one, but he gave Ken what he wanted–a home. Enji gave him a large house that Ken would never have dreamed of, not with how his mother single handedly raised him in their tiny apartment or how he was shipped off to live with a relative after her death. He was finishing university on the side, taking his time to integrate and get accustomed to this strange superhuman society and writing his own novels in his free time.

Most importantly, Enji gave him a family.

It was all Ken ever wanted. While Todoroki Enji wasn’t like Ken’s mother, all gentle smiles and soft curves with a heart of gold, he never left Ken’s side and he even went through the pain of carrying a ghoul’s child. Enji was a strong man, whose broad back gave him a sense of security and soft chest gave him an embrace to rest against when the world got too overwhelming. Unlike Ken’s father, Enji worked hard to provide for them and Ken appreciated the hero for making so much effort to accept a monster like him. He had no problem being the househusband and looking after the kids. If anything, making hamburger patties and cleaning for the children reminded of the times he spent with his mother. Those were some of the happiest memories from his childhood.

“I love you,” he murmured against Enji’s chest. They both were awkward and horrible at love. However, Ken felt like they could go a long way as long as the hero was still willing to hold his hand and go down this journey with him.

Enji pushed him away. His ears were tinted slightly pink as he turned away from Ken, moving down the corridor with a wave of his hand. “Hurry back and be careful not to wake the kids.”

Smiling, Ken grabbed a jacket and headed out the front door. He knew his lover was still watching him from the windows even if the lights weren’t on. Stepping into the dark streets, he turned and glanced at the place that he had called home for years now. There was a dim orange light from the lamp in front of the entrance that seemed to be guiding his way home.

And he knew there was an even brighter spark of ember waiting for him inside the house, no matter the season or time.

In Ken’s mind, nothing else in the world could compete with it.

Chapter Text

Todoroki Ken was a very quiet man but he was well liked by those who had met him. From the housewife living nearby to the local grocery clerk, everybody all knew about the nice young man who loved reading. He wasn’t the most memorable person in appearance but he had a calming demeanor and he was always well mannered.

It was a pity that his left eye was damaged through an accident.

“Kaneki-san, Endeavor is currently still out on patrol,” the new sidekick at the agency said while he let Ken into Endeavor’s private office.

“That is alright, I’ll just wait here for him.” Ken held the bento box closer to his chest. There had been a surge of crime lately and his husband had been working over time. Knowing that Enji wasn’t all that great at taking care of himself when he got fired up for his job, Ken decided that he would pay the hero a visit with some food.

After thanking the sidekick, he sat down on one of the sofas in the office.

Although people were confused at first, the staff of Endeavor’s agency figured out that the white-haired man was their boss’s spouse. While the news and identity of Todoroki Ken hadn’t been made public, there were rumors flying around. Endeavor had never denied that he had a male romantic partner, even if it impacted his popularity poll slightly. However, since the pro hero did a splendid job in protecting his family’s privacy, it hadn’t impacted the Todorokis’ lives too much.

Still, Ken preferred to use his old surname when he was at the agency. There were always paparazzi stationed nearby and he didn’t want them to catch people calling him “Todoroki”, linking him to Endeavor.

The door to the office opened.

“Enji,” Ken called when he saw the man coming in. Enji was in his full hero gear and he looked slightly surprised to see Ken here.

Frowning, the red haired man walked towards Ken. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to check up on you,” Ken laid out the bento on the table in a neat fashion. There was rice and two layers of different little side dishes that included eggs, fish, and vegetables. He also had a small portable pot of soup and a water bottle of tea. “You always forget to eat or just eat something random when you get too focused on work.”

“I–”

Ken looked up at his lover. “Please? It is important to rest too.”

Enji stayed silent for a moment but his eyes casted down to the tentacle-like organ wrapping around his right ankle. It was a dark red piece of flesh that had the flexibility of a liquid but could also turn harder than diamonds and sharper than razors in a split second. The ghoul’s kagune was his predatory organ but most of the time Enji saw it extending out of his lover, it was mostly to help with house chores or for…um, tangling around him.

Ken might look unassuming and was easily a push over but he had his stubborn side too.

“Give me the chopsticks,” Enji sighed while sitting down next to Ken to start eating. He didn’t mention the kagune still wrapped around his ankle or complain about the weight of Ken’s head on his shoulder.

Maybe it was because of his upbringing but Ken always had been a bit insecure. He wasn’t very bold when it came to expressing his affection in public either but with only the two of them in the office, he felt more relaxed.

“I’m going to go pick up the kids from school in a bit,” Ken said. “What do you want for dinner?”

Ken couldn’t eat human food but his cooking wasn’t bad since he followed the recipes closely.

“Anything’s fine.”

That meant Enji planned on coming home tonight. Ken liked it when the whole family was together. He was sure his mother would have been happy to see him having such a large family too if she was still around.

Nodding, Ken packed up the empty bento box while Enji went over to his desk to sign some paperwork. Ken made sure he had his kagune contracted back into his lower back. It might just be him being paranoid but he didn’t like showing any of his ghoul parts out in public, even if it was possible for him to pretend it was part of his quirk in this society. Ken liked his life right now. It wasn’t very rosy like in the movies but it was quiet and normal. No blood gushing everywhere and no madman trying to kill him just for living. He had children that he loved dearly. His husband might not be into literature like he was and was old fashioned in many senses, but the man took him under his wings when he was lost and gave him a home, provided him a chest to cry on when he needed.

“Be careful out there. There’s been a bit of unrest lately,” Enji warned. “If you need, tell the chauffeur to go with you to pick up the kids.”

Ken knew his husband was worried about the surge of petty crime and robbery going around. The heroes and police caught a few of the criminals in the act but it seemed like the urge to commit crimes was spreading like a wildfire. It didn’t really help that the ones who were caught were released back into the streets soon after.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be careful.” Ken placed a kiss on the edge of Enji’s lips before leaving.

All of the Todoroki kids were enrolled in the same elementary school. Shouto was in the preschool next to it, which made it convenient for Ken to pick them up together. Ken liked walking home with his children. His mother had always been busy working so Ken started walking home by himself at a young age. Fuyumi and Natsuo were chattier, telling Ken all about their days while Touya walked in front of them. Sometimes Ken would carry Shouto in his arms since he was the youngest.

“And then Mr. Toka showed everyone how to light a snowball on fire!” Fuyumi was talking about what she learned in science class today. Ken smiled at how excited she was.

“I want to see it too,” Natsuo said. He was seven years old but large for his age. “Dad, do you think we can do the experiment at home?”

“Maybe. But we have to make sure we have a safe environment to do so first.”

They stopped by the grocery store on the way home and Ken allowed the kids to get one of their favorite snacks. Not too much though and they can’t have it right before dinner. When they got home, Ken told the kids to wash up and do homework while he started on dinner. About an hour later, Enji also came home and dinner went by smoothly. Enji had some paperwork to finish up so Ken made him a cup of coffee.

“There’s not a lot of people on the streets lately,” Ken said while setting the coffee down besides Enji. “Patrol increased too…this isn’t about vandalism or burglaries anymore is it?”

“Not fully,” Enji admitted. “There’s a fugitive that they said made it into town so the police decided to increase their presence.”

Knowing that Ken wasn’t completely a normal civilian who had never been in a battle, Enji slid him a folder. Scanning over the files, Ken frowned. There was a man wanted for six murders and there was a detailed description of what he looked like.

“I’ll keep an eye out.” Ken always knew he was weak. Perhaps not in the physical sense any more since the ghoul organs in him would keep him alive as long as he ate human flesh but he was weak in the heart. He didn’t like confrontations and he was often indecisive, swayed easily and too trusting. He wouldn’t say that he loved having someone else to dictate everything for him but it was an escape from being constantly forced to make a decision.

His throat clogged up slightly whenever he remembered the room with its checkered tiles. He was bound in a chair with his hands behind his back. The feeling of dread washed over his head. There was a kid and a mother. The monster in the room told him to choose.

Make a decision.

Who lives and who dies?

Make a decision.

He hated all of it.

Ken loved his life right now. He liked the calmness and the routines. He adored the way his children would smile at him and read with him. He loved his lover’s strong back, standing tall as if he would shoulder the sky even if it fell down.

He wouldn’t let anything or anyone disrupt what he cherished. Even…even if it meant he had to resort back to taking precautionary measures against possible enemies.

Sometimes Ken still felt like he could hear the centipedes crawling inside his ears, chewing and creeping towards his brain.

A force pulled him down and his world was spinning. His face was pressed against Enji’s chest and the man raked a hand through Ken’s white hair as if he was ruffling a dog. There was nothing gentle about it and their position was awkward, with how Ken was only half lying against the other man.

“Don’t think too much about it, it’s not your job.” The hero’s chest vibrated as his voice sounded from above Ken’s head. “Just make sure the kids are alright and keep up with their studies. I won’t have time to train them lately but I don’t want them slacking off either.”

Hearing that, Ken laughed. He moved himself into a more comfortable position. Enji was a much larger man than Ken was and his embrace was warm. Ken tucked his limbs in and closed his eyes, slowly drifting off to a blissful slumber while listening to his lover’s heartbeat.

—---

It wasn’t Ken’s intention to scare his kids.

Really. He didn’t mean to scare them but everything was happening too fast and too loud. He was on his way to pick up Fuyumi and Natsuo from school. Touya had started middle school and that was in the opposite direction. Since his eldest son had been insistent that he was fine by himself, Ken didn’t insist on escorting Touya to and from school. Shouto had a shorter day today so Ken held his hand and they were on their way to the elementary.

Shouto was more like Ken in terms of personality. He was quieter than his siblings and shy. Ken got him a candy man that was shaped like All Might and winked, telling the boy that he couldn’t tell Enji. Shouto’s eyes lit up as he held the candy man tightly and nodded.

Picking up Natsuo and Fuyumi went normally. They were laughing and joking while strolling down the road. It was a quiet corner of the neighborhood, with very little shops or traffic around.

“Dad! Dad!” Natsuo tugged on Ken’s sleeves. “Can we go to the bookstore? Just for a little bit?”

“Sure,” Ken replied easily. “But only for half an hour.”

The kids cheered and Ken set a timer for himself on his phone. Otherwise, he was pretty sure he would forget the time after entering a bookstore. Fuyumi and Natsuo raced ahead, pulling Shouto along too. They were passing through a narrow alley, where it was slightly darker but still relatively safe considering the upscale neighborhood they lived in.

That was when things went south.

Ken saw a hand coming out and grabbed Fuyumi by the hair. The girl yelped in pain as she got pulled away from her brothers. Another large hand grabbed Natsuo and Shouto got brushed to the street, falling onto the pavement. Thankfully there were no cars passing by or he might have gotten run over.

“Give me your money or the kids get it!” It was a man with six arms. He had ragged hair and tattered clothing. His eyes were bloodshot too, like he hadn’t had a good shut eye in days. In one of his free hands, he was waving around a hunting knife that was the same length as a grown woman’s forearm.

It was the same man as the one on the file Enji showed Ken the other day.

“Okay, just don’t hurt them.” Ken raised his hands up and mentioned that he was going to reach into his pocket. He didn’t want any trouble. If giving the guy his wallet could get his children back safely, of course he would hand it over. Tossing his wallet to the man, he gulped nervously. It was too loud. His senses were enhanced and he could hear the muffled cries of his son and daughter banging against his eardrums like thunder. “Let my kids go.”

Ken smelled blood too, human blood.

It made him hungry.

The man checked Ken’s wallet first. He might have seen the credit cards because his eyes narrowed. “Todoroki? What’s your connection to Endeavor?” But he wasn’t really looking for an answer. His eyes glanced down at the children and like a bull seeing red, his anger flared when he noticed the scarlet in their hair. “Doesn’t matter, count yourselves unlucky.”

His knife went for Natsuo.

There was so much screaming.

Ken felt his mind go blank as the glistening sharp end of the knife approached his son.

Before anyone knew what happened, there was already a dismembered arm on the ground. Blood rained down, splattering onto the Todoroki children’s faces and spilling onto the concrete pavement. The hand on the ground twitched and the knife clattered out into the street.

Crack.

The sound of joints cracking broke the silence.

“Kids,” Ken spoke but his voice was low and lined with ice, bearing absolutely no resemblance to the tone he normally used. His fingers moved, knuckles cracking as he bent them as if he was warming up for a fight. “Close your eyes.”

Ken knew he wasn’t in the right state of mind yet his body was moving on its own. He was hungry but not so hungry that he would start eating in front of his children. However, that didn’t stop him from cutting more of the man’s arms off. His kagune shot out like a whip and slashed through the air, chopping the man’s arms that were holding his children off. Ken could hear screams of agony but his thoughts were too focused on the threat.

He spared one kagune to drag his children behind him. They might be in shock because none of them made a sound.

“You still have three arms left,” whispered Ken as he approached the criminal. “I think that’s too many. Might as well get rid of them all if you’re just going to hurt other people with them.”

The guy was almost near unconscious from the blood loss and pain already. Humans really weren’t as tough as ghouls. If this was another ghoul, Ken would have no doubt that they would jump right back up and attack him.

Ken could smell the scent of human flesh even better now that he was up close. The metallic aroma of blood was sweet and his mouth was watering. They were in a dark alley, if he dragged the guy back behind a dumpster, he might be able to take a bite before–

“Dad?”

Shouto’s voice snapped Ken out of his trance. Ken could feel the children moving behind him even without looking back. He knew what their soft flesh looked like. Pale and clean, a soft tender kind of meat. Turning around, Ken saw his three children staring at him with wide eyes and quivering lips. Ken could see his own reflection in their eyes. It might have been his own imagination but he felt like he knew the message behind those watchful eyes all too well. They all conveyed the same message.

Kaneki Ken was a monster.

Breathing in, Ken tried not to think about his past. Attempting to smile, he walked back towards his kids and bent down. “Are any of you hurt?”

Fuyumi and Natsuo shook their heads. Shouto looked down at his knees, which were slightly bruised but then the little boy raised his head.

“Dad,” Shouto touched Ken’s left eye. “Does your eye hurt?”

Shouto was small and he only ever remembered seeing his dad with the eyepatch. While strange eye colors weren't uncommon in their society, even he could tell that the red iris and black sclera weren’t normal on Ken, not when compared to his other gray eye.

“I’m okay,” Ken lied. He was hungry. A ghoul didn’t have to consume human flesh daily but the heavy scent of blood just now reminded him that he needed to eat again soon. And hunger was a hard thing to ignore after noticing it. “I need to call your father. You kids be good, okay?”

They didn’t get home until late that night and that was with Enji using his hero connections to speed up the process. The police seemed to have some more questions and Ken would have gotten into serious trouble but somehow, the No. 2 pro hero made it all go away.

The evening news didn’t report any of this.

When they got home, none of them were in the mood for eating. The children seemed quite shaken and they tried to get close to Enji but the hero was busy cleaning up loose ends. Ken tried to smile at the kids but it didn’t really make it onto his lips. He could only let Touya take his siblings away so they could wash up and rub some medicine on Shouto’s bruises. The half ghoul was scared to look at his husband too. Before they got married, Enji already told Ken all about the problems of being married to a hero. There were a lot of eyes on Enji and him using his connections for Ken was definitely a risky move. In fact, even the decision to marry Ken was a gamble already. Ken didn’t want to be even more of a bother to his lover.

He had a shower to calm down and then he went back to the bedroom he shared with his husband. Enji was already waiting for him and he looked even more irritated than normal.

“The kids are fine, I already sent them off to bed.” The hero’s words didn’t soothe Ken’s agitated nerves.

“I’m sorry,” Ken started but his voice was like a mosquito’s. “I didn’t mean to let the kids see me like that.”

A ghoul when they were fighting or hunting wasn’t pretty. It was disgusting. Ken knew it very well from witnessing others do it himself. Even if Ken hadn’t really started fighting, he still sliced off a man’s arms in front of young children.

“I think I scared them…I-I was afraid that man would hurt the kids and then I was a bit hungry and got carried away.”

He wasn’t really sure what he was talking about. In Ken’s eyes, he felt like he was seeing the ghoul who started all his tragedies standing in the corner of the room again. She was just as beautiful as when he first met her. Long hair and glasses, she wore a white dress and she smiled at him, causing his spine to shiver in anxiety.

“Oh god, I thought the kids might taste good…how could I have thought that?”

The ghoul in the corner was laughing merrily. She enjoyed his pain very much. She was long dead but Ken felt like she was still living inside of him. How could he not? It was her organs that kept him alive after the accident. It was her organs that turned him into a monster. A string of mumbling words came out of Ken’s mouth but even he didn’t know what he was talking about any more. Vaguely, he could sort of tell that he was saying how scared he was and how it wasn’t safe to leave the kids with him any more. Another part of him might have screamed something about how the phantom ghoul needed to leave Enji alone and disappear.

He was only forced to stop when a slap came down across his left cheek so hard that it forced him to turn his head to the side. His face wasn’t swollen, a hit that didn’t even send him flying wouldn’t be able to leave a mark on him so easily.

“Snap out of it,” Enji barked. “If you have time to be regretting the way you handled things, you might as well start thinking about what you are going to tell the kids.”

“Tell…them?” Ken repeated, the confusion oozing out of his words.

Enji’s sharp gaze landed on his spouse. “Of course. They saw you transform. You might as well tell them the whole truth.”

Ken stayed silent. He didn’t want to do that. He didn’t want to see his children watching him with even more horrified looks when they learned that he had to eat human flesh to survive.

Seeing his reaction, the pro hero sighed. “Thought so. If you’re not going to tell them, then start thinking about what lie you’re going to feed them. If you want to say it’s part of your quirk, we will need to get the paperwork in order so it shows on the registry.”

“...You’re not going to kick me out?” Ken asked. He caused a lot of trouble by attacking the criminal so violently (according to human civilization standards, that was).

“It was a known risk that I agreed to before we had Touya.” Enji still sounded frustrated and angry. Ken had been truthful with the hero very early on during their relationship and fully expected Enji to turn him in. However, even though Enji did think about divorcing Ken, he was still traditional in the sense that he wanted to keep his marriage true to their oath. “I’d burn you to a crisp if you really decided to just ditch me with the children. If you try to eat them, I will cremate you. We had an agreement, the least you can do is keep your end of the deal.”

His words were harsh and cold. They did have an agreement. Ken would take care of everything in the house while Enji provided for them financially. It was actually a better deal for Ken since the hero was also the one giving birth.

Enji didn’t look like he was in the mood for more talking since he laid down, looking like he was going to go to bed. He was definitely still mad though because he turned his back towards Ken.

Moving closer, Ken pulled the quilt over Enji and planted a kiss on his cheek. “I’m going to check on the kids,” he said without much confidence. He planned on just taking a look from outside of their rooms. Ken wasn’t sure if his presence was welcomed but he needed to check that his children were alright.

He could never forgive anyone that tried to hurt his family.

Even if that person was himself.

—---

Life went on quite normally after the incident. Ken knew the kids would have questions but maybe it was because Enji said something to them beforehand so none of them asked him about it. In a sense, Ken was happy to turn the page and for things to return to normal. He could still hear the ghoul whispering about how he was a coward in the dead of the night but he ignored her.

He was used to running and pretending. Running from his problem and pretending that everything was alright.

His sons and daughters were still in shock the day following the incident but they came around, chatting with him and asking him to read them stories after a bit. Touya was the most normal of them all since he hadn’t seen Ken at the scene.

But there was a different problem that was troubling Ken and Enji lately.

Touya, their eldest, was getting into more arguments with Enji in the past month.

The boy had a fire quirk like Enji and while he majorly inherited Enji’s red hair, his body was closer to a ghoul’s. He couldn’t grow a kagune and he didn’t need to eat human flesh but it gave him better physical abilities in terms of agility and stamina. Enji had been happy with their first born and the rest of the three kids were because the hero thought it would give Ken something to distract himself with. Ken’s mental state was a delicate place, filled with nightmares and illusions from his past. It was hard for him to be strong for himself but it was a different story when it came to people around him. A twisted nature shaped by past traumas and bad childhoods. His urge to protect those he loved was greater than the desire to stand up for himself. Being so introverted and a half ghoul also made it harder for him to get a job, especially considering that his education was interrupted when he was forced to turn into a monster.

Ken didn’t want to be a suffocating lover who was obsessed with their partner, but it was hard when Enji was a hero on the front line and all of Ken’s insecurities started acting up. The children kept him stable.

He really loved his family. He didn’t like any arguments or screaming and shouting. While he could understand training, and how ghouls regenerate faster than humans, he couldn’t stand any other form of fighting in his home.

Ken just wanted everyone to get along.

But there was just so much tension and shouting in the house.

Ken could see his other three children standing close to the door with worried looks on their faces.

“Touya–” Ken tried to stop his eldest son from escalating. The middle schooler slapped Ken’s hand away violently.

“Stay out of it, Dad!” Touya yelled in a fit of rage. “It’s not like you understand a thing! All you know how to do is clean and cook and read your stupid books! You never say no to Father and you just do whatever the fuck he demands! Can’t say no cause you got nowhere else to go and no thoughts of your own, just like Grandma!”

They told their children about Ken’s childhood. He told them about his mother so she could live on. Ken wanted someone to remember the strong woman with her gentle smiles and kind words who created a home for him with the best she could.

“Touya!” Enji shouted even louder. His eyes suddenly went wide as he reached out. “Wait, Ken–”

Ken didn’t want to scare his children. He just wanted the voices to stop. The voices were disrupting the harmony of this home he and Enji built together. He was sad that his son didn’t appreciate the efforts Ken put into keeping their home together but the insult towards his mother was the final nail in the coffin. He could take any insults people have towards him but no one had the right to call his mother weak or trash over what she did. She was a fool for working herself to death in order to pay off her sister’s debt but she was still Ken’s mother.

Crack.

The crisp sound of the joins in Ken’s fingers cracking was followed by Touya’s muffled cry of pain. Ken had grabbed the boy’s wrist and twisted it behind his back, forcing Touya to be on his knees.

“I had a mentor once,” Ken said as he looked down at his eldest son, completely emotionless. It shouldn’t have come out so much like a threat but it was talking all of him just to keep his kagune steady inside his back. “She kicked me so hard that I crashed into a concrete wall half a training room away. Took me two hours before I was able to get back up again. How long do you think you will need?”

He let go of Touya but grabbed the boy by the back of his collar and dropped him into a chair by the dining table in the kitchen.

“Ken,” Enji warned as the temperature in the room dipped.

Smiling, Ken kissed him lightly on the lips and turned towards the children.

“I think all of us need to talk,” Ken announced. His fingers tapped along the surface of the table and the clicking noise of his nails contacting the wood sounded more like drum beats against the others’ hearts. “Sit down. All of you. Do not make me repeat myself.”

Touya looked like he wanted to say something but shut his mouth instead. Fuyumi slid down into her seat and pulled Natsuo and Shouto along with her. Fuyumi was twelve and Natsuo eight while Shouto was five. Ken would say that they were growing up too fast but he was also happy to see them turning out to be such wonderful kids.

Now he just needed to snip a few buds of bad behavior in the bud.

“Touya,” Ken said and he could see the teen’s shoulders tensing. “Do you think that it is pathetic of me to be caring for our home or tending to what you and your siblings need?”

“I–”

Ken stopped him. “Your comment earlier already said more than enough. I guess you think I have it easy because I’m not out there working a nine to five or patrolling the streets like Enji. But have you considered why you all get to come home to a hot meal on the table and fresh clothing in your closets? Who do you think does all that while you’re at school or work?”

“We can hire people for that,” Touya said bitterly.

“True.” Ken didn’t retort. They have hired a few people to help with the gardening and house chores too. “Then let’s calculate how much what I do around the house is worth then, shall we? If you want to hire a housekeeper, they get paid by the hour and escorting children is an additional charge. What you require them to clean is also subjected to different rates. They are not on standby 24/7 and their job does not include cooking. So, you have to separate out the cleaning fees, cooking fees, grocery bills, and the child caring service that is going to be charged per child. How much do you think that costs? If doing house chores is worthless, then all those housekeepers and cleaners out there don’t deserve a pay right? Or is it because that I am doing this for my family that makes it worthless?”

His son stared back at him as if Ken was speaking in an alien language.

“If you think all of this is easy, why don’t you start doing what I do before you start complaining? Your summer vacation is starting anyways so no more training. I expect to see you in the kitchen at five AM tomorrow morning.” Ken smiled at him.

“That’s not fair!” Touya stood up and slammed his hands on the table. “Father! Say something!”

“Sit down, Touya.” Enji rubbed the bridge of his nose and Touya looked like he had been stabbed in the back.

This decision was final, even Enji hadn’t objected to it. Although, to be fair Ken did have his kagune wrapped around his lover’s leg under the table.

Ken was pleased when Touya very unhappily sat back down. “Now, as for how I do everything Enji says…that is because his demands were rational. I won’t say no to you if you said you want to have curry for dinner or needed to stay out late for clubs either. Your Father is a busy man and his requests are related to his work. His work pays for our comforts. I can understand that you might want him to be home more often but real life isn’t that simple.”

“Dad,” Fuyumi’s lips moved but Ken shook his head.

“I know you don’t think it’s fair but I know full well what being married to a hero entails before we get engaged. I know his job consists of long irregular hours and that he might not always be around when I need him. Those were the terms I agreed to, it is not fair to expect him to completely change his tempo at work.”

Enji was the one providing for their family and the one to carry Ken’s children into this world. The financial burden and health risks Enji took on shouldn’t be overlooked just because he couldn’t participate in all of their family events. A pregnancy wasn’t just physically draining, it also involved a difficult process of healing both mentally and physically. Ken wasn’t the one having to deal with morning sickness and other complications while still chasing bad guys on the front line. What kind of husband would he be if he couldn’t even feed their child formula milk or change their diapers? Him having to stay up late and comfort a crying baby or deal with young toddlers while Enji recovered from labor wasn’t unreasonable.

“You might not think the way we interact with each other is on equal terms but I know your father. Enji has accommodated my needs and feelings in more ways than anyone could ever imagine.” Not everyone could take a ghoul as a partner and still be willing to stay by their side for the long term. Not to mention, Ken had been tortured before and the trauma scarred him deeply. His kagune wrapped tighter around Enji’s leg and Ken had to remind himself that it was all behind him, he wouldn’t hurt his lover and family. Enji’s hand landed on Ken’s kagune, patting it softly.

Ken scanned over his children and there was a mix of reactions. Touya’s eyebrows were tightly knitted together while Fuyumi looked worried. Natsuo kept glancing at his older siblings and Enji. Shouto was too young to fully understand it all and he was staring at Ken, hesitant to speak because he could tell the atmosphere was not right.

“Touya, if you still have issues then why don’t we spar?” Ken suggested. “You say that all I know how to do is read and do house chores, thinking that I succumb to Enji’s demands because I am not as strong as him. I can prove you wrong and once I do, I want you to apologize to Enji and your grandmother’s plaque. Also say sorry to your siblings for scaring them.”

He could feel Enji’s hand tightened on his kagune but Ken only patted him gently. He didn’t like fighting but he felt like Touya, being the stubborn child he was, would need a wake up call that was harsher than normal.

Touya looked at him for a long silent moment before nodding. “Deal.”

—---

Todoroki Shouto sat in 1-A’s classroom, watching his classmates chat. He wasn’t a very talkative person but he was fine with listening to his classmates get rowdy and joke around during break.

“Hey, Todoroki, does your house have weird house rules?” Mina asked from the other side of the room.

“House rules?” Todoroki repeated, looking up from his book. He had tuned out of their conversations a little bit in order to finish the chapter of the book his dad recommended.

“Yeah, like no chocolates in the house or a curfew,” Kirishima added. “We’re talking about all the rules that our parents have around the house.”

“Particularly the unreasonable ones.” Kaminari leaned down on his desk. “Can you believe that Yaoyorozu never had burgers that weren't served on a plate with forks and knives?”

The girl that he mentioned flushed slightly pink.

Shouto tilted his head, trying to think. “I don’t think there are many rules like that in my house.”

Todoroki Enji had requirements for the children’s grades and training but not so much in terms of what else they needed to do. Todoroki Ken on the other hand would say yes to everything as long as they weren’t trying to actively hurt themselves or do anything that would damage their health.

“Really? There’s nothing?”

Shouto looked at his classmates and he sank into thought. Maybe there was a rule at his house? Don’t stay out too late? Be nice to the media?

“Don’t upset Dad,” he blurted out. Dad was a gentleman, brewing coffee and taking care of the house. He always had a smile on his face and he often prepared delicious meals for Shouto and drove him to places. Dad liked to cook with Fuyumi and he would bandage Touya up if he got hurt. It also wouldn’t be the first time Shouto had seen Dad helping Natsuo with his medical homework. While he wasn’t a professional in the medical field, he had a spectacular memory and learning ability.

But whenever he started cracking his fingers, all bets were off.

Shouto still remembered how Dad dangled Touya by his ankle from the ceiling. The large tentacle made of black and red flesh swung Shouto’s brother around and their Dad was still smiling. His left eye was red and black, like some kind of blood thirsty ghost hidden in the night. The man always knew when to stop but the pain from him lingered longer, even if no scars or bruises were left.

The thought of that still sent shivers down Shouto’s spine.

Shouto loved his dad and appreciated everything the man did around the house. How could he not when he experienced it first hand? Maybe it was because Touya's words set off an alarm in Dad's head but all of the Todoroki kids were taken to the kitchen to experience their Dad's life first hand. He would wake up before sun rise to cook them breakfast and lunch, packed everything neatly and set out the table. After their father left for work, he would have a cup of coffee and then dive into the chores around the house. Shouto didn't know there was so much to be done in a house. Sweeping and moping, dusting to vacuuming, cleaning windows and buying grocery...they had to do laundry too, which was a whole fiasco on its own. Shouto had separated the colours from the whites, socks and underwear had to be washed differently, and they needed to check every pocket to make sure there wasn't anything odd in there. His father's suits were to be dry cleaned and trousers needed to be ironed. Leather shoes needed polishing and some clothing needed to be hand-washed.

Then there was the bookkeeping of keeping track of bills and the things that needed to be done around the neighbourhood, like if it was their family's turn to hand over the neighbourhood list board to someone else. Dad had to keep track of the much needed social formalities too, like sending a gift or bouquet of flowers to relative's for special occasions or attending PTA meetings.

There was so much to do.

It certainly wasn't easy.

All of the Todoroki kids found new respect for their dad after that.

Dad was a kind soul but he really, and Shouto meant really, didn’t like any fighting in the house. Sometimes, Shouto and his siblings also talked to each other and even speculated that Dad had some kind of split personality disorder. One side of him was harmless and gentle while the other was dark and dangerous. He could be smiling at them but also knock them to the floor during sparring sessions. And the pain was a different kind than when Shouto was training with Endeavor. It was more numbing, like he had been targeted by some kind of predator in the jungle.

The only good thing was that Dad’s other side wouldn’t show up as long as the family was at peace with each other.

“I guess Endeavor is really strict.” Midoriya nodded and the rest of the class agreed with him.

Shouto thought he should clarify that he didn’t mean Endeavor but the bell rang. Class was about to start.

Oh well, his classmates would know next week when Dad shows up for Parent’s Day anyways.

Chapter Text

Parent’s day was a headache no matter how anybody tried to put it. Aizawa wasn’t looking forward to the event at all. He had no interest in making small talk all day or having to deal with a crowd of people who were sure to bombard him with questions along with embarrassing childhood stories or start conversations with the line “When I was in school…” or “When I was their age…”.

However, it was part of his job and an important piece of it too.

Education was influenced by many factors and there was only so much a teacher could do in school. For the best of their students, it was critical for the parents or legal guardians to be involved with the process as well. Schools might be able to teach academics and sports but a great deal of the smaller things that made people functional humans in society were learned at home. Also, no one could learn in peace if they were constantly surrounded by disruptions or an unstable and harmful environment.

Aizawa liked to review the files on his students during the school year. UA was pretty good at screening their applicants and those they ultimately admit into their programs each had a folder composed for them. Inside, there was the basic information like name and age, along with emergency contacts and health reports from middle school and elementary. Unlike other schools though, UA tended to dig a little deeper and look into family background and interests. It was a cautionary tactic, in case there were villains trying to infiltrate their schools or if the applicants had faults or trauma in areas outside of what a standard report card could show.

He skimmed them before the first day of school to make sure he had a feel of what he was getting into and how to handle the new class. Most of the time there wouldn’t be any major problems. Maybe a few kids required more attention or maybe he needed to pre-arrange a few things to accommodate various disabilities but that was all normal when it came to his job. Throughout the term, he would review the files in closer detail to check if he needed to adjust any plans to reconcile with what he learned from observing the kids in person. It also helped him to come up with things he would need to speak with each student’s parents about when Parents Day rolled around.

Not a problem. This year though, because of the villain attack at USJ, he was a bit behind on his preparations. It was late at night and Aizawa sipped on his coffee while reaching for the next folder in the pile.

Todoroki Shouto.

Aizawa didn’t think there was much to discuss about Todoroki. He was a smart boy and Endeavor had already done his fair share of training the boy to become a hero. Speed, reflex, knowledge of what to do in the field, firepower and martial arts…the only things Aizawa would say that Todoroki lacked were social skills and experience, both of which simply required time to acquire. Still, he took his job seriously and he went through Todoroki’s file just as he would for any other student.

Todoroki’s father was the NO.2 hero Endeavor, not much needed to be said about that. Aizawa had worked with Endeavor a few times and the flames hero was just like his quirk. Fiery and very unapproachable but professionally efficient in getting the job done. Maybe he was a bit too stern at home too because Aizawa had overheard a few conversations between Todoroki and the rest of his classmates. However, it wasn’t all that surprising or concerning since most Japanese dads, especially the older ones, were pretty much cut from the same cookie dough in that regard. The kid also had an older sister who was a new elementary school teacher and a brother that was just starting university. Both pretty normal and there were no criminal records for any family members.

Todoroki’s eldest brother, Todoroki Touya, was a bit of a headache from what Aizawa heard from the older teachers at UA. He hadn’t had the pleasure of teaching Endeavor’s oldest son but apparently that boy was both a genius and a punk. Todoroki Touya was already a sidekick at Endeavor’s agency, which wasn’t surprising and Aizawa knew from the news that as a hero, the young man was getting a lot of attention and gathering a great fanbase.

The only thing that was slightly surprising was that Endeavor’s spouse was a man.

Todoroki Ken, previously Kaneki Ken.

Aizawa had questions about how two men conceived children but the world of quirks was a wild one. They also had doctor’s notes and birth certificates verified by hospitals for all the children so it wasn’t as if they were randomly smuggling babies into their homes. On paper, Todoroki Ken was a very normal guy. The picture of him was probably the one he had on his driver’s license because it came with the familiar blue background. He had white hair and gray eyes, a face with no harsh lines or edges that made him look younger than his age. This man took part time classes at a university close to the Todoroki house and he was mostly just a house husband, shopping for groceries and taking care of the kids. There was a note that said he loved to read and a list of local bookstores that he frequented.

Todoroki’s past teachers made a note on the report cards that Todoroki Ken was the one showing up to all the children’s school day events. From sports day to Parent-Teacher meetings, he was there for the kids since his husband was so busy with work. The neighbors had nothing but praises for him too.

To be honest, he looked quite gentle and caring, a complete foil to Endeavor’s stern and hard appearance. Maybe that was their secret to a marriage that lasted this long?

Setting the file down, Aizawa finished his coffee and tossed the paper cup into its proper bin. He still had a few more files to go through but he also had patrol tonight. There was a bit of unrest lately with the rise of villain activities.

“Hey, Eraserhead!” The cop sitting at the reception area greeted him when the pro hero walked into the precinct. “There’s coffee in the back room, they got the good stuff this time.”

“Been busy around here?” Aizawa was a bit out of his usual zone tonight since he got the request to support patrol for a neighborhood that was further away.

“Just the usual, there’s been a lot more bar fights though and you know, that rumor’s been flying around again.” The cop pointed to the board behind him.

Aizawa’s eyes landed on a wanted poster that looked out dated. There was no picture, just a short description:

White hair and lean. Average height male wearing all black, with a mask that resembled asylum monsters in horror movies. The mask comes with an eyepatch and large gnashing teeth painted over where his mouth should be.

On the bottom, where the wanted sign should have been instead showed DO NOT APPROACH ALONE IF SPOTTED and the date was from five years ago.

“Centipede?” Aizawa frowned. “I thought that was a rumor, like an urban legend.”

There was a tale spreading amongst villains a few years back about how convicted criminals were being targeted by one of their own. A monster that would crept out in the middle of the night and snatched villains into the shadows, where it feasted upon their flesh and drank their blood. Witnesses said it looked like a man who had multiple arms or some kind of appendages that extended out of his body, like a centipede.

“I got a few officers who swear up and down that he’s real. Word on the street is that the villains do not want a run in with him either though. It’s starting up again because of a bone a plumbing crew found at the old construction site down the block. The one that’s been abandoned for a few years because they couldn’t settle the contract with the new landowners.”

“They found a human bone?”

“A few actually, the evidence team is still trying to piece together everything but it looks like the deceased is one of the drug dealers that vanished a year back. They found his femur bones and some other parts that are already decayed. Forensics said he died of suffocation as if he had been tangled by a large serpent and his flesh were ripped off.”

That was disturbing. Aizawa didn’t think Centipede was real. At least, he hoped it wasn’t real because then that would mean they have a cannibal on their hands and that was just unnerving on so many levels.

What kind of sick bastard could hunt and eat another human?

Aizawa went on patrol. He didn’t see any signs of a deranged cannibal but he did have to break up a few fights and tie up some dudes harassing women in the street. There were no strange chewing sounds behind dumpsters that weren't made by raccoons or stray animals and no trail of blood leading to a half eaten corpse. Everything was pretty normal considering that there weren't any big villain fights. He went home, showered, ate something and napped before getting ready for a new day.

He didn’t choose to look more presentable for Parent’s Day but he did make sure that he changed into a fresh uniform with no weird smells or stain marks. Aizawa shaved a bit and combed his hair so that at least it wasn’t a tangled mess but didn’t bother tying it. He was able to finish reading the files before the first period and when he walked into 1-A’s classroom, he could see the students and their parents already waiting for him.

It was easy to see the resemblance of some parents to their kids. Aizawa could see a green haired woman who was definitely Midoriya’s mom and another blond lady who had a face that was the exact replica of Bakugou’s. Most of the mothers showed up, which was expected since that was how things traditionally went, which was why the white haired man standing amongst the crowd of middle aged women was sticking out like a sore thumb.

He was just like his picture. A little sheepish and shy in person but still smiled a lot and conversed with the other parents. There was an eyepatch over his left eye though and Aizawa knew Todoroki Ken’s left eye was sensitive to light according to his medical file. An old side effect lingering from an accident he had when he was younger.

The students quieted down in their seats immediately but it took the parents a few seconds longer to do the same.

“Welcome, everybody.” Aizawa stepped onto the teacher’s podium in front of the blackboard. “I’m the homeroom teacher, Aizawa or Eraserhead if you prefer my hero name. Let’s start class.”

—---

Shouto had walked into class with his dad. The classroom was already buzzing with people and his classmates were scattered around the room, introducing each other’s parents.

“Morning, Todoroki!” Iida came up to him with a woman who shared his dark hair and glasses. “This is my mom.”

“Nice to meet you.” Shouto nodded before turning towards his dad. “This is my dad. Dad, this is Iida, the class president.”

There was a bit of a puzzled look on the Iidas’ faces and Shouto realized a second later that the room had gone quiet and all eyes were on them.

“Oh, I’m sure this is quite a shock. Don’t worry, I know most people expect to see my husband, Endeavor, here instead.” His dad laughed, smiling as he extended a hand out to greet the Iidas. “Enji’s busy with work so I’m here for Shouto instead.”

“How rude of me,” Iida’s mom apologized before taking his hand. “I shouldn’t have stared. Nice to meet you, Todoroki-san?”

She sounded unsure if that was his last name.

“Please call me Ken,” the man said.

“I didn’t know Endeavor was in a gay relationship.”

“There was a rumor about him coming out of the closet half a decade ago, wasn’t there?”

“Yes, I remember that one. It sparked a very big debate about what constituted manly and all the pride protests.”

The rest of the parents and students were whispering amongst each other while a few more social ones gathered around Shouto and his dad. They asked about what he did for a living and when people found out he was a stay at home husband for four kids, they turned the conversation into how to raise children and all the embarrassing things the kids did when they were toddlers.

"How do you deal with so many children, Todoroki-san?" Kaminari's mom asked. "I often felt like I had a handful with just one boy."

"The boys can get a little rowdy but I bring them out to play in the backyard and that usually tires them out when they were kids."

It still does. Also, playing in the yard usually involved his dad doing laundry while his tentacles played tag with the kids...nowadays, it was how to not get smacked to the ground by Dad's tentacles as part of their reflex training.

"You must have good stamina then. I could never do that."

"Ah, Enji is pretty big on training so I try to keep up. It's nice to have some time just for the two of us. With how busy his work is, we had to squeeze in time somewhere."

"How sweet of you two."

Shouto thought his dad looked like he was doing pretty well. It was probably a common scene for him since he also made a few house wife friends while buying groceries. When class started, it was easy to forget that their parents were watching them from the back of the class since Aizawa-sensei was the same type of strict.

However, it was nice that occasionally when he glanced back, he could see his dad smiling at him for answering a question right or getting praised by the teachers. The day would be better if each teacher didn’t pause for a second when they heard that Shouto’s dad (not Endeavor) came instead of a mom to show up.

“You never told us you have two dads,” Kaminari whispered to Shouto during break time.

Shouto blinked. There was a bit of a fuzz when his dad first showed up with him this morning but his classmates accepted it very quickly. “I didn’t think it was important.”

“It’s obviously very important. Endeavor is secretive about his personal life that there’s barely anything out there.”

“That’s a good thing, Dad likes the quiet.” Reporters were hell and Todoroki Ken was definitely the type of person who would get overwhelmed.

At the next table, a group of their parents were sitting together and enjoying UA’s cafeteria lunch together.

“Todoroki-san, are you really okay with just having a coffee?” Midoriya’s mom asked, looking at the man who only ordered a cup of large black coffee.

“Yes, I’m afraid I don’t have much of an appetite. Large crowds make me a little…too nervous to eat.” The man smiled softly. He was very different from Endeavor, whom the class assumed was the one Todoroki referred to when he talked about his home life. Todoroki Ken was easy going and quiet, a little too much on the polite side but nothing about him felt the slightest confrontational. But people could see the resemblance he shared with Todoroki Shouto. They had the same hairstyle and white hair (at least on half of Shouto), along with a bit of their features such as their thin eyebrows.

“I see, don’t push yourself then. My apologies for asking.”

Most of the people at their table were pretty understanding. There was a very fragile feeling that Todoroki Ken gave off, like ice sculptures that would melt or shatter with one touch, almost as if he was haunted by his own shadows.

“Is your dad alright?” Iida questioned.

“Dad's a little fastidious and he doesn’t like socializing a lot. They don’t talk about it much but Dad said he went through some horrible things before he met Father.”

The man still didn’t eat much but he was normally alright and functional. Sometimes Fuyumi guessed their dad was depressed or just…stuck in a bad memory but there was very little of what they could do to help him. When Endeavor was home, they just let the adults sort things out on their own.

“He looks like a really nice guy though,” Midoriya tried to ease the conversation. “The book he had in his bag, that’s Downard Sun by that European author right? The one who writes a lot of famous thrillers. His other work is getting a movie adaptation this year. People said that Downard Sun is even better written.”

“I didn’t know you were into thriller novels,” Shouto said. He didn’t really share the same tastes as his Dad in books, especially when it came to novels. “But yeah, that’s Dad’s new favorite.”

“The author also has a hero podcast so I listen to him a lot. I didn’t have time for his novels though, since they are all so long and in series.”

Made sense. Midoriya was such a huge hero fan that Shouto wouldn’t be surprised if he had a full room of All Might and hero stuff.

Kirishima jumped into the conversation. “Wait, so that’s the dad you were referring to when we were talking about house rules the other day? ‘Don’t upset Dad’? He doesn’t look very stern or scary though.”

“My mom’s also not scary looking but she’s never easy on punishments,” Kaminari stuck his tongue out. “I spent a summer at my grandparent’s pulling out weeds from two acres of land because I forgot to separate the laundry and turned her favorite white dress purple.”

Shouto would probably pick the weed extermination over sparring with his dad any day. “Even Father listens to Dad when he’s mad. It’s serious at my place.”

Especially if his dad’s knuckles started cracking.

His friends gasped and joked about how Endeavor didn’t look like the type to be scared of anything. They continued eating and chatting after that. Some people asked him more about his dad and were curious about how Endeavor and Todoroki Ken’s love story went but Shouto realized he didn’t have a good idea of how that happened either. His parents never talked much about their pasts.

“Why don’t we ask him then?” Mina suggested as she eyed Shouto’s dad at the next table. Shouto was kind of pushed over to his dad and because he was also curious, he decided he would ask.

“Dad, my friends want to know how you and Father got together,” he said.

His dad was surprised but his usual smile returned a second later. Stirring his coffee a bit, fondness and joy sprinkled along the edge of his eyes as if he remembered something sweet. “We met when we were both rather young, barely twenty. He was a new hero and I…I was in a really bad place in life. I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to so he gave me a helping hand. Everything else followed after that. We got closer and actually proposed to each other at the same time.”

Shouto knew his parents liked each other but seeing the sweet happiness on his dad’s face felt different. The others who were listening all had that look of when people saw something cute and fluffy on their faces. The girls were especially excited, squealing quietly as they nudged each other.

His dad certainly had his issues with the switches of his good and bad personalities while his father can be an old fashioned dick but Shouto supposed they weren’t all bad. Father didn’t just toss his lover to the side because he was ill in the head and Dad was trying his best to support Father and their family.

At least they do love each other deeply.

—---
“Aizawa-sensei,” the white haired man said. “Thank you for taking care of Shouto.”

“It’s been a pleasure to teach him,” Aizawa replied politely. He had a decent first impression of Todoroki Ken. The man was quiet and contained no hard edges. He was pretty much a peacekeeper who might be too much of a pushover with how kind he was. However, he spoke in eloquent manners and although he tended to talk slower, he conveyed his feelings and intentions well.

A scholarly man with great manners and a love for books. Maybe a little on the skittish and sensitive side but still a pleasant company to have around.

“I have a few things about Todoroki’s progress in school to discuss with you about.” Aizawa just had a few housekeeping things to gloss over. There was nothing serious or private but the man listened attentively and he acted like a doting father over his son.

When Aizawa was done, Todoroki Ken nodded. “Shouto is the youngest and I’m afraid he inherited my awkwardness when it came to people. Thank you for noticing and I’m glad that he is with such a great teacher for his first year of hero school. To be honest, Enji was the one handling Touya’s school-related business. When Shouto started, I was a bit scared that I would start getting calls in the first week of class about detention like Enji did with Touya.”

“Your oldest was a menace from what I heard. Don’t take this the wrong way but I am glad Todoroki didn’t turn out like him.”

Not every kid could manage to set off the fire alarm three times in the first three days of school and then blast the posterior portion on a pair of pants off a classmate over a dispute. Aizawa was pretty sure Touya also drew mustaches on Principal Nedzu’s statue once.

“I’m so sorry. I’m afraid Enji and I spoiled Touya too much.” Todoroki Ken’s ears were a bit red as he apologized.

Aizawa had to speak with other parents but overall, he thought Todoroki Ken was a very nice man. He was glad that Todooki’s dad was such an understanding person who wished nothing but the best for his son but wasn’t the unreasonable type of parent either. It was good for Todoroki to have support systems that are stable and Aizawa could see the appeal of why Endeavor had a happy marriage.

His partner and him divided their roles well and were able to lean on each other as they navigated through life and the hardships of rearing children. While Aizawa preferred staying single, as someone who also worked the same unpredictable profession, he was happy for his colleague to be able to find love and support.

“Todoroki-san, there’s been a few incidents of missing villains around your neighborhood lately. They might be in hiding and probably won’t stir up trouble but please be careful when you are out of the house.” Aizawa remembered the news he got a little earlier. With the rise of villain activity and the League riling the darkness up, it wasn’t uncommon for criminals who had beef with famous heroes to start getting funny ideas. The police were notified about a few villains who plotted to get revenge against Endeavor but they always lose track of those criminals.

People do not vanish.

People who had nothing to lose and wanted revenge certainly do not go quietly. If nothing happened then they were either plotting something bigger or that they encountered situations that forced them to delay their plans.

Aizawa didn’t know if Endeavor would decide to increase security around his family but he should probably warn Endeavor’s spouse. There was never a bar too low that desperate criminals wouldn’t go for.

The white haired man’s smile disappeared. Casting his eyes down, the air around him stilled as if it turned into a turbid pond of water. Sadness emitted from him but the lines of his body were still relaxed. “I will be careful. Don’t worry, Aizawa-sensei. Nobody can hurt my family. I might not be a hero but the villains have to go over my dead body before they touch my children and husband.”

It was meant to be a joke to brush the solemn topic off but somehow, Aizawa could feel sincerity dripping from the man’s words.

“Thank you for today,” Todoroki Ken said and he walked away, catching up with his son who was waiting by the classroom door. For some reason, Aizawa thought he saw the back of a death row inmate walking to his execution. Each step heavy but steady as he walked towards the shadows.

He saw the white haired man's fingers twitched slightly under his sleeves, joints cracking before he balled his hand into a fist. Then he smiled at his son, eyes warm and voice calm as asked his child if he was ready to go and if they should stop by to pick up his favourite soba for dinner later.

Like all civilians, Todoroki Ken was scared of the possibility of those he loved being in danger but he appeared to have accepted the risks.

That man really did love his family.

Chapter Text

Ken knew someone was following him. He could smell it. A delicious whiff of anxiety and excitement that rolled off in waves, an aroma so strong that it made him salivate. He could hear it too, hear the beckoning stream of hot blood rushing through veins and the slow exhale of a breath.

He was hungry.

The hunger gnawed at him from within and everything else faded into a spec of dust in the back of his mind. He didn’t feel threatened by the darkness, felt nothing as the last of the sun settled beneath the horizon and the shadows took over. Even the emptying street and dim lights of run down apartments couldn’t bother him. Ken turned around the corner and jogged down the narrow alley, trying to suppress his urge to sink his teeth into…flesh. Soft, tender flesh that he could easily tear off the bones and place in his mouth. It’d taste wonderful, all juicy with sweet blood that had a slightly bitter viscosity. It would quench his thirst and satisfy his stomach.

His heart raced faster, drumming inside his chest as the footsteps behind him quickened. It was sort of getting cold and instead of a hot cup of chocolate, Ken wanted nothing more than a piece of thick human fat. Greasy, just the right kind of high calorie snack that he needed to keep his body warm.

The wind howled behind him and before Ken could scream, he heard the gurgling noise of flesh being pierced first. Blood splattered on the concrete floor as he turned around slowly, meeting his attacker’s wide eyes. The man was pierced on one of Ken’s kagunes, a wound straight in his chest that made it impossible for him to scream because it collapsed his lungs too. A knife clattered to the ground and any words of threat that the man wanted to utter died with his last breath.

His blood smelled even more delicious up close.

Ken dragged the body closer, reaching out to rip a piece of flesh off the arm so he could eat. It was his first proper meal in about a week. He would have found a chance to eat sooner but life got in the way.

“Thank you for the meal,” he whispered as he devoured what he could. Ken was starving, but this man had some parts that he couldn’t eat. That was the problem with a quirk society of superhumans, not every bit of a person was edible like the people in his world.

There was a construction site near here and they were scheduled to finish pouring the concrete for the foundation. He would toss the scraps of his meal somewhere there, sneaking it in before the workers realized.

When he was done, Ken felt content but also horrible. He killed someone again and he was no longer plagued by the burning sense of hunger chewing inside his stomach. It didn’t matter that he knew he killed what this world would consider a villain. It was a life that he ended all the same. Worst of all, he lied. He told Enji that he was going to find food by checking the forest, looking for recent suicides.

“I should get home.” He looked down the road, estimating how long it would take for him to get back. He might still have some time to cook up a light dinner with fish and rice for the hero since Enji was always working late.

Ken would admit he wasn’t all that happy with that part. The Todoroki house was too large and lonely for one person but his love needed to work. Enji was happier with a drive, a fire burning behind his eyes, when he worked and like everybody else whose career was just starting to take off, Enji needed to put in the time and effort to build his life.

It was fine though. Ken would tell himself. He shouldn’t feel bitter or sad about being left alone since this was better anyways. He was never much of a people’s person and he would rather stay away from the crowds that always smelled too alluring to him. And this house that he occupied could be turned into a home, like how his mother filled their tiny apartment with books and folded paper flowers. It wasn’t about the number of square feet or having massive gardens. A home was a home because of the small details of life and memories that filled the space. Maybe a plant by the window, maybe a bookmark stained with coffee, maybe even a small stitch of embroidery at the edge of a pillow. Those were what made a home.

He had a home to figure his life out, a place to battle with all the demons singing inside his head and work through the twisted tangles of his troubles quietly. At his own pace.

And his lover was the one who made it possible.

Ken wanted to make it Enji’s home too. Not that it wasn’t Enji’s legally but the hero was always in such a rush that it felt like just another space for him to sleep at, no different than his office. But now that Ken was here, Enji would return. He always returned, even if he was coming home with a bit of a temper or just completely exhausted and overheated.

He would take the hero to the bathroom, submerging him in a tube filled with ice and cold water. Ken liked those quiet moments too, where he brushed and cleaned and washed every inch of a tired man. He’d talk to Enji about the trivial stuff that happened, maybe a cat that accidentally fell into their yard or a discount special at the market that he found. Sometimes he talked about literature quotes too and even if Enji barely replied a grunt, he was still happy about the acknowledgement. Then they would curl up on the sofa, Enji using his kagune that was always cold like metal as a pillow or Ken wrapping one around the man’s waist to help cushion his back.

Ken would read to him if he hadn’t fallen asleep yet, stopping occasionally to comment on a passage or praise a nice twist in plot. Enji paired their reading time with a bottle of sake that tastes like rotten rice to Ken but truth be told, Ken never liked any alcohol to begin with. Maybe they would share a kiss, just a light peck on the lips or forehead as goodnight.

Tonight might be one of those nights. Ken saw news about Endeavor fighting a big villain before he decided to change his plan about getting food. He heard about the robber making trouble around the neighborhood lately and Ken really didn’t like the threat of someone poking around his home. Even if it pained him to kill, he would get rid of the danger.

He could see the small lamp dangling outside of the Todoroki house’s door in the distance. Slipping in quietly, Ken got busy. He took a quick shower and cleaned up all of his clothing, making sure there were no blood stains left. With his kagunes outstretched, he also whipped up dinner and started the bath.

Ken was already at the door before it clicked open.

“Welcome home,” he said softly with a smile while wiping his hands on his apron. Ken placed a kagune on the taller red head’s shoulder, stabilizing him. The heat traveling up the end of his hunting organ told him that he was right to add an extra bag of ice into the bath.

“I have a meeting at eight tomorrow morning,” Enji grunted but his muscles became less stiff. For a twenty year old, he was heavier and much more muscular than the average man his age but it still wasn’t much weight to Ken.

Sighing, Ken promised beside Enji’s ear, “I’ll take good care of you.”

I will take good care of you, just as you will do for me. This is our home, so please...don't leave me.

Chapter Text

Ken wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. The blood was smeared across his chin and pieces of red meat were stuck to the tips of his kagune. Looking down, he inclined his head slightly as he sank into thoughts about how to clean up the remaining corpse.

It would be a waste to let such fresh meat rot but this was too much for him to simply take a package home and store inside the deepest part of the giant freezer at home. Kaneki didn’t particularly like the idea of leaving human meat around the house either. It took a lot to feed a family of six and since most of his children were old enough, it wasn’t unusual for them to be making themselves a late night snack or quick meal at odd times of the day. He knew it was a preventable issue and it was probably his irrational fear eating at him again but…he still had great difficulty in just imagining someone else in the family accidentally ingesting human flesh.

A part of him also feared ruining the perfection Enji had built. This was a quiet life the hero had built for them and even if the rational part of Ken knew that no cops were going to just raid their fridge unannounced, he still didn’t like the possibility– no matter how slim– of that scenario playing out.

He thought about drying some of the meat, smoking them with a campfire and making them into sausages that could be preserved. If he added enough salt and grinded everything up into a fine pulp, then he should be able to make decent sausages that would last for a while even without putting them on ice or inside a fridge. These he could store in the second basement that only Enji and him knew about. No wires or pipe ran through that space, which decreased the likelihood of people ever finding it. Even if they did, preserved food like pickled or fermented vegetables were also traditionally stored in dry and cold areas with lots of shade.

Yes, that was what he should do. It would make his children happy to see him eat something other than coffee for once too. Ken has been having a bit of trouble escaping from Fuyumi and Natsuo’s attempts to help him with his “eating disorder” lately. His children were finding all the recipes involving coffee and trying to feed him some of each.

He appreciated the efforts but his taste buds just can't take it any longer. Enji had been getting a great laugh out of the tiramisu and coffee bread though. The hero also complained a little about how most of the food ended up on his plate and despite how his work was physically demanding, even he was packing on a few pounds.

Ken’s heart swelled with love and happiness when he saw how much his family cared for him and he wanted to keep everybody happy.

—---

“Aizawa-sensei,” Todoroki Ken said, nodding as he saw Aizawa come back to the bus.

“Todoroki-san, sorry about the surprise.” Aizawa glanced out the bus window, where Pussy Cats had just tossed Class A down a cliff. It was an unconventional tactic and he was a bit wary of how the parent to one of the children would react.

It wasn’t like this would be the first time that UA received a complaint about them being too rough on the kids.

However, to his surprise, Todoroki Ken merely blinked. His mouth was hanging open and his eyes wide from seeing a literal mudslide swallowing the children but he remained in his seat. Shaking his head, Todoroki Ken regained his composure.

“I see why you didn’t give me a warning. This seems kind of harsh.” The white haired man stared out the window. It was impossible to see what happened to the kids from this angle but he didn’t scream or attempt to get out of the bus to check either. “I don’t think the children are hurt and I trust you to know what you are doing.”

The compliance and understanding was both relieving and a little concerning.

Aizawa looked at the man, seeing how he was dressed in simple black and white. His shirt was pure white and his trousers were ironed. He wasn’t a large man and Aizawa would even consider Todoroki Ken to be kind of frail in the way he carried himself, all thin bones and round baby features. Soft-spoken and he had a slight hunch in his shoulders as if he was trying to make himself appear smaller.

He looked like he would get spooked by a rabbit.

“Thank you for coming on this trip with us.” Aizawa sat down beside him. The bus started moving again and Pussy Cats’ car was right behind them.

“It’s no problem at all.” When the heroes came to him, asking if he would volunteer to aid their summer camp, Todoroki Ken was thrilled.

They planned to let the kids be more independent, including cooking their own food but a civilian’s presence would help ease the other parents’ hesitation. When they set forth the plan that they weren’t going to disclose any information to the parents because of Midoriya’s run-in with Shigaraki Tomura at the mall, of course they received some complaints from the parents. It was natural for them to worry about the children’s safety. Many questions arose and having Todoroki Ken–the civilian spouse of the No.2 hero–who had such a calming presence and gave the rest of the mothers a great first impression during parent’s day, was great in appeasing them.

Todoroki Ken was also a househusband with years of experience handling multiple children. Maybe he would be of help with Kota too.

Aizawa and Vlad had discussed the risks with Nedzu and all of the Pussy Cat members too. They were in a secured facility and Todoroki Ken wouldn’t be alone.

“How long do you think the children will take?” Todoroki Ken asked.

“Could be a few hours or maybe half the day,” Aizawa estimated. The forest was a big place and the kids would have to defeat plenty of obstacles. “You don’t seem too concerned?”

He smiled, almost a little shy. “We take the kids training in the woods too, there’s a clearing in the mountain that Enji bought. With how their quirks are…it’d be too dangerous to have them blast fire or ice in the backyard. I think Shouto will be alright here.”

That made sense. Todoroki Shouto needed to have developed his abilities somewhere and Aizawa could totally imagine Endeavor being stern and hard in training. To think the pro hero would buy a whole mountain just for training? Yes, absolutely believable with how dangerous the hellfire quirk was and even Aizawa knew Endeavor enjoyed getting stronger with how disciplined of a life the red haired man lived. Maybe they used training like a family bonding time.

“You have a great relationship with your son,” Aizawa complimented sincerely. In his line of work, it was rare to see such a wonderful family. They seemed almost picture perfect.

Todoroki Ken nodded happily as he offered Aizawa a can of coffee. “Family is very important to me.”

Indeed it was. Todoroki Ken was a very considerate and polite person. While he wasn’t to help the students or care for his son, nothing stopped the kids from watching him cook and attempting to replicate his tricks in cooking. He made great dishes from the ingredients Pussy Cat had for all of the adult heroes.

The food was wonderful. The man also made them light snacks and strong tea with the best balance of aroma and bitterness that Aizawa ever had.

“Thank you very much,” Vlad said as he snacked on a bit of grilled chicken heart. It was late into the night and the teachers were still up modifying the training plans. They were on a time crunch, where they had to keep a constant monitor of each student’s progress and tailor the plans specifically for them.

“It’s no problem at all,” Todoroki Ken said gently while holding the round wooden tray. “Good night.”

Somehow, Aizawa felt like he knew why Endeavor was willing to marry this man, a civilian with no reputable background or special traits. Todoroki Ken might not have the most prestigious background or professional specialty in a respectable field, but he really was the perfect spouse for a busy hero. Understanding, patient, and detailed, he was a compassionate soul.

Endeavor really was a lucky man.

Chapter Text

Todoroki’s Dad was a really nice man that reminded Midoriya a little bit about his mom. Kind and compassionate, Mr. Todoroki was the type of man who didn’t know how to raise his voice let alone getting mad.

He spoke slowly and softly, teaching them how to soothe aching muscles with a bit of home remedies and always had a smile on his face. It was relaxing to be near him, like they were submerged in a warm bath after a long day.

“Your dad is great!” Kirishima said to Todoroki as all the boys were setting up their sleeping places in the shared room. “I’m sure Endeavor is cool too but your Dad knows a lot of cool stuff!”

Mr. Todoroki had touched Sero’s arm that was feeling funny and after a few twists and bends (along with a small lecture about kinesiology), Sero’s arm was feeling much better. The man seemed very well versed in a broad range of topics, both in theory and in practice.

“No wonder the media said that Endeavor is lucky to have found such a supporting partner.” Although Mr. Todoroki didn’t appear on interviews with Endeavor and they don’t post family pictures on the web either, every time Endeavor’s agency had to reference anything about the hero’s private life, they would give thanks to Mr. Todoroki.

Midoriya collected notes on plenty of heroes and statistically speaking, Mr. Todoroki was what a lot of heroes would consider the ideal spouse. Heroes often worked long and odd hours, which wasn’t easily flexible should a family emergency come up. A lot of heroes encountered issues in their love lives too because their schedules weren’t compatible with their partner’s. Sometimes, the civilian partner had a hard time supporting the hero’s career too. It was hard work to maintain a family and stable homelife, so easy for the little imbalances to build up and wreck the relationship.

But Mr. Todoroki looked like he had everything in order.

He even managed to get Kota to talk to him. Sure, the little boy might not have anything good to say about heroes but he wasn’t violently rude to Mr. Todoroki. Midoriya was pretty sure he also saw Kota finishing the pudding Mr. Todoroki made when the boy thought no one was looking.

Todoroki nodded. Although his expression didn’t change much, Midoriya could tell he was happy that his father received a compliment. “Dad is the best.”

A small knock came by the door and Sato opened it, revealing Mr. Todoroki’s smiling face. He pointed to the clock on the wall. “It’s bedtime, boys. You have an early day tomorrow.”

“Good night, Mr. Todoroki.”

They all said at the same time.

“Good night, Dad,” Todoroki said.

The white haired man looked around the room, probably doing a silent headcount before a satisfied grin spread across his mouth. “Good night.”

—---

He broke his phone by accident.

Midoriya wiped the dirt from his face. There was a muscular villain dressed in a cloak in front of him. They were on a cliff, away from the rest of the pro heroes and he didn’t get the chance to let his teachers know where he had run off to yet.

Kota and Mr. Todoroki were behind him. The boy was on the verge of tears as he clung onto the man, who was barely a third in width compared to the giant villain in front of them.

Midoriya was alone in this fight, with no reinforcements and he had to protect two civilians simultaneously. Can I do it? He shook the doubt away, refocusing on the villain with the menacing smile. He had to do this. He was the only one who could do this.

“Don’t worry,” he said while pushing all the negative thoughts and anxiety out of his heart. “I’ll save you both.”

“Save them?” the villain cackled. His arm expanded in size as more muscles wrapped over his fist. “Always sprouting that crap. I guess that’s just how you idiots are. Your name is Midoriya, right? That’s great cause you’re high on our kill list so now, show me some real blood!”

He was speaking so fast, almost ranting in a monologue as if what Midoriya or anyone had to say were of no importance. This man just wanted blood and violence, holding no regard for anything else. Midoriya didn’t know what he was expecting either but a small part of him had hoped that he could reason with the villain. Well, that clearly wasn’t happening tonight.

The night’s wind picked up, carrying the burnt scent of the forest. There was something sour mixed in the breeze and Midoriya saw a haze of oddly colored smoke

Midoriya caught a glimpse of the red of the villain’s fist before his body was sent flying. He slammed into the cliff and pain exploded in his side as the rocks dug into his flesh. The villain’s punch came down hard while Midoriya dodged with difficulty. Pieces of rocks went flying.

“Do you know where that Bakugou kid is?”

Kacchan? Why were the villains targeting Bakugou?

A foot landed on his stomach and the force of the kick sent Midoriya flying. The villain laughed while boasting about his quirk. Blood started dripping from Midoriya’s forehead, where a lump was forming from how he slammed into the rock. His head was fuzzy while his body ached with a dull bruising pain but he couldn’t lose consciousness yet.

Digging his nails into the dirt, Midoriya struggled to get up. Green energy pulsed around him, cracking with power but the villain was right about one thing, that muscle shield of his was nearly impenetrable. At least, Midoriya couldn’t do it with the amount of strength he could master at this stage.

His heart pounded rapidly as he struggled for breath. The villain’s looming shadow towered over him. With a grin on his face, the man stared down at him with an icy gaze. Midoriya understood that look. The villain wasn’t satisfied with the bloodshed and he wanted more. He would chase his high by going after Mr. Todoroki and Kota next.

“See, you can’t save anybody! If you can’t put your money where your mouth is, you’re just pathetic!”

A pebble hit the villain in the head but it bounced off as if it was made of cotton.

Kota was screaming as tears of anger and fear streamed down his face. His body shook within Mr. Todoroki’s embrace but he glared at the villain. The man stalked towards the two, arm raised while harsh and callus words flew out of his mouth. He didn’t harbor any vengeful emotions towards Kota’s parents but killing people was just an act as normal as squishing an ant to him. The criminal known as Muscular was a man of violence and nothing else.

And Midoriya couldn’t let him strike.

His legs propelled his whole body forward and he smashed 100% One For All into the villain’s face, embedding Muscular into the rocks. Blood dripped down Midoriya’s arms and his shirt was ruined. He could taste dirt and bile in his mouth while his muscles screamed in agony.

Not yet. He couldn’t go down yet.

“Let’s go,” he said quickly, feeling the loss of vision from his left side. The swollen lump from earlier forced his eye shut. “We have to get back to camp, to the teachers.”

Mr. Todoroki gasped and Midoriya felt his heart plummeting as he heard movement from behind him. Muscular was still standing, with barely a scratch on him.

“No…that was 100%...” Midoriya couldn’t believe it. How could the criminal still have so much fight in him?

“Not a bad punch.” That was a sinister compliment. Midoriya could feel the tension thicken in the air as Muscular switched a different eye. “I’m getting serious then. No more playing around.”

His next punch was quick as a flash of lightning and strong enough to crumble the whole corner of the cliff. Rumbling rocks crushed easily under his fist. Midoriya barely got Mr. Todoroki and Kota out of the attack’s range in time.

Midoriya was exhausted. His stamina already depleted by the day’s training and although Mr. Todoroki looked thin, he was still the average grown man’s weight. There was no way Midoriya could carry both Mr. Todoroki and Kota with One For All back to camp. Not with Musuclar on their tail in the woods at night. His arms were broken and he could feel his bones poking in all the wrong places inside his flesh. Bruises and redness spread along his skin, signaling that they wouldn’t be able to last much longer. But there wasn’t any other choice. Here. Now. He had to win against the villain right here! There was no other option if they wanted to live.

Crack.

There was a sound of joints cracking. It was a small noise amongst the battlefield, not even nearly as loud as Midoriya’s labored breathing or the sound of pebbles rolling down the destroyed cliff. But somehow, it banged in the air, popping off all of their senses as if a warning that something horrible was about to happen.

Crack.

Mr. Todoroki placed a hand on Midoriya’s shoulder, giving him a firm squeeze before standing up to face Muscular.

“Stop,” he said slowly and deliberately. “Stop hurting these boys.”

The white haired man was a twig compared to the giant villain. White shirt and black trousers, he looked like he was on his way to a bookstore instead of facing a heinous criminal. His back was small and his body thin, something that the villain could snap with one hand. Midoriya coughed, pulling himself up from the ground. “Mr. Todoroki! Take Kota and run!”

But the man shook his head. Midoriya watched with belated realization that Mr. Todoroki’s expression was calm, devoid of any trace of terror or nerves. He cracked his knuckles, cocked his head from side to side as if warming up with a stretch.

Muscular was visibly amused. “Are you going to fight me now? With that puny body? Or maybe you have some kind of powerful quirk? Bring it!”

Mr. Todoroki ignored his taunting. Sighing, he nodded at Midoriya and Kota. “Close your eyes.”

And then Midoriya had no words to describe what happened next. Mr. Todoroki, frail and kind Mr. Todoroki with hair like snow and eyes a soft gathering of clouds. Thin wrists and lanky legs, always gentle with bashful smiles…that Mr. Todoroki grinned wide with all teeth as giant red tentacles slipped out from behind his back. They were agile organs, slamming into Muscular with such a force that should be physically impossible. They sliced through the layers of muscles protecting the villain, ripping into him like a spider’s eight legs digging into its prey. Wrapping around Muscular, the tentacles slammed him into the rocks beneath, grinding him into the woods and pounding him into bushes of thorns.

“You wanted to see blood, didn't you?” Mr. Todoroki dangled the villain upside down in the air, pulling his limbs away from his body with four tentacles. Walking towards the villain, his nail made a cut along Muscular’s stomach, slicing as easy as a knife through melted butter.

Muscular screamed.

“This is how you clean a game caught in the wild,” Mr. Todoroki continued, using the same voice that he had when he instructed the class about how to make a perfect curry. “They make cuts here and here to let the blood out. Since you wanted blood so much, let’s see some of yours.”

A pale finger dug into the wound on Muscular’s stomach, causing the man to spasm in pain. Blood trailed down, pooling on the dirt and seeping into the soil.

“Don’t make so much noise. This is the red you seek, isn’t it? Since you insist on toying with others like animals, we can see more of the blood you love so much once I finish skinning you.”

What? Before his brain could process the words, Midoriya heard the sound first.

Ka-la.

The noise of joints popping followed as Mr. Todoroki undid the villain’s jaw, forcing his mouth to open and his tongue hung slack. His screams were muffled with a numbness as more blood poured down. Despite how hard he trashed, the tentacles held him in an iron grip.

Perfectly cut nails with their impeccable oval shape peeled at Muscular’s skin. A few gurgling noises of choking on saliva and blood came from Muscular but he couldn’t speak or plead.

Midoriya pressed Kota’s face against his chest. Shakingly, he opened his mouth. “Mr. Todoroki…?”

He thought Mr. Todoroki would have a quirk of ice and not…whatever this was. Tentacles triple the size of a regular man strangled the villain’s limbs like snakes breaking their prey into pieces. The noise of joints being stretched and bones cracking gave Midoriya goosebumps. Mr. Todoroki didn’t need to raise his voice since the vicious anger was already so tangible in the air. It was as if they were trapped inside the den with a hungry tiger, where even one wrong breath would result in their throats being slashed.

Danger.

The warning bells rang inside Midoriya’s head and his teeth were chattering against each other uncontrollably. It was a primal sense of danger that forced the hair on his skin to stand up. The bruising and broken bones forgotten, all he wanted to do was to run away. Kota must had feel the same thing because he grabbed tighter onto Midoriya.

Mr. Todoroki seemed to have come out of a daze. The tentacles dropped Muscular and retracted back into his back. Midorya felt his heart squeezing as Mr. Todoroki’s bloodied fingers grabbed him.

Taking off his shirt, Mr. Todoroki used it as a makeshift sling to hold Midoriya’s arms. He was wearing a thin T-shirt underneath and as they were pressed closed, Midoriya could feel rock hard muscles…the rigidness was strange, almost as if there wasn’t normal flesh beneath the fabric.

“I’ll get you two back to camp,” the man promised. His eyes were still a soft gray, so calm and encompassing. It should had put Midoriya to ease but he couldn’t help but shuddered.

He picked them up. One in each arm, Midoriya couldn’t believe the strength in those thin arms. Midoriya himself was by no means underweight and as the wind brushed past his face, he realized they were moving through the forest at an astonishing speed. Tentacles stabbed into the trunks, moving them between branches while Mr. Todoroki’s feet raced across air and dirt.

They were close to the clearing near camp when Midoriya spotted Aizawa-sensei.

“Aizawa-sensei!” he yelled.

The pro hero was stunned as he turned around. “Todoroki-san?” he uttered the name with disbelief. “Midoriya and Kota! What happened?”

“Aizawa-sensei, please take the children to safety.” Mr. Todoroki set them down. “The villains mentioned Bakugou being their target. Please notify the others.”

“What are you–”

He never got to finish that sentence because Mr. Todoroki walked a few paces away. Stretching his back and arms, the man crouched down lower. His body language was almost animalistic, especially with the tentacles stretching behind him.

“I’m going to find my son,” he rasped.

Chapter Text

1

“Bakugou! You can’t spark off in the forest!” Shouto shouted as he held onto the unconscious body of the Class B boy who was on his back.

Bakugou made a half-growling noise at the back of his throat, dodging behind the ice Shouto summoned. Teeth shot past him, fast and sharp as blades. The blond teen was about to turn around to shout something when they all heard a crunch of branches from the other side of the bushes.

“What was that?” It couldn’t be teeth. They had been dodging and running for a bit now and the two teens figured out the general range of the villain’s attack already. If the villain’s quirk could stretch that far, he wouldn’t be trying to fight them for this long.

Could it be more villains? The teachers?

Craning his neck while his body tensed, Shouto saw a hint of familiar white hair and a partial scream climbed up his throat. His dad couldn’t be here. It was too dangerous. How could his dad have made it through the forest alone in the dark? He was still at the campsite when the students left for the scaring contest. The pro heroes wouldn’t let a civilian wander around alone when they were under attack or when the area was probably crawling with villains.

“Dad?” Shouto called, unease filling the back of his mouth with a bitter taste. “Is that you?”

No one answered him.

A gust of wind rushed over his head in the span of a blink. Then the crunching noise of teeth being broken came. It was a different sound than when he blocked the villain’s attacks with his ice. Instead of a smash, it was cleaner, the shattering noise of teeth stronger than steel breaking into segments under a force.

Something red–almost tentacle-like–wrapped around the teeth, slithering between the villain’s attack and squirming between openings in the air. When an extending tooth scraped against it, it sounded as if metal had been scratched instead of flesh. But these tentacles couldn’t be made of iron or anything of those sort. They were so agile, flexing and bending unnaturally that an uncertain fear began to fill the teens’ chest.

They watched as more tentacles rushed out of the thick canopy of leaves and bushes. They pierced the villain. One through the left shoulder joint and another in the right knee. The next one would have gone into the man’s stomach but it was deflected off a bunch of teeth. That didn’t stop the tentacles though, for it wrapped around the villain whole and slammed him into the ground, onto the rough and uneven bed of ice.

They heard a noise from the villain before he went still. It was difficult to describe that noise. Not so much of a scream or a grunt, maybe closer to a snap or some kind of crushed bones. It didn’t matter because then the red began to pool.

A hand covered Shouto’s eyes and he nearly dropped the Class B student or froze half the forest. It was the scent and voice that stopped him.

“Shouto, I’m so sorry you have to see this.” The smell of ink and paper, old books that Dad loved plenty and even packed one or two for this trip. His dad’s voice was still gentle, calm as usual but colder than what Shouto was used to.

“Dad?”

The hand stayed for a second before being removed. Shouto saw the red and the villain again, also Bakugou’s stiff face. When he turned, Shouto saw his dad. It was Todoroki Ken. The shirt that Shouto saw the man packed, the pants that his dad ironed, the soft white hair, and this face was his family’s.

But gone were the gentle smile or fraidy nerves.

The man standing in the middle of a forest at night was not the same man who got flustered when older neighbors teased him about needing to get more sun. This man who had a villain spiked through on a tentacle connected to his back wasn’t the same as the one who baked cat-shaped cookies for his children.

“I’m so glad you’re safe.” The man patted Shouto and Bakugou on the shoulders. “Let’s get you back to Aizawa-sensei.”

His dad was still thin but the touch was firm and the straightness of his spine more certain. It felt as if Shouto was talking to Father, who was always in command. While Shouto never thought to argue with his dad, there was a new authority in the way his dad carried himself reminded him of the time Touya spoke unruly words. Anger changed people, in Father, it only added to his heat and shouting. In Dad…it was a colder fury hidden underneath a voice of calm. Heavier like how his touch changed, no more of the light and delicate contact as if his muscles were made of sponge.

The tentacles were darker in color now the moon was half hidden by moving clouds. Or maybe the villain’s blood had begun to dry. It gleamed crimson along its length, the shimmer making them appear to be pulsing with a heartbeat.

“Is this your quirk?” Bakugou asked.

The man sighed, ushering them further down the trail. “Yes…I suppose you can say that. It’s dangerous here, we have to go.”

“What about the villain?”

“He stays here,” Dad said while glancing back. His throat bubbed slightly as if he was trying hard to focus and speak. “I can’t bring him along.”

But he had more than enough tentacles? Or maybe this was a Superman Situation, where even ordinary people found strength in emergencies. Even if this quirk looked strong, his dad wasn’t trained to deal with containing a villain or subduing threats while protecting others.

They were lifted off the ground. Shouto was used to the feeling of tentacles wrapping around him and he even turned to remind Bakugou to keep his mouth shut. Before they knew it, they could see the edge of Pussy Cat’s facility.

While their teacher had a strange look on his face, they were safer in a group. Shouto could see the confusion in the others’ faces. Why Todoroki Ken didn’t have an ice quirk? What were these tentacles? His siblings and him had the same questions when they were younger.

His parents had secrets. Todoroki Ken the book nerd wasn’t all he seemed to be. It was strange for a civilian that had never hurt a fly to be able to spar with kids trained to be the next heroes. It was odd that whenever their dad cracked his fingers, his demeanor changed. Fuyumi said she saw their dad break metal with his bare hands. They had secrets. A past that neither man wanted to talk too much about.

But that was fine. They were a family and Shouto knew his dad would do anything to protect them. That was his way of loving them, to care for them and protect them because they were a family.

And there was nothing more important than family.

2

“Eraserhead,” Detective Tsukauchi waved as the pro hero approached him.

It was thirteen hours after the police had arrived on scene. The firefighters and additional heroes had already put out the forest fire. Now they were going through the aftermath to collect any evidence of villain activities and to ensure no spark could be rekindled to start another disaster.

“Anything on this end?” Aizawa asked.

“No, not really. It looks like the remaining villains have cleared out. They probably came through the teleporting gate like they did at USJ too. There aren't any tire tracks or prints for possible transportation.”

“We have two villains in holding.” One a wanted criminal Muscular and another just a kid. “Still no sign of Ragdoll.”

This was a horrible summer camp. They have kids unconscious from poisoned gas, injured children and a pro hero. One missing colleague too. Not to mention a civilian got dragged into the mess.

Although Aizawa would secretly put the civilian in quotation inside his head. It shouldn’t be surprising to find the spouse of the No.2 hero to be more than what he seemed. It made sense even for such a person to be well-versed in some sorts of self-defense or other techniques since Endeavor loved training so much. If the media got wind of this part of the incident, they would fall head over heels for the story. A sensitive soul who had a dangerous path that chose normalcy and love. It was a trope, like how on TV the mediocre accountant was a secret ninja or how the fat gamer was once FBI or CIA. Push them too hard and they would unleash hell. Everything seemed to follow logic but there was an underlying doubt plaguing Aizawa.

A violent but calculating predator.

That was what Todoroki Ken’s quirk was built for. How he had acted as if he was a lion going on a hunt. His tentacles torn through the villains like a beast’s claw preparing meat to be feasted on.

“There is one thing I’m trying to figure out,” Detective Tsukauchi said as he pointed down the dirt trail. It was a small and narrow path, curving through the forest. “According to Bakugou Katsuki and Todoroki Shouto’s statement, they saw Moonfish bend over a severed hand when they first encountered the villain. It was a copied piece from another of your students so the injury isn’t critical but the mystery is that it’s nowhere to be found now.”

He gestured back to the way they came from and to the tall trees. “Bakugou and Todoroki were running away from the gas while they fought Moonfish. They won’t be running towards the fire either so it couldn’t have been dropped back where the gas or fire was. From their description, I don’t think Moonfish would be able to pick up and run away with the hand either. Todoroki Ken said that he wasn’t paying attention, only that he wanted to get the kids out of here fast.”

“The villains came back for Moonfish before they escaped.” They haven’t found Moonfish yet. Aizawa frowned, trying to remember the files they had that matched the villain’s description. “Maybe they took it. He’s the type of criminal to be obsessed over human flesh. Maybe he couldn’t do without it and his friends got it for him.”

“Maybe.” The detective shrugged. “I hope I’m just thinking too much. Because of the Nomu situation…I’m more afraid if the villains took the hand to figure out how to utilize it.”

That would indeed be terrifying. Nomus could already regenerate. If they could also replicate? A nightmare for the heroes for sure.

“I’d also like to talk to Todoroki Ken again but Endeavor had rejected it. Apparently, Todoroki Ken’s mental state isn’t…stable.”

That was news to Aizawa. He had been a gentle presence and even in face of danger, he acted more surely than any normal civilians would have. Sure, there was something uneasy about the way he used his quirk or carried himself when threatened. Still, no one could dictact how another person felt after encountering stressful events. “Has he been connected to victim counseling?”

Detective Tsukauchi shook his head. “He has social anxiety and depression, maybe some form of PTSD too according to Todoroki’s family doctor. He doesn’t have any more family outside of his husband and kids. Endeavor wouldn’t go into heavy details but they didn’t meet under normal circumstances either. Todoroki Ken was involved in an old case that Endeavor worked on. I’m still waiting for my access to those records to be approved back at the station.”

That would explain the lack of friends or close family.

“I’ll see what I can find out from Todoroki Shouto then,” said Aizawa. It wasn’t the most urgent thing considering the League of Villains were still out there but they never knew if there were any reasons why a witness might not want to talk. Or maybe they would find something that would help them better approach the witnesses in more appropriate manners. Todoroki Ken fought two villains face to face, if anybody would notice anything (like a common symbol/clothing pieces on the villains or anything they might have accidentally let slip), it would be Todoroki Ken.

“Thank you.”

They walked further down, finding some of Todoroki Shouto’s unmelted ice scattered about. Blood and water were seeping into the dirt, staining the ground into a dark and damp pink.

“He really did a number on Moonfish, that's for sure. I guess the rumours were true: Endeavor really did choose nothing but the best to procreate with.”

Looks, physical abilities, manners, and personality.

Endeavor chose very carefully indeed.

Now even Aizawa was curious about who Todoroki Ken was before he became a Todoroki.

Chapter Text

Ken snacked on a cube of iced coffee as he vacuumed the master bedroom.

It had been a few days since the summer camp was attacked by villains. Ken was relieved that no children were hurt but he was also a bit apprehensive after the whole ordeal. It was an emergency and he used his powers. Would the heroes notice anything? Had he acted too out of line? It was too obvious he wasn’t a normal civilian when he could go head to head with villains…right?

Maybe he would get Enji in trouble.

He really didn’t want that.

Also, Ken did something bad.

When he fought the villain with the weird teeth, Ken noticed a severed hand. The villain had been holding onto it, muttering words of admiration. That criminal wasn’t a ghoul. He was just a psycho mesmerized by human flesh. Ken couldn’t even blame him. He too had been attracted to the dismembered limb.

The first thing that popped into his mind wasn’t a question about which student got hurt.

It was that the red dripping from the wound must be deliciously sweet.

He had squirreled the hand away, gobbling it up after the villains retreated but the chaos lingered. The guilt and regret slammed into him afterwards. It was easy to justify the need. The hunger always grew stronger after he fought. If he didn’t want to do something he would regret, he needed to plate his stomach with a bit of meat.

Or the ghoul in him might be the one in control.

Ken was just glad that it didn’t come down to that. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold it in when the smell of burning forest filled his nostrils. The smoke. The blood. The way dust and fire blurred everybody’s vision.

It reminded him too much of a past he long buried.

The police and heroes had questions for him. Ken knew his son’s teachers would be suspicious. On record, he was a house husband who finished university through part time courses. He never held a steady nine to five job since his husband provided for the family. Ken’s life revolved around his children and a regular civilian shouldn’t have been able to fight vicious villains with such practiced ease. The League of Villains already stirred up so much trouble. They were brazen criminals with nasty records. USJ. Hosu. The mall. These villains had a goal and as news of their misdeeds spread, the whispers of fear grew into a clamor.

Todoroki Ken shouldn’t have been able to defeat them.

Also, Ken really didn’t like how he looked in battle. Ghouls were feral creatures. Bloody and violent, they turned any fight into a hunt like an animal.

The police had questions. The reporters wanted answers.

Ken couldn’t stand the crowd or the stares but thankfully, he didn’t have to. Enji chased the public away. The No.2 hero had always been careful to not bring work home. When the detectives started knocking on their doors, Enji was there to prevent them from digging too deep. Ken’s files were sealed anyway. What little record the government had on Kaneki Ken had been destroyed or redacted when he married Enji. That was the agreement. Ken did his part. He just wanted a quiet life away from the nightmares and the violence.

Never again.

Nobody would find out.

His love had always stood firm by his side and now, he could only hope his children do too.

“Shouto,” he called softly. It was still summer break and because of the villain incident at camp, UA suspended any training or supplementary academic lessons they had originally planned. His youngest was at home.

Fuyumi and Natsuo had been picking up desserts to treat their brother with. They were relieved to see Ken and Shouto making it home unscratched. Touya was busy helping Endeavor at work. After the constant attack on hero students and because of the Hero Killer’s ideology making it around, there were more criminals committing petty crime than usual.

“Dad.” Shouto looked up from his phone. He must be chatting with his friends. Ken had been hearing the rings and dings of text messages and social media group chats popping off all morning. It was good to see Shouto have friends and Ken would never blame the kids for wanting to find comfort in each other.

They made it through a terrifying and difficult situation together.

Ken thought maybe he’d pick up some treats and visit the Midoriyas as well as the Pussy Cats a bit later too. When things settled down enough, he’d like to check on how the children were doing since he was sure he scared them.

“Shouto, I–”

“Actually, Dad,” Shouto stopped him. The teen rose to his feet, meeting Ken at eye level with a determined expression. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something. We’ve always known you can fight. I mean…just look at Touya-Nii! But you’ve never told us that you had training against actual villains in battle.”

Not training. Death. Many, many deaths. He died over and over again in the locked little room. Nails being pulled out or put in. Centipede inside his ear. The knives. The chains. The hooks. Sliced open. Cut out. Tased. Drowned. Shot. There was training at some point, he supposed. The memories now foggier but the phantom sensations from that time still lingered on his skin occasionally. Ken remembered a girl. Her punch was hard as steel and her kick was swift as a tempest. The concrete crumbled beneath his weight and each time he slammed down into it again, more rubble chipped apart. Sweaty palms grinded against the dusty cold floor, staining the patch of gray into a darker color. There was a twist of bones and someone screamed.

And screamed.

And screamed.

Until exhaustion drained out of his stomach in an acidic goop.

But that was the only way to survive. If he wanted to live, he must outrun the doves and stay stronger than the other ghouls.

“It was from before I met your Father.” Ken found himself saying in a whisper. The memories pulled at the edge of his consciousness, where another woman tittered beside his ears. She whispered about the life he discarded because of his cowardice. Friends and mentors that he chose to bury deep inside a maze of memories that he would never see again.

Shouto nodded in understanding. “From bad times. Father told us that.”

Bad times. All the pain glossed over with two simple words. If he could, Ken wanted to take his past to the graves. None of his children needed to know the evil or the pain or the fated curse that flowed in his blood.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell us.” Shouto raised his phone, where Ken could see a lot of cute emojis and memes from his class chat. “It’s just that…the class and I have been talking. They’re really thankful that you saved us and we’re wondering if you’d be okay with them coming over to thank you in person.”

“Thank me?” Blinking, Ken wasn’t sure if he heard that right.

“Yeah.”

“But…um…I, Shouto, are you sure?” His ghoul form was a thing of nightmares.

His son nodded. “It was Midoriya’s suggestion. He said you were really cool.”

Cool. Somebody else had complimented Ken that way once. A friend with gold hair and a smile as bright as the sun.

“Dad? Is it okay?”

Ken snapped back to reality. He stared at his son’s hopeful and concerned face. They were children, just children and they don’t know the full extent of Ken’s horror. But they didn’t need to know the real story now, did they?

Kaneki Ken was the monster. He killed and took and ate and died.

Todoroki Ken could be a mentor. He was alive and he could keep the people who loved and believed in him safe.

So Ken smiled, ruffling Shouto's hair fondly while thinking about what kind of party food they would need.

“Yes, of course they are welcome to visit.”

Chapter Text

Shouto’s classmates arrived in groups on the weekend.

Some came together by public transit and others were dropped off by their parents. Ken welcomed their guests in with Fuyumi since Natsuo had exams and Enji was working overtime due to all the unrest.

Touya was out to get a few final things for the party. It was the first time Ken had so many guests over. His other children occasionally had a friend or two over when they were younger but due to Enji’s work, they didn’t want too many people around their residence. Also, the kids knew that Ken had issues in crowds. It wasn’t as bad now but back then, he was still trying to adjust to living with the ghoul side of him. Being around large groups of people only stimulated his hunger and overwhelmed his heightened senses.

Ken had opened the sliding doors of the dining room to allow better access into the yard. Shouto helped him set up a barbeque area outside while Ken placed desserts and plates of fruit on another table. The kids didn’t come empty handed either. Some brought soft drinks and juice while others had handmade pies or other dishes.

Lots of snacks too.

Ken opened a bag. It had a red packaging and a bear on it. If Ken remembered correctly, Natsuo used to love these chocolates when he was young. It tasted like fermented yolk to Ken but at least it looked cute. He emptied the chocolates into a bowl and smiled at the girl who bought it. Uraraka, Ken believed was her name.

They were all nice children and unique in their own ways. Some were a little more extroverted and others reserved. One boy in particular had a very colorful vocabulary but he was restraining himself decently. None of them appeared scared to talk to him and it was good to see Shouto having fun with his friends. The teen was relaxed and comfortable around this group, which Ken couldn’t be happier to see.

Shouto had always been a little slow to warm up to people. He never had many friends growing up and with Enji’s training, there was little time for him to play like a normal child should.

Ken felt teary seeing his youngest all grown up and having fun with friends. The children were spread out in the yard and in the dining room. Some of them occupied the engawa, passing each other refreshments and laughing.

“Mr. Todoroki,” Midoriya said as he approached Ken. He was a shy boy from what Ken could tell. However, Midoriya was a much more outspoken kid than Ken was at that age. He might not enjoy confrontations but he would stand up for those weaker. “You were really cool in the forest. Can you please tell us how you became this strong?”

The other kids also gathered around them. Most of them hadn’t seen Ken in action and all they knew was that Ken fought off the villains. Ken was glad Midoriya didn’t catch a good look of his face during the fight. It couldn’t have been a pretty sight and a ghoul’s eye was too recognizable. Maybe that was why the children weren’t afraid of him.

Ken listened to Midoriya’s rambling about his and Shouto’s quirks. The green haired teen sure could talk. He was ranting and his thoughts jumped from the villain’s powers to Ken’s fighting techniques and while a lot of it was speculation, there were a few points that he brought up that Ken was surprised at how thoughtful it was. It seemed that after the shock and adrenaline of getting attacked faded, the kid was more interested in learning than focusing on fearing Ken.

“Special training?”

“You’re secretly a ninja with a double life?”

“Were you in a hero course before?”

The suggestions of plausible explanations the kids were providing were getting ridiculous and funny.

“Enji spars with me,” Ken said before the debate could become heated. There wasn’t any huge suspicion on him right now. He could steer the conversation in his favor and the teens wouldn’t know any better. “He’s not much of a strolls on the beach type and I need to know a few basics to protect myself. Being a hero attracts lots of attention, both good and bad, and sometimes, that affects those around them physically. Enji wanted me to be safe and I didn’t want to drag him down so that became a part of our routine.”

It was a bit early to discuss this topic with first year hero students. Their parents were probably still proud of their achievement and all of them so focused on a new environment or getting stronger. However, it was a solid reason for why Ken knew what he knew. He spoke slowly, reminiscing about his time with his husband. Enji wished to get stronger. At the time, Ken had the strength of a ghoul but lacked understanding of fighting so their training sessions were helpful to both of them. While Ken didn’t enjoy fighting, it did help him get more comfortable in his changed body. Of course, the kids didn’t need to know that so he switched up his wording a little, spinning some tale about how exercise benefited his health.

“That’s kind of cute!” The girl with pink hair, Mina, squealed.

“Getting better together, that’s adorable.”

“It’s not very romantic but I guess Endeavor is a practical guy.”

“Doesn’t it ever get boring?” The big guy, Sato, asked. “My mom always complains when my dad brings his work home. It’s hard to have a conversation with him if all he talks about is work.”

Boring? Ken shook his head. “Enji loves his work and is passionate about it. I like that about him.” Unlike Ken, who enjoyed literature but hadn’t found his direction in life back when he was still just a human in university. After the incident, he hadn’t had a chance to decide what life he should live and all of his instincts left him with one goal: Survive. “He is the most attractive when he’s serious about work.”

There was a mesmerizing fire in him that Ken couldn’t look away from. The determination and steadfast sureness gave him an anchor to latch on. In a sense, he supposed he longed for the same confidence that his husband had naturally. To hold onto a dream for decades and work constantly to achieve and become better…Ken found it amazing.

Also, the hero was the most alluring when he was in action. Ken’s mind drifted back to their training sessions. He could hear the ragged breaths against his earlobe and feel the thumping of a beating heart, its rhythm as the main chorus echoing in the room. The glistening shine of sweat under the light, shimmering and dripping. It carried a sweet saltiness to it, just like the pickled honey lemons that human Ken used to eat after being forced to participate in sports festivals or marathons at school. A shift in weight and the well-exercised muscles would slip from his grasp. Red hair swept with the wind while thin lips curled into a rare smile. Normally, Ken wouldn’t let his kagune out and if he did, he was always careful to not slit open his love’s tendons despite the primal part of him wanting a taste. One little slash and the delicious red would drain out onto the wooden floor.

That would be a horrible waste.

Ken was satisfied with the red in his life being the fire from his love instead of the hell his kind decided to indulge in. He would replace the memories of crimson blood with the pink hue of swollen lips inviting him close.

He smiled at the kids who were chatting away around him. The thing with children was that they were easily distracted. They didn’t immediately jump to suspicions either, wanting to believe that their friend’s dad was an opened book. And Ken was, he would never hurt these teenagers. They were goofy and a little inexperienced but they were all good kids.

They have a future that was never possible for Ken (ghoul or not), lives far different from his own and that was how things should be.

Ken did notice Midoriya looking as if he wanted to ask more but a spin of conversation because of his friends or Ken busying himself with entertaining the other students. Refreshments. Cookies. It was not a horrible party.

When all was over, the teens started leaving. They had huge smiles on their faces as they thanked Ken again while waving goodbye.

“Dad, it’s getting late,” Shouto said as he picked up all the plates. “Why don’t you go rest and I’ll clean up?”

Ken didn’t object. He slipped into the hall, breathing in the cold air of a refreshing night. His pace quickened when he noticed a small creak of wood around the corner, towards the master bedroom.

“Enji,” he called softly when he saw the hero stripping out of uniform. “Why didn’t you come in through the front door?”

“It’s crowded.” Enji yawned as Ken hurried over to collect his coat. “You were all having fun. I don’t think I need to be present.”

Or that work had exhausted him and he didn’t want to bother with small talk. Enji had never been good at dealing with children either. He would just stand there awkwardly until everybody left.

The children.

The children who befriended and accepted Ken’s son.

Ken touched Enji’s face. His fingers moved along the sharp edge of the man’s jaw and down the side of his bare neck to feel the pulse beneath. “You haven’t found the rest of the villains?”

“No. The police are working on that.”

“It looks like they’ve gone into hiding for now but other crooks felt inspired by them are causing trouble everywhere.”

That was no good. Civil unrest meant Enji wouldn’t be home. He would be tired and in danger. Working. Always working. Exhausting himself because there were more criminals to catch. He wouldn’t be able to come home to Ken and their kids. He wouldn’t be able to eat Ken’s cooking or sleep in the same bed.

Ken believed that the police were doing their best. The heroes must be canvasing their own neighborhoods trying to find the League too. But they weren’t enough. They were bound by laws and rules and morals and too many other considerations. They didn’t know or couldn’t venture into darker methods either, not without risking it all on the line. But people–villains–didn’t go into hiding. Not the type who attacked UA constantly, who loved to put on grandiose shows. Those in the dark were biding their time until the next act. The heroes would react then, fighting evil until justice was won.

But why must they wait?

One of Ken’s kagune slipped out from beneath his shirt, slithering over to caress down his husband’s spine in soothing motions. Enji had beautiful bones. Ken could feel it under his touch. Every time the hero came home hurt, it pained Ken to see the scars and the bruises. How could those maggots marred his perfection? If they couldn't sympathize with others, they were lower than ghouls or dogs.

The heat of the human’s body burned a plan into Ken’s mind. They don’t have to wait. The kids don’t have to fight. His love would come home. Evil would vanish. And Ken? Ken will be happy and have a full stomach.

Smiling, he said, “Go take a shower and rest well now. I'll be gone a few nights later this week.”

"I thought you just fed."

"It's not enough since I fought in the forest." A lie.

"And you were alright with hosting a party for Shouto's class?"

"...I didn't want to let him down."

Enji sighed but he pointed to his arm and neck. "Take a bit from me then. You can't go rogue on the streets."

Ken didn't need to feed but he pressed his lips to the side of Enji's neck. He didn't bite down though, only placed a kiss against where he knew the arteries were. A sweet calling. The scent. The taste. A soft whimper from the hero made of fire and steel. How delicious it all would be. His imagination exploded the flavours on his tongue. The villains would never understand how precious the liquid of life was, how Ken held every drop of his love dear as the faithful revered their gods. All the criminals' destruction was a blasphemy towards life.

He pushed himself away to meet Enji's eyes. "I'm fine. Really."

Ken couldn't bear the thought of hurting his husband. He didn't need Enji's blood, not when he would soon drink the darkness's vitality by the liters soon.

That Ken could promise.

Chapter Text

Magne was the first to disappear.

The first one that mattered to Shigaraki anyway. After the failed kidnapping of UA students, the villains had been lying low, keeping themselves out of the spotlight while the heroes were up in a frenzy. Shigaraki wasn’t particularly happy about the outcome. He thought he had a better plan this time. His team was stronger, more skilled and experienced than the last batch that they randomly recruited off the streets. They scouted the area, had a diversion, picked the correct time when UA’s guard was the lowest and the pro’s firepower scattered…it should have worked. Even if they didn’t manage to kill one or two kids, they should have at least gotten the goal–kidnapping Bakugou.

But Endeavor’s husband put his plans into a throttle off a cliff.

The civilian wasn’t so much of a civilian. Shigaraki knew Todoroki Ken was going to be at camp. Sensei was a careful man and his connections spreaded far, a web that reached deep into both sides of the law and touched plenty of those who were caught in between. The best in the business. The pawn in the right spots.

Shigaraki did what he was supposed to. He had a plan.

The reports said Todoroki Ken was a regular househusband, never worked a day in a corporate office or hung out with people much other than at PTA and volunteers. He frequented libraries and cafes, a man whose life was centered around childcare and homemaking, the kind who was more concerned about which grocery store was having a sale or what cartoon character should go on tomorrow’s bento.

This person shouldn’t have been a threat.

There were records of prescribed sedatives and other neurotic agents to Todoroki Ken. The man had issues in his head that required professional treatment. From the files they obtained, it was a mix of depression and some sort of PTSD due to past villain encounter (which, kind of made sense since this man had to be a little fucked up to be madly in love with Endeavor) but it was mostly manageable. The information didn’t seem out of the blue back then. Common mental issues paired with a frail psyche. A regular man with regular hobbies and quite family oriented. Normal.

This motherfucker was a hidden boss masquerading as a Level 1 villager NPC.

He had a quirk that manifested completely differently from what was in the registry. Tentacles his ass. Growing extra appendages out of his back was too tame of an explanation to what he could actually do. Shigaraki had expected a similar quirk like the octopus hero kid or some other form of extra limb growth. Not weapons that could mangle Muscular like he was a toy made of clay.

Shigaraki’s plan failed but that didn’t stop the talks. The words that had been making rounds since the previous incidents the League of Villains stirred up have now amplified. The heroes could do everything in their power to ensure the public that they were safe. More speeches. More patrols. More pep talks. But none of it mattered to those who were willing to take action.

A small step of evil but the darkness gathered nonetheless.

Most of the idiots were untrained and unskilled. The kind that didn’t plan or think or decided to hit places just for quick cash. They were certainly different from Stain but Shigaraki hated them all just the same. His team needed numbers and power, not garbage who would tilt and kneel in front of the heroes as soon as things went south. However, these people would keep the heroes running around long enough for Shigaraki’s crew to scout out actual good recruits. Out of so many hoping to find freedom, at least a few should be useful.

At least, that was what Shigaraki hoped.

People went missing. Not the type of people that family and friends would put in missing person reports for. Not the down on their luck or rebellious teenage runaways who were looking for government support or had a home–no matter how makeshift–to return to. It was people who were looking to join the League of Villains. Lowlives looking for their chances and thought they had found it. The ones willing to prove themselves worthy with real blood.

At first, it was just Giran’s contacts not responding to Shigaraki’s invites. But those were veteran villains, seasoned with their own criminal ways who might not be interested in Shigaraki’s plans or they had other avenues of revenue they wished to pursue. Then the possible candidates the other members found started ghosting them. They had chalked it up to those people not actually being able to put money where their mouths are. It was common after all. People could say a slew of nasty things and grumble about society but too wimpy to actually do anything about it.

“They were eaten.” Kurogiri placed the polished wine glass down while Shigaraki looked at a picture. There wasn’t much on it. Just a pool of blood in a dark alley. It can even be any dark alley. Concrete and dirty, a bit of litter and way too dark to make anything out.

“Who is this…Centipede?”

The wanted poster had no picture, just an old date and a description.

“An urban legend, or so many thought.”

“I doubt a giant insect monster is hiding in sewers and snacking on villains.” It sounded like the Bogeyman, but for criminals. “And we think this thing is the one eating all our potential recruits?”

“Not just ours. He’s going after plenty of other criminal organizations too, getting bolder as the cops would say. The police are finding more pieces of people…almost like he’s leaving a message.”

Now the question was to who and for what?

Maybe this Centipede was like Toga, his love for blood had festered to the point where he couldn’t control himself any longer. Or maybe he was more of Moonfish, the kind who admired the gore and had a grotesque taste. His collection had grown and he needed more. Like how Shigaraki needed more destruction or how Muscular chased the thrill of battles.

Maybe this was exactly the type of strength Shigaraki needed on his team.

But he was also sensing an underlying layer of hostility from this supposed monster. Centipede can enjoy killing and dining but nobody ever killed so precisely if they were just looking for food. People connected to the League were vanishing at an alarming rate.

And now Magne wasn’t responding to any of their calls.

If this Centipede was responsible, Shigaraki needed to do something about it. People should fear the dark for one reason only–him.

“Kurogiri,” he said, “I want to know everything we have on Centipede.”

Chapter Text

1

When all is quiet and dark, the monsters roam about.

There was a version of that warning in all corners of the world. Whether in a parent’s stern words, in a peer’s rhyme, or in old legends and myths, the whispers were passed down through time in some shape or form. People feared the dark, seeing invisible enemies that existed long ago amongst the shadows, the premonitions carved into their bones.

Even the neon lights of civilization couldn’t ward the horrors away. Children wailed about monsters in their closets, mothers told of bogeymen who snatched badly behaved kids, and the news constantly talked of villains with a heart for evil. The stories changed from time to time but there was always a bad guy–or a figure to be feared–in every tale.

Recently, for the criminals, this tale centered around the Centipede.

It wasn’t uncommon for people to nickname themselves something else in the streets. An animal or an insect, it didn’t really make a difference other than illicit different sorts of jeers or respect. The Centipede, however, was a ghost that even hardened criminals felt the urge to retch at even just at the thought of him.

Him. At least, people thought it was a him.

No one who saw the Centipede was left alive. He was the real monster walking amongst them all. Regular crimes involved wealth or revenge or perhaps both in a chase of power and notoriety. Some fulfilled sick desires while others wanted to get back what was lost.

Centipede’s only goal was to feed.

Muscles and tendons, blood and all, chewed and swallowed and suckled clean. The cannibal was hungry and he would feed, preying upon those who also walked the night as he did. But he was supposed to be an urban legend, just a myth to scare the cowardly ones or a deterrent for runaways to keep their hands out of crime.

There shouldn’t be a pool of blood in the abandoned mall right now.

A man hid behind the dusty counter, where his knees scraped through spiderwebs and fingers pressed over thick layers of dust and peeling paint as he attempted to remain hidden. The underside of the counter was low, pushing down on the top of his head where his heartbeat seemed to be knocking on the wood through his skull.

About four feet from his hiding spot, stood two men. It was too dark to see them clearly, yet the crunch of bones and the squishy noise of flesh being ripped apart resonated within the boundaries of the walls. The mall’s lobby was large and spacious, even more so when there was unfinished construction where holes led up to higher floors.

Yet, the whole place felt smaller than a child’s locker. Cramped, closing in, the teeths chewing on bones seemed to be right gnawing right next to his ears. One man tiptoed over the floor, the front of his white sneakers died red as his feet dragged unnaturally over the ground. Shadows whipped across the walls. Half a dozen? A dozen? Long and contracting, the strange organs speared through their prey and kept digging, hooking out the soft insides and slicing through cartilages to get to the good stuff deep within.

Names weren’t important in their profession. He could be Daisuke tonight and Michael in the morning. Steal another passport or find a different ID, then he was thirty or forty-five depending on convenience. The same could be said for the one in hiding, desperate to swallow his own vomit and nosies of distress back down. The acidic and foul taste rumbled against the back of his throat while the scent of blood thickened in the air.

The monster was feeding.

More blood stained the ground, each drip and drop like burning iron stabbing into the hiding villain’s legs. Finally, the monster seemed satisfied as one long red tentacle wrapped around the remainder of his meal, dragging the leftovers towards the other side of the mall, retreating deep into the shadows of the night.

The living let out a breath and turned to run.

Tears and snot ran down his face. The man felt ice against his back but that was just his sweat clinging to his skin as his spine trembled. His legs were weak and his knees wobbly but he ran as quietly as he could. There was a heavy pounding inside his chest and his lungs protested violently. Villains. Crimes. Money. None of it mattered. He wanted to live. He just wanted to live. A hero. Yes, any hero would do right now. Just take him away from this hellhole.

He’d exchange anything to be on the other side of the globe right now, anything to be as far away from that monster as possible.

The door was within sight. Creaking metal and a busted lock (his handiwork, gods, why did he chose to come out tonight?), the flimsy door was loosely connected to the doorframe by a rusty bolt. Beyond it, the lights of the night life were buzzling. Cars and people and parties, the bars and everything else was open–oblivious to the monster in the dark.

Just a little more.

His arm stretched out, intending to push open the door fully but something caught his ankle. Soft but firm, almost flesh-like and agile enough to tangle around his foot. A gasp–or a half-formed scream–threatened to spill from his lips just as another large shadow wrapped over the man’s mouth. The tentacles locked around his body, strangling him like a snake would suffocate its prey. Still slick and wet from the previous prey, the damp stickiness of blood coating the tentacles slowly seeped through his jacket and jeans.

A hand touched his neck from behind. Pale and inhuman, the nails on those fingers scratched over the man’s bottom lip while his mouth was stuffed shut to silence him completely. A sharp pain exploded over his jaw where the nails touched. The taste of iron bloomed then, where red liquid gushed down the pale hand as a sigh came from the shadows.

The man felt water running down between his legs. A distinctive smell mixed into the scent of blood as he soiled his pants.

He was being pulled back down, watching through bleary eyes as the noise and lights of regular life grew in distance. Further and further away, his consciousness began to sink into the shadows as the hand pressed against his neck fully. It constricted, wrapping tighter and tighter to drain his oxygen supply.

And everything went out with a crack.

2

The air was damp with the scent of freshly cut wet grass.

Fuyumi stepped over the puddle forming between gray cobblestones. The bamboo pipe near the pond in their front yard bent down under the weight of running water, tapping against the edge of the pond where ripples brushed against the edge of purple pickerelweed. They used to have fishes but Dad stopped keeping them when it became evident that the neighborhood cats designated it as a buffet. A small stream of water flowed down the stone fence that encircled the Todoroki household, dripping into the dirt beneath.

From afar, thunder flashed and the air boomed, foretelling a downpour.

Water ran down her umbrella as her pace quickened, bringing herself home before her shoulders were fully soaked.

“I’m back!” Fuyumi called as she stored the closed umbrella away for drying and changed her shoes for slippers. It was warm and dry indoors, with the pale beige light welcoming her home along with the scent of freshly brewed coffee.

“Fuyumi,” Dad’s voice came before the man appeared around the corner. Wiping his hands on the blue apron he had on, Ken smiled at the young woman. “You’re home early.”

“The weather turned bad too quickly.” She was going out with her friends and only had a light sun umbrella, not the sturdier ones that could withstand the winds. “You know that mall that never got fully built? Apparently there was a body there so the traffic is horrible.”

“That’s terrible,” Ken gasped lightly while the two of them went towards the kitchen. Fuyumi poured herself a cup of coffee while Ken went to finish washing up some dishes.

“It really has been scary lately. Father and Touya are dealing with all the extra patrols. I hope they are keeping dry out there.”

“Enji said they will be home in a bit,” said Ken as one of his tentacles slipped out, opening cabinets and the refrigerator to pull out what they needed for dinner. “Let’s make them some hot onion soup to chase the cold away. Touya said he’s craving something more western so let’s make pasta to go with it.”

“Sure, I’ll get changed and come help.”

Fuyumi slipped into her room, changing into more comfortable clothing and tying her hair up. When she came back to the kitchen, the news on the small monitor in the kitchen was on. Sure enough, the media was on the scene of the mall, covering the fresh murder.

“There certainly is a lot of unrest with the villains lately,” Fuyumi sighed. Some were bold enough to attack Shouto school! It had scared her when she learned that Dad and Shouto were attacked at camp. Thankfully, no one beside the criminals was hurt critically in that incident.

Father and Touya had warned the rest of the family that things might be hectic lately. The League of Villains wanted to make a name for themselves and they were stirring up trouble. For a band of such young criminals to be so brazen about their crimes, it was bound to motivate others to follow. The criminals were fighting for territory or infamy, all trying to best each other and cause trouble for society. The infighting amongst different villains weren’t uncommon as they clashed to prove who was a true villain.

“It’s getting quite dangerous outside but I’m sure everything will calm down in a bit.” Ken stared at the stove as he proceeded with the cooking while Fuyumi washed up a few other ingredients they needed.

“How can you be so calm, Dad?” Fuyumi nudged the white haired man with her elbow, faking an overly dramatic anger. “You were put in danger too! It’s okay to be a little more upset or scared!”

Ken hadn’t shown any signs of fear or even shock after the summer camp incident. His focus had been on Shouto and the other hero children. Even if Fuyumi knew that her parents trained together and that Dad could wipe the floor with Touya in a fight, it was still very different from learning that her dad fought actual villains.

Not to mention, the calmer Ken appeared, the more she worried about his mental state. Todoroki Ken had issues from before his marriage. Neither Ken or Enji dived deep into that topic but from their reactions, it appeared to be something deeply traumatic that prevented Ken from even finishing school at the normal age that average people did. Fuyumi was worried that being attacked might rekindle some of that problem and Ken was just too nice, trying to hide it from them all.

He always did, hiding his emotions behind a soft smile and telling the kids that everything was alright when he really wasn’t.

Ken laughed. “I’m fine, really.”

“At least don’t run towards villains next time!” protested Fuyumi. “You almost gave Shouto a heart attack!”

But Ken only shook his head as he patted Fuyumi on the shoulder gently. His eyes were always calm and his voice placid, but even without the extroverted passion behind his tone or grandiose displays of affection, Fuyumi knew her dad loved them all dearly.

“You’re my children. Hero or not, five or fifty-five, I will always protect you and your brothers.” The white haired man glanced at the TV, where a body bag was being carried out from the mall. “You’re right though that I do hope all this circus calms down soon but that’s your father and brother’s work. Now, let’s make sure the pasta sauce doesn’t burn in the pan.”

3

There were enough disappearances and bodies that Ken was sure Centipede had the League’s attention.

Children always had something to prove. Overgrown and twisted, there was no difference between a man who wanted to win at all means than a child throwing a tantrum. Ken heard directly from his prey’s last words, whispers and groans about how the League was looking for him. The more Shigaraki searched and as more people disappeared, the others would know that joining the League came at a risk.

It was perhaps a small thing but just as Stain could inspire people to join the League’s cause, Centipede would deter those unloyal away.

Ken was unsure if he wanted to eat Shigaraki first though. If he took out the leader, would the League disband directly? Maybe that would be easier than finishing off each member one by one. He really didn’t want to eat Twice. The man’s cloning ability would be an issue…so Ken would need a different way of killing the villain.

“Are you sick?” A hand landed on Ken’s forehead, the warm skin jolting Ken out of his thoughts. Enji stood in front of him, back slightly bent as he studied Ken. The hero stood in a simple sleeveless shirt and shorts, looking at Ken with an arched brow. “You’ve been spacing out and your cheeks look flushed.”

“It’s just the summer heat. I’m sorry, what were we talking about?” Ken shook his head, mustering a smile and burying all the horrible thoughts deep into the mental room with the checkered tiles. The villains can stay with the voice of the woman haunting him for now. His love was in front of him so everything else could wait.

“Natsuo wants to bring his girlfriend over.”

Ken’s grin stretched larger. “Finally! I’m sure she’s a very nice girl and I can’t wait to meet her!”

Enji hummed, seeming distracted as he stared at Ken.

“Is something wrong?” Ken asked when Enji’s hands went for his face, pinching his cheeks and brushing over the edge of his eyebrows with his thumbs.

“You're glowing lately.”

It wasn’t an intent to flirt, more of an observation but it was the closest thing that Enji had towards a compliment. Ken chuckled, covering his husband’s hands with his. “Can I take that as an invitation?”

A tentacle slipped out from under his shirt, crawling over the floor and wrapping around Enji’s ankle. Ken didn’t apply any force as he would during a hunt or in battle. The tentacle hung loose, nuzzling and rubbing softly over the patch of skin stretched over bone.

Enji hauled him up from the ground, lifted him over his shoulder and marched towards their room. Grabbing the back of his husband’s shirt, Ken’s other tentacle slithered out, coiling around Enji’s arm and closing the bedroom door behind them.

Hot lips pressed together and clothing became discarded. Just before they entered the main course, Enji lowered himself down, his lips brushing against Ken’s ear.

“Don’t do anything dangerous,” he warned.

In response, Ken hugged him tight, letting himself be wrapped in a heated tightness where even the old ghost’s voice couldn’t reach his ears any longer. He saw red, bright as flames and more beautiful than any of the liquid that ever spilled from the vile things’ hearts. They could tear open their chests but none of them ever had the same purity. Those satisfied his stomach only, never his hunger. But here, in the dimly lit room with a single flame, Ken was finally full.

“Don’t worry, I’ve been very good.”

He just went to eat out for a few nights. God forbid a man had an appetite.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Dad!” Touya slurred loudly from the sofa in Endeavor’s office. He was sprawled all over the sofa; long legs dangling over one end and his head rested at a weird angle over the other. Many of the agency’s sidekicks had commented on how it couldn’t be a comfortable position before but Touya never had a problem with it. “Dad! Dad! Daaaaaaaad! Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!”

The young hero’s eyes were focused on the switch in his hands but his voice grew louder. A few cheerful noises erupted as he cleared another stage in the game. Pieces of his hero gear were scattered over the coffee table that was littered with opened snacks and half finished energy drinks. He had an Endeavor plushie over his chest, where the doll’s head was being used as a cushion for the switch.

Although Touya was the eldest of the Todoroki siblings, once the cameras and fans were gone, he was worse than the average teenage boy.

Especially so when he was up to no good or bored.

“Yes, Touya?” Enji sighed.

“So what’s the deal with Daddy?”

“Can you please talk normally? Whatever you’re up to, no. Absolutely not. I don’t care if it’s legal or if you already have a scapegoat on hand. No is no. You are not dragging me or Ken into one of your pranks. The PR and legal department would like you to stop making them do overtime too.”

“I haven’t said anything yet!” Touya whined as he sat up on the sofa. He met his father’s eyes, trying to stare down the older hero as if it was a contest. “I am in my twenties. Fuyumi has a stable job. Natsuo is in university and Shouto can fight bad guys now tool. Don’t you think it’s time for you two to come clean about a few things?”

“Like what? You have the highest access to the agency and we told you where all of the important documents or stamps are at home. You have power of attorney if anything happens to us. The insurance is in you and your siblings’ names–”

“No, no, it’s not that!” Jumping up, Touya stomped over and slammed his hands on the surface of Enji’s desk. The wood trembled a bit under the impact but remained sturdy. “I’m talking about Dad. Seriously, you can’t expect me to keep buying that he’s just a househusband. He must have been somebody before he married you. We never visited Grandma’s grave. He’s never told us where he went to elementary school or junior high. He mentioned he had a best friend but we have never even seen a picture of that man. All of his social connections happened after you two got married.”

Touya ran a hand through his hair and then his fingers slid down the silver piercing along his earlobes down to the one on his lip. “You were freaking out when I got these but he said it reminded him of an old acquaintance. Seriously, where did Dad even get the chance to meet someone like that? His friends are neighborhood moms and bookstore employees.”

“He used to work in a cafe.”

“And what cafe requires their staff to be deadly in martial arts?” Touya had never bought the lie. He found new respect and fear for Ken after finding out just how well the man could fight. Being Endeavor’s spouse, he wasn’t just well versed with housework or had his nose into piles of books all the time. But as Touya grew and trained with the best of heroes, he started noticing things that just didn’t make sense.

Todoroki Ken fought well. Too well, in fact.

Touya had friends and colleagues with deadly quirks. He had met creative criminals and engaged in battle with heinous villains. Firearms, cold weapons, quirks of all sorts, and analysis of tactics. Throughout the years, he came to the conclusion that for a civilian, Todoroki Ken kept in too great of a shape and the way he fought was abnormal.

There was only so much the standard self-defense classes or martial arts clubs would teach. Even tournament or professional fighting ring style competitions had their limits. However, his dad didn’t have the systematic form that told of military or heroic training either.

No. Todoroki Ken fought raw, with all the ferociousness of a predator and the cold touch of death.

“Having a quirk that happens to be very very good for killing people is not the same as knowing how to kill people.” It still sent a shiver down Touya’s spine whenever he remembered the feeling of his dad’s tentacles hitting him in battle. It was as if being slammed by steel beams or whipped by metal. Those organs were too heavy and dense compared to how floppy they appeared on the outside. But they were only sparring so Ken never aimed at any fatal portion of the human body. Seasoned as Touya was in professional heroics now, he still felt queasy whenever he thought about the possibility of fighting a serious Ken who decided to remove the safety measures in a real battle.

Touya wouldn’t say he was surprised to hear his dad fought off a group of heinous villains. In fact, he pitied whatever horrors the criminals had to endure.

“Ken likes to read a lot of different topics.”

“And he became a top tier fighter just by reading?”

The look on Enji’s face softened slightly. “He’s a prodigy. You took after him.”

Touya’s ears were tinted pink. All his life, he thrived under attention and adoration, especially when it was from the very hero he admired. Whether as Endeavor or Todoroki Enji, as a father or as a hero, the man in front of Touya was the start to everything. The beginning of Touya’s dreams, all of his passions and aspirations.

He wanted to be a hero just like his father, surpass him even.

No longer a child, he was well on his way to accomplish his dreams. His fire burned hotter than Endeavor’s and he was popular with the public. Young and ambitious, he was friendlier with the civilians than Endeavor and Touya kept up with all the online trends. It made him relatable, according to the PR team. Social media and commercials and everything in between, he was the face of Endeavor’s agency now, even though his father was still the one appearing for more serious interviews.

Touya wouldn’t lie. He loved receiving recognition, especially from those who he loved dearly. Still, the one downside of working in a family business was that the “adults” tended to still treat him like a child occasionally.

Or selectively, as he had noticed his parents doing.

“Wait! There’s no way that I’m letting you distract me again!” Between getting stronger, advancing in his career and sorting out life in general, he finally had a moment to take a deeper look at the inconsistencies of his parents’ history. It wasn’t that he felt there was any riff between his parents (in fact, they were too in love sometimes, yuck). However, there had always been something unsettling about Dad and Touya was determined to figure it out.

Maybe if he finally understood who or what hurt Ken, the older man would feel comfortable trusting him fully. Touya was the eldest child, even though he hadn’t explicitly said anything, he still felt that his parents were shouldering too much on their own. Troubles and responsibilities, Touya thought that his father was too uptight (Endeavor could really use a vacation) and his dad needed to find something else to occupy his time with. While Touya and Fuyumi still lived at home, they were all grown up. Shouto was a teenager and in school for most of the year too. Having been a househusband for so long, the absence of stability and routine might upset Ken, even if the man didn’t show it much.

Touya wasn’t a pro hero just because he could burn bad guys. He also wasn’t an ungrateful son (if he could, he’d beat his kiddie self up before he trashed talked grandma in front of Dad). They had always known Ken had psychological issues and that routine helped. With the League of Villains stuff that got Endeavor busy at work and all the kids out of the mansion, Touya wouldn’t be surprised if his dad relapses into bad episodes.

He just wanted to know his dad better.

“You two seemed so happy when none of us inherited his full quirk,” accused Touya. Quirk genetics had always been confusingly complex. It was a science that not even the top scientists could wrap their heads around fully. Sometimes quirks from both parents mixed. Sometimes they skipped a generation. Sometimes it manifested completely differently than what the patterns predicted. It wasn’t strange for the kids to inherit partial aspects of a quirk either. “Dad doesn’t really like using it either.”

Touya had learned to live with what he received. He had Endeavor’s fire and his body was stronger than normal people’s thanks to Ken’s side. Although–like Natsuo–he would get a craving for raw red meat if he got hurt, his body always healed faster than average too. It was a decent combination. Maybe not as much as Fuyumi or Shouto who got different levels of an ice mutation (Shouto also kept the fire, lucky youngest baby of the family) but it worked out well for Touya so far.

Still, that didn’t change the fact that Ken’s full quirk was morbidly predatorial or how he seemed hesitant to use it. Not even for most house chores unless he was being overwhelmed with stuff.

“His quirk is bad for his mental health. I told him to not use it.”

“And now you’re keeping the blame on yourself. You know, this is why Shouto thinks you’re a dick sometimes.” Touya made a face.

The red haired hero’s lips quivered, a sign that Touya was getting under his nerves or worming his way under the man’s skin. Either way, Touya pressed on. Like one of his teachers once said, he was a demanding and relentless one, stubborn as a bull too! He nagged and hackled and was being a downright annoying little piss for another good five minutes before Enji finally gave in.

“Look,” the man said firmly as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Ken’s…abilities brought him unwanted attention before. He was kidnapped because of it and it was a hell I wouldn’t wish on the worst of villains.”

Enji locked his gaze with Touya’s. In a solemn voice, he began to explain what happened to his partner years back.

“He regenerates so the villain pulled out his nails and broke his bones. Ken was…is different in their eyes so they wanted to test how he screams.”

With every word out of his mouth, Touya could feel the air in the room thinning. Chains and whips, a room of checker tiled floor, and the madman who sought joy in breaking people apart. Touya had heard and seen nasty crimes before. Everything from burnt to electrocuted or dead bits bloated and floating in waters.

But none of them had been his dad.

Dad was the one who tucked Touya into bed at nights when the latter was young. They hung out in the kitchen making family favorites and trying viral recipes. Dad took him to after-school classes and was always the first to greet Touya when he finished training. The man stayed up late trying to help Touya finish science projects before a deadline and packed his bags before exams.

“They put live bugs into his ears–”

“That’s enough!” shouted Touya. His brain refused to hear any more torture. The story from Enji’s lips turned into knives of air, slicing into Touya’s ears. All this time, he never knew…

It was a miracle for anyone to survive that. An even bigger mystery was how somebody could live through it and still find the strength to smile, let alone care for four children and run a household.

“Yes, if it was anyone else, they would have died a long time ago. Ken’s quirk pains him even when not activated…we didn’t want to tell you kids because he didn’t want you to hate a part of yourself. The part of him that he gave you.”

Touya hadn’t realized he said that out loud. His father stared at him, eyes dark and lips pulled into a tight line.

“There’s no way we’d ever hate him…he’s dad.” Touya managed to squeeze a few words out of his throat that felt like it was clamping up, rusty as an old hose that couldn’t be unscrewed.

“Maybe. But Ken always thinks of the worst in situations related to himself. That head of his takes him down a spiral of worries. He’s trying, Touya. He’s not keeping secrets because he doesn’t trust you or your siblings. He’s just too used to hiding his thoughts and carrying on alone.”

It was slightly uncomfortable to hear Endeavor explaining anything related to feelings, especially when they were technically still on the clock. But that only added to the gravity of the situation. Father was never a patient or emotional man. Yet, when he spoke, his voice was soft and there was a tremble in his tone that almost resembles fear.

Touya stared at Enji. His father had gotten older, something that Touya joked about often but it was also a fact. Time marked its lines into the man’s face, drawing over the edges of his eyes and down the side of his mouth. Perhaps in a few years, the hero Endeavor will grow thinner and his fire would no longer burn as bright or long. These were details hidden behind a mask of flames when on camera. Funny how that worked because Touya suddenly didn't remember when was the last time he got a good look at his other dad’s face either. So many details of aging that he just glossed over, growing blind to the changes because he always thought time was endless. No adventures too impossible and no problems he couldn’t solve if he just tried. Maybe Dad was just too scared to leave his comfort zone. Maybe Father was enabling a bad mental space by not pushing for change or being supportive enough. Maybe it was just the wrong therapist or not the right kind of treatment and pills. Or perhaps, they just needed to capture the villains, whoever they might be.

How naive he had been.

“...I’m sorry,” croaked Touya with difficulty. He knew that he’d be reopening some old wounds by pressing into his parents’ history but he hadn’t imagined it would rip open just a deep gush of rotting flesh.

Enji shook his head, getting up to stand in front of Touya and placed a hand on the younger man’s shoulders. “I know you mean well, Touya. But rest assured, you and your brothers and sister being healthy and happy is more than enough, better than any medicine a doctor can prescribe. You are Ken’s whole world.”

Slowly, Touya nodded and he gave Enji a hug before pulling away. Feeling embarrassed and awkward, he headed for the door but before he stepped out, he turned his head back to his father. “What happened to the guys that kidnapped Dad? Did you meet Dad by saving him?”

The flames hero was silent, long enough that Touya thought he wouldn’t answer. Right before Touya was going to brush the conversation away with a quip or a joke, Enji said, “You saw how Ken fought, he saved himself. I just…offered him a place to stay.”

And he stayed for over two decades.

Touya returned to his desk at a lower floor of the agency, skimming over files of cases. Some were new wanted posters and BOLOs. None of it seemed to be related directly to the League of Villains but the surge of these smaller crooks was still a tough subject for the heroes to beat down. Trying to keep the thought of his Dad’s past out of his head, he thought he could flush out the unwanted thoughts with a flood of work.

That was when he overheard two sidekicks talking about a support request from another local precinct.

“The coroner said the bodies at the mall had been fileted.”

“Yep, the guys down there all puked after seeing the crime scene. It was really nasty.”

“They think it’s Centipede again.”

“First the League, Hero Killer, and now this guy…what’s going on with the villain these days?”

“What are you two talking about?” Touya popped his head over the cubicles and swiped the photo from the sidekick closest to him. It was a photo of red, just red. Sprayed and splattered all over like the inside of a butcher’s shop of some third-rate horror movie.

There was no way any victims survived that.

“Centipede?” Touya remembered this one. An urban legend that was starting to feel less like a myth and more of a real monster within the police force. “Do you really think there’s a giant insectoid monster out there targeting villains?”

“Might not be a monster,” the sidekick shrugged. “Could be a deranged cannibal.”

Not that they hadn’t dealt with those kinds before. There were many people who allowed their fascination with myths to grow out of hand. Jack The Ripper. Big Foot. Hanako-san. Slenderman. People brainwashed themselves into believing that they were the supernatural or vilest of infamy all over the world.

“Centipede, huh?” Touya gave the photo back and smiled brightly. “Send me the full file. I’ll go check it out and solve it in no time.”

And after he wrapped up this case, he will go buy some hand-roasted coffee beans for Dad.

Chapter Text

1

Kamishiro Rize had not appeared for a very long time, long enough that Ken could almost convince himself that she was the product of a childhood nightmare. Yes, a nightmare. Nothing more than a lingering mental scar, like an irrational fear of the dark or a clown after a bad experience.

But hunger always dragged Rize’s face to the surface of his mind. It didn’t happen often these days, less and less when Ken kept himself busy with daily chores and ate–reasonable amounts–on a regular schedule. Of course, Rize never gave up so easily, especially in the beginning. Ken remembered when Rize’s fingers glided over the birthday cake that Enji bought him. The gloss of her lips shined a shimmering red against the candle light while shadows lanced over her features. She’d hum lightly as if singing him a birthday song, teetering about how the inevitable would come and pass, how firm a well-trained hero’s meat must taste…and the lyrics of what was supposed to be a happy tune was replaced by morbid intrusive thoughts.

Then she would burn.

The woman’s white dress was set ablaze and her laughter faded into soot as a warmth pressed against Ken’s face. Todoroki Enji held his hand there, the skin of his palm hot enough to pull Ken away from his past but not burning just yet. The heat burrowed itself deeper under Ken’s flesh, a steadfast connection to reality that Ken leaned into. After the children were born, maybe Rize got bored or disgusted by Ken’s growing and happy family that she locked herself deep in the maze of memories. Or perhaps, Ken had grown stronger, learned how to focus on the things and people he adored in life instead of fearing the whirlpool of blood trying to drag him under.

It had been a long time since he saw Rize.

Long, violet hair fell over his face. A beautiful smile greeted him in the white room of his mind. Rize was speaking but Ken could only hear the crackling of embers, the soft noises of his husband’s quirk. Beyond Rize, Ken saw his sons and daughter’s faces, of the kids’ childhoods that Ken did all he could to ensure he participated in. Events that his mother had been too busy to attend when he was young…Ken made sure he was there for all of his children. Field trips, parent and teacher conferences, bake sales, sports festivals, and everything else. He was there with them, making memories to last a lifetime and capturing the moments in film.

“Whenever you show up, something bad is going to happen,” he sighed softly as he brushed Rize’s hair aside in a calm fashion. Perhaps, Ken was just too old now. The years had gone by in the blink of an eye even though Rize remained as fresh as the day they first met. Ken’s body hadn’t given into old age but on some days, he could feel the crank in his joints. Not so much of any pain or discomfort but too quick of a motion tugged a little harder than they used to.

Not even ghouls could remain immortal. Thank god.

Rize backed away. Her smile was ever so sweet. “How cold, Kaneki. I miss the old you. That one was much cuter.”

“I’m married and you’re my daughter’s age now.”

First loves were memorable. At least, it was impossible to forget about Rize completely when she was physically a part of Ken. Every day that passed was the result of her pulse inside him where portions of her blood ran through his veins. However, Ken was over the age where he would mistake a racing heart and sweaty palms as love. Being a parent forced him to step up too, finding conversations with others and dealing with the jostle of words. Besides, he had long come to terms with the fact that Rize wasn’t at all interested in him romantically.

She was looking for prey and he happened to catch her eyes.

Rize didn’t speak. Her smile dimmed but the wet shine of greedy hunger was ever so bright behind her eyes. Maybe it was his binge lately that summoned her forth. Ken didn’t know if she could still taste anything in this state. What was she, anyway? A memory? A product of his own twisted mind? Or maybe she still lived.

Inside him.

Consuming him.

Controlling him.

Ken should stop, leave the villains to the heroes. He already sired the effect he wanted. There were less people running over themselves to join the League and even the lone offenders were hesitant to strike big. Centipede was just a story but also a shadow that loomed over the criminals’ hearts. The cowardly thought twice about tempting fate. The League was on edge too, needing to divert some of their focus away from the hero students that they loved to target.

He had done enough.

It wasn’t vengeance that drove Ken any further. Deep down, he understood that it was impossible to eradicate harms to his family. They would all live a suffocating and anxious life if he ever tried to control every aspect of the day. The more Ken dug into the League, the easier it was to see that some other force was behind its surge. There were many deranged minds out there, countless more if Ken considered those who loathed society into the equation. It wouldn’t take much for someone who felt lost or outcasted to be pushed down the wrong path in life.

But it took resources and a much more calculated mind to cultivate the scattered seeds into a full plot of farm. Shigaraki himself was far too young and brash. He had a strong quirk but lacked the patience and charisma, nothing but a sapling still learning to brace the winds.

Whoever was behind him must be much more of a pain to deal with.

No matter how many years passed, Ken still despised evil. Twenty or fourty, he was still scared of bad people doing bad things even if another decade would roll past in the blink of an eye. The reason behind his fear was the only thing that changed.

Hunting villains was different from eating those who chose suicide. The bodies that hung from branches walked into the forests to be forgotten voluntarily. Kaneki was thankful for the meal, even if they carried a hint of sadness. Something drove them on that woody path, be it hardships or illness or despair. The villains, however, were different. Maybe it was because Ken knew what they were like alive. Criminals who looted, robbed, stole, or plucked whatever they pleased from the world. Every time he ate, he couldn’t help but feel like he was ingesting their sins as well. Flesh and all, melting into his veins until all that pumped through his heart was the pitch dark tar of humanity’s worst.

They were like a Rize. A part of him that must be carried on until his death. Inseparable and a reminder of the monster that was Kaneki Ken.

Ken looked down, staring at his bare feet. The ground was much too cold for his liking. While he enjoyed serene quiet, the silence of his own mind sometimes still scared him. He didn’t like seeing Rize either, the source of pain that turned his life upside down. Some memories didn’t need to be regurgitated, better off wiped clean and forgotten even if they shaped what he was today.

But the woman was stubborn, always hiding somewhere deep inside Ken, waiting for the next opportunity to laugh in his face. Because they weren’t so different, weren’t they? Hunger rendered the best of men into savage beasts.

So Ken ate.

And ate.

And ate.

Until the hunger subsided but the rest of him felt as cold as the flakes of dried blood underneath his nails. It was a dreadful sort of cold, one that enveloped him. Perhaps influenced by his mood or Rize still had too much control but the ground had changed. Blood pooled at his feet, too dark and viscous to reflect any image. Yet, Ken still saw something in the liquid washing over his skin.

There was a man. Tall and broad, rough hands fondling with saws and pliers and tools. Sharp or blunt, metal and rubber wrapped around his fingers. No. No. He left marks, always did. A flog stripped beige skin into a bloom of dark purple and blue, knives splitting wounds open until white bones separated red flesh. His suit was white. Was. At least for a time. Sometimes. Not always. Hours passed or minutes skittered. Could never tell. Dirtied by specks and splashes and splatters of Ken.

Another man emerged from the depth of blood. Purple hair swept over a black envelope of invitation. The sound of knives and forks scraping over plates bubbled to the surface of the liquid at Ken’s feet. Applauses hugged him as he stared at more faces beneath the blood. Eyes closed. Eyes opened. Their mouths twisted into sneers or scowls or smiles. There was a wrangle of wrinkled tissues from where the rope dug into someone’s neck too deep. Couldn’t guarantee fresh food for all now, could they? Coffee could only last a few so long. Ashen and dried but flavorful all the same if the conditions were right.

If they didn’t eat, they would die.

If they didn’t eat, they were weak.

Predator and prey, all must be both.

Eat now, Kaneki. For that is what it is. You are what you are.

Can’t be left behind again. This time it won’t be lonely shadows waiting for you, it would be death. Just death.

“Enji…” croaked Ken, trying to ignore the itch in his back and the trap of his mind. None of this was his reality any more. Wake up. Forget.

“Waiting for a hero again?”

Rize’s touch was light, a small tap on the shoulder weighing no more than a butterfly.

“He is fire.” She cupped his face. Her nose almost touched his and that was when Ken smelled a scent. Just a whiff of machine oil and perfume. He remembered it, although with some difficulty. The villain from the League with long hair smelled like this when she died.

The tastes of criminals blended into a single, indistinguishable salty taste after the first few. As hunger diminished, all that remained was an inevitable high from the bliss of power.

How could he forget though? No matter how easy or difficult the food came to be, every meal should be shown gratitude.

“Little hero burning bright, lighting only himself and leaving all that surrounds him in the dark.”

So when Rize pressed closer, the sweetness of her words dripping over his lips, Ken grabbed her by the neck. There was no shock in her eyes, not even a hint of hesitation to the tilt of her head. Phantoms of the heart had no true emotions, even if the piece of her that remained was all ghoul.

But that was all well and good.

For it confirmed she was just in his head, nothing concrete that could hurt him again.

“Is that such a bad thing?” He set her down, further away from himself as he stared at the black and red of the ghoul’s eyes. A part of Ken looked back at himself through Rize, the woman who was the root of his death and rebirth. “I don’t mind the shadows. I was never one for the spotlights.”

Everyone wanted to be the protagonist when Ken was happy to just provide the applause. Where was the fault in being overshadowed? Why must he claw victory or pride from another’s chest until all eyes would see the blood on his hand as a spilling proof of gold? It had never been in his nature to yell loud and proud or wished to set foot upon the tallest tip of some unconquerable mountains. No, that was simply too much. He preferred being half-veiled behind swaddling shadows, voice drowned under a crowd’s gleeful cheers, and most importantly–skittled along the edge of darkness that couldn’t be breached. It was comforting, in a sense. If there was an invisible boundary between all that was good and all that was vile, should Ken couldn’t pass through then certainly, he was in the best position to make sure no evil could either.

And the flames or light or whatever glowing dreams and love that yearned for the heavens would never be extinguished before they could spark.

Rize was burning now. Her white dress ablaze and the ghoul in her receding until only the girl remained. Was she dressed differently before? Ken wouldn’t remember. The scope of dreams was always a fickle thing. No death was certain here. No lives too happy and no hearts without doubts. Sometimes it left a bitter taste in his mouth and others, he woke startled with not a drop of moisture between his tongue and teeth.

Perhaps it would always be like this but the nights always had an end.

“Coward.”

Rize was calling him.

Coward, for he chose to forget but not all. Cherry-picked memories and reasons as if any of those would hide the hideousness of his nature. It didn’t matter though since Ken knew what he had to do. He was a father and a husband, there were worse monsters to fend off than a ghoul in his head so he allowed himself to sink.

Deep into a fuzzy and star-lit darkness, Ken didn’t dream.

2

“Thanks for helping me clean, Natsuo.”

Ken stared at his second son, grown so large like Enji but had a merciful heart. Unlike Touya, who liked to announce his presence to every room he entered (or hadn't entered), Natsuo was a quieter child. He wasn’t much for chitchat like his sister either, gossiping about work or gushing over TV dramas. Sometimes, Ken wondered if that was what happened to all the children in the middle, sandwiched between the loud elders and the action-oriented baby of the family.

Natsuo sat across from him. Piles and stacks of photos littered between the two men. Ken was clearing out the storage when he found a full box of old pictures and albums. With Enji away at work often, Ken wanted to preserve the moments with the children as much as he could. He took so many photos that he lost count of them all. First steps. First slice of hard food. First snow fights and first of everythings.

“Don’t mention it.” Natsuo looked down at the photos, muttering about needing to burn or hide all the embarrassing ones before Touya knew of their existence. He wasn’t giving his brother any more leverage or blackmail material, not when he had a girlfriend who could be tempted to see his past.

It wasn’t so much that he was ashamed or wrong in the past, more that he didn’t want the girl he liked to see his naked baby butt in a bathtub or him crying after tripping over his own feet in an elementary school race.

Much to Natsuo’s misery though, Ken thought it was endearing.

A lovely girl. He had met her. Normal and nice and smart, someone who could make Natsuo smile. It was too soon to speak of formal conversations but Ken wouldn’t mind having more little ones running around the mansion. Before that though, a wedding. He didn’t think Natsuo would want something extravagant but Ken wished for it to be a proper celebration. Ken’s own wedding to Enji had been a simple affair, not many people in the picture to save the hassle of explaining why no one showed up on Ken’s side. No parents, relatives, or even a body to call a friend. Hushed and quiet, it had been quick with the paperwork done and the large diamond ending up on Ken’s finger.

Ken talked to Natsuo, asking about university and clubs, teasing about the girl and plans for dates. Enji and Touya’s work came up, as all conversations in this world seemed to lead to heroes and villains and their news-worthy tales. It was something Ken hadn’t grown used to even after all this time.

“Touya-Nii is looking into a case. He’s soloing that one and sounded pretty excited when he called me, said he won’t be home for a few days.”

Yes, Ken remembered seeing a text from his eldest. “Did he say which one?”

“Something about a cannibal?” Natsuo scratched his head, yawning while shuffling the pictures into a stack. “Apparently there’s some villain eating other villains. Creepy stuff. Don’t know why anybody wants to eat other people, that’s how you get Kuru’s disease and such.”

He grumbled about the emotional inhumanity and medical dangers. Pathogens entered the human body the easiest through consumption. They follow contaminated food into stomachs, growing and taking root or spreading into blood to be carried elsewhere. Chemicals accumulated in larger predators, viruses and parasites and all the nasty things a corpse could harbor. It was dangerous practice. Besides, it should be difficult for most of the world to even imagine performing such a heinous act. Even the lowest of criminals wouldn’t simply develop a fevered desire for human flesh.

His son was so young, naive to how large and strange the world truly was. There were miracles he had not seen and monsters he had not met. Some secrets though, Ken wished his children would never know.

Was it even cannibalism when a ghoul hunts and eats? They had the same appearance but were different, too different in fact. What could be a fatally slow death to human hunters only nourished the ghouls like hot chocolate on a winter day. The brains were soft, easily slurped down like flavorful puddings. Or, as Ken has tasted before, cooked to a chewy texture and dipped in fresh blood made it a perfect snack.

There was no illness in that meat, no memories to taste or emotions to savor either except for a salty crisp.

“Oh, shit.”

Natsuo shook his hand, dropping a cardboard box. There was a slice on his finger–thin and long over a joint and deep enough to draw blood. The red dripped, staining an edge of a family photo. The cardboard cuts always snagged skin deep, biting into flesh that took too long to heal.

“You should get that wrapped up and go back to studying. I’ll handle the rest of this.” Ken found himself saying as he picked up the mess. His son didn’t protest, apologizing as he left to treat the wound.

When Natuso was fully out of sight, so far that Ken couldn’t hear his boy’s shuffling feet or the clumsy little knocks of drawers opening and closing, Ken swept his finger over the blood-stained photo. The little bit of blood not absorbed by paper slicked to his hand, thin as a drop of dew running along the pattern of his skin.

Gone in a lick.

Different from their father, the children taste of rot. The prickly taste lingered in their blood as if there were briars growing along Ken’s tongue. It was the ghoul in them, even if diluted to the point where no monstrous traits emerged dominant. Still, the difference existed. Sweet nectar flowed beneath his husband’s pulsing skin but poison filled his children’s veins.

“They grow up so fast,” sighed Ken as he placed the family photo back in place. There was him, Enji, and the four children all posing in front of a school. It was Shouto’s first day at elementary school. Short limbs, baby fat, rounded eyes…time has replaced many of that with more suited features. There was a reflection of Enji in the children, in their hair and eyes and curve of shoulders but also a shadow of Ken. “Capable and intelligent, learning so much so soon and aspiring to be like their father.”

It wasn’t hard to deduce how Touya came upon the case or thought himself fit to apprehend a villain who lived in mere whispers. Young and ambitious, always looking to prove to be best or better or that Enji was the past. A new hero was here to take the mantle. A brother elder must protect the younger. Someone had tried to touch his family and that wouldn’t do. It was about honor and family and duty to the people.

Ken was proud of his sons and daughter.

But they were still children. Two or twelve or twenty, all still children and forever would be in Ken’s eyes. He was their father and it was a parent’s duty to protect their child.

Even if the danger was themselves.

Naughty children should learn that curiosity could kill more than a cat.

Chapter Text

1

He was the flames that would bring an end to all ends, so bright that it was blinding.

Endeavor’s home sat in a quiet and upscale neighborhood. Perhaps it wasn’t the kind filled with celebrities behind every iron gate or those that had barrage of artillery as if hiding a vault but it was still a lovely mansion. Traditional in all its senses, from tiled roofs to stone fences and wooden pillars. Its gates were wide, larger and taller than the other houses nearby. When night swept over, a soft light was always waiting for its owners to return. Sturdy but with a silent serenity, it was a home fitting for a hero.

Something the scums of society would never obtain.

Ending didn’t think the sour swelling inside of his chest was envy boiling within. No, even though there was a valley that divided men like him from the likes of Endeavor, he hadn’t felt jealousy towards the No. 2 hero.

This world had no meaning.

Therefore, he couldn’t be jealous of meaningless tokens that society used to decide people’s worth.

What he sought was a simpler matter. He found hope residing in Endeavor’s home. An ember–if sparked–that could grow into an all-devouring inferno. Ending failed once seven years ago, living through his crimes and arrest. In hindsight, he was ill-prepared. Too little planning and too little care went into his acts since he was much too consumed by the flames he was chasing. He wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.

Seven years he had to plan. He would admit there wasn’t much of anything else to do in jail. The wardens boasted about rehabilitation programs. Therapists and many others talked and droned and tested…but none of them understood. This world had no meaning. Life was a crooked bastard who gave out olive branches on whims and cared little for merit or virtues.

The only fairness in this world was that all could decide their own ends.

And Ending has his own ending in mind. The seed of its plot planted in his heart since he first caught sight of burning fire capturing a thief. With time, it was nourished by the desire to meet his idol–the owner of the tantalizing heat that presented Ending with the only hope he ever felt in his life.

Fire. Such blinding fire! It scorched the earth and stole the sky, incinerating everything in its path until only orange and red remained. It was magnificent and fitting for the final chapter of Ending’s life. He had nothing and cared for nothing in this world. What better way to depart from this loathful earth than to become nothing but soot as well?

Leave nothing behind. Give all of him and the whole of him into the arrogant flames from hell.

His shoulders trembled at the thought as he hid behind the street corner. If he closed his eyes, he could almost feel the sizzling heat licking his skin, painting its ruthless marks over his bones. Dark smoke spiraled upwards in tendrils, climbing and interweaving into his lungs, filling him with the bittersweet pain of relief. The taste of it thick over his tongue, stealing his screams while the only liquid left in him was the tear brimming over his eyelids. His ending. His ruin. The flames would blanket him in their colors, burning away life’s sorrows and cleansing him whole.

Depositing himself back into reality, Ending struggled to swallow the moisture at the root of his tongue. His throat seemed to have collapsed upon itself, thick and slick in the anticipation of desire flared by his own imagination. Seven long years he had waited. He would be embraced by the sun soon.

He didn’t want to celebrate or find any family or friends after he got out of jail. Ending had no care about finding a new job or settling down. Start over? Why would he try his hand at something he knew was doomed to fail? No, no, he was much too smart for that. He had a goal and he was a determined man. He went to spy on Endeavor.

He wouldn’t fail to write his own ending again.

Endeavor was a hero but he was also a man. Todoroki Enji had children and a spouse. A weakness that most responsible men harbored. Of course, the first and last one were both heroes, in training or starting out–didn’t really matter to be honest. But they were trouble. One had ice too instead of the fire Ending desired. Ice! Such a cold and disgusting element. It would bring no relief or joy to be touched by it. The other was just wrong. His flames were too strange, too…it was difficult to describe but Ending knew that fire was wrong. Not for him. Not for his ending. Just like how mortal fire was bland and worthless. It just wouldn’t be the same.

No. No. It had to be Endeavor.

Only Endeavor.

So Ending waited, watching and observing.

There was a daughter. Beautiful girl. Perhaps in another lifetime Ending would be able to have a daughter or wife to call his own. Maybe when Endeavor’s flames finally claimed him, the dreams would come true. Anyway, there was a daughter. A teacher with a kind smile. Yes, she would be good for Ending’s plans. Surely Endeavor wouldn’t hold back once he learned someone was going to hurt his little girl. Because that was family, right? Children forever children in the eyes of their parents. At least, Ending hoped that held true for the heroes.

There was one more son. In the middle and lacking potential or ambition. Or that was what the professionals and nosy neighbours would say. This one wasn’t a hero. He would do too. Probably even easier to catch since he came and went from the house the most often. Easier to catch off guard and easier to snatch since he often walked alone, with headphones on and heading to places where college kids gathered at odd hours of the day.

Of course, Ending thought about the spouse often. Todoroki Ken would be a fine bait just the same. Thin, frail, such an easy target considering his physique and age. Smaller than his sons and older than his daughter. He could be easily overpowered. A loner, actually, or at least a timid soul who couldn’t raise his voice higher than a breath and avoided crowds. Less attention, less chances of other heroes getting in the way.

Any of the three would be fine. Ending even purchased one of those quirk enhancing drugs just to ensure his chances.

His end was coming soon but he had to be sure so he continued to watch. From the shadows like a sewer rat eyeing the cheese by polished shop windows. He watched the Todorokis go about their lives.

It was a foggy day, where thick vapors dangled in the air, clouding the streets. The moisture clung to Ending’s striped jacket too, where the sleeves were leadden with a hint of wetness. The cold slipped in through his pant legs, a slow crawl towards his hips. It was better than having rain pattering over him but as time limped on, the only thought nailing him in place was his craving for the heat.

Then, there was movement on his target. Todoroki Ken left the house. It was usually the househusband alone, especially during the weekdays. He would go grocery shopping with a small cart or head down to the neighbor’s places, chatting and helping out a few small things here and there. The coffee shop down the road was another place he frequented, where he would discuss all things coffee and caffeine with the elderly owner. Ending had seen him drive to Endeavor’s office a few times too, often carrying bentos or other homemade treats.

But today, Todoroki Ken headed for a different direction that Ending hadn’t seen him do before.

It was a smaller alley past the grocery stores or other shopping destinations. No restaurants beyond this point, just a narrow road lining a canal that led under a bridge. It wasn’t dangerous or sketchy, since sometimes teens from a nearby school would cut through there to get to the train station faster. However, it was empty at this hour and dark, both from the fog and concrete of the bridge above.

Water lapped at the edge of stones and concrete, a quiet swishing noise as the streams of sewer drains into the canal. Todoroki Ken walked under the bridge. The thin man had on a simple grey raincoat, one that almost blended in with the thickening fog. Grey. Such a dull color. This man’s eyes were the same grey. Uninteresting.

Ending wondered what Endeavor sought in this man. Children? A caretaker? But it didn’t really matter. Todoroki Ken’s existence made no impact on the brightness of Endeavor’s fire.

His pace quickened for a second when he realized he couldn’t make out Todoroki Ken’s back in the thick fog any more. The road was a straight line ahead but the shadow casted by the bridge blurred with the edge of the mist. Briefly, Ending wondered if he should hurry along to catch up, pretending to be a random passerby or call it a day. His knees wavered for a second as he stepped under the bridge, joints rigid from stalking outside the Todoroki house for too long.

That was when he felt a slippery cold wrapped around his waist.

A breath was caught in his throat as his next step landed on air instead of ground. His arms flailed out and the road signs around jumped to life. The ones already around his face wrapped around himself tighter, sharp points angled back to slice and pierce.

His attack landed on something solid. Not quite metal but certainly not flesh.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

The voice above him was ghastly and steady, too calm for coincidences or accidents. Whatever had ensnared Ending constricted tighter. His ribs snatched his insides like the claws in a toy machine, pinching off air and his circulation.

Possibly his logic too, for all of him couldn’t find the strength to defend himself. The drug sat quietly in his pocket, a slush of power waiting to be unlocked.

If only he could reach it.

A pained scream threatened to leap out of his mouth but the dark red flesh clogged the noise back down his throat. His eyes itched and burned as if there were spider threads floating over his pupils, woven through his eyelash to seal his sight. Through the haze of pain, he saw the tip of his ruined hand. Two fingers–both bright purple and throbbing red–with no blood seeping from the limp tubes that used to be functional digits.

Tears spilled down his face.

“Are you here for the fire too?”

Shakingly, Ending croaked. His voice sounded like it was split by statics but that might just be his ears playing tricks or the beat of his heart drumming too loud against his ragged breath.

“Fire?”

“Endeavor. My ending. My ruins.” The thought of burning flames eased Ending a little. Perhaps this was how Endeavor would finish him. Take him out along with whatever monster that had taken him. It wasn’t ideal but Ending would still burn as he desired. “Salvation can take us all. Is that why you’ve come to him as well? To be ended? To see your final chapter through?”

The thing that captured him laughed, a soft and almost placating sound.

“Or you don’t like to share?” Ending’s mind raced. Yes, he had seen others–criminals or desperate lives such as himself–they all thought they saw something in the fire that burned brighter than the sun. Some wanted to snuff out the flames, trap it in a box or to watch it incinerate itself with a pure heart. Others were less sinister, only wishing to obtain a piece or to watch. Stalkers, was what Ending considered most of them. No talent in their observations, no sincerities in their pursuits.

No devotion to any ends.

“It would be a tiring life if I cared for every little fanfare that gathers. But you…you’re stepping a little too close.” A pale hand draped down from above, taking what remained of the blurry light from Ending’s vision. “Ah, don’t be scared. I just wanted to chat. You see, I’ve been having trouble deciding what’s for dinner. And no, don’t even think about it.”

Ending couldn’t feel his right hand.

A weight vanished from his pocket. The drug.

“All these toys and tools trying to imitate god.” The cold syringe pressed against his cheek. “It’s horrible for you, you know? Pushing your cells beyond their limits. Not to mention, it makes horrible seasoning. No wonder Tsukiyama liked them organic.”

And there it was. The flash of a red eye in the dark, peering down at Ending from above like a demon observing its prey. The shadows under the bridge were thick but not enough to hide the stretch of zippers parting to reveal pearl white teeth.

It was smiling at him.

2

“It’s so great that Shouto is bringing his friends home.”

Fuyumi danced around the kitchen, helping Ken prepare dinner. They got fresh ingredients from the farmer’s market and started dumplings from scratch. Also, Ken chopped shrimps and meat into a mesh with seasoning for making fillings and stuffing spring rolls. Fresh vegetables sat in a basket beside the sink, each green leaf freshly washed. Meanwhile, Fuyumi had finished preparing shrimps for tempura. Shouto told them a little bit about his friends’ preferences for food so they also had other dishes prepared.

“The boys deserve a treat for working so hard,” Ken laughed. They had a lot of meat and carbs on the menu tonight. “Your father must be putting them through a lot.”

The divide between professional and amateurs was a ridge only experience could bridge. Enji wasn’t an easy teacher and his style of lectures was much more hand-on and tough love. Shouto had invited two of his friends to intern under the pro hero Endeavor. Midoriya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki. Both wonderful boys from what Ken remembered. One was a little loud and the other might get lost in his own world but they both had potential to become great heroes.

Enji admitted that in private when it was just Ken and him.

It was great to see the next generation shaping up.

“I’m just happy that Shouto found people he can feel relaxed around and talk to normally.” Being the children of famous heroes had its difficulties. Although they tried to keep a low profile, eventually people would find out they are of the same Todoroki house as Endeavor himself. It had been extra hard on Shouto, who wasn’t good at making small talks and was slow on the uptake of social cues.

His naturally neutral expression also deterred plenty of people from approaching him in middle school.

Ken was happy for Shouto too. His youngest was very much like him in a sense, quite introverted and shy at social functions. It was good that he had people his age to share his joys and troubles with.

Soon, the smell of food leaked into the halls. A mix of savory and spices filled the air, along with the mouth-watering scent of freshly fried meat sprinkled with black pepper.

“Hey Dad and Fuyumi-Nee, do you guys need any help?” Natsuo yelled from the dining room.

He walked in, looking at the pots on the stove and reached for the smaller one closer to him. It was a yellow clay pot, small enough to fit one portion of soup. Steam escaped from under its lid as the content boiled within.

“Ah, not that one, Natsuo.” Ken gently guided his son’s hand away with a kagune. “The larger pot is the miso soup. It’s done so you can bring it over to the table.”

Nodding, Natsuo picked up the soup carefully. Meanwhile, they could hear some motion at the front door.

“They’re here!” Fuyumi squealed happily. “I’ll go greet them first.”

Ken watched her go. He could already hear the teenage boys bantering in the hall and his husband’s heavy footsteps. It made the house livelier than usual, which he loved. Although Touya couldn’t make it tonight, it was still going to be a great dinner. Ken would love to hear more about Shouto and the boys’ school life too.

He finished up in the kitchen then turned the stove off. Picking up the clay pot, he moved into the dining room and smiled.

“Welcome!” Ken greeted their guests with a big smile. “I hope you brought your appetites, we made plenty of everything!”

“Mr. Todoroki, it’s nice seeing you again.” Midoriya bowed at him. “Thanks for having us.”

Bakugou also greeted him with a nod while everybody settled into their seats.

Ken placed the clay pot in front of himself. Opening the lid, the soup inside was simpler than the rest of the dishes on the table. A few pieces of meat still attached to the bones had been stewed for an hour, slowly cooked over a small flame to make the flesh tender and melt the bone’s flavor into the soup. Compared to what else was on the table, it was rather plain with just meat and water and a little bit of salt. It would be a stale meal for anybody else, no flavoring and such.

But the Todoroki siblings widened their eyes.

“Dad?” Shouto asked in a quivering voice.

Natsuo’s fist tightened by his side as if clenching his pants in anxious anticipation. Fuyumi was glancing between Ken and Enji. Before anybody else could speak though, Ken picked up a pair of chopsticks.

“My body isn’t all that well,” he explained to the two guests, watching some relief and realization work into their features and the tension eased. “I have some issues so I don’t tend to eat a lot. I can't seem to hold much of anything down, I’m afraid. But Shouto bringing guests home and watching you children all growing and going plus ultra in life…I thought…I thought I should give it a try.”

He was looking at Enji when he said the last part. His husband’s eyes were wider than usual but the man spoke nothing and his lips were still pulled into a tight line. Perhaps he had words he wanted to speak but his eyes darted to the teens in the room and then to his sons and daughter, eventually, he remained silent.

“That’s great!” Fuyumi placed a hand over Ken’s and there were lights behind her eyes. “Natsuo! Shouto! Come on, let’s start eating too.”

She offered Bakugou and Midoriya tea, spinning the conversation to school and work and the mundane but joyful things in life. Slowly, Ken listened and smiled and ate a small spoonful of soup.

The flesh melted on his tongue and fat slid down his throat in a warm stream.

Dinner indeed tasted the best with the family he loved.