Chapter Text
The small lilac haired boy stared at his house.
Well, what used to be his house. One of the unlucky few in the neighborhood that was crushed. Some giant villain managed to rampage through here, crushing his home and everything in it. And everyone. Except him.
He didn't really know what to do. He was old enough to understand that mommy and daddy weren't coming out anymore. He watched it happen right in front of his eyes. It was gruesome, disturbing, something that belongs in horror movies and something a five year old should never see.
Just five minutes ago, they shoved at him to go outside with the heroes. So he did, because he was a good kid and listened properly to his parents. Then suddenly, there he was, parentless, staring at the rubble before him. He decided to sit, because where else would a five year old go? He just wanted his parents, that's all.
"Hey little one." Someone approached him after a few minutes, making him jump. He looked up, seeing a man with blond hair sticking straight up, wearing some sort of yellow glasses. He kneeled on the ground next to the boy. "Where are your parents?"
He pointed at the rubble. The man followed his finger, closing his eyes in realization. He looked back at the small child, placing a hand on his head.
"What's your name?"
"Hitoshi Shinsou," the boy answered in the most polite way possible. His voice was quiet and small, just like the rest of him.
"My name is Present Mic. I'm a pro hero. Will you come with me? The villain got caught, but I'll get you somewhere safe," the blond man asked and stood up straight.
Shinsou got onto his feet, looking at the hero, before walking toward the rubble. He ignored the protests of the hero, who was hot on his heels. He just wanted to get something he saw peaking out.
He walked up to a small stuffed animal. It was purple, and it resembled a cat. It was torn up from the impact of the villain's foot, but maybe there was someone kind enough to fix it for him. Either way, he hugged it close to his chest before turning around to Present Mic.
He grabbed the hero's hand, who had no problem with it. They walked for a bit, heading toward an area that was roped off for ambulances, police, and pro heroes. Even All Might and Endeavor were there. Any other time, Shinsou would have been ecstatic. Right now? He just felt... numb.
Not how a five year old should be feeling.
He didn't let go of Present Mic. The hero needed his hands, so Shinsou opted to clutch onto his pant leg, hiding behind him anytime anyone approached them. He didn't know why... he just felt like this was someone he could cling to.
A man with some white cloth around his neck, black hair, and a black hero costume approached the two. Shinsou did what he kept doing, clutching tightly on the pant leg, barely peeking an eye out to see the man. The black haired hero leaned over, looking behind Present Mic, getting a glimpse of a purple eye and lavender hair.
"Whatcha got there, Mic?" He asked, making eye contact with Shinsou.
"Oh, just some paperwork," Mic answered haphazardly. The man glared up at the blond.
"That is obviously not what I meant."
Present Mic twisted himself to look behind him. He turned around, and Shinsou let go of the pant leg as he was lifted up to sit on the hero's hip.
"This little guy is named Shinsou." He then looked at the small boy, grabbing his little arm. "This is Eraserhead," Mic introduced the two. Shinsou responded by shoving his face into Present Mic's shoulder.
"He seems to like you," Eraserhead answered. Present Mic let out a humorless laugh.
"Yeah."
xxxxxx
The three sat together in the police station. Shinsou was fast asleep, cradling his stuffed animal on Present Mic's lap, and Eraserhead was next to him.
"What are we going to do, Shouta?"
"We'll do what we always do," Shouta answered, looking down at the small boy. "We'll find a good foster home for him. The system will take him in."
The blond shook his head. "Not sure if I can let this one go. I mean, he literally watched his parents get crushed." His hand gently stroked through the purple hair, watching the boy's even breaths. He kept his voice low enough to not wake Shinsou. "He won't let me get five feet from him without crying."
Shouta looked up at Hizashi. The blond was admiring the small child. Shouta knew once he set his mind on something, he would get it. Hizashi ended up marrying who he wanted, after all. Even if it did take two proposals and a couple cats.
"I'm not really good with kids, Hizashi," Shouta responded in a half whisper. He already knew what his husband was thinking.
Hizashi met Shouta's gaze with a small smile. "I think you underestimate yourself. 'Sides, seems like I'd end up doing a lot of work anyway. Look at him."
Shouta could admit the kid was adorable cradled up in his lap. Damn it. Of course Hizashi would get his way. There's absolutely no way he can say no to the chubby face of the five year old and his husband's puppy eyes.
"It's a big responsibility. Kids are a lot," Shouta added. "This isn't like our two calicos at home."
"It's not like we haven't talked about this, Sho," Hizashi looked up again, leaning his head back against the wall behind the chair. "We knew we wanted kids. I think this is a great opportunity for all three of us, don't you think? We get the adorable child, and he gets a safe, loving home that we know is best for him, because it's us. Right?"
Shouta huffed a bit at that. Hizashi wasn't wrong, and Shouta was definitely not opposing this at all. He just needed to make sure Hizashi knew that this was massive, not just for them, but for Hitoshi as well. They had the room for him, at least. An extra bedroom, and they both made more than enough money as heroes to support a child, too. Honestly, Shouta agreed completely.
"Then it's settled," Shouta's voice was quiet.
xxxxxxx
The next year, Hitoshi's quirk developed. Luckily, with their experience with a vast amount of quirks, they were able to quickly figure out his quirk was brainwashing. It did take a bit to understand what was happening, though. After Hitoshi managed to get dessert before dinner several times, despite the two dads always saying no beforehand. Hitoshi didn't realize what he was doing, either, he thought he was just lucky.
He had started primary school, making new friends. Hizashi was in charge of the play dates, the one to meet the parents of Hitoshi's friends. Occasionally, he was busy and Shouta had to be there, which was absolute torture standing around with all the soccer moms, forced to engage in idle chit chat about their children's (not so) unique quirks.
One of Hitoshi's favorite past times was watching cheesy princess movies on the floor of their living room. He was always curled up in his favorite blanket, staring up at the screen, cuddling with now three cats.
Shouta and Hizashi always watched with him. Shouta couldn't say he didn't enjoy these times, just the three of them sitting together, watching the same movie they watched the night before. It was almost always the princess with long hair escaping the tower, finding her long lost parents and falling in love with the man who helped her. Turns out she was the long lost princess, not the other way around. He honestly loved it, being able to see Hitoshi's surprised face as if he hadn't seen the movie five billion times before. Actually, Shouta could probably recite the entire script at this point if he tried.
Every night, Hitoshi found his way into the two's bedroom, and they always let him in. He would climb between the both of them. How such a tiny body could hog so much of the bed, they didn't know. Hitoshi always ended up sprawled in a starfish position, nearly shoving the two heroes off of the sides of the bed. Sometimes, he cradled himself onto Shouta's back.
xxxxxxx
Hitoshi was almost done with middle school when he was 14. This was also when Hizashi and Shouta decided to put him into therapy. It was still obvious that the disaster from years ago still affected him. A boy so young shouldn't have to deal with PTSD, insomnia, or depression. But they did what they could, and it seemed to help. Shouta and Hizashi always created a safe space for the boy, but they came to understand that sometimes... you don't want to talk about certain things with your parents and that's okay.
Hitoshi also had to deal with getting bullied at school. Whether it was for his general awkwardness, or his quirk, it was almost a daily thing. There was one point Shouta had to talk Hizashi out of pulling Hitoshi out of school all together.
Hizashi was making dinner, while Shouta sat at the dinner table, drinking tea and reading the newspaper. Hitoshi walked in, and sat across from Shouta.
"Everything okay?" Hizashi asked, noticing the thoughtful look on Hitoshi's face.
"I want to be a pro hero," Hitoshi announced. The two stopped what they were doing and looked up at him. They haven't had this conversation, yet. Hizashi predicted it would happen sooner than later, and here they were.
"You do?" Hizashi asked, a smile creeping up on his face. Hitoshi nodded.
"I want to go to U.A. next year, too."
Hizashi set down the wooden spoon, and walked over to the purple haired boy. He wrapped his arms around Hitoshi, smiling.
"Look at him! He's growing up! He'll be working with us in a few years!" Hizashi laughed, while Hitoshi did his best to shove off the loud blond. It didn't work, so he gave up after a long struggle.
"Why do you want to be a hero?" Shouta asked, looking at Hitoshi through the top of his reading glasses.
"I want to help people like you guys do. And I want to prove everyone who thinks I have a villainous quirk wrong," Hitoshi shrugged. "Plus I think it'll be fun."
Shouta folded up the newspaper, and set his glasses on top of it on the table. He propped his elbows up, clasping his hands together as he looked at the boy. Hizashi stood straight, sensing the tension that just rose, getting back to work on dinner.
"Japan is full of unfair things, Hitoshi," Shouta said. "Heroes are the ones who correct that unfairness. Calamity is always right around the corner. The three of us know that better than anyone else. So if you're wanting to go to U.A. for a fun time, you are very wrong. U.A. will send you through the wringer."
Hitoshi looked down at the table instead of responding. Shouta's voice was stern, and he was focusing on Hitoshi. After being with them for nearly a decade, Shouta's terrifying presence still made Hitoshi extremely nervous. He fidgeted with his hands as he looked back up at the tired eyes in front of him.
"Are you prepared to give it all you got? To use your strength to overcome every obstacle school will show you?" Shouta asked. "Because it's nothing like the real deal. And I need you to understand that before you decide to become a hero."
"I do understand that. That's why I'm coming to you about it," Hitoshi said, looking up. "I just... want to do something good."
"To prove everyone wrong?" Shouta asked. Hitoshi looked off, again, watching the wooden spoon Hizashi was holding and how it was circling the pot.
"Partially."
Shouta looked up at Hizashi. He could understand Hitoshi's point of view to an extent. He himself didn't have a fighting quirk, so it wasn't at all unheard of to be a Pro Hero with a quirk that was non combative. With that, he also understood what Hitoshi was going through at school. Shouta went through the same thing, kids thinking he would nullify their quirks to act villainous.
"I'll talk to Principal Nedzu in the morning," Shouta said. He picked up his reading glasses, lifting the paper once more. There was a really funny cat comic he was in the middle of reading. He'd have to show Hitoshi.
"Isn't that, like, cheating?" Hitoshi asked.
"Nah, plenty of students get recommended by their pro hero family," Hizashi mentioned, glancing up from the stove. "I heard Endeavor recommended his kid, and Ingenium, the one with the engine quirk, recommended his brother. You really think Shouta would let you cheat your way into the hero course?"
"Not like it makes much of a difference by us recommending you," Shouta said without looking up from the paper. "The hero course is hard for everyone. Doesn't matter who you're related to."
"Huh," Hitoshi mumbled.
That was the end of that conversation. Hizashi served the three of them their food, and then Hitoshi retired to his bedroom for the rest of the night. Only a couple more months until he started high school. And then he'd be training to be a hero. Sure, none of it was set in stone, but he felt like having two pro heroes, both being teachers, would solidify his chances of getting into the hero course. He just needs to prove to himself and everyone around him that he can do it. He will do it.
And he was right. Kinda. A week later, Shouta shared the news with Hitoshi that he had been accepted to take the recommendation exam. The hero course was right in his grasp now. He was so close to his goal, and he was excited and filled with new motivation.