Third person pov

"For the record, I didn't kidnap that one." Etsu noted as Shoto iced the sidewalk so Tenya could shoot across it and possibly break something, Hitoshi watching with big eyes on the sidelines, occasionally glancing over to where Etsu was seated. "He just showed up."

"Uh huh." Eraserhead didn't look amused, but did he ever? He sipped his coffee and frowned, glancing down at her in a manner near judgmental. Incredibly rude if you asked her. "So you're saying he just decided to follow you home and you just let him, then? Because that's a child; not a stray cat."

Aizawa had insisted on doing a wellness check on Shoto, so she'd invited him to come to the park she took him and the other boys to after school. He'd also been pretty openly curious about Hitoshi. Kidnapping one child was one thing, but a second child? 

Yeah, Etsu knew she was pushing her luck here, but what the fuck else was she supposed to do? Hitoshi had been there for like, ever, and she hadn't noticed him once. It would be incredibly cruel to kick him out after he'd settled so surely into the apartment. Etsu didn't have the heart for it.

"Actually, Shoto brought him home and it took me a week to notice." Etsu admitted honestly, squinting at the school-issued laptop she'd just recently gotten. She'd moved on and into upper highschool coursework and was burning through it as fast as humanely possible. 

The girl expertly ignored the underground hero's incredulous look, debating whether or not she really wanted to get into physics right now. Somehow, it didn't seem like the right time. 

"So Todoroki kidnapped him." Eraserhead rephrased, voice stern like a teacher's might be. Etsu opened her mouth to refuse but paused, closing it again. Well... alright, she could... yeah... "Todoroki and the Iida boy. They kidnapped a child. And they did it because they thought it was okay." 

Etsu pressed her lips together until they formed a very thin line, turning to look the hero dead in the eyes. Eraserhead had gone past not being amused and now looked some brand of irritated. Etsu got the distinct impression that she was walking on very thin ice right now, which was not where she'd like to be at the moment. 

Eraserhead sort of had a point, admittedly. They couldn't just run around picking up children. Etsu had set an example by grabbing Shoto and then by telling them that it was a good thing, so she couldn't fault their newfound logic.

"Uh." Etsu said very smartly. "He came over for a sleepover, actually. He's not even missing, so you could argue that he's just staying with us temporarily."

"You forged a birth certificate listing yourself as his parent and enrolled him in school, and you've bought him his own furniture and clothing." How did Eraserhead know this shit? Had he been doing his research? 

Hindsight 20/20, working at a hero agency was a horrible idea if you were going to kidnap children. Especially if you were going to bring said kidnapped children into said office. The pay was astronomical though. 

(Shoto's future tuition had to come from somewhere, and Hitoshi's too now apparently. If Eraserhead didn't fuck their shit.)

"His foster parents were very mean." Etsu offered, blowing a strand of black hair out of her face. Eraserhead inhaled very slow and deep, apparently trying to reign in his annoyance or temper or whatever the hell was going on in that head of his. Etsu wasn't about to ask. "We can just phrase it as me being his new foster parent. I mean, look at him. He's doing great." 

Eraserhead glanced over in time to see Hitoshi fly down the icy sidewalk, his shoe catching something shortly thereafter and sending him vaulting into the grass hard. It's worth it to note that Etsu did not openly wince, even when the kid rolled. 

Luckily, tots that age are made of rubber and he popped back to his feet with a wild grin and not a single broken bone in sight, so Etsu supposed they were... maybe saved. 

"It took you a week to notice him." Eraserhead argued, but it was half-hearted as he watched the trio of boys run around like headless chickens and illegally use their quirks. 

Ah, Etsu was so proud. They were breaking the law in so many ways these days. Kidnapping, that time Shoto bit someone at school, and now this.

"I know. I somehow managed to keep him alive without even knowing he existed." Etsu said in a reverent tone, deciding that yeah, she was really about to subject herself to physics right now. "Imagine how much he'll flourish now that I'm aware of his presence." 

Aizawa grumbled something under his breath but didn't say anything else after that, so Etsu was going to take the win for right now and go on with her schoolwork. Hitoshi, once again, still hadn't been reported missing. No one was looking for him. 

If they took him to the police station, they wouldn't even know he'd been gone. His foster parents had evidently just decided they didn't care what was happening to him or where he'd gone. 

Hell, they were probably still cashing those checks. She wondered how long it'd be before a social worker came to see him and realized he wasn't there.

They sat in amiable silence, Etsu reading through and figuring out pretty fast that trying to do this right now was a mistake but not wanting to back out now that she'd opened the course. Aizawa continued watching the trio try and figure out how best to balance on the ice, having an absolute ball with themselves. 

The underground pro did notice that they'd occasionally glance over, Shoto's gaze apprehensive, Tenya's razor sharp, and Hitoshi's full of something scared and a little... shiny? 

The boys gravitated closer, approaching from Etsu's side of the bench gradually as the ice crept along the walkway. It was obvious they were trying to subtly get close, but it Eraserhead could only raise his eyebrows at their poor attempt. Kids. He couldn't say he was the biggest fan. 

He liked them alright if he didn't have to deal with them. It was still astonishing to him that people willingly chose to have those things. He was admittedly a little impressed Etsu could so easily juggle these three.

"Etsu!" Shoto whisper-shouted, and Aizawa definitely heard him despite his attempts to be quieter. Etsu hummed absentmindedly, hand blindly coming out to ruffle his hair. He looked momentarily pleased before his face hardened back up with concern. The serious expression looking out of place on a face so small. Like an angry kitten. "Is he going to take Hitoshi and I away?" 

Aizawa tensed up slightly and found himself once again impressed when Etsu didn't react, her eyes shifting from the screen to look at him without a hint of worry or surprise. Shoto was frowning deeply, looking distinctly upset. Tenya was gazing at the teen too, his big, dark blue eyes round with fearful question. 

The only one who didn't have their eyes trained on Etsu was Hitoshi, who was looking at Eraserhead with very a teary, disbelieving expression. Aizawa felt one of his dusty heartstrings pluck for the first time in a while.

Hitoshi looked different than the first photo Aizawa had seen of him. The picture Etsu had sent displayed a very thin, obviously malnourished boy with scruffy hair and bags under his eyes too deep for someone his age. He'd been sickly pale and slouched then too. 

It was a bold contrast to now, where he'd regained his color entirely and didn't look nearly as tired. His eyes were bright, and his cheeks weren't hallowed anymore. His hair had a healthy shine to it and wasn't tangled, and he seemed to have put a little fat on those gangly limbs of his. 

He looked ten times better and even Aizawa couldn't deny that.

"I don't think so." Etsu shrugged nonchalantly as she said it. "I mean, he can try if he wants, but it's not going to go well for him. Don't worry about it." 

Vaguely threatening. Eraserhead grunted a bit in distaste, and Hitoshi sniffled very, very audibly. Aizawa's expression dropped.

Etsu's gaze snapped to the kid like a hawk zeroing in on their prey, and she was leaning forward and snapping him up into her arms so fast Shota could've blinked and missed it. Tenya gasped, and Shoto scrambled forward to scale his way into Etsu's lap as well in an attempt to provide the now-wailing Hitoshi with some comfort. 

The girl had already shoved her laptop off onto the bench next to her by the time Shota blinked next, patting Hitoshi's back whilst also helping pull Shoto up too. Tenya of course wanted to join and leapt up as well, struggling to fit himself into her not-very-big lap alongside his two friends. 

The look Etsu gave Aizawa was very flat, her arms struggling to contain the three. He tried not to cringe.

"I-I-I-" Hitoshi sputtered out, trying to find words but not able to through his sudden outburst of violent sobbing. Yeah, Eraserhead definitely felt like a piece of shit now. He admitted defeat. There was no way he could pull either of these brats away from this slightly-bigger brat without hating himself for it for the rest of his life. "I-I d-don't--"

"It's okay, Hitoshi. You're not leaving. I promise you're not." Etsu gave Aizawa a pointed look. The man, wisely, did not say a word.

"Yeah! Eraserhead would never do that." Tenya swore, giving said hero a venomous look that was not befitting of a boy his age. "He's a really good hero, like you said!" 

Where the hell was Etsu finding these kids? Endeavor's kid, an abused foster brat and what had to be the most murderous member of the Iida family to date, even at this age. The looks that kid could give made Aizawa think he'd back them up if he had to.

"Exactly what Tenya said. Your favorite hero would never do that to you." Etsu promised, and Aizawa stared at her blankly. Favorite hero? What did she mean favorite hero? "In fact, I was just telling him all about how you want to be an underground hero just like him, and he actually likes you so much he just wanted to snatch you up and keep you for himself. That's all. I told him I had already called dibs, so you don't need to worry about it." 

Etsu gave Aizawa a look that dared him to argue. Aizawa, wisely, did not.

And just-- listen, Etsu is pretty chill. But Hitoshi is the type of kid to bottle up every ounce of negative emotional turmoil until it explodes out like a bottle of Coke someone had spent five minutes violently shaking. It's just how he is. 

When he cries, he cries. Etsu has learned this and has adjusted, but she'd rather avoid upsetting him to this point. Not because it's annoying or anything-- in fact, she understands. It's just that she'd rather he not have to go through it if he doesn't have to. That's all.

Aizawa looked very pale, his mouth dry. Alright. Alright, what the fuck? He had never felt like a worse person in his entire life. Favorite hero? How does this kid even know who he is? 

It's not totally impossible to assume he saw something on the news in passing, or even in person if he really was hopping from foster home to foster home in shitty areas of town. But to be someone's favorite hero... to have some kid wanting to go underground just like him, only to have said hero swoop in and threaten to take them away from their newfound safe-space... 

What were the chances? This was the worst coincidence Aizawa had ever run into. He should've known asking about the Todoroki brat when he first saw him in that office was a bad idea. They were fine without him. Not his problem. 

"Don't worry, Hitoshi." Shoto soothed. "I'll just set him on fire if he does anything."

"Which he isn't going to." Etsu tacked on quickly, ruffling Shoto's hair and causing the red and white to blur together a bit. "He's just shocked he has a fan, that's all!" 

Hitoshi sniffled, peeking at Aizawa with teary eyes. And all the man could manage to do was nod with full agreement and try to ignore the crippling relief that seemed to overcome the purple-haired kid as he began to cry all over again, this time for a different reason. 

He took a deep breath, feeling a headache coming on as Tenya Iida and Shoto Todoroki burned holes in his head with their eyes. He slouched a bit as Etsu struggled to sooth Hitoshi into a state of calm, cradling him carefully and shushing him.

Yeah, photos were more than enough of a wellness check for Eraserhead. Anything was better than this heart attack.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Is that... Shoto Todoroki?" The baker asked, her brows furrowed as she leaned over the counter.

She seemed fairly alarmed, the birthday cake Etsu was attempting to purchase sitting happily on the counter in front of her. It was a strawberry shortcake-- Shoto's favorite based on the samples Tensei had brought over for them last week. 

It felt like time was flying. To think it almost his birthday. Etsu might shed real tears. So far, the plan was that he was going to have a small party followed by a double-decker sleepover featuring Hitoshi, Tenya, and a pillow fort.

It was no massive party. There wouldn't be a flooding of presents. Etsu hoped, despite with all that, that it would still be enough. 

"Is who Shoto Todoroki?" Etsu asked, face straight. 

Tenya looked very smug, proudly puffed up as though he were the one lying. Hitoshi was clinging to one of her legs and looking terrified yet also awed by the baked goods. He acted like he'd never stepped foot in a bakery before. 

It wasn't a stretch to assume as such, actually. Honestly, Etsu couldn't recall the last time she'd been in a place like this either. 

"Him!" The baker thrust a finger at Shoto, who was standing unassumingly next to Etsu and holding her hand. Etsu looked down at him, brow furrowing. It was so convincing that Shoto had to smile at her, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside.

"What about him?" Etsu asked cautiously, tugging Shoto a little closer and eyeing the baker, who looked incredulous. 

"Is he Shoto Todoroki?" The baker was surprisingly patient to be honest. 

Etsu supposed you had to be in this profession. Even she struggled to wait for food to cook. However, with two additional mouths to feed, and sometimes four if Tensei and Tenya were over, she was adjusting fast.

"Oh, no. This is Tenya." Etsu ruffled the blue-haired boy's hair with her free hand. The baker looked absolutely floored, staring at Etsu like she as a complete idiot. Lovely.

Etsu didn't really mind, smiling politely at the woman instead. Tenya looked beyond happy at the attention, whilst Hitoshi just swallowed a bout of snickering. It was sort of funny to see how casually Etsu brushed everything off.

"I meant the boy with red and white hair. Is the boy with red and white hair Shoto Todoroki?" The woman asked very, very carefully. 

Etsu blinked at her curiously, her smile a little confused and her brows just a little pinched. If this schooling thing didn't work out maybe she could, as so many had stated before, go into acting.

"Sorry, I don't know a Shoto." Etsu shrugged. The baker deflated a little, still eyeing Shoto suspiciously. 

Etsu honestly was getting a bit tired of this whole people asking if he was Shoto thing. Like, they were right, but Etsu was just trying to live her life as a criminal with her abducted child. Uninterrupted, preferably. 

Tenya was the only one legally here. Well, Hitoshi wasn't technically here illegally, since he wasn't missing. Barring the forged documents. Which-- alright, yeah, made it a little illegal. But whatever. Logistics. 

The Shoto Todoroki craze had died off a bit on the news so maybe the questions would slow too. The investigation was still going strong, but with no new evidence popping up, the media was losing interest and instead moving on to more recent issues. It was both saddening and a relief.

"Alright." The baker sighed, defeated. "What would you like lettered on your cake?"

"Oh, yeah. Can you just write 'Happy Birthday Shoto!' on it? With an exclamation mark please." Etsu requested, and Hitoshi slapped a hand over his own mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

The baker stared at her for a moment before quietly going to find a tube of icing. Etsu simply smiled.

~

If you know you know uhhh you can read up to chapter 30 on patreon, where the child count is now at 8 (9???) and the adult count is up to 3, going on 4.