My Father's Son - Chapter 62

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Hiroki seemed oddly twitchy as they headed into the building, clinging to Izuku’s hand in a way he’d never really done before. Despite Ryouji being right by his side, holding his other hand, he never moved away – and Ryouji, to his credit, never tried to make him. Izuku had expected them to be more excited, training together for the first time, but instead Hiroki just seemed... shy. A word he’d never thought he’d use to describe Hiroki, other than maybe the very first time they’d met, what felt like so long ago. How was it possible that it hadn’t even been a year yet?

“Just lemme get my clothes,” Ryouji said, dropping Hiroki’s hand for a second when they stepped into the changing room. “My new jacket came.”

“It did?” Hiroki asked, perking up immediately. “I wanna see.”

Katsuki opened up the usual locker to retrieve gear for the rest of them, and Ryouji passed over a thick jacket for Hiroki to inspect. While the things Katsuki prepared for them were pretty plain and simple, just something stretchy and fireproof to do the job, Ryouji’s outfit looked a little more intricate, a little more personalised. He tossed his normal clothes aside, while Hiroki inspected the jacket, pulling on a pair of dark, slightly baggy cargo pants first, and a plain black singlet over top. Hiroki held the jacket out for him, and Ryouji accepted wordlessly, zipping it up and turning around for Hiroki to see properly.

“You look so cool,” Hiroki praised, running his fingertips along the shiny silver zip that ran all the way up to his throat. “I’m jealous.”

“You’ll come up with something cool too,” Ryouji assured him. “Dad thinks I’ll wear it more if I like how it looks.”

“He’s probably right,” Katsuki chuckled, tossing Hiroki his own training gear. “I’ve heard all the stories.”

“It’s not my fault they get in the way!” Ryouji protested. “But look, these ones have vents to help.”

He lifted an arm, showing off a small mesh panel down the side of his jacket that was hardly even noticeable, blended seamlessly into the design of the rest of the jacket. His sleeves had zips on the wrists, too, presumably to give him some more ventilation as needed, or make space for any manifestations he decided to use.

“I’m just glad it didn’t have to be made from my hair,” Ryouji continued, pulling a face. “Gross.”

“Your clothes move with you, then?” Izuku asked, thinking back on old interviews with Lemillion he’d read over the years. “That must make life easier.”

“Some clothes,” Ryouji said with a nod. “The right materials.”

“How do you know what the right materials are?”

“We tested!”

“Oh, that makes sense.”

Unlike the heavy boots Hiroki and the others wore, Ryouji pulled on a set of what looked like ordinary sneakers, not that different from the red ones Izuku wore every day – they were high-topped, dark like his clothes, but had a little velcro panel that covered up the laces, once he’d tied them in place.

“I don’t like boots,” Ryouji said, when he saw Izuku looking. “They feel like my feet are in jail.”

Izuku laughed, and Ryouji smiled back at him, standing up to start stretching while the others finished changing. Despite the material being a lot thicker and more structured than the others’, his outfit didn’t seem to limit his movement at all – Izuku supposed that was why the gear was custom-made.

“Daddy, when can I get a cool practice costume?” Hiroki whined, poking Katsuki in the ribs as he finished changing. “I wanna look cool too!”

“When you can make up your mind on what you want for more than five minutes.”

Hiroki pouted, but he stopped whining immediately – apparently this was a common discussion, it seemed.

“Can me and Ryouji match?” he asked after a moment.

“Sure, if you think that’ll be useful for your quirk the way it is for his.”

“I’m sure it’s fireproof!”

“And?”

“And a lot of things I don’t need,” Hiroki admitted. “But I want black too.”

“Last week you wanted red.”

“Because red would match my fire,” Hiroki explained. “But also it might tell people what my quirk is, and it would get messy and stuff. Black would look better when I’m fighting.”

“Not brown?”

“Mm... Maybe a really dark brown.”

“That could work.”

“With a red belt or something to look cool.”

“Sure.”

“Or maybe just black so I blend into the shadows.”

Katsuki raised an eyebrow, and Hiroki huffed, folding his arms stubbornly.

“Don’t try to trick me, Daddy!”

“I’m not tricking you.” Katsuki shrugged. “You just can’t make up your mind. And that’s okay, you don’t have to make it up any time soon, you’ve got years to decide. But that’s why we use simple gear until you make a decision.”

“Fine,” Hiroki caved. “I’m gonna go stretch.”

“Good boy. Halfie will be here any minute.”

He hurried off to warm up with Ryouji, and Izuku smiled softly as he sat down to watch. It was adorable how in sync the pair was, always so happy just to be by each other’s side. Considering most high school romances didn’t last, he knew it was incredibly unlikely that a childhood one would, but he couldn’t help but hope. If they grew apart and wanted different things as they got older, it was gonna be awful for everyone involved.

“Ready to go?” Katsuki asked, when Yuuto was changed. “We can head next door, Izuku can keep an eye on these two until Shouto arrives.”

Yuuto glanced at Izuku for confirmation, and he nodded, waving goodbye as they started heading to their little practice room. Sure enough, Shouto was there within minutes, apologising to Hiroki as he began stripping off bits of support gear and dumping them in a locker.

“Did you have work?” Ryouji asked, eyeing Shouto’s gear curiously. “Did you come straight here?”

“Yeah. I saw your Dad, he seems happy to be back out there.”

“He is,” Ryouji agreed. “He worries about Koara though, Dad has to text him every ten minutes to say she’s still fine.”

“I bet he worries about you, too.”

“Nah,” Ryouji said, shrugging. “I can talk!”

“That’s true, I suppose you’d speak up if something was wrong. Are you joining us today?”

“Just watching!” Ryouji grinned. “I’m gonna fight Uncle Katsuki when he’s done with Yuuto!”

“Oh? Kick his ass for me.”

“I’ll try my best!”

As soon as Shouto was ready, they all headed for a practice room. It was a little larger than the one they usually used, the only seating available right near the doors, leaving the rest of the room a wide open chamber where they could practice to their hearts’ content. Ryouji sat down on the floor in front of it, though, stretching out his legs, watching eagerly as Hiroki shook his hands out to get started. Izuku had been there for every recent practice session, but the way Hiroki stood seemed different this time – his fingers curled differently, his posture more closed off. Shouto lifted a hand of his own, lighting it up in flames, and Hiroki was moving before Shouto could even take aim, pulling with both hands to take it all away.

“Don’t burn out too early,” Shouto cautioned him, swiping a hand through the air and sending another stream of fire Hiroki’s way, watching him deflect it off to a side. “I don’t have a limit, remember, you can’t just take it every time.”

“I know, but I need some to start me off!” Hiroki answered cheerfully, jumping neatly over a stream of ice aimed at his feet, and spreading his flames wider to melt the bullets that followed it. “I like your fire, it’s my friend.”

“You’ve gotten quicker since last time.”

“I’ve been practicing with Yuuto!”

Izuku raised an eyebrow, but Hiroki was too busy watching Shouto to notice, so instead he looked down at Ryouji.

“They’re safe,” he answered. “Yuuto makes sparks and Hiroki tries to steal them from him.”

“Does this happen often?”

“Uh-huh. When you’re at work.”

Izuku sighed, and Ryouji grinned at him, surprisingly brightly from a kid that was often so impassive.

“It’s okay,” he promised. “They’re careful, I swear.”

Hiroki stumbled a little, ice hitting his hand and extinguishing his flames, and it took him a second to thaw himself out with his other hand, doing his best to dodge bits of fire and ice as he worked.

“Gloves,” Hiroki said, making a quick circle with his warm hand and reflecting a fire bullet back at Shouto. “That’s gonna be my first support item.”

“Have you tried using your quirk with them?” Shouto asked. “They don’t work for me.”

“I’ll test it first!” Hiroki assured him. “I think it’ll be okay.”

On and on they fought, Ryouji and Izuku watching silently, but still every time Hiroki made a mistake, every time he lost his balance or didn’t quite melt a bullet in time, those emerald eyes glanced their way, his face pink. He never did that when it was just Izuku watching, and Izuku wasn’t sure if it was cute or sad that he cared so much about impressing his boyfriend.

When they began to wrap up, Hiroki breathing hard, Izuku expected Ryouji to ask for a turn, but he just sat and smiled, clapping quietly when Hiroki finally looked back at him for real. He seemed so genuine about his happiness, so pleased to just have watched Hiroki’s efforts, and Izuku wanted nothing more than to hug him for his sweetness. He resisted the temptation, knowing Ryouji wasn’t much of a hugger, but internally, he was squeezing the hell out of the kid.

“That was super cool,” Ryouji told him, when Hiroki came for his water bottle. “You did such a good job moving!”

“I’ve been trying,” Hiroki mumbled, blushing again. “Especially after... last time.”

Izuku couldn’t remember anything in particular happening the last time they sparred, but Ryouji seemed to know exactly what he was talking about – clearly Izuku needed to pay more attention to the things his kid was dwelling on. Before he could ask, though, the door was opening, and Ryouji was whipping around, grinning from ear to ear.

“Is it my turn?” he asked immediately, when Yuuto fell onto the bench, exhausted. “Please, Uncle Katsuki?”

“Yeah, of course it is,” Katsuki assured him. “You just been waiting? Thought you’d have a go with these two.”

“I didn’t wanna get tired. And they were busy! Shouto is Hiro’s best teacher, so they should get lots of time together.”

“Best teacher?” Izuku asked, before he could think better of it.

“Mm-hm. Because he’s good with fire, but knows the bad sides, too.”

“That’s fair.”

“And Uncle Katsuki is Yuuto’s best teacher, because they make their explosions the same way, mostly. Maybe he’ll find a better one, one day.”

“And who’s your best teacher?” Izuku asked.

“I guess my Dad,” Ryouji said, face scrunching up in distaste. “But he’s annoying.”

“Ryou! Don’t say mean things!” Hiroki complained.

“He is though,” Ryouji huffed. “He does annoying things and says it’s for training, but I think he just wants to be a pain. But Uncle Katsuki’s quirk is way cooler, so I wanna fight with him instead.”

“Your funeral.”

“Katsuki!” Izuku reprimanded him, despite Katsuki’s smirk about it. “Be nice!”

“No way. I’m not his dad, I don’t have to go easy on him.”

Ryouji grinned, but there was something in it Izuku hadn’t seen before, something sharp and eager and scarily reminiscent of Katsuki’s own smiles.

“Alright kid, suit up.”

Ryouji pulled his zip up to his chin, heading for the other side of the room, and Hiroki sat down on the bench, leaning into Izuku’s side to watch. Yuuto was already watching with rapt attention, leaning forward in his seat, and even Shouto hung out a little longer, to see it happen.

Izuku was a little relieved that Katsuki didn’t have his proper costume on, devoid of the gauntlets and grenades he usually worked with. Despite being the number one hero, Izuku wouldn’t have been surprised if he got carried away and used far too much firepower.

“He’ll go easy,” Hiroki mumbled, pressing his head into Izuku’s ribs for attention. “He says he won’t, but Ryou knows he will.”

“He better,” Izuku huffed, wrapping an arm around Hiroki to let him snuggle in properly. “If he goes all out against a six-year-old I’m never letting him be in charge of your safety ever again.”

“He won’t hurt him,” Hiroki promised, cracking a smile. “Ryou will be okay anyway.”

Sure enough, the moment Katsuki began to pop off sparks, Ryouji was moving. He’d clearly ingested some sort of caffeine, because the speed he moved at was beyond human, and even Katsuki took a moment to react, to dodge away from the punch Ryouji tried to land. He twisted sideways to avoid it, kicking a foot out to try to knock Ryouji off balance, but Ryouji was already moving again, and Izuku wasn’t sure if he’d even realised Katsuki had tried to trip him, by the time he’d dodged away. The first proper explosion came from Katsuki’s hand, and Ryouji threw his arms up to shield himself, knocked backwards by the force but apparently unscathed, judging by the shiny silver plating that had appeared on his skin.

“I should’ve asked what you had for breakfast,” Katsuki laughed. “Missed opportunity to get ahead. Hiro! Analyse it for me!”

“Usually omelette,” Hiroki answered immediately. “With spinach for the iron, plus the sulfur for gasses. And he probably had sugar in his tea, so he can make flashbombs like yours.”

“Stop helping him!” Ryouji objected, though he seemed to be chuckling about it all the same. “You’re meant to be on my side!”

“Sorry!”

Ryouji paused in his super speed, swiping his foot across the floor sharply, and Izuku watched as a thick goo spread across the floor, making a sticky puddle between the two of them.

“Do you have holes in your shoes?’ Katsuki asked, as he slammed a hand to it, trying and failing to blow it up.

“Yup!” Ryouji grinned, darting away again before Katsuki could redirect his blast. “Tricked you, it’s not flammable. But this one is!”

He opened his mouth, breathing out a shimmering gas, and Katsuki grimaced as he retreated, getting out of range of the little cloud. Ryouji raised his hands, clapping just once, and the cloud ignited, filling the room with bright white light. Izuku squinted, shielding his eyes from it with his hand, and by the time he got a good view again, the pair were much closer to each other, Katsuki easily deflecting a punch Ryouji aimed his way. Another shimmering cloud came out, and Izuku braced himself, but then Katsuki was laughing, and Ryouji looked all too pleased with himself.

“Now that’s a good trick,” Katsuki praised him. “Keep working on that one.”

Katsuki’s explosions seemed a little smaller this time, when he fought back, and Hiroki giggled against Izuku’s side.

“It’s a cooling gas,” he explained quietly. “It’s not super strong yet, but it makes it harder for Daddy to sweat out his quirk.”

“That’s very clever.”

“Uh-huh! He’s been planning this for a long time.”

The match went on for a surprisingly long time before Ryouji began to lag a little, and Katsuki clearly saw it immediately, slowing his own pace down to match. He didn’t try to end it, didn’t call for break time like he would’ve with Hiroki, he just kept pace with Ryouji’s efforts, as his attacks got weaker and slower, until finally Ryouji lowered his hands and came to a stop.

“Awesome match,” Katsuki told him, without waiting for the words. “You’ve gotten so good with those switches and combos.”

“I can’t go very long,” Ryouji lamented. “I need to get stronger.”

“You’re a kid, Ryou,” Katsuki reminded him, patting him on the head fondly. “Give it a few more years and you’ll be kicking my ass, I have no doubt about it.”

“Fight me again before the entrance exam, okay?”

“I’ll fight you any time you want, you don’t have to wait that long.”

“I know,” Ryouji said, finally smiling again. “But then especially.”

“I’ll mark it on my calendar.”

With the match over, Hiroki ran over to join them, debriefing on all Ryouji’s best moves. Yuuto leaned over a little, and Izuku tilted his head slightly to listen, smiling when he caught Shouto glancing over curiously, too.

“Do you think I’ll find a new best teacher?”

“Maybe one day,” Izuku answered. “But I think Katsuki is the best teacher for you right now, right?”

“Yeah,” Yuuto agreed. “But I should learn from lots of people too.”

“You will,” Izuku assured him. “At high school, if nothing else, right? You’ll have heaps of teachers there, and they’ll all be professionals who are supposed to teach you things. Plus you’ll get internships and everything, too. There’s no rush, okay?”

“That’s true,” Yuuto agreed thoughtfully. “I’m gonna make a list.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Whenever I see a hero do something cool.”

“That sounds like a good plan,” Izuku agreed. “You know, I bet Mirio or Tamaki would be happy to do some teaching, if you want. Or All Might. If you want to try someone different, there’s nothing stopping you.”

“I will,” Shouto offered. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to help, but I can try.”

Yuuto looked up at him with wide eyes, and Shouto did his best to look reassuring, his smile not quite working despite his good intentions.

“Show me next time?” Shouto requested. “Now that you’ve had some practice with Bakugou.”

“Okay,” Yuuto agreed timidly. “You and All... Um. Grampa Yagi. You can both see. It’s still little, though.”

“There’s nothing wrong with little quirks,” Shouto assured him. “Sometimes they look little but turn out to be the best. You’ve met Kirishima, right? His doesn’t look like much, but it’s very powerful. Or Uraraka, most people would say it wasn’t much use for fighting, but she kicks butt with it. Yours will probably grow, and even if it doesn’t, you can still be amazing with it.”

Izuku knew he was getting a little teary, but he hoped no one else was looking closely enough to notice. It was no wonder Katsuki trusted Shouto with his son, when he said things like that so easily.

“And there’s no rush,” Shouto finished quietly. “You don’t have to force it just because of your dad. Have fun, be a kid; your time will come no matter what, don’t try to get there too quickly.”

“Okay,” Yuuto agreed, glancing over at Ryouji and Hiroki where they sat on the floor to stretch again, poking each other with their feet as they worked. “Do they know too?”

“They do,” Shouto assured him. “Hiroki forgets sometimes, when he starts thinking too hard, but he knows. And he has you and all your family reminding him, keeping him safe. Ryouji has... more going on.”

“I know,” Yuuto said solemnly. “He could hurt himself.”

“Yeah. But his dads are very careful about how hard he works, they’re very good with him.”

“They work hard.”

“They do,” Shouto agreed. “But if Ryouji ever said he wanted to stop, they’d stop immediately, and he knows that. Just like you and your dad, right? You both know how important it is to stop, if someone says stop.”

“Yeah.” Yuuto nodded. “So no one gets hurt.”

“Exactly.”

They fell silent, watching as Katsuki helped his little pair up to their feet, grinning at them like the proudest dad – and uncle – in the world. Shouto looked a little wistful, when Izuku glanced his way, and he had to swallow hard to keep his words down.

He wondered what Shouto would think of it, if he tried to hug him.

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