Three months passed like a slow, turning page in a heavy book. Natsu's arm was recovering very quickly thanks to the advanced medical technology in the world. It also helped that Enji Todoroki had connections to specialists with quirks that aided in recovery.
Rei had moved back to the Todoroki household after undergoing therapy for several months and living with her mother. Enji and Rei agreed to live on separate sides of the house, but came to the agreement with both Enji and her therapist that she would stay away from the children for the time being in the event of a relapse.
Meanwhile, the death of Toya was still fresh, and the kids saw their father snap Natsu's arm in rage. It was enough to make them avoid him whenever they could. The atmosphere was suffocating.
Natsu and Gray felt it instantly.
Natsu sat on the floor of the living room, haphazardly attempting building a dragon out of sofa pillows and various toys. "Tch. This one's got stubby wings," he muttered, kicking a cushion. "He looks like an idiot." He turned to Gray with a deadpan expression. "Like you…"
"Excuse me? I know you of all people aren't saying that." Gray raised a brow from his spot at the low table, meticulously organizing a deck of superhero trading cards by color gradient not power level, not rarity, but by how nice they looked together. "At least mine isn't a lint-breathing sofa gremlin."
Natsu stuck his tongue out and chucked a coaster at him. It sailed wide and hit the wall with a thud. They both froze.
Footsteps.
But it wasn't Enji. Just a servant, walking past. The boys relaxed slightly.
This has become their rhythm lately. Still themselves, still squabbling, but with quieter punches and a newfound talent for listening to silence. Gray, ever perceptive, had noticed more than just the change in volume.
"Hey," he said after a long pause. "Don't you think… it's weird? Enji hasn't yelled once today."
Natsu blinked. "Huh." He thought back. No barking orders. No thunderous stomps. No slamming doors. Just that gruff voice at dinner muttering "eat" and then disappearing again.
"…Maybe he's dying," Natsu said, half-joking.
Gray snorted. "That'd be too lucky."
Shoto's soft footsteps padded into the room. The air changed again.
Both boys turned slightly, cautious.
He didn't say anything, he rarely did anymore but today he didn't immediately leave either. Instead, he hovered by the door, watching them with unreadable eyes.
Gray gave a small wave. Natsu, unfazed, just tilted his head. "Wanna sit?" he asked, tapping a pillow next to his half-built dragon.
Shoto didn't move, but he also didn't retreat. He stayed. A minute. Two. Five.
Eventually, he turned and left, but not as fast as usual.
Gray watched him go, chin in his palm. "Well that was weird. Right?"
"Yep," Natsu said.
In the background, muffled voices echoed from deeper in the house. Enji, speaking low. Rei's soft tone, barely audible. No fighting. No shouting. Just… tension.
But for now, the boys let it be. That was for the adults to settle.
-----------
Mid Summer.
Things were finally a little less tense. Everyone more or less was used to the quiet of the house. Enji still tried to distract himself by focusing all of his attention on training Shoto, who didn't really have much of a choice. Although he did start allowing more time for Shoto to play with his siblings, which was surprising to them.
Watching TV together was new. It was awkward when Endeavor asked. Natsuo immediately rejected them. Fuyumi, the kind soul she was, accepted because she felt bad. She dragged Natsu and Gray along. Shoto, hearing that his siblings would at least be there, also joined.
Despite following the new tradition in the family for the past few weeks, it was still incredibly tense. The family sat awkwardly in front of the TV on the couch. Fuyumi, Gray, and Shoto sat as far as possible from Enji on the couch. Natsu sat in the middle, and Enji on the other side.
"Anything you kids want to watch?" Enji asked despite everyone knowing exactly what channel he was about to turn to. It remained silent in the room. Enji began scrolling through channels until stopping at the hero channel. There it displayed footage of his latest villain capture.
Everyone remained silent, like they just wanted this to be over with and done. Shoto barely paid any attention. Fuyumi was pretending everything was fine. Gray was creating small ice cubes that he occasionally tossed at natsu, just to see it melt and steam on impact.
Natsu finally had it. Not with the ice cubes, although it did annoy him.
"Really? We're gonna watch YOU? Natsu interjected. "That's so boring! We get forced to watch you all the time whenever you're with us! Do the other heroes even work?"
Natsu immediately grabbed the remote and put All Might on instead.
Gray couldn't help but laugh a bit as Enji sulked at the thought of his children preferring to watch his rival over himself. But he felt slightly better when Natsu changed the channel to an animated series about Ninjas.
Gray huffed at Natsu's selection. "What is with you and ninjas?"
"Ninjas are cool. Nin-Nin." Natsu said as he wrapped his scarf around his face and made signs with his hands.
Enji looked towards the family that was with him. Natsuo and Rei were missing. Rei couldn't be here yet because of the agreement with the therapist but Natsuo had not once spent any time with Enji the moment Rei moved back. He felt a cold sting in his heart thinking about them, but snapped back when Natsu leaped off the couch and landed directly on the table, accidentally setting it on fire. Fuyumi panicked and instantly put it out.
Gray threw a pillow at Natsu's head. "Watch it, Flamebrain!"
Endeavor sighed.
–
Soon it was the end of the year again.
"Hey D-dad…" Gray's face contorted as he said the word. Enji noticed Gray's face cringe upon saying "dad" and sighed.
"What is it?"
Gray gestured for Fuyumi to speak.
"I-I got this new cookbook at school recently and I was wondering if I could cook dinner tonight?"
"Of course you can." Enji said. Fuyumi's eyes lit up.
"I'll help out." Gray said. "I'm pretty good at following instructions for cooking."
"I would like to learn to cook as well!" Shoto said.
"I'll heat the stove!" Natsu shouted.
"You idiot, we have a gas stove already. We don't need you burning Fuyumi's food." Gray retorted.
Natsu sprung up and slammed his forehead into Gray's, the two of them now glaring at each other.
"It will taste better if I heat it up!"
"Can you guys please stop…" Fuyumi looked at her two younger brothers. "And Haise…please put on your clothes…"
"Stupid streak-" Natsu stopped as a huge hand grabbed his head. He found himself suddenly looking Enji in the eyes.
"Go you three. Start up dinner. Make some for your mother and Natsuo. I'm sure they'll want to try it too."
"Thanks dad!" Fuyumi cheered as she happily ran to the kitchen with Gray stumbling behind as he attempted to put his shorts on.
"So does that mean mom can join us tonight?" Shoto asked.
"Not yet…maybe next time." Enji responded sternly.
Shoto clenched his fist, but remained silent. The quiet returned to the living room.
—
Age 6
The sakura had started blooming early that year, pink petals dancing through the spring breeze and littering the walkways. The Todoroki household was preparing for the next stage.
Natsu was running through the hall barefoot, wearing one sock and a cape he'd fashioned out of a towel, screaming something he learned on TV about "power levels."
Gray was sipping juice like the world's smallest exhausted grandfather, muttering, "He doesn't even need to pretend to be a kid…"
Somewhere in the house, Rei was folding new uniforms with trembling hands, biting her lip every time she touched the soft blue fabric. She hadn't thought she'd be included. She hadn't dared to assume.
But apparently, Endeavor had woken up one morning, flipped through the calendar, grunted something about education being "mandatory" and said:
"They'll all go to Sekihai. It'll save time."
That was it. No discussion. No explanation.
Rei had nearly dropped the dish she was holding. "All of them?"
"Yes. Triplets. Same age. Efficient." He hadn't even looked up from his agency reports.
Gray had stared. "Wait. You're letting us go to the same school as Shoto?"
Natsu had popped up behind him. "The fancy one with the playground shaped like a castle?!"
Endeavor grunted again. "You're enrolled. First day is Monday."
Gray blinked. "That was weird, right?"
"I don't even care anymore…" Natsu went back to what he was doing.
The weekend before the entrance ceremony was a flurry of preparation.
Natsu didn't really care much for school. But after watching enough television and reading, Gray finally explained to him that using quirks was illegal without a hero license. He was stunned. What was the point of the training he had been doing? So Natsu, on a whim, decided to become a hero. And to be a hero, he needed to graduate from school.
Natsu played around with fire on his fingertips. To the observer, it looked like he was just playing around. But Natsu had slowly learned to control his fire efficiently. He couldn't release many ranged bursts without tiring out. He had to keep the fire around him for maximum efficiency. And he still needed to keep his lighter on him to eat fire. He also learned to properly control the temperature of his fire. He held the pencil in his hand and rolled it around, without burning it. He smiled at the results. The temperature control wasn't too difficult. The fire felt like an extra limb to him. He was able to control it very easily.
Shoto sat quietly while Rei helped him fold his uniform. He didn't ask questions. He didn't protest. But when Natsu tried to show him how to hide candy in his sleeve, he just stared at him.
Progress.
Meanwhile, Enji remained… a presence.
He didn't help pack. He didn't attend the uniform fitting. But on the morning of the ceremony, he stood by the door, arms folded, in full hero gear.
"Let's go," he said curtly.
Rei stepped into the entryway, holding their school bags. Her hands trembled again. But this time, no one stopped her.
The drive to Sekihai Elementary was short, but awkward. They finally reached the school entrance and Natsu immediately bolted out the door. He stared in awe at the massive school. Thinking of the places he could explore.
He skipped ahead to the gate in excitement.
Gray kept adjusting his collar. "Do we have to wear this? I feel like I am in a marching band."
Shoto trailed behind, glancing once at his mother, then away again.
Rei's smile was small and hesitant, but it stayed.
And Endeavor? He said nothing. But he didn't leave. He just walked a few paces behind, like some giant, brooding bodyguard with fire in his beard.
At the school gates, families buzzed with excitement. Parents were snapping photos. The kids were all disciplined. They stood straight with impeccable posture. This was a private school for the elites. A banner read: Welcome to the First Grade Class of Sekihai Elementary!
Gray nudged Natsu. "We're really doing this."
"Yup," Natsu grinned. "The place won't know what hit it."
"Don't hit it.."
The family stood together in front of the school and had a photo taken. Natsu made a peace sign, Gray just crossed his arms, Shoto held on tightly to the straps of his backpack. Rei stood behind the three and Enji stood at the side.
Once that was done Natsu began to run through the gate.
"Yakuto," Endeavor said, stopping him in place.
Natsu turned slowly, eyebrows raised.
"Don't cause trouble." He said sternly looking directly at him.
Natsu stared at him. He didn't say anything and just walked away.
Enji just stared after him, genuinely speechless. He had a strange premonition of a headache in his future
Gray just snickered and ran after him.
Rei smiled watching her kids run off.
Inside the school, their classroom smelled like fresh wood and hints of pine.
Desks were arranged in tidy rows. A colorful welcome board bore their names in paper letters. A few students were already seated, looking around the class and memorizing their classmates.
Rei stood at the door, watching her sons walk into the classroom together. She didn't try to follow. She didn't hover. But she stood there long enough to memorize the moment.
Triplets. Together. At the start of something.
Shoto sat in his seat near the window.
Gray took the desk in the middle.
Yakuto claimed the front, raised his fist in triumph, and shouted, "FIRST GRADE, I'M ALL FIRED UP!!"
Rei gave a quiet, broken laugh, some of her tension easing at Natsu's antics.
—
Natsu and Gray sat in the principal's office like two war criminals awaiting trial. Natsu had one leg slung over the other, chewing gum he very much wasn't allowed to have. Gray sat beside him, arms crossed, perfectly composed except for the smug twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"Oy, where'd you get the gum?" Gray inquired.
Natsu just blew a giant bubble and popped it. Gray felt the urge to hit him.
Across from them sat the principal, a middle-aged man whose patience had clearly expired sometime around mid-morning, and Rei Todoroki, who looked like she was trying to phase through the floor.
"Mrs. Todoroki," the principal began, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It is… exceptionally rare to have to consider this level of disciplinary action… on the first day of school, no less."
He took out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and began reading aloud.
"Homeroom: Yakuto responded to roll call by shouting 'Sup, losers!' and throwing a rubber eraser at Haise. Haise retaliated by launching ice cubes into Yakuto's desk from his lunch thermos."
Rei closed her eyes.
"First period: Haise was completely naked when the teacher entered the room. His excuse was — and I quote — "I didn't know how that happened."
Natsu was smirking, clearly taunting him. Gray didn't return it, instead he kicked him, telling him to be quiet.
"Also first period: Yakuto attempted to balance five pencils vertically in his hair, succeeded, and then dared other students to "beat his record if they could." "
Gray sighed. "It was four pencils."
The principal continued.
"Second period: The boys got into a heated argument over who won last night's pillow fight. When the teacher attempted to redirect the conversation to fractions, they both yelled, 'Shut up, we're solving real problems!'"
Rei covered her face.
"Recess: Haise and Yakuto got into a fight over who could go down the slide first. In a fit of anger, Haise froze the slide. Four students slipped and flew off and sustained minor injuries."
"I told them to wait 'til I was done, and that was mostly his fault anyway." Gray muttered under his breath.
"Yakuto, despite multiple warnings, climbed one of the cherry blossom trees, started shouting that he was 'the king of Sekihai,' and then threw cherry pits at passing students.
"I stand by that," Natsu said solemnly.
"Third period: Both boys were found asleep, facedown on the floor, using their backpacks as pillows. When woken, Yakuto claimed to be in the middle of a dream battle and asked for five more minutes."
"Fourth period: Yakuto and Haise engaged in a paper airplane contest that escalated until every single window in the classroom was broken. I don't know how they managed to break windows with paper airplanes."
A heavy silence followed.
The principal took a long, deep breath, clearly questioning all of his life choices.
Rei finally looked up, her face pale. "I... I don't even know where to start."
"Me neither," the principal said wearily. "Considering this is their first time in school, and it is the first day, we will not be suspending them… Yet. But… they're going to need close supervision. And ideally, some form of supervised separation during high energy periods."
Natsu raised his hand. "Do we still get juice boxes?"
"No," the principal said flatly.
Gray turned to him and muttered, "You ruined it."
Rei looked sternly at her children. They immediately remembered the glare and how scary their mother could become and felt a shiver run down their body.
"You're both in serious trouble when we get home."
"A-Aye!" Natsu and Gray hugged each other.
Rei thanked the principal and took the kids home.
—
A few weeks passed with Natsu and Gray attempting to be on their best behavior in school. The two still got in trouble, but not nearly as much as they had on the first day.
After school, Natsu, Gray, and Shoto waited for Rei to pick them up. As they stood at the corner of the school, they noticed some commotion happening in an alcove of the school building.
"P-please stop poking my head…" A first grade boy with an owl head cowered in fear with his arms up. Three older kids who appeared to be in the fourth or fifth grade had long wooden branches and were jabbing at his head.
"Come on ugly. Glow some more." One of them taunted.
The owl boy's head began bleeding as one of them poked him again with a stick. Natsu and Gray looked visibly angry watching the situation and began to walk towards the boys.
"Wait…didn't mom say not to get into trouble?" Shoto chased after his brothers.
"We'll deal with that later. Those kids are pissing me off." Natsu said.
"Shoto. It's better to break the rules than to be a passive bystander for something like this." Gray patted Shoto.
One of the bullies prepared to strike the owl headed boy with a branch, only for his feet and legs to suddenly be frozen.
"W-w-w-w-what?!"
The other bullies turn around to see Natsu facing them.
"First graders?" One of them questioned.
Natsu suddenly leaped forward at one of them, propelling himself with his flames. Natsu's knee collided with the kid's head, knocking him out.
"You little-!" The last kid tried to swing at Natsu with his stick, only for it to be grabbed. Natsu warmed up the stick till it became too hot to hold for the other boy.
"Aghghhh! My hand!" He let go of the burning stick. His hand became red. .
"Look at you guys crying. You think you can just beat someone up without being able to take a beating in return?" Gray commented.
Natsu extended a hand out to the owl boy.
"You okay?"
He bowed his head and accepted Natsu's hand.
"T-thank you… my name is Fuku Rekka."
"Nats- I mean Drag- I mean Todoroki, Yakuto." Natsu said with a grin. The japanese custom of last name first when interacting with others outside the family was still new to him.
"Todoroki, Haise.." Gray said as he walked over. He made a small ice cube for the kid to use on his bruised hand.
"W-wow! Okay. Nice to meet you both! Thank you so much for saving me!" Rekka bowed his head again.
"Why were those guys picking on you?" Natsu questioned.
"It's just…when you don't look like everyone else you tend to get bullied more…" Rekka's eyes went solemn.
"Oh…" Gray remembered the lizard headed kid he and Natsu were fighting on the playground a couple of years ago. The father muttered something about heteromorphs being targeted.
"Man…that's dumb. I think your owl head is really cool." Natsu said with a grin. Rekka's eyes lit back up.
"What do you kids think you're doing?!" A teacher suddenly appeared from around the corner. He saw Natsu, Gray, and Rekka standing over the bodies of three fifth graders. One of the kids who had quietly woke up immediately shouted.
"The red haired guy attacked us with his quirk."
"Like hell i did." You guys were picking on Rekka!" Natsu shouted back.
"You two!" The teacher glared at Natsu, and Rekka.
"NO!" Shoto's voice rang out as he ran towards his brothers.
"My brothers are right! These three older kids were picking on the owl headed one and they stopped them!"
"All of you in my office!" The teacher yelled.
—
Natsu, Shoto, Gray, and Rekka sat in the office with the teacher.
"Rekka, your father is on his way here. As for you three…" The teacher looked at the Todorokis. Natsu immediately stood up from his seat and slammed his hands on the table.
"You can't be for real. We saved Rekka from bullies and we're getting punished?"
"You four broke school rules-"
"Listen. Even if I go by school rules, only I actually fought them. Shoto, Haise and Rekka didn't have anything to do with!" Natsu exclaimed.
"And Rekka was the victim here!" Gray interrupted.
The door suddenly opened behind them and a huge, burning figure walked through the door.
"Endeavor?!" The teacher and Rekka exclaimed in surprise.
"What are you doing here? I thought mom was picking us up?" Gray questioned.
"I finished my patrol early so I told her I would do it. I'm not surprised to see you in trouble." Endeavor said as he stared at Natsu
"Listen, it wasn't our fault. This teacher-"
"Yeah I know." Endeavor said. Endeavor glared at the teacher and the teacher immediately fell off of his chair.
"Listen, I know my kids used their quirks in school when they weren't supposed to. For that I apologize. However, I will not stand by and let you punish them for helping someone in need."
"W-w-well…" The teacher remained on the floor visibly sweating and shaking.
"You think I don't know. I saw the students that my kids beat. They're the children of some notable politicians who support this school. That's why you're so keen on defending them." Endeavor picked up the teacher by his collar and dragged him up to the seat and placed him back down.
"If you're going to play the game of corruption, I won't let you do my children dirty. How do you think this institution would fare if word got out that the number two ranked hero disapproves of this school. I'm already considering moving my children out of here to one in a different prefecture even if it is a bit further away rather than deal with people like you."
"V-v-very well. I will make sure t-t-that…t-that…" Words would no longer come out of the teacher's mouth. 'If I punish Endeavor's children…then this school will receive a bad rep and we will lose a lot of funding…but if I punish the other children…this school will lose a lot of funding and either way I'm going to get fired!'
In the end, he decided to just let the matter rest.
The teacher passed out in his chair with his mouth wide open from shock. Endeavor shook his head and looked at his kids.
"This better not repeat itself! And don't involve Shoto next time!" He barked.
"But what about Rekka?" Natsu said, completely ignoring him.
"That's not up to me." Endeavor rubbed his forehead. This was just the first day.
"Don't worry Mr.Endeavor, with our in-house experts, we will provide the most up to date quirk counseling for Young Yakuto and Haise." The teacher suggested.
Endeavor nodded and they all stepped out.
"What the heck is quirk counseling." Natsu whispered to Gray.
Gray just shrugged. He didn't know either.
Shoto leaned in and whispered "It's to teach us the responsible usage of our quirks supposedly."
"Why would we need that?" Natsu asked.
"We will find out later when we get it." Gray replied.
Over the course of several weeks, each of the Todoroki triplets attended their mandatory quirk counseling sessions, as required by the government for young children manifesting early abilities. The process was mostly standardized individual evaluations with a counselor, brief demonstrations of their quirks, and discussions about control, safety, and emotional regulation. By the end of it, Gray summed it up dryly while staring directly at Natsu: "Basically, don't use your quirk in public and don't be an idiot with it."
"That does make sense." Shoto understood as well, staring directly at Natsu.
"Why are you looking at me??" Natsu questioned.
"Because out of the three of us, you are most likely to get arrested first." Gray joked.
Shoto nodded in agreement.