TW's: Platonic Dad Dabi x daughter reader, Fem as per usual, Mentions of abusive familes, alcohol and drugs (like 1 parahgraph) but a good chunk of fluff too. read at your own risk Ig.
At 1:30 pm sharp, every weekday, the local elementary school lets out in the neighborhood, children run to their parents cars, walk home, or make their way to the train or bus to go home.
What's unfortunate however, is that there have been certain individuals spotted around the area.
Robbers that natch mothers purses away while they aren't looking, creep old men who watch from a distance, and with the rise of the League of Villains and their speculated hideout being close by, Yokohama's public council has urged for some heroes to take up the extra patrols available in such a... crime infested area. Yes.
Endeavor's PR team eventually got wind of this and...
The bell rang, children burst through the doors eager to go home for the weekend, so joyous. Only to find something even better, a hero, the new number 1 hero, Endeavor.
Swarmed, that what he was, swarmed and annoyed. but this is what's good for his reputation, good for the community, good for him to stay cool and chill as the youngsters say.
Unbeknownst to him however, a harmless little thing lurks around the school building, hidden in shadows like her dad does whenever they go out into town together. She stares like a hawk. At least that's what she tries to look like anyway.
She ends up looking like a tiny wee kitten about to pounce on its mother's tail.
she thinks to herself, clutching her new bag tightly, she got it just last week since school just started. It's pretty worn down, they had gotten it from the thrift, but it's also all they could afford at the moment. But it was nice enough, with a lot of pockets and space for her plushies, and the best part, it was her favorite color!
She stood there for a moment. Hidden in the shade of the ginkgo trees, she shook her head, and made it past the crowd of rowdy classmates, with flame hero Endeavor at its center.
She was five now, that meant she would be just fine on the streets of Yokohama, lowest crime rate in the world and all that. Dad didn't need to take her on the bus and walk her to school and go back on the bus all over again. She could walk on her own to the bus stop, get on the bus, and then dad would walk her back to their apartment. easy. Really easy.
At least it may have been if a hero wasn't following her. This one could burn her to a crisp, she'd be all crunchy like the toast and strawberry jam she'd had this morning.
Well, to be fair, from Endeavor's perspective, all he saw was a little girl walking down the same route that he was meant to take for his patrol. Simple. May as well make sure that she's okay and gets home safely, especially since she doesn't have her mom with her or anything.
She is a small little thing really. Shoto used to be like that, cute and stubby. Rei would dress him up in cute clothes whenever they would go out.
The girl keeps walking, walk, walk, walk, well, more of a slight toddle. Occasionally saying "hi" to class mates as they go to their respective apartments and houses and to the strays that wander the alley ways.
Speaking of houses, where is this girl's house?
More importantly perhaps, where is her guardian?
He should probably introduce himself to her.
Unfortunately, Endeavor never did get the chance to meet the girls mother or father the way he hoped he would. Instead, he watched her stop at the bus stop closest to the school. He asked her if she needed help. She only replied with the tiniest jump of suprise and a shake of her head "No", and with that he carried on with his patrol.
He tried not to think about her, really he did. But there are peculiar things about this girl, and peculiar things don't leave the mind easily.
He wanted to say that the girl was fine, but she surely didn't look like it. Her uniform, while well maintained, looked old. So did her backpack and her shoes. Her hair style, little pig tails that bounced when she moved, weren't done very well. (ever clearly done by inexperienced hands)
Now- the way she jumped when he spoke to her; that was the oddest thing of all. She had a certain look in her eyes, as if she was scared of him hurting her.
God does he know what that look too well. It's the one that nearly all of his family gave him at one point or another. Shoto, Rei, Fuyumi, Natsuo, all of them except Touya (that boy only ever wanted praise and admiration from him)... now that he thinks of it, her eyes were a bright blue like Touya's.
Now that just made things worse.
Endeavor just wants to say she's shy and call it a day. But something's wrong about that label. She wasn't shy to her classmates or the various shopkeepers he saw her say hi to. No- No- No! That girl was scared of him.
And just like that, worst case senarios start flooding into his head.
Abusive families, drugs and shattered bottles of bears. Images of all things going wrong and hurtful words. Words that maybe he had once uttered to Shoto or Rei.
Bad things, truly, maybe that scared look wasn't actually one of fear but a plea for help..
Oh it doesn't matter, not right now anyways. Maybe he'd be able to see that little girl again on his patrol some some other day. Maybe it wasn't even him that she was scared of. Maybe- just maybe, he happed to catch her by complete surprise.
Next day, 1:30 pm sharp. Once again, a tiny figure sauntered in the shade of the ginkgo trees. This time, and like clock work, the same way as the day prior. flame hero Endeavor greeted a small army of children who were on their way home;.
She was going to be sneaky time- sneaky- sneaky- sneaky- like a spy! yeah, this is definitely why she wins at hide and seek when playing with her dad! Yeah, super sneaky and oh - never mind, the guy's following right behind her anyways.
She's never going to be a ninja :<
And once again, they walked. Not in snyc, heavens no, she walked in front he in the back. She stopped at the bus stop, he asked if he was okay, and if she needed help. This time she didn't jump, but she also had no verbal response. Only a head shake yes (that she was okay) and then a head shake no (she did not need any help).
1:30 pm. School lets out. kids swarm Endeavor. She tries to sneak off. They end up walking together to the bus instead. He only asks about her well being, and she only shakes her head yes. Nothing more, nothing less.
Sunshine, rain, or fog, she was there if there was school. He was there regardless. not like his family really wanted him home anyways.
It was nice really, he got to play the role of protector, and secretly, he liked to think that when the girl got home, she would gush about him to her parents and would ask to buy a figure or plush or something for him to sign.
(It never happened though, she never asked him to sign anything.)
that brings us to today. Winter had finally decided to let up, the air is warmer, grass is greener, and trees are growing their leaves and blossoms as per usual. Endeavor is there at the entrance, saying hello to all the school children as per usual. Unconsciously, he is also waiting for his little patrol buddy to show up so he can escort her to the bus stop.
Something was off about today though, she was late, and (y/n), as he had once heard another kid call her, was usually never late.
Worried, he waited a little while longer, and about 3 minutes later, out she came.
Now normally, (y/n), the stealthy little lady she is, would attempt to hide and sneak past. Not today though.
Another thing! Was that mud on her backpack?!
God no! That girl loved that backpack more then her own life! It was her favorite, he assumed, as she was always one to keep it clean and tidy.
Oh! what happened to her uniform! It's also dirty with mud. and where are her pigtails?! her usual cheery smile? has she been crying?
No matter, he didn't manage to get a proper look since she ran past him. Pawing at her eyes and cheeks...
And for a moment, Enji didn't know how tpo be a hero.
What was he supposed to do? comfort her? how? she's a child, Enji has no clue how to deal with a child.
He did once though, when it was only him, Touya, and Rei in their family. bask when Touya wouln't burn himself, when Shoto wasn't the key to a legacy, when Fuyumi didn't have to play the role of mom and Natsuo didn't despise him. That was decades ago, it seems. How was he to do it now?
He must have been frozen there in thought for quite a while, and surprisingly, it was cakles and snickers that managed to snap him out of it.
"Did you see the look on her face?! I mean, who cares that much about a backpack that old!"
"Yeah honestly! It's a miracle she has lunch money at all."
"I hear her dad doesn't have a job, and he's freeloading off his parents."
"That'd make sense as to why she's so stupid, must run in the family!"
It was a group of boys, hair, messy. Shoes with mud clinging to them. They were in a tassel weren't they, looked like they had won too, and just like that it all starts to add up.
It seems, something had simply just snapped.
Far away, well, more so 2 blocks away really, little old (y/n) cries and cries at the bustop. dad was going to lose his marbles once he found out!
the bus was going to take a while huh? that's what she gets for bolting out of there as fast as she could. It shouldn't be like this, what had she done wrong? She wasn't mean or anything. She was just- (y/n). Why do they still hurt her?
She sat there thinking, for a little while if you will. Sniffling and wiping at her cheeks, occasionally stopping to brush off some of the dirt and mud on her bag and clothes. The bus should be here any minute now...
Huh? oh darn it, that flame hero's back again. what's that guys' problem? wait, what's he got in his hand? is that..?
the guy stopped Infront of her and he stuck out a couple bank notes, 100- 200- 300- 400! All 400 yen that she had got earlier that day from dad. He had told her "be careful! don't spend it all too fast!"
Welp, she didn't spend it, it was taken and now, returned?
The flame guy cleared his throat. "Here's the money you lost, tell me if anyone's, um, bugging you again, alright?"
She nodded her head and got up, and did a quick bow the way her teachers and dad taught her, polite, but short. She quickly snatched her money and flittered back to her corner of the bus stop.
She looked like a stray kitten stealing fish, a little scared, a little dirty, endearing, and most of all someone that needs a hero!!! (so corny)
Endeavor, unsure of what to do, scittered away himself. Did he like having to corner and yell at those kids to get some money back? not really but it was nice to know that (y/n) had the money and help to survive another day. Those bullies shouldn't bother her again.
Is this what he could have been doing for his own kids? nah, he would have taught them to punch. except- he didn't if only...
He should buy Fuyumi some flowers.
(y/n) is busy flipping through all her money, making sure that it's all there. How weird, dad said that heros are meanies who only "save" people for the money and fame. He said they'll hurt you.
But this one- didn't, his name was Endeavor or something like that right? What's up with that? Dad couldn't have been wrong and she's pretty sure that he's a hero. So why didn't it make sense?
No time to think about it though, the bus is here and when she gets off it, she's going to have to explain her dirty backpack and clothes and there's a very good chance he will not be happy.
yippeee, and here I go carwling back to the hole from whence I came.