[UNFINISHED] Black Death Doctor - It could have been worse End (English)

Rage

Rei's laughter rang as bright as a bell when Inko told her about how she had ripped out Enji’s tooth yesterday. 

The green-haired woman had flushed cheeks as the mother of four grabbed her hands and squeezed them. 

"That was really impressive, Inko-san.
I know how scary my husband can be, so it is all the more gratifying to hear that you and your son have your ways against him."

Inko smiled and tilted her head slightly to acknowledge the compliments. 
For a while the two women sat in front of each other in silence, still holding hands. 

Finally, Rei realized what she was doing and let go of the green-haired woman as if her skin were glowing coals and her cheeks took on an intense red hue, while she cleared her throat and looked to the side - Inko didn't look much better either, but she pulled herself together.

"Well ... there's something I wanted to ask for a while now ... - you still call Todoroki-san your husband; why?"

Immediately the embarrassing mood turned into something serious and gray eyes settled stubbornly on delicate fingers that played with each other. 

"It's all a little more complicated than it actually appears at first glance.", 
Rei breathed and licked her lips,
"Enji ... he. He was very nice for a long time ... I know that he married me for my Quirk and that he paid my family to give him my hand without a fight, but ... at first he was really charming, kind and ... so ... excited It really looked like he could love me and ... he didn't hurt me until I got in the way of Shouto's and Touya's training,
and ... he was such a loving father when the kids were young, fooling around on the floor with them, playing catch, teaching them to crawl and he was immediately there when they took their first steps.
And ... I actually just wait all the time for my husband to come home and not this ... this monster that devoured him more and more! "

This time Inko sought physical contact to comfort her friend.

It was a thought that had never crossed her mind. 

So Enji hasn't always been the monster out of Shouto's nightmares, but just a ... just a simple man who fell in love with his work so much, that one day he never returned home.
But it might still be possible to get him back. 

She saw what happened to Hisashi. 
How he fell in love with his job as well. How he came home less and less. How he pushed her and Izuku aside and finally ... left, replaced them.

But Enji Todoroki still came back home. 
Even if he had lost himself somewhere, or forgotten, or locked himself up - he came back.
And that was all she needed to know that there was still hope for him.

"Have I already told you how Izuku knocked Todoroki-san out in the hospital with a sedative?", She asked the white-haired woman, luring her into a startled laugh.

"He did what?!"

And so Inko began to tell the story in glorious exaggeration.

But in the back of her mind, she was thinking about a former loving husband who kept haunting her thoughts afterward.

~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~ • ~

It was five weeks later and both the small and the large family had settled into their new routine. 

Inko had a room of her own in the Todoroki estate and Shouto's and Izuku's rooms were more or less merged. 

They had tried to turn the room next to his best friend into Izuku's, but he resolutely refused. 

After school, either the nanny or Inko would pick Izuku up from his school, switching every third day (Shouto was tutored at home), sometimes even Enji would pick him up when his break or patrol was timed just right.
Depending on the schedule they went to the respective house.
The house of the Midoriyas' was an Endeavor-Free-Zone and the hero was not even allowed to enter the garden... he didn't seem to really want to, either, and neither mother nor son had any idea where the repulsion could stem from.