"So Ethan, what have you been learning about with Mr. Sho and Lin? Anything fun?" I held up Ethan while he was on my back. He kept lightly kicking his legs while his arms were wrapped loosely around my neck. Sometimes when he feels like it he'd just rest his head on my shoulder, but the majority of the time he keeps it up.

"All about trucks and cars!" His head pops up from my shoulder in excitement. He lets go to pat my shoulder a few times before linking them back together.

His joy definitely puts me in a better mood, so I laugh a bit.

"Like those right there?" I tilt my head in the direction of the moving cars on the road since my hands are occupied with holding him up. I can't see Ethan's face to see his reaction, but I'm guessing he's surprised since he goes quiet before answering.

"No no, too big. Car is small." He says quieter than before. He moves his hands in front of me and opens out one of his palms and points to it with the other hand. Stopping in the middle of the sidewalk to look at it, which was fine since it's not a busy town. I stare at it for a while before it processes. Does he think that the drawings in the books he was learning from are the literal sizes of cars?

"No, Ethan. Cars are big." I argue with him.

"No. Small." And he argues back. I laugh at it though. He spends too much time with Mr. Sho. I mean it's not like he has anywhere else to go, but still.

"Do you want to go inside of one?" I walk over towards to road and stopping right in front of it. I hope he can get a better look at them from here. I would've guessed that he'd shout and point at them like any other kid his age, but he does something else instead.

"No please." He whispers before resting his head back down on my shoulder, facing the opposite direction from the cars. I take a look at him from the corner of my eye then back at the cars. He's not upset just visibly uninterested and uncomfortable. Is he? Is Ethan afraid of cars? Even though that's going to lead to some problems, it's kind of adorable in a way.

"If you say so." I shrug and move farther away from road. His head is still resting on my shoulder so I'd just take that as him not wanting to talk. He did just finish his lessons today and Mr. Sho wanted me to get him tired, so I guess this is a good thing.

I really like this town, it's much more quieter than mine. I don't know if that's because of the busy streets or how dangerous it can be sometimes. But this one has a different feeling to it, much more cozy than home. Though I wouldn't trade the library for the world, even if Aiko is redecorating it from it's old vintage look. Which reminds me I should text her soon. She's been more worried of me lately. I keep getting half cooked pasta stuffed down my throat. It's only because Toshi is recovering and can't make sure that Aiko actually tries the food before giving it to others. Didn't I originally come here for his medicine?

I'm pretty sure Shinsou said something about this being his hometown. Today isn't a school day so maybe I'd randomly bump into him. I wish.

Even though he's acting as if he's half asleep, I'm still going to bring Ethan to the park. I think it'd be fun for him to play with the swings and the slides, maybe even meet and play with some other kids there too. That's what you were supposed to do with the kids, but you just got them injured in the end. It'll be good for him to socialize with kids his age rather than adults and a random teenager. Without it, he'd grow up to be socially distant and that just doesn't fit his personality.

There are so many things going on right now and I don't even know if I fully process half of them. I have so many questions about everything. Why did this happen? Could it have been different? None of the kids deserve what had happened to them in their past or anything right now. The only one that seems happy and content is Ethan and even then this isn't the right place for him to grow up. He needs educational help and so much more.

I'm just so confused as to why no one helped Ethan before he met Mr. Sho. Why is everyone in this town so oblivious? He's a literal child running around the town! The crime rates aren't that high, but how could they miss the large amount of people homeless. How could they not have noticed a little kid like Ethan running around. Are they that heartless? Mr. Sho said that Ethan kept trying to steal from them in the beginning before he finally stayed which means that he was out on his own for some time and if what Mr. Sho said earlier is true then Ethan must've been so confused when he left his house. It could've even been his first time leaving the house too and all by himself?

"Hey Ethan, how'd you make your way over to Mr. Sho?" I turn the corner to see the park not that far away.

"Walk"

"Well, yes." I laughed at his blunt answer. "But why? Where are your parents?" I don't know if this was the right time or not to ask him. This could be a really sensitive topic. I should've waited until we had gotten back or another time. I haven't even observed Ethan enough to know his behaviors and nervous tics. All I have is that he gets quieter when he's uncomfortable and even that is a little iffy.

"In the fire." He lifts his head and instead props his chin up. It digs into my shoulder a bit, but other than that I really don't mind it. Yet he answers in such a controlled and bored tone. He makes it seem like this is nothing for him. As if he didn't just say his parents were in a fire.

"In the fire? Ethan, did your parents die in a fire?" I ask my question slowly, making sure to detect any slight changes, but none happen

"Yes." Yeah okay, this isn't going how I imagined it and I can't tell if that's a good thing or bad thing yet.

"Were you there too?" We get closer to the and I look for open benches from the distance.

"Yes!" The fact that he said that with practically excitement is concerning. Especially since it's kind of a traumatic experience that he's willingly retelling. His head even popped up when he answered it.

"I'm sorry that that happened to you."

"Daddy took me out when it was too hot and go back inside to help Mommy. But then the house fell!" He pops his head right next to mine and I see his smile. He looks so innocent and carefree. It hurts.

"you watched it fall" I whisper in disbelief.

"Yes!"

"I'm so sorry Ethan. I'm so very sorry." I let him slide down my back before picking him up to my chest. I want him to cry. I want him to bawl his eyes out, yet he's not and somehow that makes me feel a million times worse.

"Kiki, why are you sad?" He pokes my cheek and I look at his little pout.

"You didn't have to go through that. You didn't deserve that." I whisper the last part. I watch as his eyes widen before a smile is brought to his face.

"I'm okay. I get to go outside now!" Now

"Is it fun?" I try to direct the conversation into a brighter note. I take a seat at the unoccupied bench and let him sit on my lap.

"It's scary, but I like Bear and Kiki!"

"Yes, I like Bear too!" I smile back at him, but he pays no mind to it. He just continues to talk.

"And there's no scary people too!" That makes me freeze. What does that mean?

"Scary people?" I see his eyes shift downward. I can tell he's trying to think of how to word his sentence.

"My Mommy talk me about them. She said they were all outside and if I leave the house they would hurt me!" He looks a little nervous now and he takes a glance at the side.

"The people outside?" I would just let him be but something about this just doesn't sit right with me.

"Yeah, the people outside are no nice. That's why Mommy started the fire!" And that just adds to the confusion. Why would his mom start the fire?

"S-she did what?"

"So the scary people won't hurt us!" He says as if it's obvious. Then he leans in closer to whisper the last part. "It's okay, they won't hurt Mommy now!" He pulls back with a smile, but that doesn't settle my nerves or helps with my suspicion. It probably makes it worse. Why is he so okay with this?

"Ethan, did you-"

"Denki!"  A familiar voice calls me. I start looking around me, not knowing where it came from until my eyes stop at him.

"Hi Hawks." I smile at the Pro Hero.

"What are you up t- WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" I stare at him in confusion before realizing that he's pointing.... at Ethan.

"A child?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

"God and you just keep that thing around for fun?" He sits down in the empty spot.

"Don't you have fans you could be blinding with your looks or something?" I roll my eyes. I would've never thought I'd do that to a Pro especially the 3'rd ranking pro hero.

"Yeah yeah, I'm on my break." He waves it off.

"But why are you here?"

"I saw you walking and decided to come over. I mean it's not that hard to tell you are. You have that black streak in your hair which is pretty recognizable."  He takes out his phone for a few seconds before putting it back in his pocket. Okay?

"Still doesn't explain why you came to me to talk."

"I'm your mentor! I can't just only see you for training. I have to get close to you, learn your secrets, your crushes, everything. Seeing you during training isn't enough."

"It's more than enough."

"What is up with teenagers these days, always so moody." It's not as if he isn't like six years older than me or anything.

"You love it."

"I won't lie, it does make conve-"

"Bird!" Ethan points at Hawks, only an inch or two away from his lenses. I almost forgot about him too, I guess I was too wrapped up in the conversation.

"No, I'm Hawks. I'm not some bird." He puffs his wings out whenever he's pouty, which is now.

"Technically-"

"Shut up." He stops me before continuing. Someone's feelings got hurt.

"You were at the house!" Ethan beams.

"I was at the where now?

"At the house!" He says louder.

"Okay no need to shout." He smiles at Ethan before turning to me. "Denki, who is this kid?"

"His name is Ethan." I move Ethan's hair out of his face. He really needs a haircut.

"Hi Ethan. I don't think we've met before?" Hawks scratched his beck.

"No, you were at the house!" He yells at Hawks in hope of getting him to understand, but Hawks is just as confused as anyone else. Instead he turns to me, "Thats why Mommy started the fire!" That's. Interesting. I wonder what that means.

"I haven't had any cases of a fire lately..... Are you sure it wasn't another Hero? Maybe Endeavor? He has flames." Hawks suggests.

"NO! You have red wings! Wings! Bird!" He points out.

"I'm sorry Ethan but I'm really confused right now. Denki do you know what's happening?" I'm trying to process the information he gave me earlier and add it to the new ones. It's like a puzzle especially since he can't fully explain it.

"He says you were at his house before right?" I turn to Ethan to get his nod in agreement.

"But why would I go to a kid's house for no reason?" Hawks asks himself out loud but Ethan takes it as a question to him.

"Because no noise!" Ethan throws his hands up in the air.

"This isn't making any sense to me." Hawks sighs.

"Ethan, what noise?"

"The house didn't make noise. You talked to Daddy!" He points to Hawks again.

"I don't think I remember going to someone's house for a noise complaint, or a no noise complaint recently."

"When did this happen, Ethan?"

"When I went outside." If I remember correctly from before he went outside because of the fire. He finally stayed with Mr. Sho a month before I visited and it's been about a month since then. So that would mean

"Um, maybe around two to three months ago?"

Hawks takes in the information and thinks for a bit, "I did have a case a while back. I hope I remember this, but Ethan was your Daddy tall with brown hair almost like yours?"

"Yes! He's super tall like a giant!" He stretches his arms high to mimic his dad's height. It's adorable.

"Yeah I remember that house. Neighbors called because they were scared for the safety of the mother and child, who I guess is Ethan here."

"Why would they be concerned?"

"Says they haven't seen anyone leave or enter the house except for the husband. They suspected he may be keeping them hostage or maybe a murder." He sighs as he remembers the story.

"Well what happened?"

"I can't get too specific since it's not a public case, but he had said everything was fine. I even saw both mother and kid playing, no bruises, no scars. So it checked out, everything was normal and he wasn't lying." Hawks shrugged.

"But that doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?" The fact that there was a fire that same exact day and killed two people. Allegedly caused by Ethan's mom too.

"A lot of things. What happened next?" I keep pressing on because I have to figure it out. It's like a puzzle.

"Well I left and a few days later I learned that there was a fire at the house and all three members of the family were assumed dead."

"But then there's Ethan."

"Right. Reports say it all had started from a single candle. Maybe it was left with no one watching it. It probably caught on something and started the fire. I was amazed of how something so small could do so much. It's worse knowing that I've seen them a few minutes prior and maybe could've prevented it." He runs his hand through his hair before talking out his phone. He must be checking on his time for his break.

Something isn't right here. There's too many holes and confusion. Ethan said that his mom intentionally started the fire, but he other than the "scary people", he never explained why. What am I missing?

"So what you're saying is, Ethan is technically dead."

"That's correct, he was announced dead so no one knows of his existence right now. Though it's not like he had much information on him when he was alive."
He shrugs again.

"So he won't be sent to an orphanage?" I ask the first and scariest question I had. If he was sent to an orphanage I wouldn't know what to do. I know the system is fucked up, and for boys like Ethan who weren't really smart worried me.

"No, not unless he's brought to the police station beforehand."

I smile at Hawks which makes him look up from his phone and stare.

"Why? What's with that face, what are you going to do?"

"Ethan isn't going to go the police station."

"Then where is he going?" Hawks asks with genuine curiosity and sarcasm.

I smile at him again.

I don't know what's happening/what happened with Ethan, but what I do know is that his parents died maybe from his mother, and he's willing to tell us the whole story... for fun. Something has to be wrong with the mother, but I just don't know what yet.

I think this is gonna turn out great.