A wonderful journey...but am I hearing a Jujutsu Shippuden?!?! Guess not...
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Bakugo let out a low sigh, tossing the phone onto the table. The silence that followed only made the fan's hum louder and, to his surprise, didn't do much to ease his restlessness. He glanced over to Kuro, who was muttering to himself while jotting notes on his notepad and drawing quick sketches of...something.
"What's got you all worked up, anyway?" Bakugo asked, half-interested but needing something to fill the silence. Kuro barely looked up, flipping his notebook around to reveal a scrawled, very intricate sketch of what seemed to be a dissected Nomu head.
"So, the Nomu has abnormal brain signaling...or something. When we fought it, it didn't even flinch when I tore into its eyes. Either it's not actually 'seeing' with them, or something else is doing the work," Kuro explained, tapping his pen against the page, clearly still working it out.
"Uh-huh," Bakugo replied, pretending to care while his foot tapped impatiently. "So, you're telling me, if we see another one, I should go for...what? The brain?"
Kuro shrugged, an unusually serene smile on his face. "Maybe. It's a hypothesis, anyway. Besides, if it doesn't work, it's still practice."
Bakugo rolled his eyes but leaned back, actually appreciating the prospect of getting to hit something again. "At least you're thinking ahead, dweeb." He crossed his arms, staring at the ceiling and feeling a hint of frustration bubble up. "Kinda think I could've taken Stain if it'd been just me."
Kuro tilted his head, genuinely intrigued. "Why's that?"
Bakugo clenched his fists, his eyes narrowing. "I don't know, something about that creep's whole act just rubs me the wrong way. Thinks he's some big deal, testing if we're 'worthy.' He wouldn't get to ask if he was flattened on the ground."
Kuro gave a small, contemplative nod. "You're right. But he's got a point, you know. Like how you didn't hesitate with that reporter back there. He was testing your instincts. Real heroes have to react like that."
Bakugo looked at him, a mixture of irritation and reluctant agreement in his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. That doesn't mean he gets to play judge, though."
Kuro grinned, amused at how riled up Bakugo could get over a single encounter. "Noted. Next time we see him, you can teach him a lesson."
They both fell quiet, the weight of the day's events sinking in for a moment. Then, suddenly, Kuro's phone buzzed again on the table, and Bakugo snatched it up reflexively.
"Who's bugging you this time?" Bakugo muttered, squinting at the screen as a name he recognized popped up—Todoroki.
Kuro perked up at that. "Oh, put it on speaker!"
Bakugo rolled his eyes but complied, putting the phone between them. Todoroki's calm, steady voice came through the speaker. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I wanted to check-in. I assume you two are still...' relaxing'?"
"Yeah, except for the part where it's boring as hell," Bakugo retorted. "What's going on with you?"
"Ran into Endeavor today," Todoroki replied, a slight edge to his tone. "He's convinced there's something...' useful' I could learn from him."
Kuro and Bakugo exchanged glances. Kuro's eyebrows raised with interest. "You gonna take him up on it?"
There was a pause on the other end before Todoroki sighed. "I guess I don't have much of a choice. I just hope I can keep my head while I'm at it."
Bakugo huffed, a smirk forming. "Don't let the old man get to you, Icyhot. If he pulls any crap, just tell him I'll take him down myself."
A slight, almost amused scoff came from Todoroki. "I'll keep that in mind."
Kuro laughed, snapping his notebook shut. "Well, it's shaping up to be an interesting training season for all of us. Let's just hope it stays that way."
Another silence fell over them as each of them, connected by the call, imagined the challenges that lay ahead. Bakugo finally spoke up, breaking the stillness. "All right, enough talk. Next time we're all back together, we're gonna have to settle a little score. Might as well see if any of you losers have kept up."
Kuro chuckled, nodding. "Agreed."
At the end of the call, they each went back to their thoughts, resolved in the knowledge that, sooner or later, they'd all be fighting on the same side again—together.
...
Meanwhile, back on Todoroki's side, he was outside, updating the police on a hostage situation he'd recently de-escalated. A would-be thief was currently encased in a thick sheet of Todoroki's ice, waiting for officers to free him.
"...So you're sure that he's okay in there?" the officer asked, his gaze shifting from the criminal to the layers of ice restraining him.
"He'll be fine," Todoroki said, almost off-handedly. "It's only lethal if he's trapped too long." He glanced at his phone as it buzzed, his expression calm but noticeably more attentive as he saw the caller ID. "Hello?"
A familiar voice met him on the other end. "Shoto! Hey... how's Dad?" It was his sister, Fuyumi. Todoroki could almost imagine her wringing her hands as she spoke, and her tone sounded both tired and cautiously optimistic—a voice he'd come to associate with family calls.
"Same as always," Todoroki replied, tucking his phone between his ear and shoulder as he continued down the sidewalk. "He's not going to apologize, if that's what you're hoping."
Fuyumi sighed softly. "Well... that's disappointing." She paused as if gathering her words, clearly wanting to say more. Todoroki sensed that tone well by now—she was probably hoping to be the bridge between their family, once again.
After a moment, Fuyumi continued, her voice brightening slightly. "Actually, I wanted to ask you something else... I was thinking of hosting a small get-together. You know, trying to keep things light. Do you think any of your friends would be interested in coming?"
Todoroki was silent for a moment, his thoughts immediately going to his classmates. He knew Fuyumi's intentions were good, but he'd long accepted that some things about their family wouldn't change. "Fuyumi... you're trying to bring us together again with reason, but Dad's already set his path. And so has everyone else." He kept his voice gentle, not wanting to discourage her but unwilling to let her cling to false hopes.
There was a silence on the other end of the line, followed by a small, unsteady breath. "I just want us to be whole again, you know? After everything…"
He paused, wrestling with the instinct to tell her it was impossible. His feelings toward Endeavor remained largely unresolved, and his mother's reappearance only complicated things further. But for Fuyumi, the only one who seemed able to believe in a future beyond their father's past, he kept his answer simple. "Then go ahead. Throw your party."
Fuyumi's voice softened, a hint of warmth returning to it. "Thanks, Shoto. Natsuo didn't exactly give me the same support."
Todoroki allowed himself a faint smile. "Well, don't expect him to change overnight." The thought of his classmates showing up to his house for some awkward family dinner made him chuckle, inwardly grateful to have friends now—friends who knew when to offer support but didn't press.
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[Auther: Yo, been awhile eh? This is a short chapter because chapter 50 is going to be very LONG. I'm planning on either a meeting between my 3 MCs or just a Class 1-A Halloween thing.]