Chapter 30: Internships – Part INotes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Say, Ashido, what do you think the two of us have in common?" Midnight asked, sipping a home-made smoothie from a swirly straw.
They were both sitting on the teacher's comfy sofa, relaxing after her introductory day as a nice and warm sunset lighted the living room.
Midnight didn't have a separate building as an Agency, since she did most of her work from U.A. anyway, and the small office room had been repurposed as a guest room. The apartment wasn't that big, but the unique décor, contemporary yet cozy, was really great in Mina's opinion. The neon red lights over the kitchen area were a bit too much, but she could live with that.
Mina had been super happy when she had been told that she'd be staying with her coolest teacher for a week and, as of now, Kayama hadn't disappointed her. Her judgment may or may not have been rigged by the presence of an old orange tabby in her lap, named Sushi, which was clearly as outgoing as its owner.
The teacher had abandoned her Hero suit for something much more comfortable, and had goaded Mina into doing the same, even offering her a way-too-large violet sweater, which went over her knees. She surely wasn't complaining.
Kayama–as she wanted to be called outside of work hours–looked at her as she crossed her feet, resting them of a stool shaped like red lips.
"You mean apart from beauty and good taste?" Mina asked back with a grin.
The woman nodded with a light smirk, saying a "And?" that made the girl begin to think seriously about the question.
"Mm..." She looked up, trying to find an answer not written on the ceiling. "We're agile, fast on our feet... Oh, our Quirks can be dangerous and come from our skin!"
"Yes, those aren't wrong," Kayama agreed, "though [Somnambulist] isn't as perilous as [Acid], we both have to be careful. But I wanted to concentrate on something else... What do you think my role in fights is, most of the time?"
Mina tried really hard to channel her inner Midori.
"Uh, capture? You can secure Villains without fighting..."
"I am adept at capture, but that's not my primary role," the woman shook her head lightly. "No, the truth is much simpler. You see, I usually play the role of the distraction."
"The distraction?" Mina voiced her question while tilting her head, not understanding where her teacher was going.
"Yes, the distraction, someone who buys time by taking the enemies' attention on themselves." Kayama said theatrically, pointing at herself with an almost hypnotic movement of her fingers. "It's part of my public persona too. If I'm the one that catches everybody's attention, I can more easily have civilians listen to what I say, and bring Villains to concentrate their efforts on me, instead of going for other people or things."
"Buuut wouldn't that be a role for someone like, I dunno, Cementoss or, uh, Fat Gum and the like?" Mina asked, trying to come up with suitable Heroes. "You know, tanky types?"
The woman laughed merrily. "Yeah, you would think so, but they aren't actually as good at it as I am," she explained. "For example, Cementoss is very good at damage control, but he moves the focus towards escaping his stone prisons. Fat Gum can endure a lot, yes, but he's not that good at taking care of more than one, two, maybe three enemies at once."
Kayama released just a puff of violet gas. "When I'm on the scene, people know that they have to take care of me first, since the longer I'm up, the easier it is for my Quirk to flood the entire area and end the fight. But, as long as I'm able to keep evading and redirecting what comes after me, I will win in the end. Either for the gas working, or for buying time for another Hero to get there and take care of more enemies."
"Uh, I never saw it like that," Mina said, mentally taking notes. She'd have to text them to Midori later to see if he agreed.
"Well, it's not like I advertise that part," she smirked, pointing her straw towards the girl. "I think you would be perfectly suited to take the same kind of role. You're outgoing, flashy, and easily the center of attention whenever you enter a room."
Her cheeks turned a bit purple at the compliments. "Thanks, teach."
"It's true," the woman said, matter-of-factly. "And your Quirk may be even better suited than mine. You can be faster with your sliding, keep enemies at a distance with those bullet-like acid spheres, and defend yourself with layers that would damage any attacker."
Mina met the teacher's eyes, the sky-blue sparkling over the woman's secure smile. "I'll teach you everything you'll need to know to be the best at what I do, got it?"
As she replied with a heartfelt "Yes!", raising the hand holding the smoothie and keeping the other down for balance, she felt her fingers touching something small in the sofa's folds.
Later, after a nice dinner and the promise of an early wake-up call, she took the two mysterious objects out of her pocket: a pair of orange-tinted glasses and an empty bottle of eye drops.
She stared at the things for nearly a minute, as it took all her restraint not to shout. It wasn't definite proof, but if it was...
- Oh. My. God. -
"You're relinquishing the Stain case?" Tenya spoke reactively, surprise evident in his voice.
"Yes." His brother nodded gravely, giving him a look more serious than any he'd seen before. "I cannot, in good conscience, continue the chase in these conditions."
Tensei looked down, breathing evenly but heavily.
"What happened to father isn't something I could forgive. Not now, at least." The elder brother sighed as his hand clenched upon the desk. "My personal feelings in the matter make me compromised, and any action taken against that Villain would be scrutinized deeply. Nobody who has met Stain has been able to best him in combat, and testimonies report him as capable of exchanging blows like an expert. He's also not the kind of man who can be persuaded to surrender without a fight. Those who have tried have failed terribly. Taking him down would most likely require overpowering him with brute force, and I can't trust myself not to exaggerate, if that were the case. For those reasons, and for your own safety during this week, I will abandon our direct participation in the hunt. Of course, if my help was required on the field I wouldn't step back, but Team Idaten will leave the matter in more capable hands."
"I don't think there could be many more capable hands," Tenya sighed, always ready to show how highly he thought of the family's Agency, "but I understand."
"Do you?" his brother questioned, meeting his eyes and making the bluenette straighten his back even more, if possible.
Tensei had always been too good at reading him. Tenya had much to learn regarding empathy from him, or just in general.
"I've seen how you looked back in the hospital, little brother, and how you were lost in thought last weekend," the man let out a tired breath, his back falling a bit on his recliner. "I've made many foolish choices when I was your age, many mistakes that could have been avoided with so much as a right pointer. I know that young people should be allowed the make their own mistakes and learn from them, but there are some you can't come back from."
"I'm going to stop you there, big brother." Tenya raised his hand, in a little act of defiance he probably wouldn't have been capable of a week ago. "I assure you that I fully understand the gravity of the situation. I have had my time to come to terms with what happened... with some help from my friends."
A lie, as a week had been far too little to forgive... but enough to understand.
"I agree with you. We shouldn't be looking for Stain. He's bested our father, and none of us are in the right mental state to face the dastardly Villain. It pains me to admit it," and it really did, "but it's the truth."
Tensei kept looking at him, in silence, for a good minute. Tenya could feel each drop of cold sweat on his back, and the itching of his interlaced fingers, but he didn't relent from his brother's gaze.
Finally, Tensei put on a sad smile. "Look at you, a couple of months in high school and you're already left your past self in the dust," he chuckled a little. "I'm proud of you, Tenya."
Tenya swallowed the knot in his throat. "Thank you, Tensei."
His brother got up, taking a few folders of documents into his hands and circling the desk, coming closer to circle him in an awkward embrace.
As he let go, Tensei's face seemed to have lost its previous weight, now back to a more confident smile. "Come on, we've got a long day ahead of us. I've scheduled an appointment with a few other Agencies to share the last data we have on Stain. We may not be able to go at him directly, but I'll be sure to help bring him down."
Tenya smiled back, now at ease. "Yes! Planning and information exchange are fundamental to Hero work!"
"They are indeed." Tensei nodded, his smile turning into a bit of a smirk. "And while we're on the road, you'll have to tell me all about those friends of yours. I've got to know who managed to unstick that stiffness of yours!"
Tenya could feel his groan echo in the room, which only made Tensei laugh harder.
Even his reasonable reminders that "Private matters shouldn't be discussed during working hours!" wouldn't relive him from his brother's curiosity.
The gym inside Ryukyu's Agency was incredibly modern, well-furnished with all sorts of equipment. But all those machines didn't mean much anyway, since Ochaco and Itsuka were getting their asses kicked in a five-by-five meters square in the middle of the room by the gym's owner.
At least the training was informative.
"That was a great move, Kendo, but you can still improve your landing. Uraraka, try to aim slightly higher next time. The throat is more vulnerable. Both of you need to concentrate more on your fingers' positioning," the Hero commented as they took their well-deserved moment of rest.
"Thank you!" the two girls replied as one, both panting on the ground.
Miss Tatsuma smiled at them. "I have to say, I'm surprised. It's barely been a week since your show of the festival, but you're already showing a lot of progress."
"We've had some help," Ochaco said, cleaning her forehead of the sweat.
"Yeah, we haven't been slacking," Itsuka laughed a bit before emptying the bottom of a water bottle.
"Good to know," the blonde nodded, taking a seat on the nearby bench. "I'm glad you two accepted the internship. The way you fought, both as a team and by yourselves, showed a lot of character and determination..."
The two brightened up with big smiles.
"...but it's pretty clear that you two can get quite hot-headed. That little spat in the air of yours was certainly something," the Hero chuckled, shaking her head.
The smiles turned into frowns.
Itsuka sighed, whispering something about Setsuna's damn nicknaming.
Ochaco tried to make the best out of the situation, looking sheepish as she excused them. "Yeah, we know... We let ourselves go a bit too far back there..."
"We didn't really get that much time to think, as we were flying and all," Itsuka added, a bit dejected.
"Which is natural." Ryukyu nodded along. "The ability to think fast enough to react to sudden changes doesn't come naturally to most people, and I too was no exception. And it's even worse when you also have to keep your composure and a clear mind while in a pinch, fighting for your life. Many can't endure that kind of stress."
The woman raised herself up, swiftly imitated by her interns.
"But Heroes can't show themselves in clear distress to civilians. We're here to reassure them, not make them panic, and it's much easier to get someone out of trouble if they aren't questioning your every move," she explained, her last words tainted by a smudge of sourness, as if she had experienced the event herself. She looked at the girls with determination.
"I want to teach you how to think on your feet. I want to see you remain calm and of sound mind while all hell is breaking loose around you. I want to see you look and feel unbreakable. Nobody should question you, starting from yourselves."
"Got it!" Ochaco clenched her fists, while Itsuka nodded as she cracked her knuckles.
"Now..." the Hero moved her arms around, warming up again, "...let's see if you react to a real threat." The tone grew heavier as her body mutated, the transformation making the students jump back to create some distance.
The gym inside Ryukyu's Agency was great but, most of all, it was spacious. Very much so.
It was the only way its owner could move around freely and let loose, after all.
"I'll take the left," Ochaco whispered, taking the basic dragon stance taught by the Hero.
"Got it. Take my gravity," Itsuka replied, making her hands grow.
A gravity-releasing high-five later, the two fighters began their dragon-slaying trials.
"I'm usually blunt, ribbit."
"Good, go straight to the point."
"Why did you ask for us?" Tsuyu asked, taking in the approving look coming from Momo.
The two students had found Mirko's address, discovering that it was only a place she'd rented for the week. It made sense, since the Rabbit Hero wasn't someone who had ever settled down in a single city, but it made the whole taking-interns affair much more questionable.
Tsuyu wasn't one to keep her mouth shut when she was curious, and Mirko had said she wasn't interested in formalities, so...
"I was wondering about that too. You've never taken interns before, so-"
"I don't need the whole spiel, I know," the Hero interjected with a bit of annoyance, making Momo stop in her tracks for a moment.
"Anyway, it's easy." Mirko shrugged, opening the doors to the gym with a kick. "The big guy himself took that green haired kid who took the gold, and he'd never taken anyone either, so I thought, 'why the hell not?' You two seemed interesting enough, even though I had my doubts at first."
After stepping in the wide room, which was mostly a free-space devoid of machinery but with good lighting, the woman turned around to point at them, starting with the frog girl.
"You kept yourself hidden during the cavalry battle and only made that surprise attack in the two-vs-two. While I approve of smart tactics, since you got those, you could have done much better by going directly at your enemies. The match against the vine girl was much better," she grinned. "She got you, but you showed some backbone there. You all or nothing charge was great."
"Thanks," Tsuyu croaked.
"And you," she turned her gaze on Momo, ignoring the reply. "You didn't do a lot during the run or the cavalry battle, letting others who were clearly behind you step all over you. I thought you were just one of those jack-of-all-trades types who would fumble when it came down to the real stuff, but I'll admit I enjoyed when you went for the throat on vine girl and two-toned boy."
"Thank you," Momo bowed her head a bit.
Again, the reply seemed to wash over the Hero as she changed subject.
"Let's go, we're sparring now," Mirko said, her tone neutral as she rotated her shoulders.
The two girls exchanged a look, weirded out by the sudden change.
Momo nodded "Alright, where can we change into our cost-"
She never got to finish the phrase, the Heroine covering the distance between them in an instant and blasting her back. Tsuyu tried to get her guard up, but the end of the same kick made her end up meters into the air.
"Never take your eyes off an enemy," the woman growled. "If I were a Villain, you'd both be dead."
"C-Cheap shot," Tsuyu croaked as she got up.
The Heroine shrugged, unbothered. "I said 'now,' not 'get changed.' Keep up."
"Why did you do that?" Momo asked, steadying herself.
"You seemed to need a wake-up call, and it was the easiest way to drill into your head what's going to happen this week, if you want to stay."
"If, ribbit?"
"Can't hold you here against your will," Mirko said matter-of-factly with a sly grin. "I'm not one to go easy on you just 'cause you're kids. You're either in, or out. No middle ground."
"I'm not going anywhere," she said, probably more to convince herself than the Hero.
"Me neither," Momo stated, generating a staff and placing it firmly before her.
"You sure? Don't you have internships for little girls to fall back to?"
Momo frowned. "We do, but we were hoping for something serious."
"Ah!" the rabbit howled, her body position shifting ever so slightly. A second later she had charged again, sending the ravenette back to the ground, the staff bent in the middle.
"Why did you hesitate?" the Hero growled, looking down on her. "You made that thing and then stood there like a fucking statue. I said we're sparring, so come at me."
Mirko turned rapidly, intercepting Tsuyu's tongue with a backhand. The woman's legs shot up, and Tsuyu had the slightest moment to decide how to act. "Just remember that she usually aims high." had been Midoriya's words, and there was no better moment to test them.
Bending her back, the girl saw the kick cut the air above her nose before hastily jumping back again.
Mirko let out a laugh that echoed in the gym, letting the two girls reassemble as she kept talking.
"Do you know what I can't fucking stomach? You're both holding yourselves back!" the Rabbit Hero shouted and stomped hard, making the ground tremble beneath her feet. She went back to pointing fingers.
"You have good legs and endurance, but you don't know shit about how to kick! You can make every damn weapon imaginable, but you take ages to decide what the hell you want to do! So now I'm changin' that," she said as she cracked her knuckles. "I'mma teach you some Luna Style, I'mma make you stop hesitating when you should be throwing down, I'mma let you see how to deal with crazy Villain fighters, and I'mma turn that poor excuse for a fire you've got inside into something that can really burn!"
The Rabbit Hero met their eyes, her fiery smirk almost addictive. "What'd you say? You're up to the challenge?"
Tsuyu and Momo didn't repeat the mistake of looking at each other, even though they probably could have. Instead, they charged at the battle-junkie with all the beatdown-spite-powered anger they could muster.
It wouldn't be an easy week, but it would be a fun one.
For Mirko, at least.
Hitoshi let out a sigh as the Hero before him laughed loudly, the sound reverberating on her apartment's walls.
"You actually lied straight to everybody's faces! That's amazing!" Ms. Joke rejoiced, repeatedly clapping her hand on her leg.
He shrugged. "It's a ruse. If too many know about it, it becomes easier to counter it."
"Yeah, 'cause you only have one way of making your power work," the Heroine eyed him with a smirk. "Of course, you'd be screwed in a fight."
"Yes, that's what I said," he confirmed, trying to keep the annoyance out of his tone.
Hitoshi wasn't sure why Aizawa had recommended this woman to him, or the other way around. Especially since–from all the interactions they had since he arrived–she didn't seem like the type of person the man would be close with. But Eraser Head was also Present Mic's best pal or something, so hell if he knew what went through his head.
"It's not a wrong assessment. You would only have one shot or so to activate your Quirk before the trigger condition gets discovered, so you devised a trick to cover for it. Ingenious."
The trick had been Midoriya's, but whatever.
"If my enemies know, or think they know, that my [Brainwashing] works through unanswered riddles, they will be sure to answer," he nodded.
"But there are still problems with that approach." The Hero crossed her arms, bringing up her cup of tea. "If someone knows how to answer your riddles, you must tell more until they don't, or the illusion will fade. That gives them a window of opportunity to strike, for which you're sadly unprepared."
"I know of my weak points," he stated, deadpan.
"I'm sure you do kiddo," she replied sarcastically with a roll of her eyes. "You also can't use your power on too many enemies at once, as your limit is... what? Two, three people?"
"Three is where the headaches start," he confessed with a grunt.
"Which makes you extremely vulnerable to groups, as they could also free each other of your power with no repercussions. A couple of questions and they'll understand the trick," she shook her head theatrically.
"Fine," he breathed out, "can you please just tell me if you have a solution?"
Ms. Joke only grinned more. "Ah, you're fun to tease. Just like Eraser Head. You his kid or-?"
"Please," he grunted, exasperated.
"Okay, okay," she smiled, shaking a hand. "Your best bet on overcoming your problems is getting new and exciting tricks up your sleeves. I got a couple of suggestions. Wait here!"
The woman got up, leaving the room for a minute, only to come back with her hands behind her back. When she raised them, Hitoshi could only stare in horror.
"Hello, Shinso, I'm Mr. Quip!" the puppet on the teacher's hand, wearing a Ketsubutsu uniform, said with a voice terribly unique. "And I'll be your best friend!"
"Please, tell me this is a joke," he pleaded.
"You wish," Ms. Joke grinned, going back to her own voice. "Ventriloquism could very well save your life one day. You'd be surprised by how many mindlessly answer things coming from unexpected sources." She took the puppet off, throwing it into his lap. "I'll teach you the basics, but you'll have to speak through it as much as you can."
Knowing he had little choice in the matter, since he couldn't back down without seeming ungrateful, he relented. "Anything else?"
"Of course! You'll have to add a lot of stuff to your repertoire! You can't have people responding only to riddles or insults, after all!" The Heroine nodded to herself. "We'll start with knock knock jokes."
- Please end me. -
"And you'll have to practice with somebody who knows what you can do, of course, since even an Underground Hero may get his Quirk uncovered. We'll spend some time with my second years for that."
- It's getting worse. -
"And we can't forget physical training! Gotta improve those moves of yours, and you're as thin as a starved cat! Which, again, are we sure you aren't related to Eraser?"
Hitoshi groaned loudly, making the woman laugh louder.
It was going to be a long week.
Eijiro had never really been one to "waste time" on gossip and stuff, and he wasn't as devoted to learning about Heroes as Midobro was.
So, despite knowing of the man, he hadn't known anything about Crust but his power, his ranking, and some little facts thrown in by the greenette over the last week.
Imagine his surprise when he'd discovered that the man had a penchant for cooking and that his whole squad would eat with him for almost every meal.
Being the week's special guest, the redhead had been seated directly in front of the number seven, between two sidekicks who'd been incredibly amicable to him.
The smiling man spoke as they dug in the roasted meat, the juices sliding down his chin.
"Kirishima, do you know why I asked for you for an internship?"
To be truthful, Eijiro hadn't been expecting the question.
"Uh, because we've both got defensive Quirks?"
The other four around them chuckled as Crust, or Mogami outside of work hours, shook his head.
"Almost, but not quite! Going just for similar types of Quirks wouldn't make for a very well-rounded Agency, wouldn't it?"
"For sure Boss," his second in command, Oplon, nodded.
The only woman, Landslide, tsked, thumping her chest with her closed fist. "It's not in the Quirk kid, it's the heart that counts."
Eijiro brightened up. "Oh yeah! I like it!"
"Though you didn't get far in the tournament, I really liked your fight against Todoroki's son," Mogami hummed low.
"But we have to ask," Oplon interjected between bites. "Why did you stop attacking at one point? It seemed you had the upper hand until the Todoroki boy started using fire."
Eijiro stopped, crossing his arms with a sigh. "I can't talk about that, sorry. It's kind of personal for Todoroki, and I swore not to say. I lost but gave it my all, so I'm not complaining!" He moved back to grinning.
"A good mindset to have. It's better to live with no regrets," the Hero agreed. "But I think it was a bit of a sacrifice play on your part."
Eijiro was surprised, as Crust looked thoughtful, a look that he didn't usually wear in public.
"You and your teammate could have won at first, but you seemed intent on keeping the battle going until the scales were even. You probably helped him get out of something that was holding him back."
The teen kept his tongue tied, but he was conscious that his face was probably telling.
"Don't worry, we won't force you to talk," the man laughed. "You're a good friend to the Todoroki boy, Kirishima. What you did was very honorable."
"Thank you," he bowed his head a little, appreciative.
"Head up, kid, no need for those formalities now," Landslide chuckled.
"Kirishima," Crust started again, "I'm convinced that what you've done was a great act of self-sacrifice, for the good of a friend. And it's clear you're the type to put yourself at risk for others, your whole style seems to be suited just for that."
"Well, yeah, it is," Eijiro spoke with determination. "I want to be an unbreakable sword and shield. It's just natural to put myself on the front line!"
"And that's understandable," the Hero said, his tone a tad more serious, "but to do that, you need to be extremely aware of your own limits. Back there, you were at an advantage, so you kept going with no problems. But what do you think would happen if you didn't step back when you're already spent? Or if you didn't retreat from an adversary that can ignore your resistance?"
He stopped, thinking for a moment. Was he too stuck on a single direction?
After a minute, he tried to speak his thoughts. "It depends. I could understand retreating if I were by myself, but that's not usually the case. I can't just run away when I'm protecting someone else, especially if that someone is a civilian." - Or someone I care about. -
The sidekicks nodded as Mogami's smile grew wider. "Exactly! It depends! That's precisely what we'll be focusing on during your stay. I want you to know just what your limits are and for you to be able to decide what you should and shouldn't do! Remember: self-sacrifice is a Hero's duty, but you also can't help anybody anymore when you're down."
Eijiro blinked, taking in the words as the discussion moved on to lighter topics.
He had heard about how Midoriya had gotten hit by that black bird monster at the U.S.J., being hurt to protect Asui and the others. The act had been right, but what if he'd gotten crushed? He wouldn't have been able to keep the monster away anymore, and he would have just added himself to the body count.
How would he have acted? How should he have acted?
He had a lot to think about... and a lot to learn.
"We're done training for today. You can go rest now."
The man's voice echoed on the room's walls. The ice and fire wielder turned his head to his father, unsure if he had heard him right.
"I can still continue," Shoto deadpanned.
"No. Overworking wouldn't do you any good as you are now. You're trying to find a balance between your sides, so your body needs to adapt to changes slowly," Endeavor provided, adamant.
Shoto almost couldn't believe his ears. Since when did his father care about overworking? Was this a trick to test his resolve?
They were alone in the gym. None would come in between them if anything happened. Still, Shoto couldn't relent.
"I am not tired yet," he reiterated bluntly.
"It's not about being tired," the man replied. "It just wouldn't do you any good to keep going at this pace."
Shoto felt his jaw clench. What was this?
"So what? Now that I finally want to learn something from you, you refuse to train me as you used to?" he spoke to the man's back, keeping his tone ice cold.
After a moment of silence Endeavor turned and looked at him, meeting his eyes.
Shoto was used to see only a few expressions on his father's face. Frows of discontent. Glares of rage. Grins of superiority. But what he was showing now... it was impossible to read. No flames, no emotions that were easy to discern.
Shoto chastised himself a bit for having so little skill in reading others. Maybe he'd have to ask some pointers about that to Midoriya. Yeah, he was good with people, wasn't he? Had to be to get under Shoto's skin that much, and then convince him to be sociable, of all things.
"It has come to my attention that my methods weren't as effective as I believed them to be, so I changed them." The man spoke quietly, a weird feeling laying on his every word. "It may feel underwhelming now, but it will work better for you in the long run. You already possess enough power, but you lack the fine tuning necessary to wield both parts of your quirk effectively..." Endeavor took a breath, closing his eyes. "...and that is my fault."
To say that Shoto was shocked wouldn't be an understatement. "Kaminari doesn't like studying" or "Yaoyorozu is smart" would be understatements.
No, Shoto was utterly floored by those words. In the sixteen years of his life, he had never heard his father say anything even remotely close to an admission of guilt. Why start now of all times?
"I cannot say this was an easy understanding. Far from it." The man had his hands clenched and was keeping his breathing steady. "But I think I can see how I just kept piling up mistakes upon each other, instead of correcting them. And for that, I am sorry."
Shoto felt a lump in his throat as he forced himself to speak.
"What do you expect me to say to that?"
"Nothing." The man shook his head. "Just know that I now see the extent of my failures."
"My siblings? Me?" The words had come out instantly, defiance rearing its ugly head again.
"NO!" The lightning-fast way Enji replied almost made the room tremble. "None of you were-"
"You had a strange way of showing it then," Shoto spoke through his teeth, trying to keep down the dismay. His father had said 'none of you' instead of 'you'.
That seemed to stop Endeavor for a few moments as he tried to regain his composure.
"Yes, I know. I thought that keeping you away from them would prevent a situation like Toya's... but it was a mistake. One that I will try to rectify. Despite my... deficiencies, both as a trainer..." —He let out a heavy breath.— "...and as a father."
They both stood in silence, letting seconds pass. Endeavor never mentioned Toya, his brother being only a fragment of a memory in the teen's mind.
Shoto had to make a choice, and it weighted on his stomach like a boulder.
He could refute the man and keep despising him with every fiber of his being, but what would that accomplish? Midoriya had been quite clear, and Shoto couldn't let the past hold him back.
For some reason the man was trying to change. He couldn't be sure if he was telling the truth or not. But hadn't Shoto changed himself just as quickly? It hadn't been easy to wrap his mind around the greenette's words, but Shoto did feel better than before. Calling him aloof would have been kind, as he himself now considered his previous behavior borderline haughty, to not use any less appropriate words.
Did his father deserve the same chance as he had?
Years of resentment screamed "No."
Warm voices of his present answered "Yes."
It was easy enough to decide which counsel to follow.
Sighing, Shoto raised his eyes again, meeting his father's turquoise.
"Endeavor the Hero is remarkable. Amazing even. But the man behind the mask failed me, failed us, more times than I can count." He managed to make some order between his jumbled thoughts. "A few weeks ago, I would have spat on your words, but now I'm not so sure anymore."
Images of some classmates moved before his eyes. So much life he had missed.
"I've been pulled out of my shell, I guess. When you spoke to me back in the arena, I found that ignoring you was somewhat easy. I am not letting myself be controlled anymore. Not by you, nor by my hate, if you can even call it that now. Meeting mom was probably what did it though."
"You have gone to see her?" the man asked, bewildered.
He simply nodded. "I am not ready to forgive you for how you tormented her, but I want to see what you'll make of yourself if I give you this chance. Don't waste it."
Having said his piece, he turned around and walked towards the door, still trying to wrap his head around the words he'd just uttered.
"Shoto." He stopped with a hand on the handle, waiting for the words that would follow the heavy sigh. "Good work today."
He barely nodded in response, leaving the room without regrets.
Enji Todoroki sighed as his youngest left the training room. He couldn't quite believe that he'd brought himself to speak those words, but he couldn't really believe everything he'd seen in the last week either. It didn't feel real.
It had begun with that weird encounter under U.A.'s Stadium, after Shoto had seemingly ignored his words. He had stumbled upon the festival's winner, Midoriya. He wanted to make sure that someone with a power so similar to All Might's would fight his son and bring out his fiery side, only to be rebutted in the quickest way possible.
"I am not All Might, and Shoto isn't you." were just the beginning, but they were the words that left the greatest impression on him. It was such a gutsy thing to say to him, something that he could have forgotten as the words of a child. And yet, the hadn't left his mind.
He moved to his office, answering the greeting of his staff members with quick words and thanks, closing the door behind himself and falling on the chair behind his desk as his legs started to fail him.
His eyes moved over to the second drawer on the right, the one for important data, and his hand soon followed. Then the envelop sat open before him, as it had every night for the past week.
Was reading its contents time and time again a form of self-torture? No. He needed to absorb every word, fix them onto his mind. And if it was, he deserved it.
Making the whole thing out of fireproof paper had been a smart choice, because he had indeed given to his rage at first. Had his flames worked, he would have surely come to regret it later.
A letter from his alma mater's principal was the last thing he had expected, but here he was.
Nezu had written only the introduction though, highlighting how the contents weren't something the chimera had looked for directly, but things that had been brought to his attention. Enji didn't know who could have done so apart from his sons, but he wouldn't blame them for it if that had been the case. God knows he deserved every word for how he'd handled his family.
Strangely enough, the tone of the latter wasn't as condemning as he had expected it to be. The writer clearly knew everything, down to the last minuscule detail, and despised the man for what he had done. It could have easily been blackmail, and he had expected it to be. Instead, the entire piece felt more like guidance.
There was a list of acts he had to make amends for, and he agreed with every word. Saying that what he'd done, he'd done for the good of his family and Shoto's future, would have been empty words at best.
There was a part on his past, things he had never told to a living soul. His father's demise by the hands of a Villain as he tried to play the Hero. His mother's degenerative illness that made him unrecognizable to her. None of that excused him, only making him feel worse for ending up as a parent his own would have despised.
There were ways to further improve himself and his Quirk, but more importantly there was the greatest plan to nurture Shoto's power he had ever seen. The best specialist he had contacted were all in agreement on that, but they had never seen beyond the surface level. [Half-Cold Half-Hot] was so much more than a generator.
There were words about his eternal goal and the truth behind it. Becoming the Number 1 wasn't the endgame, and it had never been. There was a rift between men like him and the god that was All Might, but none had ever moved to close that gap, giving up before even trying. Having a god on the top made those below into indolent followers, and the public could only grab on a single pillar with fragile belief. He couldn't stand that. Enji was a man forged by his hard work, and seeing it never bear fruit had turned the growth into staleness. His goal could be understood, commendable even, but his methods had gone in the wrong direction, desperate instead of hopeful.
There were words about Rei. An understanding of his failures as a husband and as a father, which couldn't be simply filled by leaving her flowers every week. Enji didn't even know if she had ever read any of his letters, but he would keep writing. And if she never wanted to see him again, that was her right too.
There was also a small suggestion on how he could start to mend the rift he had created between himself and his own blood, but that felt like the hardest part to follow. Shoto, Natsuo, Fuyumi... Toya. His best hadn't been enough, his every act an excuse to cover the one before it.
He couldn't understand how his insecurities, his fear of never being enough to protect what he cared about and his crippling belief that effort wouldn't be able to stand up against natural talent, had ended up in ink on paper. But there they were, analyzed and dismantled phrase after phrase.
- It's strange, - he had thought at first. - I know every word of this is true, and I probably always knew that I was making a mistake. Why did I need to be told to see it? -
He had been- No, he was a horrible person. The man under the mask wasn't worthy of wearing it. He deserved a solitary prison cell, not forgiveness.
But the letter also spoke of how Japan still needed Endeavor, and why.
He had long surpassed All Might in sheer numbers of cases solved and arrests. Nobody worked as much as he did, or with the same zeal. He didn't inspire safety, but he did inspire people to give it their all. His alias meant something.
He wasn't a Symbol of Peace.
He was a Symbol of Effort.
And he'd be damned if he didn't put his everything into making up for every mistake he had made.
Notes:
And that's the first half. Which was the most interesting part to you?
I admit that I won't go directly into every single internship, mostly because we do not know enough Pros to fit them all and I want to limit the number of OCs. I wrote those that I found myself interested in.
They will be references in the future though.
About Endeavor... I hate his background, but I like the character itself and the growth it has gone through.
It feels to me like he was supposed to be someone very different when the manga started.
His absence of a reason to reach N° 1 doesn't make much sense. His abandonment of his 'effort over talent' ideals and reliance on genetics would just prove that talent makes might, not hard work.
Still, just as I did with Mineta, I don't want to toss a good chance for an interesting character in the trash.
Since I know how he's usually viewed, please only leave a comment on the subject if it's contructive criticism. I'd rather not have to read hate speech.
Let's see where Izuku's attempt brings the story.