Chapter One
Trigger Warning: Endeavor has a really big mouth and might not be gay for Toshinori, or Hawks.
Two weeks after the battle with High End...
For a brief second, Enji almost forgotten about the press conference concerning the recent Nomu attack. He still paced about in the small office to get his thoughts together. Many were expecting a statement from their new 'symbol', for the lack of a better term for it. Some were even questioning about his well being, which was a first. But that wasn't the only time someone asked.
He recalled one instance a few years ago… a time when a villain's quirk had gone haywire. The villain was a mentally disturbed young man who didn't seem to fully control his own quirk, or was trying to make some sort of wild statement, as he was ranting about how no one would listen to him. He shouted relentlessly about the government's failure, that the Symbol of Peace was nothing more than a mere tool, and on and on he went until his speeches gave Endeavor a migraine. If All Might didn't intervene, Endeavor would've lost his temper again, like that last time. If it weren't for Midnight… that mission could've ended in disaster, too.
After the villain was apprehended, All Might went to check on him. Endeavor shoved his arm aside, "Fuck off! I could've taken care of him myself."
This left the Symbol completely baffled by Endeavor's brash behavior, before his thoughts were broken by a wide-eyed, female fan who held up an object that resembled one of those ridiculous special edition hats. All Might grinned, more than happy to sign it.
Endeavor had rolled his eyes contemptuously at the scene before him, surprised at how easily All Might had been distracted. "You can't go one day without signing something..."
All Might was about to respond with a witty retort when the female fan made a noise that sounded like fear. She was gawking at Endeavor, backing away.
'Oh for the love of...' the fierce hero of fire stormed off, refusing to look back as the Symbol of Peace made hushed reassurances about Endeavor's bark being worse than his bite.
Enji sighed about how he was then. Aside from the shallow cuts on his left knuckle, he was doing splendidly fine now. The new Number One flexed his bandaged fingers in thought. The only exception was the idea of sharing this interview with Hawks… what a nightmare. The brat wasn't wrong, though. They did make a pretty good team. Hawks was maybe a lazy kid, but he had proven himself useful. Their teamwork was definitely a crowd pleaser.
It was time to stick with the present, however. No more time to think about the past.
Those people out there were expecting a speech, and All Might was usually pretty good at that. Interviews don't normally give Enji anxiety, but this time... Well, it was a good thing he brought his cell with him. His fingers brushed over the 'unlock' button, tempted to text All Might for advice on how to cope with the butterflies growing in his stomach.
Why, all of a sudden, did he feel so shy to go up on stage? Had he really changed that much? The bigger question was why did he have his rival's number to begin with?
The door creaked open, and Hawks poked his head inside. "What gives, Number One? Weren't you supposed to give the crowd a rousing speech by now?"
A low, animalistic sound started to rumble in his throat. Slowly the familiar pangs of a growing headache begin to rattle his nerves. Pushing back the snarl that threatened to come out of the corners of his mouth, he begin to count backwards. The temperature in his body start to fluctuate and already he could feel the heat prickling the back of his neck. The presence of Hawks was irritating enough. Now there was no way he could relax this growing tension with his arrogant voice pounding in his ears.
"The interview? Yes, the...interview..." the voice didn't sound like him. It sounded as though it were far away. Awkward, even. Small. Before Hawks could press more, he waved his hand, dismissively.
Hawks watched the older hero carefully, shrugged, then slowly closed the door with a jaunty, "I hope you don't make me look bad out there, Number One."
Endeavor bared his teeth. This was coming from a guy who lives to make everyone 'look bad'.
Cameras were beginning to roll. Microphones were at the ready. The group of nosy reporters fell to a hush as their new symbol took the podium on the small stage, with Hawks at his side.
One of the reporters seemed to have a type of zoom quirk as he spoke in a soft whisper to the cameraman. ''Is that a scar? Did he just get that recently?'' The cameraman tried to get a closer look, but the only thing he could see is a large flame in the center of the crowd. The cameraman wished he had a zoom quirk too, because it was hard to tell from their distance.
Another piped up as Endeavor walked towards the podium, "Is that really him? Wow, he looks so fierce."
The nerves refused to abate as they continued to sizzle in his stomach. If he didn't have such a strong constitution, Endeavor would have tossed his chunks right there on the platform. He may not be the most admired hero, but at least he knew how to deal with his nerves better than anyone else. The alternative really would have been much too embarrassing. Definitely one for the history books, 'Endeavor loses his lunch in front of a large crowd of reporters!'
No, now was not the time to be feeling awkward. It was time to talk business, and he didn't need All Might's help. He took the microphone, giving the reporters the cue to start firing up those questions.
"Mr. Endeavor, can you tell us about the recent attack from the League of Villains?" a female reporter queried.
Endeavor paused at the question. His vision had been partially blurred since then. He also didn't know for certain if he recognized the young voice that seemed to be the mastermind behind the Nomu attack. He didn't want to believe it himself. When they got to the League of Villains' hideout, Endeavor scornfully frowned at the possibility of these monsters being stockpiled with so many quirks. It all sounded like an old wives' tale! Once he got a good look at these creatures, he realized they were twisted, disgusting, vile... inhuman. The fact that this young man could be involved was impossible. All this sounded like something straight out of the comics. Normally, his involvement included solving cases and reluctantly teaming up with other heroes to resolve them.
This was definitely out of his job description.
"Kinda hard to tell when I had been out during half of the battle," Endeavor tapped the right side of his face, pointedly.
The following concern they had for his well-being almost warmed his heart, if only for a little. He had received a swarm of messages on his website asking about how he was doing. Aside from losing a pint of blood, the temporary loss of his vision was nothing more than a battle scar. One of the many scars he might have to bear. These attacks, according to Hawks, have been growing steadily.
What were these villains up to?
'I can feel it… the walls that you've been building are slowly crumbling…' His memories brought back to that talk with All Might. That gaunt, frail man who sat next to him, accompanied by his bodyguard, Present Mic. Why did All Might need a bodyguard, anyway? Now those words sounded so ominous to his ears.
"This was nothing compared to what I've done to that Nomu." It was true, Endeavor pushed himself beyond his limits just to fry that monster from the inside, out. "It was my wake up call to the League that if they try to harm any more innocent civilians, they will be next."
The crowd murmured, some even started taking notes in their small notepads.
That Nomu, High End, had been one of the most difficult villains he ever encountered. While he relished the thrill of the battle and its victory, a part of him wished he will never go up against something like that ever again. It had been painful enough the first time.
"Quit showing off, Endeavor. That tough guy routine is getting old," Hawks, who had been standing next to him, had been picking at his teeth for the past ten minutes. He ignored the growl from Endeavor and took the microphone, "Just tell the audience like it is."
"Mr. Hawks, as the current Number Two Hero, tell us, what was it like teaming up with Endeavor?" The same female reporter that questioned Endeavor's well being eagerly tried to get the microphone closer to the charismatic bird hero, forgetting about the hot headed one for a moment.
"I stand by what I said at the JP Billboard. He should've been Number Four-" Hawks gestured a thumb directly towards Endeavor, ignoring the low rumbling growls rising in his throat. "I've alway been an Endeavor fan since I was a tiny hatchling-"
A derisive snort cut him off, "And that somehow gives you the right to steal the limelight from your heroes?"
Hawks ignored Endeavor's sarcasm. Since when had he been so concerned about the spotlight? He can fry him for this later, "After hearing rumors of these 'Nomu' sightings in my neck of the woods, I knew this guy-" He gestured towards Endeavor, "-Was the only one I knew that could take them on. With All Might out of commission, our current Number One doesn't have much of a choice but to fight these guys head on." He eyes darted sideways at Endeavor, a tiny smirk growing at the corners of his mouth.
'Of course I don't have much of a choice. I didn't ask for any of this! I earned it on a technicality!' Endeavor wanted to shout, but decided to save it for later. For a time when all of the reporters weren't watching him.
"So are you saying you know who is the mastermind of these attacks?"
"Not really," Hawks lied. If they only knew.
The reporters continued to fling their questions until they were finally satisfied. Endeavor made a mental note to have a long talk with that hawkboy once all of this is over.
Earlier that day...sometime after the battle with High End...
Shoto's remedial classes continued along with his regular schedule. Normally, Enji would've scolded the rebellious teen for flunking out on the provisional license exam. That exam should've been a cakewalk for him, afterall! Looking back, Shoto had also just passed the written portion of the exam that permitted him to get into UA. Everyone has some sort of an Achilles heel… but, wasn't the whole point to beat all of those bots senseless? No one said anything about how important rescuing was, that detail got in the way of what was really important.
That was how the old Endeavor was from so many years ago. The old Endeavor who was told that he could never make it to the top with a quirk like his. He proved all of them wrong. Who was the one laughing now?
Nonetheless, that didn't excuse the fact that Shoto's recent failure was less than an embarrassment. The least he could do was teach him how to use his opposing quirks properly. Enji just wished the boy would stop pushing him away. It was no secret that his son despised him for his nonexistent childhood and was being rebellious now only to taunt him.
He arrived to the training area that the 'failed' students were meeting for their remedial training. Shoto was going to be there, and this time Enji wanted to be sure he didn't flunk out again. What he didn't expect was for All Might to be accompanied by a new bodyguard, this time it was Midnight. There was something strange going on with that. There were the rumors that All Might was not up to his usual stuff after Kamino. Yagi no longer kept up his buff, invincible appearance around the students as All Might. He looked so thin and gaunt in comparison. Pieces of skin clung to his bones, as though he had some sort of zombie quirk. The whites of his eyes were now black, adding to that ghastly appearance. Blue eyes still can be seen, miraculously, and they still burn as fierce as any flame. The flame of a man who went through many long battles, battles that he conquered himself.
Despite All Might's deflated form, this man was definitely not frail. Not from what he had seen. Even now, Endeavor could still feel the vibration from that 'seismic' attack at Kamino. It left behind a huge crater. On the edge if that crater, was the big bad himself: All For One. He never dreamed that he would catch a glimpse of the man who had been dubbed the Boogeyman of Japan.
The internet sure loved to spread their conspiracy theories about what went down there. He just didn't realize that this one would turn to glare at him in the face.
Still, why did Midnight want to come along? That woman always made him feel slightly uncomfortable. He didn't come today to discuss 'bodily fluids' or whatever ridiculous nonsense that came out of that woman's mouth. How was it possible that they allowed someone like that to teach? Has the school sunk that low? At worse, Yagi didn't seem to mind her presence at all. It was hard to tell if the man secretly enjoyed Midnight's company, or if Yagi felt equally as awkward as Enji did about her.
The last time he worked with this woman was seven years ago. She wasn't shy about letting loose her inhibitions then, and from what Endeavor saw of her now… that woman hadn't changed at all.
"SHOOOOOTTTOOOO!" Once the students started to file into the field, he couldn't help but let loose his signature bellow to his son. That did well in startling Midnight and All Might, enough to break up their conversation. Most of the students from the previous exam looked up to where the loud voice came from as well.
Shoto Todoroki, the half-cold, half ice hybrid, looked like he wanted to sink into the bottom of the ground. The expression on his face visibly asked 'why did his father have to be here?'
"I see you've been working on your entrances," Midnight remarked dryly to Endeavor.
His sly grin was hidden underneath the veil of his flames posing as facial hair. "We all can't be as flashy as All Might, Midnight."
This caused the former Number One hero's face to turn a beet red.
"It's been awhile since we last talked, Endeavor. I heard that you received a wild beating from that Nomu," Midnight observed his scar closely as she spoke.
Since when did Midnight become so formal? Endeavor had expected her to say something akin to her heroine theme, but what the hell? Well, Midnight could be normal once in awhile… just long as she didn't say anything too embarrassing. Then again, she had been known to embarrass herself too. That woman wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box, but even he was made firmly aware not to underestimate this woman in combat.
"Like it?" Endeavor grinned perversely, testing her some more. "Most women find scars attractive."
"Don't flatter yourself," Midnight scowled furiously at him. He hadn't changed one bit.
"Would you cut Midnight a break? We've all been concerned about you since you were released from the hospital. You shouldn't even be walking, let alone seeing," the gaunt man spoke up, coming to his colleague's aid. While he and Yagi weren't the best of friends, that didn't meant Yagi hadn't cared about Enji's physical health. The cameras showed him bleeding from head to foot after that battle with the Nomu, not to mention missing an eye.
"Even you?" There was something contradictory about the idea of the former Number One hero actually 'caring' about his well being. His old self wanted to dare the fragile looking man into using his trademark grin, except there was something clearly wrong with that picture. Much to his disgust, the man really was being sincere.
"I know we haven't always gotten along-" Yagi continued.
"Understatement of the year," Enji rolled his eyes.
"It doesn't mean that we can't get off on the right foot, this time." He picked up his phone, bringing up his contact information. "I would like to text you sometime."
"Now you are asking me out on a date? I wasn't aware that your door swung that direction," Enji chuckled at his own crude joke.
Yagi frowned. "It's not a joke. This is just in case if you need advice..."
"Fine, fine!" He punched the numbers into his phone and pressed the add button. "Like I'm going to need your help any time soon."
It wasn't like him to accept the number from anyone outside of his family. Enji did add Fuyumi's and (reluctantly) Natsuo, yet he pretended not to pick up their messages. Just the thought of needing that frail man's assistance made his skin crawl.
Midnight watched all of this with a look of awe and newfound respect. Does this mean they are dropping the macho act? "Wow… this is just like in the comics! Two rivals working together for the greater good, and then becoming closer as friends in the end! That really turns me on..."
"All Might, do me a favor, would you?" Endeavor ignored Midnight's further squeals and rantings about 'happy endings'. "Try to hire a different bodyguard next time?"
Yagi looked like he wanted to slide off of his chair as Midnight went on and on, in her usual orgasmic glee. "Point taken."
Author's Note: This chapter is longer than the previous. It was supposed to be a Prologue, they're supposed to be short and sweet. I know others are scratching their heads as to where this story is going, I'm hoping it picks up at chapter two, the last thing I want to do is for the scenes to drone on and on, without relief. I would like to thank my beta reader for all of her help, too. Most of the credit goes to her.
Also, forgive that gay joke. It wasn't meant to insult anybody. Just be aware that this is Endeavor we're talking about here. He might have said he's going to atone for everything, it doesn't mean that its going to happen over night. It took Vegeta a few arcs just to get to where he is, currently. Still, if you get easily triggered, don't say I didn't warn you. As I said before, take this story with a grain of salt, the main theme is supposed to be about atonement and transformation. I thought I was being kind of obvious with the Beauty and the Beast reference.
The next chapter is going to be alot more philosophical. That is what you get from reading tons of stuff about Ancient Greece, I suppose. I slapped a rated M for a reason, namely due to the subject matter as opposed to the violence. It might be a little too complex for young readers, especially those who expect fluffy stories, which is not my normal style. I'm more of a comedy/action/adventure writer, although I am deeply concerned that comedy is going to die due to the PC police.
If you are going to flame me for writing about a complex character, I suggest you need to take a break from the internet and take a long, walk through the woods. Maybe smelling pinecones would sponge out the self righteous rhetoric out of your mouths. I am not in the mood to argue with a bunch of teenagers who think they have better morals than I do (twisted as though mine are). And keep your anti religious commentary OUT OF my account, too. It might spark some controversy due to Enji heading towards Nagasaki. There is a reason why I used a Christian church as a setting for that location. And I am aware that Japan isn't a Christian country, although they did settled in Nagasaki during the 1800s and condemned Shintoism and Buddhism. It doesn't mean that Japanese Christiains don't exist, they were kept hidden.
I don't appreciate hatred towards ANYONE'S beliefs or values. I might not always agree with them, but with the country the way it is now, the last thing I want to deal with is arrogance and pride. It is a long way off of that high horse.