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Thirteen knew about Endeavor's kidnapping and Bakugo's recent homecoming. Though Aizawa was their homeroom teacher, she allowed them to use the USJ for their fight, so long as the boys kept their destruction to a reasonable amount. With her black hole, she could get rid of any excess ice or contain fires if needed. Kirishima had blabbed to class 1-A, who came in droves to watch two of their strongest students in a rematch. Thirteen made them stand out of the way of potential projectiles, but allowed the audience.

They mutually agreed on the landslide zone, where they could stand on solid ground and not have to worry about too much property damage. "Ready? Go!" Thirteen chopped her hand downwards through the air. Shoto and Katsuki sprang, both aiming for the first attack. Shoto began as he had before; with a wall of ice. Bakugo reciprocated by blasting a tunnel through. "You really haven't learned a thing, have you?" He figured they were setting up the rematch from the old playing field.

Shoto used the sound of Bakugo's voice to anticipate where the blonde would arrive. He waited precisely at the presumed exit point. Seconds later, the ice melted. Before Bakugo could see him, Shoto used his straightened left arm to release a blast of fire. Ice toppled down around Bakugo and would have crushed the teen, if not for some well-timed explosions.

The class braced themselves for the flying ice chunks, but Tokoyami's Dark Shadow lifted to cover them, strengthened by the setting sun. "Does Todoroki seem unhinged to anyone else?" Sero asked.

"Maybe this is a homecoming gift for Bakugo?" Iida ventured.

The video had been sent on private phones, so the media had no idea that Endeavor was missing or that the League had lost its hostages. None of them had access to the garage, so they didn't even know that Bakugo had been released. As a rule, the police made sure to keep reporters from their station and had several secret exits for their higher profile cases. Of the students, only he and Kirishima knew what was going on. Only Kirishima, Bakugo, Todoroki, and Midoriya knew Teiko had even been a hostage.

Bakugo wouldn't go down so easily. He used his explosions to dash through the rain of debris. His precise aim and nearly perfect dexterity had him on Shoto far quicker than his opponent expected. Bakugo approached from Shoto's left, which naturally inclined the teen to use his fire. He lifted his hand and couldn't help but think of his father. In that moment of hesitation, Bakugo puched Shoto in the face. "Again, Todoroki?" He landed on his feet, but ceased in his attack. "You were using your damn flames at the training camp? What happened? Are you a fucking quitter? Huh?" He thought of Endeavor's forearm as it dangled from the splinter of bone. "Are you a coward, Todoroki?!" He recalled Endeavor on his knees. A powerful hero, made to lay low. He remembered All Might's body – so thoroughly decimated that it looked like a pile of raw eggs, paint, and bone. Bakugo couldn't help but begin to cry. Though he had wanted to distract Todoroki, Katsuki felt he'd needed an outlet. "Are you looking down on me?" The last statement came as a desperate question that required no answer.

"Why didn't my dad come back with you?" Shoto knew that Katsuki knew.

"There are some things you can't come back from." It was cryptic, and not an answer he would have taken well if someone delivered it to him, but it was far better than the whole, unaltered truth. Even though he felt as if it hadn't been a true victory, Bakugo turned and left Todoroki. He walked past his class with deliberate slowness, while not making eye contact with a single one of them.

Of course Izuku wouldn't be cowed so easily. "The dorms are this way." For all the grief Bakugo gave Izuku, the green haired boy knew what Katsuki needed. At this point, it was privacy.

Detective Naomasa Tsukauchi sat in the principal's office with Nezu and relayed as much information as he had. "Katsuki had a few half-healed marks on his back, which he said were from training. Teiko told us they trained with limestone so Katsuki could learn how to maneuver well without relying so much on his quirk."

"It's certainly not the most conventional teaching method, but what is when it comes to training heroes?" Nezu took a sip of his tea. "Go on." Aizawa had texted Bakugo's request, and the educator was doing everything in his power to get a thorough background check. Since they couldn't access the Quirk Gym database, they had no clues to her fighting history.

"We really don't have anything else. She was a farmer from out in the country. Apparently she had a letter of recommendation to UA but chose to attend an agricultural school instead. Her teachers all reported that she was a sarcastic, but willing student. There was one incident where she broke a girl's nose, but Teiko apologized and gave the girl a gift." Tsukauchi closed the small folder that had only existed for hours. "If she's working with the League, they're very good at covering their tracks."

Nezu considered the request from every angle. "Thank you for your time, Detective Tsukauchi. Please, let us know if you need our compliance on any cases."

"Actually, we will need to confiscate Shoto Torodoki's phone. The League still has Teiko's phone and Endeavor was last seen alive, so we think they may want to send a message to get Teiko, and maybe Shoto, out of UA."

"I'm sure we can manage that. Ninety percent of my job is convincing teenagers to get off their phones." Nezu joked, which made Tsukauchi grin.

"I'll be around the school checking security for the next couple hours. I'll come back to your office before I leave."

"Understood." Nezu said easily enough. Tsukauchi left. Aizawa and Teiko entered. Nezu opened negotiations. "Hello, Miss Todoroki, I'm Nezu, the principal." Generally there was some surprise at an animal being the head of UA, but Teiko seemed to take it in stride.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." She said, offering him her hand as if she wasn't fazed in the least. Nezu didn't have to look hard to see the barely contained turmoil in her eyes. He guessed it didn't stem from him, but at her brother's uncertain fate. His paw clasped hers, shook, and released her in casual succession.

"The pleasure's all mine. Please, take a seat."

Aizawa and Teiko did as instructed. Nezu looked Aizawa over and saw the same turmoil. "The heroes will do everything they can to save Endeavor," he reassured them both. "Our job as faculty is to ensure the safety of our students. Since you've brought young Bakugo home, you've already achieved our greatest calling."

"So the teaching's secondary?" She joked. Nezu recognized the tactic. She was using humor to keep everyone else out.

"For this scenario, yes," Nezu agreed. "I imagine that if young Shoto had been taken instead of Enji, you wouldn't be so willing to sit and talk."

"I probably wouldn't," she agreed.

"So," Nezu said, his words now for Aizawa. "Why'd you suggest Miss Todoroki should be a member of our staff, Aizawa?"

"Bakugo is intelligent, but not nearly smart enough to survive for two weeks with villains and not wind up the star of a snuff film. He's my student and he annoys the crap out of me. If she can convince a kid so prideful we had to chain him at the award ceremony that it was in his best interest to keep his mouth shut, she definitely has what it takes to teach at UA."

Nezu was secretly amused that Aizawa, who had come to them at the behest of Midnight, was actually trying to recruit a teacher of his own. "You don't have a teaching or a hero license, but that's a simple enough matter to fix. There are so many young heroes vying for a hero license that we have an entire building dedicated to the test. For adults, it's a simplified mock battle between another few opponents who are already heroes. As for your teaching license, I'd say you've passed the practical assessment and all you need is the written. But first, I'd like to hear more about Dabi. The police department told me you identified him as Toya Todoroki." Nezu would write the board of education to see what they said, but for now he was curious to know the truth.

Teiko knew the conversation would get there. "That's a sore subject," she admitted. "I saw quite a bit of myself in him, back when he was Toya. We were both oldest siblings that felt the need to look after our younger siblings. He seemed to inherit his mother's intolerance for heat with his father's quirk. He and Enji got into an argument about schools and Toya lost his temper. After his flame out, I rushed him to the hospital and admitted him under his nickname, Dabi, which he later took as an alias. In the flame out, he lost any resemblance to the Toya he had once been. He expressed no interest to return to his family. He insisted I even go as far as to tell his family he was dead. I made the choice to listen to his decisions, so I bought him new clothes and intended on helping him find an apartment, but he insisted he'd go his own way.

"I told our family he was gone, not dead. I know it was still dishonest, but it was what he wished.

Nezu took the knowledge into consideration. "We have a zero tolerance for enabling students to fake their deaths." He declared, somewhat confident that the situation would not arise in his school. He judged it to be a personal matter and just barely passable for his standards. "If you can pass the examinations, you can join the UA staff as a professor of psychology and survival." Nezu stood on his chair. "Know there may come a day when the League of Villains comes to attack UA again. Could you fight and detain Toya if you had to?"

Teiko responded seriously. "Toya Todoroki is gone. I could certainly stop Dabi."

Her answer seemed to be the right one. Nezu dismissed Aizawa, under the instructions that he was to find his class and confiscate Shoto's phone, while the principal led Teiko to the faculty dorms. "Here is your room. Midnight lives next door. If you need help getting to sleep tonight, she'll most definitely be able to assist. And across from you is – ah, hello, Thirteen." Though Nezu seemed to trust her, Teiko was sure she was being watched by some hidden camera or another.

"Wow, there really is a strong family resemblance," the heroine declared. "Todoroki…?"

"Teiko," the red-head filled in the blank.

"So you're En…" Thirteen trailed off. She wanted to say 'Endeavor's sister', but she figured it would be best not to mention the man, given the situation.

"Shoto's aunt, yes," she supplied.

Thirteen happily took the out. "He and Katsuki just sparred at the Unforseen Simulation Joint. They went back to their dormitories to meet with Aizawa.

Teiko wasn't too surprised that they'd already fought. "Well, who won?"

"…pardon me?" Thirteen couldn't seem to process Teiko's train of thought.

"You said they fought, right?" Teiko was only beginning to sense that she might be an outcast among the staff with her harsh teaching habits.

"…right," Thirteen agreed. She turned her head at Nezu for a moment, then looked back at Teiko. "Katsuki did, because Shoto hesitated."

Teiko knew Shoto only hesitated when he had too many thoughts. As his aunt, all she wanted to do was speak with him and help to untangle the mess in his head, but she had to accept that there were boundaries at school. While she was his aunt and mentor, she couldn't pick him as a favorite. There wasn't anything she could think to say, so she nodded.

Aizawa led his class back to their common area and pulled Shoto aside. "The League still has Teiko's phone. We need to take yours in case they try to send you anything else." There was little that was as tedious for a teacher than having to get a kid to part from their devices. Aizawa was surprised when Shoto relinquished his mobile without a word.

Aizawa put his hand on Shoto's shoulder to stop him from going anywhere. "If you want to talk about anything, I'm always available." Shoto's expression darkened. However kind the words, they were poorly received. The teen pulled away and went to his room.

Katsuki shut himself in his shared dorm. Gym equipment had been shoved aside to make room for a second bed. Though his body ached for sleep, he trained. He practiced his kicks and punches with the boxing bag. He imagined Shigaraki's hand covered face and pounded the fabric until his uncovered knuckles bled. Of course Rock-boy wouldn't have boxing gloves. He thought bitterly as he pressed on. What kind of number one pro falls to guys like that?! All Might's humble remains filled his head. If that's what it means to be the best, then I'll be better than them. I won't die like that!

Out in the hall, Kirishima worried about his friend. He had expected a change, but Katsuki seemed just as rash as ever. The only real change was that he was even more intense, if such a thing was even possible. He walked back to the common area and took a seat by the TV. Momo wielded the remote, which meant there was a documentary on.

"Hey, can you switch to the news?"

Momo glanced at Kirishima. "Which station?"

"Uh, I don't know, any."

"They all have their individual merit, but I find that Domino News seems to be the most—"

"Alright, yeah. Domino," Kirishima agreed, not wanting to get into a debate.

The moment the station burst onto their screen, a fire filled playback was shown. Apparently they had just missed the graphic warning. A large, fiery figure was touched on the arm and "oh shit," Kirishima watched the arm dangle and felt like he was going to lose his lunch. Momo's eyes widened and she quickly shut off the TV.

Kaminari had caught a glimpse. "Hey, what was that? Momo, turn that back on."

"Where's Shoto?" She demanded.

"In his room," Kaminari stated, though he sounded confused.

The answer sufficed, for she instantly turned the television back on. Her goal had been to spare the hero's son from seeing the carnage. By the time the TV showed the clip again, Endeavor had freed the clones of Bakugo and Teiko, who then transformed into Twice and Toga. They watched the hero have the backs of knees decayed and get stabbed with a needle the moment he was down.

What horrified the young heroes the most was the fact that the villains clearly enjoyed themselves. They saw Toga take a step off screen with her cache, then jump back. "That must have been when the heroes arrived," Izuku supplied flatly. Momo turned and saw that nearly the whole class had joined to watch. The scene ended with Kurogiri taking the League through his black voids.

Kirishima was the one that broke the silence. He buried his hands in his face. "Holy shit," he muttered, his eyes teary despite himself. "How do you come back from something like that?" He didn't trust himself to look at anyone or anything. The image seemed burned into his head.

"You don't." Shoto had changed his clothes, but was in the doorway. Sometime between Momo's check and the end of the broadcast, he'd arrived. Momo blushed and had the decency to look ashamed.

Despite the feeling that he'd never look at anyone again, Kirishima's face shot free from his palms. He didn't bother to wipe the tears that slid freely. "Holy crap, man. I'm so sorry. I didn't know—"

"Neither did I," Shoto interjected. Now that he knew who Toya was, he understood the motivation. Even if Endeavor hadn't been the number one hero, he would have been a target. Though he father hadn't laid a hand on him in a decade, the memory of the beatings were his strongest memories of his father. He couldn't help but care, but he didn't know how to process something of this magnitude. Shoto turned and went back into his room. Whatever errand he'd had was gone from his mind.

Hagakure slipped out of her gloves and rushed after Aizawa. She caught their homeroom teacher in the middle of one of the halls. Even though she was invisible, he was well aware of her presence. She panted and made no effort to hide her presence. "Shoto just saw his dad on the news." She huffed between breaths.

"If Todoroki wants to talk, he's welcome to find me. Sometimes people need time to face things on their own. I suggest you all don't hover over him."

"But—"

"Get back to your dorms, Hagakure. Curfew starts in a few minutes."