Disclaimer: This is purely a fanwork and I own nothing

Midoriya's eyes snapped open as the light shone into his room. He relaxed as he saw Hatsume's sleeping face next to him, snoring and drooling.

He let out a sigh of relief. It had been a few days since Hatsume was released from the hospital, but he still woke up each morning needing to reassure himself she was still there. The feeling of dread from her kidnapping was not something that just went away overnight.

Her eyes briefly fluttered open, and she smiled sleepily, rolling into him, muttering something into the nape of his neck before passing out again. It was Saturday, and they didn't have anywhere to be. Midoriya allowed himself to relax and go back to sleep as well.

"Hey Deku Scrub?"

"Hmm?" He breathed down into her messy pink hair.

"I missed this."

"Me too."

"Can we just stay in bed today?" She asked through a yawn. "You're so comfy."

He snorted in laughter. "We promised Tsuyu and Uraraka we'd go on a double date."

Hatsume groaned and rolled over. But she began to run her hand down his side to his...nether regions. "Mmm. Tell me again how you used your secret weapon to distract Toga."

A few towns over, someone was up bright and early, still fuming. Shigaraki Tomura was furious. Ever since the fall of All For One, things seemed to be steadily getting worse for his League of Villains. Worse still, it all seemed to be at the hands of one upstart Hero who was getting under his skin.

He drummed his fingers against the desk he was at. Himself included, he was down to four elites; himself, Kurogiri, Twice, and Compress. Sure, they had a few potentials, and cheap thugs were a dime a dozen, but his Vanguard Action Squad had dwindled.

"Midoriya Izuku. Deku." He removed his father's hand from his face and rubbed his chin. "Are you the new final boss? Come to avenge All Might?"

"He's certainly been in the way," Compress said from the corner, practicing magic tricks with Twice. "I should shrink him and feed him to a crocodile."

"Why a crocodile?" Asked Kurogiri.

"First animal to come to mind." Compress shrugged.

"What we need," Shigaraki hummed to himself. "Is a coordinated team strat. He's been picking us off one by one because that's what we send him. Even Dabi and Toga couldn't work together long enough to double team him."

"Oh, do you mean me?!" Twice squealed. "I make a great team! Except for that one time me and all my clones killed each other! Forget I said that!"

"No, you dumbass, I mean all of us!" Shigaraki seethed. "A coordinated, four on one attack when he's away from his friends and that insipid Gran Torino."

"Oh, have you been using the 'Word-A-Day,' calendar I bought you for Christmas?" Kurogiri asked.

"Yes, it's copacetic, thank you." Shigaraki replied. "Now...what do we know about this little rodent? What are his weaknesses?"

"You're SO BAD AT BOWLING!" Hatsume cackled, hugging Midoriya from behind as they left the alley with Tsu and Uraraka. "I love it!"

"I never proclaimed to be any good," he laughed. "Not my best moment."

"At least you didn't keep making your ball float on accident," Uraraka laughed. "I think the owner was ready to kick us out."

"Kero, are you guys hungry?"

"Always!" Midoriya and Hatsume answered.

"He's had lots of help from his little hero friends?" Twice suggested. "The frog one and his teachers, mostly."

"They'd be no easier to get than him." Shigaraki scowled. "No, Toga tried and failed at kidnapping. We need to just blindside him."

"Getting back on campus will be impossible." Kurogiri replied. "They figured out how to block my warp gates after the Hatsume incident."

"So, we'd need to get him outside of school," Shigaraki tapped his chin.

"Do we need to?" Kurogiri asked. "We had done well to bring distrust to the Hero scene before getting focused on UA. This witch hunt for Midoriya Izuku ended up with Muscular, Toga, and Dabi apprehended. Why not cut our losses and focus on bigger targets? The death of a student is news, for sure, but it will not shake the Hero community to the core."

Shigaraki paused. "You may be right. Thank you, Kurogiri. I got so caught up on this little side quest, I forgot all about the plotted path..."

The leader of the League stood up and ran his index finger down a corkboard with newspaper articles tacked along it. All Might's photo had been scratched off. "We knocked out the top player, but the leaderboards have other big dogs..."

"Boss, if I may," Compress interjected. "There may be a way for us to do both at once."

Shigaraki merely tilted his head towards his underling. "I'm listening."

"Endeavor's agency hasn't been doing well ever since his son outed him as world's worst dad," Compress advised, "Even as the new Number One Hero, he doesn't have the faith of the people. He may need to seek help from other Pros if we were his target."

Shigaraki snickered. "Oh, I like where you're going with this."

"Ugh. I'm stuffed," Izuku sighed, happily. "Good suggestion, Tsu."

"Kero, thanks. Uraraka found the place though," Asui croaked.

As the four chatted, Midoriya was happy to have something of a normal weekend after the events of the last one. As they waited for the bill, a news story ran that caught his attention.

On the screen, a recap of Endeavor's latest exploit, taking down a recently paroled Toxic Chainsaw at the sight of a bank robbery.

"...and despite an attitude shift," the reporter continued, "the new number one hero has struggled with public perception ever since the arrest of his son, Todoroki Shouto."

"I've made plenty of mistakes," Endeavor admitted in a pre-recorded interview, "and I haven't always been the best hero, father, or husband. That's why I'm working hard to live up to the image All Might left me. I will be a hero the world can be proud of."

By now, the other three at his table had watched the interview as well.

"I don't know if I buy it," Uraraka scoffed. "I bet Todoroki never would have done...you know...if Endeavor hadn't raised him as a weapon."

"I can't forget what he was saying at Iida's memorial," Midoriya replied. "It was really awful to hear."

"He has been putting in the work to change," Tsuyu said, tapping her finger to her chin, "and that could just be PR work, but I'll at least give him that the effort is there. Hard to tell if it's sincere."

"He got what he wanted in the end," Hatsume shrugged. "He's the Number One Hero. Bet he never thought it would bite him in the ass."

"I guess as long as he keeps working to be better, that's all he can do." Deku scratched the back of his neck. "Not everyone is going to forgive him, and whether or not anyone should is up to debate. But working towards redemption is really all someone in his position can do."

"Spoken like a true Vice President!" Uraraka beamed.

"Don't remind me," he sighed, "Yaoyorozu needs me to help plan the next movie night when we get back."

Later that night, Midoriya and Hatsume lay next to each other, panting. Nothing spiced up the bedroom life like saving each other's life. Hatsume rolled into him. "Today was so great. I was worried we wouldn't get to do stuff like this again."

"Me too. This room is empty when you aren't here."

As nice as the moment was, it was interrupted by the buzzing of a phone. Midoriya groaned and rolled to grab it. "One day I'll get a weekend without problems." He noticed the number; Gran Torino. "Whoa. Must be serious."

"Hey kid, sorry to call so late. I'm going to need you to come into the office tomorrow. We've got some big leads from way above us on what's left of the League." The grizzled voice grunted into the receiver.

"Sounds serious," Midoriya muttered. "What time do you need me, sir?"

"Good answer," the elderly hero laughed, "Ten. Not too early, but we'll want to get a head start. Your gear all repaired?"

"I couldn't keep Hatsume away from the lab to fix it if I wanted to." He smiled back to her to see she had already passed out.

"Think you'll be on patrol today?" Hatsume asked excitedly. "I like being in your ear when you're out. It's like watching a superhero anime."

"Who'd want to watch me?" Deku laughed. "Maybe. Gran Torino didn't really say. I'll see you later tonight."

Midoriya left his dorm, a few jabs thrown at him playfully from friends about having to work on the weekend and walked over to the bus station. As he traveled to the familiar agency, he was surprised to see some news vans outside. Reporters swarmed him, asking questions as he pressed through. Ignoring them as their voices and questioned blended together, he squeezed through the gate and entered the building.

"What's with the paparazzi outside Gran Torin- OH MY GOD!" Midoriya exclaimed as he entered the building.

Chatting away with the elderly hero was Endeavor himself, the current number one hero. Midoriya froze, the last times having seen the Hellfire user being the Sports Festival and Iida's memorial. Both times left a sour taste in the teen's mouth if he stopped to remember him.

A far contrast from those times, however, Endeavor turned and bowed politely. "Hello, young Deku. I do not believe we have been formally introduced."

Hesitantly, Midoriya walked forward and shook hands with the taller man. "Nice to meet you," he lied.

Truth be told, even as a kid, Midoriya was never a huge fan of Endeavor, despite being the Hero with most wins on record. And he remembered the things Todoroki and Dabi had both said about their dad.

"Hothead here reached out to us since he heard all the coverage." Gran Torino explained. "I don't know if you've been keeping up with the news, but your name has come up on the capture of all those League of Villain...Villains."

"That's right," Endeavor agreed. "You've become something of a thorn in their sides, you and Gran Torino."

"Well, what can I say." Midoriya replied, nervously. He then realized that he should follow that up with something clever, but considering how much he disliked the situation, he was drawing a massive blank. "All in...a... day's work, I guess."

"Er, yes, quite," Endeavor answered, apparently picking up on how awkward this was, "at any rate, I reached out because last night, one of my Sidekicks was targeted and killed by Twice and Compress, as a message that they were going to topple my agency."

"That's horrible!" Midoriya cried, unease forgotten.

"Indeed," the hero sighed. "A boy who called himself Rock. He could turn his hand into a laser cannon. A powerful Quirk, but ambushed by the two of them, he stood no chance. But that's what brings me here."

"You see, Endeavor decided that since we have records and files on the League of Villains, we could be of great use in taking the last four of them down once and for all," Gran Torino explained.

Midoriya itched his nose in thought; it made sense, even if he didn't particularly want to work with Endeavor. "So, this is like another team up?"

"Not...exactly." Endeavor replied, looking off to the side.

"He bought you guys out?!" Uraraka yelled, once Midoriya had returned home. He was sitting on one of the couches in the common area, trying to process how he felt about the whole thing. Uraraka, Asui, Shinsou, and Hatsume surrounded him as the evening waned.

"Yup," he replied, gloomily. "Starting tomorrow, I'm officially a Sidekick for the Number One Hero."

"A lot of people would probably dream about that kind of opportunity, kero," Asui pointed out, "Or at least would have back when that meant working for All Might."

"I would have been one of those kids," Izuku admitted. "But after all the crap I heard that guy say at Iida's memorial and the things Todoroki said about him after getting arrested? Leaves a bad taste in my mouth."

"What are you going to do?" Shinsou asked. "I mean, you could quit."

"Quitting a high-ranking agency like that would be career suicide for a first year student," Hatsume scolded. "No one wants to hire a difficult Sidekick who refuses to work with the Top Hero."

"She's right," Midoriya nodded. "And, there's no saying the League wouldn't come after me after all I've done against them. I might not like it, but I guess I'll just have to suck it up and deal with it."

"Maybe it will be good exposure for you?" Uraraka added. "Working with the number one hero would be a good way to get on the high rankings. Start your own agency someday."

"Maybe," he laughed, "for now, I think I'm going to focus on surviving the League and my new boss."

"Not for nothing, Endeavor is strong." Shinsou put his arms behind his head. "Picking a fight with him is pretty dumb for the League, what with the All for One guy behind bars. Taking him down isn't exactly an easy feat."

"But they did take down All Might," Asui argued, finger to her chin. "They might have a plan for Endeavor, too."

Kurogiri picked up the newspaper, sipping his brandy. "Looks like your plan worked, Shigaraki. Says here Endeavor has acquired all rights and caseloads for Nighteye's former agency."

"I still don't see what putting them together does for us," Twice griped, throwing darts at the pool table. He was trying to sink the eight ball and had been at it for about five hours. "Doesn't ten strength plus eight strength still equal twenty?"

"First of all, your math is atrocious," Compress sighed, "and we explained this. It's easier to eliminate many threats if you can gather them in the same place."

"Exactly." Shigaraki agree, sitting across the bar from Kurogiri. "We know damn well Dabi and that Todoroki pretty boy were sure to blab about their daddy issues to Midoriya during their fights. Fighting that kid was the closest those nutjobs ever had to a therapist. He's going to be pissed working for Endeavor."

"Oh, I get it! We'll kill Deku with an unhappy work environment!" Twice exclaimed, sticking the dart in the back of his hand and juggling the pool equipment. "He'll have a heart attack at thirty-five from stress."

"That's..." Compress groaned, "That's not we agreed upon at all!"

"No, step two comes much quicker than that," Shigaraki laughed. "But admittedly, that one will be a little bit harder to manage."

"Indeed," Kurogiri agreed. "Twice, did you manage to smuggle it when you were infiltrating Overhaul's operation?"

"Did I?" He asked himself, before laughing and taking a deep voice. "Of course I did! I'm a criminal genius."

"You're doing something right if you managed not to get captured yet," Compress deadpanned.

Twice fetched a crate of something from the back room and pried the top open. It was a box of the Quirk erasure bullets, made from Eri herself.

"So, we're just going to shoot them?" Twice asked. "Seems basic. Pretty sure it's been done."

"Endeavor can melt down any bullet before it gets near him," Shigaraki replied, dismissively. "We're going for something subtler. Something you wouldn't understand." He laughed. "Those heroes won't know what hit them."

NOTES FROM THE HUMAN: With this chapter, I am moving this story to it's, "finale," arc. I'll post more about that at another time, but the plan now is to wrap this up at 41 chapters with an epilogue.

I hope you enjoyed :)