Nezu was more than happy to help Shoko arrange for a live interview; a week later, she strode into the studio of Daikaku Miyagi, one of the most respected men in Japanese media.

Just like Mr. Tokuda, he'd earned a reputation as a dependable journalist and a man of integrity.

Shoko could think of no better place to reveal the truth, once and for all.

She maintained a laser focus on her goal through the drive up to the Tokyo studio, and as she sat through an endless stream of makeup artists fussing over her hair and her eyes and, most of all, her scar.

They wanted to cover it up with makeup; she told them not to touch it. Eventually, they gave up, and just gave her enough blush on the opposite side of her face to make it look like she had a second scar.

(Shoko was glad that the simple green blouse she'd worn for the interview had a high neckline; the deep-colored hickeys Izuku had given her the night before were not something she felt the need to share with the world.)

At last, she walked down the corridor to the studio itself. She could hear the murmurs of the live audience as Daikaku announced her as his next guest.

A week of media frenzy, as UA stalled reporters from talking to her or any of her family, had made her a rather controversial figure in Endeavor's fall from grace.

Some people seemed to instantly cast her in the role of the helpless maiden from a children's tale, where she had no hope of escaping her evil father's grasp until Izuku had come along.

Others had wondered why it had taken her family this long to reveal Endeavor's actions. Again, Shoko was at the center of it. She had been accused of trying to protect her father, or else benefiting from his actions towards the rest of her family. Shoko had laughed a little when she heard that one.

And of course, there were those who accused Shoko of making the whole thing up for attention or to try and threaten her father for something.

All three views would have made her blood boil with the injustice of it not long ago; they still did, sometimes

Luckily, Shoko stopped caring about those things when she was saved from her own anger by Izuku.

With just a few minutes until she had to go on, she turned to Izuku in the hall that led to the studio.

He'd been by her side all this time, but he couldn't follow her any further.

The agreement had been explicit: only Shoko was invited.

Shoko gripped Izuku's hand as she said, "Well, here goes nothing."

Izuku smiled as he replied, "You'll do great, babe. I'll be waiting right here for you when it's over."

Shoko looked at Izuku fondly. "If I didn't have an hour's worth of makeup on, I'd kiss you right now," she informed him.

He laughed, "Since when has that ever stopped you before?"

Shoko thought about it for a second.

"You're right," she admitted. Then, she kissed him on the cheek, leaving a perfect lipstick mark.

Izuku blushed slightly as she said, "Have fun explaining that to any poor sap who walks by, babe."

Then, an employee stuck his head through the curtain at the end of the hall. "Miss Todoroki? It's time to go," he said.

Shoko nodded, and with one last squeeze of Izuku's hand, she followed the employee out.

She could hear the roar of the crowd as Mr. Daikaku said, "My next guest is Todoroki Shoko, here to talk about the revelations concerning her father, who was, until last week, the Number One Hero, Endeavor."

Music played, and people clapped, and Shoko walked out onto the stage, shaking hands with the newscaster before sitting down on the chair next to his desk.

For once, she didn't flinch away from assessing eyes, or try to hide her scar from the cameras.

"Here I am. Get a good look," she thought, "I'm not scared of telling my story anymore. Let's see if you're not too scared to hear it."

Shoko settled herself into the chair, exchanging a bit of small talk with the one-horned newsman as she braved for the first real question.

Finally, it came. Daikaku asked, "So, about a week ago, allegations came out against your father that he had entered into a quirk marriage and committed abuse against his family. There's been a lot of conflicting information flying around, would you be able to shed some light on this for us?"

Shoko nodded and replied, "Yes, I can. Well, first off, the allegations made by the police are true. My father has always hated All Might for being better than him, so when Endeavor realized he would never be able to surpass All Might, he started trying to create an heir to do it for him. He thought his biggest weakness was the drawback of his quirk, so he found a woman with an ice quirk and bribed her family into letting him marry her. He forced her to have children until he got one he wanted."

Daikaku looked horrified as he said, "So your siblings, they were…"

"Failed experiments. Prototypes," Shoko finished, "Endeavor never really cared about my sister Fuyumi or my brother Natsuo, they inherited my mom's quirk. But my other brother, Touya, got a more powerful evolution of his own. While he kept trying for a more perfect successor, he started training Touya, as well. Touya was a backup plan, basically."

Daikaku frowned as he put the pieces together himself. "I remember reporting on the accident that killed him. Are...are you saying that Endeavor caused that?" he asked.

Shoko answered, "I don't know all the details, because Endeavor forbade us from speaking of my brother. But I think it happened right around when my quirk manifested, and Touya tried to win back our father's attention by showing how strong he was. It backfired, and he lost control of his quirk. I...never saw him again."

Shoko didn't talk about Dabi; if Touya wanted that story told someday, he could tell it himself. Besides, she didn't want to jeopardize him now that he was finally rebuilding his life.

Daikaku took a second to compose himself after that, then asked, "So, your father finally got you, with a dual quirk. What happened then? And, forgive me if this is too personal, but what about your scar? Endeavor never stated publicly where it came from."

Shoko took a deep breath. At last, she replied, "As soon as my quirk appeared, I was separated from my siblings; Endeavor told me that they were weak, unfit to be around me. Then, he started training me, which mostly meant attacking me and telling me to defend myself. If I didn't, or if I begged for him to stop, he'd just keep attacking me until I couldn't go on."

"How old were you when this began?" Daikaku asked.

Shoko said, "Five."

There was muttering in the audience at that, as people finally began to understand the depths of Endeavor's madness.

Shoko continued, "and as for my scar...by the time I was born, my mom had been under Endeavor's control for nearly twenty years. He'd abused her all that time; whenever she tried to protect me and my siblings from him, he'd beat her. Every time she looked at my left side, she saw my father. Eventually...she couldn't take it anymore. I walked into the kitchen one night as she was pleading with her mother. I made a noise, something tiny; maybe I asked her if she was okay. There was a kettle on the stove, and when she saw me, she must have panicked. The rest...well, I think you can see."

Shoko gestured at her scar.

There was a long silence in the studio after that. Shoko found that even though she'd just relived the darkest memories of her life, she didn't feel any of the terrible emotions that used to always haunt her whenever something dragged these things up.

She'd finally healed; their power over her was gone. At last, she could move on.

Eventually, Shoko broke the silence herself by saying, "After that, Endeavor institutionalized my mother. His stated reason was for her to get help, but really, he just didn't need her anymore. He already had me; to him, keeping her around might just infect me with her weakness. At some point, I decided I wouldn't use my father's fire to be a hero, because I thought it could only cause fear and pain. After that, things didn't change for...over a decade, until I went to UA. Until I met Izuku."

Daikaku visibly gathered himself, and asked, "I'm sure we all know by now that you two are a wonderful couple. Some have also recalled that you had a dramatic battle at the Sports Festival two years ago, where you used the fire you just told us you had sworn to never use. Would you like to tell us more about that?"

Shoko smiled; finally, on to happier topics.

She responded, "Of course. By the time I got to UA, I was lost and angry, and so wrapped up in hatred and the determination to rebel against Endeavor that I couldn't see straight any longer. I saw a boy who was quiet and timid, but had incredible power, and all I could think was "how can I use him to reject my father?" I challenged him, and instead of accepting it and trying to defeat me, he saved me instead."

"How did he do that?" Daikaku asked.

"Well, he destroyed the glacier I used to attack him with a single flick, and told me to, and I quote, "stop screwing around!" Shoko answered with a humorous grin.

There were chuckles in the studio as she continued, "After that, he kept fighting someone way out of his league, breaking his own bones to do it . I...his words helped me realize I was thinking about my fire all wrong. I kept thinking about it as my father's, when it's really mine. When that battle ended, I made the decision that I wouldn't let my anger towards my father rule my life. Ever since then, Izuku has helped me push forwards."

Pushing his glasses up his nose, Daikaku asked, "What about your mother? How have you approached her after all this time?"

Folding her hands in her lap, Shoko said, "Not long after I fought Izuku, I went to visit her in the hospital for the first time. I'd never done it before because I was scared she wouldn't forgive me."

Daikaku looked at her curiously as he prompted, "What do you mean, forgive you? She's the one who hurt you, correct?"

Shoko nodded as she responded, "Yes, but I always thought I'd done something wrong, something that made her do it. When I walked into her room, I was so afraid that she wouldn't want to see me. Instead, she gave me the most knowing look I've ever seen, and she asked me to forgive her. Watching her has given me hope for the future, because if she can rebuild herself from where she was, without help, then I can do the same from where I am, with the help of the most amazing man in the world."

Shoko heard people cooing in the audience when she was done; Daikaku's smiling face was the easiest to read she'd ever seen on the old newsman.

Then, he grew serious again, and asked, "One of the most upsetting allegations made against Endeavor is that he tried to force you into a quirk marriage, as well. Could you tell us about that?"

Shoko thought for a second, deciding just what she wanted to say. When she had it, she began, "Well, like I said, my father was obsessed with power, and quirks specifically. He had what he thought was the perfect quirk with mine, but it wasn't enough for him. He tried to pair me off with a man he could use to control me, and get even more powerful heirs in the bargain. When I found out, it almost broke me. By that point, I'd finally recognized how I felt about Izuku, and the thought of losing him before I'd ever had the chance to have him was... awful. "

Daikaku was nodding gently, and the audience was too.

Shoko continued, "But just then, when I was at my lowest, I took a risk. I confessed to Izuku, and he returned my feelings. All of a sudden, I had hope again. After that, things became easier, because I had him there. When I revealed him to the world at the Hero Gala, it was so Endeavor couldn't try to deceive the world by pretending that his choice for my husband was the man I loved."

There were sounds of understanding from the audience, and many people seemed to be glossy-eyed with the thought of her and Izuku.

Shoko knew people thought they were a cute couple, but this was getting a little ridiculous.

The reporter asked, "How did it all end, then? How did you finally get free?"

Shoko replied, "After the Hero Gala, my mom finally got out of the hospital, and divorced him. Suddenly, Endeavor had no hold on me anymore, nothing to make sure I obeyed him. So he got desperate, and did something stupid. He tried to have me kidnapped and spirited away to a place where I would be forced to marry the man, in order to prevent me from escaping him entirely."

In the days since the event, Endeavor had admitted his full plan to the police; Shoko still trembled when she thought about how close Geretsuna had come to trapping her in a room with no avenue of escape, save him.

There was stunned silence in the room once again.

In disbelief, Daikaku croaked, "The Number One Hero...tried to have his own daughter kidnapped?"

Shoko nodded. Once the whispering in the audience had subsided again, she explained, "He had the man walk into my dorm at UA on the last class and demand that I go with him. He...threatened Izuku, and Izuku's family. I couldn't let them get hurt because of me, so...I agreed to go with him."

The audience was watching intently; nobody seemed willing to speak and risk shattering the moment.

"What happened next?" Daikaku prompted.

"Well, I can't say too much, because there is still a criminal case ongoing, but...Izuku and the heroes at UA figured out what was going on, and they showed up to take Endeavor into custody."

Daikaku smiled widely, clearly relieved.

"Well, that's...quite a story. Thank you for sharing it with us, Miss Todoroki," he said, "may I ask what your plans are for the future? Do you and your boyfriend have any idea what you might do?"

Shoko's smile returned full force.

She replied, "As a matter of fact, we do. Talking about them is actually one of the reasons I came here, because I have some big news!"

There was excited whispering in the studio as Daikaku said, "Oh? What news is that?"

Shoko casually laid her hand on the horned man's desk; she could see the cameras zooming in on her hand out of the corner of her eye.

With the biggest grin she'd ever had, Shoko said, "Well, he's not quite my boyfriend now, because he proposed."

On her hand was Izuku's ring, glittering like a star under the studio lights.

Daikaku's eyes went wide with excitement.

They had to pause for a moment under the excited shrieks from the audience, who were clearly thrilled.

When thing quieted down again, Daikaku said, "My congratulations! You two are lovely together. Although...hero couples are quite rare. Do you think you can handle the danger and stress of heroics in addition to a marriage, especially given your young age?"

Shoko nodded as she answered, "I absolutely do. Izuku and I have always found that we make each other stronger, that we're better heroes when we're together. We both want to be the Number One Hero, but only if the other person is always right behind us, pushing us to be the best that we can be. But that's not the only announcement I'd like to make today. You see…"

Shoko thought she'd earned dramatic pauses. It wasn't every day you announced a pregnancy to the world, after all.

She could feel the curiosity coming off of the audience in waves. Daikaku looked like he was about to start jumping up and down in his seat in anticipation.

Shoko finished, "I'm pregnant. It's twins, as well. Izuku and I are so thrilled, I can't even describe it."

The roar of the audience was deafening. It seemed like a living thing, as it went on and on, never ending.

Daikaku really was bouncing in his chair now, like a happy schoolgirl.

Finally, things quieted back down, and Daikaku said, "That's incredible, Miss Todo-well, I suppose you'd be Ms. Midoriya, now! Congratulations, from the bottom of my heart. I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today, but thank you so very much for coming on this show, and giving us so much to think about. I wish you and your fiancé the best."

"Thank you, Mr. Daikaku," Shoko replied, "for letting me tell my story."

As the ending music played and Shoko stood, he said, "Thank you, Ms. Midoriya, for sharing it."

It was too quiet to be caught by the microphones or the cameras, but Shoko heard it nonetheless. She nodded gratefully one last time as she walked off the stage, leaving joyous chaos behind her as news of her twin revelations began to spread over the airwaves.

As soon as she was through the curtains, she slumped into a waiting Izuku's arms. He cradled her gently as she started to walk alongside him.

Shoko sighed, "God, that was exhausting."

Izuku said, "I'm sure it was, Shoko. That was the bravest thing I've ever seen."

She shot him a look. "What do you mean?" Shoko asked, "I literally just talked to someone on TV."

Izuku shook his head. He answered, "No, Shoko, that's not what I'm talking about. You bared all of your scars to the world, dredged up your darkest memories and shared them without fear, trusting that people wouldn't hurt you with them. That's the most incredible thing I've ever seen someone do."

His earnest admiration made Shoko feel warmth in her chest like it always did, but she still protested, "It wasn't that bad, not really. While I was out there, I realized something; none of those old wounds hurt anymore. All my scars are healed, thanks to you, Izuku."

"All of them?" Izuku asked lightly, nodding at her face.

With the hand not holding Izuku's, Shoko reached up to cup her blue eye, and the burned tissue around it. She turned to her fiancé.

"All of them. Like you said, this is just a part of me," she confirmed.

Izuku nodded in satisfaction; Shoko squeezed his hand again in wordless thanks. He squeezed back; "Always," he seemed to tell her.

The front door of the building swung open as they exited onto a warm, clear summer night. The dying orange streaks of sunset could still be seen in the west; a purple tinge slowly seeped into black as they walked down the street.

"What do you want to do now?" Izuku asked.

Shoko answered, "I want to go home with you, and...just be with you. I want to lay in your arms, and know that everything is right in the world. And of course, I want to let these babies grow, until I can meet them someday."

Izuku smiled. He told her, "That sounds like a plan. One day at a time?"

"One day at a time," Shoko agreed, "until we reach the future."

Izuku asked, "When will we know we've reached the future?"

She told him, "When every day is better than the last. When we wake up next to each other, and we're happy. When we're heroes together."

"I feel like that right now, Shoko. I suppose we're already there," Izuku said.

She put a finger against her chin. With a smile, she said, "Naaah, I don't think we're there yet."

"Why not?" the man she loved said.

Shoko's grin was wide and teasing as she replied, "Well, we don't have twenty kids yet, and I really want that in the future."

Izuku's eyes went wide as he whisper-shouted, "Twenty? You want twenty kids, Shoko?"

She pretended to look thoughtful, then said, "Oh, I'm sorry, is that a little high? I suppose I'll settle for fifteen."

Izuku stammered, "F-Fifteen?"

"Oh, you're right, I'm sorry," Shoko corrected herself, "sixteen. After all, we can't forget Eri. We're going to adopt her, too."

Izuku just shook his head.

Shoko was on a roll, now; she decided to mention something else she knew would get Izuku going.

She said, "Oh, by the way, I checked the other day, and my tits are definitely getting bigger now. I wonder how big they'll get by the time I'm nine months along. I wonder how milky they'll be for you."

Izuku gulped, while Shoko looked meaningfully at her fiancé, wiggling her eyebrows.

Izuku sighed, "You are the most insatiable woman I've ever met."

"Maybe," Shoko replied sweetly, "but I'm yours."

He wrapped a hand around her waist, and drew her close for a kiss.

A few moments later, they were interrupted by a honk.

They whirled around to see Natsuo in his truck, waving at them while he laughed.

"Are y'all coming or not?" he teased.

Shoko pouted.

"Fine. We'll keep going at home," she grumbled to Izuku.

They hopped in, and the truck sped off towards home, to the west and the dying sun.

In the future, there would be more threats to face, more enemies to fight, more pain to feel. But for now, there was only Shoko and Izuku, in the back of a truck heading towards sunset.

All was well.