A few months had gone by since the last time Taishiro saw Risa and he was a little hurt that she never reached out even to tell him she was doing alright. Any time that he stopped by Mazeru to check in on Seiryo, all the old man would say is that she taking time off to take care of something personal and doesn't know when she'll be back home, but that she was doing alright.

During this time, too, rumors of the Azure Flame's return had been spreading throughout the community, and Taishiro and his agency had begun to investigate them alongside the local police department.

The Azure Flame was a captain in the Dorifutā Gang, known for their cold, blue flames. They had been a terror throughout the city, always disappearing before the police or heroes showed up on the scene of their crimes. But, after wreaking havoc for nearly a decade, they suddenly disappeared and now after twenty years, they seem to have resurfaced. Taishiro wondered if it was the same Azure Flame as before, or if someone else had taken up the mantle in their place, but he knew that these rumors needed to be dealt with- and hopefully put to rest. He hoped that wherever Risa was, too, that she was far from the increase in criminal activities.

One day, while out investigating with his usual police partner- Officer Yoritoki Noguchi- a commotion sounded nearby, and Taishiro and Officer Noguchi ran to check it out. Similar to the day that Red Riot revealed his super move, a group of villains were trying to flee the scene of the crime- a place where previous villainous gangs had engaged in drug-related turf wars. Things were getting heated, and Taishiro and Officer Noguchi did what they could to help people flee the battleground. Taishiro made quick work of the villains who came at him, handing them off to the other officers that arrived on the scene shortly after the commotion began. As he handed off the villains, he noticed someone slip into the shadows of a nearby alleyway and excused himself to go check it out.

As he neared the alleyway, he saw a flash of blue and had a strong suspicion of what the source was. He cautiously made his way through the alleyway and heard a familiar voice just around the corner.

"I don't give a shit, I told you that no one was to be harmed and you fucking morons put a dozen or so innocent civilians at risk!"

"We were just-"

Taishiro stopped, seeing another flash of blue dancing on the sides of the surrounding buildings.

"I don't want to hear your excuses! You disobeyed a direct order!"

The sound of flames roared nearby and someone cried out.

"I am your superior, you do as I say, is that clear?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am..!"

"Get the hell out of here before I really hurt you."

Taishiro could hear people scrambling away, whimpering like dogs, and he peeked around the corner- seeing a young woman standing alone in the alleyway. He stepped into her part of the alleyway, his eyes wide when he realized who it was.

The woman sighed, rubbing her temples for a moment before looking up at the cloudy sky. "When will this end...? I just want things to go back to normal..." She sighed again and turned around, stopping dead in her tracks when she saw Taishiro standing there. "T-Taishiro...?"

"Risa...?" Standing before him was Risa Fukuhara, wearing a jacket with the insignia of the Dorifutā Gang.

"W-What are you doing here...?" Risa asked, taking a step back.

"I should be asking you that," Taishiro replied, his brow furrowed. "Is this what you've been doing these last few months?"

Risa looked away and didn't reply, unsure of what she could say to him.

"Risa, what's going on? Why are you running with the Dorifutā Gang?"

Risa's brow furrowed and she looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry..." She started backing away but Taishiro hurried forward and grabbed her hand.

"Risa, tell me what's going on," he begged, his chest feeling tight, "let me help you."

"I can't get you involved..." Risa started, feeling a bit of comfort from her hand in his, and looked up at him. "I have to do this, to keep Gramps and Mazeru safe... I don't have a choice here..." She squeezed his hand and offered him an apologetic smile. "Take care, Taishiro..."

Taishiro watched as she pulled her hand free and stepped back, then launched herself into the air with blue flames- disappearing onto the rooftops just as the rain began to fall.

"Risa is the Azure Flame...?"

Seiryo stood behind the bar, cleaning glasses after the small rush had left, and heard the bell ding at the entrance. He looked up and saw Taishiro coming in from the rain, looking concerned- more than usual at least.

"Fat Gum, everything alright?"

Taishiro stood at the bar. "Did you know about Risa being the Azure Flame?"

Seiryo sighed and set aside the glass he was drying. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because it's not my business to tell you, that was up to Risa."

Taishiro sat down at the bar, sighing. "This makes things complicated..."

"Believe me, son, you have no idea."

Taishiro looked up at that. "What do you mean?"

Seiryo laid the towel over his shoulder and looked at the hero. "Risa's father was the original Azure Flame. He was a nightmare and when I found out who he really was, I exiled him from our family and banned him from ever seeing my daughter again. It wasn't long after that Risa was born and news of her father's death came. I tried for years to protect her from the Dorifutā Gang and her father's legacy, but she inherited his quirk and it gained the attention of the Dorifutā Gang's elders."

"Why is she running with the Dorifutā Gang, to begin with?"

"To protect me..." Seiryo's shoulders sank. "The current leader of the Dorifutā Gang is a man named Kenzan Haruno and he'd been pestering Risa about taking her father's old position for weeks, but each time Risa refused. That is until he sicked Matsuro onto me and threatened my safety and wellbeing if Risa didn't comply."

"So she's being forced to work for them to ensure your safety?"

Seiryo nodded. "She promised that she would reach out for help if she couldn't handle it, but it's like she's trying to handle it on her own anyway just to prevent anyone else from getting involved."

Taishiro processed the new information and the rumors were starting to make more sense. The key difference that he had noticed from the knowledge known of the original Azure Flame and the current one was that the current one was much more concerned with minimalizing casualties. The original could have cared less who got caught in the crossfire.

"I don't want her to get trapped working for those thugs," Seiryo said, looking at Taishiro. "It breaks my heart to see her like this."

Taishiro met his gaze and sighed. "I'll help her if I can, but this complicates things quite a bit. I don't know how much I can actually do for her."

"Even if it's a little, any kind of help is plenty." Seiryo rubbed his neck and glanced down at the wedding band he still wore. "Risa is all I have left in this world. She deserves better than this."

Risa shut herself away in her room at the Dorifutā Gang's base of operations, her mind reeling. She had been avoiding Taishiro to protect him, she had been keeping him in the dark to prevent him from getting involved, but now he knew that she was the Azure Flame and things were going to get really complicated.

"Damn it..." Risa rested her head against the wall, her eyes closed. 'What do I do now..? It's been a few months since I've seen him and we're weren't close friends or anything, so why does seeing him like that bother me much?'

Risa listened to the rain as it started pounding against her window and looked at the droplets as they slid down the glass panes.

'I'm so sorry, Taishiro...'