Endeavor was done.

What a strange idea.

Izuko was not sure what she expected when she came home. She thought that Jirou's face would be plastered all over the news as the up and coming first year who has won the Sports Festival, with more news about the second and third year stages.

Instead it was the face of someone else plastered over the news, with the occasional news station daring to show clips of the evidence that they've received about what he had done.

Hawks and Mirko sat on the table, staring at the TV screen as the news continued to speak about the government's decision to refrain from pressing charges.

Kyoka was taking it the worst.

To prove their point about the reasoning of the prosecution being flimsy, they showed a recording of Endeavor's abuse towards his wife. Kyoka was not one to wear her emotions on her sleeve, especially when it came to tears. If anything she remained calm even when feeling strong emotions.

But whatever she saw in that recording pushed her over the edge.

"That bastard," Kyoka said, blinking tears out of her eyes. "If anything, Todoroki made it seem minor."

Izuko nodded. Todoroki was not exactly secretive about his disdain towards his father, and Kyoka had told many stories about people sharing way too much personal information in class. If this was the home in which Dabi grew up in, Izuko could almost understand how he became such a piece of shit.

While Izuko's hand comforted Kyoka, it was Mirko's hand that comforted Hawks.

Though he had of course heard, and certainly not doubted what a man Endeavor was, seeing and hearing were two entirely different things. Endeavor was to Hawks what All Might was to Izuko herself.

And while All Might had disappointed her in the past, there was no doubt in her mind that his heart was in the right place.

This… was nowhere near the right place at all. If he had a heart, it was somewhere near the frozen wastelands of Uranus at best.

Hawks' phone lit up. The man picked it up and checked the message he had received before putting it on the table. "He's lost his license."

"How?" Izuko asked. "They're not charging him with anything."

"The Hero Safety Commission has independent jurisdiction under its contractors, which is essentially what heroes are." Mirko's explanation sounded a bit too happy about it. "This means that even if the courts refuse to prosecute, the court of society has already decided he can't be trusted with hero work. If he wants to continue being a hero, he will have to move countries, or-"

"His arrest warrant was lifted," Hawks continued. "No prosecution, no victim who wants to speak up. He could get his license back under restrictions, the Commission are pragmatists."

"He doesn't deserve it," Kyoka said. Her voice was shaky, and her shoulders were shivering until Mirko finally turned the TV off. Izuko leaned against the girl, putting her head on Kyoka's shoulders. "What'll they do to him? A handler? A leash? A collar maybe?"

"Transfer to as far a place as possible, there's heroic work you can do without contacts," Hawks explained. "It depends on his own decision, which depends on his self-reflection when the world turns to him and tells him what he did was wrong."

"Not wrong," Kyoka said. Her fists were clenching under the table. "Abborhent. Disgusting. Absolutely vile-"

"Kyoka," Mirko said. The girl stopped, looking up towards the older couple. Hawks looked tired. "It's been a long day. You have the weekend free."

It wasn't hard to get the message. Izuko stood up, taking Kyoka's hand and pulling her out of the room and towards hers. Kyoka didn't resist, instead letting herself get pulled along. The door closed behind them with a louder thud, and Kyoka found the next best thing to punch her frustrations out.

Said next best thing was a rather big All Might plush that sat in the corner of the room. It rumbled with his voice, shouting "I am here!" every time she threw another punch. Izuku wasn't sure, but she had the feeling that Kyoka became more and more frustrated the more she heard the man's voice.

"You!" Kyoka said, punching again for emphasis. "Weren't!" And again. "Here!"

Izuko came up behind her and grabbed her wrists to stop her from abusing the poor plush more. Kyoka pouted.

"I didn't expect you to be that angry about it," Izuko said. She wasn't.

"Is it wrong to be angry on someone else's behalf?" Kyoka said. "Todoroki was an asshole but that-"

"It kinda sucks, yeah," Izuko said, nodding. "And I hope he gets the help he needs. I'll even be slightly less mean the next time I see him."

Kyoka stifled a laugh. "You're terrible."

"Just the worst," Izuko said, nodding again. She pulled on Kyoka's wrist again. "I'm the kind of person who'd drag her girlfriend into her bed before marriage."

"Wha-" was as far as Kyoka got before Izuko had already stumbled backwards onto the bed. Distracting Kyoka from being angry was top priority. Enjoying each other's company while doing that sounded like the best course of action.

Izuko's grip on Kyoka was broken quickly when the girl finally fought back. They rolled on the too big bed until they hit the wall with Kyoka on top, glaring down at Izuko.

"Oh no," Izuko said, her voice flat. "You have caught me."

Kyoka snorted, her shoulders shaking from laughter to the point that she lost strength in her arms and fell down on top of Izuko. They flushed, but-

Izuko's phone rang. The ringtone was loud, and annoying, and exactly the kind she reserved for people whom she didn't want to call her.

"I'm going to melt it down," Izuko said. Kyoka laughed, wrapping her arms around Izuko's to stop her from exploding into flames. "If we get interrupted one more time-"

Kyoka shut her up with a kiss and handed her the still ringing phone.

"This country will be in dire times in the future," All Might said. Sir Nighteye nodded. "I suppose it will be harder to earn back the trust of the people considering the circumstances of this revelation."

"People are always blind to the faults of those they admire," Sir Nighteye said. The muted TV in the background had protests in front of the National Diet and the Hero Commision on a split screen. "And even then, some are not willing to accept this truth."

There were more than a few supporters of Endeavor who were, if not outright denying the truth, very happy to claim it didn't matter. Perhaps it didn't to them. To the face of a bruised woman…

"There's just one more thing for today, though it might take the longest to discuss," Sir Nighteye said. "When I told you that I was working on something else, it was perhaps the biggest investigation I've had to do. My sidekick had to force me to stop occasionally, which is why it took so long."

"Knowing when to rest is a virtue. We've had this talk."

"And you've never listened to your own advice," Sir Nighteye said, grinning slightly. "But no, this is serious. I had to confirm it for myself. You know how I am."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," All Might said. "Though the way you're saying this worries me. You think I can't handle the information."

"No," Sir Nighteye said. "I know you, I know exactly how you will handle it, even without using my quirk. What worries me are the consequences."

"When have they not worried you?" All Might said, laughing softly. Sir Nighteye's mouth twitched downwards. The tension in the room grew. All Might's laughter died in his throat. "What did you find out?"

"I don't know if it's arrogance or intentional error because it would hurt more, but due to Izuko Midoriya's testimonies and a few old files I was able to dig out, I have found out that Tomura Shigaraki is… not Tomura Shigaraki."

All Might raised an eyebrow. "So who is he then?"

"If I'm not mistaken," Sir Nighteye said, folding his fingers together on the table. "Then Tomura Shigaraki was born Tenko Shimura, grandson of Nana Shimura."

All Might's reaction was, as expected, a puffing up. Focusing on his quirk, his frail body turned into that of the human god who had become the symbol of peace for all of Japan, but his face was missing that trademark smile that Sir Nighteye had loved so much in the past.

"Between the debt you owe your teacher," Sir Nighteye said, his voice even. "And the debt you owe Izuko Midoriya, which one do you think will be easier to repay."

"Hm?" All Might grunted. He looked ready to run and tear the streets open.

"I wouldn't go as far as to say that anyone is beyond redemption," Sir Nighteye said. "But if you focus on Tomura Shigaraki, who is the prime suspect in a long line of murders, and lose sight of the bigger picture, it will not just be you whom you're hurting."

"I know," All Might said. Sir NIghteye blinked. The man's voice was almost too calm. "But I know you wouldn't have told me this if you didn't already have some sort of plan. I've passed my quirk on. You know I did. If I don't act now, I will not be able to do so by the time the school year is over."

"Tomura Shigaraki will have to face the same consequences as any criminal," Sir Nighteye said. All Might nodded. "If removing him from All For One's influence helps that, then we need to remove All For One."

All Might perked up. "You crusty bastard you, I knew you had a plan."

"I was contacted through some sources, Touya Todoroki, Dabi, is reaching out," Sir Nighteye said. "After ruining his father's career, he's put himself into the perfect position to come out as the victim forced into a life of crime, but that's not his end goal. He has a… vendetta."

"Against All For One?"

"Izuko Midoriya and All For One," Sir NIghteye said. All Might nodded along. "He is making an offer that would never fly under any sort of legal circumstance. It's something we will have to decide on. He's offering assistance."

"What kind of assistance? And for what purpose?"

"All For One is… weakened. His recovery has not gone well. He knows the locations of various safe houses and can narrow down the ones where All For One is hiding. All he wants is some leniency."

"A pardon?" All Might asked, his fingers twitching. The flame was flickering, but it was still strong. He would have another six months before his quirk vanished.

"No," Sir Nighteye said, sounding almost as confused as All Might. "A fight."

"I refuse, putting her in more danger on my call would-"

"She already said yes."

All Might glared at Sir Nighteye with a fury that made the bespectacled man break out into a cold sweat. Sometimes, Sir Nighteye knew, it was much easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission.

That saying was a lie.

It felt very, very hard to ask for forgiveness right now.

Chapter 24, upcoming:

"Because you're the last person I want to ask," he said, his fists clenched so hard that his knuckles had turned white by now. "That makes you the only person whose advice matters."

"I once heard someone say that the first person you should care about is yourself, not self-centered arrogance, but rather… being the best you can be, before you extend kindness out to others."

"Do you think that's true?"

"As true as any self-help advice," Izuko said, shrugging. "And every religion's about five percent right. You want to know how to move past being an asshole, I'd focus on what you want first. Hang out with your mom, make dinner with your sister, work out with your brother. The only advice I can give you is that you should live your life how you want it, and not let that bastard's shadow loom over you."

She grinned, sparks of flame popping from her cheeks. "After all, we cast our own shadows."