Wohoo! On wednesday I finished writing this fic! Since then I've done nothing but run circles to tell everybody about it. I was so excited I even thought about uploading this chapter early, just so I can share the news. But then I couldn't do that to my beta. haha. Anyway, now I can finally tell you how many chapters this story will have in the end! 103 chapters including the Epilogue! Which means you still have 14 chapters to go, and if everything works out well I'll probably finish updating this story in summer. I think overall I'm happy with the ending but still fretting over some of the details...For now, let's not dillydally and go right into the next chapter.

Musutafu Sunrise

The seconds ticked by slowly.

Minutes… Time was difficult to grasp. The clock at the wall told him he'd only been waiting for fifteen minutes, but it felt like hours. In fact, it felt so long ago, that Touya had called and threatened him, that he wondered if he had been mistaken – maybe he wouldn't come after all.

When he got the message from Taro that everybody had evacuated safely, he even took a few minutes to start up the computer and turn off the alarm. It was giving him a headache. He shut it back down, just to make sure that no villain storming his office could get to the secure data – and then, time seemed so slow, that he even considered doing some paperwork while he waited.

One of his windows was tilted open, and he could hear sirens down on the street below, as well as the noise of the police asking the protesters to leave the area. Up here, it all formed a cacophony of noise that droned on, almost indistinguishable from the normal sounds of traffic.

And then… there was a shift. A sudden silence. Oddly, he felt no urgency as he stood up and walked to the window to look down on the street below.

It was almost empty now. There were a few heroes positioned around the area, and from up here he could look far enough to see where the police had drawn up the parameter for the evacuation. But just down below, right in front of the main entrance, there was nobody. Not even his own sidekicks.

It felt odd. Just minutes before there was traffic, his employees running in and out, protesters, and now…

As he looked up, there was a shape flying in the sky. He knew what it was. Enji had seen this exact image often enough now, to know the unshapely thing was a Noumu. But he didn't panic. There was the same fear he had breathed through for minutes now. The same fear he was slowly getting accustomed to.

The Noumu didn't smash right into the building, as it had done with the Yaku Insurance and in Fukuoka. For a moment, Enji felt absurdly grateful for that. He couldn't afford a new building, currently.

The gratitude vanished as the huge Noumu landed on the asphalt below. The heavy landing was loud enough to ring in Enji's ears, despite him standing many feet above ground in his office. The ground shook just a little. Almost imperceptibly. It was a huge beast, from what Enji could see – then its wide wings folded in, and it shrunk down to almost human size. Two different shapes separated from the first.

Enji knew that one of them was Touya, even if he couldn't recognize him from up here. Everything looked tiny. Like ants. He could attack now, he knew. Smash through the window and descend on them like a hellish inferno, but he still had no sense of urgency.

Let him come, he thought, let him come.

And in fact, the three forms down on the street took a moment to assess their situation, and then, instead of attacking the people evacuated further away from them, they turned towards the agency and vanished out of his sight as they entered the building.

To say Enji was ready would be overstating it – but he was as ready as he could be. As he sat back down at his desk, he felt both elated and terribly calm.

Let him come to you.

He knew Touya would take the elevator. He just knew it, with a kind of certainty that made no sense. It was the same certainty with which he had known, that Touya was only here for him and would not attack anybody else close by before he reached his father.

He knew Touya wouldn't feel qualms about killing innocents. He hadn't so far. Why suddenly start? But he also just knew – though Enji didn't know where this knowledge came from – that Touya had no interest in killing. Not without his father watching.

Taro had left the door to his office open, so when finally, the elevator arrived at his floor, he could hear the ping. He could hear the elevator doors open and the heavy boots over the wood floor boards. Enji just remained seated where he was.

Touya… Let him come.

When his son appeared at the door, he stopped in surprise. His step hesitated, faltered. He stood in the door as if he hadn't expected to see Enji.

Black-dyed hair, burning turquoise eyes, and those terrible scars. His skin stretched as a grin formed on the disfigured face.

"You're here!" he cried, elated. "For a moment, you had me convinced that you fled. I was so sure you'd attack me the moment I landed."

Enji had nothing to say to that. He watched his son, still standing at the door. The grin on Touya's face weakened a little.

"Nothing to say to me?" He looked angry now. "I come all the way to congratulate you, and I don't even get a hello, Father?" Furious blue eyes burned into Enji's that were of equal color.

The grin was back now. "So, you've decided to just sit there and let me kill you?" He laughed, loud and ugly, and Enji hated that sound. It was grating against his ears. "Perfect! I've been disappointed, you know. When they took your license… Because I wanted to kill you! I wanted to destroy you. It should've been me!"

Enji sighed. He leaned back in his chair. Listening into himself, he was surprised how calm he was. Even the trembling had stopped. He felt as if he was separated from his own body. Like he was watching it all unfold from the outside. Just the audience to a terrible theatre.

"You won't kill me, Touya."

The grin vanished from Touya's face. The laughter died. There was an angry scowl; a furious scream. "Don't call—!"

"Touya!" Enji interrupted him. "Did you think you would? When you came here, did you think you were going to kill me?"

Touya glared at him. He didn't look elated now. His lips were pressed together in anger. "That's why I'm here. What? You think I can't do it?" he hissed. Spittle came out of his mouth. "You can't honestly think I'd still care about you? You deserve to die! I told you I would destroy you – seeing you sit there…" He shook his head. "An agency with your name on it; do you think the people can't see you for who you really are? A fake hero! I'll take you down!" His voice was getting louder with every word. "Destroy everything you hold dear! You thought you can make a quiet comeback? You think three months of hiding out in your house are enough to repent?" There was saliva on his lips. "Let me help you, Father! Let me burn away your sin!"

Enji felt sad as he looked at his son. He spread his arms wide. "I'm right here Touya." he said. "Yet, I'm not burning. It's been over half a year since you told me you would kill me." He put his finger to his forehead. "You had your gun right here, and you told me I would die by your hand. But then you failed to pull that trigger."

He put his hand down, looking at Touya questioningly. "Didn't you? You shot me how many times that day? And yet, here I am." He spread his hands apart again, like an offer for his son to attack, but Touya was unmoving at the door. He hadn't made a step inside the office yet. "I've been waiting for all these months," he told him, "and you never came."

Enji put his hand on his desk and pushed himself up to his feet. He noticed the short moment of hesitation in Touya. The way he almost took a step back, only to bump into the shape behind him. As if in petty defiance, he then made a step forward, putting a foot into the office. Now Enji could see past him, the bulking form of a Noumu.

Enji walked around his desk, leaned against it, and crossed his hands in front of his chest.

"Is that what you've been telling yourself?" Touya forced out a haughty laugh, but Enji saw a fragile insecurity behind the grin. "That the fact that you're alive, means that I still love you?" He cackled, like a horde of chicken. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, Father. You're the one who I hate most!" He put his palms against his chest. "My hatred against you is the only thing that keeps me alive!"

Enji closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. The words stung, but he didn't back away.

"I find it funny, I must say," Touya continued. "Do you really hope that I might feel anything but hatred towards you? One might almost think you care! But I'm not so naïve as Fuyumi or Shoto, who believe your farce. You can act different all you want! You can tell yourself you've changed all you want. But I know better!" He took one more step into the office. The room was big enough for there to still be a long distance between them. If he kept up that pace, he would need an hour to reach Enji. "I know who you are inside, Todoroki Enji!"

Enji looked at the floor below Touya's feet. His brows furrowed a little.

"Fuyumi…" he heard himself whisper. He hadn't meant to ask about her, but that question was nagging on his mind. "When you…or your friends sent those Noumu last month, did you know that Fuyumi was there? Your sister?"

He remembered, many months ago, when Natsuo had faked his kidnapping and Shoto and Fuyumi called the League in an ill-considered move to find their brother. Touya had talked to them over the phone, and had made it clear that he didn't wish them any harm. He'd said it again when Enji met him. That he did what he did, because only Enji's death would free him and his siblings. That Fuyumi, Shoto, Natsuo, they might not see it then, but they would understand eventually.

He had long wondered how far Touya would go. He had published Natsuo's diary, used Natsuo to get to Enji. Enji knew for a fact that Natsuo hadn't wanted that. Touya had also been among the group to attack Shoto's class during their summer camp.

Touya looked at him oddly. "I didn't know she was there," he said. Then his manic grin was back. "But even if I knew, so what? Fuyumi…! I know she supports you! She actually believes that you've changed, that there's any merit to your change." He took a deep breath. "I wanted to kill you for her sake too, so she could be free. I would save her from you… But it's too late. You have her all convinced. There is no saving her." He looked pained now, although he was still smiling. "And maybe there is no saving Shoto either. But I can still save Natsu!" He nodded forcefully. "If I have to kill Fuyumi and Shoto for that, I will."

He was mad, Enji decided. Utterly mad.

Touya's eyes narrowed mockingly. "What, did you think you could use them as shields? That they would protect you from me? You're a coward, Todoroki Enji!"

"Natsuo wouldn't thank you for it," Enji cut in, ignoring the insult. "Natsuo is nothing like you."

The grin spread even wider. Touya leaned forward, and took another step closer. He was far enough from the door now for the two Noumu to follow through from behind him. They didn't attack, though. They continued standing at the door, burning eager eyes turned to Enji. But, however much they clearly wanted to attack, they were obviously well-trained enough to not to do so without a command. Enji worried about them. For all he knew, they might be as strong as the beast he had faced in Fukuoka…

Time to find out what my new hyper-condensation will do against these ones.

"What do you know about Natsu?" Touya asked mockingly. "Do you think, just because he was a little shocked when he first learned of my plans, that he wouldn't join me?" His eyes drilled into Enji's. To his shame, Enji even – for just a moment – believed him. Touya was so convinced of his own words, that Enji couldn't help but consider it. Had Natsuo…? Had he lost another son to this madness?

Suddenly, all his calmness seemed forgotten. All his preparation for this meeting. He was ready to face Touya, to let his words glide off him, to bear his insults… but Natsuo? The last time he talked to Natsuo was almost three months ago. Had anything happened in those months? Surely, Natsuo wouldn't have—

"Yes!" Touya apparently saw that he had finally found something with which to hurt Enji. He mercilessly dug his claws into the wound. "Natsu hates you as much as I do. You treated him like trash! Did you think an apology, that tear-jerker on the roof, would make him care about you?"

How does he know?

Enji couldn't help the way his breath hitched. That last time he had talked to Natsuo was so long ago. How could Touya have known if it hadn't been for Natsuo telling him? But why? It all made no sense in his mind. There was something he was missing.

"He hates you! As much as I do!"

"Natsuo wouldn't…" He had to believe that.

"You know nothing about him!"

"Natsuo is a good person." He was certain of that! Natsuo studied medicine to help people. He might hate Enji – Enji knew that! – but he wouldn't…ever…

"You never cared about him! So how would you know!" Touya pounded with his palms against his own chest. "But I do! I was there for him when nobody else was."

But that was wrong, Enji knew.

Yes, Natsuo hated him. He knew that. But Natsuo had Fuyumi. He always had her. She was the one who basically raised him. Yes, Touya was his older brother and best friend as a child… But Enji still remembered that scene on the rooftop. Remembered Natsuo's shame at hiding a secret from Fuyumi. Remembered his fear of what she and Shoto might think if he told them his part in Enji's injuries.

Natsuo hated him…

But Natsuo was a kind boy. A young man who wanted to be a doctor, who wanted to help people, who had stood on that rooftop devastated and – Enji was by now convinced – ready to jump, because he couldn't bear the guilt of hurting even the man he hated most in his life.

Natsuo, who had been so brave to fess up to his own crimes and cooperate with the police to bear the consequences of his actions. Natsuo, who…

He had cooperated with the police…

It made sense now. A terrible kind of sense, and suddenly, Touya before him seemed only half as important. He was not the only son he had failed after all, and Enji was getting sick of his speeches.

He took a deep breath and unfolded his arms. "I'm still here, Touya!" Touya bristled at being called his name. Enji almost enjoyed that – it was a petty sort of victory. "I'm still here, and all you do is talk."

Touya made a sound like gagging. An odd little noise that Enji had no idea where it came from.

"You tell me to get on with it…" He leaned back a little, looked at Enji haughtily. "Are you telling me you want me to kill you?"

"Can I kill?" the winged Noumu behind him asked in a surprisingly high voice. It had obviously noted the shift in the conversation. Had it just waited for that? That meant those two were intelligent, just like the Fukuoka-Noumu.

Enji threw both Noumu a scrutinizing glance, before turning back to his son.

"No, Touya," Enji shook his head. "I'm telling you you're too late. Maybe, if you had come a month ago, I would have fulfilled your wish. But not now. As I said, you won't kill me today."

And with that, he shot out his first attack, giving no further warning. It was a new attack. Just the other day he had developed a method to reach Flashfire again. Time to test his technique. He hadn't used any of his new theories for battle yet… But there was no other option.

A single stream of hyper condensed fire seared through the window, and the wall and tore right through one of the Noumu. He avoided Touya with the attack, and unfortunately that meant that the second Noumu also had time to evade.

In the aftermath, there was molten glass dripping down the window, and molten iron running like goo from the walls. The wallpaper had caught fire, but that aside, there were no flames. Enji was impressed himself. It was like a beam of laser, cutting through everything in its path – it had cleanly cut through the Noumu's neck and half-melted its jaw.

I'll call it Flashfire Hell Razor, Enji thought, quite pleased.

Touya looked at the creature in something akin to horror. He clearly hadn't seen that opener coming. Had he thought Enji was out of practice after three months? Still shaken up and unable to use his quirk at full potential?

Well…if he had come a month sooner…but of course, Touya hadn't come. He'd been wasting his time, and now Enji felt confident that he could take on both Noumu and Touya. He glared at Enji, then he cursed.

"Kill him!," screamed Touya jabbing a finger at Enji.

The Noumu was already healing. Enji knew he couldn't let the Noumu regenerate. Then again… the beasts were still people, so he couldn't simply kill them, either. He avoided the winged Noumu's attack – a shotgun like barrage of tiny projectiles, and used a quick burst of flames to dash towards the regenerating Noumu. In passing, he gave Touya a hard shove against the chest, toppling him over.

Then, he grabbed the head of the Noumu around the molten jaw and activated his flames' powerful enough to keep up with the Noumu's regeneration. That way, the Noumu wouldn't die, but also couldn't heal.

Touya crashed into him. Enji saw him coming, but he couldn't evade. Together they toppled through the damaged window. Blue flames came to life, as Touya tried to get a hold of Enji. As they fell, the wind sparked their flames further. It hurt, though Enji knew that his son must be hurting even more than him.

"Let's burn together, Father!" The wild laughter was overpowered by the roaring of the inferno. The Noumu's skull in Enji's hand burned up completely in the searing heat of Touya's flames.

"Stop it!" Enji demanded. Neither would he let his son kill him, nor would he let him kill himself. He let go of the ashen remains of the skull and planted his fist into Touya's side. The villain sputtered, but didn't let go yet. Enji twisted away and smashed his elbow in Touya's face.

Touya might have the superior fire power, but physically, he'd always been weaker. His fire resistance wasn't as good as Enji's own, and whereas Enji was strong and brawny, Touya was slight and lithe. Touya also didn't have the same experience Enji had – as he was hit in the face, his concentration faltered, and he seemed dazed. His flames sputtered out and he let go of Enji. Blood burst from his nose and mouth.

Enji quickly caught him and slowed their fall with his quirk, landing on his feet. Touya was still dazed, but as Enji was about to knock him out completely, a shadow came over them.

The winged Noumu was descending upon them. It seemed huge, now – just like it had when they'd first arrived, Enji remembered. A gigantification quirk, Enji realized. A gigantic fist came down upon Enji, and he felt a short moment of dread. Just like in Fukuoka… that Noumu had been stronger and faster than Enji. He had no doubt this one would be, too – and he still had his son in his arms. The Noumu didn't show any consideration for the League of Villains member. Now that it was given the go ahead for attack, only death or capture would stop it.

Enji let go of Touya. Let the younger man fall to the ground. He had no chance but to block the Noumu's attack. His bones rattled at the impact. For a second, he feared his spine might break and the bones in his arms might turn into dust, but then it was over, and his limbs were aching – but still working. The pavement had cracked below his feet. The Noumu's heavy fist was bearing down on him, but now that Enji had blocked against the impact, he could deal with the pure strength and weight of it much better.

His hands, still raised above his head, took hold of the Noumu's fist as he let a single hot flame shoot out of his palm. (Let's call it Flashfire Hell Candle.) It was incinerating the fist and gigantified arm.

"Endeavor!" someone cried, "We're here to help!" he heard a voice, just as the Noumu swung his other arm into Enji's side. Enji used his quirk to help himself rotate out of the fist's trajectory. He used the rotation to kick the Noumu in return, and finally got some distance.

Touya raised his hand for an attack, but Enji mercilessly stepped on it, forcing it back down. He used his other foot to kick the villain against the temple. Touya slumped, unconscious.

Before he would waste any more time, he pushed Touya's slumped form at the hero who was running toward him. He didn't know him, but for now, Enji had no other option but to trust him with Touya. The Noumu was rushing him again with flapping wings.

Unwilling to fight in the middle of the city, Enji took to the skies, flying away from the Noumu. Higher and higher. This felt very familiar. Curiously, it was so much easier than it had been in Fukuoka – maybe because he knew how to handle Noumu now. He might even be able to capture this one.

He evaded two of the shotgun-like techniques, but the Noumu was quickly catching up to him. Then, just as the Noumu reached him and laughed out, ready to attack ("Finally!" it yelled out), Enji tore its wings off with two precise bursts of flame. With a surprised "Oh," it plummeted back to the ground – it's wings not regenerating fast enough. In a desperate attempt to catch itself, it reached for Enji with a gigantified fist. Enji let it. It tightly took hold of his torso, and it might've just been able to crush Enji with its strength if Enji hadn't activated his Hellfire around his entire body at that moment.

Above the roofs of Musutafu, he created a scorching second sun. Shadows were dancing in the city. He caught what remained of the Noumu. Still alive. He smirked. As soon as it restored any of its limbs, Enji could precisely sear it off again.

As he slowly descended back to the ground, the police were already waiting to take it into custody. Nervously, they pumped it full of anesthetics.

"Good work," one of the officer's told him. "Good to have you back."

Enji nodded, but without further acknowledging the police he turned towards his agency. Where was Touya? There, just outside the main entrance, was the hero Enji had put in charge of Touya. But there was no Touya.

Enji quickly jogged up to the hero. A green cape and horrendous fashion sense…

"Where is Dabi?" he asked. "Did they already take him?"

The hero looked up at him. He was pale. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Enji frowned. Had Touya… Had something happened to Touya? He was already turning around to look for the body, terrified to find his son lying on the street. Had he hit him too hard? Had his kick injured him worse than he thought, and had the green-caped hero had failed to save him?

Was Touya dead?

Because that, Enji thought, would be the worst outcome. That had been what he was afraid of. That fear he had felt during all that time waiting for Touya… It was not the fear of facing him, not the fear for his own death, not even the fear that he might have to fight him…

It was the terrible, gut-wrenching fear that he might be forced to kill his own son…again.

"He just started convulsing," the hero stuttered out.

Enji closed his eyes, trying to keep the fear and self-hatred at bay.

"And then he started vomiting…that weird grey goo—"

Goo? Wait—

"—And he was gone."

Relief flooded him.

Teleported.

Somebody had teleported Touya away. He was alive – alive and well with his League-comrades. Still on the loose, but at least he wasn't dead. He couldn't tell this hero, though, that he felt relieved about that. How could he justify feeling relieved, that the murderer had gotten away?

He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing.

"We'll get him next time."

Yes, some of you thought this would be it. I saw the comments. But no! This is not the final confrontation, in fact it actually goes rather smooth for Enji. This was his chance to show what he's made of. Endeavor is a level above the other heroes and a Noumu doesn't really give him any trouble anymore. Fighting two or three at once would still be an issue, but not by themselves. Touya, despite having more powerful fire, is also much less experienced than Enji and can control his quirk nowhere near that well. Plus, he's physically weaker. So all things considered, this confrontation was rather easy for Endeavor. But it wasn't the last one.

Touya likes to ramble a lot. He does that in the manga, and he does it here too. He likes to hear himself talk. i have to be honest, the more Enji goes along his path to atonement the more unreasonable it seems for Touya to hold onto his grudge. Which doesn't mean he doesn't have a right to his grudge. But he has to find a way to move forward with his life, and while Enji is taking strides forward, Touya is just stuck there. It makes me feel bad...

Lastly, I thought about how to best visualize the difference in how Endeavor uses his quirk now. Imagine that before his flashfire moves looked like a flame thrower attack. Now it's more akin to the flame (not blue fire though) of a hand held gas torch... (just in bigger)