A Desperate Plea

"I want you to make notes." Silent Tracker pushed the door to the big meeting room in the agency open. "Try to catch the most important bits." She stepped aside to let Earphone Jack and Enji pass.

"Of course!" Earphone Jack nodded resolutely. Her bangs danced in the rhythm of her steps, but then she froze in the doorway.

The room was already full of people. Maybe she hadn't expected so many heroes and police officers at once. Enji waited behind her, looking over her head towards the assembled mass. He could immediately recognize Detective Tsukauchi, Aomoto, All Might's scrawny shape, and a few other pro-heroes. And there, leaning against the wall on the other side of the room, with crossed arms and a mighty scowl on his face, was Natsuo.

Enji's eyes sought out Natsuo's, but the boy was stubbornly looking away. Then, to further crush all of Enji's hopes that Natsuo might at least acknowledge him, he resolutely turned to talk to one of the present police officers.

Sighing, Enji put a hand on Earphone Jack's shoulders and pushed her through the door. He steered her to one of the chairs in the back, where she could freely spread her notebook and pencils. Neither Enji nor Silent Tracker needed her to write the protocol; Tsukauchi's underlings would take care of that and share the protocol with everyone present. Still, it was always good to have a second report to compare it to. Mainly, it would be good practice for Earphone Jack.

Enji had contemplated bringing the interns to this meeting at all. The information was sensitive, after all – but ultimately, with how many people were already involved, one intern more wouldn't make a difference. Sooner or later, he'd have to involve the interns anyway. In fact, his entire agency would get involved eventually.

The moment Enji turned away from the girl, Hawks came walking up to him. He flared his wings and ruffled his feathers, before giving Enji a nod in greeting and waving to Silent Tracker. "Tsukauchi told me you'd finally be involved," he grinned broadly, before shifting to a more confidential tone. "About time. Now we can finally start planning." He chuckled. "I think everybody here knows that the main reason we haven't gone past the planning phase yet is because we're still lacking in firepower."

"Should've known," Silent Tracker hissed. She stood next to Enji and now scowled at Hawks. The number two hero gave her an innocent smile. "You don't get anything done without Endeavor…After everything—"

"That's enough," Enji interrupted her. He didn't care for any of that. After all, he had himself asked to be involved. He was here both as a hero and as a father. His eyes traveled back to the white-haired boy who was ignoring him still.

Hawks stepped next to him and followed his gaze.

"Hm," he hummed. Then he leaned over to Enji. "I guess I have to correct myself. There is, of course, one person who's in denial about you being needed for the operation."

Enji huffed. Thankfully at that moment, the last two heroes entered the room and one of the police officers gave Tsukauchi a thumbs-up to indicate that they were complete. When Tsukauchi stood up and waved for everybody to sit down, he spared Enji from having to continue the conversation.

"Alright," Tsukauchi started, "I think we are all complete now. Thanks to Endeavor for offering his rooms for this meeting, and welcome. I think we're all glad to have you as a part of the investigation now."

Enji didn't react. He sat down between Hawks and Silent Tracker, and waited for this introduction to get over with. The only reason he had offered his rooms was because he hadn't felt like sitting in one of the stuffy small ones at the Musutafu Police Department with almost fifty people.

Nobody else reacted either. If Tsukauchi wanted to elicit a reply from the audience – maybe a welcome-chant or applause or whatever – he was sorely disappointed. Enji hadn't expected it, but apparently, Tsukauchi had. He seemed a little put off and out of rhythm when he finally coughed and continued.

"We can finally enter the next stage of our plans."

Hawks chuckled. "Told you," he whispered in Enji's ear. "Just waiting for you."

"Currently, the plan is to hit the League of Villains and the Paranormal Liberation Front in one coordinated attack." He used a remote to activate a projector that showed a map of Japan. "The information from Hawks and Quickstep helped locate four main hideouts, though we suspect there might be more than those. Shigaraki Tomura's hideout is currently unknown. However, we can safely place the other main League and leading Paranormal Liberation Front members."

Hawks made a sputtering sound. He quickly raised his hand and jumped up to ask his question as soon as Tsukauchi paused in his explanation.

"I told you it would be too risky. I don't know what Shigaraki is doing, but it seems clear that he's doing something." he said. "My best guess is that they're turning him into a Noumu. Whatever it is, he's a big unknown. Add Gigantomachia and the Noumu on top of the main League members…" he shook his head. "We don't have the firepower for that."

Tsukauchi gave an exhausted nod. "I'm not saying it's easy. And to help with our lack of manpower, we'll involve even more agencies. We've already spoken with UA and Shiketsu, as well as other major hero schools. If we could rely on students with provisional licenses to help with the evacuation process, that would allow us—"

"I'm sorry, but they're just children," one of the heroes interrupted. Enji wasn't sure which one. "Shouldn't we keep them away from this mess?"

"I fear we don't have that luxury." Tsukauchi frowned, looking at the present UA teachers. Enji was certain he'd had that argument multiple times already.

"It's still too risky," Hawks said. "If we had attacked in February or March, maybe…But from what I hear, there are too many Noumu now, and whatever Shigaraki is doing…"

At his insistence, Aomoto stepped forward. "We have talked about this at length already."

"And I advised against it back then as well."

Aomoto's eyes roamed the assembled heroes in exasperation. "Judging by our experience with the League, it is likely that if we don't take them out in one attack, they will start a counterattack. We cannot risk that."

"I'd rather risk an attack on a random city than for us to lose," Hawks gritted his teeth. "If we're spread too thin, we'll still lose, and they'll retaliate."

Another hero stood up further at the front of the room. Yoroi Musha. "Are you suggesting that all of the heroes of Japan together can't deal with a ragtag group of villains?" He glared at Hawks. "This is disgraceful!"

Hawks glared at him, but this time it was Edgeshot who spoke. "If it were just a ragtag group of villains, we would have already taken care of them," he glared at Yoroi Musha from where he sat with Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady. "Gang Orca is still in recovery, and I've only just returned to work. I still remember the strength of these Noumu." He looked at Enji. "If Hawks is correct and there are unknown numbers of Noumu at the League's disposal, even with Endeavor back in the field, I don't fancy our chances – no offense."

Enji shrugged. He had to agree. He didn't fear individual Noumu, but fighting Noumu, Shigaraki, Touya, and who knew who else all at once…He wasn't very confident. While Aomoto, Yoroi Musha, Tsukauchi, Edgeshot, and Hawks continued to argue about the merits of the different plans, Enji noticed that he still knew too little about the situation. Just reading up on it from Tsukauchi's files wasn't enough.

Hawks' frustration was visibly increasing.

"What do you know about Gigantomachia?" Enji asked the room. He wasn't sure if it was his tone and volume or the sudden change in topic that made everybody shut up and stare at him. "Do we have a plan to take him out?"

To his utter frustration, there was no reply. "Gran Torino, you fought him. Any suggestions?"

The old man grimaced. "None," he grumbled. "We barely managed to escape him alive. It was like a natural catastrophe. Nothing I could do." The older hero looked at Enji. Nothing even you could've done, his eyes said.

Enji nodded. "So, we should avoid him. In the information you sent me, it said he only acted on Shigaraki's commands? The same seems to be true for the Noumu. Shigaraki might not be the only one in control, but at least we know they don't act without an explicit command."

"That's all nice and well," Aomoto said. "If I understand you correctly, you plan to just prevent the command to be given? How would you guarantee that?" She sounded skeptical.

"From Quickstep's account, it seems the relationship between the League and the Paranormal Liberation Army is more fragmented than they'd want us to believe. So, it's likely the only ones able to control the Noumu are the core League of villains' members. Them and…" He remembered the name; he had heard Touya call it out before disappearing from the battlefield both in Fukuoka and again in Sapporo. "Them and Ujiko. Do we know who that is?"

"Ujiko Daruma," Tsukauchi answered at once. "We just found out his real identity. I would've shared that later on but so be it… His real name is Garaki Kyudai. He works as a doctor in Yaku Hospital, and is one of the leading quirk scientists in Japan."

"So, it would be best to come up with a plan to take down him and the League of Villains swiftly without giving them a chance to call the Noumu or Gigantomachia," Enji suggested.

"How would we do that?" Aomoto shook her head. "We'd need to assemble them all, and make sure no information can—"

"I can do it."

Everybody's heads turned. Nobody had expected the nineteen-year-old boy in the back of the room to talk up. If Tsukauchi hadn't explained Natsuo's role to get to Touya to him before, Natsuo would've seemed out of place in this meeting. Until now, he hadn't said anything nor even.

"No," Enji retorted immediately.

Damn, why hadn't he considered that? Of course his asinine idea would immediately appeal to Natsuo. The boy was – as far as Enji knew – desperate to stop Touya. And out of all of them, as they were assembled in this room, he and Hawks would be the only ones who stood any chance at luring out the League.

"Yes I can," Natsuo insisted, finally looking at Enji. "I can help. I'm not as useless as you think."

Enji was taken aback, but he didn't call the retreat as he would've otherwise done now. This was too important to give in, even out of consideration for Natsuo's feelings.

"That wasn't what I was—"

"Be that as it may," Natsuo interrupted him in a harsh voice. He pushed away from the wall to stand up straight. "I can lure out the League."

"Hawks can do it too," Enji insisted, glaring at his son.

Hawks flushed a little. He shook his head, but he didn't say anything.

"No, he can't," Natsuo retorted with a snort. "Nobody in the League trusts him." With an angry stare, Natsuo challenged both Enji and Hawks to disagree. With the way Hawks ducked his head and avoided Enji's eye contact, Enji feared that Natsuo spoke the truth.

"It's too dangerous," Enji insisted.

Natsuo crossed his arms. "Thankfully, you don't lead this operation. Neither do you have custody over me. I can do what I want."

"Do you want me to call your mother and ask her?" Enji threatened heatedly.

At that moment, finally, Yoroi Musha interrupted. "Please take this family drama outside," he growled. "This is not the time and place for it."

"Agreed," Aomoto said in a snappy tone. "If you can deal with your family business at a different time, it would be much appreciated." She gave Enji a snide smile. Enji scowled at her. "In the meantime, Natsuo, if you could please continue?"

Triumphantly, Natsuo smirked and turned to the people in the front of the room. "Hawks doesn't have the League's trust. Touya repeatedly tells me how he'd enjoy burning him crispy as soon as he loses his use to them. Meanwhile me… Touya loves me. Even Toga in her crazy mania loves me. Sure, we haven't been in contact much recently, but I can easily restart our old relationship, I'm sure."

Enji almost choked on his fear. Natsuo didn't just plan to lure in his brother, but Himiko Toga too. This was too dangerous. The boy was only nineteen, with no hero training whatsoever. How could Rei agree to this? But of course, he knew… Natsuo might be nineteen, but he'd turn twenty in just two and a half months. Even if Rei hadn't agreed, Natsuo would've done it regardless, without involving the help of the police and heroes. Or maybe he would've waited until his birthday when nothing was holding him back.

"Jin trusts me, I'm sure." He glanced at Hawks. "Jin trusts everybody. And I think Shuichi does too. He likes everybody who's nice to him." Enji noted how Natsuo was calling both Spinner and Twice by their first names. "That leaves Mr. Compress and Shigaraki." Natsuo weighed his head to the side as he spoke. "Honestly, I barely know Compress, so he's a variable. Shigaraki doesn't trust me, which makes me all the more certain that if I were to insinuate to Touya that I wanted to join his league – or any other such plan, Shigaraki would want to talk to me to make certain I can be trusted."

Aomoto and Tsukauchi both seemed to consider the plan. Enji couldn't believe it.

"It's too dangerous," Enji repeated, standing up. "There are too many uncertainties."

"It's your plan," Natsuo insisted, a snide smile on his face. "The best plan the great Endeavor could come up with, and I'm your best shot to make it work." His eyes turned to Enji. There was a gleaming delight in them. "Come on, what's the worst that could happen. Losing the failure son that you never cared about anyway?"

Enji growled at that, but there was little he could say to that. Insisting on the fact that he cared for and loved his son would just be humiliating for both of them and not do anything to change Natsuo's mind.

"Please, let me do this," Natsuo pleaded to Aomoto and Tsukauchi.

Tsukauchi seemed conflicted, but Aomoto had a more business-like expression on her face. Enji knew she was inclined to accept. To her and the Commission, they were all just pieces on a chessboard. She hadn't returned Enji's license to give him a second chance at being a hero, he knew. They had done it because they needed him to sacrifice himself once more against the League. They hadn't involved Natsuo because the boy felt a need to stop his brother and still felt guilt over his involvement in Enji's torture, but because he was a convenient way to get to the League. Natsuo was here precisely for that reason. He had a way to lure Touya, and with Touya the rest of the League out, the way nobody else could.

Of course they would accept. Enji even suspected this was precisely what they had hoped for.

"If this gives us a chance to avoid fighting the Noumu and Gigantomachia," she started justifying the decision she had already made, "I don't see why we shouldn't use it."

"He's just a kid," Rocklock hissed from where he sat at the back of the room. Enji was oddly grateful for his interjection.

"I agree with Endeavor. This is too dangerous," Eraserhead said.

"Too dangerous?" Aomoto replied, almost mockingly. "Haven't we already agreed to ask students for help? Kids as young as sixteen. Natsuo is almost an adult in comparison. And he's freely offering his help."

"I beg to differ…" somebody growled.

"I think there's a difference between asking students to evacuate and using a teenager as bait for some of the worst criminals of our time," Eraserhead insisted.

"Do I need to remind you that this is for Japan?" Aomoto glared at Eraserhead, before letting her gaze travel across the assembled heroes. "Look at you all. For months, you've been sitting here on your asses, talking about plans, throwing them out again, and creating new ones. All Might had to retire half a year ago, and since then the League has leveled several of our cities – and what have you done to stop them? Nothing!" She mocked loudly. "All of you, fine heroes. Japan's best, yet what have you done to protect the country? You've just sat at home and waited for the villains' next move. Just last month, a hundred people died due to your inaction." She shook her head. "Your job is to protect the country, and yet it seems this nineteen-year-old is the only one here who realizes that sometimes sacrifices have to be made!"

Eraserhead was turning an ugly shade of red from anger, but as he was about to go off, Present Mic put a hand on his shoulder for him to quiet him down. The other heroes seemed stuck somewhere between shame, anger, and embarrassment. Nobody else spoke up. Still, Enji didn't sit down.

"He is my son!" he growled furiously.

"And I ask you once again, to keep your family drama outside of this meeting. Talk to your wife if you think it's necessary. For now, I don't understand why you're not proud of your boy for showing such bravery." Something was lurking in her eyes.

Enji realized what she was doing – she was trying to twist his worry around to make it sound like he didn't trust his son. No! He wasn't against the plan because he thought Natsuo would fail. He was against it, because failing or not, it would be too dangerous. Even if Natsuo did everything correctly and managed to assemble all the League's members at one spot for an ambush, there was no guarantee that they could get him out before the attack.

But, well… If she wanted him to deal with this outside, he would.

"Very well." He pushed back his chair. "Tell me about everything they talk about later," he told Earphone Jack and Silent Tracker, as he marched over to where Natsuo was standing. Before Natsuo could protest, he grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him behind him out of the room.

"Let go," Natsuo protested.

Enji didn't. Instead, as the boy kept fighting against his grip, his fingers locked even tighter around his arm. He couldn't even bring himself to care if he left bruises there. Enji wrenched the door open, pulled Natsuo out of the room, and smacked it shut behind them. He dragged the boy into a quiet and empty office. Finally there, he loosened his grip. Natsuo immediately pulled free of him.

"Ouch. What the fuck, Endeavor!" He rubbed his arm, but his expression was of anger and not hurt. "What's that suppo—"

"What were you thinking?" Enji interrupted him angrily. "Do you want to get killed?" He would've grabbed his son again to shake him, but instead, he tried to keep himself under control. He held on to the door handle tightly – partly to do something with his hands, and partly to make sure Natsuo couldn't just leave again.

"I'm not stupid," Natsuo growled. "I know what I'm doing."

"Do you know? Luring out the League. Do you have any idea—"

"Yes, I know who they are!" Natsuo yelled over Enji's voice. "I've learned from last time. Back then, I didn't know, but now I do. I'm prepared!"

Enji dragged his free hand through his hair in annoyance. "Is this what this is about? You still feel guilty for that? I told you it wasn't your fault!"

Natsuo shook his head. There was helpless fury in his grey eyes. "Why do you think it's about you, huh? This isn't about you! I've paid my price for what I did to you. This is about Touya!" He glared at Enji. "He's my brother—what would you know about it, huh? Fuyumi and Shoto told me about yours… You're not close at all. You don't know how that feels." His hands closed into shaking fists. "I just let him run off. I let him leave me again! For two years, I helped him hide his secret and now…I will stop him. I have to."

"It's not your job to stop Touya." Enji insisted. "You're just a kid."

"You arrogant piece of shit!" Natsuo countered hysterically. "You're not the only one who feels responsible for him. You're not the only one who has a right to feel responsible for him. He's my brother, and I can't let him continue hurting people." He started pacing the room, hands raking his hair in frustration. "I won't! I've long decided that I won't…"

Suddenly Natsuo stopped right in front of Enji. He locked eyes with him, grey digging into Enji's turquoise. There were tears at the corners of his eyes. "I won't let him continue, but…" Natsuo grabbed on to the front of Enji's costume, fisting the material in his hands. "But I won't allow you to kill him either. He's my brother, damnit!"

Suddenly, Enji lost the tight grip of the door handle. His anger was gone immediately. Weakly, his arms slumped at his sides. "You think…" His hands felt heavy when he lifted them to put them over Natsuo's where he held onto his costume. "You think I'd kill my own son." It wasn't a question. Natsuo's words had been clear enough.

Frustrated, Natsuo growled. "Yes," he hissed, but then he seemed to reconsider. "I don't know…How would I know? But they—I know they would kill him without hesitation."

He didn't specify who 'they' were, but Enji knew he meant the assembled team in the other room.

"But I won't let them. How could I…He's my brother, and even despite everything…I promised Mom, you know, and Fuyumi…I promised they'd meet him again. Because…" He let go of Enji's costume, but his hands were still held by Enji. "Because it's my fault. I let this go on for two years—I kept Touya's secrets, trusting that eventually…when he was ready that he'd come to reveal himself to them. But he didn't. And if he dies, that would be it. Because I was so naïve."

"It's not your fault," Enji said, even though he knew that wasn't what Natsuo wanted to hear.

"Don't fucking patronize me! I trusted him, and he used me. Of course that's my fucking fault." His voice sounded rough and scratchy. He was holding back tears. "But I still love him, and I owe it to Mom and Fuyumi and Shoto too…"

Enji understood. "I know," he whispered.

"How would—"

"I want the same," he continued, unperturbed by Natsuo's interruption. It was the truth. He had long made this decision, a promise to himself as much as to his family, that he wouldn't let Touya be killed.

"I don't…" Natsuo shook his head. "How can I believe you?"

It hurt that his son didn't think he even cared enough about his children to want to keep them alive. "Whatever else Touya might be," he started, "a villain, a murderer…He's still my son." He finally let go of Natsuo's fists and took two steps away to give his son some space. "You always blamed me for his death, when…well, when we thought he was dead. I know you did. I could see it in your eyes." Enji looked at his son, then his gaze drifted away to the ceiling. "You were right. And I knew it. I all but killed my own son once…I wouldn't want to do it again."

He hoped Natsuo could at least believe that much. Enji had long accepted that the relationship between him and Natsuo was a lost cause. Natsuo didn't want anything to do with him. The only reason he was here now was because of their inevitable joint effort to stop Touya. Once this was done, he'd lose Natsuo forever; Enji was certain of that. There was nothing he could say to change Natsuo's mind, and in a way, that was okay. It was Natsuo's decision, after all. At this point, all Enji could hope for was for his son to be happy. If that meant staying away from him, he would do that. Still, he hoped that he could at least prove this much to Natsuo: that he was capable of love. That he loved his children and that he was just as determined to keep Touya alive as Natsuo was.

"If that's true…" Natsuo started slowly, eying Enji warily. "If you mean it…Promise me!" He stopped,took a deep breath, and before Enji could answer he continued. "Promise me! Please! Please, keep him alive. He's my brother. I'm just…" He looked away from Enji, then in the direction of the meeting room. "In that room, I feel weak. Among all those heros, here I am, with my weak quirk and no powers… I can't do anything to protect Touya. I'm not stupid, you know?" He raised his hand to wipe at his eyes. "I know I keep telling myself that I'll keep him alive, but ultimately there's nothing I can do but pray." He snorted. "And I'm not even religious. But you…" He dragged his eyes back up and then stared right at Enji. "You're a hero. You're the hero. As far as I'm concerned, that was always just a farce. You were never a hero in my life – but just this once, please, just this once, could you be a hero and save my brother?"

Enji hadn't expected such a long rambling plea. When Natsuo had asked him to promise the first time, he had already been eager to do it.

"I promise," he declared with conviction. "I'll do everything in my power to keep him alive."

"Good," Natsuo nodded. "Good. If you mean it...If you keep it, maybe I can…" He looked uncomfortable. "I know you want me to—"

"No," Enji cut him off.

Natsuo looked confused. "What?"

"Don't offer your forgiveness, or whatever you were about to say just now. I don't want it. Not your forgiveness. I don't want you to give me a chance in exchange for keeping Touya alive…" The words were past his lips before he could reconsider. Because, of course, it wasn't true. He did want his son's forgiveness…just not like this. He wanted to earn it, and if all he did was not enough to earn it, he was willing to accept that. He sure as hell didn't want to buy it. Never mind…

"It's not like I do this for you, Natsuo," Enji said sadly. "He's my son. I want him to live. And I don't want anything in exchange from you. However…" They had gotten distracted, he realized. This wasn't what he had wanted to talk about. "I want you to survive too. If it means exchanging your life for his—I won't do that. So, first and foremost, I need you to be safe."

Natsuo looked conflicted. "I won't take back my offer. I will do that."

"Why?" Enji shook his head. It was a stupid question. Natsuo had just explained why he needed to do that. Because he loved Touya, his brother, and would do whatever necessary to protect him. "What if your life is in danger, I won't be able to protect both you and Touya. Just this once, please trust me that I want to do right by him."

There was an uncomfortable silence between them. Eventually, Natsuo chuckled. "Funnily enough, I believe you when you say you'll do your best. But I've listened to your plan. I'm the best shot you have. Nobody else can do what I can; nobody can lure the League out of hiding and bring them all together. There's a risk with me there, I realize that, but without me, we won't stand a chance whatsoever."

Natsuo had thought this through, Enji realized. He was right. However much Enji would like to deny it, Natsuo was their best bet for the plan. Without Natsuo, they'd have to fight the Noumu and Gigantomachia. Without Natsuo, the attack would likely fail. Ultimately, there was no option…

It was just an impossible truth to accept.

"I promise – for what it's worth," Natsuo started again, "that I'll stay out of the fight. I'll retreat as soon as you tell me to."

And that was all the reassurance Enji was going to get. When they entered the meeting room again, he felt weak and exhausted – hardly able to concentrate on anything that was being said. He couldn't even say how much time had passed when the meeting finally ended. Had it been hours, or just a few minutes? As the heroes filed out of the room, he didn't see them off. When some came to him to congratulate him for getting his license back, he barely registered them.

And then he saw her…

Quickstep!

Without hesitation, he jumped up and ran after the villain-turned-spy for the police. There was an officer with her, though Enji was certain it would be easy for her to get away if she wanted to. She had a teleportation quirk, after all.. And that was exactly why he needed to talk to her.

By the time Natsuo lured out the League, by the time they started their attack, he would have two sons on the battlefield. Three, if – what now seemed likely – the students would be involved. So, he needed a method to get them away from the battlefield safely.

Quickstep, he thought, still owed him a debt. And if she didn't agree…well, he would be willing to do whatever it took to get her to do a little favor for him.

I always wanted Natsuo to do this...In all of my rough plans, Natsuo was always supposed to try and lure Touya and the league in...
And then I had to write it down and it was really much more difficult to justify it from an in-universe standpoint than I thought. I guess, it helps that so far the Commission was always a bit...operating in the morally grey areas. So they don't really mind risking Natsuo's life although they believe that they can protect him. Enji can not really prevent it...Neither can Rei. While the commission and police very much WANT Endeavor to help out, they know that if they go through with it anyway, he'll be forced to help them anyway whether he wants to or not. They'd probably agree to concede to some aspects of the plan for him to ensure his complete cooperation, but they think their plan is the most promising, so they go through with it, and Endeavor has too many personal stakes to not get involve whether he agrees to or not. Rei could technically shut the whole thing down from a legal standpoint, by just forbidding Natsuo to take part...but only for a few more weeks. Natsuo's birthday is on July 1. It's now the end of April and considering there's still a lot of planning, training, and preparation to be done the whole thing will go probably down in Late May/Early June. So at best Rei can push it for one more month, but the more time passes, the more likely it is, some information will leak making the whole thing more dangerous...

I feel really bad for Enji who now has two - likely three - sons involved in this mess. He wants to save them all. I had to think a lot about how Enji would try to deal with Touya, and despite everything, I don't see a way in which Enji would be ok with killing Touya. Ultimately, both as a hero and a father, he might be forced to do it to protect others - be that Natsuo, other civilians, his comrades, or himself - but if he has to do it, I doubt he'd be able to live with himself afterward. So, for Enji, his goal in all of this is to try and make sure all of his kids come back out alive.

Natsuo is in a similar position. While he paid the price for how his actions ended up hurting his father, this is not enough to quell his guilt that he feels over lying to his family for so long. In his mind he thinks stopping Touya is his responsibility as a brother and as somebody who was around Touya for so long basically just ignoring what he was doing. He also thinks he's the only one who even cares about Touya. So while he does work with the police and the commission, secretly he was trying to both stop Touya and save his life, but he has no idea how to. So it's probably a bit of a relief that his father will now help with that, even if Natsuo doesn't act like it.

I liked the idea, that he's so desperate to save his brother that he's willing to offer Enji what he still thinks he wants - which is forgiveness. And while Enji does somewhat crave it despite knowing he doesn't deserve it, he had to reject the offer anyway. Cause as a father, he should and wants to save his sons without asking for anything in return, especially since he's to a great part the reason it came to that in the first place.