AN: Doctor Reality - welcome to the fandom! I'm glad you're enjoying my story and that I'm leaving a good impression on you :)
Ricardo Valencia - The encounter with Inasa will definitely be going differently, when the time comes.
"Midoriya," Shoto said as he sat down for lunch.
"Hey Todoroki," Izuku said as he slid down to make room for his fellow student.
"I finally finished the first Fantasy Age game." Shoto began as he sat down and pulled apart his chopsticks.
"How did you like it?"
"I enjoyed it, but the fight after the final boss was confusing. If the guide character that was mentoring me the entire game was that powerful the entire time, why didn't he help us fight the ancient evil? Why did he just sit there and watch as my characters struggled?"
Izuku laughed nervously. "It's a bonus fight to actually challenge people who completed all the quests. I bet you were so strong that the final boss was easy to fight. They made that fight to give you something to actually challenge you."
Shoto seemed to contemplate that. "I see. So like my father and All Might. While there is a large gap between him and the number three hero, there is a similarly large gap between himself and All Might, proving to be the ultimate challenge for him to overcome."
Izuku rubbed the back of his head. "I guess that's one way to look at that."
"What're you two talking about?" Ochako asked as she placed her tray down next to Izuku.
"Shoto is finding life lessons in video games, kero." Tsuyu said.
"There is a lot to learn, if you know what to look for," Shoto agreed as he hooked his index finger on his chin. "I'll have to think further on this."
"As long as you don't fall behind on your studies!" Tenya insisted as he sat his tray down across from Izuku. "In middle school, one of my classmates failed to learn that lesson and his grades began to plummet. It was an absolutely shameful display!"
"I don't think Todoroki is someone who would do that," Izuku said, trying to defend his friend.
"No," Shoto shook his head. "I still have a strict schedule of training and homework. These games have just given me a new way to fill my free time in the evenings. Previously it was filled with reading and watching videos on yap!Tube."
"Excellent! In that case, I would be interested in hearing your findings once you have completed your research."
Izuku laughed nervously and looked to Ochako for support, but she simply shrugged and mouthed the words 'good luck,' before tearing into her lunch.
After lunch, the group walked together to their Heroics class. The friends split up as they entered their respective locker rooms and changed before they made their way to the training fields. As they all began pairing off for the afternoon, Izuku was about to ask Ochako when Shoto called out to him. "Midoriya, will you pair up with me?"
"S-sure!" Izuku responded, before looking at Ochako. "Sorry."
"It's ok Deku!" Ochako said, giving him a thumb's up in her attempt to reassure him. "I'll pair with Momo instead!"
The choice surprised Izuku, but he felt relieved that she didn't seem offended. "Thanks." He then turned towards Shoto. "What did you have in mind?"
"I'd like to spar with you," Shoto admitted. "And talk."
"Something on your mind?"
"My dad. I've been thinking about… certain events, and wanted your opinion," Shoto admitted.
"Sure, let's go."
Izuku followed Shoto to one of the sparring circles and they both took up positions. "Quirks or quirkless?"
Shoto seemed to ponder this question for a moment. "Quirkless."
With a quick nod, Izuku dropped into a fighting stance. As he watched, Shoto assumed a rudimentary stance. Since most of his life he had just been training his quirk, most of his technique was based on the few lessons UA had provided them. From a glance, Izuku knew it wouldn't be a fair fight, and made a mental note to show Shoto a few ways to improve his technique afterward.
"So what's on your mind?" Izuku asked as he fell into a loose stance.
"Have you been following the news about my father?" Shoto asked.
"How Stain caused reporters to start digging into your family history?"
"Yes," Shoto said before he began charging Izuku, throwing a wild punch that Izuku easily dodged. "Our house has had reporters camping out trying to talk to us every time one of us leaves."
"I'm sorry," Izuku said reflexively as he threw a quick elbow jab that Todoroki blocked, before he brought up his knee, knocking Shoto aside. "I can't imagine how hard that must be."
"We're used to it," Shoto admitted as he recovered and reset his stance. "Being the child of the number two hero always came with a certain lack of privacy." Much to Izuku's surprise, Shoto frowned. "But this time is different, they are asking about my older brother."
"Why would they be interested in Natsuo?" Izuku asked curiously.
"Not him. Touya," Shoto explained, before charging Izuku again. Izuku was too surprised by the revelation that he didn't react in time. Once he recovered enough to realize what was going on he tried to bring his arm up to block but it was already too late, and Shoto landed a punch squarely in his chest, causing him to stumble back.
"Didn't Touya die in a training accident?" Izuku asked, dropping all pretenses of fighting as he tried to dredge up the information. Of course, he had spent time looking into Endeavor and remembered seeing the article about his eldest son's tragic death, but the details were distressingly scarce.
"Yes," Shoto relaxed his posture as he straightened out. "His death hit my mother and father hard. They have never been the same since."
Izuku understood what he was saying. "And now you have people opening those old wounds again? I'm sorry, that must be difficult."
Shoto shook his head. "It's not me that I'm worried about. It's my parents."
"You're worried about Endeavor?" Izuku was shocked. Then again, after his last conversation, the Flame Hero didn't exactly leave him with a good impression.
"He hides it well, but Touya's death hurts him. Almost as much as it hurt my mother," Shoto admitted out loud for the first time. "After we discovered what happened, he changed. He's never been the same since."
Izuku didn't know how to respond. He simply stood there and waited for the other boy to continue.
"But… ever since the sports festival, things have been changing. Slowly. I don't know if it's because I've been visiting my mother or… But the attitude at home started to feel different."
"Until the reporters started asking questions?"
Shoto nodded. "It's back to the way things were before. I…" He paused as if trying to find the right words. "I don't like it."
Izuku understood what he meant. He thought back to his own experiences before his family took in Himiko, and he would dread returning to those days. While the details are different, he understood where Shoto is coming from. "Have you talked to Endeavor about this?"
That seemed to surprise Shoto. "No, I haven't. He refuses to talk about it, and we gave up trying years ago."
Izuku sighed. He knew that wasn't healthy, but there wasn't anything he could do to help. "You may want to talk to Hound Dog."
That surprised Shoto. "Our sessions have been helpful, but how would he help with my father?"
"I don't know," Izuku admitted. "But maybe Hound Dog could help you figure out how to talk to your father about this?"
Shoto hooked his index finger around his chin as he stood in contemplation, before nodding once. "I'll bring it up tomorrow when I see him, it couldn't hurt."
"That's the spirit!" Izuku pumped a fist in the air, before dropping back into his combat stance. "Are you ready to continue?"
"Yes, I believe I am up one point to your zero," Shoto said with the faintest hint of a smile as he dropped back into his combat stance.
Izuku dropped low to the ground and charged.
Shoto approached the door to the dojo that his father kept inside their estate. Standing in front of the door, he prepared to knock, but froze. Doubt began to creep into his mind, causing him to review his conversation with Hound Dog earlier that day. The counselor had helped him work through his emotions, and his arguments were enough to strengthen his resolve.
He knocked on the door. "Father, may I come in?"
"Yes!" He heard Enji's booming voice from inside. Shoto silently slid the door open and saw his father sitting there, cross-legged, on the floor in front of the training dummies. "Is there something you need?"
"I wanted to talk," Shoto came in and sat down next to his father. "About Touya."
"Shoto-" Enji said darkly.
"I know what you're going to say, father. But something has felt different ever since those reporters started asking about him. The house has felt colder."
The silence was heavy as Shoto waited for his father to lash out, but nothing happened. He turned to face his father and saw him staring ahead, stone-faced as usual. However, upon further examination, he realized his father's knuckles were turning white as he clenched his fists.
"I was too young to remember everything about the accident, but whatever happened-"
"Touya is my greatest failure," Endeavor finally said, before looking at Shoto. "His blue fire- it was spectacular. But it hurt him to use it." He suddenly punched the floor in front of him. "If I were a better teacher-"
"What happened on that mountain?" Shoto asked.
"Touya was, in many ways, like me. He had been training for months to improve his flames," Endeavor said. "Despite the wishes of myself and-" He seemed to hesitate for a moment. "-Fuyumi. He denied it, of course, but his body told us a different story. As time passed, the burn scars spread and grew, revealing the truth about what he was doing on that mountain." He clenched his fist. "If only I were stronger. Perhaps I could have-" He sighed. "After months, he finally invited me one day. He wanted to show me something."
"That was the day the fire happened."
"Yes," Endeavor looked at his son. "That day, I vowed that I wouldn't let you follow in his footsteps. Your mother and siblings - they have suffered more than enough for my weakness."
"And what about you?" Shoto asked.
Endeavor seemed surprised by the question, reeling back. "Me?"
"Yes," Shoto crossed his arms. "You keep speaking in terms of everyone else, but not yourself. How do you feel about Touya's death?"
He was met with silence as Endeavor sat there staring at the training equipment.
"So how are you settling in?" Tomura turned to ask the man known as Dabi.
"I'm impressed," Dabi said as he sat down. "You've got quite the place here. I never took you for the whole 'secret base' kind of guy."
"You have Sensei to thank for that," Tomura admitted. "He made sure to prepare the base camp and social hub for us. Now if we only had more party members," Tomura sighed as he slammed his glass down. "We still don't have enough for a full party!"
"That's because of your message," Dabi said as he casually took a drink. "It sucks."
"What's that say about you?" Tomura said as he glared at his companion.
"It says I've got a personal grudge against Endeavor," Dabi admitted. "Stain's got a point, but he didn't go far enough. You're not gonna solve the problem by killing a few heroes here and there."
"Exactly!" Tomura agreed.
"But the man had conviction," Dabi reached across the counter and grabbed a bottle of whiskey. Forgoing the glass, he started drinking straight from the bottle. "Something you seem to be lacking."
"What are you saying?" Tomura asked darkly.
Without stopping, Dabi held up his other hand and used his quirk, blue flame springing to life. Eventually, he sat the bottle down and lazily turned toward his companion. "Did you know that this fire is so hot, I burn myself every time I use it?"
"How?" Tomura asked in disbelief. "Shouldn't you be safe from your own quirk?"
"An accident of genetics, as it were. I got all this heat, and no secondary mutations to protect myself from it."
"What a useless character build!"
Dabi glared at his companion. "But I refuse to let it stop me. I'll keep going until I achieve my goals. Only then will I let my fire consume me."
"And what's your goal, exactly?"
"Well, if I stick around you'll find out eventually," Dabi gave a smug grin as he extinguished his flame.
"Sensei was saying the same thing," Tomura mused.
"Your sensei sounds smart," Dabi agreed before he took another drink from the bottle. "If you want people to follow you, you need a rallying cry. Either something to fight for… or fight against. Nobody's gonna follow the guy who spends his free time holed up in his room playing video games unless you convince them that you can give them what they want."
Tomura sat in silent contemplation.
What did he want?
Tomura wracked his brain, trying to think of the answer. It felt like a pivotal moment in a game, and here he was, staring at the prompt, unable to answer the question properly.
He hated All Might, and wanted to grab him, to watch him disintegrate.
But then what?
When he defeated the end boss, he was supposed to get his ending cutscene.
What was he expecting from that cutscene?
He tried to grab at the threads at the edge of his mind, to pull away the curtain and reveal the cutscene, but they evaded him, slipping through his grasp and mocking him.
With a frustrated sigh, he jumped out of his chair and walked to the coat rack. He grabbed his black hoodie with the logo for Fantasy Age emblazoned on the back and pulled it over his head.
"Where are you going?" Dabi asked.
"I can't think clearly here," Tomura admitted. "I'm going to take a walk."
As he watched him leave, Dabi felt a smile creeping up his lip. "I know that look, he's just gotta figure it out himself."
Suddenly the terminal on one side of the bar lit up, with the words 'Audio Only' appearing on the screen. "So you've seen it too?"
"And who might you be?" Dabi asked.
"You can call me Sensei."
"Ah, so you're the sensei Shigaraki keeps going on about. So why do you want to talk to me all of a sudden?"
"I want to thank you," The voice said. "I have been monitoring his growth. And it appears that with your influence, he is close to realizing his ultimate desire."
"And what is that, exactly?" Dabi asked lazily.
"Why, the total destruction of society."
"If you have that much faith in your pupil, then I guess I was right to stick around," Dabi agreed as he finished off the bottle of whiskey. "Now let's see if you're right about him."
As Izuku got off the train, he saw Ochako was already on the platform waiting for him. When she saw him, she gave him a bright smile as she waved.
Smiling back, Izuku walked over to meet her. "Hey, Ochako. Hope I didn't keep you waiting long?"
"Nope!" Ochako reassured him. "Thanks for coming with me. I don't really like shopping alone."
"Anytime. Although wouldn't Tsu or Himi have been better?"
"Maybe," Ochako quickly tucked her hands behind her back, her fingers fidgeting nervously. "But I'd rather spend the afternoon with you."
And if I did ask them they would have probably conspired against me anyways. She mentally added.
"Oh," Izuku felt his neck heating up. "I see."
"I hope that's ok! I just- after our walks we have been talking about doing other things-"
"No, you're right," Izuku tried to give her a reassuring smile. "I just don't know how much help I'll be."
"Pfft," Ochako giggled, her hand snapping up to her mouth. "You have a sister. You can't tell me you haven't learned anything just from living with her."
"I guess that's true," Izuku conceded as he rubbed the back of his head. "Shall we get going?"
"Yep! Let's go!" Ochako grabbed Izuku's wrist and began pulling him toward the exit.
AN: And we're back!
The last few weeks have been rough, and I haven't had nearly as much free time as I normally do. In addition I've been suffering from a serious case of writer's block. Both have been resolved, so hopefully I'm back to a more regular schedule now.