A bit early, yes, it's not Friday everywhere, but I'm currently riding an emotional high following the medical examination that confirmed the fact that I DO NOT have cancer. So yeah. Grab the chapter and celebrate with me :D
(***)
SmokyGhoul - Well, I personally consider this as a compliment. I left some serious hints, but people still were shocked by that. I didn't spoil the twist, nor I pulled it entirely out of my ass. So... yeah. As for the lag, I have no idea :V
Violetsumire - Aye. It's as if All for One and All Might had a child together. Ugh. Horrible image.
AngelFallenDemon - Eventually, yes. Endeavor gets a lot of character development in this chapter, but he is not yet ready for that.
Raw666 - Even All Might in one scene mentioned that despite being so blunt, Tsuyu is surprisingly enigmatic figure. So yeah, it fooled people in-universe as well.
TheGreatBubbaJ - Yes.
Detrametal - Shouta figured it out already, but he just didn't expect Midoriya to do it on such a scale. In Hosu he technically acted according to orders and intervene in an assassination attempt. Here he improvised a battle plan involving numerous supervillains. That's an escalation. And yes, I'm quite satisfied with my foreshadowing :D
(***)
"Doctor Garaki." He hears the familiar voice coming from the computer. "I'd like to ask you some questions concerning the… events in Kamino Ward."
Of course he wanted to ask some questions. His genius brilliant master plan was somehow utterly derailed, and they avoided total disaster only because Revenant was brought onto the field. Revenant that he, somehow, didn't know about beforehand.
Garaki sighs painfully. His little sanity-break following Revenant's being defeated and jailed in Tartarus was already over. He had plans to make and execute. Experiments to make. Abominations to create.
"What is it, Re-Destro?" He asks back.
He has some mixed feelings about this cooperation. But with All for One's network of contacts and supporters dissolving mostly in his absence, Garaki was left with very limited options for continuing his research.
The Meta-Liberation Army had funds, hidden bases and contacts in high places. And was ready to grant some to him in order to maintain his experiments. That was the moment when the Paranormal Liberation Front was born.
Unfortunately, Re-Destro wasn't All for One.
"I know how you work, good doctor." Re-Destro replies. "And I know that All for One wouldn't tolerate second him being around, and somehow you managed to transplant a lot of his personality into Revenant." Huh, so he was onto that. Garaki might have had issues with him in the fields of politics, history and philosophy, but it WAS nice to have an intellectual equal to work with.
"Your point?"
"You must have made at least several additional prototypes." Re-Destro says. "Revenant probably thought that he was the only one of his kind. You knew… and considered them to be a back-up copies. Perhaps a source of body parts if Revenant was damaged, and perhaps his replacements. Am I correct, good doctor?"
"Yes." Garaki replies scarcely. It didn't matter now. Revenant was in Tartarus, in the deepest and most secure section of it. Even if they assault the prison, the wardens will euthanize all SSS-Ranks imprisoned there before the PLF forces can free them. And that's if the gossip that there is a nuclear fail-safe in Tartarus weren't correct. He was as good as dead. "Yes, you are. I assume that you wish to incorporate those into our strategy?"
"Precisely, Doctor Garaki." The voice sounds pleased. Not at all wounded by the fact that he didn't know beforehand. MLA has its own secrets, after all. "What's the timetable?"
Good question. Thankfully, Garaki already made a stocktaking of his assets after the Kamino Ward disaster. Paperwork and old research documents calmed him down a lot.
"Nemesis is almost ready." He replies. "I can make him fully operational within three months. Nightmare, Draugr, Wraith and Specter will require much more work and resources, but should be ready for release in six months to a year."
"Wonderful news, good doctor." Re-Destro announces after a few seconds of silence. "I have just the right plan to incorporate Nemesis into. This time it won't end like the Kamino Ward."
(***)
Eri deactivated her quirk and took a step back. All Might carefully flexed his muscles, trying to ignore the gnawing hunger in his newly-existing (and completely empty) stomach.
That he probably wouldn't be allowed to fill with cheeseburgers and coca-cola before medical tests. And even then, Inko would probably demand him to eat something easy-to-digest first. Ehhh.
His entire family is there. Because of course they would be there for the moment. The day he met them somehow became the best day in his life, surpassing (however narrowly) even the day when he met Nana for the first time. Though it was still ex aequo first with the day he defeated All for One.
"This is… pretty odd." He finally says after some gentle prodding. "My quirk is certainly gone, but… I never looked like this, I think?"
He is still rather thin. He has some muscles left, but there aren't a lot of those. Frankly speaking, his posture didn't change a lot from his deflated state, although he can feel his lost organs being back in place.
Eri looks worried that she did something wrong. All Might (okay, Yagi Toshinori now, All Might is dead) ruffles her hair a bit. She smiles back at him.
"It might be some form of a quirk interaction, I think?" Izuku chirps in. It's the talk about quirks, after all. "You had a Class-Six quirk, and you were just changed by another power of this level. We all know that Aiko's quirk can't do a lot to other Class-Six quirks, so it's possible that Eri's Rewind acted selectively on you as well."
Toshinori is about to ask for some details (because he failed to fully understand his son's answer). So is Inko. But Asa is the first one to speak.
"So it brought back dad's lung and stomach, because they weren't as influenced by One for All!" He says, and immediately freaks out when the attention is brought onto him. Izuku, at the very least, beams. "I… I mmmean that…'' Izuku gives him a thumbs up. Asa decides to fight through it, if only for his older brother. "R…Rabbit means that One for All strengthened your… your bones and muscles the most. Eri… Eri's quirk thus influenced other things more than those."
Izuku promptly hugs him and Asa looks absolutely satisfied with his life. This is a small step in his war to actually be able to speak to a group of people about something, but a step nonetheless.
Especially when he presents an idea of his. He is always so incredibly terrified of rejection and of ridicule. Even within his family, somehow. He has a lot of problems, although he is fighting them valiantly.
Their joint theory made sense. One for All didn't do a lot to his lungs - he could only hold his breath for about as long as a normal, well-trained adult. The same with his stomach - One for All had no reason to improve his digestion, after all. His bones (to resist impacts) and his muscles (to improve his strength), in the meantime…
One for All, to a degree, resisted offensive non-physical quirks. For example if Overhaul attempted to dissolve All Might at his peak, he would probably only wound him near the point of touch. It was also impossible to be stolen by the All for One, another Class-Six Quirk. If it, to a degree, resisted all Class-Six quirks by default…
In a way, the past embers of his quirk refused to get reacquainted with modern reality through Eri's quirk. She couldn't fully rewind him into a state where his body was still imbued with One for All.
Honestly speaking, he should be happy that he was alive after it, although this was something that only now they realized. What if his insides were mismatched due to imperfect rewind?
"Well, off to the Recovery Girl, I guess." Toshinori feels quite well, all things considered. Once they confirm that nothing was rewinded wrongly, he should be able to start eating normal things.
And probably do some work-out. Normal food and some training should at least make him stop looking like a skeleton man after a while. Oh, and he is totally wearing some disguise and bringing his family to a McDonald outing.
Even if Inko complains about their children eating junk food. Nothing bad will happen if they go once a month only, right?
He also looks forward to something else. Guessing from Inko's mischievous wink, he isn't the only one.
(***)
Endeavor, once he was finally discharged, has immediately returned to his agency. Then he did his genuine utmost to answer all the press questions about how it feels to be the new Number One Hero.
On a technicality. He fully expected to be overtaken by Hawks or Best Jeanist after the UA sport festival… events. He doesn't call them a 'nightmare' or 'fiasco', because however humiliating they were, they made him take a step back and reexamine his life. So, just events.
But there was yet to be a new Hero Billboard Chart event. And for as much as he hates that fact, Kamino Ward has probably helped him recoup his losses.
HPSC was also still helping him. The president was yet to realize how much he changed. Endeavor knew that All Might was going to retire sooner or later for a while, so he didn't make it obvious that he considers himself an independent hero. Unconnected to neither the HPSC nor the UA.
He was perfectly willing to let her help him in maintaining his PR and position in the meantime. His 'betrayal' of the HPSC was only going to hurt her more, in the end.
("All Might truly is a mighty opponent to have." One of the HPSC lackeys tells him. They are in his Hero Agency, and he is much, much younger. Yet already so bitter about his second place. "You know, if you are alright with a Todoroki becoming a Number One Hero, even if it won't be you, we might have an idea to help in that. Have you ever heard of quirk marriages?)
And he wanted to hurt her and her organization much more.
("Touya's death was a tragedy." The President of the HPSC tells him. Her predecessor was shot by Lady Nagant merely a week ago. She didn't seem to mind. "You can't let his life go to waste, Endeavor. You can become the Number One Hero, like he wanted to in your stead. You just need to put in some more effort.")
Oh, how blind and stupid he was. So proud of his independence and personal strength. So unaware of what a puppet he was all along.
He retreats into his office after the press finally gives him some breathing space. Burnin' seems rather intent on him not going out to fight villains yet, so he decides to catch-up with his paperwork instead.
That alone shows how much he changed recently, he would have ignored her normally and it's rather obvious that she is surprised that he listened to her.
Two hours later she knocks on his door and announces that Rei is here. She wants to meet her husband.
Endeavor wondered how long it would take her to corner him like that. His initial bets were off by at least two weeks. It must have been the Kamino Ward that made her come faster, wasn't it? It made a lot of things happen faster than he expected.
He dreamt of being the Number One Hero for more than twenty years. Now he wished that it didn't happen so fast. That it didn't happen at all. He would have said something alongside 'if God exists, he is a vengeful ass', but at least in this case, the punishment was justified.
He tells Burnin' to let his wife in. Then he pulls out the papers from the drawer. The divorce settlement, giving her the custody of their children and most of his wealth. Enough for them to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. This is honestly the most that he can help them. It only requires her signature.
(***)
Rei, Enji realizes once she enters his office, is just as beautiful as she was before Endeavor ruined her life. Maybe more.
She is also clearly afraid of him. An outsider wouldn't realize it, but there are all those small signs telling Enji clearly that she is forcing herself to be here. One more brutal reminder of how much Endeavor failed everyone close to him in his life.
She approaches his desk and sits on the chair in front of it. Enji does his best to not look at her. His eyes are focused on the computer monitor in front of him, although it's not like he has half the mind to actually know what's displayed on it.
"Enji." Rei manages to speak. "We need to talk."
It's way too late for that, in his opinion. Many, many years too late. So he doesn't reply. Instead, he pushes the small stack of papers towards her.
She is startled by it. But she picks them up and reads them. She has enough understanding of legal issues to realize what it is. And that the document only needs her signature to become legally binding.
"Enji." She says, her voice trembling. He actually looks at her this time. His back hunched, the look on his face as broken as he himself was. She is… shaken, to say the least. "Why?"
"Because I ruined your life." Enji replies. "And I ruined their lives. The best thing I can do to you all is to stop reminding you of that with my face."
There is one more thing he has to mention. Although he would prefer not to. It would make it sound like he is demanding something from her.
"If you wish to tell the world what I did to you, feel free to." Endeavor says. "I'll publicly confirm your words. If possible, though, I'd like you to wait until I'm no longer the Number One Hero." He sighs. "I deserve to become a public pariah, but for now, the lives of too many people rely on me being a good deterrent to villains. It shouldn't take too long."
The next generation of heroes, especially those from UA - from the Big Three to the current first years - was shaping up to be much better than their predecessors. And not just in terms of strength. They just weren't yet ready.
"You'll… confirm it?" Rei, despite all that her children told her, is still taken aback. Because she didn't believe them. But now, this starts to change. "You won't threaten me not to tell anyone? You won't order me to stay silent? To protect your precious reputation?"
Ah, yes. Endeavor realizes that he did something like that once or twice. Never in direct words, and in all honesty, he wouldn't have followed up on his own threats. His obsession was all about training.
If there was one saving grace his family life had, it was that he never raised his hand on them because he had a bad day, or because they told him off about something, or because they angered him in different ways. It was all about training.
Whether it was because he wasn't a total piece of shit or because he was aware of just how powerful he was and how easily he could severely wound them is anyone's guess.
"Yes." Endeavor replies. "I'm past the point where I order around anyone who isn't my sidekick. Or threaten someone that isn't a villain."
There is a long silence in the office. Like everything in his family life, it's awkward and shouldn't have happened. Alas, here they are.
Personally, Endeavor hopes that Rei will finally leave. With the documents signed. But, well. He isn't going to be a hypocrite about it. And he did say that no more demands will be made. It all depends on her.
Honestly, what's taking her so long? It should be a simple decision to be made.
"Why?" She finally asks. Endeavor is frankly speaking surprised that Shoto didn't explain it to her. He seemed to be the most cognizant of what was happening with his father of all of Endeavor's children. But then she clarifies what she meant by it. "Why did everything go so wrong?"
Good question. One that Endeavor spent many, many days thinking about. He isn't sure how correct he is, but at the very least it's a theory.
"It all started the day I failed Touya." Enji says slowly. He isn't sure how she'll react to it. Is there a good way to react to an admission like that?
"You couldn't have known." She surprises him by it. She is the last person he expects to defend him. Except for Natsuo, maybe.
"It doesn't matter." He replies bitterly. "I shared my own obsession with him. And then, when we realized that it's destroying his body, I failed to stop him." He still remembers the day that Touya headed out to his training spot after leaving his father a note. Telling him to come see his newest super move. Endeavor didn't go, hoping that it would finally discourage his son. Instead, the mountain was devoured by a firestorm. "I was too afraid to confront him. So I left him on that mountain. I left him to die."
She doesn't say anything. So he continues.
"And then my obsession grew tenfold." Endeavor continues on. It's a confession, except he can't expect anyone to wipe his moral slate clean afterwards. "Through some idiotic line of reasoning I felt like NOT getting the Number One Hero seat was failing Touya's memory. HPSC needed someone to counter All Might, so they subtly nudged me in that direction." He sighs. "And then, at some point, becoming the strongest of heroes becomes a reason in itself."
She still says nothing. Endeavor doesn't know what look is there on face, because even looking at her… it's painful. Too painful.
"In the end…" Endeavor's voice dies for a second. He steels on to continue. "I wish it was me who died on that mountain."
After maybe five more seconds or silence the documents are back on the desk. She pushes them towards him. For a short while he thinks that it's finally over, but… then he sees that she didn't sign them.
Finally he looks at her. She looks back at him. She no longer seems even remotely as fearful as she was earlier. Cautious, yes. But no longer terrified of him.
"Rei, don't do that." He says. She shakes her head.
"I'm not letting you go." She says. "If during this talk you gave me even a sliver of suspicion that you were going to harm us again, I'd sign those papers without a second of doubt. But you didn't. So I'm not letting you escape so easily."
"Rei…"
"Is that all that you can do, Enji?" She interrupts him. "Either harm your family or try to escape from it? You just told me that you think that Touya died because you were too afraid to confront him, to fix what you did to him. Why do you think that I'm going to let you do it again?"
He… he didn't think of it that way. But when she put it like that… It hurts. More than he expected. Because she was right.
He was escaping again, wasn't he? Eternal coward. Was it why he felt so right fighting the villains? Because, unlike when facing his own family, this didn't require emotions?
"I'm not letting you go." She says again. "I hate you for what you did to me. To us. And that's why I'm not signing those papers. That would be a mercy for you, wouldn't it? So, no. You're going to fix everything you broke. With your own hands." Her emotionless facade breaks for a moment. There is something resembling a smile on her face. Oh how long it was since he saw it last time. "You seem to be at least trying to do it, just in your own way that I don't agree with. That's more than I could ever tell about you. So I'm going to help you… but I'm not going to let you escape your problems again."
There was only one problem with that.
"I can't fix what's already dead and buried, Rei." Endeavor replies. "Touya is dead. Because of me. I can't change that. It's too late for me."
In some twisted way, fixing everything else… it felt like betraying Touya. He was the one and only member of the family who wouldn't get to see any of this. Who didn't get to live to see the happy ending.
The dead stay dead. But sometimes they keep dragging the living down with them.
(***)
Maybe, just maybe Shoto Todoroki will not ask questions. Such as 'why did you want to know when my mom will go to visit my dad at his Agency.' Shoto, hopefully, wasn't yet human enough to figure it out.
Alternatively, he'll just tell him the truth. But ask him not to share it. One thing is certain - Endeavor can't know. That would make a lot of things very, very awkward.
He has Mr. Compress (wearing a disguise, which WASN'T his villain outfit) drop the 'package' in front of Endeavor's agency. With a letter and instruction to cross the street and find Burnin.
The timing was accidentally perfect, all things considered.
(***)
Rei was preparing some (probably nasty and well-earned) retort, when Burnin suddenly ran into the office. Looking… well, rather deranged. And shocked.
"Boss!" She yelled. Endeavor was about to yell at her as well, that was a private and important conversation, how could she just barge in without even knocking… but she didn't let him speak. "You have to come see this, now! Both of you!"
Rei is startled. Endeavor is shocked. This was a rather rude interruption, neither of them know how to deal with it. Is it a villain attack?
"What happened?" Endeavor rises from his seat. If it's a villain attack… is someone trying to take advantage of All Might no longer being there? So quickly?
"It's… your son is here." She takes a deep breath. "You… I think you should go meet him. Now."
"My son?" Endeavor blinks at her a few times. Why would Shoto show up here of all places? It's certainly not Natsuo, he would rather send his father an angry text message if he needed something from him. "Shoto is here?"
"No, it's not Shoto." Why is she shocked like this?! She looks like she has seen a ghost. "It's Touya."
What?
(***)
TWO DAYS EARLIER
Dabi came to the meeting location. Some nondescript house in Shizuoka. It was very late evening, and he managed to get that far - a surprise, really - without running into a hero.
Good for whatever heroes were patrolling the streets today. He didn't get to burn any during the attack on the PLF's base in the Kamino Ward. He had a lot of pent-up desire for murder to indulge.
He enters, only to immediately realize that something's wrong. Stain shouldn't be here, facing him with his blade drawn.
He is about to power up his quirk when someone manages to touch him. Someone that he failed to notice, Stain expertly drawing his attention to himself. Some white-haired kid that appeared out of nowhere.
"Helpless!" The kid yells, and suddenly Touya Todoroki finds himself falling to the ground, paralyzed. He tries to incinerate the kid with his flames, but his quirk refuses to work.
He yells, so Stain promptly gags him. And then drags him deeper into the house, only to put him on some chair in a living room.
"Great, thank you for your help Uncle Stain." Another kid arrives. This time greenhaired. Dabi recognizes him. Midoriya Izuku. He saw him on the list of students before the Training Camp attack. There is another, even smaller kid, behind him. Light blue hair, a single horn. "I'll take it over from here."
"Sure." Stain replies. "Just do it quickly. Inko is visiting your father in the hospital. It's better if she won't return to see Dabi in her living room." He chuckles. "We won't like the results." Then he walks away from Dabi's line of sight. "Why are you even doing this at home?" He can still hear him.
"I promised Aizawa-sensei not to go on a rescue mission." Midoriya replies. "Getting out to visit the spy was one thing, I could argue that it was just meeting a friend from school. Meeting a supervillain that's an active PLF member… well, theoretically, I guess they rescinded his membership after this… well, it's a stretch, and besides, we can all use quirks legally here! What Rabbit did was clearly self-defense against a supervillain, and he technically agreed to what Eri will d… Damn, I'm rambling again." He chuckled nervously. Then he turns his attention towards his captive.
"Well, Dabi." Midoriya scratches his head nervously. "I know that I'm a bit younger than you expected, but… that's me. Small Might." Dabi's eyes widened in shock. "I must say that you were immensely helpful in my self-imposed plan of ruining the PLF's day and freeing my kidnapped friends from school. But your usefulness, I'm afraid, ends here."
He leans towards him. On his face, a mixture of sadness and regret.
"I messed up back then." He says. "And for that I apologize. If I knew that you were speaking the truth, maybe you wouldn't have become the Arch-Arsonist. But it's water under the bridge now, isn't it?" He shakes his head. "Don't worry, though. You'll get your wish granted. You'll soon be much younger, healthier… and back with the other Todorokis. Eri will do this for you."
The girl behind him makes a determined smile. Looks like that's Eri.
"But, how should I put it…" Midoriya fidgets a bit, but sticks to the subject regardless. "I'm an avid believer in second chances. And I believe that Endeavor deserves it…while you do not. He might have been a horrible father, but at least he didn't burn innocent people for fun, Dabi. And he genuinely regrets what he did and wants to change. I can't say the same thing for you."
Dabi wants to scream at him. He wants to burn him and everything else in this house. Alas, the gag's still there and the quirk is still keeping him powerless.
"I promised to make you back into Touya Todoroki, Dabi. And I will." Midoriya says calmly. "But I never promised that you would still carry your hatred. Eri can rewind people's bodies without doing that to their minds… but that exclusion is entirely optional."
In a split second, Dabi understands. He is no longer furious. Now, he is horrified. More than ever before in his life.
"Eri." Midoriya says. The girls look up at him. "Make him six years old again." He looks at Dabi once again, and gives him an apologetic smile. "I hope you'll make up with your father, Dabi. Who knows, maybe you'll even grow to love him this time?"
Dabi wishes that this was all a set-up. A psychological torture before Stain suddenly appears behind him and slits his throat. But it's not. He screams in silence, until he no longer remembers why he was doing that.
(***)
1. Look, the Midoriyas & Co are growing increasingly overpowered, I needed to somehow return things to balance. Don't you say that the first scene does that quite well?
2. Yes, I changed the way Eri's quirk worked on All Might between Cure to Evil and Ties that Bind.
3. Endeavor's character development made another major step. Let's be real, that guy deserves a second chance from life. And Midoriya likes providing those.
4. All for One is probably crying tears of pride from whatever hell he is in. His baby Izuku just inflicted his first fate worse than death (well, certainly like that for Dabi) on his enemy! And he involved his siblings in that! Sob.