Endeavor patrolled down the surprisingly rather empty streets. A few pedestrians walked about, but they kept to themselves and didn't bother the intimidating pro. He was glad for this. At this time, it was of vital importance that he maintain his image as the number two pro hero. No villain, no matter how manipulative, would be allowed to hold such power over him.

This was why he was practically daring Stain's Apprentice to find him by walking along the usually more criminally inclined streets. Despite the lack of criminal presence that day however, he kept his image. Endeavor wanted Stain's Apprentice to find him, so he could be the one to get the glory of bringing that brat into custody and throwing him behind bars for life.

His challenge was answered by a rhythmic 'clank, clunk, clank, clunk' of a boot hitting the side of a metal trash can. Enji stopped outside of a small, darkly lit alley way, a strange feeling going down his spine. He stepped inside.

Sitting casually on the metal trash can in question, was a guy in his late twenties dressed in a black and burned trench coat and white tee with black jeans, calmly kicking the can with the back of his shoe.

"Ah, finally." He stayed seated on the can, but lazily rolled his head to Endeavor. "I was beginning to think you wouldn't show."

Endeavor glared at the man before him. "Am I supposed to know you?"

He smiled eerily. "Oh yeah."

Enji kept glaring, trying to place a memory. It finally clicked. "Ah, you're one of the villains from the hideout we crashed." He grinned right back. "Which means you're a member of the League, the fire user, which is a very good thing for me." His flames grew in intensity.

Dabi shrugged. "Not what I meant, but yeah. And I'm glad to see that you're so ready for a fight. That'll make this much more interesting."

Endeavor leaned forward, readying himself. "I don't care how strong your flames are, you're no match for me."

Dabi was still smiling, which set Endeavor slightly on edge. "Oh I know." Suddenly a wet cloth covered his mouth, making Enji choke in surprise. "That's why I'm not alone." Enji began to choke from the chemicals working their way into his system, and he swung behind himself to remove his attacker. The cloth was whipped away, but he didn't hit anything. As he spun to see behind himself, he was hit with a wave of light-headedness and stumbled into the wall.

"Well. This was easy." The familiar young voice spoke clearly by Enji's side, sending cold fear down his back. He threw a handful of flame at the boy, spots appearing in his vision, but the teen dodged the fire with ease. "Remember me?" Stain's Apprentice reached out with his short sword, tilting Eandeavors head up with the tip so as to look him in the eye. "I did promise I'd come pack for you, didn't I, Enji Todoroki?"

- Elsewhere -

"Katsuki!"

Bakugo turned at the happy voice, smiling when he saw Uraraka walking towards him and waving energetically. He gave a small wave in return. "Hey 'Raka." She walked up alongside him and they continued to stroll down the sidewalk. She was holding tightly onto the straps of her backpack, as she usually did when she was excited, and it was giving him the strange urge to hold her hand.

"What're you doing on this side of town?" She beamed up at him, not even watching where she was going.

He shrugged at the question, dragging his gaze away from her hand and back to the path ahead of them. "Heard there was a new food joint around here. Thought I might check it out."

"Oh?" Her voice caught a strange coy tone which made him glance back down at her quickly. "Funny as you've come here three times from what I've heard from the boys." His face flushed and he looked hurriedly away, biting the inside of his lip. "You're looking for Izuku, aren't you?" Her tone was kind, and she showed no disrespect or disappointment in his actions.

"Food sounds good too." He mumbled looking ashamed.

She giggled. "No need to look like you're in trouble! I just want to help you." This drew his attention back to her. She was still smiling brightly up at him. "We all want him back, or, at least, most of us. You don't have to be looking for him alone all the time 'Suki. I'm only a call away."

"I know that. But I also know that if I were to ask, you would drop everything and help me, and you would eventually fall behind." He kept eye contact with her this time, gaze flicking ahead only occasionally to check the path.

"Then let's do homework together!" She offered quickly. "We can meet up sometime after school, or in school, or even in the dorms, I don't really mind where, and work together. That way we both get at least most of our work done and then we can look for him afterwards!"

He mulled the proposition over before slowly nodding. "I suppose so." It would be nice to have her encouraging and supportive personality out here with him when he was looking for Izuku, and he could still duck out by himself when he needed to.

She shone, happy he'd accepted her idea. Without thinking she blurted out "It's a date then!" They both immediately choked, stumbling. She threw her hands up waving them about frantically. "GAH! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to say that I swear!"

"S-sure. No big deal!" He stuttered, holding the back of his hand up to his mouth and blushing as hard as she was. His inner train of though was one unbroken line of obscenities, enough to even shock his own mother. "Just - forget about it or whatever!"

"R-right!" She was fanning herself furiously with her hands, trying to cool off.

They both tried, very hard, to forget about the blunder. They continued on their meandering path, trying to make small talk as they slowly calmed down. They eventually gave up, walking along in mostly comfortable silence, with only the occasional passing comment.

'A date huh?' His mind wandered back to her hand, now swinging by her side, and the urge to hold it returned in strength. His hand slid out of the pocket in his pants at a snail's pace, reaching for her's even more slowly.

"Oh, hey Todoroki!" He jerked and quickly shoved his hand back into his pocket as they came face to face with a frightened looking Shoto. "Is something wrong? You look almost sick!"

He twisted his hands, looking very upset by something. "It's, uh, my father."

Uraraka's 'therapist' mode turned on, and she rushed over to put her hand on his shoulder. Ever since the Sports Festival and the Hosu Incident, she had become the unspoken class therapist, having dealt with everyone in her class at least once over various issues, aside from Mineta. "Oh no, what's happened now?" Bakugo stiffened, glaring daggers at the point where they were touching. Seeing her touch some one else...

"He didn't do anything but," Shoto chewed on his lip, not seeing the death glare he was receiving from Bakugo. "Remember Hosu?" He asked timidly, but the implications were enough to even reduce Bakugo's intensity slightly.

Uraraka swallowed. "Of course."

Shoto's fiddling with his hands grew quicker. "Remember how Stain's Apprentice saved me, killed that, thing, then took down my father in like, two seconds?" Uraraka nodded, silent as the vivid memories flashed in her mind. "Well, about a week ago, Dad started acting weird. I looked into his room and he had set half of it on fire, and, I swear, he looked frightened. I didn't think much of it at the time, he does get angry incredibly easily, but..." Shoto shifted, guilty. "His strange behaviour kept up. He would randomly check in on me and the others, and he even visited Mom! He's been going out and patrolling the streets with heavier criminal activity. I, I wanted to know what was going on, and so, I looked in his desk, and-"

Shoto's voice cut off with a choke and he was visibly shaking now, only a small child again. Uraraka and Bakugo, temporarily forgetting the affont of Shoto being so shaken Ochako had to touch him, led him to a nearby bench to sit on.

"What did you find?" Bakugo pressed, a worried feeling filling his chest.

"Pictures. Of all of us." Shoto whispered, being nearly drowned out by a nearby barking dog. "They, they all had detailed notes on each of us. And now-" The shaking in his voice made him stutter his words until he was nearly unintelligible.

"'And now' what?" Uraraka gently prodded the question, one hand resting in a comforting manner on the disturbed teen's back.

Shoto's voice was very small. "No one can find him."

A cold shiver shot up Bakugo's spine and he and Ochako cut their gaze to each other at the same time. She quickly went back to trying to comfort Shoto. "I'm sure it's fine-"

"No!" Shoto suddenly shot up, hands flinging into the air as his voice returned in strength. "It's far from fine!" His voice cracked. "Stain's Apprentice, after saving us and purposely going out of his way for all of us to make sure none of us would be hurt or killed, is out there right now on the hunt for my father! He's out for his blood I know it!" He was shaking again, but his voice held out strong. "He's been acting brash, and now nobody cam get a hold of him. My father may be far from respectable family-wise, and I may hate him for what he's done, but he's still my father and I can't-" Shoto's scared voice cracked even higher as he gasped out a sob, fully overcome by emotions and fear.

Shoto, normally, was very stoic. He was able to bear most things without complaint and let insults roll off his back. But admitting the whole situation, how his father for all he knew could be on the brink of death at the current moment, terrified him. He'd seen how ruthless Stain's Apprentice really could be, kindness aside. For that cold hard hatred to be focused entirely on his father...

Bakugo and Uraraka rushed to support their friend as his legs gave out underneath him. Katsuki quickly took control of the situation. "All right. We'll take you to see Aizawa, he may be able to help." He spoke quickly and authoritatively, leaving no room for arguments or discussion.

Shoto nodded shakily and allowed them to support him back onto his feet. The three started walking away.

Suddenly, all three of their phones rang at the same time as every screen in Japan flickered to a nation-wide live veiw of static, as the all too familiar voice spoke out to the millions.

'Hello Japan!' Stain's Apprentice greeted the sunny afternoon with a cheerful voice, as if discussing his favourite pet. 'Just a little disclaimer right now before we start, this will contain rather serious stuff, so if there are any children around right now, you may want to send them to a separate room with no television.' He waited a moment, a small popping sound in the background. 'There. That should be enough of a pause!'

The static cut out to a dramatic picture of Endeavor himself. An intimidating picture used frequently for hero magazines that couldn't get him to agree to a photo shoot. Shoto gasped and fell to his knees once again. He knew what was coming.

'Endeavor. The number two pro 'hero'.' The Apprentice's voice drawled out the word 'hero' with a disgusted tone. 'Most would say, despite his rather cold attitude, he was rather respectable. He still went out of his way for others (to an extent,) he participated in that big villain hideout crash a few weeks ago, and hey, he's a father of four! Surely he's not that bad right?' Stain's Apprentice laughed, a cold tone highlighting the jovial sound. 'Well, my dear, dear people, you are sorely mistaken.'

A looping slideshow of each of the Todoroki children and Rei appeared on each screen, the picture of Endeavor fizzling out with a blur of static. The words detailing his crimes against them, much like on the pictures Shoto had found, stood out on each picture in bold letters.

'Is everyone here familiar with quirk marriages? No? It's simple. They were old fashioned arranged marriages, designed specifically to breed children with powerful quirks.' He chuckled darkly. ''But,' as I'm sure you're thinking, 'those were outlawed decades ago! Surely this boy is lying!' Tell me, where's your proof that one determined man couldn't force his way onto anything, even something illegal?'

A picture of Rei froze on the screens, a picture of her wedding to Enji.

'This was from over 30 years ago. Oh, how the media had been blowing up over the wonderful marriage, love between ice and fire, how the two were so happy.' The image focused in on her strained face. She clearly wasn't happy about this, but she was putting on a brave face for the illusion. 'Clearly, so very happy. Tell me, would someone supposedly so happy look so unsure?'

The image cut to an image of her a few days before her engagement, in tears, being comforted by her mother while Endeavor stood nearby. 'Mrs Rei never had any love for this man, but she was forced into a marriage for the sake that Endeavor could father a child powerful enough to surpass All Might for him.' Copies of their official marriage document flashed on the screen.

The image cut to Touya, before he got his burns and still had red hair. 'Little Touya, gifted with a fire quirk seemingly even more powerful then his father's, unfortunately inherited his mother's weakness to flames. Forced into abuse in order to train his quirk into one that could surpass All Might, he struggled on without the help of his two other siblings until baby Shoto developed his quirk, the other two children forgotten.'

The image cut to Shoto in a young age, bandages wrapped around his face after his burn. Stain's Apprentice quickly summarized the extensive abuse Shoto suffered, knowing way too many fine details for everyone's comfort. The screens cut back to static.

'But, of course, why go through all this trouble to tell you this? Two simple reasons. One, you need to know my dears. Two,' he giggled lightly 'I needed time to distract the heroic and police officials until our business was over.' The static was replaced by blackness, his final words echoing without visual highlights. 'I'd say it worked exceptionally. Sleep well tonight.'

Televisions, tablets, laptops, and phones all returned to normal. Shoto's phone itself rang after a moment's pause as Aizawa called.

'They've found him.'

- At the hospital -

Shoto had never run so fast in his life. Cars, pedestrians, he had shoved past them all, soon leaving Ochako and Bakugo behind. They weren't allowed to use their quirks, and he had someplace to be. Desperately.

He crashed through the hospital doors. A nurse was waiting for him, calmly handing him a cold mask and marching briskly down the corridor to a special waiting room. She made him to sit down in a chair, telling him to wait and that she'd be back later to bring him to his father.

The wait felt like years. In reality, it was less than a hour, but the seconds dragged by and infuriated Shoto. His nerves were shot, he felt like being sick, and he leapt at every distant noise before finally being able to see his father.

That image, it would haunt him until the day he died.

His father, looking like he had lost twenty-five pounds he couldn't afford to lose, lay weakly on the bed, covered in burns and gashes. The word 'MONSTER' had been carved into his torso, his left hand had been amputated, and all too familiar bandages wrapped around his left eye. Shoto gripped the metal bars as Enji somehow found the strength to turn at look at his youngest son. Shoto saw something in his eye, something that he thought would never be there.

Fear. Cold fear, of a child. Or for his own child before him. Or maybe of that child, being specifically chosen by the killer who had mutilated Endeavor so. Shoto could never tell.

Shoto fell backwards, breathing all too heavily. "Dad?" His voice shook and was horribly tiny. "Dad?"

Enji Todoroki opened his mouth, revealing that his tounge had been carved out.

Shoto didn't cry, he only breathed in shock. Natsuo arrived and dragged him away to pack his things and stay with him for the time being. He didn't go to school for three days, jumping between staying with Fuyumi and Natsuo, not to mention the frequent court meetings. Many came out with evidence against Endeavor, his children especially, who all knew that none of the others had been bribed into casting his dirt right back at him.

Shoto didn't know what to think. Izuku had always been close to kind to Shoto, saving him twice, saving Bakugo, Iida, and Ochako, and setting up a promise that no hero students would be harmed by him. He never expressed the merest form of ill intent towards any of them.

And yet, he was beyond ready to strike Shoto's own father down, and to make it so public that all knew of what had been so perfectly covered up.

No matter how he viewed the situation, Stain's Apprentice repeatedly was just out of reach of Shoto's understanding. There was some element they were missing, one or more pieces of the puzzle. Perhaps if this cursed feeling of knowing the enigma would leave and it could be clear who the Apprentice was, then maybe they could get somewhere. But he was running them in circles.

As Shoto listened to the verdict that he would be permenately removed from the custody of his father, to be cared for by Natsuo as Fuyumi cared for Enji, a suspicion that the climax to the current situation was approaching all too quickly. He knew, more blood was going to be shed, and the subject of who Stain's Apprentice truly is, would be settled.

One way, or another.

A/N

Sheesh, I am sorry for yet another long update. Dialogue centered chapters seem to be a problem for me as I just hit one block after another, and the will to write kept eluding me. In the middle section with the live talk sounds a little unnatural, yeah I was having issues with that. It's hard to describe someone describing something without just reappearing yourself seven times like I did. Almost every description of him was him laughing in a different way. Ugh.

Next chapter or two will probably be filler chapters. One shortie showing the league's reaction to Izuku's big show, and maybe cutting back to UA, and one showing him prepping for the All Might throwdown. Not sure if I'll combine those, but probably not. I am trying to bring the chapter count up closer to 20 some so it's closer to the same as bk1. It will probably still be shorter chapterwise, but wordwise it'll be about the same. I just know that after the All Might throwdown there will be very few chapters left. Four at probable absolute most.

Also WE'RE GETTING THERE! THE REVEAL!

Viate, nope. They have reached the max party. No toga in any major way, no UA students, although some, such as Shinso, do support the cause. They won't fully devote themselves to it, but they support the change.

As always, tell me what you thought, thank you for the kind comments and hey! As of this chapter there are exactly 100 follows! WHOO HOOO!

So long my lovies!