Mom,

I'm not sure if you saw or not, but the Heroes Public Safety Commission just released the latest billboard chart rankings. As expected… Endeavor is first place. I know that we agreed that I should just watch him, but seeing him up there makes me feel conflicted, to say the least.

Tokoyami, who sits in front of me, did his internship and work study under Hawks, the new number two and the hero who spoke before Father. I admittedly don't know too much about him, but from what Tokoyami says, Hawks is always going at his own pace, exactly what he seems like on television. I'll take him for his word on it, given none of the other heroes took much offense.

At first it seemed like he wanted the attention, but based on Hawks' reaction afterwards, it seems like Father's response went exactly how he planned. I can't tell what he's thinking at all.

On another note, Yaoyorozu and I went to that tea shop and found nothing suspicious. I bought some of the Golden Tips Imperial tea I mentioned last time. I'll bring some to you the next time I visit. She suggested going there together more frequently in the future and I saw no reason to disagree.

Shouto

...

Fuyumi and Natsuo's visit

Fuyumi places her personal bag and her paper bag (containing Rei's clothes) on the counter. "I'll leave your fresh laundry over here, Mom."

"Thanks, as always!"

"It's supposed to get really cold next week." Fuyumi says as she's neatly refolding her mother's clothes.

"Good. You know I like the cold."

"We don't do so well with the heat, either." Natsuo grins.

"You're looking well, Natsu."

"Thanks!" Natsuo smile grows wider and puts up both hands to wave. It must be at least several months since she's seen her nineteen year old son.

"We haven't seen you as much ever since you started college." Fuyumi frowns. "Did you find yourself a girlfriend in one of your seminars?"

"Sis! I call home now and then. Ain't that enough?!"

'Fufu, he doesn't deny it.'

"A-anyway, you're looking good too, Mom! Your complexion looks… nice and healthy!" Natsuo not so subtly changes the topic. Rei and Fuyumi exchange a knowing look before the former answers.

"Yes, Shouto's been sending me letters." She lifts the letters up to show Natsuo. "He's struggling with the extra license training, but he's working hard to keep up with his friends."

"I didn't think Shouto was the type to write home."

"Because of training and the dorm system, he can't stop by as much anymore." Fuyumi explains.

"Can't they just let you have a cell phone already? Writing actual letters sounds kinda rough."

"I suppose that's up to my doctor." Rei softly replies.

A few seconds pass and Natsuo's expression turns serious. "Mom. About him… they made him number one yesterday. It's official."

"Natsu." Fuyumi attempts to interject.

"The world still doesn't know the truth. About you. About our siblings. About how he's always treated his family. One reason is he doesn't do the talk show circuit."

"Why'd you have to bring up Dad?" Fuyumi admonishes him by painlessly hitting him in the back of the head.

Shouto's not the only one who feels that way. Natsuo too, and even though she puts on a brave front, maybe Fuyumi also feels the same way. Rei's expression turns serious to match her son. "It's fine, Fuyumi."

"I can barely remember most of it, really. Thinking back, he was like a perfect stranger. But, what he did to you, to Shouto, and to…" Natsuo pauses for a moment. Even though he doesn't finish his sentence, they all know who he's referring to. "I can't let anyone pretend it all never happened.

"It's been almost ten years and he still hasn't come to apologize to you. His past, his family… it's like he wants to leave it all behind."

"That's… not true."

"Come on, Mom. Why're you defending him?"

Just like her husband and youngest son, Rei has had struggles with verbal communication throughout her life. Pictures say a thousand words. "Those flowers," Rei turns her gaze towards the windowsill where the flowers are laid in a vase, "I told your father they were my favorite. Back when we first met, I told him. Only once."

"Dad really showed up here?!" Fuyumi shrieks in surprise.

'Oh, that's right. I've only told Shouto. Well, I wasn't sure if Enji was keeping it a secret or not. May as well tell Shouto's siblings now.' Rei thinks before speaking. "Apparently he's come many times. Though… we haven't met, I'm still a little scared. And my doctor said it's not a good idea."

"Of course, I can't say what he's thinking. It might be due to external pressures. But… he's not leaving anything behind. Not his past. Not his family. I know he's trying to make sense of it all."

A soft silence envelopes as Rei's children ruminate what their mother just said. After several seconds, Rei breaks the silence again. "Can you show me your father's ceremony?"

Fuyumi scratches the back of her head. "Um, I can play it for you if you want… but are you sure about this?"

"Yes, I'm sure." She looks her daughter in the eyes. "Please."

Fuyumi sighs and slowly pulls her laptop out of her bag. She places it on the desk and opens the lid. "Oh, I almost forgot about the stamps you wanted." Fuyumi says while waiting for her computer to finish starting. "You were running low, right?" She places it on the drawer, next to the tissue box.

"Thanks."

"I don't want to watch this again." Natsuo says. "I'm going to get some coffee. Do either of you want anything?" Both ladies shake their heads.

The screen briefly pans to Enji. It's been years since she's seen him, but the Hero Endeavor looks the same as always. "Your father looks well."

"Too well if you ask me." Natsuo comments with his hand about to open the door. "...Sorry, couldn't help myself. I'll be gone now."

The video starts with an opening speech made by the President of the Hero Safety Commission. Given his rank, Enji stands right behind her and is consistently on the screen. Like the rest of the heroes waiting for her to finish, he is expressionless... for the most part. When the young hero next to him whispers something to Enji, the flame hero gives off a glare.

'Aside from being slightly more muscular than when he was younger, Enji in his costume looks remarkably similar to how he looked many years ago.'

The heroes each give their thoughts, starting from the tenth ranked hero upwards, each saying something to the effect of doing their best to maintain society. Even when Rei was younger, she heard similar lines from top heroes constantly. As the fourth ranked hero, Edgeshot, is saying the same, he is interrupted by the second ranked one, the same one who was whispering something to Enji before, Hawks. "Who the heck do you think wants to hear that crap?!"

"Sassy. I like it!" Mirko, ranked fifth, smiles.

Despite being the one who had his speech interrupted, Edgeshot doesn't appear irritated or even surprised at all and is the next to comment. "You always did enjoy rocking the boat."

"I just hate holding back how I feel." Hawks takes the microphone out of the interviewer's hand and flies up in the air with his majestic wings.

"Ahem- This isn't the time to dwell on the past. And you say that staying the course is the answer? Our symbol's gone. Today's a turning point, so what I don't wanna hear… is a bunch of PR-friendly sound bites from the guys and gals below me! Try coming up with something actually heroic to say! That's all from me." Hawks flies down and hands the mic over to Enji. "You're next. Dude with a lower approval rating than me… Mr. Number One."

Enji instantly swipes the mic away and the scowl on his face makes no secret of his irritation. "After my junior colleague fanned the flames like that… I don't have much to say." Enji clenches a fist with his free right hand. "Except, just watch me!"

Applause breaks out, led by Hawks. The camera pans to show Enji. He appears to be smiling, but the pixilation, camera angle, and lighting make it difficult to tell how genuine it is.

"It's not often Dad gets mad in public. He must have really been taken by surprise." Fuyumi giggles.

Rei puts up a small smile. "Your father always did hate surprises."

"Hawks has a lot of guts to do something like that to his superior."

"He's quite young."

"He is! They said the new number two is my age."

'New number two. And new number one.'

It only now sinks in for Rei. The beginning of everything; he is now number one. Their quirk marriage has now fulfilled its purpose.

"See you later, Mom!" Natsuo plants a goodbye peck on Rei's cheek. "I'll be going home with Fuyumi."

Fuyumi wraps her arms around Rei in a hug and then turns towards Natsuo. "Yep, nowhere to escape for you. You can tell me about your girlfriend on the way back."

"Sis, I never said I had one!"

Rei decides to play along with Fuyumi. "Tell me about her the next time you visit, Natsu."

"Mom!" Natsu shouts exasperatedly. "Not you too!"

"Now he's going to avoid you for another couple of months." Fuyumi not-so-quietly whispers into Rei's ear.

After her children leave, Rei pulls an envelope and a blank piece of paper out of her drawer. With pen in hand, this is the same process she's done for all of her letters to Shouto. Now, there is a slight difference: the mailing address on the envelope. Instead of writing to the U.A. dorms, she writes to the Todoroki residence before placing the newly acquired stamp on the top corner.

Her old home.

It's scary, it's frightening, but it's something that she needs to do. Three words is all she writes and even that feels incredibly draining. Still, if she is telling her children to do one thing for their own sake, the least she can do as their mother is to try and do the same. As flawed as she is as a parent, she should still do what she can.

She is also watching.

Congratulations, Enji.

Rei

Rei walks away from the mailbox and hears some commotion from the other residents in front of a television.

"Should we tell Todoroki-san?"

Curiosity strikes when Rei hears her name. She steps closer to assess the situation. "Hm, you're talking about me?"

"Oh, Todoroki-san. You're here." Suzuki, the one who stays in the room next to Rei, says.

"Suzuki-san, what is it?"

The one next to her leans closer leans into Suzuki's ear. "Hey, don't."

"She should know. She'll hear it eventually... Your husband and Hawks faced off against one of those so-called Nomu things. They showed it on TV. Your husband got a nasty injury in the middle of the fight, right on his eye... He still got up and won, but he might have made his injuries worse in the process. The news say he's in critical condition right now."

Dear Shouto,

I've heard about what happened to your father… I hope and pray that both of you are feeling alright. Please contact me as soon as possible.

Love,

Mom