Author's note: I'm sorry if it took too long. I simply couldn't find much inspiration. This chapter serves more to connect the previous chapter to the next one, so there's not something big going on. However, despite that, it does have some great moments.

At the next day, Enji was at the dining room, sitting on his place as Rei put the breakfast on the table. After she had brought the food, Rei asked:

"Are you really sure about this? About Toya and Izuku…"

"It will be good for both of them" Enji replied. "And with you, Fuyumi and Natsuo around…"

"Even so…" Rei said, as she kneeled on her place. "I am a bit worried. Izuku is struggling with his block and Toya is not exactly… encouraging."

"We can't always be afraid of making the wrong step when it comes to Izuku" Enji told, calmly. "Encouragement can only take him so far. What he needs is to be pushed over his limits and Toya will do just that."

"But he may push him too far" Rei said.

"Maybe… but that's why I want you to keep an eye on them" Enji told. "Izuku is too kind and, at the moment, too eager to please. He won't be able to say anything against Toya to not upset him. Our son may take advantage of that, despite my warnings. But if he knows his actions are being watched, he won't take it too far."

Noticing Rei was still very concerned, he added:

"Toya knows this is his chance to finally prove himself to me. He will do his best to teach Izuku, because that's what he needs to help me train Shoto and show me what he can really do."

"I know you can control fire, but I think in this you're just playing with it" Rei said. "You're just manipulating him…"

"I meant what I said to him" Enji interrupted. "I will let him participate in Shoto's training. But I have a much bigger objective in mind. So far, I have been trying to force Toya to give up on this impossible dream that I instigated in him. First, it was through Shoto and then by keeping an eye on him. But now I think the best way is not to show him the path he's on is wrong, but to show him a better one. And maybe make him reconnect with this family."

"I… can understand that" Rei replied. "But you could do that without having him train Izuku."

"Izuku is the one he has no significant interactions with" Enji replied. "Despite Toya believes I just brought him in to keep him further away from becoming my successor, he has no other connection with his cousin. It will be easier for them to bond."

There was a pause and Enji noticed that Rei was still unsure about all that. To reassure her, he said:

"I know this is not a perfect plan. I'm gambling at best… but it's a plan with calculated risks. And even if it fails… Well, we have gone through a lot, haven't we?"

Despite her uncertainty about this, Rei couldn't help but noticing how her husband had put so much thought on it. She had to admit that in some things he was right. Put Toya training Izuku would allow them to watch over the former and give him lesser chances to abuse of his fire, while also help the latter overcome his block. Not just that, but this could help Toya to form real bonds with someone in their family and possibly find a new path.

Placing her hand on Enji's, she said:

"Okay, I will give it a try. Don't worry, I will make sure Toya doesn't get out of bonds with Izuku."

Hearing his wife's support, Enji made a smile, saying:

"Thank you, Rei."

At that moment, they heard steps and the fusuma opened and the children came in for breakfast, with Toya, Fuyumi and Natsuo ready to go to school (with the former two wearing their uniforms).

"Good morning, children" Rei said, as the kids sat down on their places.

"Good morning…" they replied, with Toya being the only one not responding.

The family took their breakfast, with Enji and the three older kids doing it faster than the rest, as they needed to go to work and school respectively. When they were about to get out of the table, Enji said:

"Wait… I need to talk to all of you."

"But, father, if we don't hurry up, we'll get late for school" Fuyumi said.

"I just have a declaration that all of you should know" Enji said, causing Toya to just dodge his look, as he could already guess what his father wanted to say to the rest of the family.

"Oh, boy… this can't be good…" Natsuo replied, causing Fuyumi to give him a poke with her elbow.

Enji turned to his nephew and told him:

"Izuku, I've been thinking… and I believe it's time for you to start to have a more… formal training with your Quirk."

That caused some surprise to the children (except for Toya).

"Really?!" Izuku asked, with enthusiasm.

"It's only logical to do just that" Enji said calmly, as he ate. "You have started to show you're ready to try to overcome your block and part of it will pass through training your Quirk. We better start it as soon as possible."

Izuku felt so happy when he heard his uncle say that. However, both Fuyumi and Natsuo got a little worried, as they already knew how tough their father's training could be. Meanwhile, Shoto got a little relieved when he heard that.

"You better prepare yourself, Izuku" Natsuo said to his little cousin. "My father is pretty tough with his training. Well… you got to hear that for how he trains Shoto."

That comment caused him to receive a harsh look from both his mother and sister.

"What?" he asked. "It's not like I'm saying any lie."

"You don't have to worry about that, because I am not the one that will train Izuku" Enji replied. "At least for now…"

That statement caused surprise, especially to Izuku who became a little disappointed. Soon, Enji elaborated:

"I will eventually take over Izuku's training, but for now I want him to focus in mastering the basis of his Quirk. And, with my Hero work and Shoto's training, I won't be able to give him the attention he needs."

"But… couldn't you train Izuku and Shoto together?" Natsuo asked.

"To train them together when their abilities are still too uneven would be counterproductive" Enji replied.

"Then why not going between them" Natsuo said. "At least, in that way, you would give them time to rest between trainings."

"I have to agree with Natsuo, dad" Fuyumi told. "Why not do that?"

But Enji didn't reply, as he continued to eat his breakfast. Toya, being him the only one to keep himself out of the conversation and appearing to not be giving any attention to it, already knew where it would go.

"Children, please, your father had already considered every option" Rei said firmly.

It was then that Enji, finishing eating, put down his chopsticks and declared:

"Until he has learned the basics of his Quirk, Izuku is going to be trained by Toya."

"What?!" both Natsuo and Fuyumi exclaimed, as they turned to Toya who completely ignored them.

"Dad, are you serious?" Fuyumi asked, as Enji got up.

But he didn't reply, simply heading towards the exit, ready to get to work. He opened the fusuma and, before he exited, he said to Izuku without looking at him:

"Izuku, I expect you to give your all in your training with Toya. He won't hold back. I am sure you will get hold of your Quirk in no time and, once you do, I'll know you will be ready to train with me and Shoto."

Despite the disappointment of being passed by his uncle towards his cousin with whom he had not been able to make any form of bond, Izuku was able to still retain hope of still having his favorite hero to help him with his Quirk. In fact, the fact Enji motivated him to do his best just give more determination.

"I'll do my best, uncle Enji" Izuku said.

Enji then got out. A few seconds later, Toya also got up and went to the fusuma as well, saying:

"I'll go to school. That way, I can avoid all the drama."

And he got out, closing the fusuma behind him. Getting to the entrance hall, he found his father putting on his shoes. Approaching him, he said:

"Don't think I know what you're doing with this."

"You wanted to prove yourself to me and I gave you a chance" Endeavor said, as he got up after putting on his shoes and going for his jacket. "Don't tell me you're thinking in backing down. Because, if you are, tell me now so I can arrange something different for your cousin."

"Don't worry, I will still teach the runt" Toya replied. "But don't think this will distract me from what I want."

"I keep my promises, Toya" Enji told, as he advanced towards the door. "This is no distraction. But I do hope you find your path with all this."

Having said that, he went out, closing the door behind him.

After he went inside the car and his driver started taking him to the agency, Enji couldn't help but remember the way Izuku reacted to all that. He could feel the disappointment his nephew was feeling, but also the determination. The last time the Flame Hero had seen something like that was with Toya when he was still training him.

That made him feel nostalgic and he could almost feel the same feeling he had back in the day. Training Shoto, despite being a necessity for him to accomplish his dream of surpassing All Might, never quite transmitted the same feeling when he was training his oldest son. Despite having knowledge of his youngest son of wanting to be a Hero, he also knew that the training was also something Shoto was just something he needed to endure. The temptation of having Izuku joining them just so he could feel what he used to was big.

Enji knew very well he could find a way to balance Shoto and Izuku's training, to make the former reach his potential and help the latter to own his Quirk. But, even with that desire and confidence, two major factors were acting like dead weights that prevented him from turning that desire into action. On one side, his ambition told him to do what was best to not let his fifteen-years-long plan go down the drain, and, on the other, his worries about becoming the person he was starting to become five years ago told him to not involve the child he had just taken in and that had went through a great trauma that was still haunting him on all the problems he himself had created.

And there was also his plan to help Toya on his obsession to prove himself to him. That has always been and will forever be his biggest regret. What has started as the silver lining of not being able to produce the heir he had envisioned has turned into the constant reminder of his failure as a father and as a husband and now it would appear he wouldn't be able to put down the dangerous fire he had ignited on his oldest son. Despite his better efforts, Enji could feel the situation becoming slowly worse and, with that, his worries and Rei's were increasing. He could only hope that Izuku could do what neither him, nor his wife and children had managed to do and become an influence that could balance Toya's out-of-control ambition.

Meanwhile, after Enji left, Natsuo couldn't help but sharing his opinion over his father's decision.

"Has dad completly lost his mind?! Why would he let Toya train Izuku instead of him?"

"I don't mind…" Izuku said, a little shyly. "I know uncle Enji only wants what is best for me."

"Sure he does…" Natsuo ironized.

"That's enough, Natsuo" Rei told, with firmness. "I know this decision of your father is hard to understand. I also didn't understand it. But it's to be respected. He knows what he is doing. Now, you two need to do like your brother and go to school."

Despite still uncertain about it, both Natsuo and Fuyumi did what their mother said, and rose up and went away. As Rei prepared to take the plates back to the kitchen, she told to Shoto and Izuku tenderly:

"You better prepare yourselves, boys. After I am done with the dishes, we are going to shop for groceries… and I could have some help carrying the bags."

"Okay, aunt Rei" Izuku replied, while Shoto nodded.

After Rei went to the kitchen, Izuku noticed his cousin a little down and asked:

"Are you okay, Shoto?"

"It's just… I am a bit disappointed that you won't be training with me and my father" he told.

"Yeah, me too…" Izuku replied. "I was so looking forward to have uncle Enji training me. I mean… I have dreamed to have my favorite hero train me for a long time, but that was just that… a dream. But when I got to know my favorite hero was my uncle and I was going to live with him, that dream became closer to reality."

"You wouldn't say that, if you got to actually be trained by him…" Shoto said, with a sad voice. "Trust me… I know what I am talking about…"

Seeing his cousin's look, Izuku remembered the sounds he listened yesterday coming from Shoto's training with Enji and the bruises the former had after it. Of course the training would be intense and Izuku was able to understand why Shoto wouldn't be so excited about it.

"My dad never wanted me to use my Quirk…" Izuku said, causing Shoto to look at him. "To him, my fire was like… a curse. I never understood why… and I still can't understand it. But I always felt good when I saw uncle Enji on TV. He made me feel like my fire was something to be proud of, that I shouldn't be ashamed of it. He made me believe that I could be strong and use my Quirk to save people. That's why that being trained by him would be a dream come true… no matter how tough it could be."

After hearing Izuku express his feelings about how important being trained by Enji was for him, Shoto couldn't help but feel a little bad for telling him how bad his father's training sessions were.

Unknown to them, Rei had been listening to their conversation from outside the room, after coming back to get more dishes. She had a tender smile on her face, as she saw the two boys bonding.

"To be honest… I was actually expecting you to train with me" Shoto started. "When my father said that you would start your Quirk training, I got really happy because, in that way, I wouldn't be alone. Maybe I would be able to breathe a little… and have a friendly presence."

"But that can still happen" Izuku said. "I will do my best with my training with Toya. The faster I get to control my Quirk, the faster I can join you and uncle Enji and we can train together."

"That would be cool…" Shoto replied with a smile, before becoming more serious. "But… Toya is not exactly… someone easy to deal with. I think you'll probably have a harder time than me."

When she heard Shoto talking about Toya, Rei started to fear the conversation could become a little sour.

"Why do you say that?" Izuku asked. "Toya has never been nice, but he has never been too mean either."

"Toya has always been… hard to deal with" Shoto said. "He is almost angry at my father and me most of the time."

"Why?" Izuku asked.

"It's… complicated" Shoto told. "Toya used to be trained by our father… before he realized his Quirk was hurting him and focused his efforts on me once I was born."

"I've never seen Toya use his fire…" Izuku said. "But it must be really awesome…"

At that moment, Rei entered the room and said, as she went to pick more dishes:

"Boys, I already told you to get ready. Come on, now."

"Okay, mommy" Shoto said.

"Okay, aunt Rei" Izuku said.

Having said that, the two boys got out of the dining room to go upstairs to their room to get ready. Meanwhile, Rei went on to take the rest of the dishes to the kitchen, hoping that her interruption had been enough to prevent the two boys from continuing their talk about Toya. Izuku needed to have some level of trust on Toya, if it was for him to have better results on his training and knowing about too much about his oldest cousin's past deeds could prevent that from happening.

After some time, Rei had finished washing the dishes and got ready to go shop for groceries, calling then the two boys:

"Shoto! Izuku! Come now!"

The two boys came down, ready to go. After catching a train to the mall, they went to shop for groceries. While Rei was doing that, she gave permission to Shoto and Izuku to go pick up some candy for them to eat as a snack during the middle of the afternoon.

"So, what do you think?" Shoto asked. "I like these ones over here… but those over there are not that bad either…"

"Honestly… I don't know each ones to pick" Izuku said. "There are so many and…"

"I can't believe it…" a female voice said. "Izuku? Is that you?"

Izuku froze for a moment, before turning around and seeing a woman approaching him, while holding a shopping basket on her forearm. She was definitively someone Izuku was not expecting to meet.

"I haven't seen you ever since the funeral…" the woman said. "How are you, sweetie?"

That was Mitsuki Bakugo, a friend of her mother and also the mother of a friend of his from his school that he hasn't seen ever since the incident… and whose presence was causing some nervousness to him. Well, not exactly her presence, but what it could mean…