How do you change how you have done something your whole life? You try to find a better way or at least a different way. That better way lay in the depths of the internet, a beast that Toya wasn't as adept at taming but knew someone with the skill he could trust. He turned to Natsuo.

"Hey, little brother, I need your help," he said from the doorway.

Natsuo was stunned; Toya never came to ask him for help. Not that they didn't get along; they didn't get along like that. It was more of a hey, Dad is making us move this thing lift the other end. Toya was always training or in his room, playing games most of the time. He figured it was a lifting and moving kind of thing, so he shrugged and set his game down; better to get it taken care of before the Oni came home and started his rampage.

"Fine," he spat out, exasperated.

"Follow me." Natsuo just nodded and followed his brother; he was expecting to be led to the dojo or any other part of the house, to be honest, not to his brother's room. When he entered, he got slightly nervous when Toya closed the door and played music. He wondered if Toya knew it was him who had eaten his pudding. Sweat beaded on his brow, and he replayed his crime, wondering what evidence he had left.

"So…uh…what do you need, Toya?" he said, trying to sound calm but screaming he was guilty of something.

"Look, this isn't about the pudding," Natsuo visibly relaxed, then tensed again as his brother knew about pudding. "I need your help with something on the internet. I need you to help me find someone, or maybe it is something."

"Ok, like, are we going illegal here," Natsuo asked, confused but honestly excited.

"No, nothing illegal; I know you can find things faster than I can. I want to find out if there has ever been another hero out there that gets hurt from using their quirk?" his brother said quietly.

"His name is Ignis," Natsuo said quickly. Toya looked at his brother, shocked. "He is either old or dead now; no one knows. However, he wrote a book that is hard to find and is in Italian. I may not like the old man, I may not want to be a hero anymore, but you, my brother Toya."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"I started to, but you told me to shut up." Natsuo looked his brother in the eyes. "I got mad, so I walked away."

"I'm sorry, Natsuo, but I want to be a hero. I can't/won't do it his way. He doesn't even care anyway. But I want to buy my hero, despite or despite him." Toya looked at Natsuo directly, pausing for a second. "If you want to be a hero, you should do it your way."

"But my quirk isn't that strong," he protested, looking down. "And I have no one to help me."

"I will help you," Toya said, crossing the distance between them and placing his hand on his shoulder. "We need to do what we want and how we want. We won't be in his house forever, and I don't want to live in his shadow."

"What if he gets mad?" Natsuo said quietly, reluctantly.

"Then he will just have to make sure not to tell him," Toya said, hugging his brother.

Natsuo stiffened briefly before returning his brother's hug. A gulf had developed between them, a slow widening chasm. It was closed in this moment; they held each other for a moment, each fighting back a few tears.

-Kaguya & The Wood Cutter-

"Are you sure about this?" the woodcutter said, her hand slipping below the coat rack to take Kaguya's.

"I am," she whispered. "I can no longer sit back and let him destroy my children. That is what he is doing; his actions will push them to a place I don't think I can bring them back from. Shoto's little friends managed to do more for him in the short time they have known him than that man has ever done."

"I love you; once we start, there is no stopping."

"I don't want to stop; I want to be free; I want them to be free." She squeezed her lover's hand. "I love you too. I had to walk away once; I must hide you now; I don't want that. I want to sleep in your arms and wake the same way."

"With all that I am and will ever be, I am yours." The woodcutter whispered back. "I have to get to work; they will notice if I am gone too long."

"Then go, but hurry back to me once you are able. I await your return." Kaguya said they squeezed hands as the woodcutter left the store.

-Inko-

Inko walked out in a daze; she had just received a promotion. She had put in for it a while ago, but it had been so long that she thought the position had been filled. A set schedule and pay increase had been a long shot, but…

She stepped into a nearby restroom to cry some tears of joy; the ringing of her phone forced her quick composure.

"This is Inko," she said, still pulling her emotions together.

"Hello, Ms. Midoriya. This is Alexander Relon from the Atarashi Hi Condos." The voice said.

"Hello, Relon-San, how can I help you?" she said, her heart pounding again.

"Your bid has been accepted for the apartment; you are welcome to come down at your earliest convenience to sign the paperwork and pick up your keys," Relon-San said, his voice sounding chipper.

"That is wonderful; I will be by tomorrow at, say, 8:15?" Inko was doing her best to keep the excitement out of her voice

"We will see you then." The line went dead.

Inko danced a little joyfully. She took a deep breath, trying to compose herself, but couldn't stop grinning. Now, she just needed to sell the old apartment, and that phone call came later.

-Mirai Zaiden Academy-

"Everything is moving as ordered, sir," Aisuru said, looking up from her tablet. "The promotion, the approval of the new apartment, and the sale of the old one. According to the reports, she is rather happy; we do not interfere with the divorce proceedings as first thought. Her lawyer is rather capable, disturbingly so."

"His name?" Rido said, not gazing off the courtyard below where students were eating lunch.

"Kobayashi."

"Look into him; his name doesn't sound familiar," Rido said. "Is she suspicious at all?"

"It doesn't seem so; we should let things progress naturally to avoid raising any suspicions. Her son has made several friends as he was already acquainted with Mrs. Tokage's daughter. He also has befriended Ms. Yaoyorozu and the youngest Todoroki, pulling them into the circle." She looked at her tablet. "I would recommend at this moment that we keep them together as separating them may be adverse to the development we seek."

"The Doctor?"

"Being kept at bay, he no doubt isn't fooled by our covert actions."

"It doesn't matter; we can't have another failure like Shigaraki," he said.

"And if he insists?" she said, holding the tablet behind her.

"Then we remind them that this is a mutually beneficial relationship, and we can end our part anytime we choose. If he needs a demonstration, send the signal to disrupt their network for a few minutes. We should begin to mobilize our forces for a rapid response. All for One is likely going to throw a temper tantrum." He looked down at the students again. "Make sure he understands that I do not suffer fools."

"Yes, sir."

-Time-

Everything has a cost; nothing is free. That cost beyond anything monetary or physical is Time. Time is part of the cost for all things in the world. You spend it constantly, even when you don't consciously think about it.

-The Midoriya's-

Inko and Izuku were all smiles as they packed their apartment; Izuku was happy that some of his mom's coworkers surprised her by showing up to help them pack. He was glad to be leaving this place, to move on from everything that reminded him of that man. Inko was surprised when Izuku told her he wanted to get rid of some of his All-Might toys, but she soon realized that they were presents Hisashi had sent or given him. The ones her son was confident his mother had gotten him cut.

The man was too scared and had given up on him and his mom. He wasn't strong enough, but Izuku was going to show him. This may have been a problem for others' way of thinking. But Izuku never considered it physical strength as Bakugo did; it was the will to keep trying and pushing forward. His dad didn't have that will. Izuku would make sure that he never let those he cared about down. He would never give up on them or leave them behind.

The movers came the next day to gather all the stuff being taken to their new home. Inko and Izuku stood in the doorway staring at the near-empty apartment, his arm around her waist and hers around his shoulders. He looked up at the sound of his mom sniffling.

"Mommy, you ok?" he said worriedly.

"I am, sweetie; one day, when you are older, you will understand. I am happy about our new beginning, but this isn't how I ever imagined leaving this place." She hugged him tight to her side. "But it is you and me, kiddo until you get married. Then you have to give me many grandbabies to care for."

"EW!" Izuku said, sticking out his tongue. "That's gross."

"We will see my little hero," she teased as they left the door closing behind them. Inko stopped at the building manager's office, who was sad to see the family go but happy for the good fortune that seemed to be coming their way.

-The Yaoyorozu-

Momo looked at her mother quizzically, "Are you saying I can have them over for a sleepover? And swimming?"

"Yes, dear, why must it be one or the other? You can invite the parents as well; we would love to meet them, wouldn't we, dear," her mother said, to the silence of her husband looking over a data tablet. She gently nudged him with her elbow.

"What? Oh, yes, it would be lovely indeed." He said quickly.

"Daddy, what did mommy even ask you?" Momo said, giggling behind her hand.

"A great and lovely idea that your mom talked to me about, and I completely agree with it," he said, very sure of himself.

"He doesn't know, does he?" Momo said to her mom.

"Of course he does, dear, he knows that I told him, and that is all that matters." Her mother smiled, "Daddy knows that Mommy is right." Momo nodded, still giggling.

Momo's eyes went wide; she smiled broadly. "I have to make invitations!" she ran to the craft room.

Once Momo was out of earshot, "What did I agree to?" her father asked.

"We are going to host a little party for Momo's friends," her mother said. "I believe that getting a chance to meet with Rei Todoroki is worth it, and besides, did you see how excited Momo was."

-The Tokages-

"Okay, we are going to be The Super Mighty Elemental Super Lizards," Set said to herself, a large piece of construction paper on the floor before her. "I will have to be in charge cause I am the best!"

"You're the best," her sister Hana laughed as she looked at her phone.

"Yeah, I got everyone together well except for Momo and Shoto. That was Izuku, but everyone loves me, and if we are going to be named after lizards, then I get to be in charge." Set said, not missing a beat.

"What if they don't want to be on a team with you?" her sister teased.

Set just looked at her sister like she had sprouted two heads or had said the dumbest thing ever. "Are you okay? Does mom need to take you to the doctor?"

"I'm just fine…"

"No, you must be running a fever, or maybe you finally went crazy because you are talking CRAZY!" Set yelled.

"Maybe one of your little friends would rather follow someone else who isn't always losing their limbs." Hana stood up. "Because you know not everyone likes dinosaurs or lizards."

"YOU…TAKE…THAT…BACK!"

"The T-rex sucks!" Hana said slowly and deliberately.

What erupted from Set was either an epic war scream or a little girl yelling at her sister. It would depend on who you asked. Set ran at her sister, knocking her back onto the couch. What then proceeded was an epic battle with Hana running around with Set's arm, locking it in a closet, and Set stealing Hana's phone. Kicking and biting may have been employed by both combatants. Their father found them yelling and crying at each other.

In the end, everything was returned. The honor of the T-Rex was restored, and both girls sniffled, hugging their dad. When their mother walked in, she smiled and went to the kitchen to start the family dinner.

"What did the doctor say today, Daddy," Set said as she tried to see if she could physically merge her cells with her dad.

"They said everything is still the same, that I just need to keep up on my medication." He squeezed his girls to him. "Your dad is not going anywhere yet. Not till you both get married and name your first grandchildren after me."

"Ok," Hana said.

"EW!" Set squirmed, "Well, I am never going to get married or have kids, so you have to live forever." Set stopped and paused. "Unless I can hatch them, then maybe."

Her father's warm laughter filled the room, "We will see my little Lizardy, we will see."

-Endeavor-

He sat in his office, focused more on the world outside the windows than the paperwork on his desk. It was all right there; he could fulfill his dream with Shoto. A hero that would surpass All-Might, his son would dethrone the number one hero. He just had to deal with Rei's interference; she kept telling him that he was driving Shoto hard and that he needed to be allowed to be a child.

He had allowed her to enroll him in that school with the other children to soothe her. It didn't seem to have an adverse effect, so that he could allow it now. Though a shift to private tutors to allow for more training would be better, he would do that soon.

Standing up, he grabbed a file from his drawer and looked out the city. Rei needed to be distracted; maybe he should give her another child to do just that.

-The Wood Cutter-

The Wood Cutter stepped onto the street and quickly headed to the left. It wasn't long till a black sedan pulled up; the back door opened, and they quickly stepped in.

"Where to miss?" the driver said.

"Back to the office," The Wood Cutter responded as she raised the partition and activated an anti-surveillance device. She pulled out a phone; it was a very old model. To anyone outside, it would have been shocking that I worked. She was staring at it momentarily before taking a deep breath. Hesitantly, she scrolled through the contacts, her eyes settling on one name. She closed her eyes as she hit send.

"What a surprise, my dear?" a chipper voice rang out on the other side. "To what do I owe the honor?"

"I am willing to roll over," the woodcutter said.

"And the price?"

"I want the moon," she said. "I want…I must expose Enji Todoroki, his affairs, and misdeeds. I need to bring him low so… so I can have the moon."

"I believe I can help with that," the voice responded. "You know my price?"

"You give me this, and I will give you what you want: a mole inside the Hero Commission." The wood cutters responded.

"Excellent, I will be in touch, Lady Nagant." The line went dead.

Kaina Tsutsumi leaned back into her seat; she closed her eyes as the world passed by, as time rolled ever forward. She was about to play a very dangerous game; the hero commission would not take kindly to her spying on them. But Kaina was willing to play this game for Rei; she was ready to risk everything. After all, she had killed for less; now, if she had to, she would kill for Rei.