Chapter 55
The Todoroki Residence – 16 Years Ago – Age 6
Asami sits in the car, fiddling with the ruffles of her dress as her lilac eyes stare down from her father who sits next to her. She can feel the tension permeating off of her father as he watches her with tense disapproving eyes. The skin around her nailbeds are bloody and scabbed from her incessant chewing and he curses himself for not noticing when they were home where he could have covered them up with a band aid.
"Your time with the Todoroki children has made working with Endeavor quite pleasant and lucrative. Despite having his finances in order, he continues to invite us over to discuss business while you play with the children," he speaks to the little girl who continues to fiddle with her dress. "You seem to have a positive effect on them."
Asami finally looks up at her father with a small smile on her lips. "I enjoy playing with them," she informs him timidly, only to return her head back down to her dress.
Kenji watches his daughter with a harsh gaze as she nervously picks at a loose fabric from her dress. "I have a very important client after Endeavor with a little girl around your age. I expect you to do the same with them once we are finished at the Todoroki residence."
Kenji has found that with his clients that have small children the age of Asami, he is able to bring his daughter and manipulate the situation to be a favorable one for him. If Asami makes friends with his clients' children, they will beg to have her come back for another playdate. Anytime that Kenji is at the home and able to speak on their finances is an opportunity for him to charge for his services.
"You will also present yourself properly to these clients; they aren't as wild as the bunch Todoroki has in his lot," Kenji grumbles at the clear disorder in the home with that many children of his.
Asami nods once and Kenji ends it at that. When the car has stopped moving, they both get out of the vehicle and head towards the massive home.
Asami quickly makes her way towards Fuyumi and the others while her father meets with Endeavor. Asami's eyes hastily find Touya playing soccer with Natsuo as they kick the ball to one another. Her eyes linger on Touya as he keeps the ball now for himself and practices his dribbling and other skills with the ball.
Natsuo grows annoyed with his brother, telling him to pass the ball already and to stop showing off. But that is exactly what Touya is doing. He notices that she's watching him, and he's attempting to play an air of cool as he tries to show off his skills to her and impress her.
Kenji watches the exchange between the children from above as Endeavor grabs the man something to drink. He can see his daughter clearly swooning over the eldest Todoroki child, while the red-and-white-haired boy seems to be doing the same. Suddenly, an idea comes to his mind of how he can spin this opportunity to benefit him.
Endeavor hands Kenji the drink when he points down at the two children, "Your eldest, Touya if I recall?" Kenji questions casually.
The red-haired hero doesn't even spare a glance as he grunts with a single nod.
"You've been training him to take your place as a ranking hero; it's clearly showing," he points out as he notices the bandages on the boy. "Practice does make perfect; he'll be a fine hero someday."
Enji doesn't have the strength to tell Kenji that Touya will not be a ranking hero, or a hero at all with the state of his body. After a long and draining argument with Rei, they both agreed this was what was best for Touya. The boy, however, has yet to see it that way.
"He and Asami seem to be getting along very well," he mentions as he chooses to avoid seeing the two of them begin to argue over one another.
"Touya doesn't have many friends since he spends most of his days training with me," Enji informs the man as a sliver of guilt weighs on him to know that it was all for nothing. "Asami's friendship is much appreciated to him."
"I'm glad to hear!" the man smiles widely. "It's important for someone with an intensive career path to surround themselves with those who are like-minded."
"Asami wishes to be a hero?" he questions.
"No, no," Kenji quickly shakes his head. "Asami has a vile Quirk.; one that would not suit heroics. Simply, she has learned to be an attentive partner with her mother gone."
"What is Asami's Quirk?" Enji asks him as he joins in watching the children from above.
"Fluid Manipulation," Kenji informs him with a tightening jaw. "Like myself, she can manipulate the fluids inside one's body, but only inside one's body."
Enji thinks for a moment how that could be beneficial in a heroic sense. "She could aid in the healthcare route?" he offers him.
Kenji considered this, but with people out there with far more suitable healing Quirks, the healthcare industry has become a career with little-to-no money in it, unless your Quirk were something extraordinary. He shrugs, "There isn't much she can do outside of aiding surgery. It can't be used for healing, like others."
Enji looks down at his son as he catches the sly glances every now and then to Asami while he plays soccer with Natsuo. He thinks about the boy's flames and how they are far more powerful than his own. Had Touya even had the body that Endeavor had, he probably still wouldn't have been able to withstand the heat of his Quirk.
"It is interesting the evolution of Quirks in this next generation," Endeavor idly begins. "Soon students at UA will be stronger than the pros thanks to the Quirk Singularity Theory."
And he wonders for a moment if her Quirk could be used for healing. It is similar to Recovery Girl's from what he remembers, in that she could control the body's reactors to speed up the healing process than it would naturally. He looks down at her once more in an alternative light now. If Asami could manage to hone in her Quirk for healing, or at least to alleviate pain, then she could aid Touya with his healing. With a personal Recovery Girl on his side and his firepower alone, she could aid him in becoming the next Number One Hero.
"You mentioned Asami being an attentive partner?" Enji notes as he's now more interested in the conversation being had.
"Oh yes," Kenji begins to sell. "Asami excels in the arts; heavily talented in dance and piano, and she will make a fine wife someday with her naturally obedient and subservient behavior."
Enji likes hearing those words, considering that Rei has been particularly high-strung and difficult of late. He can only wish for a tamer wife for his sons.
The red-haired man looks down at his eldest son as he clearly peacocks his talent in front of the girl that can't seem keep her eyes off of him. He seems to enjoy her presence some, and she the same, so there is more of a connection than Enji and Rei had.
"Should it be something you're interested in,I could have something drafted up," Kenji lingers on the prospect as his eyes are now fully devoted to watching for the hero's response.
"Yes," Endeavor's voice breaks the silence as he tears his eyes from his eldest boy. With Asami by his side, he can finally have a life fit for a hero. "As long as we wait for Touya to make his debut. I'd have him focus on his training before any arrangements are made."
This doesn't seem to excite Kenji, as he was more keen on having her married off earlier, so the man couldn't back out of the deal. He frowns as he observes the two of them begin to erupt in an argument, watching as Asami rebelliously kicks the ball away from the boy. Their tenacious personalities seem to clash with one another, and it may be a hard sell for Asami, but her mother didn't have much of a choice in their arrangement, and it appears that neither did Endeavor's wife.
"Very well," he begrudgingly agrees. "I am looking forward to the arrangement." They bow to one another as the agreement is made. "You will have ties to the lucrative and prestigious Hatsuse family name, and Asami will be wife to the next generation's Number One Hero," Kenji excitedly narrates.
A shrill cry is heard and the two adults snap back to look down on the children to see Touya standing over Asami as he shoves her to the ground, completely muddying her fine white dress.
Kenji grits his teeth as Asami's response is to throw mud from the ground in the boy's face. They begin screaming at each other like rabid animals before Endeavor's booming voice finally halts their senseless attack.
Kenji tries to contain his anger as he thinks about his next client and how Asami's damned dress will ruin her appearance. He turns to Endeavor, as he contains his grievance on the matter. "It is a deal then," he nods with a false smile on his face. "I can promise you that we will work on her obedience to have her fit for the future Number One Hero."
And with that, Kenji leaves the balcony, where he snatches the elbow of the small girl and drags her back to the car as he restrains his discipline for the ride home and away from the lingering gazes of the Todoroki Family.
Touya watches with a sinking feeling of regret and guilt in his stomach as the man drags his daughter away, recognizing the look in his eyes as the same one his father gives his mother before slamming the door behind him. He knows what's going to happen next, and he grows anxious that he is helpless to stop it.
Present Day – Day 92
Asami sits in the crowd of reporters with her eyes watering and her lips parted slightly. She didn't expect to ever hear her speech from Endeavor since he chose not to say it at the Billboard Charts, and yet hearing it now seems all the more important than when she wrote it. The words seem to calm the public a bit as the crowd simmers down while Endeavor's eyes remain on Asami.
"The actions of a man are his own," Endeavor continues with his own words, "Though, through my negligence and mishandling of my eldest son, I allowed for the cultivation of Dabi to manifest into fruition. I alone bear that weight on my shoulders." Asami bites down on her cheek as she's reminded of her final words to Touya and how they've always lingered in the back of her mind as the catalyst for his death.
"If Dabi were watching this right now, what would you say to him?" a reporter speaks up from the crowd.
Endeavor takes a moment to think of what he would say to his son if faced with him once more. When Dabi announced his identity to him, he was so flabbergasted that his lips could not form words. He was so convinced that his son died that day, that when faced with the man that he had become, there was nothing he could say to him.
He regrets that to this day.
Endeavor looks down at Asami, as if wishing for her to give him the words that he needs to say to the boy. Her rousing speech calmed the masses, and if only he could have her speak on his behalf, then maybe Touya would listen to him. But he knows that these words need to come from his heart; something that he wished he told him all those years ago.
"I was always looking at you." The phrase is simple. There was nothing more to it. The crowd erupts into follow-up questions but there is nothing more needed to be said. He said what he needed to say, and it makes Dabi's hands shake as he grips onto the laptop. His nose wrinkles in disgust at the foreign feeling building in his chest and he makes a point to replace whatever it is with familiar hate.
Skeptic calls out to Dabi before he can heat the laptop from his rage, and snatches the device from the pyro's hands. Dabi turns on his heels from the black-haired villain and moves his attention to their faceless leader.
"I've had enough of this!" he snaps at All For One as the man sits on a nearby chair where he witnessed the entire display. "I want him dead, and I'm getting her back!" he declares with steam billowing out of his incisions.
"Patience Touya," All For One schools the hot-head. "You must exercise—"
"Fuck that," Dabi speaks over him. "You knew she was alive," he growls at him with fire building in his clenched fists. "You have that pussycat bitch's Search Quirk; you know exactly where she is."
"I do," the simple admission and nod drive Dabi rabid with hate.
"I want her back!" he roars as his voice bounces off the walls of their safehouse.
"And you will," the man responds calmly and his lack of facial features to read makes Dabi angrier.
"Now!" he shouts impatiently. "You tell me where they're keeping her now or I will burn this entire fucking island to the ground to get her!"
"And then what?" he questions and Dabi just blinks at him with a dumbfounded look. "Then what?" All For One asks him once more. "You'll have your lover, you'll have burned Japan to the ground, then what? Where will you go? Who will take you in? Do you believe that you can truly escape Japan with her without the notice of foreign dignities? You will be caught and arrested within the hour. You will be separated from Ms. Hatsuse and you will never see her again."
"I'll kill—"
"You can convince yourself that you can fight back, but your flames can only take you so far," he says motioning to the steam lifting from his incisions. "You only gained the upper hand on Endeavor and young Shouto because you had the shock of your identity on your side. Your next encounter will not be as favorable as you may think." Dabi snarls at him as his flames lick away at his wrists. "Should you choose to move without our aid, you will die; be it from your own flames, or that of Endeavor's. However, should you choose to exercise patience and aid me in the world I have planned for us, you will have your life, and you can reap in the spoils with your lover."
Dabi scoffs, turning away from the man with tight shoulders. "Fuck this," he growls under his breath, "I'm getting her back," he says lighting a flame in his left palm and stomping out of the room. His body is shaking with the realization that she somehow survived his flames and the fall.
He was in the acceptance stage of his grief. As the days passed on by, Dabi became more accepting of the reality that Asami was dead and he'd never see her again. Or maybe he was in another unnamed stage where he replaced the idea of her gone with a fantasy of her here with him. Granted he only ever pictured her and talked to her ghost when he was jacking off and needed to think of her soft skin against his to make the idea of doing it himself less pathetic. Whatever stage of grief he was in, he had finally begun to accept that she was dead. He was now planning on moving steadfast towards getting himself killed while offing Endeavor and Shouto so he could finally return to burying himself in her grasp.
But this? She's alive?
Now he doesn't know what to think. He can't help but wonder if it was all a plan she and that fucking chicken concocted before Twice walked in on them. Was she always supposed to get out of there alive? Did they have some healer on standby waiting for Dabi to lose sight of her so they could swoop in and take her away from him? How long had her and Hawks worked with one another to aid the heroes in this war?
Was any of it with me fucking real for you?
Dabi doesn't give a fuck about the details or the unanswered questions because none of it matters with this revelation. With her alive now the plan has changed. He doesn't give a fuck about being a better man for her. He doesn't give a fuck about what she thinks of him. He doesn't give a fuck about what he has to do to get her. He's going to kill his father and perfect little brother, and then he will find her and bring her back to him, making her his… whether she likes it or not.
Present Day – Day 96
Asami clutches onto the rim of the toilet for dear life as she violently hurls into the bowl of the toilet. Beads of tears spill from the corners of her tightly shut eyes as waves of nausea crash against her core. A building frustration strikes her chest as stray strands of her short hair brush against her cheeks. Her hair isn't long enough to be tied back in a pony tail, and every time she pushes her hair behind her ear, it just falls back into her face when she throws herself to the toilet.
"Are you alright?" Fuyumi's soft voice calls out in concern. Asami doesn't look at her in the doorway of the bathroom because she's too ashamed to see that sorrowful look on her face as she looks onto her.
"Yeah," Asami weakly grunts as she spits into the bowl and wipes her face with the back of her hand.
"Must've been bad Katsu," Natsuo pops in the doorway. "It didn't sit well with me either," he lies for her sake.
Fuyumi frowns at Asami as she forces herself to her feet. "I'll be fine," she assures them with a pressed smile as she bites back another wave of nausea.
Fuyumi doesn't seem to be suspicious with Natsuo's help in selling Asami's story, and she steps out of the way to allow Asami to leave the bathroom and reach for the box on the ground that she discarded before rushing to the toilet.
Asami spends most of the morning moving into the dorms of UA with the Todoroki family. Because she's forbidden from leaving the premises and going to her old apartment, there isn't much for her to move. She's told that a hero will be dispatched to get her clothing and other essentials, but due to her relationship with the League, no one is allowed to go to her home for fear the villains are surveying it for an attack. At this point, Asami has lost all attachment for her things at her home since she's been torn from it all over again.
The rooms provided to them are small, with only a bed and desk provided in each space. They will have to use communal bathrooms, which will make Asami's unsettling stomach more of an issue. She can't really complain though, since most people are forced to sleep on cots or sleeping sacks in the gym or common areas. It's only because of her affiliation with the League that granted her the luxury of a private room. Or at least that's how the commission would like her to see it, when in reality it's to keep a closer eye on her.
Asami's room is between Natsuo's and Rei's, while Hawks manages to snag a room just down the hall from them. He's close enough to watch over her, while far enough to keep a distance from her that she wishes he didn't. She feels terrible that a part of her wants to share a room with him. She's been sleeping like shit at night because she's not used to sleeping alone. At night she gets cold and restless without a warm body next to her. It's in these moments that she longs so much for—
"You deaf or ignoring me now?" Natsuo's voice draws Asami back to the present and she shoves that patchwork face back into the depths of her subconsciousness.
"I'm not ignoring you," Asami begins. "I'm thinking of other things while you're talking to me," she jokes and Natsuo rolls his eyes playfully at her. "You were saying that your dad is going to be housed next to us," she says, proving that some part of her was listening to his gripe.
"Why are they wasting a room on him? He's the Number One Hero; he can handle the villains should they show up at the house."
"Not when there's a wave of Decay coming his way. There's no fighting against that," Asami argues as she thinks of the destruction left by Shigaraki's developing Quirk. "He's down the hall near Hawks, so I don't imagine you'll cross his path much."
Natsuo sighs as he shoves his hands in his pockets and lazily looks down the hallway. His mannerisms remind her of Dabi and she tries not to think of him. "Did you think more about when you're gonna tell them? Fuyumi's been worried about you today."
Asami's lips press into a tight line as she looks aimlessly down the same hall as Natsuo , both unwilling to look at one another. "You think I can go the full nine months?" she half jokes.
"Depends on when you start showing," he shrugs. "I'm sure Fuyumi won't be too happy about it considering she thinks he's nothing more than a detestable villain, but she's gotta come around at some point. She's your best friend and she loves kids. I'm sure she'll be planning a baby shower within the week," he huffs with an amused laugh, but Asami can't bring herself to smile.
In another life, Fuyumi would've been to the moon with this information; she would've shrieked at the thought of Asami pregnant with her brother's child, but this reality is a far cry from that life.
"How's your mom been coping?" Asami changes the subject.
Natsuo loosens his shoulders as he leans against the doorframe of his room. "She's been better, but she's handling it as well as she can. She and the old man have been around each other a lot. I'm surprised she can stand being in the same room as him. But somethings gotta be done about this whole family drama, so they're working together for the time being."
Asami nods, figuring that she needs to help as much as possible with the situation they are in. She needs to meet with Endeavor and discuss Dabi and their next steps. With his plan to kill his father and brother, Endeavor needs to know what's in store for him.
"Do you know where he is?" she asks as she turns her head to look up at him.
Natsuo shrugs his shoulders. "Haven't seen either of my parents for a while now. Maybe check his room?" she nods once as she steps down the hall to Endeavor's room.
Asami peaks into each room she passes, seeing Fuyumi unpacking her things and Shouto reading a Manga at his desk. Rei isn't in her room and neither is Hawks.
When Asami reaches Endeavor's room the door is closed. She lifts her fist to the door and knocks once with a quiet and barely audible knock. She figures that he must be gone somewhere and contemplates turning back to her dorm and waiting for him to return, but she reaches out for the doorknob instead and quietly turns it to see that it's unlocked.
Asami peaks through the opening of the door when her eyes land on the hero sitting on his bed. Asami's eyes widen when she sees Rei sitting at the edge of the bed, situated between Endeavor's legs with a hand on his cheek and their lips interlocked.
She takes a step away from the scene, but when her hand lets go of the doorknob it clicks with the loudest noise in the room, and the two lovers jump at the sound, quickly detaching themselves like teenagers caught doing something wrong.
Their wide eyes immediately find Asami's and she instantly begins bowing repeatedly with woeful regret.
"Apologies!" Asami quickly states, "I didn't mean to—"
"It's alright, Hatsuse," Endeavor's deep voice soothes as Rei steps away from him.
"I was just leaving," Rei's timid voice speaks up as she bows to Asami and scurries her way out of the room.
Asami doesn't know what to think as her eyes are fixated on the ground and her body bent into a tight bow. She wants to run from the bedroom and the awkward situation that she's found herself in, but she can't help but feel her feet cemented to the ground.
She hears Endeavor shifting his body off of the bed but she can't bring herself to look at him. He clears his throat and she finally glances at him through the short strands of purple hair that fall in front of her face.
"I'm sorry if that was uncomfortable for you," Endeavor states in a flat tone while Asami remains frozen in place. "Things between Rei and I are… complicated."
'Complicated' doesn't even begin to describe what is going on between Endeavor and Rei. From the abuse, the committing to a facility, and realization of their eldest son being alive and a villain, Asami can't even begin to grasp how this all could have brought these two together.
"It's none of my business," Asami assures him as she keeps her eyes fixated to the ground.
"Please, Hatsuse, you don't have to pay your respects to me," he says and Asami finally lifts her head up to see Endeavor sitting at the edge of his bed.
Endeavor looks tired and worn out. Dark bags of fatigue encircle under his eyes and drop his features to make him look older than he is. The early signs of a beard form around his chin and upper lip as red stubble breaks through to the surface. His hair is tussled from a sleepless night, and his clothes wrinkle against his bulky frame as though he's been living in them for days. He looks beaten down and Asami can tell just looking at him that she's not the only one getting a restless night since this all came about.
"She's been strong through this all," Endeavor begins thoughtfully as Asami watches him from the center of the room. "I don't know how she can do it," he shakes his head incredulously. "She's managed to keep her head straight and keep the family together through this all. I'm in awe of her strength."
Asami doesn't know what to say to him. Surprisingly Rei has been level-headed through this whole ordeal. She's managed to calm Fuyumi and Natsuo's bickering while keeping Endeavor and Shouto on track with what needs to be done with Touya.
"She's… forgiven you?" Asami questions awkwardly.
Endeavor's bright eyes fall from Asami's as he thinks about her question for a moment. "No, I don't think she ever can forgive me for what I've done to her and the family, nor do I expect her to," he says with a labored sigh, "Though I suppose she sees me trying," a glimmer of a smile peaks through his features. "We stayed up all night after the press conference discussing Touya and where we go from here. After reminiscing on what we could have done differently, we began to think of what we can do together to help," he scratches at the back of his head sheepishly, "I'm not sure how things escalated from there."
Asami feels awkward at the conversation, feeling as though she's walked in on her parents and now she's getting the birds and bees talk. She can't imagine how Rei could forgive Endeavor for everything he's done to her and their family. But maybe the relief of Touya being alive brought back a flicker of hope that they thought was long gone.
"She sees me differently now," Endeavor explains to her. "She's perceiving me now as the father that I should have been. As the man who tries to better himself for his family's sake and not his hero title. I suppose she's given me another chance." He looks over to Asami, "I feel as though that is your doing."
"Mine?" Asami questions with tightening shoulders.
Endeavor thinks for a moment as he takes a second to formulate his response. "I've always had this dream of my family sitting at the dinner table together, laughing and whole. I often saw glimpses of this dream between you and Natsuo, Shouto, and Fuyumi. But there were always the missing pieces of that dream that haunted me. Touya and I were never at that table, no matter how much I willed it." Endeavor frowns as he looks onto his calloused hands. "When you came to our room and spoke of Touya… in your eyes it was clear there was a glimmer of hope that our son survived and remains in the shell of the villain known as Dabi. That hope made us believe that we could retrieve what's left of him," he explains to her. "Suddenly, Rei and I could speak to one another; she could stomach the sight of me and that dream of everyone at that table slowly trickled into a reality for me. Suddenly once more, Touya and I were back at the table with the rest of the family."
Asami doesn't know what to say to Endeavor. She can see the clear need in his eyes and hear it in his tone that his son is still in there somewhere, and that hope seems to be driving him and Rei back into the arms of one another because they're coming to the realization that their negligence did not lead to the death of their eldest son. But Asami can't help but remember the hateful promise Dabi swore to her with his fingers inside of her on that cold night on the balcony. He was going to kill Endeavor and Shouto after he killed her. And in his eyes, she's already dead, so now there's nothing left but to move his attention to Shouto and his father.
"Hatsuse," Endeavor's deep voice draws her out of the memories of that night. "I saw the hate in his eyes that day, I was not blind to it," he says because he must be reading into the hesitation in her body.
"When you were with him…" He struggles to find the words to the many questions he wants to ask her. She had intimate time with Touya and he has so many unanswered questions of what happened to his son after that day on Sekoto Peak. "Had you always known?" he finally manages. He felt the pain in Dabi's voice when he sneered at them for not recognizing him as his son, and he wants to know that he wasn't only one who couldn't believe this was happening.
Asami sighs as she sees the desperation to know everything linger in his hungry gaze on her. She shifts herself between her feet as she thinks of what to say.
"I didn't know it was him right away," she tells him and Endeavor watches her carefully as she shrugs. "I was there when you brought down his…. bones…" she swallows dryly. "I came to terms with it. The idea that he somehow survived was a desperation of my mind. But when he—"
"I fucking love you, Fatty!"
"It was on our birthday that I figured it out," she informs him.
Endeavor thinks back on that day, reminded of her erratic behavior as she spoke to him.
He observes as her eyes meet the ground, presumably lost in the memories of that night and the complicated feelings it must have held. He can see the longing in her eyes and he can see how much it's weighing her down.
Endeavor was never blind towards the affection that she and Touya had for one another when they were younger. He can see it plainly written on her face now that she wants nothing more than to return to him, even after everything.
"My father was a complacent man," Endeavor begins as his voice draws her back to him, while his mind is lost in his own thoughts of the past. "He was always willing to accept the bear minimum and never strived for better. He was happy with his life as a mediocre non-ranking hero. It never bothered me that he never strove for a ranking position because I was fine with our simple life until…" he halts his narrative when he remembers that day, standing frozen by the sight of his father's lifeless body being lifted into a body bag.
Endeavor inhales and releases the memory from replaying on a loop. "He took on a job far exceeding his potential and he payed for it. In that moment I promised myself that I work to become the greatest hero. That I would never allow myself to be weaker than any villain. Everything he did came easy to him so I instilled the belief that nothing should come easily, and that you should always work hard for everything you want. So that is what I did; I worked hard in UA to be top of my class, I worked hard when I first debuted to become a ranking hero with his own agency. But the more and more I labored, there was still someone out there that was greater than me. The Symbol of Peace," he grits his teeth as he thinks of the resentment he held for All Might all these years.
"I started to have this vision of All Might standing gloriously with adorning fans surrounding him, while I was forced to my knees separated from that praise by an endless canyon. Every attempt I made to build a bridge towards that mantle just had me plummeting," he frowns as he looks down at his calloused hands. "So I went back to what I knew. I needed to work hard for what I wanted, and if it wasn't working the way that I was going about it, then I had to try another way. That's when I found the Himura family." The mention of Rei has him frowning even deeper.
"I wanted nothing more than to close the gap between myself and All Might. It was a seed rotting away in my skull. I watched All Might for weaknesses; there was never an overheating issue, or overexertion. He was truly the perfect hero," he sighs as he tries to move away from the resentment.
"I had realized that as long as All Might was a hero, I could never surpass him, so I had this idea that in the next generation, my son—with the perfect Quirk could take him on, and anyone else who challenged him. He would be safe from any adversary who dared challenge him, and I would never have to worry of a villain killing someone I loved again."
Endeavor thinks about the day that he and Rei were married. Her mother's sobs were heard from the alter, while her father's greedy smile stretched from ear to ear. Rei, however was still and cold—frigid like ice. Even that night when they consummated, did she turn her gaze from his and stay still as stone.
"When Touya manifested his Quirk and I saw it was just fire, I wasn't as disappointed as I thought I'd be. He was so happy to have a Quirk like mine, and I gave into his infectious enthusiasm. I was ecstatic to see the boy take on this task with excitement. I could see it in his eyes that he was going to be the Number One Hero with that attitude. But then…"
"Ouch!"
Endeavor stops speaking for a moment, realizing that Asami is standing in front of him. He was so lost in his retelling that he hadn't realized where he was.
He looks over at the purple-haired woman as her bloodshot eyes begin to water. She knows this part of the story so there's no use in retelling it.
"You probably think me a monster for what I've done to my family," he says to her as his head drops down in shame. "I wouldn't blame you for thinking so; I was so blinded by this desperation to surpass All Might, that I became tunneled in my vision in attaining that goal," he thinks for a moment, every second spent driving him deeper and deeper into his thoughts.
"I never saw myself having children," he tells her candidly. "There were so many villains with grudges against me, that I often thought it reckless for heroes to have children." He thinks once again about his father and the pain he felt growing up without him because of some petty villain's grudge. "But that need festered in me deeper. After the doctor informed us of Touya's affliction, I demanded another child from Rei." He places his head down in shame, "She told me to focus on Touya but I was too tunneled to care. And when Natsuo developed an ice Quirk weaker than his mother's, I had considered that maybe a Quirk marriage was destroying the children, rather than building them. I returned my efforts to Touya when I learned of your Quirk," he says now, finally looking at Asami.
Asami blinks back her confusion as she shakes her head slightly. "My Quirk?"
"Your father informed me of your type of power and I likened it to Recovery Girl in some ways. I figured that should you be able to manipulate the body into regenerating faster, Touya had a fighting chance. Your father made it clear that you would not go into heroics, but a marriage…" Endeavor halts when he sees Asami's eyes widen and her legs take a shaky step away from him. He sighs as he continues. "We had made arrangements for the two of you. That is why we pushed you two together. I didn't want a hateful marriage for my boy, and I saw the affection you two held for one another. You would be able to stomach your husband, and Touya would have a healer lifting him to the Number One spot."
Asami thinks about her father's push to have her go with him to the Todoroki household, and his constant force to have her dress finely, even when they were only playing soccer or hanging out in Fuyumi's room.
"So why Shouto?" Asami ask him. If he had this all planned out, why did he hold his wife down and force her to have Shouto?
Endeavor looks away from her, the shame clearly staining his features.
"Touya was hard-headed, he never listened to me when I told him to stop. If he was going to train his Quirk, he should only do it when he was around you. But even the slightest mention of you had the boy blushing and stomping away."
"What happened?" Asami asks him, knowing this is not the reality that she lived. "Why didn't we marry and he use my Quirk?"
Endeavor sighs, remembering the moment clear in his mind. "Touya had burned himself badly when he was training without me present. He wasn't able to control his flames and Rei was forced to use her Quirk to subdue the fire and cool down the boy." Endeavor tightens his jaw as he says, "your father saw the whole exchange. He told me there was no way Touya could be the Number One Hero with a weak body and he had realized that I was using the marriage as a crutch to place Touya in the Number One spot. Hatsuse pulled out of the arrangement, telling me that he would not sell his only daughter to a failure."
Asami's eyes drop from Endeavor's and reach the ground, heavy with dread as the story returns to the reality that she knows.
"I was so furious at Rei for how the situation was handled. The gap between myself and All Might grew and I became tunnel visioned once again. I knew there was no hope for Touya now, and those years of carefully curating a relationship between the two of you shattered in an instant. That night after Hatsuse ended the arrangement… I was angry and I was weak. So I took it out on Rei."
"Enji please! Don't do this to him! It will destroy him!"
"And then Shouto was born," Asami guesses and Endeavor looks at her with widened eyes. "Touya told me… what he saw that night."
He looks away from her because it is the most shameful moment of his life being aired out to her. He had prayed that Touya was too young to remember, but he knew better.
"I never wanted Shouto," Endeavor tells her with a strain in his throat as he speaks so painfully candidly to her, knowing that he will never be able to speak the same to anyone else.
"I never wanted it to be Shouto who took that spot," he tells her with an air of guilt in his tone. "I wanted it to be Touya. I never wanted to give up on him. Not because I invested so much in the boy, or my labors being for nothing. But because it was a dream that we both shared. He wanted to be Number One, and I wanted that for him. He was supposed to have the title, and the wife who loved him. He was set to have everything I wish I did."
Endeavor turns to her once more, seeing the sorrow filling her lilac eyes. "Everything I did was to avoid a villain killing a hero, and now Touya has died and given birth to a villain. How do I apologize to Touya? How do I atone for raping his mother in front of him? Rei has chosen to push that aside for what needs to be done, but she's more resilient than Touya. I don't know how to face him after everything."
Asami does not have the answer to that. She has no idea where they can even go from here knowing all that she does.
"Please, Hatsuse, you've always known what to say," Endeavor begs her with upturned brows as he searches for what he needs to do. "You've always been my voice." He begs her, "What do I say to Touya?"
Asami shakes her head, unsure what to say to him. "Touya hates you," she releases almost accidentally. The shock in Endeavor's eyes makes her realize that it came out harsher than she may have intended. She tries to restructure her response in a more constructive way. "He's lost," she informs him. "He's drowning in this need to kill you and Shouto for everything, that he can't seem to see anything else. He's hyper-fixated on his goal, that he's willing to do anything to get it," she tells him as the burns on her neck signify just that.
"But from what you experienced when you were with him…" his eyes scan her scars, fearing he knows the answer to his question before asking it. "Is Touya still in there somewhere?"
Endeavor's voice is pleading and almost desperate. He wants to know that Touya is still in there and his son hasn't been reduced to a hateful murderous shell of a man. He wants to know that there is still something left inside of his boy that they can reach out for. If Touya is still in there, he can atone for his sins, and he can have the table full of each of his family members. His hope has been restored in that Touya survived that fire, now all that remains is that his little boy who relentlessly strove to be a hero is still in there.
"Dabi wants to kill you," the words come out of her mouth bluntly and without any finesse to regard his feelings, and it makes Endeavor stiffen at the harshness. "But first he wants to kill Shouto so you can watch," she tells him in a flat tone. "Those were his words to me when I found out Dabi was Touya." Endeavor frowns feeling a loss of hope in her words as he didn't expect them from her.
"I begged him not to hurt either of you, but this was a plan he had fixated on for years. He thirsted for revenge against you for pushing him aside." He frowns at the memories of his son crying out to him that assault him. "But…" Asami continues, "when we… after we…" she struggles to explain the night that they had together; the powerful moment when she told him that she'd chose him and the night that led to her swelling belly. She sniffles as she looks down at her stomach, still too early on to show the consequences of their actions.
Endeavor's eyes follow Asami's and when they land on her stomach, he intakes a strangled breath. "You're pregnant?" he questions and Asami's eyes snap up at his, seeing that he's tearing up now. "It's Touya's," he states instead of questions, reading it plainly on her face.
Asami swallows, but her mouth is dry and her lips are cracking. "There was an alternative path he often fantasized about," she explains to him. "He told me he wanted to leave the League and the hate that he harbored towards you and Shouto in favor for a quiet life in the countryside with me and…." Asami's eyes drop from Endeavor's when she sees the sadness filling his gaze knowing it wasn't the life they're headed towards now.
"I begged him to leave," she explains as her eyes glaze over with a glossy remembrance. "I told him I chose him over Hawks, and I begged him to leave with me." Her painful pleas echo in her head as she relives that moment over and over again. Her eyes shut as tears break through her lashes and she doesn't realize that she was on the cusp of crying. "He chose to burn Hawks instead." Her tone is finite and filled with disdain. The corners of her mouth turn downwards with disgust as she remembers the vile moment with a disappointment filling her chest.
Asami drops her gaze to her shaking fists, unclenching them to see her fingernails have dug into the skin of her palms as they threaten to draw blood.
"And despite all of that, every day I wait for him to come back," she tells him candidly and the admission makes her shake in revulsion with herself. "Every second my body aches to see him again and feel his warmth wrap around me."
"The Commission has asked us to keep this information from the public staying at UA," Endeavor begins, "But dozens of fires have been reported throughout Japan," he tells her, seeing the sadness deepening her features. "There have been no reported deaths, but the blue flames are undoubtably—"
"He knows then," Asami interrupts him. "He's just trying to get my attention now," she says with eyes glued to the ground.
"If we can set a meeting—"
"He doesn't know… about…" Asami lazily motions to her belly. "If he's doing this to get just me back…" Asami bites down on her lip wondering what Dabi will do when he finds out that she's carrying his child.
"Touya held you in high regard," Endeavor tells her. "Despite his childish ways of showing it," he says thinking about all the immature ways they showed their affection towards one another.
She finally looks back at Endeavor, eyes heavy with fatigue, "Touya is still in there," she finally answers him as the many memories of his childlike laugh ring out in her head. "I saw it in the way that he laughed, and smiled, and dreamt of a better life," she tells him as she thinks about all their elated moments together. But all those images are trumped by the pure murderous joy he got from burning down Hawks even when she pleaded with him to stop.
"But that doesn't mean he wants any of us anymore," she finishes with a sour taste in her mouth. Because if Touya learns that she is pregnant, he will begin burning down people until he gets to her. Any agreement the Commission my agree on to reunite the two of them will have turning on them before they can turn on him. There is no more trust, and the best thing they can do is keep the information from the villain.
Endeavor frowns at this and Asami feels her heart sinking in her chest as she voices that reality. No matter everything that she did to show him she loved him, no matter everything she did to show him that she chose him, or that it was real, he in the end chose vengeance over her.
Present Day – Day 100
Hawks curls his lips into his mouth and bites down to hold in the laugh that threatens to bellow out of him. He looks down at her, focusing on the line building between her brows as she concentrates on her task. He can see that she's getting frustrated with him but he can't help it.
"Stop squirming," Asami finally speaks up with a pressed tone.
"It tickles," Hawks huffs as his chest rises when her fingers make their way from his left breast to over his shoulder.
"I can't concentrate," she tells him and he sighs as he tries to focus his energy on anything other than the sensation that she's drawing out of him.
Asami has used her Quirk on Hawks only a handful of times—all of which make him blush at the memory since they were sexual—but she never used it to heal him. Since given the okay from Recovery Girl, Asami has been using her Quirk to aid in Hawks' healing. By moving his blood cells to the damaged and scarred parts of his body, Asami is making his body heal itself quicker than it would naturally.
The process is new to them both, and has been making him feel a bit strange when she does it. He can feel his heart beating heavily in his chest as it pumps the blood to follow Asami's fingers. Though it mostly feels ticklish, he can't help but focus on the pleasant feeling rousing from his chest when he watches her work intently on him. It's like butterflies fluttering around in his stomach, and he wonders if it's her Quirk or something else.
Her features drop when he stops fighting her, and she has a patient look on her face as her fingers graze his bare chest softly. According to Recovery Girl, her Quirk can help with the discomfort of the scarring and even lower the appearance of them if she's vigilant in her sessions.
"So I had this idea," Hawks begins while her eyes are focused on the task at hand. "There is a teacher at UA with a Blood Quirk," Asami's lavender gaze is on his as he speaks and his heart flutters once more, making him question if it's her use of her Quirk, but she's nowhere near his heart. "Vlad King," he tells her. "He's able to move blood outside of the body, but maybe he'd have some insight you'd be able to find useful?" Asami's eyes drop from his and continue to focus on her fingers as she works. Hawks shrugs against her touch, "I don't know," he begins self-consciously as he thinks about the hate she's harbored towards her Quirk and how stupid the offer must sound to her. "It's just a thought, but Tokoyami mentioned it."
"I think it sounds great," Asami reassures him as she focuses on his shoulder, "I'd love to set something up with him," she smiles at him, but it doesn't reach her eyes; it hasn't reached her eyes since she's returned to him.
"Yeah, I can talk to Tokoyami."
"How has he been doing?" she asks him, "I've been meaning to see him."
"He's been great! He's been focused on getting his parents moved into UA now that everyone from the high priority list have been moved in.
"I'm sure it will be relieving for him to have his family close," she says and Hawks nods once.
"How've you been recently?" he begins with an erratic beating of his heart as nervousness fills his chest. "I heard that you haven't been sleeping well?" he asks as he keeps his eyes on the ground while she stands behind him and he's grateful she's not looking him in the eyes. "If you're needing some company I don't mind—"
"Keigo," her voice makes him halt his word vomit as her hands lift off of his back. He winces, fearing that he might have overstepped when he turns to look back at her face. He's taken aback when he sees the excitement in her eyes for the first time in so long. Before he can ask her what's going on she happily cries, "Your wings!"
His brows furrow together with confusion as he stretches his arm over his shoulder and around his back to feel the stub growing between his shoulder blades. His hand quickly retracts at the shock of feeling the beginnings of his baby feathers growing on his back.
"Your wings are growing back," Asami's voice cracks with a helpless relief. Before Hawks can process the mixture of feelings stewing inside of him, Asami wraps her arms around him in a tight hug and pulls him into her.
After a moment of being frozen by the gesture, Hawks wraps his arms around her and buries his face into the crook of her neck. He's not sure what he should be feeling in this moment since he came to terms with the reality that he would never have his wings again. He doesn't want to fill himself with a false hope that he will be flying as he once did, but he also can't help but love what this realization has done to Asami. She smiled a bit more, and there was a hope restored in her eyes. It was as though a flash of her former self cracked through the surface, and that was enough for him to smile.
"I'd like that," she answers him, muffled in his chest and Hawks smiles as he cradles her head.
Present Day – Day 103
Asami sits at a booth at the UA cafeteria rearranging some bland food with her chopsticks to give off the appearance that she's touched her food, when in reality she hasn't consumed much of anything thanks to her chronic nausea.
Asami has managed keeping the pregnancy a secret from the Todoroki family, and Natsuo made good on his promise to help maintain the narrative any time he is needed.
Asami sits at a table with some of the students from UA. She sits across from the blonde boy that Shouto brought over, while the fire and ice user sits next to him. He's picking at some cold soba while the blonde is shoveling spicy Ramen in his mouth like he hasn't eaten in days. Hawks watches as he sits to the right of Asami with a soft chuckle breaking through his throat.
"I think he puts you to shame," Asami jests as she nudges Hawks playfully.
"And here I thought I loved my food," Hawks smiles while slyly switching his empty bowl for Asami's full one. He's been helping her sell the image that she's been eating her meals by quickly switching his for hers, but the reality is that other than some miso broth, Asami has eaten very little since the nausea has kicked in.
Tokoyami comes walking towards the group with a black -haired student trailing behind him. Asami looks up from her food to see the young boy encroach on the table and smiles warmly at him. In the wake of moving into UA and everything that has been going on, she never had the chance to visit with the aspiring hero.
"Tokoyami," Asami begins with a warm smile as she lifts herself from her booth. "I'm so happy to see you," she says respectfully bowing to him and he returns the gesture.
Hawks joins them as he lifts himself from the booth to greet the boys.
"I'm happy to see you are doing well," the boy responds to her, though his eyes linger on the scars that litter her exposed throat and collarbone.
"I am thanks to you," she reassures him when she reads the doubt in his eyes.
The young boy lowers his head at her words. "I wish I could have done more," he lingers as he's brought back to that day where he should have listened to Hawks and flew her from the scene. She wouldn't have been burned if it weren't for—
"You're a hero, Tokoyami," Asami's voice silences his doubts. "Hawks wouldn't be alive here today if it weren't for your quick actions. Neither would I."
"Thank you, ma'am," he lowers his head to her and she smiles at him. "I wanted to introduce you to Tenya Iida," he says stepping aside for the dark-haired boy to step forward. "He was the one who found you when I believed you were gone. It is him you should be thanking, not me."
Asami looks at the boy who pulled her body from the wreckage and she can't help but feel a sense of dread weigh down her chest. He's just a kid—like Shouto and Tokoyami—he shouldn't have to see war like this. She can't help but wonder what horrors he witnessed that day, and wishes she could have done more to protect him from it.
Asami bows to a 90-degree angle in a respectful manner to properly thank the young boy. "I don't know where to begin in thanking you for what you've done, Iida. You're the reason I'm alive, and words can't even begin to express what that means to me."
Iida too bows to Asami in thanks. "Tokoyami tells me that your intel was given to the heroes to prepare us for the battle. It is you whom we should all be thanking."
"I can tell you two are going to be amazing heroes," Asami smiles at them. "And, if you ever need a Public Relations Director, you know who to call."
"What the hell, you said you were going to represent me you old hag!" Bakugo shouts from his seat at the table, causing everyone to erupt in a carefree laughter.
"I'll take you all on!" she promises them with a warm smile and Hawks can't help but feel an excitement rising in his chest when he sees the smile reaching her eyes for the first time since she returned to them.
He can see that her shoulders are still tight and she appears to be on edge, but this is the beginning of her returning to herself.
"Will you join us?" Asami asks the boys as she motions for the table.
"We'd love to!" Iida responds as he heads for the table while Tokoyami remains standing.
"Could I actually speak with you privately for a moment?" Tokoyami asks as Iida sits next to Shouto.
Asami agrees while Hawks watches with curious eyes as she walks with the boy a ways away from the table and the group. "Is everything alright?" she asks him with a tilt of her head.
"I am glad to see that you are healing well," he tells her with stiff shoulders and Asami can tell that he is uncomfortable.
"Thank you," she says softly. "I'm happy to hear that you were able to get out of there with minor injuries."
"Had you not subdued Dabi's flames, I believe things would have been different." Asami can tell that Tokoyami is dancing around what he wants to truly say to her and she figures she'll need to initiate whatever he wants to say to her.
"You know you can be blunt with me, Tokoyami," she informs him with a soft tone. "We've been through hell together, you can say what is on your mind."
He nods once, exhaling the shaking breath before he says, "Hawks is my mentor and I respect him thoroughly. I believe you had a hand in guiding him to be the mentor that I look up to." He swallows the spit in his mouth as he continues, "I was aware of your… relationship with Hawks quite early on," he begins awkwardly and Asami figured as much. "Hawks' desperation to get you from Dabi only solidified my suspicions." Asami prepares herself for wherever this conversation is going when she sees Tokoyami's eyes continue to shift from her to Hawks sitting at the table behind her.
"I would never do anything to hurt Hawks, and I wanted to protect him as much as he has me." Asami isn't sure where Tokoyami is going with this. But she can tell that it's weighing on the young boy.
"It's alright, Tokoyami," Asami reassures him when she sees how uneasy he is. "Say your peace."
Tokoyami exhales and digs into his pocket to pull out the large diamond ring. Asami inhales at the sight of the ring, only to hold her breath as her body goes stiff.
"This was on you when Iida brought you back to the camp," he explains to her. "I'm not sure what happened between you and Dabi, nor is it any of my business. But I wanted to protect Hawks from any hurt that it may have caused, so I took it in that moment. I am sorry." He apologizes because he feels sorry for taking it from her, though he does not regret hiding it from Hawks. He took the ring from her finger so Hawks wouldn't see it. His mentor was already broken in that moment, and the last thing he needed to see was that vow coiling around her finger.
Asami's mouth is dry as her hand shakily takes the ring from the boy's hand.
"Thank you," Asami says and he isn't sure if she's thanking him for returning the ring, or for keeping it from Hawks.
Tokoyami realizes that she isn't going to justify her relationship with Dabi or explain herself. So he simply nods back at her, figuring the conversation to be over when she shoves the ring into the pocket of her jeans. Her back is to Hawks and he cannot see the exchange between the two as she hides the ring in her pocket.
Tokoyami isn't sure if Asami regrets that Iida saved her from the wreckage, or if she's grateful that she was separated from the villain. The dark circles under her eyes and the tired look pulling at her features makes him question if any of this was the right thing.
They leave the conversation at that, and when Asami and Tokoyami return to the table, Hawks notices the false smile Asami forces on her lips once more. He can see that she is pretending for the sake of everyone around her, but at one point during their lunch, there was a part of her that was genuine once again. No matter what news Tokoyami delivered to her, she won't allow it to take that away from her.
A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! So I have some news... depending on how the manga goes, I'm imagining this story will end within 5 to 7 chapters from now! I'm having a bittersweet feeling about this because I love writing this, but I am also wanting a satisfying end as well.
That being said, what kind of ending would you all like to see?
1. SO DAMN HAPPY! We deserve this after everything you put us through!
2. Mid happiness, something that makes sense to the story/manga.
3. DEPRESSING AF! You're the Queen of Angst and we want you to rip our hearts out!
Would you be interested in seeing all 3? I can post alternative endings as well. So let me know what you guys would like!
Also! I was hoping to get a chapter out by Hawks' B-day but I'm not sure I will be able to, though I will try. I will have an art piece on instagram for that though! So follow me there! The next chapter will 1000% be posted either before or on Dabi/Asami's Bday though!
Thanks again for the support and let me know your thoughts! I love you all!