Maybe we were stupid to think it was over.

Every time we beat the League of Villains back, they just seemed to return stronger. Every time it seemed like they were down for the count they got back up again.

"YES, THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS IS HERE! IT'S LEAGUE MEMBER DABI! HE'S SURROUNDED ENDEAVOR AND HAWKS WITH A WALL OF FLAMES!" The announcer was shouting.

"It's him!" Gasped Sensei. "But out in the open like that? What's he thinking?"

Dabi.

"How sad for you, poor little Shoto Todoroki."

The League of Villains member with the burnt, scarred face. The one who had kidnapped Bakugou, taken him right from my hands.

My old man had fallen to his knees. He didn't seem to be able to move anymore. Hawks had put a hand on his back to steady him and was moving forward to get in between him and Dabi. But he had only his small back feathers.

They were surrounded by a giant wall of fire. And Dabi was running straight at them. No way - no way - please, dad -

The flames were blown away with the force of what looked like an air bomb from above. From above them, Miruko the #5 hero had jumped into the fray.

Dabi took a few steps back. From the looks of it, he didn't want to fight her. Suddenly, the black sludge from Kamino Ward came pouring out of his mouth, swallowing him up just as it had disgorged him and the rest of the League, and Bakugou, back then.

He was gone. The area was cleared. It seemed like the time at last for a sigh of relief.

"THEY CAN'T HEAR ME DOWN THERE, BUT LET ME SAY THIS. ENDEAVOR, AND YOU TOO, HAWKS! YOU RISKED YOUR LIVES TO PROTECT US ALL AND YOU WON. OUR NEW TOP HERO IS THERE! AND WHAT I'D LIKE TO SAY TO HIM NOW IS 'THANK YOU'!"

My knees seemed to give in and I was on the ground, breathing slowly. My classmates had come to me. They were crowding around me, all asking if I was ok.

"Todoroki!" Cried Midoriya, eyes wide and anxious as usual; his freckled face had grown pale and his usual stressful lifestyle was losing him weight and putting dark circles under his eyes. With the extra anxiety he looked a bit ghoulish. "Are you ok?"

"You okay, man?" Asked Kaminari, blond hair flopping in front of his eyes.

"Everyone!" Iida was calling, chopping his hands in the air, his ever-rigid glasses blocking his eyes, "Back off, give him some air!"

Bakugou hadn't joined in, but he was watching me, I could tell, red eyes peeking beneath blonde spiked hair, examining me.

Yaoyorozu too hadn't joined in the crowd, but she too watched me. Her head was tilted to the side, her ponytail flopping with it, black eyes taking me in and looking like she had something to say.

My phone rang. It was Fuyumi.

"Sis. Hi. You saw?"

"Yeah. You too? You ok?"

"Not exactly."

"I know what you mean…"

It was hard to know what to think about our old man now. I didn't want him dead…but it was impossible to just switch from "abusive bastard who destroyed our family" to "everyone's hero" in a second. But I didn't want to see him dead on the news and knowing we ended things with me hating him either.

"Come by later. We'll have dinner. A family dinner."

We didn't have 'family dinners'. Not with me and my whole family. Fuyumi left me cooking and that was it.

"Ok…"

That was the best I could do. It had all been too much. I clicked off and tried to look suitably relieved. Only Midoriya and Bakugou knew about my home situation; I didn't want to talk to Midoriya about it because he would worry himself too much, and it was hard to talk to Bakugou about anything, because of how tough he always wanted to seem.

Yaoyorozu had met my gaze; she smiled and said "You must be so relieved."

I opened my mouth. I almost wanted to spill it, right then and there to her and the whole class, but everyone else suddenly came flooding back, getting around Iida; Sato offering me cake, Aoyama cheese, Ashido a box of tissues…Yaoyorozu had run off to make tea.

It was just as well. My classmates didn't need to hear all my baggage in this moment.

They needed to believe my dad was the new #1, the symbol to succeed All Might. I didn't want to take that away from them.

...

"Add your raw egg, and…the dish is done!" Said the cooking show hostess on TV as he joined us.

"Great work, dad!" Fuyumi chirped as he loomed in the doorway.

"Been a while, huh?"

"Shoto got special permission to come home! I invited his teacher too, but he refused. Anyway, amazing job out there!"

His face was disfigured from chin to forehead by a raw read streak. His left eye was scrunched, but not blinded. Still, it looked painful.

Good.

"Nasty scar you've got there," I told him as I slurped my soba.

Natsu did the same. The silence held on.

"Hey! You two! Feel like congratulating dad at least?" Fuyumi whispered. "We promised to play nice, didn't we? Especially since he's making an effort to reflect on family matters! At least don't look so scornful like that."

"I can still hear you," he told her.

Natsuo stood up.

"Sorry, sis. I just can't do it.

"Natsu!"

He turned away and headed for the door. As he passed our old man, the bastard put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Natsuo, if you've got something to say, then say it."

"Say it?" Natsuo snapped. "That's rich, coming from a guy who's never even looked me in the eye. Listen to this. I didn't know Shoto loved soba until today. Why? Because you never let him play with us failed experiments."

Don't look at them, Shoto. They belong to a different world."

"Natsuo…" I murmured.

"I get the feeling that mom and sis here want to forgive you. But all I see is the same maniac who all of a sudden is getting rave reviews. You might look like a changed man, but you're not." He punched the doorway and pulled away from the old man.

"You abandoned us as failures. Left us to hear mom's screams. Shoto's cries. And big bro Toya tooo…your being the top hero and beating some big baddie can't erase any of that. DID YOU DECIDE TO HAVE A CHANGE OF HEART? THINK WE CAN JUST HUG THINGS OUT AND MAKE UP? IT'S SICKENING! DON'T YOU FREAKING GET THAT!"

"I'm trying to make amends, going forward," said the old man. His face showed no emotion whatsoever, or at least none that I could read.

"Is that so!?" Natsuo shouted. "Sorry sis. Thanks for the food at least!" And he was gone.

"Natsu!" She cried. "Ugh, should've known."

She looked ready to cry. "But with Shoto and UA and finally able to see mom again, and now that she's starting to cheer up, since you're making an effort I thought…I thought we might just turn into a real family."

She grabbed my arm and began to cry. "It would make your big sister oh so happy, Shoto!"

"Sis…" I watched the door where Natsuo had just left.

"I've never seen Natsu be honest about his feelings like that."

The TV had started the news segment.

"It's been two days since the battle, but public opinion on the number one hero continues to waver."

A woman was being interviewed first. "He only barely won, right? Are we sure he can do this? The man was covered in blood by the end."

"Let's change the channel, dear, this can't be good for you," Mother fussed.

Two men were up next. "He let that one League villain escape again though."

"And hang on, didn't they already catch a bunch Nomu? How's this guy struggling against one of those chumps?"

"Off, turn it off!" Shouted Fuyumi.

"No."

"Some remain dissatisfied…but on the flip side," the broadcaster continued, and the screen changed to replay a picture of a young boy with spiky hair - the footage of the boy who had called out to us during the broadcast.

"So don't give up just cause the other guy's gone! There's still a dude out there risking it all for us! Cant'cha see?!"

"Well," said another interviewee, "I was an Edgeshot fan, but now how could anyone not be a fan of Endeavor?"

"I'm a fire type too," said another, "So honestly…yeah, I'm pumped about him."

A woman and her friend were interviewed as well. "That 'cantata see' kid was great!"

"Risking it all, cantata see?" "He kinda turned things around."

"The 'Cant'cha see kid has become something of a meme in his own right. His passionate cries have actually garnered support for Endeavor!"

"Now hang on! Endeavor did give us a good battle, but the Can'tcha see Kid's and Hawks' contributions were monumental! They united everyone to cheer on the big man. No one can deny that he's facing a powerful headwind, but now they're aware that we're in the age of Endeavor. Support for him will undoubtedly spread."

I turned away from him. I couldn't say it and look him in the eye. "As a hero, this Endeavor guy is pretty darn amazing. But it's just like Natsu said. I'm not ready to forgive you for abusing mom. So heroics aside, what sort of dad are you going to be? That's what I want to find out. Sure, the perfect turning point can actually change someone. I know it's possible."

"It's yours, your power, not his!"

"Shoto…let me get you some more soba broth," said Fuyumi.

He just stood there and watched us for a while. Then turned to go.

"You're leaving too, dad!?" Cried Fuyumi.

"Fuyumi, I'm sorry for everything," he said. "That was the wrong thing to say to Natsu."

He left us there.

I didn't feel like talking to him anymore. That had been enough for a while.

It's always so difficult trying to deal with the old man, the family. I don't want him dead, but I can't just go and forget everything either.

I guess all I can do is wait and see how things turn out from here.

I headed out to the car and nodded at Mr. Aizawa. It was time to go.