My Hero Academia: Of Blood and Flames

Chapter 1: Ignition

The Man knelt on a mountain of ash and smoke. He was alone since no one else was able to survive the soot, smoke, and hot coals. The fire had died out, but it's warmth still permeated the ground. He ran his hand through the ash until he found the one thing left behind. A child's jawbone. Dark soot-stained tears ran down his face as he screamed through a lungful of smoke. A rare show of emotion that no one would witness, especially the boy who deserved to see it.

Todoroki Enji awoke in a cold sweat. He looked around the empty guest room, glad that no one was around to see his weakness. He looked at his hand, still feeling the smooth texture of the fragile jawbone, but seeing nothing. His hand clenched and unclenched slowly. As the sensation left him, he knew that he wasn't going to be able to go back to sleep. Instead, he threw off the covers and got dressed in work-out clothes. If sleep was impossible, then the only possible answer was to work his body. If there was weakness, then it was his duty to train beyond it. To do otherwise would be to betray his title as the Flame Hero Endeavor.

He could only hope that his foul mood would pass quickly once he'd worked up a good sweat.

Endeavor watched impassively as Shoto unleashed a weak stream of fire helplessly at him. It was better than he'd been at Shoto's tender age, but it wasn't better than Touya. Therefore, it wasn't good enough. Under his strict gaze Shoto did not need to be told to go beyond his limits, pushing a final spurt of flame through before his body spasmed. He fell to his knees and vomited his breakfast onto the training mats. It was a pathetic, disappointing sight. He was about to say something, but his watch beeped, telling him it was time to get to work. He turned away from his youngest son.

"Clean up and rest. We will continue when I return." The only response he received was sobbing. But he couldn't hear it as the flames of that hellish mountain crackled in his mind, drowning out all other thoughts. If Shoto could not surpass Touya, if he could not surpass Endeavor, and if he could not surpass All Might, then what had any of it meant? There could only be meaning found in victory. It was the only way he could find redemption.

While the resources of the Endeavor Hero agency meant that he could sit in his office and wait for his sidekicks to call in a situation he was needed for, he still preferred to patrol. Especially on days like this where his nerves were frayed. If he stayed in the office, he would snap at some poor intern who made the tiniest mistake. While he didn't have a reputation for being nice, he still prided himself on being professional. It was his responsibility as a pro hero to excuse himself if he couldn't do his job with a cool head. Hot heads made mistakes, and Endeavor didn't make mistakes. He couldn't afford to.

So now he found himself walking past an idyllic park where parents watched their children play. It was the exact type of scene that showed the effectiveness of the local heroes. Not a care in the world. He got many glances, but no one approached or called out to him like they might another hero. That was probably for the best. He didn't like chatting or answering questions, and he didn't carry a pen for autographs. He'd never been asked to do so before, he doubted he would ever need to start. He was in the business to win, not be liked. All Might could keep all the attention once he'd firmly taken first place from him.

Endeavor passed a convenience store, not sparing a glance at the teen who seemed to be considering robbing it. Once the boy saw him though he fled immediately in the opposite direction. Good choice. His path led him into a more residential area. There tended to be less crime that required a hero in areas such as this, but it never hurt to have a presence, to show that heroes were looking out for everyone. Maybe he'd get to do something menial like saving a cat from a tree? Animals didn't like him, so it was always an interesting challenge to rescue a distressed feline. Rescues weren't his focus but were always satisfying to complete. Especially for the shock on onlookers' faces.

The street was quiet as families took advantage of the nice weather to visit other places for once. That meant Endeavor was able to hear the sound of raised voices, drawing his attention across the street. He took long strides, his large stature giving him a clear view over the brick fence to a backyard. He witnessed the moment that the hand came down. He heard the moment it struck the girl and sent her to the ground.

Endeavor quickly took stock of the situation. Man, woman, and a little girl. All fair haired, likely related. The woman looked terrified, but not of the man. "We gave birth to something inhuman…"

"She killed that sparrow," said the man Endeavor assumed was the girl's father. "Sucked its blood and now she's grinning about it?"

The girl looked up, tears in her eyes. "No. Nuh-uh! The birdie just fell into the yard!"

There was no fury in his heart or voice as Endeavor called out to the family. "Halt!" All three froze at his powerful voice. It was with a quick burst of his flame Quirk that he cleared the fence, landing in the yard between the girl and the adults. A quick survey confirmed another detail he'd missed from behind the fence. A small sparrow, lying dead on the ground next to the girl, small splatters of blood around it. "I am a licensed hero, and you have one minute to explain this situation."

It was technically outside of his duties as a hero to intervene. Heroes were meant to deal with crimes having to do with Quirks, and the Police crimes without. But if there was imminent danger, heroes were usually allowed leeway. His body camera had footage of the assault; that would be enough. More importantly, he was itching for some action, a release from his anxiety. This seemed like a good substitute.

"Endeavor…," said the man. Endeavor smiled at the recognition. It wasn't a surprise considering his rank, but it would make the situation clearer and easier. "This is family business. No place for heroes."

"We're just disciplining her as her parents," cried the woman. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"Forty seconds," he said simply.

The couple paled. The man pointed to the child. "Our daughter killed and was eating a sparrow. I was just making her stop."

"I didn't kill the birdie!" cried the girl. She crawled over to the sparrow and cradled it in her hands. "She's just so cute that I…"

"Quiet," screamed the woman. "Stop speaking!"

"Enough," commanded Endeavor. There was quiet in the yard again. "I have determined that due to high emotions this situation is not safe to leave a child in. I will be taking the girl into the custody of the proper authorities. They will likely send someone by the end of the day to evaluate and return her once you've had time to calm down. Is that understood?"

The pair looked like they wanted to argue but were too intimidated by Endeavor's presence to do so. He turned and moved his focus to the little girl. She'd stopped listening to him and was instead staring at the bird in her hands, transfixed. He gave a heavy sigh and knelt. This was the part of the job he hated. Even kneeling he towered over the little girl. "Girl," he said sternly. She looked up at him. Not afraid, just confused. "I'm going to take you someplace safe."

"Is it far?"

He shook his head. "No." The nearest police box was just back past the park.

"Can I take the birdie?"

He looked at the sparrow corpse, trying to keep back his distaste. It looked fresh, not yet rotting. He didn't see the harm, disgusting as it might be. "You may."

The girl smiled, a wide toothy smile that reminded him of dozens of villains he'd fought. "You're tall."

"I am." He was already tired of this conversation. "Are you ready to go?"

"Can you carry me?"

"Is your leg hurt?" She had been knocked down after all. Maybe she'd sprained something?

The girl hopped up and down, testing both legs. Clearly fine. "If I say yes, can I get carried?"

Another heavy sigh. "Fine." The girl squealed in delight. He reached out and easily picked her up. He placed her on his shoulder, then stood. A scream of childish delight. It hurt his ear being so close, but more so it hurt his heart. It reminded him of Touya at his most childish and needy. He dimly realized that he'd never done anything like this for his other children, he'd been too focused on Touya, and now Shoto. He squashed that thought, he was still on the job. "I'm heading out now."

The girl's parents didn't respond, just watching in silence as he strode out through their front gate. He took note of the address and name plate. Toga. As they walked down the street the girl started to make childish imitations of bird sounds. "I'm so high up," said the girl between giggles and bird noises. "It's like I'm flying. I get to be the little sparrow!"

Endeavor rolled his eyes at that. "This isn't flying," he said. "I've soared the skies plenty of times, this is just a taste."

A gasp. "You can fly?"

"Easily."

"Can you take me one day?"

"Maybe," lied Endeavor, trying to shut down the conversation. It was feeling uncomfortably close to one he'd had with Touya a few years back while training him. The prospect of flying through the sky as father and son…something that would never happen… He shook the thoughts out of his head through physical motion, causing the girl to squeal in fright and grab on to his hair.

"That was dangerous," cried the girl.

"Falling is always a risk when flying," replied Endeavor. "Just like the bird in your pocket."

"Do you fall often?"

"Of course not," lied Endeavor. As they were entering the park his ear earpiece started to beep. He brought one hand up to answer it. "Endeavor here."

"Sir," said his senior sidekick, the Flame Bird Hero Fiametta. "Where are you currently?"

"Telos Park," he replied. The normally unflappable sidekick sounded shaken. "Is there is a situation?"

"It started as a small store robbery. We thought we had it without your assistance, but three sidekicks are down with various injuries and we're pursuing the villain in your direction. If you're where I think you are, he should be there in under thirty seconds."

Endeavor scowled at that. "When I apprehend this villain, we are going to have a serious discussion about not keeping me informed of all operations."

"Are you talking to me?" asked the girl.

"I'm not talking to you," replied Endeavor.

"Sir? asked Fiametta. "Who are you talking to?"

"Not important."

"Is there someone in your ear?" asked the girl. She leaned in and screamed into Endeavor's ear. "Hello! I'm Toga Himiko!"

Endeavor staggered from the sonic attack. "Don't do that," he growled. "Fiametta. Location. Now."

"Uh, right." A pause. "The villain is…right on top of you!"

Endeavor leapt back as a large form crashed down where he'd just been standing. A villain, a man who seemed to be built of bricks, was standing in a newly made crater in the park. He looked up at Endeavor and Endeavor saw small pupils, visible veins on his face, heavy breathing, and frothing from his lips. Probably a user of a Quirk enhancement drug.

"Villain," said Endeavor, getting the brick man's attention. "Surrender yourself quietly or I will take you in by force."

"Are we fighting?" asked Himiko.

Endeavor realized his mistake in an instant. The brick villain charged at him and Himiko let out a piercing scream of fright. He focused his flame Quirk into his feet and launched himself backwards, never taking his eyes off the villain. A first plunged into the ground as Endeavor landed about thirty meters away. He reached up, grabbed the small girl, and removed her from his back. "It's time to get off."

"Why?" asked the girl. Endeavor put her down and the fright from a moment before was gone, replaced with genuine confusion. "It was nice up there. You're warm."

"You just stay back here," said Endeavor, slowly walking towards the villain. The villain managed to unbury his arm, refocusing on the Flame Hero. Once he was several meters away from Himiko he ignited flames around his body. Grass burned under his feet. "It's about to get much warmer."

The brick villain charged at Endeavor with an animalistic shout. Endeavor launched himself over the villain, planted his feet firmly back on the ground and twisted his body into a bone shattering punch to the villain's side. There was a loud crack that rang through the park. The villain was thrown off balance and fell to the ground.

Unfortunately, Endeavor needed to grin and bear through the pain of bloody knuckles. The villain was as hard as he'd feared. Of course, what could he have expected punching a brick wall? For a moment he thought the villain was down in one hit, not moving for a few seconds.

But then with a groan the villain stood, chunks of brick flaking off his side. He threw a blood shot glare at Endeavor and charged again with little hesitation. This time Endeavor kept his stance firmly on the ground. The brick villain went to grab Endeavor, but he grabbed the man's wrists instead, holding him in a lock. The villain might be strong, but there were few who could move Endeavor if he didn't want to.

"Surrender," said Endeavor, flames flaring up around his hands. "This is your last warning." The only reply he got was the villain headbutting him. The world spun and his ears rang, but Endeavor refused to let go, gritting his teeth through the pain. "So be it!"

He started to crank up the heat around his hands, the brick underneath starting to bake and crack. The villain screamed in pain, the heat managing to have an effect unlike his fists. Unfortunately, his other response was to headbutt Endeavor again. This time he staggered back slightly, his grip on one wrist slipping. That meant the villain was able to get a fist free to punch Endeavor in his side. Air fled his lungs as a rib cracked under the blow. Then there was a third headbutt and Endeavor fell backwards.

"Gaah…," he said collapsing to the dirt. He felt like he had a sense of the villain's toughness now and how hard he could hit him without being called excessive force, but to do that he would need to get to his feet. The villain towered over the fallen hero, his thick leg lifting to prepare to smash down. Endeavor prepared himself to counterattack. If he timed this just right, he could turn the fight around in one move…

"Leave him alone!" The villain and Endeavor both looked and saw Himiko standing just a meter away as she'd run up to them. The villain turned, his focus now on the loud girl. She didn't cower as he took a step towards her.

"Shit," said Endeavor, clenching his fists and taking a deep breath. He concentrated flames in the square of his back and then launched himself off the ground. "I told you to stay back!" One quick burst to get himself into the air, then a second one flung him through the air to tackle and grab the brick man. "You're going down now, villain."

Endeavor gathered as much power into his feet as he could and launched both himself and the villain straight up into the air. His captive was heavy and struggled in his grasp, but he held on tightly as they found themselves far above the park. The air was clear of any civilians or flammable objects, which meant it was finally time for him to show what it meant to be the number two hero. Bricks were generally fired around nine-hundred-forty-five degrees Celsius. He knew that a standard brick started to break apart at temperatures just below that if sustained for too long. Reaching that temperature was child's play for him but holding it for long was a different matter. He hoped that a quick burst exceeding that temperature would do the job. "Witness my fiery might, Prominence Burn!"

The sky exploded into a fiery inferno. As Endeavor held the villain in a flaming embrace, he heard the crack of superheated brick. The villain went limp in Endeavor's arms, and he cancelled his flames immediately. Without his jets holding them, the pair started to plummet back to Earth. He fired short burst from his feet, gradually slowing and prolonging their fall. As the ground approached, he took stock of where people were standing. Himiko where he'd left her. Civilians and police gathered at the edges of the park. His sidekicks moved to adjust to surround them as soon as he landed. A burst from his back and he redirected their fall to be from somewhere with grass to a sandbox. As they were about to land on the empty sandbox he fired one last powerful burst from his feet, arresting them in stasis above the ground for a full ten seconds before he finally landed back to earth on the freshly fired glass that used to be a sandbox.

"Endeavor," said Fiametta, approaching with the other sidekicks in tow. The pair of black wings on her back were folded for the moment. "You caught him!"

"Of course I did," said Endeavor, ignoring the pain of his broken rib. A hero could never let pain show. "Can I trust you to finish this job?"

Fiametta saluted. "Of course!" She took the brick villain, gently lowering him to the ground with the help of two other people. The brick covering around the man had cracked off, revealing skin. Fiametta put a hand to his neck. "Pulse confirmed. He's alive. No burns either. His Quirk protected him. Great judgement once again, sir." That confirmed, they cuffed the unconscious man as the police ran up.

"He's all yours, officer," said Endeavor. "My sidekicks can assist you in carrying him."

"Thank you," said the police officer. "That was an impressive takedown."

"Of course," said Endeavor, walking past them. There were reporters snapping pictures, but unlike most heroes no one moved to approach to get a statement. No one was brave enough to approach the infamous Flame Her-

"That was amazing!" said Himiko, running up to Endeavor. There were audible gasps from his own sidekicks. They all admired him, but he knew they were aware of how most people viewed him. "You flew right up into the air like a bird and then went boom! It was so bright and warm."

"I told you I could fly," said Endeavor. He scowled and pointed a finger right in the girl's face. "I told you to stay away. Approaching while a hero fights a villain is stupid and reckless. When I give you an order, follow it."

But the girl wasn't listening. Her attention was solely on something else. He watched as blood slowly bubbled out of the wound on his knuckles and ran down his hand to the tip of his finger. One drop fell to the ground. Then another. Before the third could fall the girl leaned forward and licked his hand. He recoiled in surprise and the crowd around them went deathly still and quiet. Himiko smiled contently, licking her lips as she did. "So warm…"

He was about to chew her out, but then her form changed. Where once there had been a small girl barely up to his knee now stood…himself. Endeavor stared in disbelief at a pristine double of himself. But where he had a look of shock, his double had a broad, toothy smile on his face. "You're so warm," said the other Endeavor.

"Girl," he said, drawing his clone's attention. "Do you know what you just did?"

"No?"

He studied the perfect duplicate, and his mind was filled with sudden possibilities. Touya was gone and Shoto was unwilling to take his place. But here, before him was the possibility of a rare talent. A new bridge had opened in his quest to the summit of the hero world. Despite the pain of his broken rib a low chuckle burst from his lips. "Perfect," he said, unable to contain his glee. "Just perfect. You, Toga Himiko, are the perfect human I've been seeking."

Both Endeavor's smiled broadly, but for completely different reasons than the other was currently able to understand.

Author's Note: Happy birthday to Toga Himiko! Posting this at the last minute to celebrate. Himiko is my second favorite character after Ochako, so I'm excited to write a fic like this about her. All my other MHA fics have been Togachako explicitly, so this is much different than any of that. Maybe if this goes long enough the two cutest girls in the world will get to meet? We'll just have to find out together.