Chapter 02: Mindhunter.

The Heroes Public Safety Commission like the name suggests was and still is on paper an organization that acts as the middle man between the Japanese Goverment and the many pro heroes who operate to keeping the public safe and the criminal element at bay, well at least on paper anyway, in actuality it has more in common with a group such as the CIA, employing people willing to dirty their hands in order to enforce and protect the current society under it's care.

' another week and another day where pro heroes have too much time on their hands….'

That thought belonged to the current president of the Heroes Public Safety Commission, one Keigo Takami, or simply known to the public as the former number two hero Hawks, however certain circumstances forced him to become what he'd jokingly describe as a pencil pusher. Said pencil pusher was currently swiftly and efficiently handling a stack of paperwork as he decided to try and lighten the mood by playing music in the background. Most of his music collection consisted of a mix between Rock n'roll and new wave which described him to a t since he was the youngest president of the H.P.S.C and bore a suprising resemblence to both Sting and Glenn Frey with a dirty blonde and messy hair coupled with a look and attitude of a schemer.

As a remixed version of Mister Mister Broken Wings sarenaded in the background keigo mused to himself.

" we managed to stop maniacs like All For One from plunging the world into chaos but we still can't figure out Copyright laws…. Go figure….."

Before he could lazily spending his day doing nothing of importance an older man in his early to mid 60's, sporting a gaunt yet somewhat healthy physique and a mane of blonde- graying hair came knocking at his door.

" are you here as an old friend coming to visit Allmight?"

Allmight, or better known to the public now simply as Toshinori Yagy replied with.

" I'm afraid not, may I have a seat?"

Keigo smiled wearingly.

" by all means, may I offer you some tea?"

Toshinori politely declined stating.

" I'm afraid that what I came with can not be delayed further."

Keigo at that dropped all pretenses.

" must be something big then."

Taking note to the stacks of paper works on Keigo's desk Toshinori posed for him a question.

" did you come across any strange cases lately?"

As if on instinct Keigo got up from his seat as he approached the desk as he turned up the levels on the music player resting on it before he continued the conversation.

" define strange for me?"

Toshinori obliged.

" odd as in a string of robberies occuring across Japan where there were no violent incidents, no big crews involved and most importantly a wake of people with a severe memory loss and a confused state of mind about btheir own lives and identities."

Keigo nodded.

" I may came across it, figured from the start that it had to be a quirk of some kind involved."

Toshinori sighed in relief seeing that office life hasn't dulled Hawk's senses one bit as he asked.

" what's the commission's plan of actions for now?"

Keigo's reply came as no surprise.

" we need to collect intel, though to be honest I would like to reach out for outside assistance on this one."

Toshinori smirked.

"and I'm here to recommend the best people I could think off for this job."

At that Keigo replied with the best comeback he could think of.

" thanks, you're my hero."

With that out of the way the two retired pros wasted not one second as they got to work immediately with Hawks gathering preliminary data and Allmight making phone calls to the pro heroes in question. While gathering the data Hawks paid close attention to both written files and video feeds of the incidents in question, especially to eye witness reports being taken far away from the suspect's point of view and more importantly video feeds that managed to capture as many details as possible. After a couple of hours have passed Hawks, still glued to his chair asked absentmindedly.

" have you made contacts with Deku, Lord Explosion God Dynamight or Shoto?"

Allmight at that replied as such.

" I already made contact with Deku and Shoto, Dynamight is otherwise busy with something but….."

Hawks finished for him.

" you want to include a few more pros to cover every angle available?, who and what did you have in mind?"

Allmight chuckled stating.

" you weren't the number 2 hero for nothing."

Appreciating the comment Hawks urged his senior to continue.

" I was thinking along the lines of surveilance and recon."

Keigo gave a genuine smile.

" funny you should say that because I noticed something on my end."

With that Hawks directed Allmight to his findings as he continued.

" a few things to note, first of all our perp is at least a shapeshifter according to some eye witnesses, second our suspect has had to made direct eye contact with his victims, said eye contact had to be brief and finally, there were cases where the security footage was either corrupted or missing altogether."

Allmight continued that line of thought.

" which may be pointing out to the suspect's weaknesses quirk wise."

Hawks nodded as he directed his attention to a few more heroes who can provide additional help.

" I want to enlist pros who cango undetected to the naked eye like Invisible girl and Illus-o-Camie from Shiketsu."

Allmight nodded as he stated the following.

" a reasonable start but I have it on good authority that Illus-o-Camie has gone into a sabbatical since she got married a year ago, so we'll have to take that into account, plus I would suggest bringing in Tentacole and Earphone jack to help gather intel more efficiently with Creati in a support capacity."

Hawks contimplated that suggestion as he asked.

" are you sure you want this many heroes on one case?, I was kind of counting on a small group to deal with this case covertly."

Allmight surprisingly acknowledged that concern.

" I understand the need to deal with this case quietly and swiftly, but since we're dealing with a suspect or a quirk we know next to nothing about, aren't we being a bit too hasty?"

Hawks at that added.

" and probably we won't have too many second chances if or when the mission goes wrong"

With weariness in his voice All might advised.

" let's not try and think like that from the start."

At that Keigo nervously chuckled.

" agreed."

The Heroes Public Safety Commission offices, a couple of days later.

Deku, decked out in his latest hero costume, entered through the building's entrance and taking the elevator all the way to the top floor where he was greeted by his friends Dynamight and Shoto.

" you got called in as well?"

At that a feminine, cheerful and somewhat naive voice rang out from behind as if out of thin air emerged Illus-o-Camie.

" hey neighbor…"

Deku at that waved nervously, not just by the fact that a former psychotic villain impersonated the young heroine in question but because the awkwardness said imposter created in the ensuing chaos, plus he knew her husband all too well.

" oh….. hi… did you get called in as well?"

At that Camie replied with a cheerful and carefree attitude.

" yup."

At that answer Deku couldn't help but wonder if there should've been more to that reply or not but before this conversation could continue Hawks himself minus the wings, of couse, came out to greet them.

" thank you for coming on such a short notice, can I offer you something to drink?"

Dynamight wasted not one second as he deadpanned with slight annoyance in his tone.

" a glass of shut the hell up and get to the point."

Before deku or Shoto could protest to Dynamight's unreasonable rudeness Keigo simply replied with an easy going joke.

" I'm afraid we're out of the Swedish brands."

With that said and done the four were led to Keigo's office wheresaid man dropped the easy going attitude.

" there have been a strings of bizzare bank robberies happening all over Japan and we need your help in the matter."

Dynamight again got straight to the point.

" what's so bizarre about a strings of bank robberies?, aren't there policemen better qualified for this job?"

Hawks returned the gesture.

" it's quirk related, the only problem is two key details missing, we don't know what this quirk is and how powerful is it so….."

Shoto at that chose to speak next.

" you want to use us as a distraction while another team gathers the missing information, therefore you'd get that missing info so you could take care of it yourself."

At that a slightly uneasy atmosphere was created amongst the group before Deku broke the silence.

" since no one's leaving, let's start with what you do know."

With that said and done the group of heroes started reviewing the intel Keigo had on the suspect as Dynamight and Illus-o-Camie focused on the surveillance footage while Deku and Shoto went over the witness statements.

" hey Fuse…"

Dynamight gave a small grin as he addressed the heroine next to him.

" yeah Mist?"

Camie, or Mist as Bakugo called her asked.

" don't you find it like super weird to work with your wife on the job?"

Dynamight shook his head saying.

" Camie, while we're out on the field I am not your husband, I'm your teammate, it's that simple."

Illus-o-Camie, gave a small sweet smile.

" that's real sweet of you."

Appreciating the compliment Dynamight replied jokingly, well for him anyway.

" don't go around yapping about it, I have a reputation to maintain."

Camie at that jokingly shot back.

" then keep your mouth shut.."

Dynamight chose not to continue this banter as the group spent the next hour or so as they were caught up on the case from top to bottom aith Shoto being the first to leave stating.

" we need to find out where this robber will strike."

Dynamight chimed in.

" then what are we doing here?, yapping like a bunch of old ladies"

As if to prove a point Dynamight just wordlessly left the office as Deku and the others were about to ask where he's heading off before Camie caught their attention as she cleared her throat.

" don't worry about Fuse, he's doing his best thinking on the streets."

As Dynamight left the H.P.S.C building he began patrolling the surrounding areas heading northbound as he ran into Creati a few blocks away.

" head straight for a couple more blocks and take the elevator all the way to the top."

Creati at that nodded a simple thanks as in turn she created a device for Dynamight.

" a police scanner, in case you're looking for a good fight."

Dynamight just nodded as he continued on his way just the same as her. About 15 minutes passed as Shoto took the opportunity to get some much needed fresh air as he pondered on something.

' knowing our misfortune, this won't be a simple case that could be solved in mere hours….'

Before he could continue with his train of thoughts, said vehicle got derailed as soon as he caught Creati in the corner of his right eye.

" it's nice seeing you again."

Creati at that politely nodded as she responded with.

" likewise."

At that an awkward yet not an unpleasant silence fell upon them until Shoto decided to rip off the proverbial band aid clean off.

" about our plans for next week?, I think we should postpone them till after the current case."

Creati at that wasn't phased as she continued the conversation as follows.

" oh I'm sure we can adjust the plans accordingly, don't worry about it."

As Creati/Momo gave Shoto a friendly smile she entered the building in question, ready to lend her expertise in the case, speaking of buildings the scenery and scene shifted to the unspecified residence of the former number 9 on the old heroes billboards chart, the equipped hero Yoroi Musha. Said retired hero was a man approximately in his early to mid 70's was enjoying the view from in his home deep in the mountains. As the former hero kept busy with meditating as he noticed the tiniest of changes happened while he calmly stated.

" I may not be a pro hero anymore that does not mean I've left my senses dull, now speak and state your business or leave."

The man in question was the same old man Shoto made eye contact with at the subway station however that look changed in an instant as Yoroi couldn't even process what was happening as the figure was now a lanky man with equally elongated muscles dressed in a blue sin tight suit that featured the following details, seemingly eyeless mask being covered by blotches of black ink, moving as though they had a mind of their own, a couple of golden shoulder pads made out of the skulls of a couple of owls and the most distinct, a smiley face at the center of the figure's chest in the shape of a smiley with a mind's eye above the rest of the eyes.

" allow me to pose you a question good sir?"

Yoroi unexpectedly found himself unable to speak as the figure said in a dull, monotone yet filled with unmistaken sarcasm.

" thank you, what does sharpen senses do you any good if you haven't done anything note worthy with them, you may speak"

Yoroi responded with clear confusion and panic in his voice only voiced the following response, though with great difficulty.

" what's…. the meaning….. of this….. who are you to judge on how did I use my quirk or not…"

The figure at this point continued torturing the older man saying.

" I'm the one who will put his potential to actual good use."

With that the torture continued for a few agonizing hours before the limp body of Yoroi Musha laid on the floor with barely any signs of life as the figure said.

" due be of use for me, act as a suitable message for your local heroes."

With that the figure began to disappear as he planted one final message in Yoroi's brain, a calling card to mutter as he'll cling on to dear life and the calling card was.

' Mindhunter.'

As the former Samurai hero was l writhing in agony over his predicament his assailant couldn't even muster the feintest of concern as he simply slipped into his old man persona before dropping off the victim in the nearest populated metropolis closest to the mountain home as he vanished into thin air presumably to continue to his next unsuspecting target.

News of the incident did not escape Keigo Takami as it reached him just as he finished briefing Creati on the case, thoroughly if he may add, as he muttered to himself.

" damn bastard is escalating quickly… fine….. we're quick just as well."

As though Creati read his mind she immediately contacted the rest to appraise them on the developing situation with Deku, Shoto and Dynamight course correcting and leading the charge. Within a few hours the three in question were the first to arrive at the hospital where Yoroi Musha was being treated. Asking no one in particular Dynamight was being blunt as ever.

" what are we supposed to learn from the old geezer except from ' I got tortured and got my ass kicked too' ?"

Deku at thatcould to some degree understand Kachan's frustration since he figured Yoroi Musha may have no actual leads in the case but he couldn't help but feel that maybe the assailant was either a, using the victim as a lure for pro heroes or b, coming back at some point in time to finish what he started.

" look I get you , but we need to be thorough about this case before it could get any worse."

Dynamight at that sighed with frustration as he exclaimed.

" don't expect me to feed him and read him bedtime stories."

Deku at that gave a sigh of his own laced with awkwardness.

" why am I not surprised."

With that the trio found the head doctor monitoring the old man's condition as they got the update on the former number 9, it was a touch and go case where the staff of doctors and nurses were doing everything they could to stabilize his condition as he closed the conversation with.

" look it would take a while before we could even consider letting visitors in, let alone for pro heroes to question him on what happened."

Shoto at that interjected politely.

" with all due respect we need leads in this investigation before another victim could be added to the list of felonies this villain committed."

The doctor thankfully agreed.

" nobody is more well aware of it as I am, however, the best we can do for now is to treat him just the same as any other patient."

Deku at that bowed to the doctor saying.

" please do your best, we're counting on you."

With that the doctor returned to doing his rounds as Dynamight asked the obvious.

" sitting on our asses won't do us any good so what's our next best move?"

Deku at that took a moment to think and weight the options without annoying his friends or freaking out random strangers as he finally said.

" lunch."

Trying to contain his anger Dynamight simply asked.

" you….. are you being serious with us… right now?!"

At that Deku reasoned.

" look we've got a big case already on our hands, do you want to mess it up on account of an empty stomach."

Dynamight inhaled and exhaled in an attempt to keep calm.

" you made your point…...but no hospital food, GOT IT!?"

On the search for a near by restaurant the Trio began a light patrolling routine as they asked around if there were any eye witnesses when Yoroi Musha arrived at the hospital, as much as the locals wanted to help, there were none. While having their lunch break Shoto was deep in thought as he wondered to himself.

" the assailant could've left the victim alone at his home yet he took him to a nearby hospital, why?, what is he trying to say to us?"

Dynamight was the first to chime in.

" maybe he thinks we're dragging our asses, truthfully I can't blame him for thinking that."

Deku at that interjected by saying.

" we can't act on impulse either, we could play into his hand or cause problems for others."

With that the conversation reached a dead end as the atmosphere between the trio couldn't be more tense. As Shoto was the first to finish his meal he began texting on the phone with Creati.

Creati:

' any new updates on Yoroi Musha's attack?'

Shoto:

"it's a touch and go situation, doctors can't be sure for how long he'll be awake or if he's about to die.'

Creati:

' any leads to go by?'

Shoto at that had an idea going through his mind as he texted.

Shoto:

' Yaoyorozu, how many drones could your quirk create for us?'

Creati's final reply came in.

'about four of them.'

Shoto at that continued texting as he managed to get an update as to when Creati will catch up with them as he in turn gave her their latest location before finally continuing eating lunch in relative peace.

" so we know that he likes hitting banks and assaulting retiries, that we can tell for certain right?"

Shoto and Deku followed Dynamight's point of thinking while the former spoke up.

" while we were eating, I've been in contact with Creati, she agreed to make us drones so we could cover more ground quickly and efficiently."

Dynamight scoffed.

" for once I can't argue with you Icy-Hot."

By the time the trio finished their meal and handling the bill Creati arrived at the scene as the group went to work with each getting their own, well amongst the three at least.

" Hey Yaoyorozu, where's your drone?"

Creati at that answered Deku's question as such.

" mines already hovering over the hospital since I'm staying behind to guard our assault victim just in case the villain returns to finish the job."

The Trio acknowledged as they all went their separate ways with the drones accompanying them while Shoto delayed for just a bit.

" Yaomomo….. don't be a hero in this case, if the assailant returns please don't hesitate to call me or the others."

Creati at that understood what Shoto was trying to do as she in turn replied.

" Shoto, do you trust me?"

Shoto at that sheepishly nodded.

" always."

Seeing the traces of uncertainty in his eyes Creati assured him by saying.

" I'll be extra cautious, I promise you."

Shoto eased up at this point as he continued on the route he was patrolling as Creati returned to the hospital just in time to catch the doctor who treated Yoroi Musha.

" any change in his condition?"

The doctor gave a small nod saying.

" he's stable enough to talk but I'll advise you to make it short and quick."

Creati nodded in acknowledgement as she was led to Yoroi Musha's room. Creating a mask and entering she noticed the old man hooked up to life support while respectfully entering the room.

Creati observed the condition that the elderly former pro hero was in, as well as keeping a watchful eye on his life support as she respectfully exclaimed.

" pardon the intrusion but I ,along with some capable pro heroes, were assigned to capture your assailant and bring him to justice."

Though he wasn't in any pain or discomfort, Yoroi Musha barely moved or even acknowledged the young woman who addressed him, before she could continue any further the elder hero began to stir a bit as he began murmuring something until Creati finally caught what he was saying.

" Mind….. Mindh…..Mindhunter…"

With that the life support machine for the briefest of moments malfunctioned before returning to properly function as the elderly man began to moan as he tried to prop himself up, noticing his struggles Creati helped with propping him up as she asked.

" would you like me to call a nurse for you Yoroi san?"

Yoroi Musha in return only replied the following.

" that won't be necessary…."

Watching him closely Creati in turn asked.

" are you quite certain Yoroi san?"

The elder nodded as he returned the kindness with a kind reply of his own.

" I'm certain miss Yaorozu, now let's not dwell on honorifics, we both know that my actions as of late haven't warranted them."

Not being a fool herself Creati's eagle eyes noticed the subtle shifts and clues that lay before her as she responded as such.

" very well, as long as you stop using the body of a deceased man…. Mindhunter."

Yoroi Musha, or it was revealed now as the figure who assaulted the old Samurai hero, Mindhunter acknowledged her intelligence by asking.

" I do say, that's quite impressive, would you humor me and tell me what tipped you off?"

Creati answered cautiously.

" you've left several, one was the odd term you've left with your victim, in it self it's only one word with very little meaning which led me to assume it was either a name or part of a key phrase like open says me."

Mindhubter in turn gestured for her to continue as he kept silent.

" the second clue came when the life support machine flatlined yet no doctors or nurses came immediately to check up on either patient or said equipment, meaning something's off about the room we're in."

Mindhunter at that actually replied.

" fascinating, please continue."

Creati at that asked in return.

" just as soon as I know what are you after here."

Impressed by her directness Mindhunter obliged.

" you are out of harm's way for now, I'm simply studying my opposition, very much like how you're trying to study me."

Detecting no ill will or deception from the figure of the "deceased hero" Creati concluded her findings.

" as I propped Yoroi Musha up, I discretely checked to see if his pulse was in order, he had none, plus the vacant look in his eyes while we carried a conversation finally tipped me off."

Mindhunter mused as he came very close to enjoying said conversation.

" I'm sensing there's at least one more detail that clued you in."

Creati concluded the conversation with this.

" Yoroi Musha believed himself to be a Samurai, he wouldn't have asked to drop the honorifics or be as casual as you were with me and….."

To drive the point home Creati followed that line of thinking with this.

" Yoroi Musha would've contemplated Seppuku after such a shameful defeat, you did not."

Mindhunter gave a sarcastic laugh while asking.

" isn't that a bit of a cliché?, not to mention that the elderly hero failed to live to the ideals held by Samurai."

Creati had to concede to that statement since samurai by this day and age are a part of Japan's ancient history so instead she came to the following conclusion with the hope of understanding the figure before her better.

" so?, may I deduce that you attack and kill hypocrites much like the hero killer Stain?"

Mindhunter followed her line of thinking as he chose his words carefully.

" you can rationalize my actions as such but I have a loftier goal in mind, now if you'll excuse me I have much to accomplish."

With that Mindhunter slipped back into the persona of the modern day druid, leaving the corpse of Yoroi Musha behind as Creati committed to memory every detail she could think of as important.

" life is a series of choices and an accumulations of various moments we've experienced."

Mindhunter replied as he kept on walking, slowly turning into dust.

" that's a fair statement."

Creati at that asked the next logical question.

" as you established you can choose any form you set your mind to, why this form above all else?"

Yet again Mindhunter chose his words carefully.

" because it means something to me."

As Mindhunter disappeared altogether Creati was transported back to the hospital room where Yoroi Musha once occupied as a team of nurses and doctors rushed to her location soon after while she contacted Deku, Shoto and Dynamight. Returning in a record time of 25 minutes the trio met with Creati as Dynamight stated.

" so if I'm getting it straight the bastard who attacked the old man pretended to be him just to what? Have a friendly chat or to mess with our heads?"

Creati answered honestly.

" to tell you the truth I don't know myself, but I did manage to get a bit more info on him if it makes you feel better."

Dynamight scoffed.

" it's a start at least."

With that it was decided that Allmight and Keigo should be kept in the loop as fast as possible. The quartet in question met with the two former heroes in an office building owned by the H.P.S.C as Creati wasted no time giving every detail she could think of starting with a detailed account with the assailant, Mindhunter as he was now known, ending with s detailed sketch of the modern day druid in question. As the foursome left the office building a couple of hours later Deku and Dynamight wasted no time as they again started patrolling the area only now they had a name and a face they could attach to as Creati emphasized.

" just in case you run into him, don't engage him directly."

Deku simply replied that he understood as Dynamight humorously stated.

" we got it mom!… anything else?"

Creati dismissed the humor with an eye roll as she addressed Shoto directly.

" you should help with the search as well."

Shoto gave a small genuine smile and a nod.

" I will, but after I make sure you're 100% okay?"

Creati at that responded with.

" I guess there's no arguing with you?"

Shoto concluded the conversation with.

" not in this case."

Shoto at that led Creati to a safehouse nearby owned through Endeavour's hero agency as the two entered a decently furnished and sized apartment with Shoto stating the following.

" the fridge is stocked and there are clean towels if you want to freshen up."

Momo thanked him.

" much appreciated, now if you could only point me towards the bathroom?"

Shoto at that simply nodded as he showed her the way, though inwardly he kicked himself for not giving her the directions sooner. As they reached the bathroom Todoroky excused himself as he stated.

" in the meantime I'm going to start doing research on this Mindhunter, if there's anything that bothers you don't hesitate to let me know."

Momo at that reassured him.

" I've got this well in hand, you better stay focused on the investigation."

Catching that teasing manner at the last part Shoto murmured as Momo has already occupied the bathroom.

" easier said than done."

Luckily enough there were no moments where Momo needed any help as Shoto laser focused on the investigation in front of him as he occupied a room in the safehouse designated as a study/office as he ran a face recognition software on a digital scan of Creati's sketch as a strange case of Deja vu kept occurring to Todoroky while looking at the suspect's face. Returning with a fresh hero costume Creati found Shoto exiting the office as they instinctively cleared their throats.

" I came by to offer some help with the investigation."

Shoto's reply was as follows.

" thanks but it will take another hour or so until we manage to uncover Mindhunter's identity, if at all."

Momo at that asked.

" maybe we could find it using a search engine."

Not wanting to dismiss it Shoto asked the following question.

" what makes you so sure it would be that easy?"

Creati at that shrugged.

" just figured we'd find more than police records."

Finding the answer reasonable Shoto offered to make Momo some late lunch as she in turn couldn't help but be a little impressed as she joined by his side stating.

" don't take this as an offense but I clearly remember that you lack in the culinary skills department."

Shoto at that answered in an even tone.

" to my defense I've gotten better thanks to Bakugo's teachings."

Momo at that tried to stifle a laugh.

His current condition

" that man will never cease to puzzle me."

Shoto joined the laughter with a genuine smile.

" on that we can agree on."

with that said and done the two proved to work remarkably well together as they made simple french styled Omlettes for lunch with a side dish of an onion salad as a thought began to plague Momo.

" say….. how's Endeavor doing these days?"

The two carried their dishes to the kitchen table as they began eating quietly as eventually Shoto responded with.

" keeping in shape and alert considering his current condition…"

Realising where she was going with that Shoto excused himself for a moment as he called the Todoroki residence only to be redirected towards the voice mail.

" unfortunately I'm not getting through but knowing my old man?, he still has the judgement of the former number 1 hero."

Momo shared that sentiment.

" and reflexes I hope."

That evening, within the Todoroky's house hold both the patriarch and matriarch have returned from an unspecified outing as Mindhunter watched from a place that for simplicity's sake could be described as the space between spaces. Watching their every move with great interest Mindhunte's goal was to assess whether the retired number one hero would be a threat to his endeavors or if his involvement could be beneficiary for him. As the evening went along nothing in the couple's routine suggested that they were aware of his existence that is until Endeavor or Enji Todoroky in his private circle of friends and acquaintances noticed that a few messages were left on the home's phone starting with.

' hey… I know you don't right and you don't call but let's have lunch together, the usual place, your number one fan…..'

Endeavor sighed in a subdued annoyance.

" typical Hawks…."

The next few messages were left by various reporters from different media outlets looking for a comment about Yoroi Musha's assault and subsequent death which by now reached anyone and their grandmother, however the last one caught the former hero off guard.

' hey dad…. Sorry I don't call too often as I should… if I'm honest with myself it's not easy not calling you Endeavor or even something more formal as father…. Still I called to let you know I'm doing fine and to encourage you to do the same, keep mom and Fuyumi safe for the both of us…. I'll talk with Natsuo too.'

Enji sighed in relief as though he let out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding as he said.

" you have nothing to apologize for son."

With that said and done Enji continued on with the evening as usual while informing his wife Rei that he'll be paying his respects to his son Toya. Keeping a close eye on the former number one Mindhunter followed the man until he was faced with a memorial shrine for a middle school boy with a snowy white hair and an uninterested expression on his face, in fact almost vacant on his face as the observer thought to himself.

' now there's something interesting I could use if I find it necessary.'

With that Mindhunter retreated from his current position as he allowed the former number one to pray and pay his respects in private as he was now watching a typical dinner scene between a married couple, well typical for a man who lost an arm and a leg in a war while his wife had burn marks on her face sort of typical.

" I received a few messages today, one from Shoto especially".

Rei Todoroki, a woman who can be defined as lady like by all accounts responded as follows.

" how lovely, what did he had to say?"

Enji at that replied much like his son, in a straight forward manner.

" he expresses his apologies for not visiting often and he's wishing us his best regards."

With a sad smile on her face Rei's following response was.

" I sense there's something you don't wish to speak about."

Endeavor chuckled slightly, though there was no genuine mirth in that action.

" I suppose there's some things I can't hide from you."

Rei simply nodded as she said.

" you suppose correctly."

Endeavor took a deep breath as he recounted the following.

" have you heard about the recent death of the equipped hero Yoroi Musha?, well I received a cryptic message from Hawks today alongside Shoto's message, in fact our son insisted that I'll do my best to protect you and Fuyumi."

Rei listened intently as she said.

" tell Hawks you'll accept meeting him and tell Shoto to come visit us."

Nodding Endeavor continued the family dinner as he asked Rei.

" have you heard from Fuyumi or Natsuo lately?"

Rei gave a polite nod saying.

" last I heard they're doing just fine."

With that Mindhunter moved on from the scene as he continued with his own goals as he muttered to himself.

" enjoy your peace while you can."

Next Chapter: Hellish intentions.