We were following my old man through the city, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw - a thief on a motor-

FWOOM-FOOSH!

A giant wall of flames had cut into our path before I could get in there. Endeavor was moving in a way I found a bit familiar - it reminded me of -

"We caught the hit-and-running," someone said until dispatch.

"One step too slow, boys," the old man said to us, as Bakugou and Midoriya came in for a landing behind him.

"Only cuz it takes me extra time to fire up the gears in winter," Bakugou snarled at him.

"Did you notice, Bakugou?" I asked.

"As if you'd ever notice something I couldn't! Go on, what're you dying to point out?"

"Every time he dashes forward, he shoots fire out of his feet. I don't know if you saw it, but it's like that jet burn move he used down in Kyushu. It was probably a condensed version that drove him forward."

"So it's a rip off of my explosion? So what? Did you just notice that?"

"Yup. It took me a while."

I only realized this cause I've got the same powers. Boosting his heat that high and at that speed requires delicate control.

"Lemme say one more thing," said my old man, blasting off again. "Main street's over there. We got this handled, so go ahead!" Said one of the sidekicks. "It's rare that the boss is wiling to teach anyone other than Shoto.'

"I see!" Said Midoriya. "He's gonna cut off the escape route with flame blasts!"

"Hawks picked up some fo my slack in Kyushu, but generally a hero has to be someone who can get any job done alone. And if you're wondering, I did notice that the glass villain had his own flunkies earlier."

"Yer so petty!" Bakugou snapped at him.

Bakugou, I kind of love you.

"Bakugou. You said you wanna know what you can't do. I gotta say, you move at a decent speed for a rookie. But even you must realize you can't surpass me right now. t's harder in the winter!? Too bad, cuz excuses don't matter when you show up late. This ain't school. There're more than grades at stake if you're too slow."

He'd landed in front of us to stop a truck from hitting two civilians. "We're talking lives! Shoto, Bakugou, I'm giving you two the same assignment."

"Why'm I always paired up with him?" Bakugou grumbled.

"Is it connected to mastering Flashfire?" I asked.

"Buildup and release. Condense your power. Unleash max output for just a second, or focus your power. First, pick one or the other, and drill over and over until you don't need to think about it."

As he spoke, Midoriya was trying to help the near traffic victim up. He suddenly turned to Bakugou and said, "Kacchan! That's the same concept as your armor-piercing shot!"

"How d'you even know that? I'm gonna get a restraining order!" Bakugou shouted at him.

Later, we were having lunch up on a rooftop. My old man continued his lecture.

"You're partway there with both tasks, Shoto. First, work on focusing your fire, since you can already control the same of your ice. It's the same idea. Deku, you can max out your output for a second, right?"

"Right!"

"How about doing it subconsciously?"

"Erm, with full cowling, yeah, I can. But with Air Force, I still need to focus."

"Then work on your Air Force or whatever until it becomes second nature. Forget about the secondary ability for now."

"But - what about the parallel processes?"

"Everyone out there does it every day. Even subconsciously. See that guy driving down there? The one yawning? You think he woke up one day knowing how to drive? There's the steering wheel, the accelerator, the brakes…checking behind, ahead, and so on. He practiced all that, one thing at a time, until he didn't have to think about it anymore. First, figure out how to handle two processes at once subconsciously. Once you've got that down, throw in another thing. No matter how strong your power is, the foundation's gotta be built on steady diligence. There're exceptions to that rule, but for everyone else, we gotta build up to it, slowly. At least, that's the only way I know how. Practicing over and over out here in the field is gonna give you a totally different experience from what you get in school. You've learned a lot in the classroom, but here at my side, in the ultimate training environment, is where those lessons will really sink in. Relax, and it's ok to mess up. Succeed or fail, it ain't like you three could have even the slightest impact on my work!"

—

ONE WEEK LATER

We were all three of us sleeping in the dorm-style accommodations at my old man's agency. As we got out of bed, a little frazzled, on the fourth morning, we were greeted by her, as always.

"G'morning! How's it going?"

"It's the crack of dawn! Keep it down!" Bakugou shouted.

"Good morning, Burnin!" Said Midoriya.

"Well, have ya beat a baddie faster than Endeavor yet? Oops, sorry! I'm kinda blunt, huh? Sure, sure, I know it ain't gonna be easy!"

"We came close yesterday," I reminded them. "You two should remember what that sensation felt like. Today's the day we surpass Endeavor! Oh. Good morning, Burnin."

"I was the one who got close, you idiot! You're still so crazy slow! That's why I came out on top!" Bakugou snapped at me.

"I'm not used to concentrating my fire on a focal point yet."

"But I feel like we're making progress, little by little!" Said Midoriya.

It'd been a week. We were doing everything we could to surpass my old man, catch up to a villain before him. But no matter what, he seemed to just keep on outrunning us.

On patrol that day, he was still - faster, dammit!

"Focus!" He was yelling. "Keep at it until you can do this stuff in your sleep! By the time you decide to act, your body should already be finished with your move!"

"You think he'd get sick of showing off by now!" I snapped.

"Every time we get close, he blasts off again!" Said Midoriya.

"Thank you, Endeavor!" The near-victim was crying.

"LET'S GO!" The number one shouted at the three of us.

"Yeah!" Yes!"

—

Fuyumi had called, and invited us all to come home for dinner. Me, Midoriya, Bakugou - and my old man. We were all standing in the front yard of my family home, after work. I was bringing my friends home to meet my parents.

"WHYYY!?"" Bakugou screamed.

"My Sister told us to come for dinner," I told him.

"WHYYY!?"

"She wanted to have my friends over."

"Go tell her now that we're not actually friends!"

Oh. He hadn't denied it for a while.

"Kacchan!" Said Midoriya.

The number one grumpily dragged us over the threshold, where IcyHot's big My old man took us in, and Fuyumi stood there to say hello.

"I know you're all super busy, so thanks for coming! I'm Shoto's sister Fuyumi. It's great to meet both of you! And thanks for looking out for him. Sorry for inviting everyone on such short notice! I really appreciate all of you coming anyway!"

"Whyyy?" Muttered Bakugou as we all entered.

"My Pleasure!" Said Midoriya. "I rarely get invited to friends' homes."

"Natsu's here too?" I asked her. "I saw his shoes."

"The whole family wants to hear how you three are doing," she told me. She had prepared something wonderful as always, we were greeted with a great big spread for our homecoming. Even Bakugou couldn't complain.

"If there's anything you can't eat, don't worry," said Fuyumi.

Midoriya shook his head."No, it's all fantastic, really! Like this astute-age-rich and flavorful on the inside but with a crispy fried coating that's simply-a-banquet-of-sensations-for-the-palateinawaythat-"

"Don't analyze the freaking food! You're babbling's ruining my map tofu!"Bakugou cut him off, while Fuyumi said, "What a relief!"

"It makes sense." Said Natsu.. "Fuyumi's been doing the cooking ever since our cook retired due to back problems."

"I see!" Said Midoriya.

"Natsu used to cook took turns," said Fuyumi.

"Huh? I used to eat your cooking!?" I gasped.

"Maybe, maybe not. But my stuff's probably too rich, so…Endeavor probably didn't let you eat it."

He glared at the old man.

"So, what food do you eat at school, Shoto?" Fuyumi asked, reaching over to pinch Natsu and forcing a smile.

"School food"I started, before the old man interrupted me.-"I never knew. Why not try ag-"

Midoriya and Bakugou were looking quite awkward.

Natsu suddenly stood up.

"The food was good. Thanks. I sat at the table. That's enough, right?"

"Natsu!" Cried Fuyumi.

"Sorry, sis. This is just too much."

And with that he got up and left.

Things were silent then.

Afterwards, as we were cleaning up, Fuyumi said to me, "Sorry to make you boys help."

"It's Ok, Midoriya would be sorry not to help."

"It's not like I don't share some of Natsu's feelings," said Fuyumi. "But - it feels like we've been given another chance now. How do you feel about dad?"

Silence.

My mom, crying, screaming.

"This burn…I think of it as something our old man gave me. Mom endured and endured untiil she couldn't anymore. So I can't just decide to forgive the guy who wore her down. But mom is trying to get past all that now. Honestly, I don't know how I should feel about him. I still haven't seen anything-

"YER NOT S'POSED TO EXPOSE YOUR DIRTY LAUNDRY TO GUESTS!" Bakugou interrupted us as he stormed in, followed by Midoriya. "Also, any more dishes to wash?"

"Oh, whoops! Sorry, I just-" said Fuyumi, clapping her hands over her mouth.

"Um - uh - Todorki has already told us, more or less," said Midoriya.

"Nope! I overheard!" Bakugou snapped, grabbing more dishes to watch. "When ya host a dinner, it's s'posed to be civil and pleasant, sheesh! What waste of good Szechuan maps tofu."

"I apologize for eavesdropping," said Midoriya, as Bakugou left. "Todoroki, I think you're getting yourself ready to be able to forgive him."

"Huh?"I asked.

"Just say 'I'll never forgive him' if you really hate the guy. Because you're an incredibly kind person, it's like you're waiting - or at least, that's how ti seems. That's what this is about, right?"

An incredibly kind person?