Guild Master here again, again.
This chapter was a chapter I forgot to impute in the main story. Please enjoy the missing chapter that had Bakugou meet the first love of his life.
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Approaching the area where the disturbance was, Endeavor reached speeds from his flight that the air around him started to rattle the windows all around him.
People in the high-rises who were working on the floors next to the elderly villain were rather put off by the mad ramblings he had been screaming for quite a while. Nobody expected the sudden takedown of the senior while he was shouting mid sentence. Several projectiles blindsided the old man from behind, leaving him to scan his environment after regaining his sense of up and down.
Floating right behind him was none other than the number two hero in the country. Hawk had a bored look on his face while the villain started to realize how outmatched he was at the moment. His quirk required some level of mental acuity to control glass to any significant level. Getting pelted in the head and back made it difficult enough to even control the glass orbs he used normally. He had no choice but to try and escape through the alley he prepared for such an affair. Instead of finding freedom, it was Hawk who saw right through the villain's ploy before he even got to utilize the backup they brought.
Several feathers he planted in the alley earlier hit the villain square in the chest, rendering the villain flat on his back and unconscious before they knew it. Not only that, the cronies that were about to ambush the heroes chasing their master were also brought out with feathers carrying them by the scruff of their jackets.
Arriving on the scene was a very unhappy Endeavor. All Hawk said in response to the higher ranking hero was that he had been in the neighborhood when an old man started screaming about the end of the world.
In reality, Hawk had been tasked in following the mentally unstable villain after the organization he worked with contacted the hero with information on the potential public menace.
He was sent a comprehensive report on the villain and immediately made a beeline to their location. If his dad learned that he let this fogey commit hundreds of thousands of yen worth of public damage; being a double agent in the Paranormal Liberation Front would be the least of his worries. The shitshow waiting for him back at home would eat him alive and shit him out.
Later
Police officers were apprehending the villain that Hawk neutralized in one fell swoop. They thanked the young hero while Endeavor looked rather peeved off on the sidelines. Playing second fiddle hadn't been how Endeavor envisioned being shown as with his son finally looking to learn something from him.
The ire of the usually angry man didn't even measure up to the wrath that would have eaten him alive back at home. This villain had the ability to control and mold glass like liquid with their quirk. Several buildings in range of the villain had been businesses that managed several key forms of income for the organization. Having their work cease while the windows were replaced was an inconvenience that neither Haru or Keigo wanted to happen. Compared to the alternative, which involved the many automated turrets scattered through the area in case of such an affair, keeping things on the up and up prevented excess paperwork for everyone.
"What is it that you wanted, Hawk? What business do you have with me?"
Being his usual impatient self didn't phase Hawk at all. He acted as his usual aloof self as he turned his attention to the pyrokinetic.
"Not really business, per se. Have you read this book?"
From out of Keigo's coat, a book labeled 'Paranormal Liberation Front' presented itself; courtesy of Hawk. Nobody there could recognize the literary work that had been presented to the country's most esteemed hero. A good reason for that fell upon the actual distribution of said literary work.
Numerous vendors throughout the country failed to keep enough copies of the book to sell in any sort of significant capacity. Mysterious circumstances somehow made it impossibly difficult to even get the name of the book in the public eye.
Multiple misprints with the printing company, poor reviews keeping the book in the lower tiers of literary interest, having search results online produce little to no information on the literary work; a nauseating amount of reasons that kept the ideology that the Liberation Front wanted to share with the world from being shared existed. Something that Ridikiya personally charged Hawk with was to share the book with his fellow heroes. A recommendation from the country's number two hero would surely garner some attention, surely.
Without Curious, the now publicly deceased publishing company owner, the Liberation Front, felt the pressures of being unable to expand their numbers. Having several hundred of their numbers killed without any new recruits left them in a bind.
What felt wrong about the recommendation that Hawk gave Endeavor was how out of character the usually carefree hero seemed to act. Something told the fire wielding hero that there was more to the book than just a good read. Without complaint, Endeavor took the book offered to him while Hawk told the man about the highlighted sections of text in the book. It was his second recommendation for Endeavor to read.
More of this stunk to the high heavens with suspicious activity. There had been something that Hawk couldn't openly tell the man; and he would work to get to the bottom of the mystery set forth by a fellow hero.
Several Days Earlier
"... Yeah, I can do that."
Discussing the next phase of the plan, Hawk accepted the task that his dad had for him. Keigo already saw several ways for him to complete his job with little chances of failure to occur.
"Alright. I'll leave it to you then, son."
With a polite bow, Hawk left Haru alone in the conference room to continue his work in peace. Now that the army suffered losses on their side, expanding seemed to be the most sensible direction to follow for the rebel group.
Their vulnerability would allow Hawk to be more directly involved with the Liberation front and their leaders. They would likely get Hawk to start spreading propaganda after reaching the roadblocks that Haru already set in motion for their publicity to be dead in the water. It was this trust that would lower Ridikiya's paranoia and lean into his desperation.
During this time, leaking info to the heroes would help move things along. If Endeavor could decipher the hidden messages given to him by Hawk, then the amount of time spent on waiting for the heroes would be cut down to its briefest version.
Present Time
"Welcome to Endeavor's office!"
A rather attractive woman with green flames for hair gave the new interns their greeting. The other sidekicks employed at Endeavor's agency eagerly introduced themselves as the Burning Sidekicks.
Many of these sidekicks came off strong for their introductions. Such energy was necessary for one of the top hero agencies in the country. While the other sidekicks were going through the motions of introducing the young interns to the work culture; Burnin, the woman with green flaming hair, felt her skin prick up at the feeling of someone looking at her. Searching around, her eyes landed on the source of that sensation in less than a few seconds.
Izuku had absent mindedly been looking at the upper thighs exposed by Burnin's costume. A young woman like Burnin felt the stare of the young man, despite the fact that Midoriya meant nothing by it. He recognized that he had been caught staring, yet didn't panic.
All he did was give the young woman a charming smile he meant to be apologetic before turning his attention back to the other sidekicks. His lack of being flustered or shy stuck with the sidekick as time went on.
Burnin knew that she was attractive. She never lacked confidence at any point in her life. Watching Izuku act so nonchalant after being caught checking her out stuck to the sidekick's memory. Her thought process kept trying to break down if this kid simply didn't care or if he didn't actually see her as attractive. The second option should have been the one conclusion she should have landed on without a care in the world.
This kid, however, stuck out like a sore thumb in her head.
His eyes felt like none of the others in her life. She actually felt disappointed without his visible approval. Her pride wouldn't let things just end with things being so unsatisfied.
Meanwhile, Izuku just couldn't help his drifting eyes. He didn't mean to offend the woman, so he just offered an apologetic expression when he realized he had been caught staring. Unknown to him, a predator cast their gaze upon what they thought would be their next meal.
Endeavor's Private Office
Seated at his ornate desk was none other than Endeavor. The book that Hawk gave him sat on the overpriced wooden desk with the hero analyzing every page with great detail. Many passages were highlighted in the book, so the only thing that Endeavor had to go off of was what the feathered hero said to him before he flew off.
There was an odd emphasis on the words that Hawk said to the hero before taking off. Second and highlighted were oddly prominent when he spoke to Endeavor. Just going off his gut feeling, the hero just scanned the passages with the second word being memorized as he went along.
Each word aligned itself in his head; the further he went along the passages. It felt like an epiphany with every bit of the hidden message he recovered.
At the end of the cipher, Endeavor realized what was being communicated to him. There was a storm on the horizon.
It was only a question of who would still be standing after it passed.
Over One Week Later
Every bit of muscle and skin hurt like hell. Shoto, Izuku, and Bakugou were all beaten to hell and back. Hero work never ceased to make itself available in the Endeavor Hero Agency.
All their equipment started to look scuffed with the constant abuse subjected to them. Even Burnin felt impressed with how these teens never seemed to be discouraged with their workload. Seeing them all get right back up after a royal ass kicking put a fire back into her. Though, a different kind of fire put itself into her with only one of the trio taking an internship at Endeavor's agency.
That damn Izuku never made her feel like a piece of meat. In fact, she couldn't tell what the hell that kid was thinking most times of the day.
What she thought was just a happy-go-lucky kid turned out to be so much more upon further inquiry. Each conversation she had with him made him feel like he was genuinely listening to her. All their talking left her wanting for more time with one another. Nothing about this kid made any sense to the young woman. She would be damned if he left her in such a sordid mental state before he returned to UA Academy.
That Evening
"What the hell?!"
Bakugou questioned Shoto as to why he and Izuku were being dragged into the Todoroki household for dinner. It seemed that Fuyumi, Shoto's older sister, wanted to meet her youngest brother's friends from school. Izuku didn't find the affair to be all that unpleasant and tried to calm the ever passionate Katsuki down. All of them entered the home with a heartwarming greeting awaiting them.
"Thank you all for coming over! My name is Fuyumi; Shoto's older sister. Please, make yourselves at home."
As she was apologizing for her supposed selfish request for them to have dinner, Izuku noticed something rather odd in Katsuki's behavior. After he returned the greeting and took off his shoes, Midoriya noticed how Katsuki still didn't move from where he stood. Looking at his friend's face revealed quite a bit about where Bakugou's head was at right at the moment.
Katsuki couldn't take his eyes off of the older sister of Shoto. He had this blank expression on his face as the older woman tended to her youngest brother and his winter wear. That same blank stare still didn't leave the usually brash teen's face after Fuyumi left Izuku and Bakugou at the entrance. Izuku started to get worried after Bakugou still failed to move after she left.
"... Ka-chan?"
"What the hell?! Don't scare me like that, idiot!"
Trying to brush off the incident as nothing, Bakugou still couldn't take that blush off his face as he struggled to get his shoes off before entering the Todoroki household. To this date, Izuku had never seen his friend look so dumbfounded in his entire life. What he saw was something akin to Mina when they were alone. A funny yet believable thought crossed Izuku as he watched Bakugou stomp off towards the dining room.
Perhaps the violent juggernaut known as Bakugou Katsuki found himself stuck down by the one thing that Izuku felt was strong enough to take him down a few notches. The possibility actually made Izuku smile at his friend's turn of events.
It was likely that Katsuki finally fell in love at first sight.
Dining Room
Everything on the table tasted absolutely delicious. Fuyumi wasted no effort when she made dinner for both her family and Shoto's friends.
When she asked how everything tasted, Izuku got cut off when Bakugou acted irritated with the over analytical Midoriya. It hadn't been intentional when Izuku started to break down the dishes and their origins in Japan's history. He managed to stop himself out of interest for his friend's newfound emotional development.
"No need to force yourself if there's nothing you like."
In response to the humble offer, Katsuki began to shove a little of every single side dish into his already full mouth. The tension about to build up had been completely deflated with Bakugou's effort to please the young woman.
Natsu, who found it difficult to be in the same room as his biological father, couldn't muster the frustration to mouth off to his father as he watched this kid begin to stuff his cheeks with all of his sister's side dishes.
Izuku had to offer his glass of water when Katsuki started to gag on the large amount of food he tried to swallow all at once. Even Natsu couldn't quip at his father with how ridiculous Bakugou made himself look after almost choking himself on too much food before swallowing what he already had in his mouth. After finally swallowing all the food in his mouth, Bakugou said only one thing after regaining his composure.
"All of it is delicious!"
He hadn't even looked at Fuyumi when he said it, yet she felt the most moved when she heard his honest opinion of her cooking.
"I want to eat this every fucking day!"
As expected, Midoriya found his friend to be as crass as usual while being emotionally supportive of the crush that suddenly found themself in Katsuki's crosshair. Something that even Fuyumi felt her heart stir in response to.
Being a primary school teacher surrounded Fuyumi with the most honest human beings on the face of the earth; grade schoolers. Children had no filter when it came to what they said about anything they said about anything. This lack of forethought had been the largest reason she felt alienated from finding someone who cared about her.
Dating hadn't been a scene she friquented when she found interest in finding a boyfriend. Her first date seemed rather nice with all the praise she got from him whenever she did something for him.
What changed was when she brought a pastry recipe she made for the one she was dating to the children in her school. None of her students said that it was bad; it was what they described out of the dish that started to fill the new teacher with a bit of dread. What they described in the flaky pastry was a blueberry type flavor. Her date spoke of the flavor profile as strawberry.
When confronted with the revelation, the boyfriend callously told her that it all tasted the same to him. Her heart felt a bit tender after realizing how little he actually cared for his date. He strangely became unavailable after she stopped by Nakamura's stall to cry on his shoulder. The dinner that night tasted more memorable than the young man who broke her heart that night, so nothing of value was lost.
Watching Bakugou scarf down the dishes she made, the passion that she saw in his eyes truly believed the thing that was said from the man who owned them. Watching that same young man start to hoover down all the side dishes with Izuku trying to slow down the young man changed something in Fuyumi. Though he was brash and brutish, that honesty she felt mattered when she taught her students; reflected itself in Katsuki as he genuinely savored the taste that came from her cooking.
"Yo! Sorry I'm- Bakugou! Slow down!"
It fell upon Nakamura to call out Katsuki's brutish behavior at the dining table. The one to invite Haru to this dinner was both Fuyumi and Natsu. Natsu wanted the man to be his conversational savior while the sister thought that there had been a slight chance that her two father figures could still make amends.
That sentiment went straight out the window when the gift bag that Haru slung over his shoulder also violently collided with the back of Endeavor's head. This man clearly still had a hatred of the man who almost sent his family into the depths of insanity.
To the entire room's surprise, the hero did nothing in retaliation to the cheap blow against the back of their head.
"Savor the taste, for goodness sake. You know how much work goes into one dish…"
"... It tastes good. I couldn't help it."
That one statement stuck with Fuyumi. Watching Bakugou nibble at all the other dishes on the table made her realize that he really did mean what he said. He ate everything on the table throughout the night, even eating the side dishes she expected to be the least popular. Nothing remained due to Katsuki's apparently insatiable appetite.
The rest of the night had Nakamura getting drunk and sharing some hilarious stories about all the younger people at the table. A much needed break in the tense situation taking place at the once uncomfortable dinner. Natsu even forgot about his father at the table as he kept trying to shut down Nakamura's embarrassing retelling of certain events in the young man's past. These stories were quite entertaining, but they served another purpose for someone else at the table. Endeavor couldn't recall a single story that was being shared, which made the hero realize something deeply depressing.
He never stuck around nor created a home environment where such tales could take place. Memories of his children were all of him just forcing his will on them or telling them to do as he said.
Haro had been the one serving to provide his children with good memories to retell. More and more, he realized that maybe there may be a good reason why Nakamura hated him. The fact that the white haired man alleviated the building tension in the room that he created being the clearest reason. He spent years connecting with them while all he did was tear at them with his own selfish desires.
Lost in his thoughts, Endeavor remained silent for the rest of the meal. Perhaps the path to redemption wasn't as straightforward as he first thought to be.
After Dinner
Helping clear the table, Katsuki diligently assisted however he could to make Fuyumi's job easier. There still was a bit of tension in the air as Endeavor looked to be deep in thought as he arranged a new tray of food before leaving the kitchen.
Fuyumi reentered the room as her father passed by with the tray of food. Her expression translated to one of slight melancholy with the realization what her dad was doing at the moment. Catching her expression, Katsuki said something to the room as he scrubbed at the dirty dishes.
"Guy's a real dick. I can't believe he's such an asshole."
Izuku felt a bit startled with the sudden jab at the hero's expense. Both Shoto and Fuyumi looked to the back of Bakugou's head with a small amount of surprise on their face at the rude comment.
"Had my old man been like that; I'd be spitting at his memory. Seems like you two still want to give him a second chance. Dunno why, though."
Of the two siblings, Fuyumi had a sharp wit about her. Something that she took pride in as a grade school teacher. All the usage of past tense when Katsuki mentioned his own father made it clear to her that the man he compared her father to likely had passed on.
"Oh, Bakugou… I'm so sorry if our family history brought up some unpleasant memories. I should have been more-"
"-Because he's our father. No matter the circumstances, nobody could take that away from him…"
Shoto cut off his sister from apologizing for the evening over things that were out of their control. Hearing her about to offer her condolences did help Shoto realize that Bakugou said something that was a sore subject to help keep the room from sinking into a darker mood.
"Someone once said that despite what I want to think or deny; what happened already happened. Letting it weigh us down won't change things for the better. If our father wants to make amends, then it would be something that could help us come to terms with the past."
Wise words that were shared with the young teen that every child in the Todoroki household were familiar with. The oldest sister clenched her hand over her heart at the memory of those words reaching her at a young age.
"We can be better. This doesn't have to rule over the rest of our lives. It sometimes feels unfair at times… But holding onto it would only hurt us more. What we want to do is grow past this and live up to the best of what we can do."
Though the words were prolific, Izuku and Katsuki could recognize that this mystery person likely had been the same person that came to the evening's rescue unannounced to them. Fuyumi disclosed that it was her that offered the man to come over for dinner, despite the hatred Haru had for her father. She knew that Nakamura would never make his own issues known for his own benefit, so there was a great deal of trust that he would act sociable for everybody else in the room. Her gamble ended up paying off as even Natsu stuck around to the end of the meal.
Speaking of, nobody knew where the middle sibling or where Haru was at the moment. Likely they were outside smoking and sharing a drink with one another while reminiscing. Both siblings knew how much Natsu revered Haru as a surrogate father. They were probably sharing stories over how life had been since the last they sat down in person for a chat.
Elsewhere in the Home
Arriving at one particular room with a meal in hand, Endeavor entered the darkened room where Nakamura sat with a glass and beer bottle next to him. He sat while leaning back on his other arm with one knee up and the other folded underneath the arch of the other leg. No acknowledgement of the father's arrival was apparent as Haru finished off his glass before pouring another one.
Contrasting the merriment he brought to the dinner table earlier, Nakamura's eyes were somber with a very subtle yet deep sadness. His expression told Endeavor that the man seated in front of the Todoroki family shrine felt numb in face of the grief of Todoroki Touya's passing.
All the family had left of their oldest child was a picture of him smiling at the camera. An expression that Haru dearly missed from the boy.
Though he wanted to tell Haru to leave, doing so would only insult the memory of Touya. As the man who drove his son into suicide, telling the man who was a better father to his son than he was to leave felt morally deplorable.
Endeavor silently sat next to Haru in front of the shrone and placed the tray in front of the shrine. He prayed and bowed in respect to his deceased son while Nakamura remained unresponsive. Neither man spoke to the other as they sat in their own misery. One felt lost in his journey towards absolution while the other wallowed in their rage and hatred over what could have been preventable with some basic human decency. Hatred that had even himself feel accountable for all the lost time and suffering he could have prevented if he just stepped over the line and said fuck it to the consequences.
In some way, both men let this family down. Only they knew of the terrible sins they could have stopped if they did something about it.
Living Room
After the dishes were taken care of, the teenage heroes and Fuyumi all sat at the table with tea set out for them. Things were a bit heavy as Fuyumi and Shoto disclosed to the other two the history that kept a wedge between the family and its patriarch. The piece of history that was the now deceased Todoroki Touya, formerly the oldest of the Todoroki siblings.
Things had been great with how well the siblings got along with one another back in the day. That never changed, even when Endeavor tried to mold Shoto into his ideal prodigy. Touya and Natsu got along swimmingly as children. All of that changed after the birth of Shoto.
What Endeavor lacked as a parent was having the ability to love his children and love his ambition equally. One main reason that Endeavor sought to have children was to create the perfect splice of ice control and fire control with one of his offspring. Before he had Shoto, Touya had been raised to be a prodigy that would succeed in his father's stead. All that love and praise that once fell upon the oldest suddenly got shifted to the youngest overnight.
Being so single minded on his part, Endeavor only made things worse when he told the boy to forget the ambition that he had to succeed his father. Touya could only perceive the loss of affection. A developing child that gets their entire world torn out of their hands like that would find themselves to be completely broken without the support to keep their world viewpoint afloat.
Only one other outside of their family tried to comfort the boy who felt as though he lost everything. From the very start, Nakamura tried his best to give the boy the emotional support they needed. Though he was limited in his position as an outsider, he tried his damndest to be there for the boy and help him through the worst of it.
Shortly after the tragic passing of the boy, the man who deeply cared for the children also rarely started to show his face. The Todoroki family lost two loved ones after that incident.
A long time passed after that, which then led to Shoto getting his face burned badly. Thankfully their mother ran into Haru outside of their home. He heard the screaming and managed to get them both medical assistance for their conditions. Which then led to the worst thing that Fuyumi ever witnessed. Watching her hands shake on her lap, Shoto placed his hands on his sister's and told the boy's what had happened.
"Several days after my mother and I were hospitalized, Nakamura confronted my father outside of our home after drinking for over three days without sleep. When they finally met, my father was beaten within an inch of his life by the very same man who saved me and my mother."
Hearing that Haru beat one of the most powerful heroes in the country bloody felt surreal to them. Midoriya could recall some news report about how Endeavor fought against some sort of villain that left him in traction for some time. Hearing that scared the child at the time with the possible threat of a very powerful villain being out there still. It would explain why the hero kept dodging questions regarding who the villain was and what they were like. Endeavor likely kept the incident private to keep his reputation intact. Hearing that a beloved hero was beaten almost dead by someone who wanted to kill him over Endeavor's abuse of his own family would be bad publicity.
More startling than that, Bakugou and Midoriya couldn't believe their mentor did that with no sleep and being completely wasted. The more they learned about their mentor, the more they came to respect his skills as a fighter.
"Natsu thinks our father is responsible for everything that's come to pass. Shoto's scar. Mother's mental breakdown. Even Touya's death. So much of our family's problems were blamed on our father for the longest time by Natsu… But still, Nakamura wanted us to be better. To learn and bring ourselves to forgive our father."
That revelation needed some elaboration. Neither Izuku nor Katsuki understood clearly enough why someone who almost kills a man would go right back around and tell that man's kids to forgive their father.
Nakamura didn't want the kids to have the same sort of hatred or pain in their heart that he had. They could still learn from their past and become understanding enough to let go of their trauma and live freely as people. Getting rid of the past may not be possible, but adapting and learning how to process one's grievances leads to brighter things. Perhaps even a future where they can smile and be truly happy.
Resonating with Izuku the most, he understood his teacher a little more than he did previously. Katsuki could even see that his mentor had some serious willpower to not just kill the man or turn his kids against him. Looking past himself and caring for the man's children without any selfish desire for revenge felt beyond the blonde boy. It left him deep in thought over what he needed to reconsider about how he treated his own emotional pain.
"Students. I'm taking you back to school."
Since it was the weekend now, the students were obligated to be returned to the UA dorms. They all put their winter wear back on and made their exit. Izuku bowed and thanked the sister while Katsuki took a different approach.
He stormed up to the older woman before presenting his phone to her with a deep blush on his cheeks. She didn't know what to say until Bakugou stammered out a coherent enough answer.
"The tofu… Mapo tofu… It was good. Can you… Can you text it to me?"
Ending his request, a barely audible please that Fuyumi could just make out through his scarf caused the school teacher to gently smile at the young boy asking for her phone number. She dialed in her number and even took a quick selfie for the ID photo. Returning the mobile, she took Bakugou's hands into her own as she spoke from the heart.
"Thank you for being Shoto's friends. It truly means a lot to me."
"... Mm."
It was like his quirk started to go off from the tip of his ears. Bakugou hid his face in the neck warmer with Midoriya looking at his friend with a knowing smile. There was no denial of him being anybody's friend when he agreed to the sentiment that Fuyumi shared with them all. Maybe Bakugou Katsuki wasn't just a battle crazed juggernaut saying they were going to be the number one hero. By the slimmest of chances, perhaps there is a heart capable of love underneath all that bravado and anger.
"Fuyumi…"
Endeavor called out to his daughter over his shoulder before getting into the passenger side door of the limo. She listened to her father intently as he too shared something from the heart.
"... Thank you."
The smile on her face threatened to split her face when she heard him say that. This year could probably be the best one to date for the Todoroki family.