We were following Endeavor through the city, me, Deku and IcyHot.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw - a thief on a motor-

FWOOM-FOOSH!

A giant wall of flames had cut the creep off before I could get in there.

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

"One step too slow, boys," Endeavor said to us, as me and Deku came in for a landing behind him.

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

"Did you notice, Bakugou?" Said IcyHot.

"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 shotos 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."

Dumbass.

"Lemme say one more thing," said Endeavor, 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 Deku. "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!" I snapped at him, and Deku was muttering "Really, Kacchan?" behind me.

"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?" I grumbled.

"Is it connected to mastering Flashfire?" Said IcyHot.

"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, Deku was trying to help the near traffic victim up. He suddenly turned to me 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!" I shouted at him.

Later, we were having lunch up on a rooftop. Endeavor was still speaking.

"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 , 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!"

Arrogant, isn't he?

ONE WEEK LATER

We were all three of us sleeping in the dorm-style accommodations at endeavor's agency. Same place as all the sidekicks, pretty much - me, Deku and IcyHot.

And every mornin we could expect a greeting from-

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

"It's the crack of dawn! Keep it down!" I shouted at green-hair as she flexed.

"Good morning, Burnin!" Said Deku.

"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," said ICyHot before I could snap her head off. "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!" I snapped at him.

"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 Deku.

It'd been a week. We were doing everything we could to surpass the 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 Deku.

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

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

"Yeah!" Yes!"

I'm not quite sure how this happened, but there we were, standing in front of an old-fashioned mansion house, with bonsai, stoned pathways, and tiny house models - the house that the Todoroki family lived in.

"WHYYY!?"" I demanded.

"My Sister told us to come for dinner," Icyhot replied.

"WHYYY!?"

"She wanted to have my friends over."

"Go tell her now that we're not actually friends!" I snapped at him.

"Kacchan!" Said Deku.

The number one grumpily dragged us over the threshold, where IcyHot's big sister was waiting for us. She had a ponytail made out of her white hair with red stripes, and wore an apron over a turtleneck and jeans. She wore glasses, and was smiling.

"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?" I muttered, slowly looking around the door as Deku and IcyHot accompanied the big sister in.

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

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

"The whole family wants to hear how you three are doing," she told him.

Great. The whole family. From what I'd heard about IcyHot's family, we were screwed.

Not on the food side of things, though. We sat down to a great big table laid over with all the best stuff, smelling incredible, and more than enough for everyone. Sitting there too was IcyHot's older brother, who looked a lot more like their old man, with spiky hair - pure white almost - and a black shirt that said front and back.

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

"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!" I snapped at him, while the sister simply smiled and said "What a relief!"

"It makes sensei," said IcyHot's older brother. "Fuyumi's been doing the cooking ever since our cook retired due to back problems."

"I see!" Said Deku.

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

"Huh? I used to eat your cooking!?" Said IcyHot.

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

He glared at his old man.

Me and Deku exchanged a look. This pretty much got awkward fast.

"So, what food do you eat at school, Shoto?" Fuyumi asked, reaching over to pinch her brother on the arm.

"School food"-"I never knew. Why not try ag-"

He had been interrupted by his old man. Me and Deku exchanged another look. He was looking tense, his eyes bugging out of their sockets and his chewing not quite done.

IcyHot's brother suddenly stood up.

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

"Natsu!" Cried Fuyumi.

Dammit, how much are we gonna hear?

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

And with that he got up and left.

Things were silent then.

Afterwards, we helped the old man clean up. As we were walking down the hall, Deku turned to me.

"Did you know about this whole situation, Kacchan?"

"Huh? Of course I did, since you two were yapping so loudly back at the Sports Festival."

"You overheard us?"

"I mean, yeah…"

Voices interrupted us. Inside, Fuyumi was saying,

"Sorry to make you boys help."

"It's Ok, midoriya would be sorry not to help," said IcyHot, which made me grin. Yeah, that described Deku perfectly.

"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.

"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!" I shouted, and they turned around. "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 Deku.

"Nope! I overheard!" I clarified. I stomped over to the table and grabbed the dishes.

"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 Deku, as I turned to leave. "Todoroki, I think you're getting yourself ready to be able to forgive him."

I stopped.

"Huh?" Said IcyHot.

"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?"

As I walked out the door, I saw IcyHot's older brother standing by the window…with a very haunting look on his face.

Yeah - I'm gonna remember that night my entire life…

And it was only just getting started.