The damn villain was still ranting, with a damn arrow pointed at IcyHot's big brother's throat. He was trying to seal us inside the car. "Even in the worst of times, heroes don't have the option to you killed that Nome, right? And I'm just like that puppet - not alive, not dead, somewhere in between! So rest easy! Use those dazzling flames of yours to "
With a great blast I made it out of the car. I could hear Deku and IcyHot on my tail.
"Forgetting something, slackers!?"shouted the chauffeur.
"Kacchan! Shoto!" Deku shouted. I caught the suitcase with my costume inside, and pulled on my gauntlet.
"Trainees, huh?" Said the villain. "But Endeavor, kill me right this time! You're my only hope!"
The old man had frozen in place, and we blasted past him.
"Oh, flames of hope! Still playing the good and decent hero? Even with your own son's life on the line!?" The villain was screaming.
"Give. Me back…My brother!" IcyHot shouted.
"Quickly now, kill me!" The villain screamed back. He was tossing cars around. "Cuz if you don't, more will die!"He was tossing IcyHot's brother at a car -
The best heroes win by-
I grabbed the kid before he could hit the ground. "More will die? Nope!"
I turned towards the falling cars - but Deku had em, activating that new quirk all of a sudden like it was nothing. "That's right. No one's dying. We won't let them! Otherwise all our hopes won't come true!"
From the looks of it, IcyHot had the villain B-
I was being embraced all of a sudden by giant arms along with IcyHot's brother.
What the hell?
Endeavor was actually hugging us.
I did everything I could to get out but the man's giant arms were like a vice.
"Anyone hurt?" He asked.
"No. Get offa me!" I shouted. "Old middle aged man smell!"
At last it loosened and I got out. "Where's the white-line chump?!" I shouted.
Damn. IcyHot had him.
"Captured."
"No, wrong! Not you!" Shouted the villain. "Not you…not right…"
"How about the unnamed nobodies, Deku!?" I shouted.
"I'm not sure who you mean by that! But the fine citizens in the cars are all safe!" Said Deku. "This is a total win for us!"
"Great, now shaddup!" I snapped at him.
"Why?!"
"How'd it go again, number one?! Our big assignment for this winter!? Something about beating a villain faster than you, just once!?"
"Yeah! Great work there!" He replied. Dammit. "When I stumbled, you stepped in quick to pick up the slack!"
"Heaping on the praise, just like that? You're supposed to be pissed off about it…" I muttered.
"Kacchan, c'mon!" Said Deku.
"Get off!" Said IcyHot's brother, who sounded like I felt, shoving the old man off of him.
The old man was - was he almost crying?
"Natsuo! I'm sorry! In that moment, I couldn't help but think…about how if I saved you…then going forward you might feel like you couldn't stand up to me."
"Huh?" Said Natsuo.
"Natsuo, believe it or not, I was never trying to neglect any of you. But all I could do was blame others and dodge responsibility. With Toya too….I might as well have killed him myself!"
Holy shit. This was so fucking uncomfortable.
"Didn't neglect us? So what? Toya always told me everything. It'll be a cold day in hell before I forgive you. Cause I'm not as caring as Shoto."
He'd overheard…
"Even so…even so, you keep showing up for Fuyumi, right? And for your mom's sake. Your sister loves the idea of being a big, happy family…because that's exactly what I ruined. She wants that back. She's so eager to fix everything. And that's why you're trying, because you care about how she feels, right? Because you are caring. So…you don't have to forgive me."
"You might as well hope you'll be born with a quirk in your next life and throw yourself off the roof of a building…"
I felt my heart drop into my shoes.
"You resemble Endeavor, young Bakugou…"
"I'm not looking for forgiveness. Just atonement."
IcyHot's brother was crying. "Wow, you got a real way with words, all of a sudden! I know how happy it makes sis, having us all together. But when I see your face, those memories come rushing back. Why do I gotta be the one to come around? Atonement? How're you gonna make that happen?"
"I have an idea, actually-" the old man was saying, but suddenly, the villain interrupted him, screaming, "Argh! Stop that, Endeavor! Y'can't go all soft on me now! Where's the ferocious, arrogant fire? The dazzling light? You were supposed to be my hope! So cut it out! Hope, gone, all wrong, stop!"
"The police!" Said Deku, as a siren came up. "Phew!"
The cops came in to round up the damn villain. IcyHot's brother came up to the three of us, and looked at me. "Thanks, erm - what's your hero name again?"
"Huh?"
"It's just Bakugou, right?" Said Deku.
"Nah."
"Oh, you picked a name! Tell me, tell me!" Said Deku.
"You're the last one I'm telling, so buzz off and die!"
"Could you tell me, then?" Said IcyHot.
"Not you either, IcyHot! There's someone else I gotta tell first!"
After that, Endeavor brought us back to school. A few days later, IcyHot told us what happened back at the house.
"Attacked? Is everyone okay?!" Fuyumi said when we got back and told her.
"Uh huh. Shoto and the boys saved me."
The old man said, "Fuyumi, I've already talked about this with Shoto and NAtsuo. You've been doing your best to create a safe and sound household for your mother to come home to. I've let you shoulder all of that, and I stood by while you worked hard. But it's all okay now. Because I'm building a new house for you all, one that makes sense for your commutes, and one where you can give your mother a warm welcome back."
"What about you, dad?"
"I'll remain here."
It was a weird, depressing story, that Todoroki family drama, I thought afterwards. And that really damned uncomfortable feeling…
You gotta sit with it, just for a while. What does this mean…
For me?
