School had ended Friday evening as Katara and a number of the others made it back to their dorms. While the section of students who had basic studying to look forward to, the group who had their work studies were all chatting amongst themselves as they explained what they had already experienced. Both Uraraka and Tsu were happily chatting with Kendo, going over how each of them dealt with several villain interactions in their first few days, while Kirishima was grinning in glee as he chatted with Bakugo ahead of everyone else.

"I'm telling you! My new technique is so badass!" Kirishima chuckled to himself. "I feel like I can handle anything you can throw at me now."

"Tsk, dream on…" Bakugo scoffed out. "No matter what kind of special move you got, I'll still blow you to pieces."

Grinning, Kirishima cracked his knuckles. "You should keep dreaming. Just cuz you're training with Mirko, don't think you'll be able to get me anymore."

Growling, Bakugo instead kept his words to himself and grinned. He wasn't ever one to admit much, but he'd been noticing a change recently. The rabbit hero was certainly one to never hold back for anyone, and that meant with him following her through the cities looking for crime. While it was frustrating having to be pushed so hard to even keep in sight of the speedy pro, the fact he was being pushed so hard was what was thrilling for him. Having to strain just to keep up was pushing his quirk harder on a regular basis, and he knew it was only a matter of time before he saw a real difference in his own power.

As the pair ahead of them chatted, Katara looked over to Tokoyami beside her, noticing the disappointing look on his face. "What's wrong?" She asked, earning a sigh from the bird headed teen.

"Working under Hawks has been different from what I was expecting. He doesn't give much guidance for me in what to do, instead having me attempt to keep up as he does most of the work himself."

"Well, it's still early working with him. Maybe he's just seeing what you can do." Katara suggested.

"Hmm, perhaps. He is number two for a reason, so I will see what he has planned for later." Tokoyami sighed. "What about you? I heard from Ashido you were involved in a fire."

Smiling softly, Katara gave a little shrug. "Yeah, there was a fire after some villains caused an explosion, and we had to get people out of a building."

"Yeah, she was going crazy about what happened," Momo chimed in as she overheard them. "That was incredible. You, Tsu and everyone else seem to be pretty busy already."

"Yeah, it was really brave of you doing that," Izuku added as he walked by Momo. "I saw all of you guys have done great things this week."

Laughing, Katara just rubbed her arm. She didn't go around bragging about the things she did, simply doing what she felt was right whenever it appeared in front of her. "I'm just doing what anyone would do in that situation."

Smirking, Tokoyami gave a nod to her answer. "You always have been one to jump into any situation. You always make sure others are taken care of."

smiling at his comment, Katara glanced up to the dorms ahead as they approached. As soon as they came through the door, she looked around and saw the other class members who didn't have work studies already here, not needing to give reports to Aizawa of what they did every night. As if on cue, Tenya quickly approached the incoming students and stood at attention. "Greetings, everyone! It's imperative that if you go into the field you are well fed! If needed, we shall prepare meals for you!"

"Wait, what?" Kaminari looked up from the couch in confusion. "When did I agree to this?!"

"I don't need a meal made for me, four eyes!" Bakugo barked out in annoyance as he walked by.

"It's fine, thanks Tenya…" Katara shook her head. "We can handle it ourselves."

Frowning, Tenya crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Fine, but if you need anything make sure you let me know. Since I am not going on patrols, I have time to assist you whenever I can."

Smiling, Katara patted his arm. "Thanks. I appreciate that." Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the elevator opening up, revealing Shoto coming down and already changed from his school uniform. Smiling, she looked back to Tenya and rubbed his shoulder. "I have to talk to him for a little before I go, alright?"

Nodding, Tenya turned to leave, but as he did, he locked eyes with Shoto for a split second, giving off the look of "We need to talk after."

Frowning internally, Shoto sighed and walked over to Katara. "Are you heading out right now?" he asked her, receiving a nod from her.

"Yeah. Before I left last night, Burnin said he already requested one more day this week. What about you, you have more of your special license exam to study?"

"Yeah…" He said disappointingly, "Right now we are going over field knowledge of a flood disaster and having to write a report of what to do."

Katara could see the look of frustration on his face with his course, knowing he didn't deserve to be doing this side course for his license. She knew he wanted to be out there in the field with him, but now she was out there alone now. Reaching up and rubbing his arm, Katara gave a soft smile to try and cheer him up. "Hey, just a little longer for this course, and then you'll have that license like all of us. It'll be done in no time, alright?"

"I know," He said with a sigh before smiling. "It's just with you going out there I would prefer if I was there, too. I could have seen you in action, then."

Playfully rolling her eyes, Katara chuckled at his words. "It's not like I make a show out of it, Shoto. Besides, I know you would've been there to help me out. As soon as you get it, we will be in the field together."

Nodding, Shoto reached up and gripped her hand. "Still, no matter how strong you may be… just be careful out there."

"I promise," Katara smiled and turned to go upstairs to grab her things. "By the way, I'm excited for this weekend of what you have planned for us."

Chuckling, Shoto reached up and rubbed his head. "I have a few things for us."

"Really?" Katara raised her eyebrow curiously before she giggled. "Well, then I will be waiting to see what the surprise is."

Before he could say anything, Shoto's eyes widened as she quickly leaned in and kissed him before turning and walking to the elevator. He let out a small sigh before turning around himself, gasping in surprise as Tenya was sitting there staring at him from around the corner.

"Please don't do that…" Shoto mumbled.

"I had to observe from here and make sure you are treating her well!" Tenya sternly stated as he came out from the corner. "I must say you did a satisfactory job there!"

"We didn't do anything but talk for a minute." Shoto mumbled.

"Any talk with Katara must be at your best!" Tenya declared with several chops, forcing Shoto to rub his own forehead in annoyance. Sighing himself, Tenya marched closer and placed his hands on his hips. "So, I overheard what you said to her. What plans do you have for your date this weekend?"

While he wasn't one who felt it right to talk about his idea… Shoto had a waning worry in his mind that he was going to mess up what little things he had planned. Huffing out, he scratched his head and looked down. "Well… I had thought about ordering food and we could have dinner outside in the sunset."

Tenya raised his eyebrow in surprise at the statement, placing his hand on his chin. "That is actually a decent idea, Todoroki. What about entertainment after your meal?"

Shoto stared blankly at the taller teen's statement. "After?"

Tenya's mouth fell open in shock. "Todoroki! Have you not thought of something for you two to enjoy after your meal?!"

"This was a dinner date," Shoto stated, "What else should I be doing?"

"Wow, such an amateur…"

Both of them turned to the smug comment from behind, turning to see Mineta leaning against the wall grinning their way. "You have no taste when it comes to putting together a date for a girl."

Shoto glared at the purple headed teen. "I'm sure I don't need tips from a pervert." he grunted out, only making Mineta chuckle.

"Just because I want to feel a girls soft skin so much, doesn't mean I don't know the way to a female's heart." Mineta clicked his tongue as he stood up and walked their way. "You need to swoon her before that, enjoy some time alone as you walk up to the place to eat where you will be served a wondrous meal."

"Mineta, they are not allowed to leave campus. How are they able to go to a restaurant?" Tenya asked in confusion.

"Of course, dude. That's why we bring the restaurant to them," Mineta explained as they both looked at him in confusion. "Ojiro and I were talking last night, and we both said about creating a restaurant set up outside. Do it with lights, servers and everything. You got to make it spicy for your girl!"

Both Shoto and Tenya looked at each other in surprise with the suggestion, not expecting something like this coming from Mineta. "That… actually is a decent idea." Tenya mentioned, "But what of the after entertainment I suggested?"

Cracking his knuckles, Mineta laughed and held the back of his head. "Aoyama and Kaminari already have that part covered. They already are talking to a few of the others about where they will set it up."

"Set what up?" Shoto asked in confusion.

Giggling to himself, Mineta just sighed in amusement. "Just trust me and let us explain it all to you tomorrow. That's when we will get the girls involved. We can't be telling them early since they may spoil the surprise. Katara will be swept off her feet by the time this night is over."

Shoto stared in utter surprise to the suggestions coming from the small teen. If any decent ideas were going to be given, Mineta was the last one he assumed to be giving it. If he simply acted like this normally, perhaps he may actually have a chance with a girl sometime. While he was quite confused about what they were trying to plan for after dinner, he was certainly willing to listen to their offers. "Alright. I will talk to you tomorrow about the ideas you have."

"I must say Mineta, you have certainly gone beyond what I assumed you were going to come up with!" Tenya smiled in agreement. "Let me join you and the others to discuss the preparations for what shall happen!"

As Tenya walked out chatting with Mineta, Shoto huffed out and rubbed his hand through his hair. "Who knew this would be so stressful…" he muttered to himself.

"Uh… Hey."

"Huh?" Shoto turned around to the quiet voice behind him, looking up in surprise to see Izuku standing there with his hero costume briefcase staring at him with a sheepish smile on his face. "What are…?"

"I… I heard you were planning a date for Katara just now. That's really neat." Izuku said with a smile.

"Yeah, I've been wanting to do something special for her for a while." Shoto responded. "Did you discuss with Mineta and the others about what you had in mind?"

"Uh… no I didn't." he admitted rubbing his head. "I actually had no idea about it until I just overheard you guys." He suddenly blushed as he thought about everything he heard just now, and then someone else came to his mind. "Well… I think it's pretty neat you are doing this for her. It's a really nice thing to try and plan this… and it makes me think about what I should be doing for Momo."

Shoto's eyes widened in surprise when he heard that, almost forgetting the pair of them had grown so close recently. "Yeah… that would be nice. This is what I'm trying to do right now for Katara."

"I get that, yeah…" Izuku's face turned even redder as he swallowed the lump forming in his throat. "I know that this is a lot to ask but…" he exhaled and closed his eyes for a moment looking back up. "Would I be able to use this night as well for Momo?"

Later that day, Katara had made her way back to her work studies agency, walking through the doors and running into a few of the other sidekicks nodding and smiling her way. After what happened, Burnin had happily gone on to tell the others of what Katara had done (Although was adamant to make sure everyone knew she had "trained" Katara to do that). Either way, it was certainly a much more positive feeling to have the others here fully accepting her.

"Ryujin is in the house!" Burnin announced as she walked towards Katara, her usual grin on her face. "So tell me, miss hero? Did you sleep good, or did all that fame get to your head and keep you up?"

Rolling her eyes, Katara shook her head. "I slept fine because there was no fame to get to me."

"Ooh, we got miss humble right here," Burnin taunted before laughing. "Whatever. You got your stuff for another patrol?"

"Yeah, I got it." Katara said as she lifted up her briefcase. "What's the plan for tonight?"

Burnin just gave a shrug. "Not sure. Apparently the boss wanted to go over a few things with the police with some cases before we went out. So how about you get changed and we can head out whenever we are ready."

Exhaling out, Katara nodded and walked past Burnin towards the locker rooms on the side. Cracking her knuckles, Burnin walked back to the main reception desk and walked behind the counter, grabbing one of the bottles of water in the undershelf mini fridge. Quickly downing it, she tossed the empty bottle in the trash and leaned on the counter. Sighing, she waited a few minutes before she heard the entrance door open up once more, turning to see her boss walking inside. "Welcome back, sir!" Burnin declared with a salute.

Nodding, Endeavor approached the front counter and looked to the receptionist behind the desk. "Was there any calls for me while I was out?" he asked.

The young woman behind the counter shook her head. "Nothing, sir. We just received several small crime reports that some of the others already went to take care of."

Grunting to himself, Endeavor turned to his sidekick to ask her if their new trainee had arrived, only to see Katara walking his way in her hero outfit. The pair of them locked eyes that moment, the teen waterbender's stern stare coming right back at him. He exhaled through his nose as she came closer, the fire on his body sparking up slightly as his fists clenched slightly. It wasn't of anger, however, but of frustration. There was something inside of his chest that he had to get cleared off, and he was going to get it cleared now.

"Alrighty, we are here and ready to kick ass." Burnin chuckled and stretched her arms. "How about we go and check out the harbor district tonight? We can grab seafood afterward."

Endeavor sat in silence for a moment before he let out a small sigh, "Actually, you will be staying here, Burnin."

Burnin froze mid stretch to the statement, "Uh, come again?"

"You can finish off with the reports from last night's events." Endeavor turned and looked down to the waterbender beneath him. "I will be taking Katara alone tonight."

Both Burnin and Katara's eyes widened when they heard that, both of them quickly looking at each other. After what they quickly talked about last night, they both knew this was a perfect time to bring up whatever things were on the teens mind. Without saying a word, Katara simply gave a small exhale and turned back up to the hero. "Fine."

Sensing the unseen tension, Burnin simply whistled and walked away from the pair, sighing to herself and watching as they walked through the door after one another, a small smirk growing over her mouth. "Wonder how this will turn out." she muttered to herself.

Over the next forty minutes, Katara walked just behind the flame hero down the road, their eyes looking to the surrounding streets and the setting sunset in the distance. They only glanced at one another every so often, taking a quick glance before looking away once more. The uneasy feeling only grew since neither had said a word to each other since they left the agency, both of them having thoughts flowing through their mind that they wanted to get out.

Seeing a small park to the side, Endeavor sighed and made his way inside, leading a confused Katara as she followed him inside the mostly empty grassy park. The few people who were walking around whispered to themselves in amazement, seeing the new number one hero passing by them. Frowning to herself hearing the people praise the man she was following, she huffed out and itched her shoulder. "So what are we doing here?" she asked, not really trying to hide her annoyed tone in her voice, something the pro hero ignored.

Endeavor kept silent as they walked for another minute, stopping when they came to the center complex of the park. The large fountain in the center broke the silence between the two, only for Endeavor to cross his arms and huff out loud. "Last night, you acted without orders and did things on your own, didn't you?"

Katara's eyes widened slightly when she heard that, narrowing her gaze as she looked up to the hero.

"You were told to stay back and help the citizens to safety as Burnin and I dealt with the villains." he turned and faced the girl beside him. "Not only that, you ignored Burnin's order to stay out of the building when the gas began erupting outward. You put yourself at risk doing things on your own."

Now Katara's teeth clenched in anger at his words, feeling her fist tighten to the criticism she just received. She couldn't believe it… he was going to give her a lecture on saving those people last night. The villains who would have taken a hostage that she stopped, or the family that she had saved! There was a father and his baby that would have been dead if she simply sat and didn't go in there. She once again remembered the scolding she received after the battle with Stain, told to simply sit by when others needed help. But she was done being told she couldn't help anymore.

"That was brave of you…"

Katara's mouth fell open in shock when that single sentence came out of Endeavor's mouth, staring up in confusion to the hero. "Wh-what?"

Turning and walking to the nearby bench, Endeavor sat down and leaned his arms onto his knees. "I watched as you engaged with those villains there, facing both of them without any back up. And going back into the building after the lines were bursting… it takes real courage to run into those situations without hesitation."

He glanced over to Katara staring at him in surprise before staring down to the ground beside his feet. "When you first showed up in front of me, I believed there was something devious you were attempting to do. As time went on, I kept those thoughts as you ended up going to UA, and refused to accept a criminal ending up going to that school. And after I had to agree with you coming to work under me the first time, I had a sense of pleasure because I could get back at you for my own amusement."

He clenched his fist together as he thought over everything that had happened. "After you fought Stain along with my son, I was furious you both went against my orders… but was impressed with the ability that you showed facing the hero killer. And after everything else that had happened, to learn Shoto and you did that stupid attempt to rescue the others… but still showed real courage. In my mind, I kept growing doubtful of my initial thoughts, so I had to see for myself once more if it was true. After last night, it seems it is." he turned to look at her once more, never expecting he was about to say what he was going to say.

"I usually am good at reading people… but I have to admit I was wrong about you."

The only thing that could be heard for several moments was the splashing of the water fountain nearby. Katara sat in silence and surprise from the sudden statement coming from Endeavor, especially after everything that she had dealt with from him. The attitude, the condescending comments she used to hear from him, and his previous and obvious disdain her way. Even as she stared at him, she could see the look in his eyes had completely changed. She no longer saw the hateful and hungry drive he used to carry, but instead of someone who almost seemed lost with himself. She almost didn't know what to say… until she heard him speak once more.

"With you around, it seems Shoto has improved and chosen to finally use his flames. It's a shame he let himself fail his license exam, since he could've been here to train more."

The moment she heard Shoto's name mentioned, Katara's mind immediately replayed the many things she had been told by him over the many months she'd known him. The treatment given to him and his siblings from their father, the pain from watching his mother hurt from abuse, and the agony of having his mother lose her sanity from the torment she received. Her heart rate immediately rose in anger as she remembered how lost Shoto used to be, the hate that controlled his life and how lost he used to be. And all of that was because of the man standing before her.

It was something she wasn't about to let go because he apologized to her.

Crossing her arms, Katara huffed out and turned away from the flame hero, her action making Endeavor raise his eyebrow in surprise. "I assumed a thank you was what you meant to say…" he grunted out, earning a scoff from the waterbender.

"For what? Should I be grateful you aren't criticizing every little thing about me now?" Katara snapped, "This should have been something you knew about me from the beginning."

Glaring, Endeavor leaned up at her attitude. "What the hell is this? I admit I was wrong and this is how you take it?"

"Admit you were wrong…" Katara's hands squeezed at her arms to his choice of words. "Is that what you think about with what you did with Shoto?"

Now Endeavor's eye twitched to what she said, his flames slightly rising in anger at the accusation she made. "I would watch what you say, girl."

"Why? Are you trying to keep what you did to him a secret still?" she hissed out.

Standing up from the bench, Endeavor's fists tightened in anger to what she said. Now he knew what she was talking about, obvious to him Shoto had gone and began telling her about… some of the things that occurred from before. "First off, I'll give you a warning and say you should just keep whatever you're thinking of saying to yourself. Whatever my son told you is our business and none of yours."

"None of my business?" Katara growled out and glared back at the hero. "It is my business now. I care for Shoto, and anything that affects him is my business."

"The hell are you talking about? Just because you are his friend, that doesn't give you any room for getting involved with what my son says happened."

"I do actually…" katara took a deep breath and fully faced Endeavor. "Because I'm more than just a friend with Shoto."

Once more, silence filled the air between the two of them, as Endeavor's eyes almost burst out of his head when she said that. "You…. You what….?!" He gasped out.

Nodding, katara took several steps away as she exhaled. "So obviously he hasn't told you yet. Of course he wouldn't, because it's not like you ever cared about anything he wanted."

Endeavor's mind now was spinning not only from the revelations of her questioning his families past, but to the news of what she just revealed to him. The fire on his shoulders sparked up as his heart beat faster. "This is a joke… you… you're saying that my son is…?"

Rolling her eyes, Katara walked away from the confused hero. "Don't act like you even care about what he is doing. You never cared before anyway."

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Endeavor growled out as he stomped after the teen, his fists balled at his sides. "You don't know shit about what you are talking about. You're acting like you know who I am, but let me tell you that you don't."

"Oh really? I don't?" Katara shook her head in anger. "All you are is a mean and horrible man who was always jealous that you weren't number one! All you cared about was working to get to that spot, but when you didn't you forced that goal onto your family, trying to live that stupid dream through Shoto!"

Endeavor's forehead vein pulsed when she screamed at him, ready to retort the waterbenders claim… but before he did, he felt his mind spinning in confusion, almost forcing his mouth closed. He didn't know why, but he felt a deep twisting feeling in his gut at her words, almost like… they caused him pain.

Katara felt her breath coming in small gasps, her frustration growing when she thought back to the pained look that used to engulf Shoto, glaring back at the hero. "You didn't care what pain you caused your family, didn't you? All you cared was that stupid title that you always say you dreamed about. And guess what, Shoto failed because of the frustration he felt being compared to someone like you! That's all it took to make him lose focus so much because of what you did to him!"

Feeling her fists shake, Katara stepped back and took one deep breath as she glared at the ground. All of this frustration she had built up inside of her since she first came here to this world with him, from his simple attitude and dealing with him… to learning of the horrible things he did not only to Shoto, but to his mother and siblings. "He told me about what you did to everyone else… to his mother. Someone you were supposed to care for and protect, and you cast her and everyone else aside just because of this stupid dream you wanted for yourself! And when you saw you weren't going to earn it yourself, you put all of that burden onto your son who wanted nothing of that for himself!"

Looking up, Katara was initially surprised to see the seemingly stunned look on Endeavor's face, but her own emotions were running too high to accept it. "And now, you got what you wanted. You finally got that dream title for yourself that you wanted. Congratulations. Now you can tell everyone else that you reached that spot at the top. Tell me, does it feel as the number one hero now? What is even different now than to where you were before?"

The air once again fell still once Katara stopped yelling, the faint sound of the fountain not even registering to either of them. Breathing heavily, Katara continued glaring at Endeavor, the man's face unmoving as he stared back at her. After a few moments, once her heart began calming itself, her eyes slowly widened thinking she may have made a mistake. She expected him to react and say something back to her… but nothing came from the man. He only continued to stare at her in silence, not giving off any sign of anger to her surprise. He just sat there, unmoving.

With the sun nearly gone, Katara turned and began walking away from the man, knowing tonight it was better to end the work studies now. Before she did, she stopped in her tracks as the wind gently blew through her hair, glancing over her shoulder at the man she was working for.

"You cared about becoming number one so much, you sacrificed what was close to you. Now that you finally have it… was it all worth it?"

That single line seemed to cut through the air like a knife, causing Endeavor's eyes to widen in the most minute motion. The pair of them stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, neither breaking their gaze as the last statement hung above them. Who did break the gaze first was Katara, now finally feeling she had said what was on her mind. She walked out of the park and headed back towards the agency, willing to grab her things and head back to the school early and deal with whatever repercussions that would be coming her way. She even expected endeavor to yell after her and force her to stop.

But no words left the flame hero's mouth as he stared at her walking away, his mind in shambles from the many statements he just heard from the teen. He did't know what to say to retort what she said, lost internally as the girl disappeared from his sight and headed back the way they came. Darkness now fell over the park as Endeavor stood alone, not sure what to say even to himself now.

Both of them were so focused on each other and their argument, neither of them noticed the pair of blue eyes staring at them in plain sight, observing them with a smile and placing the phone to their face.

Nearby Fujiyoshida

On the outskirts of the city, the dark sky stretched above Mount Fuji with the moon giving off the faint light to the group below. Several of the hunters sat beside the water of the abandoned side of the lake, some of them now having been waiting for the last few days. Sighing out, the raptor Muteki leaned against the tree he was nearby and stared at the shining surface, growing tired of hearing the grunts and groans of the other members nearby. Turning, he looked over to see Haraka and Rogue there as well, the cheetah and croc members sitting quietly as the loud snips of pinsirs broke the mostly quiet air.

The female scorpion hunter hissed out in annoyance, her large purple pinsir hands cracking as her four beady eyes glared at the ground. "What the hell is this? You told us there was supposed to be a meeting about our next big job, and no one else is here yet." Sasori snapped out, "Why did we come here and have to do this?"

"Because there was a delay with Kavik and Kobura's return," Muteki huffed out, "After they did their hit, Kobura and Kavik were instead ordered to head and collect whatever payments we are meant to receive on our recent jobs."

"Yeah? And why the hell does that mean we are the only ones here?" Sasori retorted, her long scorpion tail flicking underneath the short red dress she wore. "I showed up here yesterday because you said there was something big, and yet here we are just wasting our time sitting here doing shit."

Chuckling at her attitude, Muteki's large curved claw on his exposed foot flicked up and down, piercing the dirt as he looked at the complaining scorpion. "Just sit tight, why don't you? We just sit back and wait until the boss gives us the next order. If not, we can kill some time with a sparring match."

Both Rogue and Haraka tensed at the offer, while Sasori felt her blood run cold from the smirk she received. Many times the hunter members would fight to test their skills… but none of the members dared to take Muteki up on his offers. He was different from the others, taking any opportunity to beat anyone under his fists. The last time a previous member attempted to spar with him, he nearly killed them in just a minute. His love for fighting drove him up the ranks, his power only kept in check by Itkomi.

In fact, some of them believed he was even stronger.

Quickly shaking her head, Sasori looked down and crossed her arms. The air fell silent after the tense moment, before a high pitched laugh echoed out from the bushes behind the lower members. While confused at first, they all frowned as the laugh grew louder, knowing exactly who it was.

"Hm hm hm hm! Hahahaha!" the young man hopped into the clearing, his shaggy tan hair hanging over his brown eyes. His sharp toothed grin stayed open as he laughed, one of his clawed hands reaching up and gripping the side of his face. "Hahahaha! You really cowered down there, didn't you?!"

Gritting her teeth, Sasori's claws snipped in anger at the crazed member, never enjoying him being around. "Shut the hell up, Fisi." She snapped out, only making his smile grow wider and laughed more. Her two sets of eyes narrowed in rage, her long tail and stinger flicking forward. "I said shut up!"

"HAHAHAAAA HAAA!" Fisi burst out in uncontrolled laughter, almost falling backwards as he continued cackling out. "WOOHAHAHAHAAHA! I can't help it when you look so scared! HAAHAHAAHA!"

Nearly foaming at the mouth, Sasori stepped forward ready to fight. "You won't be laughing when I pump you full of poison, you bastard!"

"HMMMMMAHAHAHA!" Fisi snickered and licked his lips, the hyena man laughing yet flexing his muscles as well. "Hmmm hmmm hmmm! Let's do this then! I was growing bored waiting as well!"

Muteki simply smirked to himself as the two readied themselves to fight. Before either could move, Haraka burst forward and got between them, the wind forcing both of their hair to flip backwards as he glared between them. "Enough of this, Sasori! I'm growing tired of your bullshit! And you…" He turned his gaze to the still snickering hyena. "I'm really not in the mood for you either."

"Ohhh so scary! Haha hahaha!" Fisi cackled and cracked his knuckles. "Looks like everyone's in a bad mood waiting here. I was waiting out of sight to see who lost it first."

While he still glared at the laughs he kept hearing, Haraka grunted in agreement, the cheetah hunter standing up and placing his claws on his hips. "This is getting ridiculous, I'll say. Why are we made to just sit here instead of just waiting at the base?"

"Because we are going to be having a guest here."

The four underlings all stood up to the sudden voice from the side, with Muteki only smirking as they turned to see their leader floating down from the trees. Lowering her legs down, Itkomi released the webs from her hands as she smiled at her associates. "Apologies for the delay, but some things had to be cleared before I could make it here tonight."

"If there was going to be such a delay, why didn't we just get the call when you were ready?" Haraka asked, trying his best to hide the annoyed tone in his voice.

"I was, but after doing a little research myself, I happened to find out a few things myself," Itkomi chuckled as she slipped the phone she was holding into her own dress. "We are here to discuss the next job for all of us."

"Finally…" Sasori hissed under her breath, but loud enough that Itkomi still heard her.

"If I'm not going fast enough, then by all means… you set up the assignments for us." Itkomi taunted, her long spider legs twitching slightly in annoyance. Seeing the small shiver in Sasori's body, she waited until the woman gave a head shake before sighing. "I will bring everyone else up to speed when they get here. They all will learn their part in this."

Haraka tilted his head in surprise, "Wait… everyone? You're getting everyone for this next one?"

The other three looked at each other amazed as well. For Rogue, he hadn't been on a job where all the members were used together, and for Sasori it had been over two years. "The hell kind of job is this? You're getting everyone involved in this?" Sasori questioned.

Muteki just chuckled to himself. "Yes. All ten of us."

Itkomi nodded in agreement and walked forward. "This next job could be the one that sets us up for life. Remember that fellow Dabi who came to us?"

"Him?" Rogue growled out, "What about him? I thought you weren't taking his ridiculous offer?"

"Oh I was, but after what's happened recently, It seems normal requests are becoming somewhat frustrating for us now. Some of these fools are growing too bold for their own good and are beginning to try and do things themselves or simply not pay us. Instead of trying multiple little hits, we will do one big job and perhaps even retire young."

"Hold on…" Haraka shook his head in confusion. "This is that job dealing with Endeavor, right? To take his kid and that other student? I thought you said it was too much of a risk?"

"I did. And with the plan I have set up, it will still be a risk for us. But my good friend was sent to keep an eye on them, and she just revealed some pretty interesting things that even Dabi didn't know. When he gets here tomorrow, we will clear up what other little things he's hiding from us about what he knows of Endeavor."

"Oh, secrets secrets." Fisi giggled to himself as he tried holding back from bursting out once more.

Grunting out, Rogue scratched the thick scales over the top of his neck. "Sounds like you don't even trust him. Why would you invite him back?"

"Yeah, and why are we sitting here waiting?" Haraka asked.

"Of course I don't trust him. I don't trust anyone outside of our circle. Once we get what we need from him, we can just kill him if he tries anything else. And I apologize for the wait, but it seems that Dabi has brought a friend back with him to the city. I wanted to check on them a little more before they both were brought in together. That's why I was late getting here." Itkomi sighed as she looked out to the shimmering water, unable to hold the smile growing on her face.

"I have been thinking about this for the last few days now, and now see what is in store for us. Doing this job will probably be the biggest risk for us, possibly bringing us into the light for the first time. We have always stuck to the shadows, but it seems that way of life is changing. All Might is gone, which means the fear the lower criminals felt has diminished. But that means the status of heroes is dropping as well. Not only that, but there is some deeper trouble with the new number one hero that we can use to our advantage. Even if other heroes come and attempt to engage us, if it's done right, we won't even face them directly as we take our prize. And if they do…"

Itkomi spun around and yelled as she punched the tree beside her, her fist plowing through the wood and shattering the large trunk instantly. As the twenty five meter tall tree collapsed into the water, she chuckled to herself and cracked her knuckles. "We will take any of them that get in our way and capture them as well."

While the other three looked at each other in confusion to their leaders sudden interest in this job, Muteki stared at the ground as his claws gripped his forearms. While Itkomi assumed some other pro heroes would get involved if Endeavor was coming after them, he knew a certain hero would certainly be joining the fight. He thought back to the last time he saw his former friend, and the look on their face when he committed his first kill. If they knew if the hunters revealed themselves even in the slightest, that hero would be there to fight as well. While she always worked alone now, he knew she would push that ideal to the side if she discovered where he was.

He couldn't help but smile, wondering how he stacked up against his old friend since the last time they saw each other. He knew both of them had grown much stronger since last seeing each other… and remembered the promise she made if she ever crossed him again.

Notes: Wow, we had some big things happen this chapter! We finally have Katara confronting Endeavor on the treatment done to Shoto, but also a reaction from the flame hero himself. How's this going to change things inside him later?

And the hunters are making their steps towards their plan ever so closer. And a connection to Muteki's past that will change everything as well.

important! a brand new art piece depicting the hunters is now on my deviantart profile! go and check it out! (link in my profile).

Till next time!