My old man was still holding them, Natsuo and Bakugou, tightly; as I secured the villain, I could hear them speaking as Bakugou struggled to get loose.

"Anyone hurt?" the old man asked.

"No. Get offa me!" Bakugou shouted. "Old middle aged man smell!"

He slid out from under my old man's arm like a snake and wheeled around to shout at me. "Where's the white-line chump?!"

"Captured," I called to him.

"No, wrong! Not you!" Shouted the villain. "Not you…not right…"

"How about the unnamed nobodies, Deku!?" Bakugou shouted at Midoriya, who was standing in a pile of cars he'd saved from destruction.

"I'm not sure who you mean by that! But the fine citizens in the cars are all safe!" he told Bakugou. "This is a total win for us!"

"Great, now shaddup!" Bakugou 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!" said my old man. So strange - wasn't he usually more resentful? "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…" Bakugou muttered.

"Kacchan, c'mon!" Said Midoriya.

"Get off!" Said Natsuo, shoving the old man off of him.

I saw then that my 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!"

Finally saying it out loud.

"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…what Midoriya had said. Dammit. It had seemed kind at the time, but now...

"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."

We - don't? We don't have to forgive him?

"I'm not looking for forgiveness. Just atonement."

Natsuo 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 Midoriya, as a siren came up. "Phew!"

The cops came in to round up the villain. Natsuo came up to the three of us, looking okay, if a bit shaken. "Thanks, erm - what's your hero name again?" he asked Bakugou.

"Huh?"

"It's just Bakugou, right?" Said Midoriya.

"Nah."

"Oh, you picked a name! Tell me, tell me!" Said Midoriya.

"You're the last one I'm telling, so buzz off and die!"

"Could you tell me, then?" I asked.

"Not you either, IcyHot! There's someone else I gotta tell first!"

It was time for him to take Midoriya and Bakugou and I back to school. But before that, I went with him to return Natsuo to Fuyumi.

"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."

And that's that, then? Leaving all that pain behind. Restarting with mom. Will that be it, then?