"I've gotta tell you, out of every piece of meat I've ever tried, nothing surpases chicken." Hawks grinned through another bite. "Want some?"
"I can't tell if you even notice how weird that is coming from you." The now official number one hero in Japan, Endeavor, rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Hawks? You practically call everybody out and then request some sort of team up?
"Come on, team up with Number 1 and Number 2? That's gotta be awesome for everyone. Remember when you teamed up with All Might?"
The man stared at him before standing up. "Check please!"
"Oh come on now, it couldn't have been that bad." He waved it off.
"The dolt constantly got in the way whenever I fired off an attack half the time." The man growled. "Why even bother with me? Don't you usually hang around Ryuko or Miriko?"
"Well you see, there's been reports of a Nomu near here." The man calmed and listened. From raging comical to serious in a matter of seconds. Truly worthy of number one. "Normally I'd just take it out myself, the head is the weak spot right?" The man nodded. "Thing is we've dealt with a few of them, all of them having … strange ties to them if you will. The last one, four arms, only had three quirks."
"I've read the reports. The one at the training camp was capable of somewhat higher brain function and access to an ability that couldn't be canceled by Erasurehead."
"Exactly. So they got curious and looked into it, discovering DNA that wasn't on earth." So far they believed it was artificial, but he had suspicions on that. "And this latest one? Rumor has it that all eye witness reports could hear it speak."
"Speech.." Endeavor leaned in curiously. "Whoever's been manufacturing these creatures has been giving them more agency to act on their own, haven't they?"
"That seems to be the case from what we've gathered. It keeps muttering about finding the strongest …" He smiled. "So I need you to be bait. Okay?" His head was enveloped in a flaming hand squeezing on his skull. "I'm getting a little bit of tension from your body language."
"You don't know when to keep your mouth shut." The fiery hero growled out. "The League is already my top priority. Ending their reign of terror is already taking up considerable manpower."
"But aren't Nomu involved with the league?" He countered. "I mean surely there's-" Five hundred meters and closing fast. "Get out of here!" He shouted to the waiter. "Hurry, back, there's not much-"
A hooded monster crashed into the room. "Who is … the strongest here?" It asked the group, raising its hand at them.
"If you're here, you already know the answer to that." Endeavor wasted no time lighting his fist up and sending a flashfire attack at the monster. Every move this man made was the result of decades of hard work, determination, and spite. It was the coolest thing to see up close in person.
Well, better get all the civilians out of the way before those two destroy half the building. The last thing the new number one needed was to be accused of crossfire casualties.
==
Rei laid in her bed as her two children fixed up the room. "So, how've they been treating you?" Natsuo asked her with honest curiosity and a bright smile.
"Oh, it's been pretty well, the Doctors and Nurses have been nice enough." She nodded. "Although it has been a bit lacking in conversation since Suzuki's been more focused on school. The boy always found a way to make me laugh." It concerned her to no end how much trouble he got into, but he was always a great presence to have around.
"He makes everyone laugh doesn't he." Natsuo laughed just to show it off.
"Yes, he even gave you and Shoto the idea to treat Dad like you don't remember him, didn't he?" Fuyumi deadpanned. "Come on, you can't keep it up forever."
"Against an unredeemable bastard like dad? I'll never forgive someone like him." One of her many regrets was not being there for her children when they desperately needed it. "Come on, Mom, back me up on this."
"I'm not sure if I'm in the right state to judge right and wrong." She sighed, looking at the flowers by the window. "No matter what happens, he always finds the time to send me my favorite." Something she mentioned briefly in one conversation once before, and he committed it to memory.
"Just because he sends a pity present for driving you insane doesn't mean he gives a shit. Otherwise he would have worked to fix things instead of just working Shoto to the bone." Natsuo frowned. "Look, the Billboard chart is up, let's check his expression." He turned on the TV to an emergency broadcast of a 'hooded monster' fighting Endeavor.
"Dad…" Her daughter gasped at the sight.
"Just what he got famous for, fighting-" Her son stopped talking when the beast sent her husband flying. "-... The fuck?"
"He seems to be an energetic little guy." She spoke, unworried in the slightest.
"Mom..!" Fuyumi looked at her, slightly appalled.
"It may have been years since I've seen him, but Enji has always stayed the same." She gave a slight chuckle. "I've never known another man more fueled by determination than him. No matter what happens, he's going to win." The man was always more determined than anyone else she knew.
==
Hood was ecstatic, they had to dodge that last blast. If that was one of his casual attacks, he couldn't wait to see what a serious one was. It may get his heart pumping! "Come on, get serious!" He shouted, stabbing the man and sending him crashing into the ground.
"You're going to regret asking for it!" The strong fireman shot himself back up. Yes. Still full of life. He still had plenty left to beat out of him.
"Your hesitating, not firing…are you scared…or are you running out of power? " His enemy took six seconds before firing those webs of heat out of his hands, which meant he needed time to build up strong attacks.
"Perceptive, aren't you? You're smart, you're strong, and there's no telling how many abilities are stored within that body of yours." His enemy lit his entire body on fire until he resembled a mini sun. "Which means I have to incinerate you with fires from that rival those from the depths off hell!"
Hell. Why did that sound familiar … no, hell wasn't right. Underworld? No, that was off too. It wasn't the puzzle that fit. Netherworld? Yes, that worked. Why did that-oh shit fire. Lots of it. Too much to take on and wide enough dodging was impossible. Hood thought over its solutions, before ripping off its own head and tossing it away, letting its body burn. While regenerating it watched as the hero panted and smoked … like a weakling … he's been battling a weakling!?
"Weak…weak….you're weak!" Hood extended his tendrils, and in a matter of moments, his opponent's eye was bleeding furiously like water from a fountain. The man himself was sent flying backwards into another building, pinned down, nothing more than the pebbles he laid upon. "He's too weak … give me someone else … someone actually strong!"
Seeing no one else around, the other weaklings dealing with his spawn like minions, Hood jumped onto a building, glancing around for whatever he could find, and wasn't impressed. People were just running rampant in terror. Hood felt like he would explode in rage. There was no equal, no challenge, no one to get strong against!
"Don't give up hope!" Why you little runt? You were weak, you were dead. That's how the world worked. "Can't you see it!" See what? The fact you're pathetically screaming? "His flame is still burning bright! Endeavor isn't done!" Hood, curious, turned to see a giant ball of fire heading his direction.
"You heal, like me?" Maybe Hood might get that challenge they wanted.
==
"Ha, I called it." Miriko grinned. "No way he was gonna be done in by something as simple as broken bones." Given Shoto had seen Iruma do the same more than once, he was inclined to agree, but given the context he was given now, he was conflicted more than ever before in his life.
"He's always had the most determination amongst the top ten." Toshinori slowly nodded in agreement. "It's not easy, having the top spot, but not having the public's faith."
"Who cares what people are saying about him?" Bakugo growled, looking at the screen. "He's number one now, so he has to win no matter what." Seems some things were never going to change.
On the screen was a game of three way chicken between Endeavor trying to get close to Nomu, the hooded monster trying to avoid that and shoot away the second ranked hero Hawks. "He's too slow." Yaoyorozu observed. "He has the power to damage it but can't get close enough to actually harm the monster."
"Long range attacks have always been his specialty." Tokoyami watched on. "Not to mention that Hawks needs to spread himself thin to keep civilians out of harm's way." Everyone was talking, Shoto could only watch the scene before him, they fought on and on, until something happened. Hawks was stabbed in the stomach. "Hawks, no!"
"No, it's fine." Toshinori stated. "He took the injury to give Endeavor a chance." He could see feathers fly into the man's back as he propelled himself further and faster than before, reaching the Nomu and setting it ablaze … as it withstood the attack.
"That's a lot of determination and spite." Iruma watched the sight almost inquisitively. "Both Shoto's dad and the monster. It's like two rocks hitting each other. Unless one of them gets stronger, they're both going to break."
Shoto clenched his hand tightly, watching the event before him. "I said I'd be watching … so show me damn it!" He screamed as if the man on the TV could hear him. Almost in response the hero grabbed onto the Nomu as they both began flying higher and higher into the sky, like a firework.
That bastard, Enji Todoroki wasn't a good person, he'd never be a good person…but he was a good hero….and right now, he needed to be the greatest! Damn it, fucking prove why you're the number one hero, Endeavor!
==
Are you watching Shoto? Fuyumi, Natsuo, Rei…do you see where I am now?' He thought as he reached the heavens. 'Fighting what I was, what I could have become, this monster obsessed with strength?' Cause that's all it was at one point, wasn't it? Strength without limits, unquestionable power, perfect combat. Too much obsession, it drove him to break. So here he was, only able to go as far as he was now, due to the fact he didn't have to worry about anything.
"Hey monster!" He shouted to the beast. "I don't know if you've heard these words, and I hate them from the bottom of my heart, but it feels pretty appropriate to say them now!" Endeavor … Eiji shouted, his fire reaching its maximum. "Plus Ultra: PROMINENCE BURN!"
The words that All Might lived by everyday, words that constantly reminded him of the shadow he always had to live in, that reminded him that even beyond his best would be no comparison to the symbol of peace. But that was fine, he didn't need to be a symbol of peace, he was his own symbol, his own man. One of Victory, where no one needed to worry about a villain running rampant.
As if to prove his point the Hooded Nomu could only scream in agony as it was vaporized to ash, fading into the winds as it was erased from life itself. Well that was step one, now for step two, landing. Something that he knew how to do but was far too spent to do properly.
'Shit.' Like a fiery meteor, he crashed into the city, fortunately empty due to the efforts of his sidekicks and Hawks. It did matter how broken his bones were, how charred his organs were, or the cruel irony that he would probably get a scar on his own left eye now. He needed to stand tall, he needed to show the world he won, that he would always win.
He slowly pushed himself to his feet, legs weak as he raised his left arm, not his right. This was a beginning, unlike All Might's end. He waited for the smoke to clear, for everyone to see and cheer. He'd keep this up for a bit until he was allowed to collapse. Now he just needed to hope the universe had a decent sense of timing and made sure nothing happened.
"ENDEAVOR!" The universe was a bitch. He idly glanced at the blurry ball of blue fire coming his way. "It's time I finally dig your fucking grave, you bastard!"
"I don't know, I say he has a few more years in him." Hawks came in, using his feathers to move his tired and burnt body out of the way. "Dabi, isn't it? Surprised to see you without the rest of your crew."
The villain, dead skin badly stitched together all over his body from what his damaged vision could tell, laughed. "Well the man ruined a little run we did a while back and I brought Hood with me, I figured it would at least get him on his knees before I ripped off his head on a pike."
"Sounds like you planned to have a fun night." He hated when pros bantered like this, even if it was because neither of them had enough strength to actually fight. "Mind if I bring along a couple of friends?"
"You're not going anywhere." Heavy winds were felt, making the winds die down. Everyone looked up, and the dragon hero Ryuko began her descent.
"And here I thought I could finally cross the big one off my bucket list." Dabi sighed in disappointment, before speaking into his coat. "Warp me." Black sludge leaked out of his mouth. "Guess we'll save the heart to heart for later, number one. Until then, don't die."
"Kurogiri is already in tartarus custody…" Ryuko futilely tried to grab the villain, only to grasp air when he disappeared. "That means they have another warp quirk at their disposal."
"Well that sucks." Hawks turned to Endeavor. "Don't worry big guy, you've done your part. Just rest up while we do ours."
"My part is far from over." Endeavor growled out, forcing himself to stand. "This is just the beginning."