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"Burn up in a purgatory where you can't run or regenerate fast enough and be quelled! Prominence Burn!"
Charging up the hellfire beyond his limits, Endeavor directed the strongest blast he could muster towards the Noumu. Considering that even the strongest regeneration quirks couldn't function properly on burnt skin, he planned on using his flames to turn the creature to ashes. He knew that with the help of the temperature regulating system built in his armour, he'd defeat the Noumu with ease.
Except, he started to overheat. Far too quickly. Only realising far too late that his costume was malfunctioning, he fired his shot, hoping to bring the monster to its doom as soon as possible. This seemed to be the wrong decision, however, because the moment he fired off the blast, his gear - unable to handle the heat - exploded, causing him to not only damage everything around him - possibly injuring civilians in the process - but also terribly hurt himself.
His own blast sent him pummelling to the ground and he barely registered the screams of horrified news reporters, pained civilians and yells from concerned comrades.
All over Japan, people watched as their current number one hero fought not only for their lives, but for his own as well. Amongst those people, class 1-a was watching too.
And amongst those children was one Todoroki Shouto.
His wide eyes were glued to the screen, completely ignoring the worried "Todoroki? Todoroki, are you okay?" calls from his classmates.
He was chewing the inside of his cheek and his hands were clawing at the sofa of their dormitory's common room. To anyone else, he looked like a son fearful for his father's wellbeing after such a tragedy. What they didn't realise was that he was the one to cause said tragedy.
He couldn't stand knowing that once he became the number one, the public would celebrate him the way they celebrated All Might. So, he reached out to the one person he knew shared as much hatred for Enji as he did.
Lying limply on the rubble, Endeavor opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of the previous Noumu, completely unharmed.
"Boring. Aren't there any stronger heroes around here?", the beast growled.
At this point, the muffled screams of thousands of civilians could be heard everywhere. The hero tried to find any little power he had left, but couldn't even raise his arm. The rough landing had left him completely immobile.
He tried not to let fear show on his face when he heard faint footsteps approaching him. "Noumu", the newcomer called with a deep, raspy voice. The form on top of him moved at the sound of its name and got off, skipping to wherever said person was.
It only took him a few seconds to realise who exactly he was dealing with when black hair and cold, blue eyes entered his line of sight. He formed the best scowl he could manage, which probably only made him look even more pathetic, judging by the other's grin.
"It seems that everything has gone well, huh. It's good to see you again, Todoroki Enji."
The hero's eyes widened at the use of his full name and he desperately tried to say something, which only made him start to cough. The dread on his face served to fully amuse the villain in front of him, causing him to bark out a laugh. The man continued to come his way, which only worsened the feeling in Enji's gut.
"Don't act so surprised. You should've seen your doom coming sooner or later. If anything, I'm disappointed you're surprised at all!" Now he was standing right in front of the fallen pro and crouched down to peer him closer in the eye. His unhinged smile made the staples on his face pull the skin in a grotesque way, but the absolute ecstasy in his eyes was what shook Endeavor to the core.
"Really, it's just karma coming to bite you in the ass for being such a shitty person. It's sad that you still haven't figured out who I am, considering you had no problem throwing me out the moment my quirk was deemed defective by you."
Finally catching his breath, he rasped out "Touya? What... in the world... happened... to you?" Something akin to relief glinted in the villain's eyes.
He snorted, "Took you long enough, old man. Isn't it sad to be brought down by the one person you dedicated two decades of your life to? By the child you neglected and hurt everyone else for? By your own masterpiece?"
Enji frowned as he processed the words. "What... are you... taking about?", he wheezed. "The one... Masterpiece... He's Shouto..." He coughed again, his throat aching badly.
"Bingo. Weren't you able to tell that something was wrong with your costume?"
His body froze. "What? No... That... That's not... I promised—"
"That you'd make him proud?", his eldest son cut him off. Raising his hand, he ignited a blue flame in his palm and held it close to Endeavor's face. "Then why not do so the best way possible?"
It was ridiculously easy to find his father's costume, since the pro-hero's son obviously always had full access to his agency. It only took him loosening a few screws and continuously freezing and heating up the metal of Endeavor's gear to make it practically unusable.
He was absolutely terrified all throughout the day, but seeing his abuser finally face the consequences of his actions made him feel like it was truly worth it after all. He didn't even realise he was crying until he felt himself get pulled in a hug by Aizawa-sensei.
"I'm so sorry, Todoroki. This wasn't supposed to happen."
And so, the bicoloured boy sobbed on his teacher's shoulder, trembling as he listened to his classmates' coos and cries. The tears cascading down his cheeks, however, weren't ones of grief, but ones of relief.
"I hate you. You've hurt numerous of my friends. This is the only time I'll ever help you. I want nothing to do with you once this is over."
"Fair enough. Everything I say to him will be taken to his grave, so you don't have to worry about it getting in the way of your... career. You know what to do."
"Of course."