Chapter Text
Fuyumi Todoroki sat at the front of the school bus twiddling her fingers together as she gazed thoughtlessly out the window.
From the back, Fuyumi could hear her students chatting in a manner that screamed excitement as they all discussed what they wanted to see when they reached their destination.
Today, Fuyumi was taking her class of 1st graders to the city zoo. The trip was only meant to last a couple of hours so the kids could be back in time for dismissal.
Feeling a buzz from her right pocket, Fuyumi took out her phone to see a text from her father saying to eat dinner without him since something had come up.
Fuyumi sighed before typing out a response.
Her father was improving himself by the day but their family still had trials to overcome.
It wasn’t like Fuyumi wasn’t used to this as by the time she was twelve, she had taken up the responsibility of keeping her family together.
Natsuo hardly ever showed up for dinner when their father was around and with Shoto now living in the dorms, Fuyumi had gotten used to eating alone.
Teaching made the loneliness easier to handle and made Fuyumi feel like a normal person for once, at least for a little while.
Up until her father made his recent debut as the Number One Hero of Japan, Fuyumi wondered if their family would ever be happy again. Now she can only hope that with all the pieces placed, something may change for them somewhere down the line.
Fuyumi’s train of thought was interrupted when a paper ball briefly flew past her cheek, prompting the young woman to turn around and see who had thrown the ball.
It wasn’t hard to find out who had done it as the rest of the class stared at the culprit who had a sheepish-looking expression.
The boy in question had mid-length dark blue hair and hazel eyes while wearing a red All Might shirt.
“Kenta.” Fuyumi started, picking up the paper ball that had landed near the bus driver who gave Fuyumi a strange look.
“I’ve told you this many times Kenta, we don’t throw things indoors. Especially things that can hurt people.”
“Yeah, I know. But technically we’re not inside Ms. Todoroki.” Kenta said with an almost smug look on his face.
Fuyumi rolled her eyes before placing the paper ball in the trash can at the front.
“Regardless, I don’t want you throwing things inside the bus. Or else you’ll be sitting with me for the remainder of the ride, do you understand?” She stated firmly while still keeping a calm demeanor.
“Yes, Ms. Todoroki.” Kenta reluctantly agreed, sliding sluggishly in his seat, prompting the rest of the class to snicker.
Fuyumi smiled and turned back around to the front as she double-checked her list of students.
Looking out the window, Fuyumi could see that they were about to pass through the interstate bridge that brought them into downtown Tokyo, which wouldn’t be much farther from the zoo.
As Fuyumi kept her gaze straight ahead, she thought she could see something in the distance. Before Fuyumi could consider that her eyes were playing tricks on her, the object came towards them in full force, causing Fuyumi to scream.
“Watch out!”
The bus driver saw what Fuyumi was seeing as a car crashed on the road before bouncing only slightly past the bus.
The action made the bus driver swerve as the kids screamed and briefly losing control, the bus slammed into the bridge barrier, making it slant over the edge.
The only thing keeping the bus from falling into the river was the traction of the tires skitting against the road.
When Fuyumi next opened her eyes, her vision was spotted as a shot of pain went through her body.
Her ears were ringing as she noticed that her glasses had been slightly cracked from the impact and Fuyumi could feel something warm trickling down her forehead.
When the ringing stopped, panicked voices of her class replaced it, prompting Fuyumi to act.
Moving from the curled position she had subconsciously done when the crash occurred, Fuyumi looked over the seat across from her and saw the bus driver unconscious against the steering wheel with the airbag flying out in several directions.
Fuyumi hesitantly stood up and in that moment one of the girls in her class screamed as the bus began to teeter closer to the edge.
Fuyumi sucked in a breath and held onto the front of the seat tightly.
“Everyone, stay calm!” She commanded, adrenaline coursing through her veins.
The class quieted down a little once they had their teacher in sight but still looked scared.
Fuyumi looked to the window on the side of her and saw that people had abandoned their cars and seemed to be running in the opposite direction from something-Something that sounded like it was getting closer as the ground vibrated.
Fuyumi, taking a moment to assess the situation, turned to face her class.
“Class, I need you to move carefully back to the bus. Help is on the way soon but I need everyone to stay calm!”
As children from each role moved back one by one, Fuyumi noticed that Kenta had yet to move from his seat, as he sat there petrified.
Offering a hand to him, Fuyumi said, “Kenta, I need you to go to the back with the others.”
Kenta stared at his teacher and then at her hand before shaking his head “No.”
Fuyumi mustered a reassuring smile. “It’s going to be okay, Kenta. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, including the rest of the class. But you need to trust me.”
Kenta’s upper lip trembled before he reluctantly took Fuyumi’s hand and let her guide him to the back.
Slowly but surely, Fuyumi was able to direct the rest of her students to the back so they could counterbalance the weight of the bus until the heroes or fire department showed up.
Fuyumi then made her way to the unconscious bus driver at the front, being wary of her weight. Managing to unbuckle the seatbelt and with Fuyumi supporting his head, she dragged him to the back where her students were.
Once Fuyumi had the bus driver situated in a seat she took out her phone and despite being slightly cracked it was still in working condition.
The young woman took a breath of relief and searched for the first person that came to mind.
The phone rang for a few seconds before the gruff voice of her father answered, “Fuyumi, now really isn’t a good time…”
“Dad,” Fuyumi interrupted, “My class and I were headed to the zoo when a car was thrown in our direction and now the bus is hanging off the bridge. I think it’s some kind of villain attack.”
“Shit…” Enji cursed, which slightly alarmed Fuyumi.
“What bridge are you on, Fuyumi?”
The young woman tried to look through the window to get a better idea of where she was but from her position, Fuyumi could only see the river down below and the traffic jam covering most of the road.
“I-I’m not sure…” Fuyumi admitted. “But I know it’s the one that goes into downtown Tokyo.”
“I think I know where that is.” Fuyumi heard her father mutter.
There was a small pause until Endeavor came back to the phone saying, “Fuyumi, whatever you do don’t move until I or another pro gets there, alright? I’ll try to get to you as soon as I can.”
“I-Okay…” Fuyumi was tempted to say ‘I love you’ but found the sentiment awkward as she didn’t know if her father would even say it back so instead she ended the call with, “Please be safe.”
“I will,” Enji said, almost with a soft tenure to his voice.
When the call ended Fuyumi anxiously held the phone to her chest as she circled back to the children.
“It’ll be okay class, help is on the way soon,” Fuyumi said, mainly trying to reassure herself.
“Ms. Todoroki, you’re hurt…” Ayame pointed out, huddling closer to the student next to her.
Fuyumi touched her forehead and felt a small amount of blood still pooling from her head injury.
The young woman sighed and tried wiping some of the dried blood onto her sleeve.
“I’m alright Ayame. It’s just a small bump.”
The little girl nodded and whispered something to one of the students beside her.
Fuyumi took a moment to catch her breath as she tightened her ponytail.
‘What in the world could’ve caused this? It had to have been a villain but I have yet to see anyone out there unless I can’t see them through the smoke.’
The smoke outside didn’t seem to come from anything like a fire as it was more of a clayish kind of smoke. The kind you would see after an avalanche.
Fuyumi didn’t have time to reflect on this further as the ground seemed to erupt from below
The children shrieked and Fuyumi did her best to keep them calm but found herself faltering at the sight she was seeing out the window.
A few feet away from them something was starting to form from the ground up. Rocks and debris circulated until a man of high stature was found in its place, his skin was entirely made out of orange rock that looked broken in some places while still holding a rough exterior.
The man let out a gruff sound as he watched his arm form with the rock he had summoned with his quirk.
Once most of his limbs had formed, the villain flexed out his new body and took a quick look around to survey the damage that was caused.
“Damn, looks like that car I threw sent everyone running. Good thing I fell apart before that explosion, or else I would’ve been finished.”
Fuyumi held her breath as she somewhat recognized the villain standing dangerously close to the bus.
With his real name currently unknown, the villain called himself Metamorphic, which wasn’t a very frightening name on paper but still shouldn’t be taken lightly.
The man’s quirk had something to do with molding rock as he could form anything he could think of just by touching the surface of the ground. Since his entire body was made out of rock, he could even regenerate any limbs he’d lost in just a matter of minutes.
Fuyumi could also recall that the man’s reasons for villainy had something to do with quirk discrimination as besides mutants, hybrids could be potential targets of prejudice.
The young woman’s heart nearly stopped when she saw that Metamorphic had noticed the bus and started taking a few steps toward them.
Hearing the thundering footsteps of what seemed like a giant getting closer and closer, the children couldn’t help but whimper.
Some of them even began clutching onto Fuyumi’s dress pants while silently crying as the young woman couldn’t seem to find her voice.
Fuyumi could only hope that the villain wouldn’t bring children involved in his rampage and would simply walk past them.
But Metamorphic didn’t get the chance to act as a red blur swiftly went by and nearly knocked the large man off his feet.
Fuyumi was sure she’d lost her breath as the red blur turned back around and cut Metamorphic across the chest, slicing the man entirely in half.
Metamorphic fell to the ground like a tower of Jenga blocks and rock dispersed onto the ground.
The children echoed murmurs of confusion as they wondered what that red blur was and Fuyumi found herself wondering the same until she heard a tap coming from the window across from her.
Fuyumi spun around to see Hawks, the hero second to her father, staring at her with his golden eyes and carefree smile.
Fuyumi’s class let out a few excited cheers at being saved by the number two hero while the young woman found it hard to speak as her heart leaped into her throat.
Wiping her sweaty palms onto her pants, Fuyumi pulled down the window and went to greet the pro.
“Thank you so much-I don’t know what would’ve happened if you didn’t show up. My students and I are eternally grateful to you.” Fuyumi said, bowing her head down in gratitude.
Hawks offered Fuyumi a friendly, confident smile. “No need to thank me; just doing my job.”
Hawks then turned his attention to the children in the back of the bus and gave them a wave to ease the tension.
“You guys are pretty brave, you know that? Not everyone can stay so cool when a villain crashes the party.”
The children, who had been through a whirlwind of bear and anxiety, began to respond to Hawks’ presence with large smiles and murmurs of excitement.
The hero had a way of making the most dire situations seem bearable with his infectious confidence.
Fuyumi, seeing the change in her class’s mood, smiled in relief and clasped her hands together. “I can’t thank you enough, Hawks.”
“Now, how about we get this bus back on the road?” Hawks said with a grin, tapping the vehicle for emphasis.
Before Fuyumi could reply she saw a large shadow form behind Hawks, prompting her to scream, “Look out!”
Hawks seemed to have also sensed the lurking presence as he dodged midair, holding the feather blade he used earlier in a defensive manner.
Metamorphic seemed to have recovered from Hawks’ initial attacks as his entire body had reformed.
“Nice try birdie, I may break easily but I always get back up to knock some heads around.”
Hawks narrowed his eyes from behind his tinted visors as he crouched onto a nearby bridge pillar.
Metamorphic sneered menacingly as he took a giant stomp towards the bus.
“I usually don’t like hurting kids but I’m really angry now. You hear that birdie-Their blood is gonna be on your hands!”
Hawks glared at Metamorphic as he readied his feathers. “It doesn’t have to be this way, buddy. Just come away quietly and nobody has to get hurt.”
From behind his back and away from Hawk's vision, Metamorphic behind to form a large projectile with some of the broken cement.
“Says someone who was born with a privileged quirk-How about you take this on for size!” Metamorphic threw the large rock towards Hawks, despite it barely touching the winged hero, it did cause damage to the bridge pillar.
One of the cables of the bridge snapped and the ground groaned loudly as more of the surface cracked.
The children let out shrieks of terror as the bus went closer to the edge and Fuyumi had to use all of her strength not to let herself be pulled down by gravity.
Thankfully, Hawks sent some feathers over to the part of the bus that was dangling mid-air to keep it from moving any further.
Even with using his feathers as support for the vehicle, Hawks could sense the vibrations of the road close collapsing in on itself, which meant he had to act quickly.
Knowing that he was running out of time, Keigo decided to try to negotiate as despite Metamorphic famous violent outbursts, he seemed to be a reasonable man.
While still keeping himself in the air, Hawks spoke firmly to the man, “Listen, I know you don’t want to take your aggression out on these kids. Any minute now this side of the bridge will collapse in on itself with you along with these innocent bystanders. So please don’t make this any more difficult.”
Metamorphic seemed to think over Hawks’ words for a moment before his face turned back to its usual scowl. “So what? If it happens it won’t be my fault, it’ll be yours! Besides, this could be a damn trick for all I know!”
“I’m not tricking you!” Hawks yelled earnestly, but his plea was cut short when Metamorphic conjured a rock fist and aimed to hit the hero, which Hawks successfully evaded.
“Fierce Wings!” Hawks exclaimed, sending a flurry of feathers, sharp as blades, towards the villain, doing everything in his power to immobilize him.
Metamorphic countered with a swing of one of his rocky appendages, sending a valley of shards toward Hawks.
The winged hero weaved through the air, his wings carrying him with grace and speed as he avoided the debris with ease.
In a strategic move, Hawks used multiple feathers to create a diversion by attacking from multiple angles and distracting the villain. It seems to be working as Metamorphic found it difficult to evade every feather that pierced his rock armor.
Gliding to the ground with what feathers he had left, Hawks ran over to the bus and spoke to Fuyumi through the open window.
“Listen-Miss, I’m gonna need you to do me a favor.”
“Uh-Yes?” Fuyumi stammered, recognizing the dire situation.
“I need you to help your class evacuate from the bus, there should be an emergency exit, right?”
Fuyumi turned and noted the emergency back door near where most of the kids were sitting.
“Yes, I see it. But what about…” Fuyumi was about to voice her concern when Hawks placed his hand over her hand that had been resting outside of the window.
Fuyumi’s breath hitched as she looked up to meet the man’s gaze.
“I know what you’re thinking but I have that covered. The feathers I sent should have strength enough to keep the bus from sliding anymore while you unload. I know this is scary but you have to trust me, miss…?”
“Fuyumi.” The young woman answered without thinking twice before realizing she had just given him her first name.
“Fuyumi; that’s a lovely name.” Hawks mused, flashing her a coy grin.
Fuyumi pressed her lips together nervously before nodding. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Good, while my quirk isn’t exactly equipped for close combat, I’ll try to keep him at bay as long as I can. You focus on getting yourself and your class to safety.”
From behind them, Metamorphic started propelling towards the surrounding feathers, crushing a few of them.
Hawks turned around and called the remaining undamaged feathers back to him, ready to make his next move.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the bridge, Endeavor and a few of his sidekicks were assisting severely injured civilians in a large-scale car collision that occurred when the villain first attacked.
Endeavor used some of his condensed heat to melt the metal of the car door before ripping it open and helping the young woman out of her seat.
The woman thanked Endeavor as she was taken away by the paramedics.
Hearing the sounds of explosions and fighting from the other side of the bridge made the flame hero scowl.
“Dammit, why the hell are we just standing here and wasting our time when the villain is still rampaging?” Endeavor gruffly asked Burnin who held her ear against the intercom.
“Endeavor sir, the fire department and local architects have advised us not to engage just yet. Judging from the damage, that part of the bridge may collapse any second so we don’t want to add any extra weight.”
Enji pressed his lips together in thought as he looked at his phone, almost tempted to call Fuyumi again.
Even with most of the Flaming Sidekicks assisting the police and fire department, they seemed no closer to getting reinforcements over to the trapped bus full of children.
Finally having enough of standing around, Endeavor increased the tensity of his flames.
“That’s it, I’m going over there right now!”
“Wait, sir!” Burnin called out. “I just got word that Hawks is on the other side of the bridge!”
Endeavor stopped in place and looked perplexed.
“Hawks…?”
Using the little strength she had, Fuyumi pushed in the red lever, prompting the exit door to open with a small groan.
Fuyumi took a deep breath and turned to the children, who looked at her with wide eyes.
“Alright everyone, I need you all to exit out of this door as quickly as you can, don’t bother taking any belongings.”
With the help of the now conscious bus driver, Fuyumi managed to get most of the children out of the bus, as she instructed them to keep their distance from the vehicle.
From the corner of her eye, Fuyumi had watched as Hawks maneuvered Metamorphic attacks in the air and managed to get a few hits in with his feather blades, but it wasn’t enough to keep him incapacitated.
Fuyumi was the last to get off the bus as she made a quick check to see if everyone had gotten off.
Before Fuyumi could attempt to climb out, the feathers keeping the front side of the bus up shuddered as some of them began to get crushed by the pressure.
In an instant, the feathers dispelled and the bus rolled back a few feet and Fuyumi screamed as her hand went to grab onto something.
The children let out shrieks and screams of panic as the bus driver pushed them back, his expression growing fearful.
Hawks saw this and cursed under his breath as he knew that most of those feathers holding up the bus had gotten crushed.
He could see Fuyumi hanging onto one of the legs of the seats as her legs dangled, gravity quickly becoming her greatest enemy.
“Hold on Fuyumi!” Hawks cried out, dodging another collision of boulders the villain sent his way.
Metamorphic seemed to be getting annoyed and decided to change his strategy by slamming his feet against the ground as rock formed from under him and brought him into the sky.
‘Crap!’ Hawks used his wings to propel back but wouldn’t have time to change his direction as Metamorphic came towards him with his rock fist clenched.
But before Metamorphic could make contact, a fiery fist rammed into him, nearly throwing the man off his stilts of rock.
This gave enough time for Hawks to back off as he could feel the collision of hot air that radiated from the punch.
It wasn’t hard to guess who had intervened as Endeavor stood midair with his fiery boots giving him elevation.
The man was furious as he glared daggers at Metamorphic.
“Hawks, get the remaining bystanders out of here! I’ll handle this guy.”
Hawks didn’t need to be told twice as he glided to the ground, turning to the bus driver.
“Sir, I need you to get these kids out of here.”
“I-Of course!” The older man sputtered and started pushing the class of students in the opposite direction despite their protests.
Hawks wearily took a step closer to the bus as the ground creaked loudly, at that point, the bus was hanging onto the bridge by a thread as chunks of debris managed to get stuck between the tires.
Peering into the emergency exit, Hawks saw Fuyumi still holding onto the legs of the chair.
“Fuyumi!” Hawks called to her in concern as the woman opened her eyes to meet his gaze.
From behind Hawks, Fuyumi could see some of Endeavor’s fire shooting out in several directions.
“I-Is my father here…?” Fuyumi croaked unintentionally, confusing Hawks.
“I’m sorry-Could you repeat that?!” Hawks asked, unsure if his ears heard correctly.
Fuyumi didn’t say anything and Hawks decided to disregard what she said.
“Listen, I need you to climb up to me because if any more weight is added we’re both screwed.”
Fuyumi nervously looked down below her and back up to Hawks. “I don’t know if I can.”
“Yes, you can.” Hawks asserted, “If you can get your entire class to get off a dangling bus then I’m sure you can do this.”
Tears started to fog up the young woman’s glasses as she closed her eyes and gripped tighter. “I-I can’t…”
“You can Fuyumi, you know why? Because you’re a strong person, and after what you’ve been through today, that proves it.”
After a few moments, Fuyumi finally opted to open her grey eyes as she met Hawks’ golden ones.
The reassuring smile Hawks was giving Fuyumi made her heart skip a beat and her body almost felt a little lighter.
The young man extended his hand towards her, which emphasized the remaining feet between them.
“I promise that I won’t let you fall. But you need to climb up and take my hand.”
Despite the sweat forming on her brow, Fuyumi took in a hasty breath and forced herself to climb up.
Back with Endeavor, he had managed to get a good amount of hits on the villain but still wasn’t enough as Metamorphic would regenerate any limbs that got damaged.
Endeavor took a moment to assess his opponent and realized that the man’s rocky exterior had started to show signs of melting and fractures from the intense heat.
If heat and fire could cause the rock to crack and even melt if the temperature was high enough, then Endeavor could push Metamorphic's quirk to the limit and force him to surrender.
Endeavor took a breath and unleashed a focused stream of fire in the villain’s direction in hopes of heating the rocky exterior to the point that it became brittle.
Metamorphic staggered under the amount of firepower and used his arms to shield himself but the heat was relentless, even for his durability.
Noticing how close he was to where Hawks and Fuyumi were, Endeavor pushed Metamorphic in the opposite direction, aiming to finish him by going higher into the sky.
Just like he had not too long ago, Endeavor called forth his signature move, “Prominence Burn!”
A devastating blast of fire consumed the blue sky with a light as bright as the sun, nearly incinerating Metamorphic's skin as he let out a pained scream.
Even Fuyumi could feel the heat of her father’s flames from inside the bus as the light continued to illuminate.
Hawks hastily leaned in closer through the doorway as he was inches away from Fuyumi’s hand.
Hawks’ sudden movement prompted whatever had held the bus up at this point to crumble, as the bus tires rolled backwards.
Fuyumi screamed and was sure it would’ve been over if Hawks hadn’t grabbed her hand and pulled her out just as the bus was plunging into the river.
The bus made a large splash as it made contact with the water, before slowly receding.
The next time Fuyumi opened her eyes, she found herself being held bridal style as Hawks must’ve scooped her up at the last minute.
Peering up at Hawks, Fuyumi got a glimpse of his hardened expression but his eyes were kind and still held a spark of playful mischief that almost seemed out of place.
Hawks wings carried him as if he were lighter than air and for a moment, Fuyumi forgot about the chaos and looked to admire the view as beyond the destruction the skyline of the building reflected on the water beautifully.
Hawks seemed to take notice of Fuyumi’s awestruck face and the tension in his body melted as he smiled. “That was a close call, wasn’t it?”
Fuyumi snapped her attention back to him as a blush spread across her cheeks from the mix of adrenaline and the unexpected intimate position she was in.
“Ah-Yes. I don’t know how to thank you…”
Hawks’ smile widened and he winked at her with a slight hint of flirtation, “Trust me, that was all you. But I’ve got to say, it’s not every day I get to rescue someone as lovely as yourself.”
Fuyumi’s blush deepened and her grip on Hawks tightened as the warmth of the rescue left her with a fluttering feeling in her stomach that she couldn’t quite place.
By the time Hawks brought Fuyumi back to the solid ground, an ambulance had safely gotten onto their side of the bridge with the children and other bystanders being accounted for by the police.
Down below where the bus had fallen into the river, the Navy had been requested to bring Kamui Woods to the part of the bridge that was collapsing and use his quirk to keep the bridge from falling apart anymore until emergency services could secure and close the area.
As Hawks landed, Fuyumi carefully extracted herself from his arms and her own feet met the ground.
Hawks’ hands lingered on her waist a bit longer than necessary before he released her, which for some reason disappointed Fuyumi.
Fuyumi tried telling herself that she was merely attracted to his charm but back when she was nearly close to falling to her death, the young woman never felt so safe.
It wasn’t due to her circumstances but at the fact of how reassuring Hawks was when he told her that it would be okay and emphasized how strong she was being for her students.
It was something Fuyumi had been wanting to hear for a long time. Perhaps not from Hawks, but her family.
Fuyumi scolded herself for thinking this way and instead let a soft smile take over her features.
“Well, it’s been fun.” Hawks replied smoothly, seeming hesitant to end the conversation.
Fuyumi nodded, adjusting her glasses. “Yes, this afternoon has certainly been eventful. I certainly won’t be forgetting this field trip anytime soon.”
Hawks took a step back and chuckled, “I’m glad I was able to salvage some of it. Perhaps I’ll see you around?”
Hawks slyly inquired as his feathers fluttered in the air.
“Perhaps” Fuyumi mused, wiping the dirt from her cheek as her heart raced with giddiness.
“Until we meet again, Fuyumi.” Hawks uttered before taking flight into the sky again, likely to help his fellow heroes with the aftermath.
Later, Fuyumi sat at the edge of the ambulance as one of the paramedics wrapped a cloth around the bump on her head after dealing with the bleeding.
Fuyumi saw Metamorphic being walked away in police cuffs as the menacing figure of her father ensured his arrest.
When Enji’s eyes landed on Fuyumi he stopped in place before walking over to her.
Fuyumi could see the bundle of nerves on her father’s face as she waited for his response.
“Hey, are you alright?” Enji asked casually, his eyes wandering to the bandage on her head.
“Yeah, I’m okay,” Fuyumi said, patiently placing her hands on her lap
“How about you, dad? That villain seemed tough.”
Endeavor shrugged before taking a step forward, hovering over Fuyumi like a guard dog.
“It was nothing I couldn’t handle. I was more worried about you. Good thing that damn bird showed up when he did.”
Fuyumi blinked twice. “You mean Hawks?”
“Yes…” Enji sighed, his voice hinting at annoyance as he went on to mutter, “It’s bad enough that I needed his help with that nomu, now I’m gonna have to thank him for saving you.”
Fuyumi smiled as she recognized his concern behind his brusque attitude. “Well, it means a lot that you came all this way just to save me. I appreciate it, Dad.”
Endeavor’s eyes softened for a moment as he tenderly squeezed his daughter’s shoulder.
“It was no trouble Fuyumi. I guess it’s my way of thanking you for taking on so much at home.”
Fuyumi nodded, feeling a sense of bittersweet as she briefly thought of her departed older brother Touya.
She wondered how he would be feeling about all this. The fact that little by little, their father was finally trying to make amends for all the trauma and abuse he brought upon them.
Would he be more temperamental like Natsu, quiet like Shoto, or more in between like Fuyumi?
Nah, it was likely the former.
Fuyumi turned to her father with a resolved look in her eyes. “I’m okay Dad, I promise. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Enji nodded, looking a little dejected. “I-I know. I’m fully aware that you can take care of yourself, Fuyumi. It’s just…”
“Hmm…?”
The mighty Endeavor looked lost before finally letting himself be vulnerable. “I don’t want to lose another child.”
Fuyumi’s heart ached at that moment as she resisted the urge to pull her father into a hug but opted to lay her head on his shoulder, which prompted him to flinch at the unexpected gesture.
“Yeah, me too…”
To be continued…