I feel bad, bringing the number one hero here for this. Dabi didn't specify how strong of a hero to bring, so I brought Endeavor so that I can try mentioning Kaito in hopes that maybe Endeavor can help me get him out of the clutches of the Hero Commission. The night I met with Dabi, I came back to Kai shivering and struggling to breathe. I don't know what to do to stop the Commission from torturing him the way they do.

"So, Endeavor, you have a favorite food?" I ask, trying to keep my cool. Kaito's life rides on me finding a way to get him out of the Commission's clutches. Sure, they had a support company create a choker that regulates the temperature of his throat so that he doesn't have any further issues from his ice breath, but that doesn’t fix the damage they've already caused, it doesn't fix the fact that they never seem to listen about his needs.

Endeavor doesn't answer, but it's no real surprise. He's not one for small talk. I've watched every interview he's ever had, and they can never get anything personal out of the flame hero. As we walk, I send out feathers here and there to take care of minor situations like saving someone's dog, and helping an old lady carry groceries, the whole time trying to figure out a way past the older man's guarded expression.

"I know a place that serves some amazing Mizutaki. The chicken flavor really comes through. It's my son’s favorite." There, a subtle way to bring him up. Hopefully that'll get me somewhere. "It might be a little heavy, though. How hungry are you?"

"You have a son?" He caught it, just like I hoped. "If he's anything like you, you should train him hard to preserve your image."

And my hopes instantly crash. I knew he was hard on Touya, but I would have thought he might have lightened up after Touya’s death. Instead, it seems, he’s only gotten more determined. What does that mean for poor Shouto? Touya had told me before that Endeavor had basically replaced him with Shouto after the younger boy had been born. I had hoped, when I heard that Shouto had chosen to intern with his father, that it was out of choice, but now, I’m starting to wonder if he even had a choice in the matter. No other hero agency would be good enough in the flame hero’s opinion.

We continue on in silence leaving me time to ponder about Kaito’s obsession with the possibility that Dabi could be Touya. He is right that the blue flames are scarily similar to the color that Touya’s had become not long before his death. There’s also Dabi’s eyes. Seeing him up close for the first time, I got to see how blue his eyes are, they're bright like Touya's, like Kaito's. Not to mention the way Dabi looked at me. It wasn’t the look of a villain staring at a hero or even a potential ally. No, it was a look of recognition and maybe even a little desperation, as if he was desperate for me to see him.

The fans who beg for my attention as I walk do little to distract me from my train of thought. Kaito has managed to fill me with far too much hope with his little obsession with Dabi, and I’m afraid of him being wrong at this point. I don’t want him to be disappointed that Dabi isn’t Touya. I don’t want to get my own hopes up only to find out that we’re wrong.

At the restaurant, I continue to give Endeavor a run down of what I'm supposed to in order to convince him to come to the abandoned warehouse tomorrow where Dabi said the Nomu will be. If he really is Touya, he should be trustworthy enough, at least for me to be able to trust him, if not anyone else. Endeavor keeps acting like I’m just playing him for a fool, which isn’t too far off the mark as I’m just trying to keep him here long enough to convince him to look around with me tomorrow.

“Quit putting on airs already,” Endeavor huffs, standing up. “What the hell are you trying to accomplish here!? Tell me your endgame!”

“I want you, the number one hero, to become that leader we can rely on.” I can’t believe I’m actually saying this out loud. “You can verify those rumors that have been enveloping society, and you can tell everyone to rest easy. I want you to puff out your chest and declare it to the world. And I won’t do much of anything.” I had wanted to keep some of this to myself, but I feel like telling him this is the only way that I’m going to get through to Endeavor. “I talked about it yesterday too, but… The point is, when you’re the number one, it’s all about the production.”

“What kind of stance is that, you bastard!?” Endeavor roars.

“I just want to take it easy.” I’m not sure what else to try and say at this point. I just need to keep Endeavor here until tomorrow. He just needs to stay here and patrol by the warehouse so that Dabi can test that Nomu. “Seriously. In an ideal world, I would just leisurely patrol the streets, come home, sit back, relax, and tell my son that it was another peaceful day.” I already mentioned Kai once, so it would seem suspicious if I don’t mention him in my ideal world. “I want the world to be a place where heroes have more free time than they know what to do with, where my son could have the choice to not become a hero if that’s what he chooses.”

I notice that Endeavor looks distracted by something, so I glance out the window to see a Nomu flying straight toward us. The Nomu crashes into the building, and Endeavor takes off to fight it. I do my best to back him up, but I have to focus on getting the civilians out of the way first. With my quirk, I can send feathers in every direction to pull as many people to safety as possible, and as soon as they’re all out of the way, I start assisting Endeavor with the Nomu in the only way I can, I use my feathers to give him a speed boost so that he can focus on his flames.

Endeavor is standing tall after his victory. I wouldn’t call it my victory when I’m, in part, responsible for the battle that happened. Why did Dabi change the date and place of the test? Was he really that untrustworthy, or is it because I brought Endeavor out of all the possible heroes that I could have chosen? Does Dabi hold a specific hatred towards the number one hero?

I don’t have to wonder long as Dabi appears before us, his flames raging as he runs, headlong, at Endeavor and I. I’m rethinking the idea of him being Touya, if he was Touya, he wouldn’t be running at me like that, but then I see the direction of his eyes and think of the things he said before running towards us. He was taunting Endeavor, specifically speaking to the number one hero, and now, his eyes are locked on the man with eyes nearly as blue as his own. Not only does he hate Endeavor, but I can tell that he wants the older man dead.

I’m about to attempt to protect Endeavor with what few feathers I have left when Miruko jumps in, and Dabi disappears using the same teleportation method that the League used at Kamino. Just before he completely disappears, Dabi looks at me with the same look he had the night I met him at the mill. Do I really see Touya in those eyes? I think I do.

Next chapter will be posted on TheWriterShikari787 's copy of the story.