“Mr. Wayne. Can I have a word with you?” A deep voice said behind him. The hand gripping his shoulder was large, covered in a grey steel gauntlet.

“Is there a reason your hand is on my shoulder, Endeavor?” John said, turning to face the number two hero in Japan. The man was slightly taller than he was, and maybe a bit bigger overall. He had teal eyes and a head of spiky red hair, with a beard and mask made out of what appeared to be pure fire. Wearing a tight blue suit with large steel pauldrons and several areas that looked like they were made out of lava, he was an imposing figure. John could feel literal heat radiating off this man. 

“You are the school’s new therapist, right? I need to talk to you about my son, Shoto.” The man said, crossing his arms, showing no concern about laying a hand on John.

Shoto, right. He is the one with a rough home life and an abusive father. I need to bring him in for another session soon. There are just too many students and not enough time in a day to talk with them all. 

“Fine, but let’s find a spot to sit down first,” John said, distancing himself slightly from Endeavor. He wasn’t sure about this man beyond the little he’d gathered from his public face and Shoto’s thoughts, but he didn’t think this would be a nice first meeting.

So much for a nice, relaxing day.

John led him back down to the hallway where Mei and Yu were, commandeered a similar-looking room, and set his art case containing his sword against the wall. He was also reviewing his mental notes on the kid. What was written there began to heat John’s blood, recalling everything he had heard through the Scouter skill. His sword responded to his anger, amplifying it further.

Calm, calm. You don’t have this man’s side yet. 

“Can you figure out what is wrong with him? He refuses to use his fire Quirk; he only uses the ice. It is making him weak.” Endeavor asked after they sat down at the table.

“First, let me ask you a few questions.” He said, activating Scouter. He wasn’t getting a lot from it, leading him to believe this man was quite intelligent and had his guard up.

Oh well, I’ll do what I can.

“Why do you think he doesn’t use his fire side?” John asked, activating his Quirk as well while he had Endeavors full attention.

“Probably some misguided teenage rebellion against his father.”

“I see. When is the last time you have taken your family anywhere for something fun?”

“What does that have to do with this?”

“Humour me. I’m just trying to get a clearer picture here.”

“I…I don’t see why that is necessary.”

{Fun? Who has time for that? I’m not some salaryman who works defined hours.}

“No? When is the last time you have spent time with Shoto that didn’t involve training?”

“I am a busy man. I have to manage my time carefully. Even being here today involves me not hunting down the Hero Killer.”

“Important things to be sure. What is your family to you?”

“What?”

“Your family. You tried tirelessly when you were younger to have children with multiple women, expanding your family, then stopped with Shoto while you were all still fairly young. Why stop there?” He asked, recalling something Rumi had mentioned about him.

“The boy had everything I was looking for as a perfect successor. Powerful fire and ice Quirks and a strong intellect. What does this have to do with why my son is refusing to use his Quirk?” 

{If I’m unable to supplant All Might as the Number One hero, I will forge my son into someone who can beat his successor!}

“Oh, Boy. You’re kidding, right?” John said, shaking his head at the sheer petiteness of that thought. He was so jealous of All Might’s success that he was turning into a monster at home to try to beat him that way. His anger flared again.

“What do you mean?”

“Do you want the polite answer, or the truth. Cause I doubt you’re willing to hear the truth.” John said before he could wrangle his temper.

“What? I’m a hero. Of course, I want the truth.”

“Well then, hero, am I speaking to the hero right now or the father, Enji Todoroki?”

“Is there a difference? Speak plainly, Mr. Wayne.”

“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn ya. Now, I can’t tell you what we have talked about in our sessions, but I will say that I believe the problem is standing right in front of me.” John said, pointing at Endeavor with a knife hand. “You are why he won’t use his Quirk.”

“What? What did you say!”

“I said you’re the problem.”

“That’s preposterous! I have done nothing but-” He started, but John spoke over this child abuser, his rage taking over any semblance of self-preservation. 

“You have done nothing but abuse your son in some misguided mission to make a perfect heir. Have you ever considered acting as a father to him? Find out what he wants, or what his goals are? How about even spending some time with him, which was fun, and not terrorizing him with yet more abuse in the name of training? What about the rest of your children? Your wives? Do they respect you, or just walk around on eggshells around you?

I don’t have the complete picture yet, but if your son had any other temperament, ANY, he would have cracked under the stress you have put him under, and lord knows what would have happened then. You say you’re a hero? Well, I suppose it’s apt that you’re the number two hero, because you’re nothing but a shit parent. Though I suppose congratulations are in order, as you are the number one villain in your son’s mind.”  

“ARGH!” The man growled, slamming his arm down on the table between them, splitting it in half. Flames started flaring from his hair. “You know nothing!”

“Really? Who is the one sitting here calmly, and who is turning into a miniature volcano? Does the truth hurt, Enji? Would you rather I sugar-coated this for you? Tough. You need to use that big brain of yours and do some serious self-reflection. Else, someday, maybe in the not-so-distant future, your family will abandon you, and you will be nothing but a lonely old man with nothing to show for his years of being a hero for everyone other than those closest to him.”

Flames enveloped Endeavor’s fist, and he kicked the broken table away. John just sat there with his arms crossed, cycling his mana with water to dodge, waiting to activate his Invulnerability. His case with the Sword of Truth was against the wall, though he hoped it didn’t come to him needing to fight this man. He might be able to turn this enclosed room into an inferno, but as long as he didn’t grapple with him, John was confident he would survive the encounter and escape before the spell ran out.

Instead of attacking him, however, a thick wall of ice separated the pair of them. John looked over at the door, and there stood Shoto, his right hand billowing ice.   

“Shoto! What are you doing here?” Endeavor said, sounding confused as to why his son was in the room.

“This is my waiting room for my match. I could ask you the same thing. Why are you assaulting Mr. Wayne? That doesn’t seem like something a hero would do.”

“I-“

“Leave. I need to focus.”

Endeavor cleared his throat. “Very well. Mr. Wayne, we will talk again. Shoto, I expect you to win. Do not embarrass me.” Endeavor said, apparently mostly back in control of his emotions. He walked out of the room, steam coming from the ice covering the floor. John chastised himself, finally taking a breath in.

Holy shit! Get yourself under control, man. You can’t beat Rumi. How the hell would you beat a volcano?

Once he left, Shoto looked over at John. “Can you leave as well, Mr. Wayne. I want to be alone.”

“Of course,” John said, standing up and gathering his sword case. “Good luck in your matches.”

“I don’t need luck.” The kid said coldly, melting the ice he had created with fire from his left hand.

“No, I don’t suppose you do,” John replied, then placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Whatever happens out there, stay true to yourself. Because at the end of the day, it’s your own choices that will shape who you become, not the will of others. I’m looking forward to seeing that, Shoto, and the man you will become someday.”

“… Thank you,” Shoto said after a few moments. 

John nodded, then left the room. He looked around the hall, confused for a moment, then chose a direction that he hoped would lead to an exit. He needed some fresh air and to calm down from that encounter.

I really don’t think I’m cut out to be a therapist, at least not for people who could destroy a building with barely a thought. I might have kept my outward calm, but I just wanted to slap that idiot for causing his own problems. I’m not against corporal punishment, but only if all other options have failed. This kid deserves better. 

John stomped off, trying to put this out of his mind for now. 

Far off in the distant Omni, Alec swished a glass of his Westria, watching his favourite contestant fight with himself. “Did you notice that, John? You didn’t even consider coming back to DEN to get out of that situation. Well done!”

The rest of the afternoon was quieter. John eventually did calm down and returned to the stands after grabbing some lunch, though this time he was with a different group of students, the ones who were still in the event. He talked with a few of them, including Midoriya, and encouraged them all to do their best.

Midoriya was so focused on a little notebook with notes he had taken on his classmates that he was ignoring his friend trying to get his attention. Ochaco Uraraka, the girl who could cause things to float, was sitting next to him, obviously wanting to enjoy their time together.

After a quick glance with Scouter, John bonked him on the head, causing him to spin around. “You’re starting to spiral. How about you enjoy your time with your friends instead of sticking your head in the book? You might find that taking your mind off of this for a few minutes will give you a better result.” 

“But I need to-” Midoriya started to say, but it was still a secret who was training him.

{Make All Might proud}

“You already make him proud. Now, be a good friend for a bit, then show him who you are when you’re out on the field.” John said, then sat back in his seat to watch the show. 

If the morning’s show was brutal, the afternoon’s event was downright deadly. Cementoss had built a massive concrete pad on top of the dirt patch in the arena, which almost all the students ended up breaking while they fought each other. The least damaged it became was when Mei and Ida fought, which went as she had predicted. The fight turned into a ten-minute demonstration of her babies as she dodged around the battlefield, using a microphone to describe all her gadgets to the crowd. She had netted Ida about halfway through, immobilizing him, but she kept going, stepping off the platform just prior to the ten-minute mark, disqualifying herself.

As funny as that was, I’m going to have to talk with her about sportsmanship later. He is a good kid, and that was just plain mean to do to him.

The fight between Midoriya and Shoto had to be the most incredible of the afternoon, Midoriya breaking finger after finger to activate his Quirk. Shoto had to bring out his fire to actually defeat the green-haired kid. John almost ran down to the infirmary to heal him, but remembered that Recovery Girl already had that covered. 

Between matches, he spoke with the returning students, making sure they were good with their results. He encouraged those who seemed down about their losses, saying they should be proud they even made it as far as they did. Momo and Mei both sat down beside him, Mei handing him a sandwich and Momo giving him a can of iced coffee. The two of them actually hit it off shortly afterwards, Mei getting her to make certain components, and then they started assembling some interesting creations right there in the stands. 

The final fight for the day was between Shoto and Bakugo, and frankly, it was insane. The slab was destroyed, ice was everywhere, and the pair of them collided with power before Midnight and Cementoss could stop the fight. When the dust settled, the crowd was silent as both of them had been knocked off the platform, badly burned and unconscious. 

“He used his fire side again,” Midoriya said, sounding surprised. John wasn’t sure, as the view was obscured by the concrete dust from the explosion, but seeing how the kid seemed to be paying attention to every detail of his classmates, he assumed that was what happened.

The judges called it a draw as the kids were carted to the infirmary to the cheers of the crowd. John stood up, intent on checking on the kids despite not wanting to draw attention to himself. Before he could take a step, the jumbo screen switched from Midnight announcing something sexually again to what appeared to be lines of code, then a black screen with a single green line through it.

“This is a message to all people of Japan!” A deep, gravelly voice said, echoing through the stadium’s speakers, the line vibrating to the tenor of his voice. “This is a call to all the patriots, to all the people who are sick and tired of the government controlling you, abusing their authority to make it nearly impossible to live. Sick of the bribery and back-room deals with major corporations, paying them with your tax dollars while you get laid off from your job. Tired of all the corruption, while using the police and these so-called heroes terrorize our streets and enforce their will upon you.

They label you as a problem while you’re just trying to feed your family. They call you a criminal just because you want a better life. We heard your voice, and we are here for you. If you want to see change, to live a life with opportunity and abundance, rise up! Rise up, my countrymen and women! Rise up and join us! We, the League of Villains, are watching. Go forth and show us your dissatisfaction, your determination, and we will be there for you. Recruitment starts now.” 

The voice signed off as mysteriously as it started, leaving a perplexed-looking Midnight standing on the stage. Pandemonium broke out in the crowd as they began to shout in concern about what had just happened. John just stood there for a few moments, processing what he had just heard, then turned to the nearby students to try to calm down a few of the more excited ones before they blew the message out of proportion. One thought was going through his mind as he did so.

Just what in the hell is going on in this country?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep