Chapter 51 - Dealing with a Villain

                                    

                                          
It was funny, kind of, to see the expressions change on his old man's face as he read through the files. Amusing to see the various muscles pull and tug as wrinkles came and went with the shock and surprise of it all. Endeavor looked up from the papers several times before he finished reading them, as if wanting to ask questions but deciding against it. Shoto hadn't been sure about the whole 'telling your parents' thing, but now, after seeing the slight distress on his father's face, he could say it wasn't as bad of an idea.
UA had decided it would be for the best if they informed their families of the whole time travel shenanigans before the big battle erupted. That way they were in the know and wouldn't freak out as much, or at least, they hoped so. Sending kids into battle wasn't as acceptable as sending in a pro that was mildly hindered by a quirk accident. It was also a way to strip them of their parental consent, since they were all technically adults now and couldn't technically stop them from going even if they wanted to. Yes, Shoto knew why their whole class had been sent home for the weekend, why telling them was important, but he hadn't been looking forward to it up until now.
"You're...not my Shoto," Endeavor concluded.
"Depends on how you define it," Shoto shrugged. "What? Does it bother you?"
He frowned, looking back down at the papers. Shoto wondered how his siblings would react to this news. Fuyumi would be worried, he was sure. She'd fuss over him after the shock wore off, needing to know everything was alright. Natsu would take some distance for a while in order to process all of it. But he would come around to it, Shoto thought, or hoped. It didn't matter in the end, because neither of them would ever know about it if he had a say in it. They'd blame their father for allowing him to go and fight in a war, but Endeavor was used to taking the heat so Shoto was sure it wouldn't be a problem. That is, if they actually stayed in this timeline.
"You've been here since the sportsfestival...and I didn't notice a thing," Endeavor sighed.
"Nobody did," Shoto said, as if that would make his father feel a little better about this situation. He liked to tease him, but he didn't want to make him suffer, not in the way Dabi intended to do. "I'm not telling you because you failed to notice, this isn't your fault. I'm only telling you to inform you I'm more capable than you're willing to give me credit for at this point in life."
"...You knew this would happen," he said, gesturing at his face, ignoring what Shoto had just told him. He wasn't only referring to the giant scar that ran across his left side, but the fight with that high end Nomu in general. A fight he almost lost, but one Shoto knew he'd win.
"Yes," Shoto answered. There was no point in lying about it. "Would you've rather had me intervene?"
"No."
That's the answer he expected. Endeavor never wanted others to fight his battles for him. Dabi, though... He'd been an exception. Endeavor had been too dazed, too shocked to react. He'd accepted the fact he needed help, but only for that one fight. And in the end, Dabi is family. It was their shared responsibility to stop him from destroying himself and everyone around him. Something they'll have to do again if the timeline stays consistent.
"But this... It's a lot to take in."
"I understand," Shoto said. "And I'd like to tell you to take your time, but time is against us right now. There are certain matters we need to discuss before the commission reveals their final plans."
"What kind of matters?" Endeavor asked.
"There are things you should know," Shoto said, making sure to maintain eye contact with his father as he spoke, "about Touya."
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Izuku hated that he had to do this, that he had to use Tenko to his advantage like this. When All Might told him about AFO going to Himiko, he was both anxious and relieved. Anxious, because holy fuck Toga with All For One? That would be absolutely disastrous! But then again, if she inherited the quirk, it would mean he had a good reason to break his promise to Tenko... It meant he had an excuse, a way to betray him without actually betraying him. That was the best outcome he could've hoped for! So why did he still feel so guilty..?