Chapter 12 Why am I on Fire? by Yojimbra

Make sure you come back alright?" Rei grabbed my collar with both hands pulling herself up while pulling me down so that she could plant a tender kiss on my cheek that I knew I was going to be thinking about all day. She leaned back down a smile gracing her lips, "Preferably in one piece."

I smiled, reaching for her cheek and then kissing her on her forehead in what had become a very important part of my mornings. I could skip breakfast, I could even forget my hero costume, but there was no way I was missing my morning goodbye kiss from Rei. "I will."

"Papa!" Fuyumi jumped her arms outstretched and her hair was all kinds of crazy.

And Fuyumi made sure I never got to leave without giving her one too. I picked her up and rubbed my nose against hers, causing her to giggle and laugh at my touch before I sat her back down.

"And remember, we're meeting with Touya's school tomorrow, so no surprise week-long trips with All Might again." Rei patted Fuyumi on her head and raised a single white eyebrow at me.

I rolled my own eyes and smiled, one hand on my hip for optimal sass. "Don't worry, I'd rather be here with you," I looked down at Fuyumi, "and the kids, than go off on another adventure with All Might."

Though, there was a chance I might have to. I much preferred my domestic life than my hero life. Perhaps if I moved forward enough, and did my part in making Japan safer, and more peaceful, then I could spend more time with my family.

"That's a good thing," Rei said, placing a finger on my chest and smiling. "Besides, I have something I want to talk to you about later. Now go."

"Fine, fine, I'll see you later, bye Fuyumi!"

"Bye Papa!"

I made my way towards U.A. for the first time in a while. Chilled December air bit at my face and I wondered what I should do for Christmas. Rei's birthday had been a success with both of us thoroughly enjoying a trip to the spa. My entire body had never felt so clean, refreshed, and stretched. It was so nice it felt like I'd never have to step into a bath again. But I still willingly followed Rei in there from time to time.

I felt a bit of stiffness in my neck that had developed from the last time we had fallen asleep on the couch and wondered if Rei would be okay with another spa date as her christmas present, or if I should get something else. Fuyumi and Touya were easy and already set, Rei was a bit tricky. Maybe I should get something for the whole family?

Even though I was running out of time before christmas I needed to put this on the back burner for today. Besides I should just ask Rei what she wanted. But damn it. I loved surprising her. Gah. Being married was hard.

In theory, it was cheaper and faster to take the train, but the american in me demanded that I drive everywhere. Besides, it was better than being stared at or having people gossip that Endeavour was riding the train. Not that it was bad gossip or anything, it was just strange feeling everyone's eyes on me.

Besides, part of me wanted to keep my visits to U.A. at least somewhat discreet. I was going to go meet with the number one pro hero and some animal that had gotten a quirk, to start scheming about the future and how we can make things better.

Halfway through my drive a thought rang through my head that made a pit grow in my stomach. It was something that Rei said. Something that she had been saying, and the way she said it. Telling me to come back, specifically me, the way she said that you, really had me thinking. Was she afraid of Endeavour coming back?

The roar of my car reminded me that I had a habit of speeding when I was distressed.

I had no idea how, or why, I had ended up in this situation, but I shared Rei's fears. I didn't want to just suddenly leave her, especially not like that.

Feeling powerless over my own life was something familiar to me, though, of late, I hadn't been feeling it.

Shaking my head I cleared myself of that thought, though the feeling remained for a bit. I wanted to hug Rei. She could probably make that feeling go away.

Still, nothing to do for it now. Just another reason to want to return home besides my inner homebody not wanting to go out and deal with people. Even if they were technically my friends. But as always, Nezu had kept both myself and All Might in the dark about what they were going to be talking about today. Hopefully it was something light, and not the inevitable encounter with All for One.

I drove through the U.A. check point, my car already registered with the gate, and I was able to proceed into the faculty parking lot.

In the privacy of my own car I sat and tried to gather my thoughts. What were we going to do about All for One? What was I going to do? It was All Might's intent, his goal, his dream, to fight and defeat All for One once and for all. The list of crimes that man had committed was long and varied, there was no doubt that he was a true villain. One I couldn't talk out of becoming a villain like I maybe did with Rikiya.

"What can I do against him?" I kind of liked my quirk, and risking All for One stealing such a simple and powerful quirk wasn't ideal. Fire Support? I might hurt All Might. Maybe some gear that could handle extreme heats could allow me to be more accurate? Worth a consideration. But really, All Might might have to do most of the heavy lifting.

Maybe Gran Torino had some tips on how to fight One for All? I'm not sure how much he actually fought when Nana died, but he was able to fight during that United States of Smash scene. What was it called again? Kamino? Like the star wars place? Bleh, it's been like half a year and I was already starting to forget things about the Manga. It was a good thing I told Nezu everything I could.

As I made my way towards the main building a rather large student came running towards me nearly at full sprint, with his wide frame and four arms it was quite intimidating, and the shaved bald head made him look a bit like a punk. Or a bit like Inasa, please don't tell me this was like his father or something.

"Endeavour, Sir!" The large student came to a sliding stop, nearly losing his balance thanks to a small puddle from the recent rain storms. His four arms flailed and I caught him stopping him from falling, and just watched as he attempted to right himself. "Thank you sir! I uhh." He blinked, then jumped back and bowed at the waist. "Endeavour Sir! I'm Fuso Kaido! I was hoping that you'd allow me to intern with you this spring! I feel like there's a lot I can learn from you and—"

"Uhh, why me?" I blinked pointing a finger at myself.

"Because, not only are you the number two pro hero, but you're also handling things in a kind way." He continued to bow, all four hands on his hips. "And I'd be honored to have you mentor me for my final year at U.A."

Ahh. Hmm. "Sure, submit an application and I'll approve it."

He looked up at me with tears in his eyes. "Oh thank you sir! I promise you won't regret this! I'll become the most chivalrous hero you've ever seen."

"Right, right, I'll help you with that. But, Fuso, what's your hero name?" I asked, placing a hand on the kid's shoulder. Never had an intern before, sure I had a T.A. but, they were older than me at the time. Besides, I could use some help.

"I go by Fourth Kind sir!" He bowed again. "Thank you for this chance! I'll go talk to Kendo-sensei right away!"

Before I could say another word he was off running and I was left wondering if I made the right choice. Honestly, given how often I had been to U.A. I would have thought I'd been asked for this sooner. With a shrug, I continued on my way towards the meeting.

I found Nezu, All Might, and someone else waiting for me in the room. It was easy to recognize him thanks to his extra tall nature, green and yellow hair, and a dower look that made my own resting bitch face look like a smile. Mirai, something or other, Sir Nighteye, All Might's future sidekick.

"Uhh, yo." I raised my hand and gave a light wave of the wrist and looked towards All Might and Nezu.

Mirai walked towards, the four inches he had on me felt more like a foot. He looked me up and down and adjusted his classes. "How are you able to change things so easily?"

"Huh?" I tilted my head to the side and glanced towards Nezu, who just shrugged. That was helpful. Shrugging was my thing, his thing was not shrugging and being smart. "Did you force yourself in here because of a vision or something?"

"Hmph," He smiled and extended a hand towards me. "Hardly, I also came here to off my services to All Might and become his sidekick. He agreed."

I glanced towards All Might.

"You said he was going to be my sidekick anyways, and he is graduating U.A. this spring, so I accepted." Toshinori gave a large shrug. Why was everyone but me shrugging? This felt unfair. "Besides, his quirk is impressive for a lot of things."

"And yet you break it." Miria continued to glare at me. "How."

It was less a question and more a demand.

I rolled my eyes and sat down on the small single chair that flanked the couches that Nezu and All Might were occupying. "Mirai, look, If I'm honest, I trust you. In part because All Might trusts you, but, also because I know the man you turn into and I can respect his character."

Mirai's eyes went wide and he scrambled to sit opposite of me, the seat was a bit too low for his long legs so he looked like an awkward crab. "I knew it. You're from the future! That's how you're able to change things isn't that's~"

"Not quite," Nezu raised up his hand and silenced Mirai for the moment. "While it would be humorous to listen to Enji stumble his way through explaining things yet again, allow me to summarize. He wasn't originally Endeavour, but has taken over his body with information on the future. I trust that you will keep this information a secret yes?"

Mirai glanced towards All Might, "How much does he know."

All Might gave a great big laugh. "Haha! At first, he knew more than even I did. But don't worry my boy! I can assure you that Enji's heart is in the right place."

"Right, right," I waved my hand before All Might could praise me more, if I wanted red cheeks I'd be spending time with Rei. Actually I just wanted to do that. "Welcome to the Future Squad, leave your sizes with Nezu and he'll get your jacket ordered."

"Jacket?" He asked.

"Joke."

He smiled leaning back in his seat and folding one leg over his knee. "Ahh, I see."

I'll take that in that he thought I was funny.

"So, Nezu, what'd you call us here for?" I finally asked. "You mentioned wanting to talk about something."

"Of course!" Nezu clapped his hands and reached down to take a sip of his tea, it used to be kind of cute watching him use both paws to hold the cup. "Ahh, excellent tea Mirai! Now then, I believe it's a good idea to have a check in more frequently so we can understand where we're. I understand our goals are years if not decades in the making, but progress reports would still be helpful."

"On my end, I've made some progress with tracking the Doctor you mentioned, as well as some progress in searching for All for One. We know that he's still in Japan, which is good, however he's been less active of late," Nezu continued. "I'll be relying on Mirai here to assist with those efforts. But, first and foremost, there is an upcoming event that you two need to get a good grasp on."

"Event?" I couldn't think of a damn thing that happened around this time.

"Ahh, you mean the Top Hero Billboard Rankings right?" Toshirnori leaned forward and glanced towards me. "You and I are going to be at the top, we'll be asked to give our thoughts on the rankings and maybe a bit of a speech while we accept a reward, it's quite nice."

"Do I have to go?" I half whined slinking into my chair.

"Yes." Nezu took another sip of tea.

"Damn."

That event sounded way too peopley for my tastes.

"It's a great opportunity for you to spread your message," Nezu gave a light stretch and hopped up onto the couch, waddling over towards me and looking right at me with his beady black eyes. "You see, I'm certain that you'll be asked about your recent Quirk Rights mentality and I know that you tend to speak before thinking."

I was being lectured by a rodent.

"So, we're going to take the time to make certain that when you deliver your speech, that it strikes a chord, that it is something that will resonate." Nezu turned towards All Might. "And you'll be backing him up as the Number One Pro Hero."

Great, so I was going to be giving a persuasive speech in front of millions of people, likely on live television. Great. Just. Great.

Well, hopefully I'll be able to put my writing skills to use.

XXXX

I gave a light yawn as I stumbled into the living room to find Rei already waiting for me, the cleansing waters of the shower were a far cry from the much more pleasant act of bathing with Rei, but doing that every night might ruin the magic of the event. Though, part of me doubted that. Still, there was something about catching her in a long shirt that went well past her hips and a pair of pajama bottoms, it was the kind of sight that was equal parts cute and beautiful.

She caught me staring and smiled at me, grabbing the large fleece blanket and preparing it for maximum cuddles. Which was just what I needed after today.

"Sorry for coming home so late." I stumbled over and sat down in my usual spot, where Rei sprung, wrapping the blanket around both of us in an expert move and already pulling me into a light hug that would rest for the rest of the night. Her head was on my chest, her hand on the back of my neck.

And suddenly everything became worth it all over again.

"Don't worry so much, At least you came home." She leaned up and gave me another one of those light soft kisses that I'd be thinking about all night. "I kind of figured that the boys might keep you longer, that's why I just ordered sushi."

She gave a light wink. "What'd you have?"

"All Might—" really it was Nezu "—wanted another burger so we ate at the usual spot again."

I missed burritos.

"Honestly, I'm slightly jealous," Rei gave a light wink and started our show before she settled down, her head barely peeking out of the blanket, my hand on her hip, pinky finger all but groping her butt. When it came to the weather Rei couldn't stand the heat, in the winter she'd barely flinch at walking out into the freezing cold, but when it came to sleeping, and cuddling, she preferred to be warm. Which was great, because she was like the cool side of the pillow that never got too hot.

"I can take you sometime, with or without the kids," I shifted slightly entering a position for maximum comfort, our show coming on, and I had to force myself to really pay attention to it and not spending the whole night looking at Rei. Again.

"That sounds like a good idea."

I smiled and then blinked as a thought entered my mind. "Oh, hey, what do you want for Christmas?"

She tilted her head and looked up at me. "Christmas?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm." She tapped on her chin, making her look extra cute for a few seconds. "A bed."

The simplicity of her answer made me snort. Even if a bed was expensive it was a bit on the mundane side. "You know you can ask for something else if you want a new bed we can just get you a new one."

"Hmm, then, how about we go bed shopping together, and your Christmas present is letting me pick out whatever bed I want."

My inner frugal was cringing at the thought.

"Sure, sounds fine," It was such a strange request. Was her bed that bad? Was she having problems sleeping?

"What about you?" Rei asked leaning up again to look me in the eyes. "What do you want for christmas."

A virgin killer sweater she had to wear.

Or hell I'd wear one for the fuck of it and scar my children. Wait. I should save that for when they're older. Maximum embarrassment. Like when Touya brings their first girlfriend over. Just show up cooking butt ass naked in a VKS.

"I hadn't really thought of it." I answered half honestly as I tried to shove my weird thought into the dark depths of my mind.

"Good!" Rei perked up and kissed me on the cheek. "Then let me surprise you, alright?"

"Should I be scared?"

"Yep!"

"Great, looking forward to it."