Ch.71

After seeing Endeavor leave to go talk with his son, I stand up to follow him to see if he is going to be a complete dick. Endeavor might be one of the strongest heroes, but I'm still able to easily follow him without being noticed. He finds Shoto down near the waiting area for the students, I can hear their very short conversation. Shoto looks like a perfect mix between his mother and father. Luckily years ago when I came to visit I was able to calm Rei down since Enji really pissed her off and she almost hurt Shoto in the process. In response, I confronted Enji and made sure he never pushed Rei that far again.

"Shoto you could easily win this, you just have to use your fire. The longer you withhold using it, the weaker you will become," Endeavor says while I listen quietly from the corner.

"No. I refuse to use anything that has to do with you. You are the reason our family has fallen apart," Shoto says with a calm and dead sounding voice, but I can hear the anger in it still.

"What I did was to make you all the strongest you could be," Endeavor says with the same calm voice, but I can hear the annoyance in it.

"You mean your obsessed dream to be better than All Might? Though how does it feel knowing that even if you beat All Might yourself or through me, that Uncle Akihiko will still be much stronger than us all," Shoto says to his father with an amused voice.

"Akihiko has nothing to do with this. He made the choice to be an underground hero, the public has no idea who even he is let alone his strength," Endeavor says with a dismissing voice.

"You know Enji, I remember when you just used to care about being a good hero. What changed?" I ask stepping out of the corner and interrupting their talk since I didn't want this discussion to turn into a possible fight.

"Akihiko, this is a private talk between father and son," Endeavor says with a glare at me. Shoto looks at me with a neutral expression, but I can see the thanks in his eyes.

"I may not be blood related, but I still consider Rei my sister and her kids my nieces and nephews," I say with a threatening voice.

"I'm aware. I remember the last 'talk' we had about our issues," Endeavor says to me with an annoyed glare. As I beat him black and blue for having pushed Rei so far that she almost hurt Shoto. Since then he has calmed down significantly, but can still be a hardass.

"Good, then do us both a favor and return to the stands. Shoto come with me real quick, you have time before the next competition," I say motioning for Shoto to follow me, he nods his head but gives his father one last glare. Endeavor just watches us leave with a complex look on his face.

"Shoto, I love you and your family like it really is my real one," I say to him since I'm gonna say something that will upset him.

"I know and yes I'm aware that my father is not wrong. I'm holding myself back and could be so much stronger if I used everything I could. Though I'm going to become stronger without relying on anything my father gave me," Shoto says having correctly assumed what I was gonna say. I just give him a look of concern, but can't say much since I felt something similar once.

"You know that once the sports festival is over, you will have to choose a place to study under. I probably wouldn't take a sidekick in a long time or ever for that matter, but I'd make an exception for you," I say to him since I'm the only other person who'd know how to help him with his fire.

"Maybe," Shoto says while thinking about what I said. We arrive at his class's waiting area and I can see his class is all looking towards us since they don't recognize me but can see me talking with Shoto.

"Alright, good luck Rumi and I are watching," I say with a smile and pat his shoulder before leaving ignoring the stares from his classmates. Even some of the girls are looking at me with blushed faces, which I've grown used to but still weird seeing young teenage girls looking at me like that.

I return to my seat and see Rumi has gotten us food. After sitting down I explain to her and Shota what just happened with Shoto's father, while my Uncle left going to talk with his protege. Shota becomes thoughtful while thinking about whatever. Rumi glares down at Endeavor who is sitting a few rows down from us.

The next several competitions happen with Shoto showing his skill even without relying on his father's quirk. Though the crazy kid Katsuki Bakugo still was keeping up if not outperforming Shoto. My Uncle's chosen protege though was slowly falling behind since like Shota said he lacks confidence and skill. We eventually arrived at the final competition, which was a tournament of one verse one. After a few rounds a confrontation between Shoto and my Uncle's protege begins. Rumi for the whole sports festival so far has been cheering on Shoto who noticed us and gave a small smile at us.

The fight began with Shoto trying to use just his ice to overpower Izuku Midoriya, though it seems even with all of his setbacks, Midoriya is able to hold out against Shoto. They seem to be talking about something for a few seconds before Shoto all of a sudden lets his fire loose. We all look down in surprise at this sudden change in Shoto since he just told me he'd have nothing to do with his father in any way. Endeavor jumps up and seems to be very excited that Shoto finally decided to use his quirk in a battle.

The battle quickly ends after that, as Midoriya is unable to keep up with Shoto who is now using his full potential. I can see though he is not as skilled at using his fire as he is with his ice, most likely from not using it in spite. Once the battle ends with Shoto's victory his father has a look of pure pride and a small crazed look in his eyes. Rumi and I are cheering for Shoto's victory too, and he looks over at us and gives us a nod of thanks. However, he sees his father's look, and his expression sours. The next few battles happen with Shoto in the semi-finals versing Bakugo.

When the two fight Shoto seems to have reverted to his old self, refusing to use his fire. This seems to have pissed off Bakugo and after watching this kid I can see why Shota thinks he is just like Rumi. Though I'll never tell her that, this kid is the young male version of Rumi in personality. The fight seems to be going in Shoto's favor, but since he refuses to use his fire is quickly overpowered by Bakugo. The fight ends in his defeat, which his father does not seem to take well. Endeavor turns to Rumi and me, seeing our faces he grunts walking away unsatisfied with Shoto's performance no doubt. Though from both our looks I know he won't do anything stupid. Once the Sports Festival is over and the winners are announced Bakugo is in first place, Shoto in second place, and this kid with a raven head in third place.

"Rumi would you take Midoriya as your sidekick for the month?" my Uncle asks Rumi after the announcement of the winners, Rumi seems to consider it for a few more seconds before answering.

"I don't know if I'd be a good fit. He seems like a nervous wreck and my training method is very...intense. You sure he'd be able to handle that?" Rumi says after thinking about it, though Shota and I share a look at hearing her mention of training method.

"I'm not sure he'd get anyone else to help him, worst case I could ask Gran Torino. He may be retired but I need someone to take him, I couldn't as I don't want to draw attention that he is my successor just yet," my Uncle says while giving Rumi a hopeful look.

"....Akihiko, what do you think?" Rumi goes silent for a few seconds before turning to me for my opinion.

"You're not wrong the kid looks like a nervous wreck, but from the way he fights, I can see he has a high will. Your training can be....harsh, but that might be just what the kid needs," I say after thinking about it and seeing the way my Uncle's protege fights.

"Alright, then I'll send my invitation to him. Who knows he may get others to pick from, so if he doesn't come don't blame me," Rumi says with a shrug and agrees to take in Midoriya.

"Thank you, Rumi. You're the greatest niece one could ask for!" my Uncle says while smiling at her, Rumi just chuckles in response.

"I'm going to send for Shoto to train under me," I say after a few seconds of silence as we watch the kids leave the arena. The three turn to me in surprise.

"Now who is surprising us?! You're gonna take on a sidekick?!" Rumi says with a teasing smile while nudging me.

"I'm sure he will get many invites, but not many that can help him learn more about his fire. His only real choice is me or his father, I'd doubt he chose his father over me. Plus his father might take the training too far and end up pushing him away like Toya," I say thinking about Toya who according to my connections is still in the country.

"All I can ask is you two don't send my students back with some of your... personalities," Shota says to us with a smirk, while I roll my eyes in response.

"You'd be lucky if that nervous wreck gained even a small amount of my confidence," Rumi says with an annoyed look.

"You mean craziness?" Shota says with a sideways look.

"You and me, training ground two now!" Rumi says grabbing Shota but the shoulder so he doesn't escape.

"I'll go make sure the kids get back to the classroom safe, while you two work out this issue," my Uncle says while chuckling at Shota's betrayed look.

Rumi and Shota end up sparing, in one of the old training grounds at U.A. Hizashi and Nemuri show up just in time for the spar to begin. Shota knows his quirk can't stop Rumi's completely, but only weakens her a bit to a level still above him making this fight much harder for him. He tried to defend as best he could but with Rumi and I training pretty much every day, she is off, making her much better than him. Shota also seems to have gotten a little rusty from not actively working as he used to.

"Shota go into the fetal position! That way the beating doesn't hurt as much!" Hizashi says laughing at Shota being kicked around. Shota was too busy to respond but did shoot a deadly glare at Hizashi.

"What'd he do this time?" Nemuri asks seeing this fight.

"Kept poking fun at Rumi today, so she is settling it in a 'spar'," I say while air-quoting the word 'spar' since it is more like a beating. Nemuri gives a small chuckle.

When push comes to shove Shota can fight Rumi until he no longer could fight, even though it still would be his loss. However, since this was more of a friendly spar he just wanted it to be over to call it quits after a couple of minutes. Once the two finished with Shota just slightly bruised and Rumi feeling better, we all leave. Rumi and I head home while our friends stick around since they are teachers now.