"Dad ?"

Everything was dark.

Not even the slightest bit of light could pass through the curtains.

I could see the outline of furniture and the silhouette of his body on the bed.

He was still lying on his right side, his back to the door, his hands held closed to his body as if to hold himself. The cover I'd put on him days ago was still on his body.

The room stank of sweat and the dirty smell of someone who hadn't showered in days.

I opened the door a bit more, trying to make the fresh air enter and the rotten one get out.

"I brought you some food"

Only silence answered me but I was getting used to it.

I put a new platter full of warm food on his bedside, next to the old, untouched one.

I waved a quick wind jutsu to refresh the smell : the rideaux flapped, and he groaned when a beam of light briefly lit his face.

"Sorry", I said, closing the rideaux once more

I waited, apologetic, waiting for him to say or do anything.

The lack of life in his eyes chilled me and I had to look away.

"When was the last time you ate ?"

I refreshed the water in his carafe then looked around, unsure of what I should do yet desperately hoping there was something else I could do.

Except for staying in bed all day, he did nothing.

I couldn't quite bring myself to accept his depression.

"We've got new information", I said lightly, a tad bit too cheerfully. "As it's been a month since… the events, they've decided to diminish the lockdown's restrictions. Heroes will get back to work-"

A beat. No reaction.

"- and the city will be functional for the biggest part"

The silence between us was deafening, so much so that I couldn't quite bear it.

It was hard for me to see the man I'd looked up my whole life become an empty shell, not even the shadow of the man he'd once been.

I frowned, jaw locked, trying to reign back in my tumultuous emotions.

I swallowed heavily and then smiled, bringing back the cheerful tone that made me cringe.

"Your employees are wondering when you'll give them the green light and when they'll be able to work again. They-"

"No one's going to work" he groaned.

His voice was a hoarse whisper as if it physically hurt him to speak.

"But-"

"They're all fired", he cut me off. "There's no more Endeavor's agency"

I hesitated.

"Are you sure ? Close to two hundred people work for you. If we fire them all..."

I waited for a while, silent, hoping he'd speak again, but the dim light that had lighted up his eyes had vanished.

There was something utterly terrifying about realizing you were losing someone and you could do nothing about it.

I felt as if Dad was slipping through my fingers and I couldn't even grasp on the smoke left behind.

"Dad, please"

There was no more false cheerfulness, no more pretending.

I was just a child begging for his father to come back.

"Look at me"

He didn't.

I sat on the floor in front of his bed, arms on my knees, my eyes boring holes into him, yet he was looking right through me as if he couldn't see me anymore.

I waited until the food turned ice cold, and then I left.

*

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Masami stood up.

He was wearing his Hero uniform – perfectly ironed.

His hands were white where the blood didn't go ; he'd kept on triturate his hands since earlier this morning.

"What did he say ?", he asked "When can we start working again ?"

Lips pursed, I went to my old man's desk, my knuckle grazing the cold, hard surface.

His chair was empty, and I felt awkward standing there while someone else waited for me to say something.

It shouldn't have been me.

I shouldn't have been the one to pass on his orders.

"So ?", insisted Masami

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I looked him dead in the eye.

"You're all fired"

He looked like he was going to faint.

"What ?", he asked, voice strangled

"He doesn't want to be a Hero anymore. You're all fired"

Crippling anxiousness flashed in his eyes ; he held his hands so hard they fully turned white.

"Why ?"

I said nothing.

I hadn't even called Teka to tell her about Dad – I didn't want her to come here, scornful, and for her to kick his ass like I knew she would.

"Certainly you can do something about that, right ?"

Masami crossed the distance between us quickly : his hands gripped my shoulder sleeve.

"You can make him change his mind, hmm ?"

He shook me, and I felt helpless (déf) in front of the desperation in his voice.

"He's been saying that for close to three weeks. That's not a whim. He's decided"

"But..."

His eyes started shining. I wanted to look away but forced myself not to.

These were the consequences of my actions : I had to face them.

"How am I supposed to announce to everyone that they're fired ?", he croaked out weakly. "Enji just can't..."

His gaze grew unfocused as if he were already seeing the chaos that this general firing (SENSE) would cause.

"We all have families, children and spouses. And with the current economic situation… Enji can't do that to us. He can't"

The fist on my shoulder shook.

I had never had to worry about money or anything of that sort.

Yet seeing the length Uraraka had gone to to get it me realize how desperate people could be when it came to it.

As much as me being reborn in this world did not make me special, being born into wealth – in both lives - wasn't of my doing.

I did nothing to deserve it, and I now realize I shouldn't take pride in something that wasn't my achievement.

In some way, I felt for them.

"Get me the legal department team. We do have a legal team, right ?"

Masami's unfocused gaze went back to me.

"We do, yes"

"Get them here as soon as possible. I'll handle the situation"

His hopeful expression was a weird sight.

Is that how people always look at Dad ?

"Thank you"

"Don't thank me. I've done nothing yet"

Masami smiled, then pressed my arm tightly and let go.

"Thank you very much"

I nodded curtly.

"Don't tell anyone about the situation until then"

I went to the bathroom and took a quick shot - only because I didn't take my full dose this morning.

I washed my face, then looked at myself in the mirror before getting out.

In only fifteen minutes the full legal team, Masami and I, were gathered in a huge meeting room.

Some looked kind of winded as if they'd woke up in a hurry and had to run all the way here without washing their face.

They were all seated.

They'd left me the place at the end of the table, the kind of place where I could overlook everyone from – which was also what I believed to be Dad's usual seat.

I hid well how disconcerted I was and walked briskly to it before seating.

They looked at me intently, old men and women with grim faces and graying hair.

It had been close to two decades since I'd led such a formal meeting, and even then I had barely had the time to get the hang of it.

I looked them all personally in the eye and then nodded.

"Endeavor has decided to quit his career as a Hero"

Shock spread through them, and I didn't give them time to fully understand what it entailed.

"Therefore all the employees of Endeavor's agency are fired"

Gasps. Shared glances. In only a second the room erupted into full chaos.

"But-"

"How can we-"

I raised my hand, and they all shut up.

"We are aware of the current economic climate. As a parting bonus – and because of the abruptness of this decision - we intend to offer generous compensation to every one of our employees"

Many still looked tense, but the promise of money managed to calm them down a bit.

I sank back in my chair, hands crossed, acting as if I knew what I was doing.

"What amount do you think would be considered a generous compensation ?"

My eyes went from face to face.

A woman looked through a folder, the sound of the pages turning breaking the silence.

"A departure bonus of 30% of our current salary would be nice-"

She shot me a sharp glance.

"- as well as the equivalent of two months of our salary"

They shot me worried glances, trying to gauge my reaction.

"Fair enough. Any other suggestion ?"

My lack of reaction seemed to reassure them.

"Due to the circumstances leading to this unfortunate decision, I believe that a three months pay and an additional bonus between two thousand and ten thousand dollars depending on the position of the employee seems correct"

I shot this one a sharp glance ; he looked at me intently, not backing down.

They were fighting for their pay leaves - I expected as much ruthlessness, if not more.

"Dollars ?", I asked

The man nodded.

"Because of the devaluation of the Yen, it'd be safer for the employees to get their money in another, stronger currency"

Clever.

"Interesting proposition", I mused. "But I do not like the bonus to be adjustable. I want the same amount for everyone, no matter their position in our agency"

Such a condition would be a guarantee that no one could sue us, and it was also a way of not losing my time by listening to people debating who should get more and why.

"What about healthcare ?", another one said. "Working at this agency does bring us plenty of health advantages that we'll lose : if only because of that, we'll need to be more compensated"

"Fair enough. What amount would you consider reasonable?"

The man's eyes glinted with greed.

The discussion spanned for close to an hour with everyone trying to add his two cents, making the new bids rise higher and higher.

"A six months pay leave and fifty thousand dollars for every employee is what you want, right ?"

They all nodded, though some more hesitantly than others, waiting to see what I'd say next.

I knew that the amount they asked for was nothing short of ludicrous – it was unheard of.

Yet I didn't care.

Firing Dad's employees meant they'd be spiteful and resentful; yet giving them a generous compensation would assure us their public support.

And once the media caught wind of what happened, no one would be able to blame us for everyone would have been more than fairly compensated.

Dad may have decided to quit, but I refused to let people drag his name through mud while he couldn't – wouldn't – defend himself.

If firing people was the last thing he did as a Hero, I wanted to change the narrative by making him look like a white knight in shining armor, someone selfless who'd given this country his youth and strength without ever thinking about himself.

I wanted people to talk about him with awe, I wanted people to remember him with fondness, and I wanted his name to still be known in fifty years.

I wanted his name to be etched in history.

"I disagree"

They all deflated ; some even tried protesting.

"We will give everyone a full year of pay and an additional hundred thousand dollars as a bonus"

They were gobsmacked, mouths hanging wide open.

Even the head of the legal affairs couldn't contain her shock.

"Sir, are you sure ?"

"I am"

The head pushed back her glasses on her nose.

"This… this represents at least 25 million, and that's without considering the taxes"

"I am aware"

"Even if we sold the whole building, we still couldn't pay everyone"

"We won't sell the building"

I couldn't bear to see some dumb-ass Hero get his hands on it.

Endeavor's name, proud and boldly written, would overlook Tokyo from one of its tallest skyscrapers until the whole city turned to dust, and not before.

"The money will come from what Endeavor's agency had managed to make over the year as well our personal Todoroki funds"

Their faces morphed to pure astonishment.

"This… this is rather generous, sir"

I nodded in acknowledgment.

This kind of money was nothing to us, yet I said nothing for I knew they'd take it the wrong way.

"I am merely following my father's wishes. He deeply cares about every one of you. He wants you all to remember him as the bright Hero he has been"

They smiled, and some of them looked even moved.

"Sir… we may not know why Endeavor chose to quit so abruptly, but I believe I speak for everyone here when I say that it has been an honor to work for him"

He looked sincere.

A man in the back wiped his eyes quickly when he thought no one was looking.

I was glad Dad had managed to make such an impact on everyone.

"Thank you"

*

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