Our table was centrally located, only a couple of feet from the stage.

Two seats labeled "Endeavor" and "Plus" faced us. My father pulled out his chair and froze.

I followed his gaze to the chair next to it. It was identical to the others.

"What's going on ? What is it ? What's wrong ?"

"Sit down"

He gestured to his chair.

My eyes darted back and forth between the two of them, and then I finally gave in, though I was still a little taken aback by his behavior.

He sat to my left, where the little 'Plus' card hung.

"What the hell was that ?"

"The chair looked wobbly. I didn't want it to collapse when I sat on it"

As if I'd believe that.

"I was talking about what you and Rei's sister did earlier. What agreement did you make with my other progenitor ?"

He frowned.

"She's still your mother, the one who carried you in her womb for nine months. Don't be disrespectful"

"I'm very respectful"

Because that's what you want.

"But she's not my mother"

He stared at me for a long time. Then poured himself a glass of water.

"Even before... our family split up, you stopped calling her 'Mom. Don't think I didn't notice"

I watched the pianist get back in the saddle.

"You told her I was smart. That I'd remember everything. But she didn't listen"

Mistakenly, everyone thought my father was a heartless being who felt nothing.

He didn't express his emotions on his face or by changing the tone of his voice. Everything came through his eyes and the way he looked at you with them.

The look of concern in his eyes didn't fool me.

"Do you really remember...?"

"I do"

From the day I was born.

"Do you have nightmares ?"

"I used to", And then I added, to reassure him, "But not since a long time"

I had other things to gnaw on than a pyromaniac kid.

He nodded slowly, trying to absorb everything I'd just said. I felt a little sick.

"So, this deal? What's it all about ?"

He took a few sips, then moistened his lips.

"We decided to-"

"Endeavor-sama, if I had expected to see you here !"

A man in costume - probably a hero in uniform - came to the table. A scythe larger than himself hung from his back, and a mask covered the lower part of his face. He looked like a ninja, albeit one on the verge of retirement.

On his arm was a beautiful woman wearing an emerald-colored sari with a veil.

The old man has good taste.

My father stood up and scraped his chair on the floor.

"Good evening"

He shook the hero's hand and nodded to his wife.

"As someone who so often avoids such ceremonies, I wonder what could have changed your mind ?"

The old man smiled and his eyes crinkled into crescents. He turned his gaze to me.

"Pleased to meet you, boy"

He shook my hand and the couple sat down at the other end of the table.

There was only one seat vacant, to my right. There was no other 'guest' chair next to it.

The old hero sighed, then gazed fondly at the scenery.

"So many memories! To think that not so long ago I was the one everyone was waiting for..."

The woman laughed and covered her mouth with her hand.

"That was over fifteen years ago"

"Ah, already. Time flies. Being number 1 was no picnic"

I tilted my head, my horrified eyes landing on the chair to my right.

"Fortunately, we can count on youngsters like Endeavor to pick up the slack"

Don't tell me-

"The cavalry arrives like everyone else : through the door !"

All Might suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, fists on hips. The light from the ceiling lamps bounced off his blond hair, casting a golden halo around his face.

I wondered if he hadn't stopped by earlier to prepare for his arrival and find the perfect place to land.

Celebrities - now groupies - flocked to him.

"Come on, come on, there's plenty of the Mighty Man for everyone"

I shot a look of accusation at my father.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

He ignored me superbly, pretending to admire the walls.

"Well, if it isn't my good friend Endeavor"

All Might, all his autographs signed in a flash, joined our table.

I've never heard anyone with such a heavy step.

He greeted the couple, who looked incredibly amused. Then his eyes turned to me and he gave me a smile so dazzling I almost went blind.

In fact, it's a blessing if I can'tsee anymore his molded crotch jiggle like that.

I promised myself I'd wash my eyes out with bleach when I got home.

"And could this charming boy be your son ?"

He put a hand on my father's shoulder. The temperature soared. The old man's wife fanned herself with a towel.

My father pushed his hand away without so much as a glance.

All Might laughed awkardly.

"Haha, Endeavor, you are always so funny my friend !"

"I'm not your friend"

All Might ignored him and sat back, his fluorescent eyes resting on me. He must have decided that I was the less dangerous of the two Todoroki.

Wrongly so.

"And what's your name, boy ?"

"...Shoto"

"What a great name! Tell me, how old are you? Eight? Nine? When I was your age, I was a hero fan. I guess with a father like yours you want to be one too, don't you?

He sent a knowing wink to my father.

The latter ignored him superbly, all his attention riveted on our centerpiece. All Might coughed to hide his embarrassment.

"Would you like an autograph?"

"No"

"I think I can do something with the napkin and-oh"

If the mood was already a little awkward, it was now right down to the wire.

Our resident couple exchanged glances, then pretended to have a private conversation.

All Might tried to save face, but his smile was half frozen.

"Haha... you really are your father's son..."

The evening promised to be long.

"For the hero who solved the most cases this year : Endeavor !"

For the umpteenth time that night, my father stood up to receive his trophy. The audience applauded politely as he picked up the golden statuette.

He bowed slightly.

"Thank you"

Then he left the stage and returned to our table. He placed the trophy next to my chair among all the others.

"How much?"

I quickly scanned the prizes piled at my feet.

"Nine"

The ceremony's mistress returned to the podium and announced the next prize :

"The hero who, once again, won the hearts of the public all over the country : All Might !"

Even he could no longer feign surprise when he heard himself called. He trotted up to the stage, his disgusting suit molding every square inch of his buttocks.

I think I'm going to throw up.

The way my old man was staring at the ceiling, he must have been thinking the same thing.

All Might gave another speech, as long and boring as all the previous ones. As for where he got his inspiration…

The audience listened politely, but the general attention had waned since the fourth monologue.

The mistress of ceremonies beckoned him to stop.

"Oh, sorry !" He turned to the audience "Thank you again for your support and confidence !"

He bowed ninety degrees and returned to his seat, under everyone's applause.

He placed his trophy among the others, to the side.

This last one makes eleven.

I thought about accidentally breaking one.

The evening went on in the same way: All Might trying to start a discussion with my father, my father ignoring him, and the two of them taking all the trophies to the point where our table was transformed into the Oscar Garden.

I pretended to go get ice cream to slip out.

I entered a kitchen which resembled a battleground.

Everyone was running in all directions, orders were being shouted over each other, and waiters with arms full of dishes were rushing toward the reception area, bypassing me as if I were a nonexistent pole.

"Find me the damn spices and season this dish properly, Johnny! You, take these dishes to table 32. And now... what are you doing here, kid?"

A balding, sweaty forty-something stood in front of me, a stack of dishes to be washed under his elbow. His skin was so clammy that it formed a beard of sweat.

"How did you get in here ?"

"I'd like some ice cream"

He looked me up and down, his eyes lingering for a second longer on my watch.

"… damn spoiled rotten kids," he muttered, then louder: "We must have some in the back. If I give you some, you won't come back, you hear ?"

He called to an empty-handed waiter who was leaving the kitchen.

"You there! Where do you think you're going ?"

The waiter gasped, visibly surprised to be caught in slacking off.

He stuttered.

"Me ?"

He was blond, with a thin line of eyeliner at the corner of his cornea. In addition to the white shirt and bow tie, he wore a black turtleneck underneath.

I had a sense of déjà vu.

"Yes, 'y-you" the man I assumed to be the manager sneered.

The blond man gave the double doors a look that I could almost describe as languorous. He shuffled over to us, his hands in his pockets.

The manager stared at him from head to toe.

"What ? Another kid? How did you get hired here, my boy?"

The blond shrugged, and that's when I saw them.

Wings. Red.

"Well, let's just say I ambushed one of your employees in the backyard, then neutralized him and stole his clothes and badge, all because I wanted to meet my idol behind those doors"

The manager blinked.

And then a big hearty laugh, like a coughing fit, shook him from top to bottom.

He wiped his dripping face with his hairy forearm, then rested his huge hand on the teenager's

shoulder.

"Very funny, boy. Now, take the kid here and get him some ice cream from the refrigerators in the back"

The future Hawks gave me an annoyed glare.

"And hop to it ! We still have a lot to do tonight !"

The manager grabbed a clean bowl and spoon and almost threw them into my hands. He left us to go yell at someone else.

" Johnny! If you ever season a dish any different than what I said, I swear to God-"

"Come with me"

I followed Hawks to the refrigerators, studying his figure from behind. I would have given him fifteen, maybe sixteen, but no more.

"Well done. For the manager"

He looked over his shoulder at me.

"Hmm ?"

"Tell him the truth, knowing he wouldn't believe you"

He looked at me again, much longer this time.

"And what's that ? Are you going to tell him ?"

He opened the door to the huge refrigerator and waved me inside.

My eyes wandered over the various tubs of ice cream lined up on the shelves.

"What if I do ?"

He closed the door behind him and leaned against it with his arms crossed.

"Then we have a problem"

I brushed a shelf with my fingertip and gave Hawks a quick glance.

Steam escaped his lips.

His eyes had that cold glint that almost made me doubt that I was really looking at future number two.

I remembered Hawks as this nice guy who was a die-hard Endeavor fan, not this disturbing teenager who acted like he wanted to snap my neck and hide my body behind the ice packs.

But wasn't he supposed to be trained by the Hero Commission ?

Young as he was, I was probably dealing with his most unstable version.

"Is it a threat ?"

"Do you feel threatened ?"

I laughed.

I opened the chocolate cream and started to help myself.

"Why would I be ? I'm the one with power here"

His gaze was amused.

"Oh? Would you allow me, oh great master, to know why ?"

I held up two fingers.

"Two reasons"

I shook my index finger.

"First, you didn't have the decency to check my Quirk as I'm a child"

The already low temperature plummeted.

In a split second, frost covered the entire room. Pots, shelves and walls were frozen under a thin layer of ice.

Hawks lost his smile. He flapped his wings and flew away from the door, hovering a few inches above the floor

"Second, I'm not some nameless servant you can 'neutralize' at will. My father is in the next room. Perhaps you've heard of him ? His name is Enji"

His confusion delighted me.

"But perhaps you know him better..."

I felt a familiar energy pass through the kitchen doors.

" ...as Endeavor ?"

His wings dropped. He fell heavily to the ground, crestfallen.

"You... you mean...?"

He turned wide eyes looked at me with a mixture of horror and amazement. There was a knock at the door.

"Shoto? You're in there?"

Hawks looked like he was about to cry.

I walked past the boy, my left hand suddenly hot. As soon as I touched the handle, the excess ice on it melted like water.

"Dad, hi"

He looked at me warily, then back at the puddles on the ground.

"What's all this ?"

"Oh, this ?"

I put my spoon in my mouth and grabbed Hawks, pulling him unceremoniously toward my father.

"His name is...I have no idea, but he's the one who helped me find my ice cream. Apparently he's a big fan of yours, in a pillow-with-your-head-printed-on-it kind of way, you know ?"

My dad gave me an unimpressed look.

"He wanted your autograph, by the way"

My father looked at him for the first time, clearly unimpressed that he had found a die-hard fan in a refrigerator.

Hawks blushed violently.

My father sighed, then grabbed a notepad and pen from a passing waiter. He scribbled a few words on it, then handed it back.

Hawks bowed ninety degrees.

"Thank you ! Thank you so much !"

Even after we left the refrigerator, leaving the door wide open, Hawks continued to thank him profusely.

I looked over my shoulder and saw him clutching the notebook to his heart.

I looked up at my father.

"Dad"

"Hmm?"

"Did you use my departure as an excuse to avoid All Might?"

He pretended not to hear me.