The spark that led you to meet Shoto Todoroki was the same one which left your father in hospital. You eyed the tall, bulky man beside you. Flames danced on his face and body, creating a fiery beard. Even if he was the number two hero, you couldn't bring yourself to meet his eye.

Endeavor placed his large hand on your shoulder, as both of you stood next to the hospital bed. "You should be thankful. I single-handedly caught the villains who ambushed your father's meeting."

The antiseptic smell of the hospital, the off white room and sheets, your father lying before you in a coma... It all made a heavy feeling settle in your chest. What made you feel even more powerless was that you had not trained the healing aspect of your quirk enough to help your dad. You had only ever dealt with small injuries, so the doctors had forbidden you to try to use your quirk on him, as it could result in unintended harm.

"So you said you were the number two hero?" Why would you lose control of your temper and flames if you're meant to be one of the best? You bit your tongue to stop yourself from voicing those thoughts.

"Yes. Number two." The red-haired man narrowed his eyes, beginning to lose his patience.

Despite the fact that he did not particularly care, he was bound by the media to prevent this scandal from damaging his public image any further. The least he could do was apologise to your father's family, or so had his senior publicist informed him.

Your uncle stood by you and swept Endeavor's hand off your shoulder.

"Mr Daiki, (y/n), I cannot waste any more of my time. I must attend to my hero duties now. If there's anything you need, you can contact me." His tone sounded dull and monotonous, making you feel as if it wasn't the first time he had been through this process. But perhaps this was one of the few high-profile casualties he'd had on the job.

Endeavor handed you his business card. Your knuckles turned white as you gripped it tightly in anger. If the number one hero had been there that day, this would have been a different story. All Might would have saved everyone with a smile.

While you struggled to say anything, your uncle reacted swiftly. "Wait, Endeavor."

"What is it now?"

Your uncle let out a few coughs. "We'll take that favour you offered now, so it won't go forgotten. (y/n) wants to be a hero."

You turned your head back to your uncle so fast that you were surprised that you didn't give yourself whiplash.

"We'd like you to put in a recommendation for her to go to U.A. high school," Daiki continued.

You almost felt offended he hadn't offered you a recommendation from his own agency, but then you realised that it would have been worthless anyway.

Endeavor examined you, as you stared at your uncle in astonishment, your stomach twisting into an anxious knot.

While you enjoyed doing sport at school, you hadn't gone through any intensive training. And the few times you had trained with Daiki when you were younger, before your father had begun to oppose it, you had barely managed to make a dent in his defence.

"You are not the first one to ask me to do that," Endeavor cut through the tense silence. "I would need to assess whether or not she has the potential," he added, as if you weren't in the room.

You peered at your dad lying on the hospital bed before you, his arms and head heavily bandaged. Chewing on your bottom lip, you clutched your shirt near your aching chest in an attempt to stop yourself from snapping.

If I was a hero, I'd try my absolute best to make sure no one got hurt. And more than that, I'd only ever apologise to someone if I meant it.

Knowing that you were probably going to get interviewed by a horde of journalists as soon as you left the hospital only made matters worse. Once there wasn't a camera in sight, Endeavor would be on his way, and you would never get a chance like this again.

You looked up, passion burning in your eyes. "I'll show you my potential."

Endeavor sighed, but then a way of taking advantage of this situation sparked in his mind. "Come to my household this Saturday. I will assess your power by having you fight against the best of my progeny. If anything, it will serve him as practice."

After Endeavor left, you and your uncle said goodbye to your dad. Both of you headed down the hospital corridor.

"What even is progeny?" You asked.

"Children." Daiki chuckled. His mood had lifted since he reminded himself that your father's care was largely covered by the insurance company. He was hoping that he would not need to succumb to an endless pit of debt again.

"Also, how did you know I wanted to go to U.A.?"

He patted his pocket to check that his lighter was still there. "I've been doing some thinking. You need proper training before I can hand you the agency. Hell, you might not even want it."

"I don't really know. It's all been a bit much recently." You scratched the back of your neck.

"It's fine, (y/n). I know I am past my hero due date, therefore I can only help you get so far. High school's a different kettle of fish."

"But, uncle Daiki, you run the main hero agency for our village. I'm sure you can help me train, can't you?"

He scoffed. "Don't kid yourself. I read it in your face when I showed you around the agency last night. My pride and joy is not that great, but I heard from your dad that you like fixing things, isn't that true?"

"Yeah, since I was little." Your chin dipped to your chest. "I've wanted to go to U.A. for a long time now, but I hadn't got 'round to talking to dad about it. I'm not sure he'd agree."

"Of course, he would," Daiki said, not without a hint of doubt.

As your uncle's words sunk in, you found yourself slogging through every movement until you stopped right on your tracks. If your dad was happy with you becoming a hero, then why had you hardly ever seen your uncle before the accident?

Why would he always avoid having any discussion relating to heroes with you?

And why did you two never talk about your mum?

A TV reporter snapped you out of your thoughts as she barged into you.

Stunned, the blonde lady dusted off her grey suit. "Excuse me, we're not technically allowed in here. Have you two come across a (y/n) (l/n)?" She whispered-shouted, as she signaled a cameraman to follow her.

You wrinkled your nose, not fond of the idea of playing the victim in every news channel for the upcoming days. Neither did you want to discuss your father's injuries with the media, nor show how you 'fully' forgave Endeavor.

While you wouldn't go as far as saying that you hated him, meeting Endeavor had shattered your perspective of what it meant to be a hero.

What was more important than saving people? Pride and prestige? Those seemed to be the fire hero's driving forces. And it shook you to the core that you might turn out like him one day.

"So?" the journalist insisted. "Do you happen to know (y/n) (l/n)?"

You forced a smile, the corners of your mouth twitching, as if it was struggling to hang on. "You know, the name does ring a bell."

"Obviously! Now, if you haven't got anything else to add, we'll be on our way." Her heels resounded against the tiled floor as the cameraman trailed behind her, nearly making you feel guilty that you had led them down a blind alley.

But you had enough of your own problems to deal with to dwell on it for too long.

On the way back home, your uncle twiddled with his lighter, desperate to get off the train so he could smoke again. As you appreciated how the sky's rosy and orange hues contrasted against the urban sprawl, you remembered that you had scheduled to fight Endeavor's son this weekend. I wonder what he is like. I bet he's strong. But that won't hold me back.