Sorry fir the long update, but my laptop finally gave out on me. After having it for almost ten years, it can't give anything anymore. Time to get a new one. I'm kinda bummed about it, too because I was trying to keep it with me for a very long time, but my Mac Book Pro decided it had other plans, mainly giving out. Its now in Laptop heaven *waves a flag up tp the sky* farewell my old friend. I'm using my mother's Mac Desktop for now. Anyway, thank you all for the positive reviews for this fanfic, and starting September I'm going to update my Naruto fanfiction with the short chapters to match up with my Legend of the Blind Ninja one. I'm going to have to u[date my scheduling list though, but don't worry none of my other fics are abandoned, so don't worry! ^_^

Three months had passed since Inori saved that mysterious boy whose name she forgot to ask, to be fair though, the situation was far too dire for any names to be given.

Later that night, Inori, the Todoroki siblings, her mother, and Rei-san had all gathered together to watch the news that night as they were talking about that very same boy she had been thinking about.

"Some very disturbing news from a neighborhood in Saitama Prefecture. A married couple had been slaughtered by their neighbor—Onodera Daisuke, who according to two detectives who arrived at the scene heard the man say he was trying to and I quote, "purify the villain child." Onodera was waiting for the family to come home before lashing out at them with a knife. Both parents, Shinsō Keiko and Shinsō Daiki protected their only child who we will not name for his sake from being killed by the crazed neighbor. One of the detectives, Tsukauchi Naomasa questioned all of the neighbors, and discovered that half of them were involved in a plot to try and kill the boy, believing his Quirk was evil. Said Detective had this to say when we interviewed him."

Naomasa's face appeared this time, "To think that some of the neighbors would come together, only to do something this horrible. Their so called, "civic duty" has left a child without a home, and only succeeded in making them look like the real villains."

The newscast lady came back on the screen, "As a news anchor I think I speak for myself and those here that I agree. Those who were proven involved with the plot have been arrested, and will be charged in court, while those who did know, but did nothing to stop them, shall also face punishment."

Inori remembered her mother hugging her tightly as the little girl told the older woman that the boy she saved lived in that very neighborhood. Rei-san was also hugging Shoto, while the rest of the siblings frowned at the TV as they didn't like what they heard. While true she did save someone from a bad person, lives were still lost as that boy lost both his parents. She could only hope that someone, possibly a trustworthy person would take him in, and raise him as their own.

She only hoped.

It was sweet how Shoto was trying to cheer her up by making her mini ice sculptures. His ice Quirk will always fascinate her to no end, always creating such beautiful creations, sparkling like diamonds when the sunlight hits them just right. He really is sweet.

While there was still that lingering worry in the back of her mind, something else told her that everything will be okay. That the purple haired boy will be okay.

Personal life didn't change much, aside from the fact that Inori and Shoto were always together. They haven't known each other for very long, but that seemed to be enough for a genuine bond to form between the two. There was almost an invisible force that brought them together, allowing them to meet and create a bond that was unique only to them.

Shoto turned his head over towards Inori as he heard her humming some sort of song. This might be the first time he's heard her humming a song, well in front of him anyway.

"What are you humming?" He couldn't help but ask.

She stops and turns to him, "A song I heard be sung on TV once. I really like it."

"Oh," His eyes move to look at the grass, "Could you...sing it?"

Suddenly asking her to sing the song out of nowhere seemed pretty rude, but this was Inori, and she would never feel offended by anything he has to say.

"Sure."

Anticipation seeped into him as eagerness was felt through his very being.

E mi et le escontina

O plenitas o colindia

At that very moment, Shoto had felt as though the whole world had vanished, and the only one's left were him and Inori. He couldn't quite explain why he felt that way, but he knew this feeling was right.

Mi mortis sicle ha juus costro

Mawe poco entalius

"That really is a pretty song..." Shoto couldn't help but compliment. He felt bad for interrupting her suddenly, but he wanted to let her know what he thought of the song. In typical Inori fashion she simply smiled at him.

"I know, that's why I really like it!" She hopped off of a tree branch she was perched on top of. For some reason she really likes sitting on top of high places. He'll have to ask her why at some point.

"If you want, I can sing it for you as many times as you like. I sing it for mama all the time." She says.

The though of having heart sing that song for him made his stomach tingle for some strange reason. It wasn't a bad thought, quite the opposite really.

"I'd...really like that." And It's true.

Suddenly he found a pinky finger in his line of sight and blinked in confusion, "Let's make it a promise then. Whenever you feel sad I'll sing this song for you, and only for you, okay?"

A promise only to the two of them...he doesn't hate the idea at all. Without even hesitating he links his pinky finger with her's, sealing the pinky promise between them. He's never done this before with another kid his age, in fact there are many things he hasn't done with other kids. The fault lies with his...father who made sure he didn't make any friends, staying isolated and forced to train. But now that his mother has left the monster and freed them from him, he was free to go to school and make friends for the very first time of his life. Before he had been home schooled, but not anymore. They were free.

Unfortunately...that man had one condition for their freedom—his freedom.

According to what his mother told him the only reason the man went with the divorce in the first place was so that he could still train him. Endeavor didn't care about his mother or his siblings, just him, but for all the wrong reasons. He didn't want to surpass All Might, he just wants to become a hero so that he can protect his family. The 'visitation rights' as his mother called them were set so that Endeavor could pick him up and bring him to their old house on Friday. Shoto was dreadfully counting down those days, but for today he wouldn't because he was spending time with his best friend.

Even if the man trains him he won't use his fire. He won't!

"Again!"

Inori sweated a little as she hit the dummy again with a better kick this time.

"Good, keep it up!" The instructor encouraged.

Before meeting the Todoroki family, Inko had already made up her mind to take her daughter to one of those self-defense classes for children. Her daughter didn't complain about the arrangement, instead she was happy about it and was very eager to get things started.

The reason Inko wanted Inori to take this class was because she didn't want her daughter be reliant on her Quirk all the time. That was the problem with some Pro Heroes, they rely too much on their Quirks that they don't train themselves physically enough to defend against hand-to-hand combat. She was no expert when it came to heroes, it was merely an observation she had whenever they appeared on the news and she saw some of them be beaten by villains who took advantage of their Quirk weaknesses.

She refuses to allow her daughter to end up the same as them, and if she decides she really wants to become a hero in the near future, then she won't complain.

"She's really good." Rei commented next to her.

Inko smiled, "A natural fighter. Back when I was her age people used to say the same thing about me, commenting I get it from my mother."

"So she's a mixture of both you and your mother then?"

"You can say that." Inko chuckled.

"HA!"

Both women turned their attention over to Fuyumi, Shoto, Natsuo, and Touya. The siblings decided to join in with Inori with the self-defense classes, and so far they were all doing really well for their first class.

"They look like they're having fun." Inko commented.

They really did look like they were having fun, Rei can see it. At first she didn't want them to take this class, but after seeing just how much fun they were having she couldn't bring herself to make them stop. She had never seen them look this happy before back when they were still living with Enji. It still pains her that he has visitation rights with her youngest, but she refuses to let that stop her from loving Shoto. At some point she will have to talk to him, and explain that he can use his fire if he wants. Inko and Inori both played a role in her children bein more expressive, and her being a better mother than what she was before.

Friday was a day she absolutely dreaded, but knew that worrying about it won't help. All she can do now...is be there for Shoto, and this time really be there for him when he needs her the most.

Unknown to her though, Inori's eyes were on the white haired woman as she felt her anxiety about Shoto. She knew Endeavor is a bad man, and she knows that he hurt Shoto and his family very badly. Mama said she can become Shoto's hero, so she will continue to become his hero.

Mitsuki had a scowl on her face as Inko told her about Rei's circumstances. Her scowl actually looked downright murderous, as she wanted to confront the man known as the second ranked hero Endeavor and beat the living hell out of him.

"Scum! Someone should beat the shit out of him, villain or hero!" She declared.

Masaru tried to calm his wife down, "Now, now, Mitsuki."

Inko sighed, "I understand how you feel, even I'm still very angry about what she and her children have been put through, but right now I think the only thing we can do now is support her."

With a frown, Mitsuki crossed her arms, "You're right...I know you're right, but I'm still pissed, ya know? I mean seriously, a Quirk marriage? They've been illegal for years now."

"And yet the number two hero committed the taboo anyway." Masaru spoke seriously, which was a first since the man was always docile and polite.

"Here's what's really getting to me though, how is it that their divorce was made public? From what you've told me Inko it was supposed to be private affair, so how in the hell did this so called anonymous find out?" Mitsuki was shaking her head at that bit of information.

"Honestly, I still don't know. Rei doesn't know either, but we both agree that there's no way Endeavor or his lawyers would be behind it." Inko said.

"So it must be someone with a grudge against him, perhaps?" Masaru theorized.

Mitsuki huffed, "With his shitty personality that's a definite possibility."

Endeavor wasn't exactly what one would call a decent hero, if anything he was the very opposite. From the TV interviews anyone could tell you that he had this arrogant and proud personality that was enough to put anyone off, and yet the man still had fans. Then there was his ruthlessness towards villains from what she heard from some rumors about him. He was anger personified, as well as ruthless, cold, and brutal. In her opinion that doesn't make one a hero, but something else.

"In any case, I'll see if I can make a few calls to some people I know. They might be able to do something about that bastards visitation rights, but they'll probably need some kind of proof for the physical abuse claim." Mitsuki frowned.

Masaru placed an encouraging hand on his wife's shoulder, "I'm sure they can figure something out."

"In the meantime, I want to do everything I can for Rei-chan and her children. They've already become part of the family." Inko was determined to make sure they were all happy.

Mitsuki grinned, "She's got us to help out, too!"

"That's right." Masaru said in agreement.

Inko smiled at them both, "Thank you, you two."

"Dont worry about it, but still though, for little Shoto to have two Quirks inherited from both parents. He'll be a strong one when he gets older." Mitsuki commented.

"I'm sure he'll grow up to be a great hero." Masaru said with a hopeful tone, "I'm sure Inori-chan will be right there by his side as well."

Inko agreed with that, "I believe that, too."

As the three adults kept conversing with each other, they were unaware that Bakugo had heard their entire conversation. Hearing that Todoroki has two Quirks, but refuses to use one of them made him angry. He saw him use his ice side, so why won't we use his fire side, too? Was he looking down on him like Deku did that time at the lake? His fists were clenched hard at his sides as he was glaring at the wall in front of him.

'Holding back when you have two Quirks! I'll show you!'

Did Deku know about this too and didn't say anything? Then they were both looking down on him then! He'll show them!

Days continue to go by as the countdown to Friday was steadily looming over the heads of those who were feeling a sense of dread, yet tried to mask it with smiles.

Inori and Inko were doing everything in their power to try and keep the Todoroki family occupied with other things. It was working so far as their minds were no longer on the walking flaming terror known as Endeavor. What was concerning though was Bakugo's behavior towards Inori and Shoto. While the boy had always been angry for no particular reason, it almost seemed like he was being especially vicious towards the two of them for reason that were unknown to the two. Inori had been getting a bad feeling ever since, but decided to focus more on Shoto as he was supposed to be spending time with his 'father' on Friday.

She didn't want him anywhere near Endeavor, but knew early on that life is never fair. All she could do for him now is simply give him her support.

And just like that...

The dreaded day finally came.

Once school got out and they both walked home together, they saw a black car parked in front of their shared apartment complex. There was a person waiting for them by the car, someone who works for Endeavor most likely. Inori took Shoto's hand in hers as they walked over by Rei, her mother, and Shoto's siblings. None of them looked happy, who could blame them when the condition of the divorce and freedom cost was for Shoto to go over to Endeavor's home every Friday. Shoto's things were already packed, poor Rei looked as though she wanted to cry, but didn't.

"Shoto," she gently said, kneeling down to face him, "I know you don't want to go, and I don't want you to go, but just remember that no matter what, you are free to be who you want to be, okay?"

Shoto squeezed Inori's hand gently at his mother's words. A part of him was still scared of the old man, but the other part wasn't, not afraid of the walking disaster as he kept his head held high in dread as to what awaited him.

"I know...mom." He smiled.

Inori didn't want to let go.

She did not want to let go of this hand.

Not again...

'Eh?'

Again?

What does...that mean...?

She placed a hand to her chest as a sudden feeling of sadness and grief gripped her heart tightly, and the feeling only got worse once she let go Shoto's hand. As she watched him head towards the car, going inside and leaving, the feeling only got worse and worse. It was almost as if...as if...

He wasn't going to come back.

But he will come back, so why was she feeling this way?

"Let's go inside." Her mother's voice was loud and clear as it rang through her ears. They all went inside, her mother was holding Aunt Rei, saying comforting words to help ease her mind. Fuyumi-nee-san is doing the same with her. Her mother and Rei were in the kitchen, while they went to siblings shared bedrooms.

It wasn't long before Natsuo banged his hand on the wall, "Dammit, that bastard! He'll start hurting Shoto just like before and calling it, "training" as an excuse!"

Touya was scowling, "Shitty old man..."

Fuyumi looked just as upset, but she was still trying to comfort Inori, "I hate it just as much as you two, but Its the only condition of the divorce. Mom didn't want this, but had she refused the divorce would not have been finalized, and we'd still be in that house."

"I know that! But that doesn't mean we still can't be mad about it!" Natsuo growled.

"He's right," Touya said in agreement, "Shoto shouldn't have to suffer under that shitty old man, just because he has both a fire and ice Quirk."

Inori could tell Shoto didn't want to talk about his fire Quirk, let alone us it. She could feel his other side give off warmth, while the other was cold. Since the day they met she's always felt this sort of pull that was pulling her towards him. Whether the same thing could be said for him she was unsure of, but she knew one thing though...she didn't want that bad man to take Shoto away from her, or his family.

That's why...

The background noise of the bickering siblings faded as Inori concentrated, trying to do what she did before when she unexpectedly connected with that boy. Now though, she was actually trying to do it on her own, as she was already sitting on the ground, she closed her eyes. Her thoughts were focused on one thing: go to where Shoto was, and make sure he's safe. It was then that she felt the pull, just like before, she was headed to where Shoto was, as she felt their connection. As strange as it was, the connection she had with Shoto was stronger than with that other boy. Was it because they were close friends? No, it felt much more special than that.

What is it?

She didn't have time to dwell on her inner thoughts as she had arrived at a large house. Landing on her feet in front of thr large building, she just stared at how tall it was, not only that, but the place had a large garden. Her eyes wandered a bit more before they landed on a black car, the same one that took Shoto away. Floating over to it and taking a peek inside, she saw that it was empty, meaning that Shoto was already inside the house. Not wasting any time, she phased through the front entrance, floating around the place and getting a feel for the house.

It felt...cold.

As big as this house was, this sense of coldness was present in the air, threatening to freeze her very soul. Such a big house, yet its so cold. Is this what Shoto and his family were forced to endure while living under this house? And it wasn't just the cold air, the feeling of fear and anxiety was also present. Endeavor created this negativity, and didn't even care.

THUMP!

She flinched at the loud sound of something hitting against what sounded like the wall, hard. Instincts took over as she headed towards the source of the sound, and came face to face with what looked like a dojo. Phasing through the door, her heart nearly dropped as she saw the state Shoto was in. There he was lying on the floor, his breathing coming out in short huffs as he lay there on the hard ground.

"Shoto!" She was immediately by his side, her hands touching his back as the boy was still struggling to breath. His breath hitched, different colored eyes looking right in her direction. He could see her! That was good! Her relief didn't last long as her eyes went over to look at Endeavor, the bad man who was hurting his own son like this. She glared at him, even though the man couldn't see her that didn't stop her from showing just how she really felt about this monster standing before them.

"Get up." He ordered.

Inori crouched down, trying to cover Shoto with her small body. He was in so much pain that she could feel it, couldn't he see that?! How could he tell him to get up when he wasn't physically capable of doing so?!

"I said get up, Shoto! You're my perfect tool, created for the sole purpose of defeating All Might! Such weakness is not allowed!" Endeavor yelled.

What a horrible person!

This man is the reason Aunt Rei still flinches whenever she's near fire, why Fuyumi always looks so guilty, why both Natsuo and Touya feel such anger and disgust, and why Shoto feels he's the cause for his family's suffering. Such a horrible man!

Shoto shivered as he was under her, looking down at him she saw that he was trying to speak, "I...I...don't want to...surpass All Might...that's not...what I want...!"

"What?" Endeavor's eyes narrowed dangerously at his declaration.

Slowly, Shoto got to his feet as Inori was trying to stop him from doing so. He did manage to stand, but he still looked to be in pain as his eyes were firmly locked on Endeavor, "I wasn't born to be your tool! My Quirk—no, my Quirks are mine! I'll use them to become a hero and protect mom, Fuyumi-see-san, Natsuo-nii-san, Touya-nii-san, Inko-san, and Inori! I'll protect them with my own power, not yours!" Before when he lived in this house, he felt such fear just being in his father's intimidating presence, but things were different now. Since he and his family met the Midoriya's and were exposed to kindness for the very first time of their lives. It was thanks to Inori that he no longer felt his Quirks were a curse, and instead something that was a part of him. There was no need to be afraid of this man any longer, even if he keeps kicking him around, he was no longer afraid.

Not anymore.

If his mother and siblings were here right now to hear what he just said to Endeavor, they'd be smiling and telling him that in their opinion he was already a great hero.

Endeavor though, didn't find his son's words to be inspirational.

"Enough with this rebellion!" Endeavor kicked his son right in the stomach, Inori watched horrified as Shoto made a choking sound before his back collided with the wall with another hard thumping sound, "Those aren't the words I want to hear! They are the words of the weak! If you keep refusing to use your fire...then I'll beat it out of you!" As he said those words, he began walking towards the downed form of Shoto.

"Stop..." Inori's eyes locked on Shoto once again, his eyes were focused on her, and not Endeavor.

"Stop it...don't hurt him...stop hurting him..."

Shoto moved his mouth, as if to say something to her, but she wasn't paying any attention as her eyes were on Endeavor's arm, as he lifted it before bringing it back down.

"STOP!"

The walls of the dojo began to be peppered with large holes, halting Endeavor's attempt to hit Shoto again. The ground beneath the man sent him flying away from his son, as a green light shot out from below. Inori was still screaming as she was determined to destroy the dojo, along with Endeavor in one fell swoop.

Endeavor stood, his eyes wandering around the dojo in alertness. Were they under attack by a villain? Suddenly, something slapped him hard across the face, sending the large man sprawling on his back. Getting back up, he was nice again assaulted by what felt like invisible fists, when in truth, it was Inori that was assaulting him with her out of control Quirk. What surprised the man was just how much it hurt. He could literally feel every sting from the punches being thrown a him. Having had enough, he used his Hell Flame Quirk to try and burn whoever was hitting him, but that proved to be in vain, as his own Hell Flame Quirk surrounded him in a human like tornado, burning his arms, legs, sides, and would have gotten his face, had he not been shielding it with his arms. The flames finally died out, after what felt like forever, Endeavor panted as he got down on one knee, but not sooner had he did however was he once again assaulted by the invisible fists that he still could not see.

Shoto could only look on from his position on the floor, still too sore to move. His eyes were on Inori's back as she stood before him, protecting him from his father. She was transparent, so only he could see her and not his father. Her while body was surrounded by green energy as she continued to attack his father out of uncontrolled anger.

"Mean! You're so mean! I won't let you hurt him anymore!"

Shoto tried to move, but couldn't. He had to stop her, no matter how much he hated his father, he didn't want Inori to lose herself because of him. Not again.

Wait...again?

He suddenly felt a stinging pain go through his head as another person replaced Inori. It was someone much older, but for some reason, he could feel that this person was still her.

CRACK!

CRACK!

CRACK!

"S-Stop..." It was painful just to move his mouth, but it was worth the shiver of pain as he managed to get her attention. Furious green eyes were no longer on Endeavor as they were now looking at him, no longer angry.

"You can't..." a cough cut him off before he spoke again, "You have to stop...Inori...please..."

And just like that the activity around the dojo ceased, Endeavor was still panting, but didn't pass out, the was the Number #2 Hero for a reason. Being pelted by Inori's Quirk, plus having his own flames be used against him wasn't enough to take him down.

Inori bent down before Shoto, giving him a hug. Tears were streaming down her face as she held him, she tried to speak, but all that came out was gibberish before her transparent form disappeared. It wasn't long before he lost consciousness, his world going completely black.

Musutafu Hospital

Shoto came back to the world as he was blinded by a white light. As he fully woke up, he noticed two things; one, he was in the hospital, and two, he was surrounded by his family. Before he could say anything, he was instantly hugged by his mother, she was crying into his hospital gown. Someone had grabbed his hand, and he could tell it was Fuyumi. Natsuo was openly crying, while Touya was rubbing his head with a smile.

This was nice...

"Mom...what happened...?" He still sounded tired as he asked his mother what happened. Why was he in the hospital?

His mother reluctantly removed herself from the hug she initiated before answering his question, "You've been asleep for three days, after..." she couldn't even say it, but knew she had to, "After you passed out, you were brought here to the hospital by one of the maids. Eiji was brought here too, but he didn't stay for very long, even though the doctors wanted to ask him about the bruises and burn marks on him."

The bruises and burn marks Inori gave him as she protected him.

"Shoto...Eiji is being put under investigation," she sounded happy as she said this, "When you came in with all those...bruises, and a broken rib they decided to investigate him. The hospital reported your injuries to the police, and a detective came while you were still asleep. I...I told him everything, and because of that...his visitation rights are suspended until further notice."

He breathed a sigh of relief after hearing that.

Truly, good news indeed.

Fuyumi squeezed his hand, "Shoto, there's something else."

Something about her tone told him he wasn't going to like this.

She looked so peaceful sleeping in her bed like that.

After Fuyumi told him what happened, he practically demanded to see Inori, and since he wasn't taking "no" for an answer, the doctor let him go but on the condition he use a wheelchair to move around.

"We don't know what happened, but we think she did the same thing as before. She just started screaming and everything in the house began to move, and even walls have cracks on them. It was because of that, we knew that something must've happened to you. After that, she just stopped and passed out. Inko-san thought it'd be best we bring her to the hospital, the doctors told us she overused her Quirk and now she's asleep. It's a good thing she wasn't put into a coma though."

A good thing, indeed.

Call it a sudden impulse or not, but his hand was already moving on his own as he placed his hand on her cheek. She overused her Quirk in order to protect him from his father. For his sake.

Once again she helped him, and yet...what has he done for her? He may have stood up to his father for first time, but all that did was get him a kick to the gut and a broken rib. Was he going to keep hesitating like this? Forcing Inori to keep using her Quirk to protect him? No, that's no longer an option! He meant what he said to his father about both Quirks being his, and his alone. That's why, he'll use both his ice and fire Quirk from now on, just as he proclaimed.

Until then...

"Sleep well, Inori."

Let Us Take The First Step