Endeavor walked down the quiet streets of Musutafu late one evening, his towering figure illuminated by the dim streetlights. It was a rare moment of solitude for the Number One Hero, a man always in the spotlight, always burdened by the weight of his past and the expectations of the world. But tonight, he wasn’t out on patrol or chasing villains. He was simply a father trying to find the right words.
Earlier that day, he had received a call from an old friend—one he hadn’t spoken to in years. Toshiro, a fellow hero from their early days, had invited Endeavor to dinner at a local ramen shop they used to frequent. At first, Endeavor had been tempted to refuse. After all, he was no longer the same man he was back then—driven, uncompromising, obsessed with surpassing All Might at any cost.
But something in Toshiro’s voice had convinced him to agree. Maybe it was the weariness he detected, the same weariness that he felt deep in his own bones. Or maybe it was the realization that he had very few people in his life with whom he could talk openly—without the weight of hero society pressing down on him.
So here he was, standing outside the small, unassuming ramen shop, trying to muster the courage to step inside. He pushed open the door, and the familiar scent of miso broth and grilled pork wafted over him. The shop was quiet, with only a few customers scattered across the tables.
Toshiro was seated at the counter, a bowl of ramen already steaming in front of him. His face broke into a wide grin as he spotted Endeavor. “Enji! Long time no see! Come, sit down.”
Endeavor hesitated for a moment before taking a seat beside his old friend. They exchanged pleasantries, reminiscing about their early days as heroes, the battles they had fought, and the victories they had shared. But there was an underlying tension in Toshiro’s voice, something unspoken that lingered between them.
As they finished their meal, Toshiro finally set down his chopsticks and looked directly at Endeavor. “Enji, I’m glad you came. There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”
Endeavor nodded, bracing himself for whatever was coming.
“I’ve been watching you,” Toshiro began, his tone gentle but serious. “You’ve come a long way since we first started out. You’ve achieved everything you set out to do. You’re the Number One Hero now. But I can see that it hasn’t brought you the peace you were searching for.”
Endeavor’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t interrupt. Toshiro had always been perceptive, and he wasn’t wrong.
Toshiro continued, “I know about what happened with your family, with Shoto. The hero world sees you as a symbol of strength, but I see the man behind that symbol. The man who’s struggling to put the pieces of his life back together.”
Endeavor stared down at his empty bowl, the weight of Toshiro’s words pressing on him. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes,” he admitted quietly. “And I’m trying to make up for them. But it’s not easy.”
“No, it’s not,” Toshiro agreed. “But the fact that you’re trying—that you’re facing your mistakes instead of running from them—that means something. It’s not just about being a hero, Enji. It’s about being a man who can look himself in the mirror and be proud of what he sees.”
Endeavor looked up, meeting Toshiro’s gaze. There was a sincerity there that cut through the walls he had built around himself. “I’m not sure I’ll ever be that man,” he said, his voice heavy with doubt.
“You’re already on your way,” Toshiro said firmly. “But you don’t have to do it alone. You’ve got your family, Enji. And you’ve got people like me, who care about you—not just as a hero, but as a friend.”
The words struck a chord deep within Endeavor. For so long, he had been consumed by his ambition, by the need to prove himself. But now, as he sat in this small ramen shop with an old friend, he realized that there was more to life than being the strongest. There was value in the connections he had neglected, in the people who had stood by him despite his flaws.
“Toshiro… thank you,” Endeavor said, his voice rough with emotion. “I needed to hear that.”
Toshiro smiled warmly. “Anytime, Enji. Don’t be a stranger, alright? You’ve got people who are rooting for you, even when you don’t believe in yourself.”
Endeavor nodded, a sense of relief washing over him. For the first time in a long while, he didn’t feel like he was carrying the weight of the world alone. He knew he had a long road ahead—repairing his relationships, finding peace with his past—but he also knew he had people who would support him along the way.
As he left the ramen shop that night, the cool breeze of the city felt a little less biting, and the path forward seemed a little clearer. He wasn’t just Endeavor, the Number One Hero. He was Enji Todoroki—a man trying to rebuild his life, one step at a time.
