At the same time, in a certain passage in the exit area for the participating students.
The intense competition that morning had exhausted the students' strength, and they couldn't wait to walk through the passage to the U.A. cafeteria.
During this short break, all the Class A students were discussing the morning's events in the cafeteria.
Only two people remained in the passage: Lock and Shoto Todoroki.
At that moment, the two stood at the exit, facing each other.
The reason was that Shoto Todoroki had come over to stop him. Lock had readily agreed, and he had also guessed Shoto Todoroki's purpose.
It was nothing more than a bit of psychological counseling.
Sure enough, Shoto Todoroki was the first to speak. "You should know about my bastard father, right?"
"Of course." Lock nodded and snapped his fingers. "The Flame Hero, Endeavor."
Just as Shoto Todoroki was wondering why Lock had snapped his fingers, he was startled by a sakura-colored figure rushing in.
"Master, here is the sandwich bento you ordered." With a calm expression, Virgo took out the lunch box she was carrying, with about seven small sandwiches lined up inside.
Then, under Shoto Todoroki's astonished gaze, Lock leisurely ate the sandwiches.
After all, this was precious lunchtime. God knew how long Shoto Todoroki would keep him talking, and he still had to go find Aunt Ryukyu and Sister Nejire in the stands. Time was precious.
Shoto Todoroki's mouth twitched, and he continued. "My bastard father was a man with a strong desire to win, but he couldn't get past All Might, the Symbol of Peace, so he came up with another strategy."
"Quirk marriage. You know about it, right? After Quirks appeared, social problems began to show up in the second and third generations."
Lock nodded to signal Shoto Todoroki to continue. He knew that the fire Quirk on Shoto Todoroki's left side had been inherited from his father, and the ice Quirk on his right side from his mother.
"In short, my bastard father bought my mother's family and got my mother's Quirk lineage. He wants to raise me into a hero who surpasses All Might in order to satisfy his own desires."
Speaking of this, Shoto Todoroki's face was grim, as if he had recalled some bad memories. He lifted the hair on the left side, and beneath it was the burn scar on his face.
"In my memory, my mother was always crying. She said the left side of my face was too ugly, and she poured boiling water on it."
"And then? What do you want to say?"
Lock's tone was somewhat impatient and blunt, and he went straight to the point. He wasn't a psychiatrist, and he wouldn't say comforting words like the Midoriya of the original story.
"You're very strong. So strong that I thought as long as I beat you with my ice, I could completely reject him." Shoto Todoroki's expression darkened. He clearly felt the gap when facing Lock, and continued, "But I failed. I hesitated, and I didn't go all out like I said in the lounge..."
"Okay."
Lock interrupted Shoto Todoroki. He chewed twice, finished all the sandwiches, and then walked up to Shoto Todoroki.
"Your resolve, your refusal to use your full strength to prove something, and all that, I don't want to know." Lock's eyes gave off a cold light like a blade, as if piercing Shoto Todoroki's heart, and he continued:
"But the power on your left is yours, not your father's, right?"
After saying this, Lock said goodbye to Virgo and walked out of the passage. Just as he was about to leave completely, he added, "All I know is that if you don't use your full strength, you definitely don't qualify to make me serious. Who are you underestimating by denying your father's ideas and not showing your full strength?"
Shoto Todoroki bowed his head and remained silent for a long time. Then he raised his head and looked in the direction Lock had left, his eyes filled with determination.
"Aunt Ryukyu, Sister Nejire."
Lock came to the stands where Ryukyu was, but Virgo was no longer by his side, having been told to go back first.
"Have you had lunch?" Ryukyu asked with concern.
"I ate a few sandwiches."
"You should eat less of that kind of thing. It's not nutritious at all..."
Hearing Ryukyu's earnest words, spoken like an elder's, Lock smiled.
"Little Lock, everyone is talking about you."
Nejire Hado chimed in from the side. The Cavalry Battle had really turned into a showcase for Lock's team.
Just as Lock was about to reply, a sudden burst of heat came from behind him. When he turned around, he saw a huge man with flames on his body.
Endeavor.
"Mage Lock, I want to talk to you."
Lock's face fell, and he said angrily, "Is your family cursed? Everyone likes to talk to others."
"Huh?" Endeavor frowned, not understanding the meaning of Lock's words.
"Your son just talked to me about 'psychological counseling' for a long time."
In Lock's view, Endeavor was absolutely charismatic as a hero, not only because of his attitude toward his duty, but also because he was the only one who dared to chase and surpass All Might.
Since All Might's heyday, no one but him had dared to think of it, let alone act on it.
But when it came to his own family, as a father and the head of the household, he could only be described as scum.
"What did you say?"
Lock's answer made Endeavor's frown deepen.
"His Quirk." Lock pointed to the left half of his own face, the meaning self-evident. "You should wake up and learn how to be a father, and how to be a husband."
Lock stood up, ignoring Endeavor's widening eyes and constricting pupils. He said goodbye to Aunt Ryukyu and Sister Nejire and walked past him.
Ring, ring.
The school bell rang, signaling that the break was over, and the tense matches of the afternoon were about to begin!
As for Shoto Todoroki and Endeavor, Lock really had no interest in understanding or helping to resolve the private family affairs of the father and son.
Although he was a pro hero, he wasn't a meddlesome hero like All Might or Midoriya.
Whether Endeavor would eventually wake up and set out on the road of atoning to his family, none of it had anything to do with him.
Because...
Only the victim has the right to decide. Everyone else is an outsider.
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