Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

CHAPTER ONE

FALLING BUILDINGS AND CONCERNED SISTERS

The binary-coloured boy sighed. It had been another long day of training and the ice forming over his right side began to send erratic shivers down his spine. He grunted as he walked, determined to not let this silly side effect draw him back from performing his absolute best. He took a step with his right foot and nearly slipped due to the thicker than usual coat of pristine shiny white ice. With anger he stomped on the ground, shattering the ice thoroughly and shaking it off his boot. Of course, the ice was high quality, he wouldn’t accept anything else. If he couldn’t use his best at all times, he was better off dead. He refused his fire. Never would he accept it.

It didn’t matter that it was technically his quirk, like All Might’s favourite had said, it was still the reason for his mother’s breaking. After all, Endeavour had made the cracks in his mother, but Shouto was the one who made her shatter, his left side, his atrocious and haunting left side. Oh, how he wished it never existed, how he wished that he could be like Fuyumi or Natsuo. Being left alone by his old man. No training, just a cold shoulder. Not the scalding shoulder he had gotten. He preferred the cold, no matter the situation some instinct situated in the deepest parts of his scrambled psyche would curl into that cold, as if it would save him from the scorching exterior of the world.

He carried on walking down the hallway of the training rooms, heading towards the dorm building that belonged to the entire class of 1-A of the Hero Course. He despised some of his peers, truly he did. Such wasted spaces for the highest of highest hero courses. Some had proven their spot, like the explosive Bakugou kid or the six-armed helper and he would even begrudgingly admit that the mini All Might had proven himself as a rival. The plain green boy still infuriated him however. Such happiness, all the time. It angered him to no end. A simple boy with a simple family, a simple quirk, simple problems. He was just so infuriatingly simple. Extremely predictable with him spouting his idealistic garbage all the time. It was quite evident that the boy had never been faced with the issue of seeing heroes as just people with a job. He thoroughly believed that heroes were all like All Might. That every single one of them was as morally flawless as the golden man of the entire world.

He was wrong of course. Shouto had met villains kinder than Endeavour, even petty ones. Like that one time where he stopped a man from robbing the convenience store with his ice. The ragged man with sunken eyes and no apparent quirk was near tears. He begged for mercy, as if Shouto was about to publicly execute the man just because of a petty robbery. He cried about how he needed to get money for his family that was falling apart at the seams, not because of emotion, like Shouto’s was but because of material. Because the family simply did not have the funds to support his family enough so they could live. Non-hero jobs had abysmal pay compared to that of non-hero related jobs. There simply wasn’t enough money inflow into those categories. Shouto wanted to desperately help the man who was entrapped in the ice. But he could not bring himself to release the man. So, he simply sat down and said sorry, waiting for the police to take him away.

By the time he got out of his thoughts, he was standing outside of the door of his room. He blinked, calmed himself and opened the door. He revealed the pleasing traditional Japanese room to his eyes. The sight calmed him down further. He shut the door, blocking out the nosiness of his door neighbours and the rowdy group downstairs in the common room. Now that he was hidden to everyone, he let his shoulders droop and the tiredness overcome him. He detached the cuff braces that would raise his internal temperature and left them to the side. He unequipped his back heater and disregarded to side with the other heater. He slipped off the combat boots and neatly tucked them on the shoe rack next to his pair of converse shoes. He stretched out his arms and yawned loudly, not bothering to cover his mouth as there was no one to see him. He swiftly made his way to the futon on the floor. He peeled back the soft white coverings and laid inside. He shut his eyes and let his mind wonder to anywhere it wanted.

(---)
Today was a Sunday, Shouto Todoroki’s day off. He would have preferred to spend his large portion of free time training his ice resistance but some stupid explosive-based hero in training had gotten carried away and blown up the entire building. It seemed ridiculous but Shouto respected Bakugou. Mostly because the teenager was on the same level as he in control, power and technique. With only his ice he was slightly weaker. Only the smallest inch of difference, which meant that Shouto could be far superior. If only he increased his output and minimised his weakness after such an attack. Bakugou’s quirk had no physical drawbacks that were visible. Shouto knew that the explosions, if powerful enough, could damage his arms. But it was so miniscule.

Shouto frowned at the steaming recyclable cup of coffee sitting peacefully on the wooden table in front of him. He sipped at the bitter dark liquid, trying to make his body awake. His phone began to vibrate uncontrollably. He quickly pulled out the expensive device out of his pocket and stared with a wary look at the display. It seemed that something controversial had been said in the group chat. They had asked why Kaminari thought that the Hero killer Stain was not completely incorrect. Of course, Midoriya leapt at all the hero’s defences.

Pikachu: he wasnt exactly wrong tho

Broccoli: HE WAS!!! He wanted to KILL people!!!

Pikachu: well that bit was wrong of him.

Pikachu: but he was right about some heroes just in in for the cash

Class-Rep: His actions were abdominal. That makes any of his words lose validation.

Broccoli: Exactly!!!

Pikachu: But some heroes arent even that good of people

Broccoli: They still save people!!!

Pikachu: For money.

Shouto rolled his eyes at his phone. The class was still too naïve for his liking. But, not all of them had been exposed to what he had been. He contemplated messaging the group chat, to put his spin on the topic at hand. So, he did exactly that.

Frosty: Not every hero is as morally strict as All Might

Shouto had finally written in the cursed chat. He was expecting some response of course.

Broccoli: You to Todoroki?

Class-Rep: You were there, he was an utter madman. How could you agree to his twisted lies?

Broccoli: And what do u mean by not as moral as All Might?

Frosty: Stain said that All Might and perhaps Midoriya were true heroes. The rest were fakes to him.

Frosty: His words may have been twisted, but they weren’t exactly lies.

Broccoli: When did he say that?

Frosty: he said that only All Might was allowed to kill him. It was all over the news.

Class-Rep: I seem to remember that as well.

Shouto turned his phone completely off after he realised that the conversation was going nowhere. It was pointless to argue with two people who were too stubborn for their own good. He knew the class rep had a personal issue with the Hero killer. Midoriya was simply to enraptured with hero culture in general to have his ideals changed.

Shouto sighed and set his eyes absentmindedly outside of the double-glazed window that separated him from the outside world. A flock of white birds swooped in his line of sight. His tired gaze locked onto the fast-moving objects in his field of vision. It was part of his training habits that he had picked up over the strenuous years of becoming as powerful as he was now. His eyes would instantly track anything going mildly fast. It was instinct.

He finished the coffee and dumped the empty cup into the green bin that was labelled for recycling waste. He pushed open the door and stepped into the outside. It was getting warmer than he usually liked and so because of this, he cooled his body temperature down using his quirk, it was quite a useful function for him, being able to regulate his body temperature. He smiled softly, knowing that his quirk wasn’t only useful for combat situations. It couldn’t help people, but it could make him happy.

He noted that the streets were boring. Monotonous in nature. Grey here, grey there and another shade of grey in a different spot. The designers had desperately tried to lighten it up by sprouting numerous trees in differing locations. It had worked he supposed. Something to take his mind off of the stupid grey tones around him.

A rumble followed a large exploding sound. Shouto quickly shifted into battle mode, his eyes searching for the source. His eyes frantically scattered across the environment. His legs pumped up and down, sending him toward the sound of the scraping sound. It screeched harshly in his ears. It ringed rather unpleasantly. His eyes locked onto the source. A building had begun to crumble at the halfway point. It was a tall skyscraper, around 40 metres tall if Shouto had to estimate. A large crowd of people were still under the point where the falling half of building would collide violently with the ground.

His body moved before he could think. The building had tipped and began to fall sideways downwards at speed. He was directly below, the darkness consuming the surrounding area. People screamed and cried out. Before he knew it, four thick ice pillars began to sprout upwards, stopping the immediate threat. A piece of debris fell on the floor. His eyes widened and he poured more ice into the pillars, making a platform of ice underneath the falling half. He kept pouring more and more of his ice. He placed his right hand on the floor to increase his control and output. He grunted as the cold really began to bite at his skin. His outbreath released a cold breath, visible to the naked eye. He grunted as he realised that his arm was becoming fully frozen over. The ice snaked around his upper arm. Some part of his mind enjoyed the cold, so peaceful and protective. Yet his logical side knew that he was in trouble. He might freeze until unconsciousness if he kept up. The ice kept snaking up his body. Another burst of ice to reinforce the supports. The ice was now up to his neck, spiralling up his face.

His body screamed at him to stop, clawed at his will like a rabid animal. He needed to keep going, the screams and cries of the people around him kept him going. The ice encircled his right eye, closing it shut. He grunted again; the ice had covered half his mouth. Slowly, his hair began to freeze as well, leaving nothing on his right side unfrozen. His vision in his weak left eye began to blur and wane. He might let people die. He kept going.

You can be a hero Shouto

Don’t hold back!

“So… So brave” A shocked calm voice. Female. A mother? Yes. A child was beside her.

Suddenly Shouto’s world brightened. Flame erupted from his beautiful porcelain skin. So bright and beautiful. Red and orange, flickering in the wind. The volume of flame protruding from the aspiring hero was a sight to see.

Mama?

Shouto felt warm. This warmth didn’t feel like disappointment. It didn’t feel like disgust.

It felt comforting. It made him feel fuzzy inside.

The ice that had once captured his right side began to melt, the water trickling down Shouto’s body and clothes and onto the concrete floor. The light radiating from the flames he was once so afraid of, illuminated the shadowy underside of the fallen building.

He screamed.

He began to pour more and more ice into the ice pillars he had created. They had begun to break after he had neglected them so long. As he unleashed more and more ice, he realised something. He realised how truly powerful the quirk he thought he was once cursed with. He knew why his father felt such feeling of disappointment. Disappointment because his son held such a vast amount of power, but wouldn’t use it due to some silly quarrel they had. Disgust because he had yearned for such power himself, but couldn’t reach it himself.

Tears streamed down his handsome face. The right side froze whilst the left side simply evaporated into a steam.
(---)
Everyone was crowded around the television. One mention of the fact that their most mysterious classmate, Todoroki, was on TV instantly attracted everyone, including Mr Aizawa. It was definitely a shock to most, especially because Todoroki was barely seen at all.

On the TV screen was a high-rise view of the situation. Half of a sky scraper was being balanced on a platform of ice. The ice was getting increasingly thicker in pulses, like a heartbeat. Most of the class was in shock. Todoroki had never once displayed such an impressive amount of sheer volume before, even in the tournament when he was determined to win. Some stared, awestruck whilst others snarled, realising that Todoroki had been holding back during the tournament. Namely Bakugou Katsuki, who had yelled at the half n’ half to not hold back.

“That bastard held back!” He yelled in frustration.

The camera angle shifted with a slick motion. In this camera angle, Todoroki was barely visible. Only his right side could be seen as it reflected the light as it was coated in a thin sheet of ice. Midoriya’s eyes widened like saucers. He recognised the side effects of Todoroki’s quirk.

“He won’t be able to keep this up.” Midoriya exclaimed, shocked out of his mind. Todoroki always knew when to stop. Did Todoroki not realise that he had done enough? Could Todoroki not move away? Was he stuck?

“He looks fine”

“His right side is nearly completely ice, that’s why we can see him.”

“Oh my, this young man is quite powerful and brave” The female reporter on the left of the screen said breathlessly, shocked by Todoroki’s performance.

“But this is technically vigilantism, there is no registered pro hero with an ice quirk to this magnitude” The male reporter with horns mentioned.

“Umm sir, that’s Todoroki Shouto, a U.A student with a provisional licence.” A young voice spoke out.

The camera angle shifted back to Todoroki, struggling to keep up. The sound of a cry was heard. It was high pitched. Definitely not from Todoroki. The ice had now covered the entirety of his right side. His striking azure eye that almost was glowing, widened and then shut tightly.

“What is he planning?” Tenya Iida, the class rep of 1-A asked curiously.

“He won’t be able to keep this up.” Aizawa said.

“He’ll freeze to death at this rate” Midoriya perked up. Midoriya knew that there was a way out for Todoroki. But the binary-coloured boy was simply too stubborn to change his mind on his fire side of his quirk. If Midoriya couldn’t convince him, who could?

White engulfed the camera as it desperately tried to adjust to the drastic change in light. It took several minutes. The entire class was confused. The camera re-adjusted to the new change in light.

A crack was heard, the ice was beginning to shatter. Midoriya guessed that Todoroki had only been focusing on the quantity of ice, not quality.

Todoroki was on fire. Quite literally.

Flames engulfed his entire left side, illuminating the scene surrounding himself. It was a beautiful sight to see.

“Todoroki is on fire?”

“Isn’t his quirk ice?”

The red flames licked further and further around the young teenager. A scream was heard. It was most definitely Todoroki’s anguished scream.

The ice began to catch up. It pulsed, violently. Now the entire building was encased in ice. The pillars began to thicken, with little designs sketched on the side. Todoroki had collapsed and was unconscious, but his quirk was still activated. The flames danced in the wind. Getting hotter in each passing second. The flames began to lick and bite in blue, viciously trying to warm the hypothermic child up. The azure blue was quite a beautiful sight to see.

It took a whole five minutes for Todoroki to deactivate his quirk, leading many to think that he had died. It was confirmed that he was still breathing only a few seconds later however. What was left of the scene was a beautiful ice sculpture of four pillars supporting up the half building.

“That little shit” Bakugou said under his breath. His voice was deep and malevolent, almost begging to kill someone. Around his piercing red eyes, the air began to darken. The air seemed thicker, harder to move in.

Bakugou’s crimson glare almost shattered the television screen they were all sitting behind. No one wanted to be any close to the ticking time bomb known as Bakugou Katsuki. The entire class was in shock, even Midoriya. Midoriya had never even seen such viciousness from the cocky hero-in-training, even when Midoriya had royally screwed up when he was younger with Bakugou. He felt a tremble down his body. He knew why Bakugou was pissed off. He had learned the same lesson when he still was quirkless, as an onlooker however.

Aizawa kept his quirk sealing gaze tracked on Bakugou, ready to disable any nasty situation that may have occurred. He too was amazed at the strength of his pupil but his extremely bland poker face left no emotion to be revealed. He wondered protectively about Todoroki Shouto. Many questions about why the young boy hadn’t used the left side of his quirk had always stayed present in his mind, but now that the boy had used it with such strength, it reappeared in his mind. He made a mental note to make sure to ask Todoroki about it after he had recovered. As a teacher of course. Not concerned, but as a teacher wanting to bring the best potential out of their nature. That’s what he told himself at least. Most people who had known him particularly well would have noticed that he quite liked this class and was extremely protective.

(---)

Shouto slowly came to reality. His body felt down, as if he had been on a drug that kept his mind high in the clouds. His eyelid could barely flutter open, it was as if someone had put a slide show on. His mind could only process still frames of what his eyes perceived. A round faced woman with an elegant and warm smile with flowy white hair which had been singed with red at the tips. Shouto managed to make a smile appear on his drowsy face at the sight of his big sister.

Whilst Fuyumi may not have been there when he needed her the most, she certainly was there from the day he turned twelve onwards. She had been the pillar that had kept the most important parts of him from crumbling down to the ground and losing himself in an abyss of self-hatred.

He couldn’t blame his big sister for being absent when he needed her most, after all it was his father’s decision to keep him separated from his family and society. He couldn’t blame anyone but his father in his family. They all seemed too innocent for him, too pure. Fuyumi was the most innocent to Shouto. She was like his mother, before the incident at least.

His hand had softly grazed the marred skin around his left eye that continued to his scalp without any cognitive input from Shouto himself.

“F-Fuyumi?” His voice was hoarse, weak. His throat was scratchy, as if someone had dragged sand paper down his throat.

Fuyumi’s soft beautiful face contorted into a wide pretty smile. The grey eyes that laid behind her eyes sparkled. To Shouto there was no difference between an angel and his sister.
“I’m so glad you’re okay!” Her voice was chirpy, happy to see him awake. It was nice for Shouto to be backed up so vehemently by one person.

Shouto managed with the little mental energy he had to make a small smile, barely noticeable to anyone who didn’t know Shouto at an intermediate level. Fuyumi’s eyes sparkled once again.

“Don’t try and move, your body is still sluggish. Something to do with not being used to being at the temperature you got yourself to. It’s okay though. Nothing permanent to worry about.” Fuyumi was soft-spoken in her words, delicate precision to not make Shouto feel an ounce of comfortability. She had become an expert at reading Shouto’s body movements and cues. She had never once raised her voice at him. Shouto appreciated that. Being able to be treated like a normal human being.

Between them was no social border, no difference in wealth either. Fuyumi never cared much for quirks either. Mostly due to the environment she had grown up in. Her quirk wasn’t weak by any means, but she did not have the raw output that Shouto could produce. Shouto had taught her a few tricks for her self-defence. She had been grateful for his advice and help and snuck him a lollipop under their father’s suspicions as a gift. He had been ever so grateful with his countless thank yous and formalities.

“I’m proud of you Shouto.”

“You are?”

“Of course! You saved so many people with what you did!”

“even though I used my left?”

“You looked like a shining star back there,” Fuyumi reassured him, “Your flames were inspiring, I wasn’t scared of them at all. You should be proud of yourself.”

“A star?”

“Yes!”

Shouto smiled at his calm and collected older sister.

Chapter Text

Shouto walked at a slow pace down the hallways of U.A. The morning sun pierced its way through the glass hallways and illuminated the hallways. His white converse shoes slowly and silently graced the floor. Shouto was quite late for his late for his homeroom class yet he still walked at a crawl. He watched the birds gliding in the air, disinterested from anything else. He simply had a lot on his mind.

After the building incident he had stayed with Fuyumi at the Todoroki household, resting in bed for a few more days. Fuyumi had pampered him with food and told him to take it easy. His father told him that he was glad that he was recovering well, stating that it was good that he realised that his left side had its benefits. Shouto told him that he had recognised that others should not suffer because of some quarrel. His father had narrowed his eyes and told Shouto that he would assist in training his fire side. Even if it was posed like it was up to Shouto, it was ultimately up to his father. He really had no choice in his training choices.

Shouto unconsciously clenched his right hand in a tight fist as he entered his class room.

He ignored the hushed whispers and stares of wonder directed towards him. He looked forward as impassive as he could make himself.

“Why were you late?”

“The walk here took longer than expected.”

Shouto slid his backpack onto the floor and neatly unzipped the bag. He quickly took out the red book for English, their next lesson after homeroom on a Tuesday. He efficiently placed the book on the middle of his desk, his neat and precise kanji script written next to the name and subject section on the red book. He took out his boring pencil case that was purely functional, unlike his peers who had decided to go with flashy and boisterous pencil cases. Even the formal Yaoyorozu had a pencil case which was unnecessarily flashy for a storage devise for writing utensils.

He paid no mind to the hushed whispers of his name that weren’t directed at him, but rather about him. He had no clue as to what they were talking about, perhaps that he had been missing from the dorms the past few days? He did not realise that they had even noticed his disappearance. Per Yaoyorozu, but everyone else was someone who he had not previously spoken to outside of school terms and hero work. Perhaps he had been on the news. He believed his news story had faded quickly. Not unlike his father’s hero work that was broadcasted on the news. After all, everything would always be one-upped a day or two later. That was simply the hero industry. No one other than all might could be at the number one spot for more than a single day.

He rested his head atop of his colder hand absentmindedly, taking comfort in the cold that reminded him of the sweetness and comfort that his mother had so carefully crafted for him. His blue and grey eyes stared out the window, painstakingly waiting for English to start so he could busy himself and stop his thoughts that usually ended in the painful spiral that led down that so scary absolute black abyss.

(---)

Bakugou glared down at Todoroki with his intense crimson glare and nasty snarl smeared across his face. Bakugou was looking down at Todoroki from the balcony of training room A. School had ended an hour ago and Bakugou was itching to have a go at the bastard who held back during the finals. If he could only just snatch a victory from the boy when Todoroki was using half of his power, how could he imagine to beat him at full strength?

The half and half bastard analysed his left hand for a minute, looking at it as if would explode any moment.

Todoroki ignited his left arm, the crimson fire bursting from his arm, gently licking the air. He kept under precise control. The flames looked different to his fathers ridiculous and aggressive flames. These flames were gentle, calm and waved like the ocean. Calm and serene. He exhaled.

He lifted his arm out in front of him.

3

2

1

He unleashed a stream of fire. It illuminated an already lit environment. It was bright, unnaturally so.

He clenched his fist. Closed his eyes and launched a fire ball in the other direction. It travelled quickly. Like a lightning bolt striking down the Earth. Shouto needed to test his limits. If he was going to use this power for good, he would need to test it. So that he wouldn’t under or overestimate his abilities with his fire.

He braced his left forearm with his right hand, constantly freezing it as he unleashed a barrage of flame. He imagined the flames getting hotter and hotter.

It was fine.

Until it wasn’t.

All of the sudden his mind slipped. His control vanished. His mind had gone elsewhere.

GET UP

HOW WILL YOU BEAT ALL MIGHT IF YOU’RE THIS WEAK!!!

HOW DISGUSTING

HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING?

THIS IS WHY YOU’LL NEVER SEE YOUR MOTHER AGAIN

The flames became uncontrollable. They abruptly switched from the calm and gentle stream to an erratic barrage. The flames lanced, cutting everything and anything. The flames expanded, hotter and hotter. The wall, made of carefully constructed metals immune to even the highest levels of heat, began to warp, succumbing to the blistering heat.

Bakugou began to feel as if he was in a kiln. Skin sweating immensely threating to peel. He quickly rushed out of the building, not wanting to burn alive. He exploded the door, not wanting to come in contact with any metal that would burn him. He rushed out of the hole he made. He turned his head to face the abandoned training facility.

From the outside it looked as if nothing was occurring. As if someone hadn’t lost control.

If someone were to listen however…

It was a completely different story. It was loud. The crackling of flame and the roaring inferno. The screams of someone mentally unhinged. Bakugou was helpless. For being a hero, he couldn’t help this person. This person who was so desperately in need of help. He inapproachable. No one could enter there without being burnt alive. In fact, Bakugou began to feel the heat even from the twenty-five metres he had placed himself away from the building.

Bakugou heard another scream. This was different. It wasn’t a scream of anguish. It wasn’t a scream of anger. It was a scream of sorrow. Not for oneself. But an apology.

Bakugou’s sharp eyes widened in surprise.

Bakugou moved himself further and further away from the building as the temperature began to increase at a ridiculous level.

Bakugou could see the flames now. The building had numerous holes that flames leaked out of. The flames began to expand. Inching its way around the building. The flames were a blinding violet. The building began to fall apart. The metal panelling began to fold outwards.

The violet flames violently began to swirl. Up and up, they rose. It began to become a tornado of pain. It lanced violently outwards, striking down any birds that dared come close enough to the tornado of violent flame.

“What’s going on here?” Aizawa-sensei demanded. His voice filled with worry.

“The half and half bastard lost control of his flames and won’t stop.” Bakugou felt a bit subdued by this display.

WHY?!?

WHY IS THAT BASTARD GIVEN SUCH A RIDICULOUSLY POWERFUL QUIRK?!?

WHY IS IT GIVEN TO THE MENTALLY UNSTABLE ONE?!?

SOMEONE WHO CAN’T EVEN PUT IT TO GOOD USE!!!

“I… won’t be able to stop this,” Aizawa-sensei admitted with what sounded like remorse.

“HUH?”

“I can’t see him,” Aizawa-sensei informed the explosive student, “We just have to hope he can regain himself before he burns down U.A.”

The violet inferno began to sputter a few minutes later. The flames began to quiet down, calming down. The flames transformed into something gentle, calm. The temperature began to decrease. The flame went from a bright violet down to an azure blue.

An ice mountain was formed in thirty gruelling seconds, successfully extinguishing the mess of the inferno. At first it was quick, surging in quick bursts. Later it was slower, inching slowly toward its peak. In the end the ice stood tall and proud, glistening in the setting sun. The initial air of coldness had ended quickly. Not as quick as it should have, but still quickly. The beautiful ice spike pierced the heavens, not dissimilar to his massive ice wall that he could conjure up in the time that Aizawa could blink. This was at least triple its size and much, much colder at the initial strike.

Numerous pro heroes rushed onto the site. Aizawa-sensei leapt into the fray, visibly concerned for his student. He used his capture tool to swing off the razor-sharp ice spike that extended from the epicentre. He slid down a particular ice spike that would directly lead him to the source.

All-Might was already on site. Clearing away as much ice as he could with his abominable strength, ripping away at the ice. It seemed that his troubled student had encased himself in ice. The ice had become a room temperature, some of the ice melting in drips.

Shouto’s body lay on his back, face facing upwards. His eyes were glassy and it was clear to anyone that the boy was not lucid. His body was at perfect temperature, his biology not being disabled because of the erasing quirk of Eraser head. All Might picked the boy up, who was tiny in comparison to All Might’s full muscle form.

All Might placed the young man on a stretcher and the paramedics on site injected the boy with purple liquid, a quirk suppressant. The paramedics rushed off into one of the many buildings.

(---)

Bakugou was told that Todoroki had been drugged with a drug enhancer against his own will, that was what the public was told as well. They had found remnants of the drug within the boy. Supposedly. Bakugou didn’t buy the story. Todoroki never seemed under the influence of performance enhancing drugs. His normal fire seemed fine.

Bakugou wanted to believe the story.

The only reason why he wanted to believe it was because he still wanted to keep his rule over the most powerful and versatile quirk.

Bakugou knew that all the signs pointed away from the theory.

The public had been understandably concerned.

Posts asking what was going on. Posts asking why. Another about who.

Bakugou growled and turned his phone completely off, pissed off about the entire situation. He needed to have that chat with that half n’ half.

And it better be soon.