Pins and Needles | Todoroki Shoto | S/H

A Peculiar Face, the Expression of a Paradox

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     "Akaguro Chizome?"  The man asks. 
     "Yes."  (Y/N) nods her head, making the man blink a few times. 
     "Alright..."  He begins leading her down padded white hallways, outlining the rules. 
     (Y/N) settles a bit uncomfortably in the seat.  She looks up at the man and gives him a polite bow.  He probably didn't deserve it, but it was her instinct. 
     "Hello, sir."  She says simply. 
     "Hello."  She draws in a deep breath.  She wasn't really sure what she had wanted to say exactly, she just had a lot of questions. 
     "You don't get many visitors, do you?"  She asks softly. 
     "Not really." 
     "I'm sorry about that."  She tells, glancing over.  His stare was intense, yet bored.  "That's harsh." 
     "Why are you here?"  He questions.  She takes in a deep breath. 
     "There're some things I don't understand about you, Akaguro-san."  She pauses for a moment, but he doesn't speak.  "One thing I really wanted to ask was how your mental state affected your quirk.  When you kept people down, did you have to actively fight them trying to get up or was it fruitless once they were down?" 
     "Why do you care?  Are you doing a report or something?"  She shakes her head quickly. 
     "No.  Your quirk has similarities to mine, and I'm currently trying to understand some inconsistencies I've noticed.  There're some other things I'm curious about, too, so I figured it didn't hurt to ask." 
     Stain thinks for a moment.  He still looked uninterested, and (Y/N) knew he probably was, but at least he was considering the question. 
     "I didn't have to think about keeping them down."  He says.  "But whenever I was careless, it didn't seem to hold as long.  They always stayed paralyzed the longest when I was angry.  Take that with a grain of salt, I usually killed them before I could see when they got up."  She nods slowly. 
     "Okay.  That's interesting.  Um, about your ideology..."  She hesitates to breathe in.  "Well, I only heard about this second-hand.  However, uh, supposedly, after some of my classmates and I fought you, a boy and I were both picked up by the monsters known as Nomu."  She bites her lip.  "My classmate told me later that you went out of your way to rescue him and I, so much so that you even prevented me from hitting the ground and getting a concussion when I was unconscious.  I was just... curious about that." 
     Stain didn't even hesitate this time, only bobbed his head.  "You and that boy were true heroes.  That's what this world needs.  Had it been one of the other two, I wouldn't have cared."  She nods slowly.  He was a villain, and she knew that, but it was still unsettling to hear someone so plainly say they would've allowed another to die.  Especially since one was Shoto. 
     "You might be happy to hear that your message has spread quite far.  There's talk of hero reforms and stricter policies.  It's not exactly what you seemed to be after but it is definitely getting better.  Though I don't think murder was a good route to take.  Protests have worked just fine in the past." 
     "I saw it fit."  Stain states.  He expected her to argue, to try to plead with how he was wrong.  Instead, she only nodded.
     "I guess we differ there then.  What separated us two from the others?  And if you don't mind me asking, why is All Might the singular 'true hero'?" 
     "You and that boy sacrificed yourselves.  That is what set you apart.  As for All Might, he has worked through countless hardships to create a society that felt comfortable.  It's not quite the same self-sacrifice but it is a type.  There have been others, but they're simple copies and they don't deserve the same praise." 
     "I see."  She murmurs.  "I assume then that you disagree greatly with Shigaraki-san?  From what I know, he wishes to kill All Might and the boy you saved alongside me." 
     "I despise that man." 
     "So, by your views, do you believe people can be trained to be heroes or do you think they simply have to be born that way?" 
     "There's a lot of fear that needs to be dismissed to be a hero.  Fear of life, fear of pain... fear of death.  I'm sure there's some way you could train someone to be a hero.  I've never seen it, though." 
     "I'll be honest, I'm scared that I understand you, Akaguro-san.  I'm scared that I also understand Shigaraki-san's motivations.  I hate to say that you deserve praise, but the fact that you recognize your actions are morally wrong is impressive.  Granted, you make up for that by still actively choosing to do it. 
     "I find your thought process interesting.  Even more so Shigaraki-san.  Because of that, I have to ask: despite your reasons, and despite how logical you were, why?  I understand that you view it as taking a couple of lives to save hundreds, but really, you mostly slowed petty crime.  Murder rates haven't dropped much in any place you attacked, barely enough to cover what you did.  These are people whose jobs are to save lives.  Did you ever worry that your work would be in vain?  Did you ever wonder if these killings would prevent them from saving lives later on?" 
     Despite the somewhat aggressive words, (Y/N) kept a passive tone.  Anyone else and Stain would've assumed this was some kind of interview or accusation.  She was good at portraying that she was simply curious. 
     "I did think about those things, actually.  I did wonder if my killings would lead to nothing, but I simply took the chance.  I always made sure my targets were people who didn't have the best track record.  They usually gave a majority of their work to others and they themselves were easily replaceable."  She nods slowly. 
     "Interesting.  That's good to hear."  She glances down at her phone, noting the time.  "I should be going.  U.A. is going to close soon."  (Y/N) stands up, again bowing to him.  "Thank you, Akaguro-san.  I appreciate you trusting me with your answers.  I think it'll be very helpful for me and my training, and hopefully, I can continue to be the hero you see me as.  It's a noble one.  I'll try to remember to visit again if you'd like." 
     "That's fine." 
     "Alright then.  Goodbye, sir."
     "Goodbye."