obstinate / todobaku

EPILOGUE + NOTICE

"Sure. You got a blowtorch? I kinda used all of my fire to burn that one soul that wouldn't listen to me."

"Oh, that Kurogiri dude? Yeah, he was a pain in the ass. Here."

"Thanks," Shouto says, and begins the long, winding walk down to Death's Door.

~

The hot lava hisses slightly as his sandals make slight footprints in it.
Winds howl threateningly as he clutched his black cloak closed to his shivering body. His blowtorch is ice cold, but the flame at the tip of it — that shows that it's not out of battery yet — is still burning.

He walks over crumbled ash, being careful not to step in the light blue places, where he remembers Katsuki saying they were soaked in poison by Death himself to try to catch people off guard.

And you know, hopefully kill them in the process. Death is a cruel guy.

The ash falls apart underneath his shoes. He jumps back, afraid to die when he was basically one of Death's servants — that would be pathetic and embarrassing.

And a black, molten lava monster rises out of the boiling cauldron of fire.

He uses his blowtorch.

"Man," he mutters, "if only I had my wizarding powers right now."

~

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"Yes?" A scraggly old voice calls out.

"You," he clears his throat, his face turning red at the voice crack, "uh, wanted to see me, sir?"

"Shouto Todoroki, correct?"

"Uh, yes, your greatest majesty, royal Death sir."

The door creaks open on its own, but that's the least of his worries. The entire time he's been down in Hell being an X-TERMINATOR, he's never once actually seen his master's face.

"Father?"

~

"Todoroki, you and that...Bakugou boy have been not doing your jobs lately."

He avoids eye contact. They've been caught, and by his father himself.

"You and Bakugou need to step up your game if you want to stay in Hell. You know, once you've been an X-TERMINATOR, Heaven won't except you anymore."

"Father." Shouto interrupts.

He receives a glare in return. "What?" Endeavor snaps, impatient.

"I would like to request reincarnation."

Endeavor slams his hands onto the charred table. "What?! An X-TERMINATOR becoming a human again!? The mere concept of it makes me laugh."

"But not just to me, to Katsuki as well."

Before his father can cut in, Shouto speaks again. "Think about it. Without us two, more people could get work done instead of being distracted by us. People are intimidated by Katsuki because he was once a pro. We won't do our job properly. With us removed, it would benefit the X-TERMIN'S headquarters."

"Alright." Shouto has to blink a couple times to make sure he isn't dreaming. Why'd he agree so quickly? "But on one condition."

"Which is?"

"Both of you are going to be spread apart in random directions, with only your memories to guide you."

"Why," Shouto's lips quirk up into a smile, "isn't that you, being nice, for once?"

~

2016

"Now," Shouta Aizawa's bored voice calls out, "be fucking quiet, children. I need to take attendance. And then hopefully nap."

The classroom quiets down considerably at the sound of their teacher cursing.

"Tenya Iida."

"Here, sir! At your very honor, I am very grateful for this chance at education. May you teach me with your best intend, sir!"

"Ochako Uraraka."

"Here! Hello! Hi!" A bubbly young teen calls out, a grin decorating her pale face. Her cheeks are dusted a light red.

"Izuku Midoriya."

"Here, sir."

Two heads from opposite sides of the room turn around to look at the man they once knew. And it seems that Izuku knew them, too.

"Ashido Mina."

"Hey."

Three bodies cringed, a certain ice wielding boy grimacing the most.

"Katsuki Bakugou."

"What's up, fuckers."

And Shouto had to smile. "That's so like you," he says, surprising himself.

Bakugou is taken aback, but a lazy smile makes its way to his face. "You bet it is. And you wouldn't have me any other way, would you?"

~

THE END

edit on january 2, 2020: ok thanks for reading all the way through! it's pretty shitty ngl now that i'm finally back two years later, so i'll be editing the story a lot. in the meantime, i made another tdbk story called 'rewind!' the writing is like 2x better in that one haha