The Other Side

Dangling Meat in Front of a Dog

    It's been about a week since our field training ended. It was kind of dull working with Endeavor. The real excitement was when I snuck out to talk with Stain.

    It was quite easy. Each night Endeavor would keep Todoroki behind for "special training." So I just call up Giri to send me to the meeting place after I leave the building. When I was asked where I went I said I did a little private training.

    The first night I snuck out he just wanted to talk about our little meeting the day before. Then everyday till the end of our field training I snuck out to improve my skills.

    " No no no! You've got it wrong. You move like this for a kick from above." He demonstrated again by attacking the guy he had captured to be our dummy. " Now you try again. We are not moving on until you can get ten clean attacks in a row."

    After aerial attacks we moved to quick captures. By the last day we had gotten through most of the notebook he had drawn up to teach me. Of course that was just the hand to hand combat notebook. The blade book has barely been touched.  I have to master the hand to hand book before I can master most of the blade book.

    " Takahashi you zoned out again. Class is over." Todoroki was standing in front of me. " That's the third time since we've gotten back. Is everything alright at home?"

    " You mean besides the new flow of villains that come through our doors each day. Somehow it got out among villains that I fought Stain so more and more people are joining the League each day. They want to be with the group that raised a survivor of a Stain fight." I know Todoroki won't tell anyone about the sudden increase in villains because if he did he'd have to explain how he knew. To do that he'd have to reveal the fight with Stain.

    " That bad? Must be hard living with all of them."

    " Not really. There's a few that I actually enjoy talking with." Dabi, or as I have discovered through a couple of hours of research, a certain classmates brother. " A certain one I did a little research on after I saw his quirk. Found out some interesting facts. I'd tell you but you already have enough on your plate."

    Figured that out when I did research on my classmates. He has it rough. I mean I already knew to an extent. Living with the number two hero can't be all perfect. The story behind your scar though is tragic all on its own.

    " Come on Taka. You can't just dangle meat in front of a dog and not expect it to take it."

    " I just found out a back story that's similar to a classmates. Not that big of a deal." I grabbed my bag and moved to leave.

    " Which classmate?" I know Todoroki loves to make theories. I knew he would do anything to get some information.

    " How about tomorrow you come over and I can show you the research myself. I bet I could get the league to leave for a while. Or at least the new league. I can't have the new league seeing you or their bloodlust might take over. Can't have another Todoroki disappear." His eyes widened.

    " H-how did you know about Touya?"

    " It wasn't that hard to find out. At the hero agency the family photos were never really consistent. Well I did a little digging and figured out some information on your family.

    You see, at the beginning of the year I picked out a few classmates to learn more about. You were on the list but I never really got around to researching you until after the field training.

     What I found out though was tragic. A boy bred to be the best. A perfect combination of fire and ice. Raised to be a hero and nothing else. Whose mother scarred him for the rest of his life. Father wanted nothing to do with anything unless it would improve your chances of becoming number one.

    Shoto Todoroki had three older siblings. Natsou, Fyumi, and dear old Touya. Touya mysteriously disappeared and has been assumed dead. Now the sibling count is down to two.

    If I found out all of that about you imagine what I dug up on this villain. Let me know by ten thirty if you want to come over tomorrow."

    " I'll come but make sure to keep your father away from me."

    " I can't kick him out of his own house but I'll see what I can do with everyone else. See you tomorrow Todoroki." Good my plan is in motion.