Shoto liked to think he had a choice, liked to be reminded by the long list of internship requests he'd received as he walked behind his father. Most of them were probably just because he's the son of Endeavor, he knew that, but it was still nice that he'd been offered a way out. At least, in theory. Because if he was being realistic, he knew there was no way he wouldn't intern under his father, not if Endeavor had any say in the matter. And the man had a lot to say.
"Sit" Endeavor grunted as they entered his office. Shoto simply watched his father walk over to his desk, stubbornly standing up in petty defiance.
"Why are we here? I thought you wanted to train me while I was here, not chat" he sighed, seeing his father pull out a file from his desk. He recognized the photo attached to it, or at least the person depicted in the photo, but it only raised more questions.
"What are your thoughts on Midoriya Izuku?"
"What does that has to do with anything?" Shoto frowned.
"Just answer the question, Shoto" Endeavor hissed. He was serious about this... Maybe he had seen his connection to All Might as well..? It was the only possible explanation.
"He has a strong quirk and a lot of conviction" Shoto said.
"Once he sets his mind on something, he's determined to get it. But he's also kind, caring, and everyone in our class seems to like him"
It was Endeavor's turn to frown as he looked into the file, not giving Todoroki any explanation whatsoever. Shoto was curious now, carefully walking up to his desk and finally sitting down in front of him.
"Has he piqued your interest?" he couldn't help but ask, making his father glance up for a moment.
"Has he ever acted strange to you or your classmates? Have you ever seen something...odd about him?" Endeavor asked, and well, okay, ignoring Shoto completely like usual.
"What do you mean by odd?"
Yes, two could play this game. So unless he wanted them to ask questions back and forth and waste both their time, he better start explaining what this was all about.
"All Might, of all people, has requested me to look into him" Endeavor started, making Shoto's eyes widen.
"Apparently he thinks this boy has something to do with a powerful villain he's been trying to track down. Someone with the power to steal and give quirks to others"
"Such a power doesn't exist" Shoto answered quickly, even though Endeavor wasn't done yet.
"He believes Midoriya has multiple quirks, in a way that's not natural or inherited like yours, and therefore has ties to this villain. He's been trying to collect evidence to back up his claim, but UA isn't allowing him anywhere near him since he caused a certain...accident to happen" his father continued.
"He must be certain if he's willing to put lives on the line just to get a lead on this villain"
"An accident? What accident?" Shoto frowned.
"The USJ accident" Endeavor clarified, making Shoto's veins run cold. All Might had caused the USJ to malfunction..? He'd always thought of All Might as a great hero, as a good person, but now... He'd endangered his students' lives just to prove a point! Shoto vividly remembered Asui shaking in his arms, remembered seeing the burns on his classmate's arms... People nearly drowned! Midoriya almost froze to death in that dome!
So that were his true colours, huh..? He was just like Endeavor after all... No wonder he suddenly wasn't teaching first years anymore. UA couldn't risk their image like that, not for something that still wasn't proven to be true. Realization washed over him as he stared at the file on the desk in front of him. All Might couldn't stalk him anymore, but Shoto could... That's why his father was telling him all this, wasn't it? This was his new assignment...
"This is a villain not even All Might is able to get a lead on! Do you understand what that means, Shoto?" Endeavor asked, standing up to grin at his son.
"You want me to keep an eye on Midoriya, right?" he sighed, not even looking up at the man as he spoke.
"To see if he really has multiple quirks... And then you can interrogate him"
Yes, that had been the plan. To get close to Midoriya, to learn more about him and find out whether he truly was involved with this villain his father called All For One. Shoto had never heard of this so-called supervillain before and thought this would all be a waste of time. Yeah, that's what he thought... Up until he was standing in front of an alleyway, watching Midoriya control three quirks at once as he took out the Hero Killer.
His telekinesis enveloping the body, something else keeping blades attached to the wall and a dark structure extending from his arm into the criminal.
"I see... So you have it now... He'd been l-looking for a...a protege... Who better than a...a h-hero huh?" the villains choked out, blood trailing down his lips as he laughed. It was a deranged laugh, the very definition of nightmare fuel if Todoroki was using that word correctly.
It was clear that Midoriya was panicking. He was shaking and crying, falling to the ground and releasing all of his quirks at once. Shoto cringed at the sudden sounds echoing through the small space, but it didn't seem to affect Midoriya in any way. No, the boy seemed completely out of it... As if he were possessed... Was he possessed? Was this someone else's doing? A villain controlling him? Or was it simply a side effect of using so many different quirks at once? That must take a toll on the human body, right?
"...Midoriya?"
The green head froze up, not moving an inch as Shoto slowly entered the alley and sat down to check Iida's pulse. Their classmate seemed relatively unharmed, which was a good thing. By the looks of it, Midoriya had only acted against the Hero Killer, so that was another relief. Part of Shoto never doubted Midoriya wouldn't hurt his friend, but he had to be sure. Yes, he needed certainty, definitely when the boy in front of him was the complete opposite of what he was normally like.
No, that's not it!
He remembered how Midoriya had laughed at him when he confronted him during the sportsfestival. He wasn't laughing now. That's not it. No, he didn't have a good relationship with All Might, Shoto knew that now. He must be scared... That theory was only confirmed when Midoriya slowly turned around to face him, a look of pure terror in his eyes.
"T-Todoroki-kun..." he whispered, his eyes glancing over Iida, who was still unconscious.
"You... Please don't... D-don't tell anyone, please? I-I... I don't..."
He was crying and shaking again, unable to keep his cool, unable to keep eye contact.
"I-I don't wanna die..." he sobbed.
"I don't... Please... P-please don't, I... He'll kill me. I don't want to die. Please, Todoroki, I don't wanna die!"
Todoroki didn't know how to react to that, didn't move when Midoriya came closer, nor when he pulled him in a hug as he broke down.
"...Who'll kill you?" he asked, against his better judgement. He should be contacting his father right now, telling him All Might was right, that Midoriya really did have multiple quirks, but he was intrigued.
"A-All Might" Midoriya choked out.
"He hates me, Todoroki-kun! He'll... He'll kill me i-if he finds out! Please... Please don't tell anyone what you saw! P-please! I-I'll do anything!"
If anyone had told him All Might would want to kill a child over his quirk a week ago, he would've declared them mad. But he had some new insights now, and no matter how hard he tried to deny it, Shoto knew Midoriya was right. All Might could kill him over this and the fact that that was a rational fear made him feel even more angry with hero culture. Top heroes really can get away with anything, can't they? It made him sick.
He looked up at Stain's body and frowned, quickly letting go of Midoriya. Izuku almost fell over, trying to wipe away his tears as he watched Todoroki move. Shoto stood in front of the fallen blades for a second before picking up one of the biggest ones, his hand wrapped up in a handkerchief so he wouldn't leave any prints. Izuku blinked, wondering when he pulled that out, as the dual haired boy walked over to the villain and plunged the sword in his back- What the hell?!
"You found the Hero Killer attacking Iida and used your quirk to fight him off" Shoto stated, turning to look at Midoriya as he walked back up to him.
"It was a rough fight, but you managed to hold him off. When he went in for an attack, you threw the blade away with your telekinesis while he was still charging at you, allowing the blade to pierce his chest. They call it a freak accident, I believe, but we better call it an occupational hazard if the public asks about it"
"W-what..?" Izuku blinked, confused by Todoorki's actions and words, his brain not catching up with the distress it was in.
"If you want to make it a bit more believable, you should give yourself a few cuts. Preferably in places without too much nerve endings" Shoto said while pointing at the heap of blades against the wall.
"I arrived when it happened, so I'll be backing up your story. I take it that those two have been unconscious the whole time?"
"U-uhm, yeah, pretty much-" Izuku stammered, still wiping away his tears as he stared at Todoroki.
"So we won't have to worry about them, good" Shoto sighed.
"If you want to make those cuts you better do it quick though, heroes are already on their way here. Let me do the talking when they get here, okay?"
Izuku nodded, using his telekinesis to make a knife float towards them, increasing its speed so it grazed his arm, ripping up his uniform. With a small hiss and a flicker of his hand, he sent the blade flying again. This time it cut his thigh, a small stripe of blood appearing from the cut, but not much. With that he sent the blade back to the others, seeing Todoroki was already picking up Native in order to move him.
"You take Iida"
"O-okay" Izuku mumbled, quickly bending down to grab his friend from the ground, dragging him with him out of the alley. His mind was finally starting to catch up when he watched Todoroki talk with the pros as he sat against the wall, his eyes still red and puffy from tears, his breaths still a little shaky as he tried to calm his body down. 'Shoto is covering for me.' Izuku hadn't expected it, didn't think his begging would have an effect. Sure, he hoped it would, but this was better than he could've hoped for.
When Gran Torino showed up, he didn't lecture him like Izuku assumed he would. Maybe because he looked like he'd already learned his lesson the hard way... If he stayed put, none of this would've happened. But then Iida... Izuku didn't want to think about what would've happened if he hadn't shown up when he did. Yet he wouldn't have had this new tingling feeling under his skin either.
Because now he'd gotten a taste of what it felt like, what it meant to truly wield this quirk. He felt satisfied, powerful... And he was scared of what that meant. Scared the urge to take more would arise or the itch around One For All would intensify. What would he do if he accidentally took the quirk of one of his friends? His classmates? A fellow hero? Another villain? Yeah, he really messed up this time...
"We need to talk"
Izuku turned his gaze from Iida, who lay unconscious in his bed, to Todoroki. They were standing in the hallway of the hospital now, checking up on their classmate after the doctors cleared them. The pro heroes who showed up had eventually lectured them on the dangers of what they did that night, but since Izuku seemed so traumatized by the experience, they were a little more mild on him than they were on Iida.
His parents were called to inform them what had happened and that he was alright, but that he should talk to someone about what happened. Izuku knew Gran Torino called All Might as well, but he doubted the man said anything that could discriminate him. If anything, this proved his innocence even more, so maybe something good had come from this mess after all?
"I know" Izuku sighed, casting his gaze to the ground. Anything to avoid looking at Shoto, really.
"Let's go somewhere more private, okay?"