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Shouto Todoroki inhaled deeply after having just delivered a long explanation to Izuku Midoriya concerning the Todoroki family’s tragic history and why he could never use his fire half, especially during the Sports Festival when his father would be watching. He’d barely paused for a breath while speaking and now his throat felt dry. When he’d started high school he’d resolved to be honest with everyone about Endeavor’s sins, but this had been the first time he’d talked with any of his classmates long enough to tell his story.
Izuku gazed at him with wide green eyes and said, “Your quirk is beautiful.”
Shouto choked. Family legend had it that those had been the very first words Enji had spoken to Rei when they’d met. Could this be…a pickup line? To move so fast, Izuku must be an experienced player. Shouto could not speak, stunned and a little flattered.
Izuku stepped closer. (Invading personal space! What a playboy!) With painful earnestness, Izuku said, “I’ve never seen a more rare and unique quirk, and I’ve analyzed thousands. I know it’s not my place, but when I think of such a beautiful ability going unused, it hurts my heart.” His white pupils blazed brilliantly.
Shouto’s throat became even drier. His heart pounded rapidly in his chest. He’d always had fans, but they’d never dared approach him this boldly. He had a reputation for being icy and distant. In middle school he’d been called the ice prince, figuratively and literally. The only love letters left in his locker had been anonymous and always finished with I know you’d never return my feelings. It was definitely true that Shouto had no time for love when he was determined to become a greater hero than his father. He did not know why his palms felt sweaty. It must be shock at his classmate’s forwardness! Yes, that was it!
A blush spread down Shouto’s face to his neck. His cheeks heated—especially his left cheek. To his horror, small fiery sparks ignited on his skin and danced down his red hair. This had never happened before. Shouto had never lost control of his quirk, and certainly not his hated fire side. Only a monster like his father would lose control of his flames.
Without another word, Shouto fled. In the bathroom, he dunked his head in the sink and ran water over his hair until all traces of flames were gone.
Standing alone, Izuku wondered if he’d said the wrong thing. That was usually what it meant when people ran away from you like you’d just dropped a toxic-level fart. He’d been accused of being creepy before when he talked about quirks. He should have gone with his original idea to tell Shouto that everyone was trying their hardest to win.
But really, he’d meant it. The way the sparks had formed around Shouto’s face had been fascinating and beautiful. Izuku’s fingers itched to write down his observations. And maybe to sketch Shouto. That moment when Shouto had threatened to destroy Izuku during their match had been so very artistic. Izuku’s heart pounded…with excitement for the match, of course.
Shouto entered the Sports Festival ring with his hair still damp and renewed determination. No matter what seductions Izuku Midoriya whispered to him, he would not be shaken or tricked.
Izuku shot at Shouto with his fist extended and his lips peeled back in a feral grin. Shouto’s heart flip-flopped. He barely stepped out of the way in time. The wind from the punch blew back his bangs. Izuku came at Shouto again, and Shouto dodged. Their faces passed too close. Shouto shuddered and scrambled backward. His back hit the wall. Sweat soaked his collar and his knees shook.
Shouto had been stuck on the defensive. He needed to attack. He tried to summon a wave of ice, but only a few snowflakes drifted off his hand. He felt hot all over. It was melting his ice. This was all Izuku’s fault, for distracting him right before his match! Stupid Izuku and his stupid flirting!
Green sparks danced down Izuku’s body. He growled, “Are you even trying?” His eyes seemed to be glowing. His hair lifted off his face. He was magnificent. “Come at me with all your strength! I want to see your full power!”
What kind of absolutely shameless proposition was this? How could Izuku flirt so openly on live television? Shouto’s head felt light. Emotion burst from him quite literally.
Entirely against Shouto’s will, flames exploded from his left side. The towering blast of fire stretched high enough to singe a passing airplane. Completely depleted, Shouto fell over on his back.
Shouto’s ears rang. Distantly, Present Mic declared Izuku to be the winner. Shouto barely heard. He was remembering vividly the words of his father, back during the days before his family had imploded: “I knew your mother was the one for me when my fire reacted to her presence. For Todorokis, when our fire ignites involuntarily, it means lust—uh, love. I meant to say love. You’re too young for any other explanation.”
A stretcher arrived to carry Shouto away.
Sitting in his bedroom, Izuku rubbed his first place medal, seeking to memorize every detail. He could still barely believe it. He’d expected that he’d need to break his bones against Shouto Todoroki, but because his opponent had passed out, Izuku had entered the finals mostly uninjured. Currently Izuku was singed all over and had Kacchan’s teeth marks on his elbow from the surprise attack during the award ceremony before the muzzle. It had been totally worth it. Izuku had gotten an All Might hug! He’d won the Sports Festival! As a quirkless child, he never would have imagined such an honor. It left him dazed and unable to entirely believe this medal was real.
Izuku had only one nagging worry tainting his happiness: his extremely unsatisfying match with Shouto Todoroki. Shouto’s fire had been magnificent, but it was clear he couldn’t control it at all. In retrospect, that was to be expected if he’d neglected training that half of his quirk. When Izuku had persuaded Shouto to use his fire, he’d basically sabotaged his opponent.
It felt like poor sportsmanship. Izuku had truly wanted to fight Shouto at his full strength, but he’d achieved the opposite. What if Shouto believed that Izuku had deliberately tricked him into knocking himself out? That would be unbearable. Shouto seemed nice, uh he seemed broody and smoldering…uh, he had a beautiful quirk. Izuku slapped his cheeks to stop thinking about the quirk. That was besides the point. The point was that Izuku wanted to have a good relationship with his classmate.
Izuku decided to put together a massive apology care package. This level of an apology might even require the All Might merchandise.
In his bedroom, Shouto stared at the gift package. It was overflowing with crackers, fruit, and candy. Izuku had also included cooling packs and detailed notes advising Shouto on how to best use his quirk. The cookies had been handmade. Finally, the basket had been topped by an ultra rare first edition All Might figurine. Shouto knew that Izuku would not lightly part with rare merchandise belonging to his beloved secret father.
Only one occasion would require such an expensive gift: a formal courtship. Shouto had also heard stories about how Enji had courted Rei with elaborate presents to demonstrate his status and providing abilities. They were far too young to think about marriage, but Izuku was clearly asking Shouto out.
Shouto had already decided that he wouldn’t date during high school in order to focus on his hero career. He ought to send back a polite rejection. He did not know why he kept staring at the basket, not moving. His cheeks heated. Fire crept off Shouto’s collar and ignited the drapes.
The sprinkler system went off, dousing Shouto’s room. Shouto threw himself on top of the gift basket to protect it. From the lower floor, Fuyumi shouted, “I’ll call our contractor.” The Todorokis has a private housing repair company in their exclusive service. They burned down the house on a regular basis.
Water dripped down Shouto’s hair as he tried to salvage his belongings. Clearly Shouto was going to have to date Izuku, if only to get his flammability situation under control. That made a great excuse reason.
The next day, Shouto walked over to Izuku’s desk and said, “I accept.”
Izuku looked up, dropping his pencil in surprise. “You’re recovered already? That’s great! I mean, thank you.” It was a relief that Shouto had accepted Izuku’s apology. Izuku couldn’t tell if his classmate still harbored any anger. Shouto had a flawless poker face.
Shouto pulled out his phone. “Here’s my phone number.”
“Oh! Yes!” Izuku took out his phone, too. Shouto wanted to be friends! That meant Izuku had definitely been forgiven. After so long without friends, Izuku always felt a thrill in his chest whenever he made a new one.
Shouto said, “I would like to take you to a cake café this afternoon. I’m inviting you, so it’s my treat. Fuyumi made it clear to me that I should pay if I take you somewhere expensive. Our family has a lot of money. The cakes are supposed to be very good but pricey.”
“You don’t have to, I can pay my own way.”
“You already gave me a generous gift. I’m repaying you.”
There was no need for Shouto to repay an apology gift, but Izuku thought it would be rude to protest further. “Then I’d be happy to go with you, Todoroki.”
“You may call me Shouto.” Shouto paused. “Unless that is too forward. Fuyumi said that we should move to a first name basis after—” he glanced at the notes scribbled in pen on his arm. “Oh no, I was too soon.”
“No, no! It’s fine! You can call me Izuku, too.” Izuku was way too new to friendship to know when people usually moved to first name basis, but he was happy to get closer to his friends.
“Izuku.” Shouto smiled. It was like watching the sun come out from behind a cloud. He bowed. “Please take care of me from now on.”
“M-my pleasure,” Izuku stammered. “Uh, I mean, please…take care of me?”
Shouto stared at Izuku as if trying to figure out what to say. The silence stretched on a little too long. Izuku nearly babbled something inane about the weather. But before he could embarrass himself like that, Shouto turned on his heel and marched away.
Back at his desk, Shouto glanced at the dating cheat sheet that he’d written on his arm, based on Fuyumi’s instructions. Damn it! He’d forgotten to pay Izuku a compliment! Hopefully he could think of a good one during their first date. It seemed much too forward to compliment Izuku on his fighting prowess, even if Izuku had already been very aggressive about Shouto’s quirk. Shouto simply didn’t have the temperament to be equally bold at flirting. Perhaps complimenting Izuku on his Sports Festival win would be safe? Or his new All Might T-shirt? Yes, perfect! Izuku clearly had a much better relationship with his heroic father than Shouto did. Perhaps after a dozen dates it would be acceptable to move on to complimenting Izuku’s emerald pools for eyes.
Ah, right, Shouto still needed to obtain All Might’s blessing for dating his son. He’d known he was forgetting something. Perhaps he’d do that tomorrow. Today, he had a date. His first date! Shouto barely kept from exploding into flames again.
The cake date had gone very, very well. Izuku babbled a lot about quirks when he was high on sugar. It was adorable. Shouto glided home, quite literally since his feet automatically produced ice when he felt happy.
As soon as Shouto saw his father sitting on the living room sofa, his good mood faded. He turned around.
Alas, Enji moved faster, jumping between Shouto and the door. “Shouto, I found out from the repair bill that you set your bedroom on fire.”
Shouto grunted and hoped this would be over soon. Since when did his father care? Between training and frequent fights, the Todorokis rebuilt their house on a yearly basis. Endeavor himself was the biggest culprit so the old man had no right to criticize.
Enji cleared his throat. He fiddled with his collar nervously. “I hope that you used protection.”
Did his father mean the new fire retardant drapes? Shouto said, “Yeah, it was expensive.”
Enji’s chest puffed out. “Not as expensive as the costs of not taking precautions, young one.” He actually wagged his finger. “I would like to meet your date.”
“I’ll meet you in hell first!” Shouto shouted reflexively. “How did you even find out about Iz—that?”
Enji crossed and uncrossed his arms. He wet his lips. In a painfully serious voice, he said, “Son, I think you’re finally old enough. When a Todoroki loves someone so much that they set the bedroom on fire—”
Oh, god. It couldn’t be possible. But it was. Enji Todoroki was attempting to give a sex talk. As if Fuyumi hadn’t already done that years ago. This mortification could not be borne. Shouto ran out of the room screaming, “I hate you!”
Alone, Enji said, “I think that was a good talk.”
As All Might packed up after the day’s lecture, young Todoroki approached the podium. “May I have a word alone?”
All Might smiled at his student. “Of course. Would you follow me to my office?” He felt curious. The Todoroki boy was so reticent that he would only make this request for an important reason.
Once the door was closed, Shouto asked, “Has Izuku already told you?”
Earlier that day, young Midoriya had excitedly told All Might about how he’d made a new friend. All Might said, “Yes, he was very happy, and he enjoyed the cake café.”
“What a relief. You don’t have any objections?”
All Might assumed this was about Izuku’s dieting plan. “No, not at all, young Midoriya deserves a break from his training regime.”
Shouto glanced at something written on his wrist. “Please forgive me, I was too late to obtain your permission first…even so, I need to tell you something important.” Shouto squared his shoulders and met All Might’s eyes. “I would never consider a quirk marriage.”
“Err…” All Might would hope not, since those were on legally and morally shaky ground.
Shouto continued, “Of course it wouldn’t be biologically possible, but I still wanted to assure you that I don’t intend to produce children until I hit upon one with a particular quirk. Just in case you’d heard the rumors about my father.”
“What rumors?” All Might asked, distracted from his confusion by this important tidbit.
Shouto proceeded to pour out a truly depressing story about his abusive childhood, finishing with, “…which is why I never used my fire side until Izuku told me it was beautiful.” He blushed.
“I’m so sorry, young Todoroki,” All Might gasped, his head spinning from so many revelations.
Shouto continued, “I also want to be clear that I have no prejudice against love children.”
“Pardon?” All Might asked, confused by the shift in topic.
Shouto said, “I believe my own father has a secret love child.”
“Oh dear,” All Might said, appalled at yet more scandals for the number two hero.
Shouto said, “I initially believed there was a racoon sneaking into our estate and raiding our trash can, but Fuyumi was quite insistent that he was my older brother. She froze him to stop him from strangling me—”
“Say what now?”
“—and I took a picture. See?” Shouto held up his phone. It contained an image of a man with a horribly scarred face and stiches under his eyes. “In my defense, he’s very racoon-like. I’m still not entirely certain he doesn’t have a racoon mutation. That can’t be his quirk because he tried to set me on fire.”
“He what?”
“Oh, he hasn’t attacked me ever since Fuyumi threatened to stop leaving out leftovers for him.”
“To be clear, this suspected racoon and/or pyromaniac murderer is your father’s son, but not your mother’s?” All Might asked weakly. The Todoroki family situation was even more urgent than he’d feared. If Shouto’s life was in danger, then he needed to be removed from home at once.
Shouto nodded. “I had a legitimate older brother around the same age but he burned alive in a training accident. Dad used to overwork Touya just like me.”
All Might felt the need to put his head in his hands and hyperventilate. This was all such a grave shock. Now All Might completely understood why young Todoroki had taken him aside. This was a cry for help. The poor boy was probably too traumatized to clearly express himself. All Might resolved to speak to Nezu at once. “Young Todoroki, I promise I’ll handle your father.”
“He wants biological grandkids. I don’t think there’s any chance of getting his approval,” Shouto said.
All Might assumed Shouto meant his father’s approval to leave home. Also, how appalling that Endeavor was already looking into arranged marriages for his teenage son. “That won’t be a concern. I’ll look after you. You can live at Might Tower if Nezu can’t find a place at school for you to stay. From now on, please think of me like your father.”
Shouto burst into tears. “I always wanted a father who wasn’t Endeavor!”
All Might hugged the boy to comfort him. It took him a moment to realize that Shouto seemed to be crying tears of joy rather than crying about his horrific childhood.
Shouto laughed through his tears. “My dad will be so upset about me being adopted by All Might.” He rocked back and forth, cackling with glee.
Maybe the boy was hysterical with terror over his father’s wrath. All Might rubbed Shouto’s back soothingly and occasionally dropped a “There there, my boy.” After Shouto left, All Might immediately headed to Nezu’s office to discuss arrangements to relocate Shouto, help the Todoroki family, and investigate this long-lost older son.
Shouto thought that meeting had gone very well. He’d obtained All Might’s approval to date his son. All Might had offered to become Shouto’s father-in-law, which was jumping the gun but Shouto was happy for any excuse to piss Endeavor off. Nezu had invited Shouto to stay at U.A. from now on. Shouto had gladly accepted because he couldn’t possibly return home after that embarrassing sex talk. Child abuse was one thing, but Shouto drew the line at The Talk. Endeavor had been successfully blackmailed into family counseling and therapy. Finally, All Might had spoken to Fuyumi, then come to drag away the racoon-faced man. Fuyumi said it was better if All Might forced their big brother into rehab before he ended up in jail.
Even though Izuku didn’t have much experience with friendship, he could tell that Shouto was an exceptionally thoughtful friend. Shouto kept asking Izuku out to the latest hot restaurants and insisting on paying. Somehow, Shouto had tracked down an All Might tenth anniversary poster as a gift. Somehow, Shouto had obtained tickets to visit a new museum about dawn of the age of quirks vigilantes even though the museum hadn’t opened to the public yet. The tickets came with a behind the scenes tour and an exclusive meeting with Makoto Tsukauchi, the researcher who’d worked on the exhibits. Although he also came from a well-off family, when Izuku had glimpsed the price on the back of the tickets, he’d felt faint.
Shouto kept complimenting Izuku’s T-shirts on a daily basis, so Izuku had gotten his friend an All Might T-shirt. Shouto had seemed very happy at the chance to annoy his father, but that didn’t feel remotely equivalent in thoughtfulness to all of Shouto’s gifts. Clearly Izuku needed to come up with something special for his dear friend.
After being on a wait list for months, Izuku had finally obtained reservations at a highly exclusive soba restaurant. Unfortunately, the reservations took place during the internships. Izuku was prepared to beg Gran Torino on his hands and knees to ensure he could take a break for that particular evening.
On the train, Izuku asked Shouto nervously, “Do you think you’ll have time to get away during your internship? I’d like to hang out.” He tried to make this sound casual. If not, then he’d find a way to reschedule his reservation. Somehow. Even if he had to (sob) sell a piece of All Might merch to bribe someone to swap.
Shouto said, “Definitely. I’ll text you every day. We should call at least twice a week.”
Izuku’s cheeks flushed. It felt nice to be so valued by his friends. “Great! I have a special surprise for you—” The conductor announced his station. “I have to go. I’ll text you the details later.”
On patrol, Shouto’s phone buzzed. He looked down to see a text from Izuku: only a location. Could this be the promised date? After all, Izuku had said it would be a surprise. Shouto immediately headed to the set of coordinates.
Izuku, Tenya, and an unknown hero lay sprawled about an alleyway in various states of injury. Was this a group date? The man with a sword turned around, and Shouto recognized the noseless face of the Hero Killer. Ah-ha! Izuku must have brought Shouto here to show off his martial arts prowess. Enji had used to take Rei out to watch him defeat villains all the time during their courtship.
Cupping his hands to his mouth, Shouto shouted, “You can do it, Izuku! Pulverize him!”
Stain scowled. “Do you intend to assist your friend?”
Shouto said, “He’s got this. I’m here to cheer him on.” The one time Rei had iced a villain before Enji got there, he’d been annoyed, so Shouto knew it would be rude to interfere without permission. Shouto pulled out his phone and started recording Izuku’s epic battle. It was important to preserve memories of their dates. Rei had prepared a PowerPoint presentation for her marriage reception.
“You’re paralyzed with fear.” Stain shook his head. “You’re no true hero. I will finish you off next.” He turned away.
Weakly, from his position on the ground, Izuku said, “Actually, I was kinda hoping for help?”
Ah, so Izuku wanted a team-up fight. Shouto froze Stain from behind. Caught off-guard, the Hero Killer went down like a stone.
Turning to Izuku, Shouto cried, “You’re bleeding!” He should have noticed sooner. He tried to rip off part of his costume for bandages and call an ambulance at the same time. The other two were injured as well, but boyfriends took top priority.
While fumbling with his phone, Shouto failed to notice that he’d accidentally sent the video of himself defeating the Hero Killer to his entire contacts list. It was on the internet in an hour. The video went viral ten seconds later.
The Hosu Chief of Police demanded the expulsion of all the students who’d fought the Hero Killer. Nezu had a team of lawyers at the police station within the hour to explain why the police were going to publicly praise the students who had done their job for them, or else. The police chief pointed out that Tenya had been hunting down the Hero Killer for revenge. Native, grateful for the rescue, insisted that he’d heard no such thing and Tenya had merely been picking up an order of takeout when he’d spotted Stain threatening Native. Nezu suggested that if the police wanted to play hardball then he would launch an investigation into police incompetence concerning the Hero Killer. The subject was dropped.
Shouto’s popularity exploded. The media called him the One Hit Villain Destroyer. His mailbox was stuffed with fan mail. Izuku took Shouto out to the most expensive soba restaurant in Japan. Shouto assumed they were celebrating.
Izuku’s “surprise” must have been arranging for Shouto to get credit for defeating the Hero Killer. It was an amazing gift, far beyond the value of Shouto’s measly offerings so far. Clearly Shouto needed to up his game as a boyfriend.
For several weeks, Izuku had been compulsively sketching Shouto as he’d looked when he’d frozen the Hero Killer. The notebook margins had detailed notes praising how quickly Shouto had summoned his ice with suggestions on new moves. Izuku hadn’t analyzed another quirk besides Half Hot, Half Cold in weeks. He was starting to realize that he might be obsessed, but he didn’t know how to make it stop. Trying to force himself to look at other quirks online just made him feel vaguely dirty and guilty.
When Izuku’s father called for their usual weekly chat, Izuku welcomed the distraction. He answered his phone. “Hi, Dad!”
“It took you two more rings than usual,” Hisashi replied. “Is something wrong, ducky?”
Izuku sighed. His father was creepily perceptive as usual. “Ugh, it’s no big deal.” On second thought, maybe he could use some advice. “There’s this super-cool boy at school. He’s smart, handsome, brave, kind…basically perfect. And he has an amazing quirk.”
“Aw, you must want to steal that quirk so much. My poor ducky. Hmm, give me his name and address, and I’ll see what I can do.”
“What are you going on about, Dad? I’ve just been analyzing the quirk a lot. Like, a lot. Particularly lately, but I’ve been thinking about his quirk ever since our first fight. We got off to a rocky start when he threatened to destroy me in the Sports Festival, but that just made me want to befriend him even more. At the same time, I also felt a craving to defeat him and his beautiful quirk.”
“Oh, so you need help disposing of the body?”
“Knock it off, Dad. It was a match. You’re too overprotective.” Izuku sighed in exasperation, but it turned into a longing sigh as he remembered that brief yet wonderful battle. “I get this strange itching every time I see him fight. It’s gotten worse since I watched him defeat an extremely strong opponent. I can’t stop drawing pictures of him—I mean the quirk—both, really. I think this feeling means that I really want to befriend him.” Izuku felt a little confused because he was already friends with Shouto so he didn’t know where this unfulfilled yearning came from.
Hisashi chuckled. “Son, that’s my blood in you. Murder is the ultimate form of love in our family! You should have seen how many times my precious baby brother tried to kill me. Ah, sometimes you remind me so much of him. If you stab this kid a few times, maybe you’ll get it out of your system. My little brother never got tired of his murder attempts, but that’s because we were very close. Yoichi basically worshiped the ground I walked on. Oh, how I miss the adorable sensation of his knife pressed against my spine. Anyway, let me know if you’d rather put this boy in a shallow grave or a bank vault, then I’ll make preparations.”
Now Izuku remembered why he didn’t talk to his dad about stuff like this. He should have asked his mom for advice instead. His father was good for quirk analysis and money but not much else. Izuku cleared his throat. “Enough about me, how was your day?” As usual, it was easy to get his father to talk about himself.
After hanging up the phone, Izuku went downstairs. “Mom, can I ask you a question?”
Inko, stirring a pot of curry, turned around. “Of course, sweetie. What is it?”
Izuku poured out his story in a jumbled way with a bit less emphasis on quirks so he didn’t sound as weird.
Inko smiled. “It sounds like you have a crush on this boy.”
Heat rushed to Izuku’s face. “What? No, that’s not it. I just like his quirk, and his personality, and his face, and everything about him…” Izuku’s voice trailed off. “Oh, no. I have a crush on Shouto Todoroki. What if this ruins our friendship? What if he’d be disgusted if he knew? What if my gushing over his quirk has been creepy this whole time and I just didn’t notice? I think I need to sit down.” Izuku was having trouble breathing.
Inko guided Izuku to the dining room and pulled out a chair. “Or maybe he’d be happy. You’re a wonderful boy. I’m sure your friend would be honored by your feelings whether he returns them or not. Maybe you should tell him.”
Or maybe Izuku should bury this down a memory hole and try (miserably failing) to never think about it again.
After All for One finished talking to his son, something nagged in the back of his mind. It kept bugging him as he ate dinner alone and while he prepared for bed.
A toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, All for One muttered, “Izuku meant platonic affection, right? It had better be platonic! My baby is far too young and innocent for crushes!” The toothbrush clattered on the counter. All for One shouted, “Kurogiri, get me a newspaper. Not a recent one—one from the U.A. Sports Festival.”
In an emotionless voice, Kurogiri read the article out loud to the blind villain. He included detailed descriptions of the pictures. Afterward, All for One gripped the arms of his chair and hissed, “Sweet villainy, the boy in second place at the Sports Festival has spikey hair!”
“Does that mean something, master?” Kurogiri asked.
Not listening, All for One growled, “Supposedly they had the most exciting battle.”
“Obviously, because it was the final match,” Kurogiri said.
All for One’s head lolled backward as he entered a PTSD flashback concerning a certain spikey-haired brother thief busting into the vault and making off with his precious little brother. Oh, the horror of returning home and finding his most valuable treasure gone! The terrible days searching with all his might for his only family member! Only for All for One’s devotion to be rewarded by the horrific sight of Yoichi kissing that stupid spikey-haired bastard on the battlefield while sticking up his middle finger at his loving older brother.
“Master?” Kurogiri asked worriedly.
Jumping to his feet, All for One screamed, “Katsuki Bakugo is a family-stealing menace! The Forest Training Camp attack has a new top priority. You must capture the Bakugo brat and bring him to me. We need to have a little shovel talk. In fact, forget the talk. Just dig me a hole to bury him alive.”
Despite Shouto’s best efforts, he could only think of boring dates like an All Might theme park and the restaurant with the best katsudon in the city. Then Izuku invited Shouto on the most exciting date ever: rescuing Katsuki Bakugo from the League of Villains at Kamino Ward.
Given Izuku’s feral nature, Shouto should have guessed that fighting villains together would be the ideal date for his boyfriend. However, Shouto was a little surprised to learn that this would be a group date. Apparently Tenya was dating both Momo Yaoyorozu and Eijiro Kirishima? Shouto was deeply impressed at his friend’s game, to have secured a triad with two such talented people.
Since Izuku had given Shouto credit for the Hero Killer Incident, Shouto was determined to let Izuku have all the fame this time. But Shouto found his legs unable to move as the five hero students crouched behind a wall, shivering from the horrible presence of All for One.
Yet even despite the insane pressure radiating across the battlefield, Izuku started to stand up.
Shouto’s heart nearly burst with an admiration indistinguishable from love. He grabbed Izuku’s wrist.
“I have to save Kacchan. Don’t try to stop me—” Izuku started to say.
“I’m not going to stop you. This is for good luck.” Shouto pulled Izuku toward him. Izuku’s eyes went wide, and his lips parted slightly. Shouto moved slowly, giving his boyfriend time to draw back, but instead Izuku leaned into the kiss.
When their lips met, Shouto completely forgot about the deadly battle around him. It took all of Shouto’s mind to prevent the itching heat under his skin from erupting. He didn’t know what to do with his hands. Slowly, Shouto placed one hand on Izuku’s hair, so soft. He knew he ought to pull away. But it seemed like a better idea to kiss Izuku some more.
All for One whirled around and screamed, “What the hell are you doing to my s—?”
The distracted villain failed to react in time when All Might punched him to the ground.
An eerie silence fell across Kamino as everyone, hero and villain alike, stared, unable to believe the fight had ended so quickly.
Shouto broke the silence first by pointing at Izuku and shouting, “He deserves all the credit for distracting All for One!”
Izuku fussed with his hair for hours. For his first date with Shouto, he had to look perfect. But the humidity had made his locks even more curly than usual. He finally used a hairclip to fasten it back. Then Izuku put on a red bowtie to match his brown suit jacket.
At the knock on his dorm door, Izuku jumped a foot in the air. “Coming!” He ran over and opened the door.
Shouto looked suave in a white suit with a blue undershirt. He held a bouquet of roses. “For you.”
“They’re lovely! Flower vase, where’s a flower vase?” Izuku looked around the room, finding an All Might water bottle that would serve. “Oh! I got something for you, too.” He presented a round box of hard candies.
There was a brief scramble as Shouto tried to hold the door for Izuku and Izuku tried to hold the door for Shouto. They ended up pressed close to each other.
“Sorry, I think my hair clip is stuck on your collar.” Izuku ripped it loose, heedless of the pain. He laughed nervously. “Sorry, so sorry. We can’t be late for the dinner reservation, not on such an important day.”
Shouto said, “That’s right, it’s our six month anniversary.”
At the exact same time, Izuku said, “It’s our first date.”
They stared at each other. In a moment of blunt awkwardness that he would vividly regret later, Izuku blurted out, “Wait, you thought we were dating since the Sports Festival? Is that what all the gifts were about?”
Shouto flushed red, then white. He turned around and fled the dorms.
Izuku rang the doorbell of the Todoroki mansion. Fuyumi opened it. From the concerned look on her face, he guessed that Shouto had already told her everything. She wrung her hands. “I’m sorry, I blame myself. I don’t think I gave Shouto very good love advice.”
“You have nothing to apologize for,” Izuku insisted. “How is Shouto? Please, can I talk to him?”
Fuyumi hesitated. “If you’re here to ask to stay friends, then I would request that you give him a little more time to lick his emotional wounds. He’s very humiliated. He’ll be able to go back to being your friend if you give him some space first.”
“That’s not what I want,” Izuku said forcefully.
Fuyumi smiled. “Ah, I see. Please, come in.”
Izuku climbed the stairs and knocked on Shouto’s door. “Please, can we talk? I didn’t mean to ruin our date.”
In a muffled voice, Shouto muttered, “You didn’t ruin it. It’s my fault. I was stupid.”
“You weren’t! I definitely should have noticed that time you got me a heart-shaped box of chocolates.” Izuku cringed to remember how he’d assumed it had been from a discount bin. “Or that time you told me I had beautiful emerald eyes.” Yes, in retrospect that had been a less than subtle clue. “I’m every bit as new to dating as you are. That’s why I missed all of your signs. I’m sorry.”
Shouto moaned, “I have no choice but to change my name, flee Japan, and abandon heroism to become a Buddhist monk.”
Izuku said, “Really? Because I’d rather you come out of your room and kiss me again.”
Shouto burned down his bedroom door, but luckily Fuyumi had their contractor on speed dial.
OMAKE TIME!
Omake: Bakugo Reacts to the Hero Killer Video
Katsuki: While I was getting new jeans, you were defeating the Hero Killer? Did you send me this video to brag, Half and Half bastard?
Shouto: No, that was an accidental text. I sent you the picture of my victory soba as a brag.
Katsuki: Next time you do something like that, I won’t be left out.
Shouto: Are you asking me out on a date? Sorry, I already have Izuku. Huh, I think he just spontaneously combusted from rage.
#
Omake: The First to Know
Izuku: Oh wise, great, witty, handsome mentor…
Gran Torino: What do you want?
Izuku: I need an evening off to visit Truffle Soba House with a friend.
Gran Torino: The most expensive soba restaurant in Japan? How did a brat like you get a reservation there?
Izuku: (Blushing) It’s his favorite food.
Gran Torino: Ah, a “friend,” got it. Have fun, kid.
Later:
Izuku: Why didn’t you tell me that I was dating Shouto Todoroki?
Gran Torino: Ooo, great pick, All for One won’t easily take the son of the number two hero hostage.
#
Omake: Meanwhile at the Rehab Center
Dabi: Who tattled to All Might about me?
Fuyumi: Shouto is dating All Might’s lovechild. Crazy coincidence, I know.
Dabi: WHAT?! Okay, this is incentive to let my baby brother live. I’ve gotta see Endeawhore’s suffering when All Might becomes his in-law.
#
Omake: All for One Explaining to Kurogiri that Izuku is dating Katsuki Bakugo
#
Omake: The Truth About Kamino
All for One: Time to fight All Might. Pay no attention to my son hiding behind that flimsy wall.
Shouto and Izuku kiss.
All for One: Hey! How dare the new Second straighten his hair to trick me! Sweet villainy, candy cane Second is into aggressive PDA just like the original. I’m so frozen with horror that I can’t tear my nonexistent eyes away. Aargh ow my face!
#This is the AU where All for One will only refer to Shouto as “Straight-Haired Second” #From how he says it, you’d think he’s more salty about the straight hair than dating his son #Actually there was a tiny window of opportunity when Shouto could have gotten All for One’s approval just for not being a Bakugo #But that was ruined when Shouto accidentally caused All for One to lose at Kamino
#
Omake: The Family Photo Album
Shouto: Here’s a picture of my parents’ wedding. My mother arranged for a villain to show up so my father could defeat him as a present.
Izuku: This explains so much about what you think is normal dating…
Shouto: You haven’t even seen her PowerPoint yet.
#
Omake: Inko Shimura
Inko: How is it going with the boy you like?
Izuku: It turns out I’ve been dating Shouto for six months and I never noticed.
Inko: Haha, sometimes you remind me so much of your father. He didn’t realize we were dating until after I got pregnant, and then he started moaning nonsense about how his revenge plan on someone named Nana Shimura was ruined.
#
Omake: Post Dad for One Reveal
Izuku: Unfortunately, it turns out that All for One is my biological father.
Shouto: Ugh, I’m so sorry for helping you humiliate him at Kamino’s Ward. That was such a lousy gift.
Izuku: No need to be sorry.
Shouto: Because clearly you would have preferred him dead! I should have distracted All Might while you slit your unconscious father’s throat.
Izuku: You. You get me.
#
Omake: THE MANGA SPOILERS OMAKE, SKIP IF YOU DO NOT WANT MANGA SPOILERS FOR CHAPTER 364
All for One: Muhahaha! I’ve regenerated my body, and the world’s greatest villain is back at full power.
Endeavor: Oh no! I threw my most powerful attack at him and it just made him stronger. Japan is doomed!
All for One: Before I kill you, I’m going to explain exactly why your son isn’t good enough for my son.
Endeavor: Ah-ha, I always knew that Touya and Tomura fought like an old married couple.
All for One: Huh? No, wrong kid! I’m talking about your youngest son.
Endeavor: Who is Shouto dating? He still won’t tell me. I have half a dozen theories of course, like any Todoroki.
All for One: Izuku Midoriya, the brilliant genius who makes the rest of his class look like pathetic failures.
Endeavor: The feral green ball of rage who tried to rip out your throat with his teeth?
All for One: That’s how my son shows his love. We’re a very murderous family. You should see the scars my little brother gave me.
Endeavor: Have you considered family counseling? Nezu blackmailed me into it, but I’ve found it very helpful. Now even though my son wants to commit patricide, he doesn’t actually try to kill me. If you work hard, you too might be able to achieve this lofty parenting milestone.
All for One: Resisting…urge…to…murder…before I’m done with my monologue.
Endeavor: Wait, isn’t All Might the father of Midoriya? Oh. OH! Mr. Perfect had an affair with his archnemesis, what a twist. How did two men have a child? Don’t tell me, I want to develop the conspiracy theory on my own.
All for One: Aargh! (Loses control of rewind in his rage and turns into a baby.)
Endeavor: (Staring at Infant for One) Huh, I have a strange feeling that went way better for me than canon would have. Can someone else arrest this baby? My lawyer and my psychiatrist have both forbidden me to commit any more child abuse.