"No man capable of greater evil than the one who thinks himself in the right. No purpose more evil than the higher purpose." - Joe Abercrombie
I.
It was the flower that made her heart race for the first time with him. She had only ever told him once, on some chaperoned walk they had taken, but somehow he had remembered. The expression on his face was that of unfamiliarity; he didn't do this often, if at all. Her suspicions were confirmed.
"Well?" he pressed, his confidence faltering as Rei continued to stare.
"Enji, it's perfect." Rei looked into his turquoise eyes and searched for something, anything to turn her away. She found nothing but a lopsided grin. "Did you ask Hana? I swear she has the biggest mouth in all of Shiketsu."
Enji shook his head. "No. I don't speak to her. Just you."
Rei blushed slightly, glancing away. When she looked to the side, she saw two other adults. Escorts. They could never just be alone. She sighed. "Can we do something besides walking around, today?"
A spark lit in his eyes. "Fine, but you know I can't stay long. It was why walks worked so well." Tucking the flower into her hair, he stepped back and motioned for her lead the way.
A touch of heat crossed her scalp as his fingers brushed there. Rei groaned playfully and surrendered. "Okay, okay. A walk it is. But I'm leading." She took off down the path, and Enji followed.
The two walked through the cherry blossoms, and Rei talked while Enji listened. Deciding to stop by a fountain, they both took a seat on the side, their escorts a step away.
"Do I have to call you Endeavor in public?" Rei teased, nudging his large shoulder.
He rubbed his hands together, looking her over. "Yes. But not in private."
"In private," she repeated. After a moment of silence she bust out laughing. "You know, Yui thinks it's weird you come and hang out here… what with us being high schoolers."
There was a moment when something flashed behind his eyes, but in a second it was gone. "I told you. I'm scouting talent."
"Oh, yes." She nodded. "That's why you invite me out like this. Want to recruit me as a sidekick?"
He tapped two warm fingers to her forehead. "Something like that."
Rei scoffed. "That is ridiculous. I don't want to be a hero, Endeavor."
"But you have power, Rei. Everyone can see it." As he said 'power' his hand lit with a tender flame. "You should be using it."
She frosted over her hand in response, the feeling of exhilaration only associated with her quirk taking hold of her. "You should see me in winter."
II.
The era of Endeavor was not like the era of All Might. It was not uncommon for a shift to happen in the world between number one heroes. Or at least a shift in Japan. Almost a year into a hero society led by Endeavor had changed everything. Endeavor solved conflicts; he didn't inspire peace. Though, he tried.
Shoto Todoroki reflected on his father, head leaning against the window of the bus. Class 2-A was on their way back from a training exercise, and a good portion of the class had fallen asleep. Bakugo was next to him, spacing out, and beyond him was Midoriya, muttering. The hour was late, so it made sense they were all struggling to stay awake. Shoto had too many things on his mind to sleep.
Without warning, the bus came to a halt, throwing some of the sleeping students out of their seats. Shoto swayed with the pull and reached out to grab one of the nearest bars.
"What the fuck was that?" Bakugo called from beside him, leaning over to look out the front.
Shoto stood up, an anxious feeling rising in his gut. Too many times in their first year had they been attacked by villains for something like this to be random.
Out the front of the bus stood three men. They all looked young, but each had a menacing aura about them. The middle guy, wearing a mask with a smile, stepped up to the bus and placed a hand on the front end. Before anyone could react, the bus ripped apart, scattering everyone up and down the street.
Shoto landed on his back, the wind jolted from his lungs, and he gasped for air.
He wasn't given a moment to catch his breath, as a car was thrown his way. It wasn't the first time he had had the wind knocked out of him, and he wasn't about to die because of it. He thrust his ice forward, stopping the car middair. Forcing himself to his feet, he moved away from the immediate danger zone and assessed the situation.
There were villains everywhere. He was reminded of the USJ attack, but these were no novices. From the students he could see in his peripheral, each was engaged in combat, yet none seemed to have the upperhand. Even Midoriya and Bakugo had their hands full.
Instantly, his eyes scanned for Momo.
He found her trying to rescue Hagakure, who was stuck under a piece of the bus. Shoto ran over to her and grabbed onto her arm. "Get out of here! You have to get to safety."
Momo created something to brace the shrapnel, then turned to look at him. "You are bleeding. Here, I'll make you something." She produced a sort of bandage and went to hand it to him when the street below them was ripped apart, knocking them both from their feet.
There was a moment when Todoroki wondered whether or not Aizawa had made it off the bus, since it didn't seem like anyone's quirks were being erased. "I have to go stop that guy. Stay safe."
Momo sat up, shouting something at him, but he was already running towards the source.
In the distance, he could see Bakugo fending off a few villains with Kirishima, and farther down the street Uraraka and Iida had teamed up against their own lot. Whatever that villain's quirk was, he had separated almost everyone.
He fired up his left side and shot a burst of flame at the scattering villain, who dodged. As he touched the ground, it split apart again and pieces of the street catapulted Shoto's way. Todoroki sent blocks of ice to meet them. As street and ice collided, the scatter villain stepped back, calculating what to break apart next.
Shoto didn't give him a chance. He activated his quirk, both sides, and sent a barrage of ice and fire his way. More of the street ripped into pieces to block the attack, and the villain took off running. Todoroki threw up a wall of ice to stop him, but the villain simply scattered the ice, sending it flying every direction. He wasn't sure whether or not the scatter villain could do the same with his fire, so for the moment, he sacrificed his right side's defense for his left side's offense.
Like he thought, when he tossed an inferno wall where his ice had once been, the villain paused his flee and touched the ground again. As before, the street split open and pieces of the pavement went flying. From the few times Shoto had seen him use his quirk, he determined he could break things apart and disperse them. He only hoped that was the extent of it.
Shoto kept the flame wall up and formed a plan. This guy seemed to be one of the more dangerous of the bunch around him, although as he thought so, a villain ripped a lamppost from the sidewalk and swung it at Bakugo like a bat.
"What do you want with us?" Shoto said quickly. "I could keep this up all day." He motioned to the flames, and the villain's eyes followed. "So I'd answer my questions if I were you."
There was sweat on the villain's brow, but his stance, nor his gaze faltered even an inch. With haste, he bent down fully, pressing both his hands to the street. The pieces exploded in smaller chunks this time, beads of tarmac raining down on those around them. Shoto dodged what he could and blocked the rest with ice.
Scattering the ice again, the villain took off towards the nearest building. He was quick, light on his feet, and it became a race for dominance. Shoto shot a blaze towards the building just as the villains hand touched the wall. The building splitting had such a resonating sound, Shoto had to cover his ears to help keep the vibrations at bay.
He wasn't sure how many people were inside—he hoped the late hour meant they were all home—but there was nothing he could do as the building, now on fire, broke down, shattered, then scattered up and down the street. Dodging all the debris was impossible, and Shoto found himself weaving in and out of the worst of it, taking whatever hits he thought he could handle.
Though the scattering villain had created more than enough cover, he touched as many fallen pieces of the building as he could whilst he fled. Booking it down another alley, the things he touched left behind dispersed, hitting Shoto as he pursued.
He ran as fast as his legs would carry him through the debris and into the alley.
There, waiting for him, was Dabi.
Shoto slowed his run and tried to take in his surroundings. He wasn't sure where the scatter villain had gone, and from what he could see, Dabi was alone in the alley.
"I knew it was you. The League of Villains," Shoto spat, getting ready for a fight.
Dabi smiled, the staples around his mouth stretching. "Shoto Todoroki."