"I will come back."
Shouto had promised his father with every ounce of hatred that he held. His father, the strongest elemental who practically wore fire like one of his clothes, was an intolerably cruel man who had forcibly married an ice elemental and forced her to bear children. After four children and accidentally hurting him, the youngest, Todoroki Rei willed herself to go into a coma. That's how the Todoroki siblings lost their mother. Not to death, but to a coma from which they were sure she would never wake.
But as their father's tyranny spread, the eldest son killed himself and the younger son went into a coma like his mother. Hours of beatings and being forced to wield their magic for too long eventually took their toll on the mother and her two sons.
The only daughter was forced to marry someone but Shouto had helped her escape right before the ceremonies and promised her that he would save everybody. But his father, who wanted a successor to surpass him, terrorised him to his limits and finally, the youngest Todoroki left home to be strong in his own with the aim to kill his father.
It had been two years since he travelled, trained and repeated that same schedule monotonously.
Today, he was in the village pub with his hair and eyes shrouded in an illusion because apparently, he was the only one he ever knew with heterochromic hair and eyes to not let anyone recognise him. Obviously he was an adult, a young adult but an adult nonetheless at the age of twenty-one. While watching a fight between two drunk idiots and occasionally taking a swig from his beer, Shouto quietly ate the plate of steamed potatoes in front of him.
"May we sit here?" A young woman inquired. Brown hair and large brown eyes. A chubby face. "The other tables are completely occupied. Yours is the only one that has any seats left." Her pleading voice made him nod.
The woman sat down with a man whom he had not noticed before. Probably because was standing behind her and was barely taller than her for Shouto to notice from a sitting position.
"You're an elemental, aren't you?" The woman inquired cheerfully as she plopped a piece of potato into her mouth.
Shouto carefully nodded but the sudden drop in temperature scared her.
"Please calm down. We mean no harm." The other man spoke frantically. Shouto calmed down but only slightly. His entire body was the only cool thing in the room for now.
"I'm a mage, so I can see the illusion. But I'm not powerful enough to break it. It seems quite complex." The illusion was quite complex indeed. He had made sure of it.
He simply nodded instead of replying. He didn't feel particularly threatened by this couple and he decided to avoid conversations and leave as soon as he finished his meal.
"So, where are you from?" The man was the one to ask. His untamed green hair and large green eyes made him wonder whether these two had ever hit puberty. Both of them looked like children.
"Here and there." Shouto carefully answered. The reply, another tool, which he had used everywhere to avoid any sort of association with his father.
"...okay." The green haired man simply continued to converse with his female companion. She had become bubbly under the influence of the beer that just arrived and started talking about a lot of useless things.
"Ne~ Izuku." The chubby faced woman was flushed with alcohol. She waved her hands back and forth. This made Shouto a bit wary. After all, who wouldn't? The drunken slob of a woman was holding her beer glass which could be thrown at any given direction.
Her light grey gown with a white apron had immediately become victims of a vomit attack.
"Ochako." The male stood up and was by her side as quickly as he could.
Shouto had finished his meal and was about to flee from the disgusting smell and its source when he was stopped by an 'excuse me'.
"Can you help me carry her home? It's close by." His mother's virtues came forth in the form of his acceptance and the two were off with a terribly drunken woman.
"Do you have any arrangements for the night?" The man, Izuku, asked Shouto as they walked towards his house.
"I'll find an inn." Shouto was about to turn away and be on his way when he heard a 'wait'.
"You can stay here. It's not much, but still... You don't have to pay or anything." Izuku started rambling on about how difficult it would be to find an inn nowadays and how expensive they would be.
"Alright. Thanks for the offer." Shouto allowed his face to soften a bit even though nobody could see that.
Midoriya Izuku lived in a modest house which was attached to a small shop the couple owned.
A candle was immediately lit as soon as they entered. Shouto could see a table with five chairs neatly in the center of the medium-sized room. The kitchen, he noticed, was larger than the ones he saw in houses like these. There were five doors. Two of them were side-by-side, one was a little further and two were almost inside the kitchen.
"It's not much, but please make yourself comfortable." Izuku saw Shouto staring at the kitchen for a while.
"I'm a baker. But the shop sells many items. Ochako makes candles. We also grow and sell herbs." Izuku says and rants about how the rains poured perfectly this season.
He goes into the room adjacent to his own and comes out after a few minutes.
"I've changed the sheets and set a blanket. Water is in that pot if you get thirsty in the middle of the night." He points to a huge pot in the kitchen which is very noticeable. "There are a couple of candles in the cupboard. If you want anything, don't hesitate to wake us."
"Thank you for everything." Shouto says sincerely. He rarely expects people to be so kind.
"Well, I'm tired. So I'll be off. Good night uhm... What was your name again?"
"Shouto." The reply makes Izuku widen his eyes and smile s bit. This man has already declared his friendly intentions by responding only with his first name.
"Good night Shouto-san. You may call me Izuku." The man gives a tired smile.
"Good night Izuku-san." He replies and doesn't take any interest in whether or not he addresses/was addressed with honorifics."
He enters the room and closes the door. He doesn't need a candle as his left hand produces fire instantly to serve his purpose. His fire lits the small room immediately.
There's a cozy large bed on the corner of the room which has occupied half of the room easily. There's a chair and a big cupboard which contains the candles mentioned by Izuku, another blanket, a pillow and a bunch of untouched sheets.
Shouto drops his cape and bag and removes his illusionary spell before burying himself in the fluffy blanket provided to him.
"Good morning." Ochako cheerfully says as Shouto opens his room the next morning. The couple is busy preparing something with a delicious aroma. When she turns around, she looks at Shouto confusedly.
"I'm sorry, who are you?" She asks. Upon hearing this question, Shouto is confused and Izuku starts speaking.
"What are you saying? He's the guy we met last night at the pub."
"No, he isn't." The brunette argues. Izuku comes from the kitchen in an apron covered with flour which hides his shirt and pants and looks at Shouto.
He looks confusedly at Shouto and then rushes towards the guest room.
"Where is he?" Izuku asks a bit menacingly.
"Who?" Shouto asks. Izuku is confused once again. He recognises the voice of his guest, but not the appearance.
"Shouto-san, have you removed the illusionary spell?"
Shouto's confusion disappears and sighs in relief before nodding.
"Thank you for carrying me back home." The woman, Ochako, thanks him with a small bow.
"Don't worry about it." Shouto awkwardly replies.
"You can sit for a while. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes." Izuku walks back to the kitchen and disappears as he starts doing something behind the kitchen counter.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Shouto feels obliged to do something after they've provided him with a place to stay for the night.
"If you insist on hiding your appearance, then you can cast that illusionary spell before hanging the laundry." Ochako says and points to a basket of sheets and clothes. "That door will lead you to the backyard."
Shouto nods and takes the basket and exits the house. The backyard is a small but colourful place. A kitchen garden with various herbs and vegetables. The tomatoes are almost ripening. The chillies are already ready. Shouto feels a calm breeze before he notices the large rope tied for the purpose of hanging the clothes.
He starts hanging the clothes one by one before he's called in for breakfast.
A plate of steamed potatoes with a little colour, an aromatic loaf of bread, a bowl of soup and a glass of water is placed in front of him.
"Shouto-san, are you running from somebody?" Ochako asks almost as soon as they begin their meal. "You don't have to tell us. I didn't mean to intrude or anything. I just want to know if you're not a wanted criminal or something."
"I'm not running, I'm hiding. And I'm not a criminal, nobody's specifically searching for me. But if I'm found, I'll be taken back to a place where I don't want to be."
"Well, Shouto-san you can stay here for as long as you like." Izuku says cheerfully with an agreeing nod from Ochako. Shouto feels relieved at the statement. It reminds him of the times when he used to dine with his family when his father was away.
"Is there anything else you might require?" Izuku asks.
"I'm searching for something." He starts trusting them enough to say things which are not too suspicious.
Like becoming strong to kill my father.
"I'm searching for something that can wake my family from a coma. You guys grow herbs, do you happen to know any medicine that can do the trick?" Shouto hopes for a positive response even though he has failed in gaining that for years.
"I can't do it. My magic deals with gravity. But there's a mage in town who's magic deals with healing and all. She can provide you with an answer." Ochako says thoughtfully. "I can take you to meet her. Izuku, will you be able to handle the shop for a while?"
"Mhmm." Her husband replies with a bite of the bread occupying his mouth.
After breakfast, Shouto helps the couple arrange their loaves of bread according to the sizes and different herbs in it. Cookies and cakes have also been arranged.
The shop opens and one by one, cheery customers come in, stay in for a little chat and leave after buying something.
"Come on. I'll take you to the mage." Ochako says to him after the shop has properly opened and Izuku has confirmed that he can handle everything.