Lol I couldn't sleep and this chapter was almost finished so, I dug deep and threw something together! I hope it's not terrible XD

Check out my other stories if you're interested! I have plenty of TodoDeku, BakuDeku, and even a ShinsoDeku to choose from!

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Heroes Together

Chapter 2

~Time-Skip: 8 Years~

Midoriya had gone back to the park he'd first met Shoto at several times, hoping to find him hiding there again without success. Parts of the memory were blurry, but he'd never forget the sad, quiet boy he'd brought home with him or the hope he'd been given when Shoto said they'd be heroes together.

When he stepped up to the large door that stood between him and his classroom at UA, he thought back to that night, reminding himself that this was his chance. Of course the first person he saw was Bakugo, the blondes sneer making him tremble with fear and trepidation.

He was then overwhelmed with Iida and Ochaco speaking to him next, drawing his attention away from the rest of the class. His grin wobbled as he struggled to calm all the emotions swirling in his mind and chest, the sensation only growing when their teacher crept up behind them. He, therefore, failed to notice the teen sitting bored in the very back of the room, his expression blank as he zoned out at his desk.

It wasn't until they'd changed and made it onto the training field that Izuku caught sight of red and white hair, his heart thumping loudly in his ears as he drew parallels to the image he'd so desperately held onto.

It was almost maddening having to wait for Aizawa to stop explaining what they'd be doing so that he could go over and say hello, his nerves only becoming more agitated as the man explained that the lowest scorer would be going home.

Still, as they waited for their turn during the fifty-meter dash, Midoriya practically bounced over, excitement flowing through every pore in his body. "Hey!"

The dual user didn't do anything at first but eventually turned his eyes to the teen, his head held high like he was being accosted by someone beneath him. "Can I help you with something?"

Izuku immediately deflated, confusion replacing the elation he'd felt. "This has got to be him! It's not like there are that many people with his hair and eye coloring… Even his face looks the same. Does… does he not remember me?"

"Are you just going to stand there staring at me or do you have something to say?"

"O-oh…" Midoriya squeaked, his face bleeding red with embarrassment. "I-It's me… Izuku Midoriya…"

Todoroki blinked at him, his expression unchanging from blank disdain at the statement. After a moment he simply turned his gaze back to the testing area, apparently ending their conversation. Izuku, however, was heartbroken, walking backward a ways before also concentrating on the task at hand so that he wouldn't solely focus on how badly he hurt.

"Izuku… You've been awfully quiet since you got home…" Inko stated as she set out their dinner. "Did it not go well today?"

The teen picked up his chopsticks and poked at his food, his appetite thoroughly depleted. "Well… I scored the last place in the quirk assessment test today, but, that's just something I have to work on."

"Then what is it sweetheart?" she asked.

"I saw him today mom… Shoto's in my class… He doesn't remember me though. I tried to say hello and he just glared at me with this blank look." Midoriya explained, "I don't understand…"

The woman sighed sadly, staring at her son with solemn understanding. Izuku hadn't stopped asking about Shoto for months after their fateful meeting and even when it became less frequent, the desire to see him again had never dwindled.

Since the day he'd been told he was quirkless her baby hadn't had a single friend except for Shoto and though things were looking up now, she could only imagine how hard it must be to know that the person he'd been distantly clinging to for all these years didn't even know who he was… and apparently didn't want to either.

"Maybe he was just focusing on what you all were learning… You could try talking to him again outside of class and maybe that will jog his memory." She proposed, relieved to see a little flicker of determination coming back into his face.

"Yeah, I bet that's what it was!" Midoriya agreed, "He was probably so focused on becoming a hero that he totally blanked when I went up to him. Thanks, mom."

Izuku made sure to get up early the following day, excited to start his first real day at UA. He raided his All-Might themed piggy bank, determined to pick up all the candies he'd shared with Shoto so very long ago.

After sprinting to the store and then to UA, he was huffing by the time he'd made it to his classroom, but it was still a half-hour before school started, giving him plenty of time to converse with Todoroki. The dual user wasn't there yet, but that was to be expected—he simply went to his seat and began organizing the treats, wracking his brain to remember which one Shoto had liked the most that night so that he could offer it first.

Nearly fifteen minutes later, his muse arrived, not even sparing a glance in his direction as he walked to the back of the room. It made Midoriya pause, fear of rejection twisting his gut into a knot. "You can do this. He just doesn't remember… It was years ago and he was upset most of the time so he probably just blocked out the memory… It's going to be fine. Just say hi…"

"H-hey…" he squeaked, his voice far more wobbly than he'd intended.

Todoroki lazily looked up as he unpacked his things, still appearing completely disinterested in speaking. They both ended up staring at each other for some time before Izuku cleared his lump-filled throat and attempted a smile.

"H-here… I got this for you…" he offered, holding out the All Might themed bar in his trembling hand.

Todoroki's face darkened, a glare mixing into the deadpanned expression he'd been sporting. "I don't eat junk food."

"O-oh…" Izuku mumbled, letting his arm fall limply to his side. "S-sorry… I'll… Sorry…."

He twisted and retreated back to his chair, stiffly remaining forward as he fought the urge to tear up. It wasn't that he was upset Shoto didn't eat 'junk food'… In fact, he remembered him saying something about how his father didn't allow it. But he'd been hoping that it would bridge whatever gap had opened between them so that he could have his friend back.

Bakugo soon stomped in, dropping into his seat in front of Izuku much more loudly than was really necessary. "Oi, what're you crying about now, Deku?" he taunted.

"I'm not c-crying, Kacchan," Izuku argued, though that only made it even harder to contain. It was bad enough having his heart crushed—he didn't need it put on display too.

The blonde leaned towards him, voice dropping so that no one else would hear. "Heh, isn't that candy-cane looking extra the one you kept blabbing about when we were kids?"

Midoriya's head lowered even more, ashamed. After meeting Shoto, his hope for being a hero had been reinvigorated and he'd boldly declared that he and his new friend would save the day together with smiles on their faces. But now that bump in confidence had inverted, dragging him down.

"It is, isn't it." Katsuki sneered. "What's the matter, Deku? I thought you two were best buds."

Izuku curled in on himself more tightly, unable to say anything in his defense. He was grateful that more students were filtering in as it grew closer to class time, pulling the blonde's attention away from him and how disheartened he'd become.

Shoto sat at his desk at home working on their first homework assignment of the year and finding it wasn't too difficult despite UA's reputation for producing the most educated, powerful heroes. Since he didn't have to focus all that hard, he instead thought about the course he had with All Might.

As expected, he excelled during their hero training, quickly subduing his 'enemies' and 'retrieving' the bomb like he was supposed to. Of course, his partner had helped a little by telling him what floor they were on, but if he'd been alone the result would have been the same. He didn't need anybody for anything.

There were a few others that he could see being Top Pro's one day—maybe not the powerhouses All Might and Endeavor were, but skilled all the same. Some, however, seemed downright ill-equipped to be in the hero business at all.

Bakugo was top on his list for people he'd never, ever, want to work with. Losing his cool like that and forgoing an assignment just to 'destroy' another person was foolish and rather villainous for a UA student. He could only assume that it was his quirk and intelligence that got him admitted—though those things meant little if you stopped thinking rationally.

Then, of course, there was Izuku Midoriya, the timid, anxious, 'I have everything to prove but I'm not confident enough to do it yet' teen that repeatedly tried to speak to him. Sure, that power was astonishing, but having no control over it was a recipe for disaster, especially when its backlash decimated his body.

Todoroki tapped his pencil on his desk, finding the reality of working with those two and everyone else in Class 1-A tiresome. His stomach grumbled for dinner, the very first thought running through his head being the candy bar he'd been offered that morning… it had looked really good.

He shook his head to clear it of the intrusive craving, reminding himself that he had a fairly strict diet that he had to stick to. Fuyumi would likely notice he hadn't cooked and would make something for him fairly soon—a kind yet still unnecessary action. He stood stiffly and headed to the kitchen, determined to do everything alone.

If Todoroki had thought that Midoriya shouldn't have been admitted to the hero course before, he was certain of it now. The USJ attack was supposedly 'real-life' and to an extent it was. But honestly, the villains were common thugs that anyone with a smidgen of skill should be able to take down.

The only true threats from the entire ordeal were Shigaraki, the warp gate, and the Nomu. They needed more skilled fighters to be bested, but Todoroki was confident that he could have won against two out of three of them.

Midoriya, however, put his life in jeopardy to save All Might when he had no ability to save his own in the first place. It was reckless—stupid even. Had the other teachers not shown up when they did, his face would've been gone… reduced to dust. That knowledge drove Todoroki wild with irritation.

He found himself walking straight to the infirmary once released from the detectives who were gathering intel about the attack. Todoroki had every intention of laying into Midoriya once he got there but hesitated just outside Recovery Girl's door.

"I've never heard that before! All Might always saves everyone once he arrives and one day I'm going to be a hero just like him even if I don't have a quirk!"

Todoroki grit his teeth against the memory, hating that those words were crystal clear in his head even after so many years had passed since he'd heard them. Apparently, Izuku did end up developing a quirk... but he was no closer to being a hero than he had been before. Not only that, but the power he ended up having was so similar to All Might's... So similar to the person his father had trained him to beat.

It didn't take much effort to draw a connection. If Izuku was planning to be the next All Might, then he'd just have to beat him too. Todoroki stepped back from the door and turned to leave, deciding he'd challenge Izuku during the Sports Festival that wouldn't be far off if UA decided to have it despite the villain attack.

He didn't need to be heroes together with anyone.

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