(A/N: WolfSongGirl on AO3 pointed out a plot hole back in chapter 11 in regards to how Kirishima and Uraraka met. I fixed it so it made more sense for points and placement reasons. :) )

...

Hitoshi lingered behind the other three as they walked towards the gate, lost in thought. He was a little mad at himself for letting his emotions show through. Usually, he had control over them and hid his feelings when it came to the concept of parents and homes. But a few days ago, the foster family he had been staying with for a fair while had suddenly kicked him out. The parting hadn't been terrible and was mostly amicable, but it still had left him feeling bitter about it.

The last few days he had been able to distract himself with training in the days leading up to the Sports Festival. Forcing his focus on being as prepared as possible for the hopefully life changing event. Which he had been and had made it all the way to the very end which he was very proud about. But the fact that he would be returning to the foster center rather than to a home or family infected that pride with a hint of disheartening gloom.

Having to move back to the foster center wasn't a new occurrence for the brainwasher. He had been a regular ever since his birth parents gave him up when he was five, not wanting a child with a 'Villainous' Quirk. Over the years, he had moved between foster homes and the center intermittently. Sometimes making him feel like a ping pong ball being traded back and forth.

And this is just another hit in the table tennis match that is my life.

Some stays were longer than others, whether at the center or the foster home at the time. But eventually it ended the same way. Either they changed their minds about fostering, or more specifically fostering him, or they didn't want to deal with the kid with a Villain's Quirk despite the extra pay check that came with it. It wasn't 'worth it' they would say.

At times, depending on the foster home, Hitoshi would welcome the time when they decided they had enough of him. Certain 'families' were stricter when it came to rules regarding him and his Quirk. A common rule was not speaking even when spoken too, using either writing or simple shakes and nods of his head to answer. Which, to be honest, wasn't that hard of a rule for Hitoshi to follow as he had mostly done that anyway growing up. Like at school where people had usually avoided him.

At least until UA and Izuku's big mouth declaring my Quirk isn't villainous because I decide it isn't.

But there had been a few other foster homes that went a little more…extreme. Going as far as to require him to wear a muzzle while in the house. Those families he was glad to leave behind once they finally kicked him out. To this day, he still didn't care to wear anything over his mouth even if it was something like a surgical mask.

Though, I know Izuku and Mei have a voice changing mask in mind for me.

He wasn't entirely thrilled with that idea, but he knew it would be very useful with his Quirk. Something he would grin and bear to wear in order to be a better Hero. He tried to reassure himself for the future discomfort that the mask would give him would be worth it. That the mask would not be to hide his voice, but to give it whole new life full of possibilities. With a voice changer, he could become anyone.

Now, with Izuku and him in first and second place respectively, they were one step closer to reaching their shared dream. To be a Hero. They had done their part of placing high enough in the third and final round. Which being the top two was definitely enough. Had to be. The next move was now in the principal's paws and since they have a meeting with Nezu tomorrow morning, their chances seemed good.

But there's always a possibility that we get denied. Or probably me since I placed second and Izuku came in first. He has so much potential and drive to be a Hero even without a Quirk. While me, with my so called 'Villainous' Quirk, in combination with not placing first could be denied the golden fruit of our labor.

Hitoshi no longer viewed his Quirk as villainous. Not after all the times Izuku had drilled those words into his head. But years of misguided judgement from others weren't so easily erased with a few months of friendship. He was better but the doubt was still there in the back of his mind. Where it would remain until the answer of will they be offered to transfer or not was given.

With the Sports Festival done and the ball being in Nezu's court, all they could do was go home and wait. But, as of a few days ago, Hitoshi didn't really have a home to return to. Only the center where he was generally ignored.

Before being kicked out, Hitoshi had been with his most recent foster family for a little over a year. One of the longest stays he'd had during his time in the foster system. The couple had been nice enough compared to other families he had been taken in by. They had generally left him alone. Let him come and go as he pleased and even let him go to sleepovers at Izuku's apartment after they met and became friends. Never any mention of a muzzle during his time with them. In fact, they had talked to him in passing from time to time though they never answered any of his verbal questions. Instead, if he did have one, he had to write it down first and they would respond to that.

Little did they know that Izuku and I figured out my Quirk doesn't necessarily need a response to a question specifically. Any verbal response would do whether to a question or a statement.

But that was not a fact he would ever share with the couple. Not that it even mattered now since they kicked him out. Apparently, one of them had a gotten a promotion at work, however it required for them to move and they didn't want to deal with the hassle of bringing him with them. That's what they told him specifically. That including him in their moving plans was a 'hassle'. Not that he would have wanted to move anyway what with him being in UA and now was finally closer to his goal. So, it was agreed, or rather decided for him though he wasn't exactly complaining, that he would go back to the center and they would move away.

The constant changing of house and home caused Hitoshi to lose touch with the concepts of parents and family. They never stuck around long enough to become anything besides more acquainted strangers most of the time. So, he took the sudden change of his living situation with stride. After all, he had never stayed long in the foster homes anyway. Though it still hurt that this particular couple who had been decent and even sometimes talked to him had dropped him at the first sign of him being too much of a 'hassle' to deal with.

I wonder if they accepted the promotion with the transfer just to get away from me.

The purple haired teen let out a huffed sigh, reached into his bag, and took out his second-place medal. The silver sheen was still bright in the later afternoon light. A symbol that represented all of his hard work today. Proof that he had clawed his way to the top or rather near enough. But he had no parents, no family to share that with. The closest feeling to family he had was with the Midoriyas and Mei.

The first time Hitoshi had shown up to the Midoriya apartment he had been nervous as to how they would react to him. Him and his Quirk. Worried that they would treat him the same as everyone else had. But those worries had been unfounded as both Mei and Inko had welcomed him with open arms just as Izuku had done.

Sometimes while at their apartment, Hitoshi found himself feeling jealous of the mother and son as they lived the family life he hadn't experienced since his Quirk had developed. Izuku was even on good terms with his father even if the man was away working in another country to provide for his family and unable to visit due to medical reasons. But even from afar, the man still acted as a father to his son.

Parents.

It had been a decade since the brainwasher had parents. The concept, after years of being traded off from foster home to foster home, now seemed foreign to him. And seeing his friend's relationship with his mother and father made Hitoshi long for parents of his own. Even seeing, rarely, Mei's mom who was just as passionate about Support as her daughter was made him crave that parental bond.

But he didn't have any. Not for a long time. And he doubted anytime soon. This latest rejection further cemented the thought in the back of the brainwasher's head that he would most likely end up aging out of the system. Then released into the big cruel world all alone.

'But you won't be alone,' a voice in the back of his mind said.

Purple eyes took in the sight of his friends before him. Mei, apparently having smuggled out at least one of her babies, had thrown caution to the wind and was openly messing with the tech. While Izuku was adamantly talking with Todoroki about the day as the other intently listened and offered his own comments here or there.

That's right. I'm not alone anymore. I may not have parents but I have friends. I have Izuku and Mei. And Inko I'm sure would help me if I needed it. After all, she's just as kind and caring as her son.

Hitoshi looked down at the medal in his hand. He knew that these people would be proud he had won second. Would care about him. Like a found family. To hell with the foster system. If they couldn't provide him with a family, Hitoshi had a pretty good unofficial one right here.

No one at the center would care anyway. Some of the other kids or even one of the staff would probably try to nick my medal anyway. Heh…wait.

With that thought, Hitoshi grew suddenly worried about losing his medal if he brought it back with him to the center. He was certain someone would try to steal it and either keep it for themselves or sell it. Something he very much did not want to happen to the memento he held in his hand. Trying to think of a solution, an obnoxiously yellow backpack bouncing in step in front of him held the answer.

Purple eyes focused on the one unlatched strap to the top flap of the bag. He could see the zipper beneath was also slightly open giving him access to slip the medal into his friend's bag. Izuku would keep the medal safe, he was sure of it. But the question was how to put it in there without the greenette noticing. The last thing Hitoshi wanted was for his friend to make a fuss and ask too many questions he really didn't want answer.

The short remainder of the walk to the gate was spent with the purple haired teen trying to figure out how to exactly go about it. He could try slipping it in nonchalantly. But then there was a possibility that Todoroki, who hadn't taken his eyes off Izuku once, would notice. No. He'd have to try something else. The gate leading off campus was drawing near which meant his window of opportunity was closing. He just had to do something. Anything.

Here goes nothing.

Going with whatever his instincts told him, Hitoshi walked forward and slumped against Izuku's backpack with one arm over his friend's shoulder while the one holding the medal slipped it into the bag. Once done, it joined the other arm but on the other shoulder as he positioned his head on the side opposite of Todoroki.

"U-um, Hitoshi-kun?" Izuku asked, side-eyeing his friend as the taller one leaned on him. "W-what are you doing?"

"Doing an impression of a backpack," Hitoshi replied with a nonchalant shrug. "What's it look like?"

"I d-don't know," Izuku replied.

"Huh. Must have not been a very good impression," Hitoshi said as he pulled away. They had just passed through the gate and he had successfully slipped his medal into Izuku's bag without him noticing. "Anyway, good work today. Izuku, I'll see you here tomorrow morning and let me know about the sleepover. Mei, Todoroki, if it's a go I'll see you there."

"Oh, ok," Izuku said, still confused by his friend's actions. "See you then, Hitoshi-kun."

Mei waved but kept her focus on the baby she was working on. Todoroki merely nodded his head in farewell.

"Later," Hitoshi said as he turned to leave and catch his train.

...

Green eyes watched as the figure of his purple haired friend walked away. He was concerned for the other boy and the odd behavior he noticed today. The sad look, body tension, and that last weird moment where he leaned on him and then walked away. Not quite sure what to make of that.

Hitoshi-kun looked sad when I mentioned going home to sleep and tensed when I asked about if his parents would be ok with him coming to my place for a sleepover.

It made him wonder what he had said to make his friend sad.

Was it the sleepover?

But he hadn't mentioned that until the end. Plus, it wouldn't be the first time he's been over.

Was it about sleep?

No, couldn't be. The few hours of sleep the insomniac could get were a treasure to him.

Then was it the mention of home or parents? Or both?

Was it possible something was going on in Hitoshi's home? It was in that moment that Izuku realized he didn't know anything about his purple haired friend's homelife. When they usually hung out it was either at the Midoriya apartment or Mei's lab. But never had they gone to Hitoshi's house. Not once.

Are you ok, Hitoshi-kun? Are you safe?

"Well, I'm going to head for home too," Mei said suddenly, breaking Izuku from his thoughts. He'll have to looking into that later. "I want to get back to the lab. I got to test a lot of my babies today and there's no time like the present to make them even better."

"Heh. Alright, Mei-chan," Izuku said fondly. Typical Mei-chan. Always working. "I'll see you tomorrow if my mom says yes."

"Which you know she will," Mei said confidently. "Whelp! I'm off. Bye!"

"Bye, Mei-chan!" Izuku called out as she left. Shouto again nodded his goodbye. "What about you, Shouto-kun? Do you need to catch a train too?"

"No, I'm going to be picked up by my sister here," Shouto answered. "I would have gone home with my father, but he had to go back to his agency for a few more hours. Enough time for me to rest up for the training session he'll probably demand."

"Shouto-kun, do you…?" Izuku started to ask before looking around at all the people near them.

The greenette led the remaining pair off to the side as other students trickled out of the gate for home. One, to get out of the way. Two, for some privacy. They walked along the campus wall and stopped a short distance away.

"Do you really think he'll make you train today, Shouto-kun?" Izuku asked, worried for his friend. "I mean, we just had a full day of sports and fights. Shouldn't that be enough training for the day?"

Shouto sighed and moved to lean against the wall with his messenger style bag hanging at his side. Izuku positioned himself on the other side, taking off his big yellow backpack and placing it on the ground near him as he also leaned against the wall. Once in place, the bi-color teen took his hand, interlacing their fingers, and scooted closer to hide the touch from prying eyes.

"Knowing him, most likely," Shouto answered dejectedly. "Especially since I lost and placed third on top of not using his…"

"Your," the greenette interjected as he squeezed his hand as he corrected him.

"…my fire," Shouto conceded. It was going to take time for him to get used to referring to the power from his left side like that. "That alone was a failure on my part. He made that clear when he talked to me before my match with Sero."

"So, that's what made you so angry," Izuku realized. The greenette had figured that's what might have happened but now he knew for sure. "I mean I figured as much but I didn't want to assume either."

"Yeah," Shouto confirmed. "It didn't matter to him that I had won both the first and second round. That, because I didn't use hi…my fire, it wasn't as much of a win as it could have been. That I didn't show my full power."

"That sounds like him," Izuku said, remembering his own meeting with the man. "Endeavor. He talked to me before my match with you. The things he said…it was clear he didn't think much of those he considers weak. That those without 'natural power' have no worth."

"You are worth so much more than that bastard, Izuku," Shouto insisted and gave his hand a comforting squeeze. Izuku glanced up at him with a small smile in thanks which the other returned though more with his eyes than his lips. They gazed at each other for a moment before grey and blue eyes widened slightly as if he remembered something. "Oh, I wanted to ask. What was that 'issue' Aizawa mentioned earlier?"

"O-oh, um, that," Izuku muttered, casting his eyes down. "You know h-how I was hiding from Bakugou?"

"Yeah?" Shouto said, watching him closely.

"Well, um, b-before my match with Hitoshi-kun, h-he confronted me," Izuku revealed, green eyes peeking up at his friend.

"Are you alright, Izuku?" Shouto asked, concern clear on his face.

A slight blush grew on the greenette's face. He was still getting used to Shouto calling him by his first name. It was still new but it felt right for some reason.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm ok," Izuku assured him with a quick small somewhat sad smile. "He did use his Q-quirk on me, but that under armor I was w-wearing protected me. But my Support Items…n-not so much."

"What exactly did he do, Izuku?" Shouto growled, brows furrowed in anger. Not at Izuku but for him.

The greenette found himself wanting to tell Shouto more about what happened than he had with Mei or Hitoshi. He felt like he owed it to him. Izuku had gotten a glimpse into his friend's life and had provided one of his own. They both had crappy childhoods and had both experienced physical mistreatments. The Quirkless boy just had this gut feeling that Shouto would be understanding of and could relate to his situation.

Hitoshi could too as he had been bullied growing up for his Quirk. But at the time Izuku had told him, he had still been working on processing what had happened and hadn't want to talk about it yet. Not in detail. But after having talked with and been comforted by his friends, he felt more reassured that his friends cared. That they would be understanding and supportive of the greenette. That Shouto would be.

"He y-yelled at me," Izuku recounted, his sad face pointed toward the ground as he did so. "A-accused that I was ch-cheating. Said that my Support Items w-were how I was cheating. That I would be n-nothing without them. And th-then he…"

Tears had welled up in his green eyes as he talked, reliving the events again in his mind. Izuku didn't really want to talk about what happened, but with all the revealing of past hurts that the two had gone through today, it seemed wrong to keep something like this from him. As if he needed the other to know.

"What…what did he do?" Shouto asked, the worry in his voice. He gave their hands a comforting squeeze, silently asking for him to continue.

"H-he broke them," Izuku sobbed as the tear dam burst and trickled down his face. "D-destroyed them. Exploded them to u-useless hunks of charred metal w-with his Quirk."

"Oh, Izuku," Shouto said before he let go of his hand to pull him into a hug instead.

Izuku was surprised that he did such a thing in public when usually their touches were shared in private moments between the two. But he accepted the hug without question, needing the comfort.

...

Shouto held his friend as the greenette sobbed into his chest. He was a bit surprised at himself for hugging Izuku as they had only just started the practice today. That and cuddling. Both of which he enjoyed very much. Typically, he preferred to keep their friendly moments of contact between the two of them. Not wanting to share them as Izuku was his special warm friend.

The boy in his arms had done so much for him. Watching him train, offering to make a Support Item to help him with his ice, being his friend. Not to mention all of the mental wall breaking he had done today alone.

'It's your Quirk. Which means it's your fire. Your ice. Both of them make your one Quirk. Your Quirk and yours alone.'

To think that mere words could hold such power. To make Shouto realize, if only for a moment, that the power that flows from his left side was his. Not his father's, but his and his alone. The thought of using his left side still repulsed Shouto, but when he used it briefly in their fight it felt right to use it. Like it was a part of him and had been all along. Something he had forgotten until Izuku used his words to remind him.

There was still a mental barrier encasing the concept of using his left side. One that Shouto would have to work on and was sure that Izuku would be willing to help with. After all, he was the one who was able to put that first chip into his walls and the ice user was willing to work towards tearing those barricades down. As long as Izuku was beside him to help.

"I'm sorry that happened to you," Shouto breathed into the bush of green hair in front of him.

It was a bit dirty and sweaty from the day's activities but he didn't care. It was Izuku so it didn't matter to him. The boy in his arms gave him a squeeze in thanks before letting go.

"He d-didn't get all of them," Izuku sniffed, rubbing some stray tears away. "My mask, goggles, a-and belt are ok. But…but e-everything else is just…gone. All my work up i-in smoke."

Wanting to comfort his friend, Shouto took his hand once more and intertwined their fingers before going back to their previous position of leaning on the wall side by side.

"Bakugou reminds me of Endeavor," Shouto commented, earning a curious look from Izuku. "He's loud and oh so proud of his Quirk. It's even similar to his being fire based."

"Y-yeah, I thought as much too," Izuku said, nodding. "I even t-told him that when he was yelling at me. He, um, he d-didn't like that comparison."

"Really?" Shouto asked with a quirked brow. "I thought he would be happy with that since he's basically a mini-Endeavor."

"Well, uh, y-you see," Izuku hesitated. Shouto tightened his grip briefly to prompt him to continue. "I had my suspicions he had…a-and Bakugou confirmed that he…"

"That he what, Izuku?" Shouto asked.

"That he l-listened to our conversation earlier," Izuku revealed, looking up at him nervously. "The one in the h-hallway. When you talked a-about how you grew up."

Shouto wasn't sure what to do with that information. Bakugou had eavesdropped on them. Bakugou knew. He knew about how he had grown up. The highlights at least. Knew about his father's goals. How he treated his family. Why Shouto was created. That he wasn't the first. That his own mother hurt him in the attempt to defeat the demons his father caused in her mind. Bakugou now knew all this and didn't like being compared to a man like that. A man obsessed with power and used said power to get what he wanted. Both in his work and at home.

Maybe there is hope for Bakugou yet.

"So, he didn't like being compared to the bastard, huh?" Shouto chuckled.

"Y-yeah," Izuku said with a short laugh as well since Shouto seemed ok with Bakugou knowing. "Bakugou grew up believing he was the best. Always praised by those who surrounded him. He looks up to All Might mostly but I knew he did to Endeavor too. Not on the same level, but he did admire his power. But maybe, him knowing could help Bakugou. Maybe seeing how that sort of power can go to someone's head, even a Hero, could help him from becoming the next Endeavor."

"Perhaps," Shouto said simply. Then his brows furrowed in confusion and he asked, "Wait, so if Bakugou attacked you outside of a match, why was he on the podium with me? Wouldn't he have been disqualified?"

"O-oh, uh, about that," Izuku muttered nervously. He rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "I may have sort of asked for him not to be?"

"Izuku, why?" Shouto questioned, sighing in exasperation. "He attacked you. He broke your Support Items. Why would you ask for him not to get the punishment he deserves?"

"Because I know it wouldn't work!" Izuku snapped in agitation.

Shouto looked at his friend in shock.

...

Why doesn't anyone understand? Izuku thought with a scowl.

He knew Bakugou. He's known him since they were born. That Bakugou was always the older of the two with his birthday on April 20th while Izuku's was on July 15th. How his personality proved to be just as explosive as his Quirk when it developed. That his favorite food was anything spicy and the spicier the better. That he enjoyed mountain climbing and exploring the woods in their neighborhood. He even knew that Bakugou had taken drum lessons at one point and was actually quite good. But most of all, Izuku knew Bakugou's overwhelming ego and now just how fragile his pride really was.

"G-growing up," Izuku said, taking a deep breath to calm himself and explained in a slow and steady pace. "W-whenever Bakugou would do something wrong, the consequences were a-always brushed under the rug. Especially when it came to what he d-did to me. All because he h-had the 'perfect' Quirk to become a Hero."

His mind brought up memories of explosion charged fists and venom filled words. At the park, at school, anywhere really in public. All that went ignored by any form of authority because Bakugou was the future Hero who would raise the prestige of the school once he went Pro. While Izuku was the Quirkless nobody who wouldn't amount to anything.

My gold medal proves otherwise.

"Bakugou doesn't know w-what consequences his actions truly deserve b-because no one has ever punished him before," Izuku explained as Shouto listened silently beside him. "And to do so now would not h-have the same effect on him as it would anyone else. He'll j-just brush it off as them being wrong instead of him. See it as more of an attack o-on him instead."

Because how could Bakugou not think that when nobody had been there to tell him otherwise in lieu of keeping his record clean. To secure his chances of becoming a Hero while at the same time neglecting to teach him what he did, said, and thought was wrong. Misguiding him and doing him more of a disservice than helping.

"Taking him o-out of the Sports Festival would have made him angry a-and he would have lost any respect to their authority," Izuku said. "B-because before UA, no teachers or other people of authority h-had ever seen his actions as wrong and d-did nothing to curb his violent tendencies. Physical, verbal, o-or otherwise."

He was going to be a Hero. How could anything he does be bad?

"So no, t-taking him out would have done nothing to fix this situation," Izuku declared as he looked up at his friend. "This has been an ongoing p-problem since we were kids. Ever since Bakugou's Quirk c-came in. Regular punishments like disqualification o-or anything similar to 'taking away his things' w-won't work with him."

Green eyes peered into grey and blue ones, willing for his friend to understand. They looked at each other in silences for a few moments before Shouto spoke.

"You do have some fair points," Shouto conceded with a relenting sigh. "Growing up with Bakugou would provide you with a unique insight into his thoughts and reactions. But he should still be punished for attacking you."

"I-I know," Izuku said, giving their connected hands a squeeze in acceptance. "I'm not sure h-how exactly. But to answer your question from earlier, that's the 'issue' we have to discuss tomorrow. About what exactly Bakugou's punishment should be."

Shouto merely hummed in response to that. Wanting to not talk of heavy subjects anymore, Izuku changed the subject back to discussing the festival. They passed the time waiting for Shouto's sister to arrive with Izuku gushing over the Quirks he had seen that day. The bi-color teen gave his own comments here and there but for the most part listened, enjoying the sound of his friend's voice. A soft smile graced the ice user's face while the greenette gestured animatedly with his free hand and talked happily beside him.

It wasn't too long when a discreet black car pulled up to the curb in front of them. The passenger side window rolled down to reveal a woman who must be Shouto's sister. Her hair, that was white with intermittent specks of red, made that clear.

"Hello, Shouto," his sister called out with a smile. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Shouto answered simply. Then he looked at Izuku and asked, "Come meet my sister?"

"O-oh! Um, sure!" Izuku replied, nervous but excited to meet another, and hopefully more pleasant, member of the Todoroki family.

They shared one last squeeze of their joined hands before letting go. Shouto led the way over to the running car while Izuku followed behind, putting his backpack back on. The distance was short from where they had been standing and the edge of the sidewalk. From the open window, he could see that she wore a white button up shirt and a mute pink sweater over it with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She also had on jeans, brown shoes, and wore glasses on her face.

"Hello," the woman greeted, directing it towards Izuku as they approached. Then she turned to her brother. "Who's your friend, Shouto?"

"This is Midoriya Izuku," Shouto said, a small warm smile on his face as he introduced his friend. "He's a student in the Support Course."

"Hello!" Izuku said with a bright smile and a small bow. "It's nice to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you as well, Midoriya-kun," she said, smiling as well with a nod. "I'm Todoroki Fuyumi. Please call me Fuyumi. And please don't feel obligated to do the same. There are just too many Todorokis for us all to be called that."

Izuku giggled at that.

"O-ok, Fuyumi-san!" he chirped, secretly glad she didn't expect him to have her call him by his first name.

Not many people called Izuku by his first name. His parents do, of course, as they had given it to him in the first place. Mei and Hitoshi do as his best friends. Tsuyu and Ochako do as well. The former because that was her preference and the latter because of their bonding moment. Even Bakugou had long ago before he labeled him a Deku.

Would a Deku be able to win the Sports Festival? I think not.

And just today, Shouto had started to call him by his first name. For some reason, his name coming from the boy next to him was special. Izuku had an inkling as to why if the fluttering feelings in his stomach earlier were anything to go by. But he still wasn't sure about that and decided not to worry about it too much. Either way, because this was the first day of them referring to each other by their first names, Izuku wasn't really open to having another person calling him that just yet. Especially someone he literally just met even if it was Shouto's sister.

There was a honk from another car most likely a parent also waiting to pick up a student. A slight flush of embarrassment for holding someone up came over Fuyumi's face.

"Well, uh, we should get going, Shouto," she said. Shouto nodded and moved to open the passenger door of the car. "Do you need a ride home, Midoriya-kun?"

The question made Shouto pause and look back at his friend. Izuku wasn't sure what to do. He had no issue taking the train and walking home as he did that every day. He certainly didn't want to inconvenience them by giving him a ride. But then again, he could hang out with Shouto a bit more and even have the chance to get to know his sister in the process. While also being able to avoid any more judgmental looks from passerby during the commute home. Green eyes looked at grey and blue in silent question as to see what the other thought. The ice user seemed to think for only a second before gesturing with his head for the greenette to get in.

"Sure! I-if it isn't too much trouble," Izuku answered shyly as Shouto moved to open the back door instead so they could sit together.

"No trouble at all," Fuyumi answered with a reassuring smile. "Hop in."

The two students climbed into the back, buckled up, and placed their bags on their laps as Fuyumi pulled away. Upon her request for his address, Izuku told her and their destination was loaded into the GPS. Out of the corner of his eye, the greenette saw Shouto was noting it down in his phone.

"Heh, guess I won't have to text you my address later," Izuku commented with a giggle.

"No, but we can still talk, right?" Shouto asked, in a characteristically serious tone.

"Of course!" Izuku chirped brightly.

"So, how did you two meet?" Fuyumi asked, from the front seat.

It was an understandable question for her to ask. With Shouto being in the Hero Course and Midoriya in the Support Course, one wouldn't think there would be much opportunity for students of different departments to meet.

"Training," Shouto answered vaguely.

"We first met when I was assigned to observe their Battle Training," Izuku chimed in, providing more detail. "I was there to analyze 1-A's, and the next day 1-B's, Quirks during their training. There are so many amazing Quirks in the Hero Course classes. Shouto-kun's is really interesting and powerful too! His match had been over in seconds!"

Beside him, the ice user was regulating his temperature to tame the blush that threated to show on his face at the praise.

"Then, he came to find me in the Support studio to work on a Support Item I offered to make him," Izuku continued, ignorant of his friend's internal struggle. "Shouto-kun has great control of his ice and is very versatile with it. And hopefully, after today, he'll get to learn the same with his fire!"

...

In the front, Fuyumi sat with a wide-eyed expression at that statement. She was surprised since she hadn't actually been able to watch the footage of the last few one-on-one matches of festival yet. She had been busy running errands and doing chores assigned to her by their father all day. Enough that kept her from watching the Sports Festival properly though she did sneak in peeks to the live feed every now and then to watch her brother's progress. Taking first in the first two events and then winning match after match to end up in the semi-finals. The ones she hadn't been able to catch up on yet.

Shouto? Learning to use fire? she thought in dis-belief. Since when? Ever since the incident with mother, he had refused to use it.

"W-what exactly happened for you to say that?" Fuyumi asked, glancing back at Shouto through the rearview mirror.

"In my fight with Izuku," Shouto hesitantly explained. "He said some things. Made me realize something I had forgotten. And I…I used my fire during a fight for the first time in years."

'My' fire? Shouto actually used it? And even called it his own instead of our father's? What did Midoriya-kun say to him for that to happen?

"It was really amazing when he did," Midoriya added with a bright smile. "We were fighting and there was ice everywhere. I told Shouto-kun that it was his fire and not his father's. That it was his Quirk and he got to decide how to use it. Because it's his own power."

Midoriya-kun was the one to tell Shouto it was his own fire. Not father's? Does…does that mean he knows something? About our family? Our history?

Fuyumi wasn't sure what to think about this boy possibly knowing what happened in the Todoroki household. Questions filled her head. How did he find out? Did Shouto tell him or did he find out another way? If he did know, did he tell anyone? Would he tell anyone? Shouto seemed comfortable with him so whatever Midoriya knew didn't bother him.

I'll have to ask Shouto more once we drop Midoriya-kun off at his home, she thought as she drove. She also wanted to ask about them being on a first name basis as well as that had not gone unnoticed by her.

"That's exciting to hear," Fuyumi said. "Who won your match?"

"O-oh, um, I did," Izuku said, bashfully rubbing his head. "I, uh, I ended up using my electric gloves to incapacitate him. Now that I think about it, it was kind of an underhanded way to beat you."

"Don't think that way, Izuku," Shouto insisted as he placed a comforting hand on the other's knee. "You won fair and square. I shouldn't have let you distract me so much nor should I have let you get so close. You had a clean win."

Fuyumi figured the two in the back might think she couldn't see them since she was driving, but she actually could from the rearview mirror. Physical contact? Then she watched in glances to see the greenette smile and carefully take Shouto's hand in his. Fuyumi was surprised when her brother didn't shy away from the contact and in fact smiled at the other boy as he intertwined their fingers himself.

They're ok holding each other's hands? How close of friends are they?

"Thanks, Shouto-kun," Izuku said with a warm smile. "We both fought hard today no matter where we ended up in the rankings."

"Same to you, Izuku," Shouto said with a nod.

"Where did you place, Midoriya-kun?" Fuyumi asked as they continued towards their destination. "If you don't mind me asking."

"Me? Oh well, I, um…," Izuku stuttered, suddenly turning sheepish.

"Izuku won first place," Shouto interjected flatly but the pride for his friend was apparent in his eyes.

"Wow, first place? That's quite an accomplishment," Fuyumi chimed in from the front.

Though father won't be too happy about that, she thought, worried for her brother.

Midoriya was a blushing mess in the back at the praise. To spare him from his flustered state, Fuyumi asked how the rest of the festival went. Glad for the change of subject, the greenette went into an animated retelling of the events as Shouto added his own comments at times. But for the most part let his friend lead the conversation. His chatter filled the car ride as they drove to the Midoriya apartment.

...

Shouto sat in the back next to his friend discreetly holding hands and enjoying his voice as he recounted the day in a very Izuku way. Describing the events. What other students had done and what their Quirks were. Even getting sidetracked from time to time in theorizing other possible uses of those Quirks. But nothing a quick squeeze to the hand couldn't fix. Or, as Shouto found out accidentally, a brush of his thumb against the other's skin.

It wasn't a touch he initiated intentionally. More subconscious than anything else as if his thumb had a mind of its own. For a second, but only a second, Shouto had been worried that Izuku wouldn't be ok with it. Until the greenette simply smiled at him and brushed his own thumb back as he continued to speak. A nonverbal approval of the gesture. Adding another form of touch between the two to their growing collection.

If it had been anyone else, Shouto didn't think he would enjoy this amount of contact. Not as much anyway or possibly not at all. But Izuku was different. Special. The other boy came into his life, breaking his walls and befriending him with ease. He said yes to his request to hold his hand and together, through mutual want and consent, they had built up these growing levels of intimacy. All the touches he didn't know he had missed until now.

Ones I now share with Izuku.

The car ride was one that Shouto wished would never end. That Izuku didn't have to leave his side so soon. The more time he spent with Izuku, the more Shouto found that he missed Izuku when they were apart. Shouto had noticed a sort of fluttering feeling in his chest beginning to grow when he was around his friend. He didn't know what it was exactly, but it was a sensation he doesn't feel in regards to anyone else. It was warm. Just like Izuku was.

What was it that Dark Shadow had called him? Sun Boy?

Yes, that was it. Izuku was like the sun. Shouto found himself warmed when standing in the comforting light of his personality. The greenette's smile alone could brighten up a room. The same smile that the bi-color teen's mind kept connecting to the word 'cute'. Each time that smile was directed at himself, the resulting need to hide a rising blush took more and more effort.

Sooner than Shouto would have liked, they arrived at the Midoriya apartment building. Fuyumi pulled over to the side so the greenette could get out. Reluctantly, Shouto let go of the other's hand, already missing the contact.

"Thank you so much for the ride, Fuyumi-san!" Izuku said after he climbed out and fixed his backpack on.

"It was my pleasure, Midoriya-kun," Fuyumi replied kindly. "And congratulations again."

The greenette nodded in thanks and then turned to Shouto saying, "Make sure to let me know if you can come tomorrow, Shouto-kun. It would be great to have you join us."

"I will," Shouto answered.

"What's tomorrow?" Fuyumi asked.

"Oh, I offered to hold a sleepover at my place to celebrate our hard work today," Izuku answered with a bright smile. "I invited my friends Mei-chan, Hitoshi-kun, and Shouto-kun too. I still have to ask my mom but she's probably be ok with it. Mei-chan and Hitoshi-kun have been over before."

"Well, that is nice of you to offer," Fuyumi answered, though she doubted their father would let Shouto go. "We'll have to see what our father says."

"I'll go whether the old man says no or not," Shouto insisted from the back.

"Shouto!" Fuyumi exclaimed while Izuku giggled at his frankness.

"Well, let me know either way," Izuku said with an endearing smile. "Oh, and you'll have to let me know how the visit to see your mom goes. Bye, Shouto-kun, Fuyumi-san!"

With that, the greenette waved farewell and walked into the building. Shouto couldn't help but smile as he watched the other boy go. Once the other was through the door, Fuyumi pulled out and headed for the Todoroki estate. As they drove, the smile fell from his face as he thought about how his father was going to react to him not only placing third, not first, but also that he lost to someone who was Quirkless. Shouto knew that Izuku's win was well deserve, but he was sure Endeavor wouldn't feel that way. Despite having fought all day, he knew the man would demand he spend the evening 'training'.

With a resigned sigh, he slouched back into the seat knowing he was going to be sleeping with more burns and bruises than he already got from the Sports Festival. Nothing out of the ordinary for him, but still a bother. No matter. He would endure it same as he's done since his Quirk manifested. Focus on something else while his father 'trained' him.

Sometimes he focused on school work or a new book he had started reading. Recently, his mind wandered to visions of green eyes, green curls, and soft, warm hands. But today, he would focus on something new. Something he hadn't thought of doing since he got the scar on his face.

Today, he would focus on how he planned to finally go visit his mother.

"What was this about visiting mother?" Fuyumi asked.

Shouto shrugged and answered, "Some of the things Izuku said during our match got me thinking. Remembering things I had forgotten. Memories about mom. So, I decided I would go and visit her."

"But why?" Fuyumi inquired further, confused. "It's been so many years since…then."

'A-and Shouto. His left side…is becoming unbearable and I can't help but hate it more and more. All I can see is his father. I can't…I can't raise him anymore. I shouldn't because I'm afraid I'll…'

Shouto raised his left hand to the rough brownish red scar on his face. The one his own mother unintentionally gave him on the side that reminded her of him. The mark that represented all her fears and worries. The disfigurement that the bi-color teen blamed completely on that bastard of a father. Not her.

'Shouto…you still want to be a Hero, right? You are not bound by blood to follow in his footsteps. Not a prisoner of your lineage. Stay true to yourself. You and you alone decide who you want to be. What kind of Hero you want to become.'

"I realized that I miss her," Shouto replied as he pulled his hand away and stared at it. "Her voice, her eyes, her cool touches. Everything. I don't know if she has forgiven me, but I never blamed her for any of it. I don't even know if she would want to see me. But I…I want to try."

From the driver's seat, Fuyumi glanced back at him through the rearview mirror. She took in his expression and demeanor. Could see the conflicted want and worry behind that stoic façade he had come to wear over the years. Rather than saying anything else, she merely nodded and returned her focus to driving while Shouto closed his eyes and napped until they arrived at the Todoroki household.

...

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Notes extension: post/643938431333990400/chapter-56-friends-and-family