Shoto Todoroki was not pleased, not at all. It had been less then a week since this madness started to take hold of his life, from being kidnapped inside his own dorm room, to coming face to face with the Symbol of Evil, then finding out his oldest friend was squatting in some run down ghetto with three other strangers and to top off this insanity, learning that not only had Ururaka been in near regular contact with a member of the League of Villains, but there was supposedly a massive group of people that practically worshipped Izuku's villain persona like a deity. Then there was the possibility that Izuku might know something about his family and refuses to say anything due to a promise.
Needless to say he wanted some release for this stress which his work study provided in spades. There were plenty of pros willing to sign him up from what he did at the sports festival alone, but Shoto turned them down. It just felt better to be his own master for once instead of having to listen to somebody else. Though after she came clean to him about the mess they both were sitting in, Uruaraka tried her damndest to get him to sign up with Gunhead. There was a fear in her eyes as she did that felt as if she wanted someone she could share her newfound burden with, but again she was turned down.
However Bakugou had started to act rather...strange towards him since then and at times he became more of a mother hen for the class then even Iida was. But there was always this hint of aggression when they locked eyes that went beyond his usual blind anger, especially when Uruaraka came to talk. He honestly thought jealousy may be the reason, but regardless of what his peers might think, he didn't really care at the moment, so long as they were safe. He had his own secrets to hold and burdens to bare with. He had kept his end of the deal with Izuku since there was a high chance that the guy would turn around and end someone if he became too cornered, yet he had to hold his tongue at times to keep himself from confessing to All Might or Eraserhead or anyone else.
Not that it mattered right now of course, he had a job to do. It had been a rather uneventful shift which made him both uneasy and relieved, yet this was becoming a bit of the norm as of late. The sightings of villains and criminal activity in general, save for very petty acts, dropped tremendously by at least thirty percent and the remaining seventy percent acted with a bit of restraint when acting out. That alone led to a massive drop in civilian and professional casualties, at least in the official statistics. The unofficial ones made in rumors and urban legends said that a major chunk of both the professional heroes and villains had been killed by some unknown third parties and that they only left a smile carved into the skin of the bodies as a calling card.
He had seen the pictures like the rest and the sheer amount of cases alone made Ururaka's story seem more likely by the day, still he could quite believe everything she said, it was just too wild to be real.
It was about one in the afternoon when things got going in his patrol, the sun was high in the sky, partially banishing some of the bitter winter cold, not that it bothered him either way with how his quirk functioned. Snow has ceased falling for the day and what remained confined to be salted away by servicemen, Shoto for his part had been focused solely on his surroundings like his training had instilled in him, not bothering to be distracted by the people around him unless they meant him harm or needed his help. As he continued on his way, there came a beep from his main phone. There was a distress signal set off not far from where he was and as such he went on ahead to answer it.
Thirty minutes of having to dodge through corners and alleyways he found where the signal was coming from and he was the only hero at the scene, not that there was much of one to begin with from what Shoto could tell. What he arrived at was a single man, who was a bit older than him leaning on a brick wall. The stranger had a head of heavily dyed black hair which added to the odd intensity of the blue of his eyes as he regarded the hero. Around his torso was a tattered leather jacket with was torn and melted at the ends from what could only be years of abuse, it gave a certain danger to how well it blended with the rough worn jeans and black boots he had on, the man's face however betrayed the intent of his appearance, it was pale and completely free of blemishes which granted him a gentle handsomeness that seemed untouched by the hardships in his mind.
The two men stared at each other, one utterly uncertain of what to do and preparing himself for some kind of ambush, while the taller one looked directly at the hero, as if trying to peer into his soul. The scene changed slightly as the stranger moved away from the wall and approached Shoto, who tensed suddenly on muscle memory. The stranger looked him over, seeming to judge his jumpiness with what may have been humor if how a smirk crawled over his face, only to be barred moments later.
"So, you're Shoto Todoroki, am I right?"
A buzz of adrenaline shot throughout the young crime fighter as the danger of the situation came even more into question. Unsure if he should fight or listen to this man, Shoto found a hiss of steam and moisture collecting on one side of his body as the snow contacted his heating skin.
"Yes, what of it? Are you in need of any assistance?"
The man pulled his hands together, cupping one over the other and cracking his knuckles right as he then moved them to his jacket pockets.
"No...maybe, I hear hero work is getting pretty dangerous nowadays. Figured you wouldn't mind having an extra set of eyes watch your back."
Shoto narrowed his gaze at the man, uncertainty accosting him more by each heartbeat he made.
"And why would you want to help me?"
The stranger shrugged as the snow flakes also began to melt on his skin.
"Because I'm bored with nothing better to do and I hear you've been in some trouble lately."
The air began to close in around the hero as the numerous ideas attacked his mind at once. Frost gathered around a fist which he nearly raised.
"Everyone's in trouble nowadays. I'm no different."
A slight click of the tongue came from the man, his own hands moving to rest at his sides. He looked to Shoto once again, the deep blue of his iris searching over the hero as if to find some unspoken truth, then after a moment he ceased the effort.
"That may be true, but regardless you still need a hand out here and it looks like you're all alone. I don't think I need to tell you how dangerous that can be, especially with all the smile murders going on lately."
A glare was shot towards the older man when Shoto dared to step back from what felt more and more like an ambush waiting to happen.
"And what would you know about that?"
The stranger shrugged again.
"Not much more than anybody else. Bunch of crazies going emulating some killer. Most I've heard is rumor, nobody really seen any of them so at this point it's like a bogeyman, except these are real if the bodies with that grin carved into 'em are any proof."
Ice and frost collected around Shoto's arms. He was unsure of what this person wanted, but from the look in his eyes, Shoto was getting the impression that the word "no" did not exist to him and that he would not give up at all. Gritting his teeth and cursing the day, he met the blue eyes of the man once more.
"You have a name I can call you by?"
The stranger stepped away from the brick wall, his posture now far more relaxed as he walked to the end of the alley and gestured for Shoto to follow.
"Call me Toya, now come on we got a lot of ground to cover."
Shoto blinked for the few seconds he had before this man he only met minutes ago glared at him to get moving, which he begrudgingly did.
Step after step, minute upon minute, nothing was said between the two as they went along the usual path the youngest Todoroki took in his patrol. There was a tension in the air that just rubbed the hero wrong, if anything it seemed more awkward than life threatening. That ended soon when Toya finally got a word in.
"Tell me, have you ever worked with that Deku kid? You know, the one who broke all his bones fighting you back in the sports festival?"
The question was harmless, and one most people who didn't know the icyhot hero would ask, but Shoto still had to keep himself from flinching from surprise.
"We knew each other and I think we were friends, now I hardly see him. He's busy with his own life that we haven't really connected much."
Snow crunched under foot as the two turned a corner along a wide street filled with bystanders. Toya raised an eyebrow at the younger man.
"Really? I honestly thought you two were butt buddies or something, seeing how much you both gushed over each other in that fight. Dude literally broke his arms to get you to use your fire, and you looked pretty happy when ya did."
Shoto paused for a moment as he greeted a few civilians who recognized him and turned his head back to the man.
"He...helped me get over some family issues, but lately he may as well have never existed."
A chuckle came from Toya as a smile crossed his lips.
"Sounds a lot like this asshole I used to work with. I'm a handyman by trade, people need things fixed or removed, they come to me and I've been one for nearly two years now. Needless to say that line of work attrachs bastards of all sorts and I'm no different. When I first started I was just this jaded motherfucker who didn't give a shit about nothing or nobody, I still don't, but with time comes perspective. Anyway, we get this new kid who's a little older then you and at first he's the biggest bitch anyone has ever seen, but over time he starts getting good at the job and I mean really good. He's waking up early, making plans for everyone, making us train, even taking care of this one guy who's scizophticitic and over time, everyone starts to like him."
They bumped into another crowd of people while Toya continued.
"I didn't really warm up to the guy, but he was the only one who got shit done and that alone deserved respect. I had to mentor the guy at the start, but then in like three months he becomes a team lead and I'm taking orders from him, again I don't bitch about it because he got shit done, well that and he wasn't scared to beat the shit out of you if you didn't. Needless to say we got along and so I started to vent about my own family issues after one too many bottles of the good stuff. Now I wasn't so drunk that I didn't remember it, but just enough that I started talking about how my dad abandoned me and beat my mom."
Another laugh left the older man's mouth as they kept walking.
"You wanna know how the kid reacts to this? He fucking hugs me and tells me that we're going to settle the score tonight. Granted he was slightly sauced, but sober enough that he meant what he said. If anybody else had told me that I would have just called them an idiot, but this guy meant it, you could see it in his eyes and I'm sure that if I hadn't talked him outta it, my fake of a father wouldn't be breathing right now."
Shoto studied the expression and body language of the other man as a certain dread began to festur in the back of his skull. He took a few steps to the right in order to gain distance from the stranger.
"What made you talk him out of it?"
Toya shrugged casually, his footfalls melting the freshly piled snow completely now as the temperature dropped.
"I told him it's better to wait for when the fucker was at his happiest to end him...and that my brothers and sister needed his money. If he were to bite it then my mom would be out on the streets and I hate the bitch, but even she is a victim to that asshole. Everyone in my family is and the sick thing is that they still need his fucking money to survive. Let me ask, have you ever spent most of your time contemplating someone's death?"
Shoto was silent for a moment and then responded.
"When I was little, but I grew out of it because I wanted to live for me and not let the people who hurt me live rent free in my head."
The blue eyes of the wanderer studied the hero for what felt like forever as they marched along until he sighed.
"You're a better man than me. I lived for the moment when I could get even, make him feel every bit of suffering I faced for my entire life. I even thought of killing my siblings on some nights to get back at him, just to twist the knife that little bit more. Never went through with going that far, kept trying to rationalize it, but it just seemed wrong even at my worst. You wanna know something funny about revenge? It can fuel you like a flame, but once you get it, there's nothing left."
The knuckles on Toya's hands popped as he clenched and unclenched his fists.
"I had my pops at my mercy at one time, I coulda ended it right there and then, but I just couldn't do it. I had lived for so long with just wanting that one moment that I was afraid of what I would do once it was over. The kid talked to me about it countless times beforehand and he always said that he wanted to help so that I could move on and start living my own life. He made me promise him that one day when this was over, that I'd sit down and have another round with him. I guess I owe him one since a few coworkers jumped the guy with me and landed him in a wheelchair, but now that's over I don't know what to do with myself. I mean, I'm the foreman of our union now since the kid quit due to some fallout he had with the last guy which got the fucker demoted and I'm trying to at least find the kid to pay him back."
He blinked once his tale was finished, realising he had just gone on a one sided conversation which had halted the two of them in their tracks. Toya sighed at this and seemed almost embarrassed by his actions as he tried to get the march back in swing.
"Anyway, how's your life been so far?"
Shoto stared wide eyed at the man, the fear having since been traded for some unreadable awe as if something was forming in his mind. He looked the man directly in his eyes, speaking out what was a demand plain and simple.
"Show me what your quirk does, now."
This caused the stranger to raise an eyebrow at the hero.
"Excuse me? Don't you know how rude it is to ask someone that?"
Shoto stepped up to the much taller fellow, closing the distance in an almost disrespectful haste.
"You got to tell me your life story and pal around with me, now you owe me. Show me your quirk."
Hesitation now lingered on the other person's face in a way that was almost fearful. He crossed his arms across his chest and was about to retort when a phone chime came from his pocket. Pulling a cheap looking flip phone out of his pants, Toya answered the call with a decided annoyance.
"What the hell do you want?...Look I'm fucking-...I'm in the middle of…Why the fuck should I!? He and that bitch are the whole reason we're in this mess, so I don't care if he's missing, the fucker can die for all I care!...No, you tell that old bastard that, you know what fuck this, just warp me back...Yeah, I'll send the coordinates in a minute."
The call ended abruptly with the phone being shifted back into a pocket. Anger was still resting on Toya's face as smoke rose from his body and Shoto was standing a few feet away. He had watched the whole thing happen in less than three minutes and in that time he had seen something which made his heart stop. There were bits of blue fire crackling out from Toya's empty hand as he argued with whoever was on the other end.
Toya turned to Shoto, a tired expression painted on his face which made him look decades older than he really was and smiled weakly at him. He reached in his jacket pocket and handed him a slip of paper before patting him on the shoulder.
"Duty calls and all that, I gotta get going, but it's been good talking to you. I'll be sure to drop by every so often. If you ever need a hand with anything, just give me a call, alright?"
With that the blue fire user saluted the hero and disappeared from sight, leaving Shoto to stare at the paper he was handed. A phone number was written on it and suddenly it made him feel sick as he realized he had to ask Izuku something, something very important that he knew would hurt them both.
Tucking the paper away, he returned to his patrol as he began to rehearse how exactly he would get the answer out of Izuku and how he would keep the man who gave him the paper away from that train wreck of a human being. He clicked his tongue as he contemplated that maybe he should be trying to keep Toya away from Izuku instead of the other way around, given how dangerous the greenete had become. For some odd reason this made him smile.