Todoroki Shouto had never been one to leave his house, which isn't much of a surprise considering the grueling training which his Father had continuously put him through.

However, for the first time ever, in all his twelve years, he was in an actual playground… albeit only with the intentions of awaiting his sister, Fuyumi, who hurriedly collected grocery's, of course, but it was still a new experience.

Shouto had only ever observed a playground from afar when he was younger, barely concealing his envy as he watched the children conduct a joyous symphony of laughter.

Now though, the playground was void of any sound as Todoroki sat alone on a swing.

Unsure of what to do, he simply clutched onto the warm chains either side of him and kept his head down as his feet barely grazed the grass.

"…Geez, what's your big deal? Your pet die or somethin'?"

Todoroki made a startled noise at the sudden gruff but clearly female voice.

He turned to the source and found that it belonged to a young girl who sat a few meters away from him on the grass. She was around his age, eight, wore a dark green hoodie, and baggy cargo pants.

"…"

The young flame and ice user was unsure of whether he should respond or not, not used to interactions with anyone outside his own family. The boy took a moment to inspect the stranger.

With pale skin, hair tied up into a simple bun and long bangs covering her eyes, she didn't seem like anyone out of the ordinary.

"What? Can't speak?" the girl probed in response to the silence.

Shouto didn't have much time to answer as he heard a loud explosion in the direction of the grocery store.

Despite the distance, he could see two armed men donning all black clothing screaming threats at the person behind the cash register.

Todoroki's heart stopped as the men backed out of the store while pressing a gun to the head of a hostage… Fuyumi's head.

'J-just wait for the heroes, they'll come... they have to come,' the boy frantically repeated in his head like a mantra, all the while clenching his fists in a poor attempt at keeping his powers from lashing out.

Shouto knew the rules surrounding quirk usage in situations like this, after all, his father had made sure to thoroughly drill this into him. He knew this, and yet… the boy couldn't help but wonder why it felt so, so wrong to stand on the sidelines and simply watch while an innocent bystander, his sister, was being held at gunpoint.

Any further thoughts on the topic were immediately forgotten as the deafening sound of a gunshot reached the boy's ears, causing his blood to run cold.

Shouto slammed his eyes shut, too afraid to gaze at the possible scene that played out before him.

… He didn't do anything... he let this happen... he was a coward.

Such thoughts swirled in the young boy's head… that is until;

"Gosh I hate guns, so loud and useless," came a loud, disgruntled statement.

Shouto's eyes flew open at the familiar voice, head snapping to the young girl he'd just met; somehow she'd managed to reach the front of the grocery store without him even noticing.

'Teleportation quirk?' the boy speculated.

What he saw was simultaneously relieving and shocking; his sister was alive… but, one of the crooks was now trapped in the earth, just his head in sight, while the other was aiming his gun at the girl, having apparently just shot at her.

However, despite this, she had obviously somehow managed to avoid being killed.

The unspoken question was answered as she uncoiled her fist, letting a crumpled bullet fall to the ground with a soft 'clink'.

The man who had fired the gun was now shaking after this display, holding his weapon - now proven useless - loosely by his side. He was planning on holding the lady that had been in his arms hostage until him and his partner left the scene, but before he knew it, his companion was pulled into the earth and buried to his neck, then this crazy little girl appeared out of the ground.

"Wh-who do you think you are, ya' little shit!" the criminal exclaimed furiously, trying and failing to keep the bitchy tone from his voice.

The girl grinned like a maniac before she brought her arms up, letting the earth form a make-shift cell around the man and proudly stated, "My name is Toph, the greatest earthbender in the world! Don't you two dunderheads ever forget it!"

Having said her piece, the girl, now known as Toph, disappeared into the earth before reappearing in front of Shouto.

The boy quickly picked his jaw up from the floor and recovered from his shock, giving Toph a look of awe and gratitude.

"What is it?" the earth-based quirk user asked, as if she didn't just stop an armed robbery.

"I- you saved my sister. Thank you," Shouto spoke sincerely, bowing deeply as he did so.

Toph blew the bangs from her eyes, temporarily revealing a strange pair of milky white eyes - 'Probably just a mutation due to her quirk, there's no way she's blind,' Todoroki thought offhandedly - and gave Shouto an appraising glance with her unseeing eyes.

"Meh, they were no challenge," the short girl said with a shrug, "but, you're welcome, Moody."

"...Moody?" Shouto repeated dubiously. "My name is Todoroki Shouto."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Toph dismissed his correction with a cheeky smile.

The sound of blaring police sirens interrupted any further conversation.

Shouto heard the girl click her tongue in annoyance.

"Welp, gotta go, see ya around Moody," the earth-bender said, pulling her hood up.

"... Idon'thaveapet," Shouto quickly muttered as Toph was about to walk off.

"Huh?" the girl scrunched up her face in confusion.

"Before, you asked me if my pet died…" the dual-quirk user commented rather awkwardly. "I don't have one."

He wasn't sure why, but the girl had apparently found this hilarious, as she'd burst into a hysteric fit of laughter.

She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.

"You're pretty funny," the girl remarked as she heartily slapped Todoroki's back, causing him to wince. "You remind me of a good friend."

Though tempted to ask, no other words were spoken between the two as Toph ran off, obviously avoiding the cops after the stunt she'd just pulled.

Shouto watched her do so in silence, a quiet air of awe and respect surrounding him.

Illegal actions or not, the girl would forever have Todooki's gratitude... he just wondered if he'd ever get to see her again.

Only time would tell.