The Lost Hero's Path

By IcyHot1A

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When someone from Endeavor's past lures Shoto away, Midoriya follows and ends up being drawn into the villain's wicked plans. So, it's up to Bakugo and Uraraka to follow their friends' trail and find a way to save them before time runs out…TodoDeku, Kacchako

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Chapter 1: No Place is Safe

Midoriya Izuku sat at the desk in his dorm room, scowling at the page of writing in front of him and stealing glances out the window at the tree lined walkways of the UA campus. He tapped his pencil on the table top, catching the attention of his red and white-haired friend, who laid on his bed, reading manga. Todoroki Shoto looked over at him and smiled patiently.

"You need any help with that translation?" he asked, "I've already finished the lesson, so…"

"Yeah, if you don't mind," Izuku said sheepishly, "See? This is why I asked you to mentor me in English. You're a lot better at it than I am."

"Not really," Shoto admitted, sliding off of the bed and taking a seat next to him, "I've just had more practice. That's all."

The green-haired youth's heart skipped as his friend's pleasant, slightly smoky scent drifted over his senses.

"Let me see," Shoto said, leaning in closer.

It's warm.

"You've got the first part right," his friend said approvingly, seeming not to notice the blush that was roaring across Izuku's face.

So close!

"But, this part," Shoto said, turning his head to meet his flustered friend's widened eyes, "English is a little different because you have to include…"

Shoto paused as Izuku expelled a squeaky laugh.

"Huh?"

"Oh sorry, it's nothing," Izuku managed, wondering if it was possible for the other youth to hear his heart pounding so loud, "H-hey, you're really good with English."

"I could also teach you some French."

Yiiiiii!

"I also know a few other languages too. I thought that, as a hero, you don't always know what language the people you save might speak. I always thought it was pretty cool in the movies where the hero would speak to people in their own languages…like he knew all of them or something."

Izuku wasn't sure how his face didn't slam down on the desk or just explode from the heavy blushing…which Shoto chose that exact moment to notice. He blinked and stared, suddenly registering his friend's discomfort.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a concerned tone, "You look…maybe feverish? Do you have a thermometer? We should check your temperature."

"Ah…erm…" Izuku stammered, leaning back to create more distance, "N-no, I'm fine. I just…I…maybe I've had enough studying for now. You said that you wanted to go down to the gym together?"

"Yeah. I need to practice using different strategies during battle," Shoto explained, rising from his chair and not noticing as Izuku slumped forward and let out a shaky breath, "I still need to work on fighting and using my quirk more strategically."

Izuku smiled.

"You're still focused on that? What Stain said in that battle awhile back?"

"He may have been an enemy," Shoto said firmly, "but it was a valid argument. I shouldn't be depending on my quirk too much. I need to improve my skills at hand-to-hand combat."

"Eh," Izuku huffed sheepishly, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck, "I think maybe stuff like that should wait a little longer, don't you? I don't know about you, but I'm still pretty beat up and tired from trying to keep up with Endeavor."

"I can't afford to go easy on myself."

Izuku gave his friend a disarming smile.

"I don't think you have a problem with going too easy on yourself," he chuckled, standing and stretching, "C'mon."

Shoto looked up at him questioningly and his green-haired friend thought there couldn't possibly be anything cuter than his curious expression.

"If we're going to go beat up on each other, we should get a snack first. Your dad is always saying…"

"Endeavor," Shoto said firmly, making Izuku pause and color.

Seeing his discomfort, Shoto backtracked slightly.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"Oh, it's fine. My mistake."

"It's okay. It's just…he's never acted like a father to me, so I don't think of him that way."

Shoto rose and headed out of the room with Izuku at his side, stealing little glances at him.

Somehow…I don't really think that's true.

You're disappointed in him, sure, but to me, it seems like you're really trying to make peace with him.

XXXXXXXXXX

I have to train harder, Ochako Uraraka chided herself as she worked her way through an obstacle course, employing her quirk strategically as she moved, to lift and maneuver a number of items she had placed around the training ground she was working on, I don't have flashy explosions, super strength or anything like that to help me when I'm fighting, so like Gunhead said, I have to be able to identify and take advantage of everything around me…and I have to quickly take down the villain with expert moves to incapacitate them.

She finished a set of moves and headed to where she'd left a bottle of water. Picking up the bottle, she took a little sip.

"You're getting better at that."

Uraraka startled at the sound of her classmate's voice and she turned to greet him.

"Bakugo, I thought everyone was already back at the dorm."

The blond youth shrugged, glancing down at the gear on his arms.

"I was trying a few new moves. Looks like we think alike."

The words brought an instant blush to her face.

"Eh, yeah," she stammered, wiping the back of a hand across her forehead, "I guess because I don't have explosions or things like that in my quirk, I have to think of other ways to win. I have to work harder."

Bakugo nodded, sitting down on the ground and sliding the gear off of his wrists.

"Whatever it takes," he agreed.

He picked up one of the larger gauntlets she had laid on the ground and looked at it closely, studying it from varied angles.

"What'd you do to these?" he asked.

His classmate narrowed her eyes, smirking.

"Hmm, I don't know if I should tell you, just in case we have to spar again."

"Fine, then don't tell me," he scoffed, smirking back at her, "Why don't we spar right now and I can figure it out that way?"

"What? Erm, but…"

"Whatsa matter?" he teased, "You need to put that new stuff to the test, right?"

"W-well, yeah, but…"

"Then, let's go for it," Bakugo said, standing, "I won't even put on my own gauntlets."

Ochako gave the blond youth an offended look.

"What?" he demanded, "I was offering to help."

"You were going to go easy on me because I'm a girl," his classmate argued.

"No," Bakugo countered, standing, "I just don't wanna break your new gear before you have a chance to get used to it. Plus, I'm curious to see what you came up with. If I go all out right now, you'll be so focused on fighting me that we won't be able to pay attention to how the equipment is working."

Like I'm going to be able to pay attention to the equipment anyway when he's around, Ochako mused inwardly, My heart's already beating fast like it always does when he's around. I'm probably blushing too. I'm glad he'll probably write it off because he came up on me while I was training.

"Uh, right."

"So, do you wanna do this or not?" Bakugo asked, narrowing his eyes.

"You're on," Ochako laughed.

She took up a position opposite him, meeting his eyes squarely.

"What've you got?" Bakugo demanded.

"Well," Ochako began, starting towards him at a run, "I realized that even though my quirk is useful in a lot of ways, it lacks the powerful punch that yours and Deku's has."

Bakugo countered as his classmate met him with a flying sidekick.

"Nice move," he commented, "You learn that from Gunhead?"

"Yeah. I learned a few things from him, but I learned some things from fighting you too."

"Heh, me?" Bakugo chuckled, countering again as the young woman struck at him again, then used her own inertia to flip over him.

He startled slightly as her quirk activated and he was lifted off the ground, but recovered easily, using small, measured explosions to keep her from simply dropping him. Ochako held out her right hand, aiming at him.

"You're not the only one who can fly around a bit while you fight. I learned more about hand-to-hand combat from Gunhead, then I applied what I learned from watching you. But I was still having some trouble putting it all together."

Bakugo propelled himself towards her suddenly and wrapped a hand around her wrist, only to be surprised a moment later by a sharp blast of air that seemed to emanate from within one of the newly redesigned gauntlets.

"That's when I started thinking," Ochako explained as he looked on appreciatively, "I can throw a ball and it will never touch the ground, but levitation isn't enough. I need a force behind the throw or the strike. From watching Deku, I got the idea that air can be condensed and fired to give the things I touch more force so that they fly in the direction I want, instead of just floating."

"Nice."

The two crashed into each other, then spun away, still hovering in the air. Ochako paused, further away this time.

"Another thing that occurred to me is that sometimes, I'm farther away from things, but I have to get closer to them to use my quirk, and I need to do so more quickly."

"You're right about that."

"Yeah, I was thinking about it a lot that day when Deku's Black Whip went out of control and I needed to get close enough to grab onto him."

"What? Do those gauntlets have some kinda grappling hook or something now?"

"Exactly!" Ochako affirmed, firing a hook from one of the gauntlets and wrapping it around his wrist, "These grappling hooks can be used to either pull me closer to things…"

With a flick of her wrist, she dragged him in, although he looked more curious than resistant.

"Or I can pull things closer to me."

Ochako's breath caught as she realized she'd overestimated the amount of force and Bakugo collided with her. Instinctively, his arms wrapped around her and he shifted to minimize the force of the impact. The result was that the two ended up face-to-face and entangled together by the lines attached to the grappling hooks.

"Looks like you pulled me in all right," Bakugo snickered.

Oh my god, he smells so…and…he's so close!

She swallowed hard as his fiery red eyes burned into hers and his face came closer.

"You got any more moves to show me, or should I show you one of mine?" he teased.

So close!

"Hey," Bakugo said, his eyes holding her transfixed as his hand slipped under her chin, "Didja hear me?"

Before she could answer, the doors from the nearby dorm building opened and Midoriya exited alongside Todoroki. Her distraction caused her quirk to release them, dumping the two in a heap on the grass as the two approaching boys finally seemed to notice them and came dashing over to help.

"Uraraka!" Midoriya shouted, hurrying to her and helping her to her feet.

"You all right?" Shoto asked Bakugo, offering a hand, only to be rebuffed as Bakugo climbed to his feet.

"Of course I'm all right, Icyhot!" the blond youth scoffed, "I don't need your help. Just get outta here, all right? We were training!"

He looked over and his eyes found Midoriya sitting close to Ochako, helping her untangle the line attached to her grappling hook as the two laughed and chatted.

"Huh! Damn nerd. Just can't stay out of my way, can you?"

"Hey, it's not like Midoriya knew you two were out here…training," Shoto pointed out.

"I don't like the way you said that!" Bakugo shouted, "You better watch your mouth."

"You shouldn't be so loud. It's during quiet hours," Shoto said sedately.

"Don't you tell me what I should and shouldn't do!"

"Midoriya, we should get to the gym. We need to get our workout done and get some sleep for tomorrow."

"Don't ignore me!" Bakugo roared.

"Okay," Midoriya said, taking his leave of Ochako as she finished retracting the grappling hook and stood.

She watched, shaking her head as Midoriya and Shoto walked away, leaving Bakugo yelling at them.

Some things don't change, do they?

She slipped away, leaving Bakugo alone and seething with anger. As he calmed, he looked around and realized suddenly that she had gone.

"Damn it!" he huffed, "Way to ruin the moment, Deku…"

I was about to kiss her.

Assholes.

You're both gonna pay for that.

XXXXXXXXXX

Midoriya recognized the sound of a cell notification as he and Shoto entered UA's workout room and he gave his stoic companion a curious glance. Shoto let out a flustered breath and pulled the phone out of his pocket.

"It's just my old man," he said dismissively, putting the phone down on a bench near one of the room's treadmills as he removed his jacket, "It's nothing. He does this a lot."

"You mean, texting you?" Midoriya asked.

"Yeah. He knows I won't answer him."

"But, what if it was…?"

"If it was anything really important, he would contact you and Bakugo too," Shoto explained, "You two are also his interns, just like me."

"Well, if you're sure," Midoriya said uncertainly, climbing onto the treadmill beside the one his friend stood on.

"Hey," Shoto said, making the green-haired youth pause and look at him expectantly, "do you mind using the one in front of mine?"

"Um…yeah, okay," Midoriya agreed, giving Shoto a mystified look.

His friend looked down at the controls in front of him.

"It's just that…rooms like this remind me of when I was a kid, and…he would force me to train until I was sick. For a long time, just being in a place like this made me feel sick. In fact, it's only been since our match in the sports festival that I've been comfortable training in here."

"Really?" Midoriya asked, a warm smile forming on his lips.

"Yeah," Shoto admitted, a little blush forming on his cheeks, "I told you that even though you didn't really say that much, just that few sentences really got to me. Then, the encouragement you gave me when I was up against Bakugo helped me when I was doubting myself. I didn't win my match with him, but it was my choice not to use my quirk. And now, I feel like I make that decision for myself…not with him standing over me and not to prove a point, but to do what I've always wanted to do…to become the best hero that I can be."

Midoriya's smile widened as the two turned on the treadmills and began their run.

"You're already a great hero," he said appreciatively, "and you get better every day."

"So do you," Shoto agreed, raising the speed until he was running.

The two completed a warm up run, then moved on to the weight training circuit. Several more times, Midoriya heard the notification tone on Shoto's phone, then he heard the one on his own. As they finished their workout and prepared to leave, he took a moment to read the text, which had arrived from Endeavor. Shoto sighed raggedly and rolled his eyes.

"What does that old man want?" he said in an annoyed tone, "It had better be important and not just him trying to get me to play son to him."

"It does look important," Midoriya said, his eyes widening in alarm.

"Midoriya, I've contacted Shoto several times, but he has not answered, so I'm messaging you and Bakugo as well. I need the two of you to remain close to Shoto and watch over him carefully," Midoriya read.

"Seriously?" Shoto complained, "What the hell? Does he think I can't take care of myself?"

"The reason for this is that over the past few days, the families of three pro heroes have been attacked by someone who calls himself 'Retribution.' These attacks have resulted in a number of deaths. We're trying to make a connection to figure out why these particular heroes' families were targeted. While that process is taking place, we must assume that the families of all pro heroes are at risk. And if this villain knows that All Might is invested in your training, you might be targeted as well. All three of you need to stay close together and stay close to your teachers. I will message you to keep you updated on the situation as it unfolds."

Midoriya's worried eyes sought Shoto's and his voice shook slightly as he continued.

"It sounds like a serious situation."

"Yeah, but it's not just serious for me," Shoto reasoned, "It sounds like all of us need to be careful. And I think since Iida's family includes a number of pro heroes, we need to pass this on to him."

"I wonder if there will be a bigger announcement in our classes tomorrow."

"I don't know," Shoto sighed, looking out into the darkness where a light rain was beginning to fall, "but maybe we should head back to the dorms. If Bakugo got the message too, he's probably waiting for us to come back."

The prediction proved to be true as the two reached the dorms and found their irascible friend sitting in the common area alongside Iida, Uraraka and Yaoyarozu. The three had procured drinks and a small snack to be shared as Midoriya and Shoto joined them.

"I'm glad you guys are back," Iida said in a serious tone, "We were wondering if we should have met you at the gym instead of waiting."

"Midoriya and I are fine. We were watching out for each other," Shoto reassured him.

"Bakugo told us what Todoroki's father sent about the attacks," Ochako explained, "We thought that, whatever the teachers decide to do, we should also be prepared and look out for each other."

"I can take care of myself," Bakugo asserted, "but if anyone tries to get in here to cause trouble, I've got no problem taking them out."

"It seems like those of us with active pro heroes in their immediate families are most at risk," Midoriya posited, "So, maybe the best thing we can do is to focus on protecting those most likely to become targets."

"That makes sense," Ochako agreed.

"Right," Momo said, nodding.

"There are security guards on campus," Iida acknowledged, "but they go on rounds, and that could be exploited."

"I wonder if Endeavor's message has also reached the principal and teachers," Momo mused anxiously.

"I'm sure it has," Iida said reassuringly, "and if they were really worried about us, they would enact the safety protocols like they have in the past. We don't want to cause a panic, but we do need to take this seriously, so we should all be careful."

He turned to meet Shoto's narrowed eyes.

"As the son of the number one hero, we need to especially be sure that you are protected, Shoto."

"You also come from a prominent hero family," Shoto pointed out, "so maybe we need to include you in that, and any others in similar circumstances."

"He has a point," Momo agreed.

"So, it sounds like we're setting up a watch inside the building," Bakugo reasoned, "Fine, Ochako and I will take the first watch."

"Huh? You and m-me?" Ochako squawked, blinking and staring.

Bakugo shrugged.

"Or not. Whatever."

"Yaoyarozu and I will talk to everyone and set up a schedule, but for tonight, we should make sure that the ones of us most needing protection have it," Iida suggested.

"Well, we have volunteers to take the first watch," Shoto replied, "We should focus on just making the schedule for tonight and make more plans in the morning after we talk to the teachers about this."

Several more minutes passed as the five finalized the plans and Bakugo led Ochako away from the others. Iida and Momo took their plan and left to inform the others, leaving a concerned looking Midoriya alone with Shoto. Shoto yawned and started towards the elevator, then he stopped as Midoriya's voice sounded behind him.

"Hey, wait a second."

"Hmm?" Shoto said, blinking sleepily.

"You know, since you are the son of the number one hero, I think you need to be extra careful."

"Yeah, I will stay inside the building and go with someone if I leave. I know. I won't take any unnecessary risks."

"I know you won't," Midoiya assured him, "It's not that, but I feel like it would be safest if you aren't where a possible intruder would expect you to be."

"What do you mean?" Shoto asked, "What are you suggesting I do?"

Midoriya's hands clenched, shaking slightly.

"I think you should stay with me tonight."

Shoto gazed at him wordlessly for a moment, then let out a breath and nodded.

"You really think I could be in that much danger?" he asked.

"Whether you are or aren't, we aren't in a position to know," Midoriya, "but as your friend, I'd rather be extra cautious than to underestimate this villain. So yes, I think you should stay with me tonight."

Shoto considered quietly for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah, okay…maybe that would be best."