Chapter 10


"So… what is it you want me to do?"

"Cause a distraction. Something to get the cops moving in the morning."

"Huh? Like what?"

"Start a fire, cause a disturbance, as if I care! Just make sure you put up this message with this."

"Oh, sick! You really want me to write with this?"

"Yep."

"Damn. That's crazy. I love it. Okay, and then what do you want me to do if the cops show up?"

"That's exactly what I want to happen, so I'll take care of it. There's one that I need to take down. One that's getting in the way of my goal."

"Your goal? Does it have to do with that one kid that you're always talking about?"

"Yeah, he's easy to pick out. Red and white hair, a nasty scar on the left side of his face."

"Mmkay. You tryin' to get him alone, or somethin'?"

"Ah… not tonight. But he'll show up afterwards. Hopefully alone."

"Sheesh, you have a fetish or somethin'?"

"Hah, yeah. Something like that."


Shouto sighed as Midoriya carded his fingers through his hair, his other arm wrapped around his shoulders. He was pulled close into Midoriya's chest, his forehead resting right over his partner's heart. It was beating steadily, which made his breathing easier.

Shouto had almost calmed completely down from his violent night terror. It had been painful and realistic, shaking him to his core, and he found that he couldn't fall back asleep. Luckily, Midoriya had burst in just at the right moment.

And boy, did he need it.

He didn't realize how much he needed to feel someone else's touch. How long had it been since someone touched him like this? He could only think back to when his mother would hold him tightly as he cried after a particularly bad training session.

His skin almost burned where Midoriya's hands touched him, and he found himself shuddering every time his scarred hand touched the shell of his ear or his nails massaged his scalp. Instant tingles ran underneath his skin as Midoriya's other hand stroked his shoulder, and his legs jolted every time their feet touched.

He felt like he was going insane.

But he also never wanted it to stop.

Shouto sighed, his chest stuttering out air as he nuzzled closer to Midoriya, and he felt the rumble in Midoriya's chest as he chuckled softly.

"Who knew you were a snuggler?" Midoriya said, keeping up the ministrations in Shouto's hair.

Shouto huffed. "I didn't realize I was."

"No? You never snuggled up with friends or your family growing up?" Midoriya asked.

"Well, I did with my mother a little," Shouto said. "Before she went to the hospital."

"Hospital?" Midoriya asked.

Oh. Right.

He explained his scar, but he never told Midoriya of his mother's fate after that incident.

"After she burned me," Shouto started, his throat tight, "my father sent her to a mental hospital. She's been there ever since."

Midoriya's breath caught in his chest and his hand flinched in Shouto's hair. Then, he swallowed and continued.

"I'm sorry, Shouto," Midoriya apologized. "Do you go see her often?"

Shouto shook his head against Midoriya's chest. "I haven't seen her since then." He paused, feeling himself shiver and curl in on himself. "I know I should go see her, but… I'm afraid."

Shouto expected a lecture from Midoriya, telling him that he should try to be brave and face his fears and go to that hospital to see his mother. But, instead, Midoriya's hand squeezed his shoulder tightly.

"Take your time with it. You can see her when you're ready," Midoriya said softly.

Shouto relaxed, shifting closer and pressing his nose to Midoriya's collarbone. He even had freckles there, and it was adorable.

"I'm guessing you've never shared a bed before, then," Midoriya said, amusement present in his voice.

"Nope," he said.

"Not even with your siblings?" Midoriya asked.

Shouto suddenly tensed, his hand coming up to lightly grab at Midoriya's shirt. Thoughts and images flooded his mind, all from his broken childhood. Natsu's anger, Fuyumi's fear and trying to mend the family, and Touya…

He took a few shuddering breaths, and Midoriya's hand froze in his hair.

"What's wrong?" Midoriya asked immediately.

His other hand unconsciously pulled Shouto closer to his chest, which made him relax just a little. Shouto swallowed and tried to calm his breaths, his eyes focusing on the freckles on Midoriya's chest.

"It's just…" Shouto paused, his brows knitting as he tried to remember. "I've been having weird flashbacks about my past lately. My siblings."

Midoriya hummed and continued to run his hand through his hair. "How many siblings do you have?"

Shouto twisted his lips. "I… I am the youngest of four." He paused, fingers tightening their grip on Midoriya's shirt. "But my eldest brother died when I was young."

Midoriya froze and stiffened, his whole body suddenly rigid against Shouto's form.

"Oh. Shouto, I…" Midoriya stuttered, his voice slightly choked. "I'm… I'm so sorry."

Shouto felt his heart flutter, but he shook his head, nuzzling his face into Midoriya's chest again. Since when did he get so touchy-feely?

"It's okay," Shouto said with a shrug. "I never… really got to know him, anyway. I was too young."

"How old were you when he died?" Midoriya asked.

Shouto thought about it. "Maybe around 7 or 8?" he said, thinking it over. His memory of Touya was so fuzzy. "It was after my mom was sent away."

"Oh," Midoriya mumbled. "How… How did he die?"

Shouto frowned as voices filled his head.

"Get up, Shouto!"

"You'll never be good enough if you don't fight back! Toughen up!"

"You're being weak, Shouto! Weak!"

"Touya was almost perfect, but his body was far too fragile to handle it."

"Surpass him! Surpass your older brother so you can grow to succeed!"

Shouto sighed. While he wasn't actually there when his brother died, he had his suspicions, but he couldn't blatantly accuse anyone of anything at this point.

"I don't really know," Shouto said. "But… he had a weak body, so when my father trained him…" His voice trailed off, not really wanting to say it out loud. It was already too much just to talk about Touya. To talk about his death was too much on his emotional wellbeing.

Midoriya inhaled sharply through his nose and tightened his grip around Shouto's shoulder. He could feel Midoriya shaking.

"Midoriya?" Shouto called, leaning back to look up at Midoriya's face. He was shocked to see Midoriya frowning hard, his brows pulled down in what looked like an irate expression. His eyes started to shine, and Shouto felt his stomach swoop. "Midoriya, what's wrong?"

Midoriya sniffled and furiously rubbed his eyes to make the tears disappear. He glanced at Shouto and winced.

"Sorry. I cry way too much," he mumbled, wiping his eyes again. "But I'm just… so angry!" he said. He started to allow his tears to run down to his pillow. "I… I idolized him! I thought he was a great detective and when he became Chief, I was sad because Chief Yagi stepped down, but… I thought he was this great person who worked hard to get there and was so revered and—"

Shouto huffed, feeling a smile tug on his lips.

He never thought that anyone would care so much for him like this. Has anyone ever gotten angry for him? On his behalf?

Heh. Why was this guy so… amazing?

"Midoriya," Shouto interrupted, reaching up to wipe the tears from his freckled cheeks.

Midoriya startled at the touch, his anger dissipating as he stared at Shouto with wide eyes. More tears continued to leak from his eyes but Shouto persisted in wiping them away.

"Thank you. For being angry for me," Shouto said. He cupped Midoriya's cheek gently and thumbed away a stray tear. "It… feels nice. To be cared about."

Midoriya blinked a few tears away, sniffling softly. His lips stretched into a wobbly smile and he placed his hand over Shouto's.

"Of course, Shouto," Midoriya said. "I just wish I could do more."

"You're doing enough," Shouto assured, and it made Midoriya smile wider.

They sat in relative silence for a few moments, both dozing in bed and taking in each other's heat. Midoriya was still holding onto Shouto's shoulders, but his grip was looser, more relaxed, but all the more loving. It felt as if something in their relationship changed, like a switch had turned and now they were closer than they had ever been.

Speaking of which…

Shouto leaned back and stared at Midoriya, his head tilting slightly.

"So… you're calling me 'Shouto' now?" he asked.

Midoriya squeaked, his face quickly flushing into a deep red that really made his freckles stand out.

Cute.

"W-Well, I-I didn't, um! Well! It j-just kinda slipped out, and I just wanted to be c-comforting! And I didn't mean to call you that, Sh-Todoroki! I'll go back to calling you—"

Shouto huffed and pulled Midoriya close, resting his forehead against his. He heard Midoriya's breath hitch as he gasped at the touch.

"I don't mind," Shouto said, looking into his eyes. "You can call me Shouto if you want."

Midoriya blinked at him, his eyes widening a little. Then, he broke out into a wide smile.

"Okay! But only if you call me Izuku," he said, pushing his nose against Shouto's.

Shouto huffed and smiled. "Okay. Izuku."

Midoriya—no, Izuku—beamed and let out a small laugh. "We're a mess, aren't we?"

"Nah. It's just me that's a mess," Shouto said.

Izuku's expression turned fond. "We should get some rest then, yeah?"

Shouto nodded, his forehead rubbing against Izuku's curly hair. "Yeah."

Izuku let out a soft sigh and closed his eyes, and Shouto followed soon after, his body relaxing into the sheets and soft bed. He could feel it. It would be a nice rest for the first time in a while, and all because Izuku was here next to him. It was… nice.

For the first time in his life, Shouto felt completely at ease. And it was all thanks to—

Suddenly, Shouto's phone started blazing on the end table.

Both of them groaned and Shouto rolled over to grab it, his eyes squinting as the screen flickered to life.

It was his alarm.

"Ha. You've gotta be joking," Izuku said with a tired chuckle.

Shouto sighed, swiping the snooze button and falling back into bed.

"Five more minutes won't hurt."


"Whoa, guys. What happened to you two?"

Kirishima was the first to greet them as they walked into the precinct. Shouto was dragging his feet, and Izuku not too far behind. They must've looked like zombies. Bakugou remained quiet at his desk, only offering a smug smirk and quirked brow.

"We just didn't sleep well," Izuku answered, holding back a yawn.

Kirishima blinked, his eyes looking back and forth between the two of them.

"The both of you?" he asked.

Shouto lowered his eyes, trying hard to stay awake. "It's a long story."

"Tch. You always gotta be so dramatic, Half'n Half?" Bakugou grumbled. "Acting like a brooding princess all the time. And you're a cop, for crying out loud."

"Kacchan, don't," Izuku admonished quietly. "It's too early for this."

"Shut it, nerd!" Bakugou hissed.

"Don't talk to him like that," Shouto said to Bakugou. While Bakugou guffawed at the rebuke, Shouto turned to Izuku and shook his head. "It's fine, Izuku. Let's just go on our patrol."

Izuku nodded with a light smile. "Okay, Shouto."

"Eh?!" Kirishima squealed, a bright smile on his face. "So you guys are on a first-name basis, now, huh?"

Bakugou scowled. "What the hell is that about?"

Izuku blushed and Shouto shrugged. "We're really good friends now," was his answer.

Kirishima wiggled his eyebrows. "Just good friends?"

"K-Kirishima!" Izuku squeaked.

Shouto tilted his head. "You should get your eyebrows checked out, Kirishima."

Kirishima howled in laughter and slapped Shouto on his back, making him stumble a bit. He blabbed on about something dealing with Shouto's great sense of humor as Shouto stood there, confused and with a sore back.

"What an idiot. Are you really that dense, Candy Cane?!" Bakugou shouted.

"Kacchan!" Izuku pleaded.

Shouto rolled his eyes and rubbed his back. He wasn't in any mood to deal with anything like this today. He just wanted to go back and sleep without any interruptions or reminders of his messed up family life.

"Shouto!"

The yell boomed across the precinct, making Izuku jump and the rest of the officers jolt to attention. Even Bakugou stood to his feet and put his hands in his pockets, looking put off about the interruption in their day. It was odd, and a little unsettling that he would look that way towards Enji. Shouto thought Bakugou would want to kiss up as much as possible, but… perhaps not.

Shouto sighed and turned his head, seeing Enji sauntering in, looking like hell. He walked right up to Shouto and stood in front of him, his eyes narrowing. Shouto was about to take a step back, but he felt an arm press against his. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Izuku's curls close to him.

It made his heart feel warm.

"What?" Shouto asked coldly. He wasn't sure if it was the exhaustion or the confidence of having Izuku so close by his side, but he was feeling oddly comfortable with telling off his old man today. "I have to get on patrol soon. Don't get in my way."

Enji looked ready to fume but he appeared to hold back. "Forget that. You are patrolling with me today."

Shouto quirked a brow. "Why? What point is there in that?"

Enji's hands curled into fists by his sides. "I have my reasons."

Shouto scoffed. "I don't have time for this." He looked to Izuku and nodded towards the exit. "Let's go."

Enji reached out and grabbed Shouto's shoulder. It sent thousands of uneasy tingles down Shouto's back as he whipped his head up to meet his father's eyes. The grip wasn't tight, but it was definitely something serious. And Enji didn't look threatening for once. Instead, he looked concerned.

"You may bring your partner with you if you wish. But we need to do this patrol together," Enji said.

Shouto frowned. "Why? What's going on?"

Enji's eyes narrowed as he stared around at the other officers.

"Let's not discuss this here. Let's get to my car," he said softly.

Shouto blinked, eyes wide as Enji released him and headed out of the precinct, his back rigid and tense. The rest of the officers in the room were silent, all staring towards them, their faces a mixture of fear and relief that they were left out of it.

Shouto's heart was pounding. What in the world was going on?

"Shouto, something's not right here," Izuku said, his crooked hand landing on Shouto's shoulder. Izuku was looking towards Aizawa's office, a crease in between his brow. "His office is empty."

Shouto tilted his head.

Where was Aizawa? He was usually here by now. Even if he was asleep in his office, he was at least here.

"We should go," Izuku said, looking at Shouto sternly. He lowered his voice and averted his gaze towards the exit of the precinct. "I hate your father just as much as you, but he might be the only person who knows what's going on."

Shouto frowned, his ears ringing slightly.

"Get up!"

A shudder ripped through him and he pinched the bridge of his nose, making himself calm down before he could descend into a panic.

"Okay. Let's go."

They hurried out of the precinct and went straight to the lot where Enji's car was parked. It was quite a big vehicle, and there were several other higher-ranked officers standing on the outsides of the car. It was like it was a presidential motorcade or something.

How haughty of him.

The officer opened up the back door to the police car, and Shouto and Izuku exchanged nervous glances before climbing inside, the door closing shut behind them.

Enji was in the front seat, holding some files in his hands. He threw them to the back seat, and Izuku scrambled to catch them all.

"We've got a new location for the killer. They've narrowed it down to one district in the city," Enji said. "Our job is to investigate the area and find this bastard."

Shouto furrowed his brows as he read over the papers. An attack late last night, officers surrounding the area…

"I don't understand," Shouto said, looking up at his father. "Why do you want me on this? Where's Lieutenant Aizawa?"

Enji took a deep breath and sighed, handing them back a picture from the scene last night.

It was another message written in blood, but this time, it read:

How sad, Todoroki Shouto.

Shouto felt his blood run cold, a shiver running through his body.

"Another message," Izuku mumbled. He looked to Shouto with concern in his eyes. "Shouto, this…"

Shouto closed his eyes and breathed. He could still hear that eerie chuckle from the night of the first message. The message had appeared twice now and it was making him feel sick.

"Lieutenant Aizawa was on patrol last night and was injured on the scene."

Shouto and Izuku snapped their heads up to look at Enji, both with wide eyes and dropped jaws.

"He's injured?!" Izuku squeaked.

"Is he all right?" Shouto asked.

Enji hummed lowly in his throat. "He will be. But he's in the hospital for now."

Shouto grit his teeth, eyes lowering to his lap. What in the world happened? Why were they not alerted last night? Why were they not called?!

He handed the picture to Izuku and looked at Enji, trying to ignore his flipping stomach.

"Where was the attack?" Shouto asked, his voice low.

Enji leaned forward and started the car. "Put your seatbelts on. We're going there now."


The car came to a stop at a park of all places. It was eerie to see such a beautiful park as the place of a crime scene. It was enough to make Shouto's stomach churn. He pressed a hand to his stomach and focused on the task at hand.

Focus, he told himself. Don't descend into panic. Not yet.

There were already several other police cars at the scene, and yellow tape lined the surrounding area of the park.

"Anything new?" Enji asked an officer on duty as he approached.

The officer bowed slightly and then shook his head. "No, sir. Our men have searched relentlessly, but there have been no clues."

Enji frowned, hard lines etched into his face. "Tell your men to search again. I want to catch this bastard before he can make a mockery of me."

"Yes, sir!"

Enji turned to Shouto and Izuku. "You two can come with me. We will search together."

Shouto frowned, a little put off by the idea. But he didn't have time to complain about it. Lieutenant Aizawa was injured last night and then a message was put up in the public park. Children play here, for crying out loud.

This guy had to be stopped.

Shouto nodded to Izuku, who nodded back, and then they began their search along with the other officers. They circled around the entire park, looking for evidence, clues… anything.

After hours of searching through the trees and the far edges of the park that led back to the city, they ended up in the center of the park where the playground sat. Right next to the swings and near the bright yellow slide was the rock wall.

And the bloody message left for Shouto.

"Damn it! This was a waste of time," He Enji said, yanking his phone from his pocket. "Where the hell are you, Hawks?! You're supposed to be here helping!"

Enji stomped away, thoroughly miffed, leaving Shouto and Izuku to stare at the bloody mess on the colorful rock wall.

"Ugh, this is so sick. How could someone do this to a playground?" Izuku said, shaking his head. "They'll probably have to just... tear this all down, right?"

Shouto didn't respond. He stared at the blood running down to the mulch below, his stomach clenching and flipping.

This... seemed familiar somehow.

"Be careful, little bro! If you go too high, you might fall!"

"Don't worry, Nii-san! I'll be—a-ah!"

"Shouto!"

"O-Ow... Touya-nii... it hurts!"

"Don't worry, Sho. I'll fix you up, okay? It's just a little blood, don't cry."

"Shouto?"

Shouto jolted when he felt Izuku's hand touch his shoulder. He looked at Izuku, feeling a tremor in his hands by his sides.

"You okay, Shouto?" Izuku asked, not removing his hand.

Shouto was about to nod, just moving to gloss over it, but when he looked at Izuku's concerned eyes, he felt sick to his stomach at the thought of lying to his closest friend. He swallowed, pushing down his fears of vulnerability, and then he shook his head.

Izuku nodded and hurried to guide him away from the message on the rock wall.

"Okay, why don't we leave? Maybe visit Lieutenant Aizawa?" Izuku asked.

Shouto felt as ease just thinking about Aizawa. He nodded at Izuku, and Izuku held his hand tightly.

"All right. Let's go, then," Izuku said.

He tugged on Shouto's wrist and started to guide both of them out of the park, but a booming voice stopped them in their tracks.

"And just where do you think you two are going?"

Shouto felt sweat glide down the back of his neck at the voice, and he slightly tilted his head to see his father now hovering nearby. How did he get to them so fast?

"We're going to visit Lieutenant Aizawa in the hospital," Izuku said. "We'll pick this case back up tomorrow."

"We're not done here," Enji spat. "Shouto has a job to do if he wants that Detective ranking."

Izuku gripped Shouto's wrist, and he glanced up to see a fire burning in those green eyes.

"Actually, Chief," Izuku said, his voice surprisingly calm, but firm, "Shouto is done here. And we're going to visit our superior to make sure he is all right."

Enji's hands curled into fists, but he quickly folded his arms across his chest to hide them.

"You don't even know what hospital he's staying at," Enji said.

"His injury report had the address. I've already memorized it," Izuku rebutted calmly.

Shouto inhaled a breath through his nose and cut his eyes to look at his father. Enji was silent, but his eyes were fuming.

"Excuse us," Izuku said with a slight bow, and then they were both heading off in the opposite direction, Shouto's breaths coming in easier with every step. When they were far enough away, Izuku glanced back at Shouto, his thumb rubbing over his pulse. "You okay?"

Shouto nodded, taking in a deep breath. "Yeah, let's just… go see the Lieutenant."

Izuku hummed and nodded, pulling Shouto along by the wrist down the empty sidewalk

After a few more blocks, Shouto gently tugged his wrist out Izuku's grip. Izuku slowed his steps for Shouto to catch up, his green eyes looking on with concern.

"I'm fine," Shouto assured.

Izuku hesitated. "You sure? I mean... no offense, but you almost looked like how you did last night when you woke up from that nightmare."

Shouto sighed. He wondered if Izuku would pick up on that.

"Yeah, well... I'm having awful memories pop into my head lately," Shouto explained. "It's everywhere I go now, it seems."

Izuku hummed sympathetically and adjusted his badge on his uniform.

"I'm sorry you're going through so much," he said.

Shouto huffed. "I'm sorry that I've been relying on you lately," Shouto apologized as they reached the same street as the hospital.

Of course, Izuku smiled and shook his head. "There's nothing to apologize for. I'm your friend! That's what I'm here for."

Friend.

Just hearing that word made Shouto's eyes burn.

He quickly averted his gaze to look at the hospital in front of them, his steps stuttering to a stop. The name of the hospital was obscure, and the building looked a bit more upscale than a typical hospital building.

And something about the name...

Shouto shook his head, flinging away the thoughts, and he looked over to his partner.

"This is the hospital where Lieutenant Aizawa is staying?" he asked.

Izuku nodded. "Yep. I think this hospital was built with more security features or something."

"Huh," Shouto hummed, unsure whether or not to be impressed.

They walked inside, both having to show their badges at the door, and walked up to the secretary desk and asked for Aizawa's name.

"One moment, please," the woman behind the desk said. She typed on her computer, mumbling to herself, "Therapy, orthopedics, psychiatrics..."

Shouto's heart jolted. He whipped his head back to look at the name of the hospital printed above the door.

"Touya-nii, where's mommy?"

"Huh? Oh. She's... at a hospital."

"Dad said she was sent away. What's the name of it? I want to visit."

"Ah... Sho, I don't know if—"

"Please?!"

"Ugh... fine. It's—"

"He's in room 207."

"Thank you very much."

Shouto flinched, turning back around to see Izuku waiting for him, his head tilted slightly.

"You coming?" Izuku asked.

Shouto swallowed, his eyes gazing at the map to the hospital. The psychiatric ward was in the East wing.

Which meant…

"Why is she in there?"

"Sho… you know why."

"But! I want to go see her!"

"It's… It's not safe right now. She's sick."

"Oh. When do you think I can go see her?"

"I dunno, bro. Give it time. I'm sure you can go see her when things settle back down."

"Oh. Okay."

"Shouto?"

Shouto blinked, the hospital coming back into view. He tore his eyes from the hospital sign and turned to face Izuku.

"Ah... yeah. I'm coming."


"Hey, Dabi. Come in. You there?"

"Ugh, what do you want? I'm tryin' to sleep here."

"At 6 in the evening? What are you, 60?"

"Just get to the point."

"Alright, alright. I spotted the kid you're after."

"Hah? Where?"

"Shinjuku Specialty. The hospital."

"…You don't say."