Just a quick explanation for the first scene so you don't get confused:
Normal text is current time, Ryuunosuke's POV
Italicized text is current time, Ryuunosuke's thoughts
Bolded italicized text is Enji (only Ryuunosuke can hear him)
And whole paragraphs in italicized text is a flashback.
The office of the Pro Hero Endeavor- a room larger than a small apartment with its width spanning almost the entirety of the Endeavor Hero Agency's fifteenth floor. Its double doors open to the Flame Hero's desk, an impressive piece of furniture made of expensive ebony, and the leather armchairs seated in a square surrounding the table placed in the room's center. Sunlight pours in from the glass windows extending across the southern wall and the light reflects off the chandelier, its crystals glimmering.
An office designed for the Number Two Hero, as if it were a fact he would soon be promoted to Number One.
Ryuunosuke slams his pen down on the desk and glares for what must be the thirtieth time at the newspaper article reporting All Might's retirement.
For twenty-five years, he's possessed the body of Enji Todoroki to surpass this man holding the Number One title and now his rival quits? Just gives up without a fight?
This isn't what Ryuunosuke wants. He wants to prove his strength, his superiority to other heroes. He wants to show Japan what a true hero like himself is capable of.
It's his whole reason for possessing his former best friend in the first place.
Despite what people had tried to tell him, his possession quirk just isn't suited for making him Number One. It's perfect for infiltration and undercover operations, but as Ryuunosuke soon realized, that area of hero work isn't where the money and fame lies.
Recognition and popularity requires quirks that are flashy- quirks that put on a good show. To gain fans, a hero needs to be able to showcase his power and demonstrate his prowess in taking down villains.
Infiltration and undercover operations don't have room for that. If anything, the villains Ryuunosuke had apprehended during those missions are more famous than he'd ever be.
Ryuunosuke's failure to earn a spot in the Hero Billboard Charts only adds salt to the wound. He doesn't take into account the fact that he had only been a pro hero for about a year and that most heroes require a few years in the field before the public even knows their names. It's rare for heroes fresh out of high school to take a spot in the Hero Billboard Charts.
But Enji did.
The flaming bastard had barely even tried to get that forty-first position a year after graduation. No effort at all, just like a magnet pulled to the higher ranks. How could he try when all his time had been spent with that girlfriend of his.
Rei.
Enji had seen her as a motivation, a reason for him to become stronger. He had said he wanted to be able to protect her and the "future family" they talked about building.
Ryuunosuke, however, had seen her as a distraction- a waste of time for someone training to become a hero.
"Enji, where are we going?" Ryuunosuke asked for the third time as he followed his former classmate and best friend through the hallways of the hotel. "Today is the last day of this hero convention, and considering it's our first, I want to make the most of it."
Enji didn't turn around as Ryuunosuke voiced his discontent. "I know and that's exactly why this is so important! Today is my last chance."
Ryuunosuke suppressed a groan and rolled his eyes, bracing himself for whatever crazy idea the Flame Hero had concocted. "Last chance for what?"
Enji stopped walking, Ryuunosuke almost crashing into him as a result. The taller man then turned around to face Ryuunosuke, his blue eyes scanning the hallway. Ryuunosuke looked around too, curious as to what Enji was searching for. The hallway was empty aside from the two of them and all the doors were shut.
Ryuunosuke let out the groan he was holding in as he turned his gaze back to the flame hero. "Enji, whatever crazy idea you came up with-"
Ryuunosuke's voice trailed off as Enji pulled out a small leather box from his pocket. Ryuunosuke tried to retrieve his voice as he stared at the pro hero cradling the box in his hands. He handled the box with such delicacy, a gentleness one wouldn't associate with him at a first glance. Such a built young man with his muscles bulging underneath his hero costume- to display such delicacy just didn't suit him.
It was simply out of character.
Ryuunosuke never understood it. Enji Todoroki, the man who had it all- the powerful, flashy quirk, the strong, muscular build, the handsome yet menacing face, the confidence, the ambition- he was born to be Number One. He was supposed to be using that strength and power to fight villains like the hero he was trained to be.
And yet, here he was, caressing a small, useless box- treating it with such care and tenderness like it was the most precious thing in the world.
The same way he treated Rei.
"You're supposed to get down on one knee when you propose."
Ryuunosuke glared, Enji smirked. The latter didn't notice the dissonance between their facial expressions- his focus was fixated on the diamond ring sitting amongst the purple velvet lining the box's interior.
"It's not for you, moron." His gaze was still glued to the piece of jewellery, its shine reflected in his blue eyes. "I'm going to propose to Rei."
Ryuunosuke didn't hide the disapproval plastered on his face when Enji tore his eyes away from the ring and looked up at the Possession Hero.
"What's that look for, Ryuunosuke? It's too soon, isn't it? I knew I should've waited longer!" Enji closed the ring box and began to return it to his pocket when his hand froze. "But I feel ready. And I'm pretty sure she feels the same, or at least, it seems like she does-"
"You'll never be ready, Enji."
Ryuunosuke didn't plan for the words to come out so harsh, but he was glad they did- it better reflected how he really felt. He knew Enji had picked up on that because that layer of softness he always coated himself in began to break away, revealing the tough exterior that Ryuunosuke knew was his true nature.
The man Enji Todoroki was supposed to be.
"What are you implying?"
Enji's grip on the leather box tightened as small flames ignited from his face, their silhouettes dancing on the walls behind him. Ryuunosuke congratulated himself on firing Enji up. It wasn't often that he lost his temper, so this was a rare sight to see.
"Tell me, Enji- how many of the top ten pro heroes have families?"
Enji didn't say anything but Ryuunosuke knew that he knew the correct number. He answered for him anyway.
"Zero. Absolutely none." Enji still kept quiet, so Ryuunosuke continued. "And do you know why that is? Because to become a hero, you need to dedicate your life to it. Heroes don't have time for frivolous things like girlfriends and families. Your work is your wife, Enji! Rei will only hold you back from your true potential-"
"Shut up!" Enji shouted as his flames extinguished. "You have no idea what you're talking about. So what if it's not the norm, that doesn't mean it's impossible. I can be a hero and raise a family. I don't know what expectations you think I have for myself, but I can tell you right now that becoming Number One isn't on the list.
"Helping people- that's on the list. Making the world a better place, stopping villains- those are on the list. Being there for Rei, supporting her, protecting her and our future family, making sure they're happy- those are my expectations I set for myself. If that prevents me from being in the top ten, then so be it. And be honest, Ryuunosuke, you're just jealous."
Ryuunosuke clenched his fists as Enji returned the box to his pocket. How dare he accuse him of being jealous of Rei! If he had Enji's quirk, he would have set the whole hallway, no- the whole hotel on fire. Why was Enji so blind to his abilities? Could he not see the potential of his quirk? Was he really going to throw it all away for a girl?
And speaking of said girl...
"Enji! I've been looking all over for you."
Ryuunosuke scoffed as Enji's expression immediately softened when Rei, with her beautiful white hair and her warm grey eyes, walked towards them.
"Sorry, I had to talk to Ryuunosuke about something." Enji said, shooting a glare at the Possession Hero when Rei looked away. "It was about hero stuff but we're done now."
Rei looked back and forth between the two of them and though she didn't say anything, Ryuunosuke knew she could sense the tension.
"Oh, I see."
Enji stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I actually want to talk to you about something, Rei. Could you meet me outside in ten minutes?"
Rei gave him a smile, the smile she only gave to Enji. "Of course."
"Then I'll see you soon." Enji said, smiling back as he began to walk down the hall.
Ryuunosuke waited until Enji turned the corner. He then looked over at Rei, his cold glare meeting her warm eyes.
"You're holding him back."
He saw her confusion at his sudden accusation, but Ryuunosuke didn't want to reward her with an explanation. Instead, he walked away, deciding to leave her confused at his words. She was probably going to ask Enji about it later anyway.
Who was he kidding? Of course she was going to ask him.
They were about to be Mr. and Mrs. Todoroki.
Ryuunosuke's phone rings, pulling him from his daydreams.
"Hello?"
It's the Puppeteer.
"Body Snatcher, or should I say, Endeavor?" He laughs at his own joke, a joke that had gotten old twenty years ago. "Anyway, congratulations on becoming Number One! If only everyone could know the top hero is actually a villain. Now that would show them how messed up this society is, am I right?"
Ryuunosuke retrieves his pen and taps it on the desktop. He doesn't have the patience for this.
"Shut up, it's not happening."
"Oh, I know. I just like-"
"Why are you calling?"
There's a huff on the other line. "You know, just because you're the Number One Hero now doesn't mean you actually have to act like it. You can take some time off from your busy schedule to chat. So what if a few people get hurt because you're-"
"Tell me what you want or I'm hanging up."
Another huff. "Alright! Fine, Number One. I'm calling because we need to talk about your son."
Ryuunosuke taps his pen harder. It's the dreaded conversation. He had known this was coming, especially after the Puppeteer had met with the League of Villains. He just has a hard time acknowledging it because he doesn't have a plan yet.
"What of it?"
There's a knock at Ryuunosuke's door but he ignores it. He's giving Puppeteer his full attention.
He knows Enji is too.
"As you know, Shigaraki is working on getting us our pay so we need to fulfill our end of the deal. That means we need to prepare Shouto."
And that also means I need to prepare to lose this body.
"Is the plan still the same?"
"That's actually why I called. We need a Plan B."
Intriguing, perhaps this will work in his favor. He doesn't want to give up Shouto, the weapon he's been training for the past ten years. The boy is his masterpiece, his perfect product. He's his ticket to a longer reign on the throne.
"A Plan B, huh? What's the problem?"
"Controller, our guy with the mind manipulation quirk, he was arrested and is now in jail. We can't give Shouto to the League of Villains just the way he is and we don't have anyone else with a quirk who can take control or alter his mind."
Yes, we do.
This is working exactly in his favor. Ryuunosuke had never cared for fixing hero society, him joining All For One and the BtB had been purely for his benefit. By offering to use his quirk to possess one of the top pro heroes and create the perfect weapon, he had been able to get protection for his body.
Ryuunosuke's only goal is to become Number One and if he needs to possess his former best friend and ruin his life and the lives of his wife and children to do it, then he will.
But now he has Shouto, a boy with more potential than even Enji.
"Are you forgetting what my quirk can do, Puppet?"
"What are you suggesting?"
Ryuunosuke smirks. I hope you're listening, Enji.
"I'll possess Shouto."
No!
"What about Enji's body? Once you leave it he'll have control again. He's just gonna try and fight back."
Ryuunosuke scoffs. Villains can be such idiots sometimes.
"You're an organization full of manipulative quirks. Your quirk alone can restrain him. I doubt that all of you together would have a hard time immobilizing him."
You're overestimating yourselves. When I have my body back, nothing, not even your useless quirks, will stop me from protecting my son from possession. I will never allow him to go through the same thing I did.
Is that so, Enji? Well, we'll see about that.
"We could just kill Enji right away. We'll have the upperhand."
Once upon time, Ryuunosuke would have agreed to that plan but years of possessing Enji has awakened his sadistic side.
And if there's anyone who likes torture more than he does, it's the Puppeteer.
"Actually, I thought it would be more fun if we revealed to little Shouto how we completely sabotaged his family. And then of course, we kill his father right in front of his eyes, the father he never got a chance to meet."
The Puppeteer hadn't needed any more convincing- Ryuunosuke could possess Shouto, the boy destined to become the greatest hero in the world.
Now, if only Enji could see Shouto for the aspiring hero he is instead of some helpless little boy who needs his daddy's protection.
Is it not enough that you controlled every aspect of his life up until now?! I don't care that you have no compassion for me, torture me all you want, but Shouto? He's a child! Do you not have a single ounce of morality left in your dark soul?
"Of course, I do." Ryuunosuke laughs. "You of all people should know that I didn't do all this for the sake of villainy. I'm doing this for the good of the people. I'm giving them heroes that can save them and protect them."
That's a lie and you know it. You're only in it for the glory. Always were and always will be. I don't know why I didn't see it sooner.
Enji just doesn't understand.
He never had.
"You're just jealous that I made more with your quirk than you ever could. Now just imagine what I could do with Shouto!"
You're not touching my son.
"That's very demanding coming from someone who's currently powerless."
I will protect him from you.
Now that is something Ryuunosuke would love to see.
###
When Izuku opens his eyes Monday morning, it takes him a few minutes to remember that he's not in his bed back at his mother's apartment, but rather in his room in the new dorm building on UA's campus.
He's never felt so awake at five in the morning.
It only takes Izuku a few minutes to brush his teeth and change into a t-shirt and pair of sweatpants. He then puts on his sneakers, stuffs his phone into his pocket, grabs his water bottle, and heads out into the hallway.
He had promised himself he'd try to keep up his early morning workouts as much as he can.
The hallway is empty, not surprising as classes don't start for another three hours. Izuku figures most of his classmates want to stay in bed for as long as possible, especially considering the late hour they had all went to sleep the previous night.
Izuku tries to make as little noise as he can as he passes by the other rooms on his floor. He pauses in front of the elevator, debating whether he should take it or not. After a few seconds, he shakes his head and walks towards the stairs.
He's only one flight up.
The lights in the common room are off but the rising sun seeps through the large windows lining the walls, decking the furniture in a faint glow. Izuku finds the change of scenery a little unsettling at first, but he figures he'll get used it. This is his home now.
Even if it is only temporary.
Izuku walks pass the kitchen and the dining area, enjoying the quiet that he knows won't last long. He had gotten a preview the night before of how loud and noisy living with so many people would be. It's not something he's familiar with after living with just his mom his whole life.
It's just another thing he'll need to get used to.
Izuku passes by the sitting area and walks over to the door, stretching out his arm to grasp the handle. Before he could open it though someone coughs, causing the green haired boy to jump in surprise. Izuku turns around and his eyes fall on a familiar figure sitting on the couch, his red and white hair making it impossible to misidentify him.
"Todoroki, I didn't see you there." Izuku says, stepping away from the door to stand in front of the elevator. "Are you an early riser too?"
Izuku takes in Todoroki's appearance and judges from his wet clothes and the sweat falling down his face that he must have just finished his own morning workout. He wonders if Todoroki does this everyday. Maybe they can workout together.
"Sure."
It's a vague answer, but Izuku and his classmates are used to Todoroki's one-word responses. He only speaks the bare minimum, as if he has a word limit he needs to stick to. Izuku can't understand how Todoroki does it and if he's being honest, he's also a little bit jealous of how he never seemes to ramble.
"I'm going out for a run." Izuku says, his eyes still on Todoroki. The dual haired boy hasn't even looked up at him yet, his gaze set straight ahead. "I would invite you to join me, but it looks like you've already got your exercise for the day."
Todoroki just nods his head and after a few moments of silence, Izuku realizes that that had been Todoroki's contribution to the conversation- meaning it's his turn to keep it going.
"So how long have you been up?"
"Since two, I couldn't sleep. I didn't get out of bed until three-thirty though."
Izuku does the mental math and recalls them all going to sleep half past midnight, meaning Todoroki couldn't have gotten more than an hour and a half of sleep!
"How are you awake right now?!" He asks, genuinely concerned for his classmates wellbeing. "And you shouldn't be working out when you're sleep deprived. It'll put too much strain on your body. You should really go get some more sleep, Todoroki. There's still a couple more hours before-"
"Midoriya, I'll be fine."
Todoroki finally turns to look at him, his exhaustion evident on his face even if he won't admit it. His mismatched eyes try to keep their gaze steady as they focus on him, but Izuku can tell they're having difficulty doing so.
"Todoroki," Izuku hesitates, debating whether or not he should subject Todoroki to further interrogation. His rational side tells him to just leave the tired boy alone, but that idea doesn't sit well with Izuku. "do you usually have trouble sleeping?"
Todoroki shakes his head and breaks eye contact. "I'm just not used to sleeping anywhere other than my bed at home."
It's a valid excuse and Izuku wants to believe him, as he understands the feeling himself. It's hard to tell when Todoroki is lying, his expression and tone never change. It's something Izuku has taken notice of after the Sports Festival. He's paid attention a lot more to Todoroki in general after that day.
It had been hard not to, especially after what Todoroki had told him.
"You should get going if you want get a run in before class." Todoroki says, standing up from his seat on the couch. "I have to go shower anyway."
"Okay." Izuku gives him another smile, though he's not really feeling it. "I'll see you later, Todoroki."
Todoroki doesn't respond and simply walks past Izuku, heading for the stairs. Izuku stares after his retreating form, unsure of what to do.
Ever since the Sports Festival, Izuku has been thinking a lot about Todoroki and the tragic childhood he had spoken of. He hadn't told him much and Izuku was quite sure there had been parts he had left out but whether for Izuku's sake or his own sake, he doesn't know.
Todoroki hadn't brought it up again and Izuku knows that's not a conversation he can initiate, but he has so many questions. From what Izuku could gather, Todoroki had suffered physical abuse from his father and had been injured by his mother, though Todoroki insists she's not at fault. How long had it gone on, is it still going on? How much does the abuse extend?
Izuku remembers all the lectures he's gotten over the years from various teachers and other adults about how important it is to tell someone if he knows someone is being abused. This is the first time Izuku has met someone who seems to fit that criteria and he knows deep down that he should tell someone.
But he thinks about how Todoroki would feel if he were to do that. Would he be mad? It's not like he had told Izuku to keep quiet about it. Perhaps he should initiate that conversation.
Izuku steps away from the elevator and heads outside. It's only a few minutes into his run that he remembers that Todoroki's room is on the fifth floor.
Izuku seriously wonders how that boy can be so physically active on less than two hours of sleep.
###
Shouto's legs feel like bags of bricks by the time he reaches the fifth floor. Under normal circumstances, Shouto could climb those five flights of stairs without breaking a sweat but right now isn't a normal circumstance.
He had just spent over an hour training while running on only thirty minutes of sleep.
He scolds himself for not taking the elevator. He had wanted to, but Midoriya had been standing in front of the button and Shouto just doesn't want to have to talk. Interacting with people exhausts him in ways most people don't understand. For so long, he's been alone with just his thoughts. He had spent most of his life up until now stuck in his head and it's not a habit he can break so soon.
Even if it means he has to suffer and climb five flights of stairs on worn out legs.
Shouto heads into his room and starts gathering what he needs for his shower. He still has more than two hours before he needs to be at school so he figures a longer shower can't hurt. Maybe it will wake him up a little.
As Shouto carries his belongings to the bathroom, he thinks about what he had told Midoriya earlier. He hadn't lied to him but his words had still been misleading, which probably still means he had lied to him.
Shouto's regular bedtime is nine so when his classmates' strange room contest had come to a close past midnight, he could barely keep his eyes open. Yet, despite how tired he had been, Shouto couldn't fall asleep for a whole hour.
And when he did finally fall asleep, it had only been for thirty minutes.
He blames part of it on the fact that he's in an unfamiliar place. He would blame it completely on that except he knows that his sleeping problems aren't new.
They persist at home too.
Shouto lets out a yawn as he sets his things down on the counter and turns the shower on. He turns the hot water nob halfway, but then brings it back.
He likes his showers cold.
Hey guys! So I know it's been a while (I really try to post every couple weeks or so. I don't want this to be one of those randomly updated fics) so as an apology I wrote an extra long chapter! It's not really an apology though because it was gonna be this long anyway lol
I have a lot to say on this so bear with me! That first scene- now you know a bit more about Ryuunosuke and why he's so messed up. But that's not all! There's more to Ryuunosuke and Enji's past and I may or may not have hinted to it in that flashback...
And let's all just take a moment to feel bad for Enji. I really wanted to write some of his perspective in this chapter but I couldn't fit it in so I might try for next chapter.
Izuku! I have a lot to say about him- first off, I love him! He's an awesome character and he really cares about people, especially his friends. And that's why I just couldn't understand his reaction to Todoroki and his backstory in the manga. Izuku is the type to take action when he thinks someone needs help so it really bothered me that all he did was confront Endeavor and help Todoroki accept his left side. Those weren't bad actions, but I feel like he's the type to do more. He's the type to tell someone and get Todoroki real help.
Anyway, that's what I was trying to fix here. The Izuku in this fic isn't just gonna stand by, he's gonna do something whether Todoroki wants him to or not (you'll see his reaction later, possibly next chapter). It also helps my fic that Izuku exposing the real "Endeavor" will cause some problems later on...
Oh, also you can just assume that anything that happened in the manga during this time probably happened. So the room contest happened the night before, which Izuku was referencing. One of my biggest fanfiction pet peeves is when people rewrite canon scenes and they leave more than 50% of it unchanged, so I'm not doing that!
And Shouto! I'm really trying to get his character right and I feel like part of that is trying to accurately portray his mindset. There's a few things regarding his behavior and his thoughts that I feel like I should explain:
Taking his abusive and isolated childhood into consideration, I think it's likely to assume that he's very introverted and spends a lot of time in his mind. I based a lot of his introversion off of myself. I spend a lot of time in my head (due to really bad social anxiety) and coming back to "reality" even for a few seconds can be exhausting. That part about him and the elevator is based off my own experiences of being too inside my head that its exhausting to ask someone a simple favor.
So let me know what you thought of this chapter! I'm really trying to pick up the pace because I didn't plan for Enji's ""rescue" to take so long. My original plan was that most of the story would be about Enji and the Todorokis rebuilding their relationships so I'm trying to get there quicker now.
Also, I have a proposition! I don't know about you guys, but I know that I'm a sucker for fics where Endeavor is a good guy and the Todorokis are a happy family. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, there aren't that many of them and I have yet to find one that I really like.
So I was thinking, why not write one myself? Obviously it would be after I finish this fic or maybe it would be a side project, but I want to know how many people would be interested. I was thinking of doing something like a rewrite of the manga as well as extra scenes (of course, it wouldn't be a word-for-word rewrite because y'all know how much I hate that). But it would focus on the Todorokis and how different each one of them would be if Endeavor hadn't been such a **** (just insert your favorite swear word there).
So let me know what you guys want. You can put it in the reviews, leave something in my ask box on this fic's tumblr (outofcharacter-blog), I might also make a poll on my account and you can vote there.
So that is all, I think. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter we're going back to Dabi and more of Shouto and Izuku!
-britishsconesahoy
