—Flashback, 5 months ago, night, during a New Year's Eve celebration, inside a big hotel, Todoroki Shouto's perspective—

"Look, it's Endeavor. I didn't know he was attending this party,"

"Isn't it because no one wants to invite him in the first place?"

"Shhh! He'll hear you!"

"It's so weird seeing him wearing a tuxedo,"

"I know. Look, he even brought his son along with him!"

"My, he's so handsome!"

Todoroki Shouto had his eye twitch, annoyed by the quiet whispers and gossips behind him. In the first place, he didn't know why his father brought only him to this party, and not his other siblings. Was this for business purposes? Or to build connections with other people?

Music played in the background, and it was quite pleasant compared to the other loud parties he attended before. Not to mention, it seemed like someone was singing live.

But before he could look around, he heard his father swear. Shouto looked at the direction his father was looking at.

There stood a man wearing a grey tuxedo. His body was entirely of a black wolf, but his built and height was the same as Endeavor. His sea-green glazed eyes met with his cold mismatched ones, then shifted to his father.

"Daiki," Endeavor greeted in a cold way. Seems like this man had butted heads with his old man if he's sulking like this.

"Enji," The man returned the greeting, approaching them, but kept a distance. "It's been a while. How odd seeing you here. Normally you tend to avoid such lively events."

"My sources told me All Might would be joining this year's celebration. I came to have a talk with him,"

"Ah, well, that's unfortunate. Sadly the number 1 hero had a sudden change of plans, and won't be able to make it." His father cursed silently. "Why don't you enjoy yourself and socialise for once? Is your grudge against All Might and training all you have inside that conceited head of yours?"

Shouto suppressed a laugh. This is probably the first time he'd seen someone throw insults right at his face, and his father hadn't literally blown up in flames.

"Changing the topic," his father said finally, "Why is "he" here?"

The wolf-man tilted his head. ""He?""

"You know better than play that oblivious shit with me," His father growled aggressively. "I know that Nakamura brat is attending this party. Have you lost your sane mind letting him loose?"

Ohh? Seemed like there was another man, besides All Might, who pissed his old man off.

"Only a limited number of people can keep his quirk disabled. The general commissioner, his father, and you are also the only people capable of keeping his behavior in check. But in a party like this, not even you can keep a watch on him at all times."

The wolf man smirked, showing his sharp canines. "While it is true that at times, when no one looks, Nakamura becomes an unpredictable Devil hound." He said, nodding his head. " And, yes, I admit, I alone would not be able to control him in a grand party such as this. But I am offended you think so little of me, Enji. Have you even considered if I brought my consociate with me?" He looked at him, his sea-green eyes narrowing, making the number 2 hero flinch. "Unlike you, I do not work alone. Call my consociate a comrade, or an accomplice, or an abettor if you like. My niece is more than capable enough keeping Nakamura in a tight leash. Better than you, perhaps, as the boy listens to her."

His father's brows furrowed, sceptical. "Oh? Your niece?"

"I am sure you have heard of her since you are aware that I personally trained her. She's the same age as your son," he gestured at Shouto. "She's performing for this evening's entertainment all night long."

Endeavor scoffed. "If you're implying that I should meet her, you're wasting my time."

"Of course not!" He waved his hand. "She's a smart and quick-witted child. If it's anything I'd like you to not even speak with her. I already gave my warnings to my niece to avoid you, as you would likely contaminate her innocence with your petty grudge and conceited personality."

"Pfft—" Shouto covered his mouth when the small laugh escaped his lips. This was quite amusing, especially watching his father's reactions when his patience is being tested. He really like this man.

His father flared with anger. "You bastard—"

"Now, now, let's not cause a commotion." He turned and started to walk. "Enjoy yourself for once, Enji."

"That man is-?" Shouto began, and his father quickly answered.

"Ookami Daiki, the current captain of the precinct's Homicide division. He's also a retired Military soldier and a former agent from government intelligence. Among the heroes and elites who are aware of his existence, it's often arguable that his strength and intellect would land him in the ranks of the top 10 heroes. It's a shame he didn't choose that profession."

"Is his niece strong?" He was curious, given the fact that his father, somewhat, respected the man. Mr. Ookami Daiki had also praised his niece with much pride.

It had been a while since he'd seen his father narrow his eyes, contemplating on a thought seriously. "...who knows?" He said finally, but there was a tinge of wariness in his voice. Which was the first. "My sources told me his niece is quirkless." That surprised him. "Which would ultimately mean she's weak, however," he cleared his throat, " given the fact that it's that crazy bastard who trained her… that monster of a man… who knows what he'd done and what tricks he taught that girl?"

Hmmm. Interesting.

Quite interesting.

A few hours had passed since then.

Shouto had successfully lost his father In the crowd of heroes , and kept away girls that gave signs of wanting to get closer to him. Out of curiosity, he tried to look for 's niece, wanting to catch a glimpse of her, so he asked around the people who were performing tonight. It seemed that right after his arrival, she'd taken a break from singing, and disappeared.

He sighed as he eventually gave up looking for her. As Shouto went to look for a drink, he froze when he found a suspicious man, going under the tables, when no one was looking, and quickly leaving.

Did he place something there? He went to that table and looked underneath. There was a timer duck taped right under the ceiling of the table.

It was a timer bomb.

Someone planted a bomb here.

His blood ran cold.

"Oh, excuse me,"

Shouto flinched from the voice and quickly stood. Before he could look, someone snapped his fingers, and Shouto fell.

All he remembered was seeing bright blinding lights, then a landing on his feet with much painful impact. He opened his eyes and looked around. What the hell? Just a moment ago, he was near the buffet table, now he was in the dining hall at the 3rd floor? What the hell? Did someone want to stop him from removing the device?

The boy wasn't a fool, though. He couldn't just carelessly tell people he saw a bomb. The guests in this hotel were pro heroes, yes, but the staff weren't —and they would panic. What's more, if he did start telling, the guy who planted it would probably set it off much earlier, killing all of them.

" Ladies and gentlemen, it will be another 10 minutes from midnight. Please assemble at the front of the hotel if you wish to see a firework display for New Year's."

There were murmurs Of excitement and delight as the adults were getting up and leaving the place. Good, he thought. If everyone was leaving, including the staff, then that would make his search easier.

As a couple of minutes went by, he finally found the suspicious man loitering in the hallway. He hadn't seen Shouto as he placed another bomb underneath a table for a flower vase.

Shouto raised his hand, ready to freeze the man.

WHACK!

Someone threw an object at the man. A woman's white heel hit the back of the man's head with such force and blow, the man was knocked off his feet. The boy flinched and gaped when he saw that. Before the man hit the floor, lights flashed, and a golden circle appeared underneath him swallowing him into the void.

…

...

...what the?

He stared. It was the same void he fell into. Someone's quirk teleported him to another location, away from the bomb.

A faint but heavy thud was heard from the second floor, and Shouto rushed up the nearby stairs wasting no time. The lights weren't on up here, but the lighting from downstairs was bright enough for him to make his way through without hitting or stumbling across something.

"Did you really throw your heel at this guy?" A voice snickered, and someone growled in response. "He's completely out cold. I guess you can be pretty scary, even with a dress on."

Shouto followed the direction of the voice, he was getting closer.

"Anyway, did you get rid of the bombs? Good. Take this guy to the precinct and interrogate him," a girl's voice said. "I wanna know exactly how he knew the location of the heroes gathering for this year's celebration. And while you're at it, ask if he has a partner. By the number of explosives strapped at this guy's vest, I'm sure he has an accomplice that made it for him."

The moment he looked around the corner, golden lights appeared, blinding him for a heartbeat before disappearing in flash.

He froze at what he saw next.

The girl had her back faced at him as she was standing barefoot on the black metal railing of the balcony, holding her white heels with her right hand. Her navy blue high-low dress shimmered like stars from the moonlight, as her green long hair was ruffled by the gentle silent winds. The girl looked behind her shoulder, finding him watching her. She noticed his presence as they locked eyes at each other, but she didn't panic, or run.

Shouto couldn't see her face too clearly as it was dark, and the light from the night sky wasn't that reliable. But what he could make out from her face was that her emerald green eyes glowed, showing no indication of fear, or anger. Instead, a smile was formed in a sly way.

"This is our little secret, okay?" She said to him in a sweet voice, placing a finger on her lips. A sign to keep quiet.

PPPPPPIIIIII—YUUUUU! BOOM!

the fireworks began. A brilliant shade of blue and red had been launched in the sky behind the mysterious girl.

The scenery of her just standing there in a dazzling dress, smiling as her eyes glowed, and the brilliant light from the fireworks behind her…

Truly… it was breathtaking. Captivating.

"Farewell," She whispered as her body leapt back, and she dived backwards.

The blur of the blue dress diving down had him running towards the balcony as a strange sound escaped his lips. Was it a shock? panic? But as he clutched the railing and looked down…

She wasn't there.

Her body hadn't hit the ground as she wasn't there. It was like she vanished in thin hair.

…

…

...

Had He imagined the entire thing?

The fireworks still went on for the rest of the night.

After that party, he never saw her again.

He hadn't said a word of what he found (the bombs) and what he saw that night since there were no major incidents the next day.

The image of that girl smiling slyly, mischievously at him like that as her emerald eyes glowed in the dark— it was honestly quite entrancing. She didn't know who he was, that was for sure, as she would have reacted in some way as he was the number 2 hero's son. And the scene where her body fell gracefully, and then vanishing—that scene had distracted his mind for a while. It didn't exactly haunt him, but he often questioned if he's actually seen her there and not a ghost. That question would suddenly pass his mind from time to time.

However, one thing is for sure. Nakamura was there at that party, and used his quirk on him. After that night, he asked his father, reluctantly as he hated speaking to him, about who Nakamura is. He was quite surprised from what he learned about the boy's past, and was even more surprised, later, when he got into U.A.

He probably disposed of the bomb, and the girl he was with (if she was real) was probably his partner. The 2 of them stopped a massive bombing and no one got hurt, but why hadn't they come forward? They weren't villains (Perhaps vigilantes given the way they were acting) Why did they keep something so big hidden? Were they humble? Were they operating into something they shouldn't have been doing? Shouto didn't know, but he knew better than to say a word to it to his father.

Hoping that if Shouto managed to get a hold on Nakamura, and get him to answer his questions, he'd also hoped he was willing to give the name of the girl. He didn't know his own reason as to why he wanted to know more about her.

But the last scene of her… he never stopped thinking about it.

But in order to get a private talk with him… he needed Midoriya to arrange a meeting since they were childhood friends, and also that guy wasn't in their class.

And seeing how she was acting all cautious and nervous around him, he had an inkling that she knew he wanted to be near her in order to get close to Nakamura. Which is why she's avoiding him.

Yeah, he figured. She was not dumb as she was not like the other girls.

Although he hated it when girls came to him, wanting to get close or to confess to him (let it be his looks or that he's that famous son of "that" man), he kinda wished Midoriya had been one of those girls so that he could stop this hassling action of coming after her.