BP: Apologies for not updating for a while, although I did say it was going to be a quick story. I was simply too busy with my new internship, and I often came home late since I take over an hour to get to work and get home from work.
Bakugou and Izuku observed the strange boy in front of them. Although the boy was the same age as them, there was something about him that unnerved them. This was despite the fact that he hadn't done anything to make himself seem like a threat.
It was the way the heterochromatic eyes were staring at Izuku with somewhat emotionless eyes yet with a look that screamed, "At least I have found you!" like how a psycho stalker ex would say to the victim they were hunting down.
It chilled both of them to their very souls, since they did not know what his Quirk was. As the son of the late Number Two hero, however, chances were his Quirk was a powerful one.
Izuku looked at the handsome boy closely and realized his left side bore some resemblance to the late hero, Endeavor. Not that he was much of a hero, once he saw the news of what happened.
He remembered in one news, his children were mentioned and he knew for the fact that the youngest son was around their age, since the youngest son was hospitalized after an attack from his father. It was at that moment that he deduced that this boy was none other than Todoroki Shouto, Endeavor's youngest son.
"Hey, Kacchan," The greenette called out to his childhood friend. He wasn't aware of the dark glint that took on Todoroki's eyes when he said that. "I think that should be Endeavor's youngest son, Todoroki Shouto. I heard of him in the news, where Endeavor was revealed to be that domestic abuser. I'm pretty sure I've heard that the youngest son was around our age."
"Yeah, whatever, Deku." Bakugou huffed. "As much as you love to ramble on about heroes to anyone who would listen, this boy isn't exactly giving off a friendly vibe. He could be like his father, for all we know. I'm not going to stay here and get acquainted with him."
"Kacchan, that's not nice. He was a victim too. I'm not going to just walk away from him! He needs a friend and I would do anything to help someone who is in need," Izuku shook his head before walking closer to Todoroki and offering a hand to him. "Hello! My name's Midoriya Izuku! It's a pleasure to meet you. I take it that you're Todoroki Shouto?"
Todoroki was stunned. He clearly remembered his name! He took Izuku's hand in his. However, he didn't take it to shake hands like Izuku had expected. Instead, what he did was clasp Izuku's hands between both of his.
The dual-tone haired boy then proceeded to rub his cheek against the hand with a smile on his face.
"Oh, Midori…I didn't think I'd be able to see you again…don't leave me again, Midori," Todoroki said dreamily as he continued to rub Izuku's hand with his cheek, which made Izuku a little uncomfortable.
'Midori?' Izuku thought, a little disturbed.
Bakugou noticed the discomfort his…childhood friend had and huffed, but decided to step in. However, he decided to step in with the only way he knew how – his Quirk.
Bakugou let go of an explosion blast towards the both, separating them. Izuku coughed as he was thrown on the floor, while Todoroki used his ice to shield himself. He stormed up to Izuku to roughly pull him up. "Listen here, you shitty extra! Deku has no time to entertain you! So back the fu–"
The explosion user didn't get to finish his sentence as there was a sudden and sharp pain in his chest. He coughed out, and saw blood on Todoroki's face. He looked down to see that Todoroki had used his Quirk to form a sharp icicle and ran it through his body.
"Don't get between me and my Midori," Todoroki said coldly, as he glared at Bakugou, who was coughing up more blood.
"KACCHAN!" Izuku screamed, horrified over what had happened to his childhood friend. He tried to go help the blonde, but was blasted a distance away.
"D-Deku…W-What are you doing, you...shitty nerd? Get out of here, I'll hold him off," Bakugou managed to say while trying to endure the pain from his injury.
Izuku was about to say something back, but the explosion user cut him off with a nasty glare. "ARE YOU DENSE! HE IS AFTER YOU! GET OUT OF HERE, DEKU!"
Horrified tears falling from his eyes, Izuku turned around and ran away as fast as he could. After all, being Quirkless, he could not realistically help Bakugou to fend off Todoroki. He left his…friend behind with Todoroki.
The ice user was about to go after him, but Bakugou decided to put up a fight and ignited an explosion to his face, at full power.
Bakugou had always been considered by others to make a good hero because of his powerful Quirk. Proud of his Quirk, he loved showing them off. Living his whole life with people praising them meant he tested his Quirk in all sorts of creative ways, even if it was just using it on Deku. With that philosophy in mind, he knew the most powerful attack from his Quirk would at least take down an average Quirk user or even kill if he wanted it to.
Unfortunately for Bakugou, Todoroki wasn't an average Quirk user at all. In fact, he was much more trained than Bakugou thanks to his late father.
While the attack managed to bring the ice user to the floor, he was far from being taken down. In fact, Todoroki did not seem too fazed at the burns that resulted as he stared at the direction Izuku chose to run to. He was used to his late father's Hellfire Quirk during training, after all.
The white-and red-haired boy simply got up and walked past Bakugou. He pulled the icicle out of him, and melted it with his fire.
Todoroki was shaking his head at Katsuki. "Why did you have to do that?" He then walked towards his victim. "I just found my Midori and you're getting in the way."
"Oh what, halfie? Was he supposed to replace something you lost?" Bakugou said in a bitter and hateful tone, spitting blood.
"I guess someone like you would never understand," the ice-fire user shrugged. "No one understood what Midori had done for me. The devotion he showed me."
"You're sick!" Bakugou spat out.
"I say the sick one is you," the youngest Todoroki commented, "You just yell at him and insult him. You do not understand how wonderful my Midori is, and even tried to stop me getting him. We can't have that, can we?"
With that, he walked away without looking at Bakugou, knowing that he would die soon enough.
"Midori, I can't lose you again…come back to me, Midori," Todoroki mumbled as he went at the direction Izuku had taken, leaving Bakugou to bleed out.
'I…can still…be a hero…if I can't be society's hero, then I'll be…Deku's hero,' Bakugou thought as he laid on the ground. He decided to use the last of his strength to take out his phone. He had to make a call to warn her before he died.
Back in the hospital ward, Inko was calling Mitsuki to ask if the boys had returned home. When Mitsuki answered negative, she thanked her and hung up after telling her to call if the boys make it home. Rei was sitting on her bed while trying to look at the television channels for any news on the killer, hoping against hope it was not her son.
Her two children weren't faring any better, as Natsuo was pacing back and forth wondering what was the next best move, and discussing with Fuyumi.
Rei wanted to tell them to calm down, that everything would be fine. However, she knew that was a lie. She knew just how bad the situation was and how dangerous the killer was…and how destructive the Quirk Shouto possessed, being a perfect hybrid of hers and her late husband's Quirks. Twice the power with no drawbacks if used correctly. She doubted even this Katsuki boy would stand a chance if a fight really occurred.
The people in the room were completely quiet, leaving the ward in silence. It was finally broken by the sound of Inko's phone ringing. Inko pulled it out and saw that the call came from Bakugou
"Katsuki, where are you boys?" Inko started, worry laced in her tone. "Are you two–"
"Aunt Inko…I d-don't have….m-much time. There's…a strange…boy…after De- Izuku. He's…Todo–" Bakugou's voice struggled to say on the other end of the line before a scream, and the call was cut off.
"Katsuki? KATSUKI?" Inko yelled into the phone only there was no response. She thought about what the blonde boy had mentioned and immediately paled. At that moment, she just knew what had happened to Katsuki. Which means Izuku was…
"Inko? Is something wrong?" Rei asked her nurse, worried at her expression.
Inko turned to them and said, "That was Katsuki. He mentioned a strange boy after Izuku. Something about Todo…"
Now it was the Todorokis' turns to pale as they realized what had happened and had a good idea of who it involved. They feared what Shouto might have done to Katsuki, and was likely chasing down Izuku.
"We can't waste time like this," Natsuo announced, walking up to Inko. "If that boy really was Shouto, then we don't have much time. Do you know where they are?"
"I don't, but I have a good idea. If they are on their way home, they are likely passing through a playground. They always take that route home, which doesn't have a lot of people." Inko replied. "Izuku might be separated from him, so I'll say he might be on his way home."
"Then let's go find him before Shouto does."
Meanwhile, Izuku was running as fast as he could. He wasn't even thinking or looking at where he was going, being overtaken by panic. He didn't even know how much of a headstart he got from the youngest Todoroki.
Tears also blurred his vision, making it hard for to see what was ahead of him. If only he had a Quirk, maybe he would be able to fight alongside Kacchan. Instead, Kacchan is likely dead, and the person who possibly killed him was now after him.
The little analyst couldn't believe what happened. Just moments ago, he was on his way home after a fun day with Kacchan. But now…he was running for his life, away from the Todoroki boy whose appearance did not betray his intentions until it was too late.
However, although his heart was filled with grief and fear, he knew all he could do was run. He did not have any weapons or even his notebook with him, since he thought it was just a day out with a friend. He had to get away from Todoroki, so he could call the police and warn them about him. Or make it to his mother for safety and stop the boy altogether.
Most importantly, he needed to make sure that Bakugou's efforts were not in vain. He had stayed back to take on the dual-haired boy to allow Izuku a chance to run away. If he was to get caught now, his efforts would be for nothing.
Izuku stopped when he felt tired, leaning against the wall. The greenette was lightly panting and crying at the same time. He was almost certain that he had put enough distance between himself and Todoroki, so he took this moment to mourn over his lost childhood friend and call the police about this.
"Why are you crying, Midori?" a familiar voice asked behind Izuku, making him freeze. The Quirkless boy turned around to see Todoroki behind him, giving him a concerned look. Behind him was a trail of ice, making Izuku realize that Todoroki made use of his Quirk to increase his speed to beyond what was physically impossible. Even now, he was heating the ice to melt it to erase evidence.
'He basically has two Quirks that compliments each other.' Izuku thought, horrified since if Kacchan could not hold him back for long, what chance did he even have?
"Did you hurt yourself, Midori? Are you alright? I can kiss it better, if you want me to." Todoroki titled his head.
Izuku quickly started running again. He noticed he had run to an area in the city where warehouses are built. He knew with Todoroki's Quirk, he would not be able to run. It was alright, though. All he needed was an opening to run all the way home, where he would be safe.
Since running was not an option, he would hide instead. He spotted an old warehouse and entered in. The faster he found a hiding spot, the better.
His eyes scanned the warehouse, desperately trying to find a good place to hide. He spotted an empty but run-down closet, most likely to hold cargo when they ship supplies. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to peek through anything to see if Todoroki was still around, but he could always listen…right?
"Midori? Where did you go, Midori?" the youngest Todoroki's voice could be heard calling, bringing chills down Izuku's spine. It didn't take long until he heard Todoroki's footsteps around the area, looking for him. "Are you still scared of my father? Don't worry, he can't hurt us anymore…"
Izuku hugged his knees to his chest, trying to stay quiet.
"Midori, are we playing hide and seek? I love games. What else do you want to play after I find you?" Todoroki called out.
Izuku covered his mouth with his hands to try and hide his labored breathing. He could hear Todoroki being close to him and he needed to be completely quiet if he wanted a chance to not be found. The boy was praying in his head that he wouldn't be discovered. However, he had started to choke on the years' worth of dust and was on the verge of coughing.
Meanwhile, Natuso and Fuyumi had finally found the body of Bakugou Katsuki. They could only stare at the corpse with wide eyes. They couldn't believe that the boy Inko said he was with was now lifelessly laying on the ground in his own blood. From the injuries, it was likely he put up a fight, but it was not enough.
"...I can't believe it. Did Shouto really...?" Fuyumi had a hand over her mouth, not willing to finish her question.
"I know this sounds harsh, but we have no time to dwell on this," Natsuo replied, shaking his head. "Shouto is out there, after the Izuku boy. If we can't find him before Shouto does, there's no telling what he'll do to him."
"I'll call Inko. Tell her the blonde boy is dead." Fuyumi took out her phone.
"We should also call the police to handle the body, and get to Inko." Natuso agreed, as Fuyumi dialled Inko's number.
Back in the warehouse, Izuku coughed due to the dust, and felt his heart sink at this. He tried to conceal it, but it was too late for that. Todoroki had heard the coughing and was immediately upon the green-haired boy.
Izuku could only shake in fear as the boy opened the door to the closet and stared down at him
"Gotcha, Midori!" Todoroki had a smile on his face. He then frowned at seeing Izuku's fear and tried to calm him by stroking his cheek with his hand. "What is the matter, Midori? It's me, Shouto."
"I'm not Midori! My name is Midoriya Izuku!" Izuku tried to be brave, but his voice betrayed his fear.
"Is that the name you came up with to hide from my father?" Todoroki wondered. "It's alright. You don't have to hide anymore."
He leaned towards the boy to smell his hair. "You scent is as I remember." He then petted Izuku's hair. "So is your hair." He then started to caress the boy's body with his hand. "Even your perfect, small body is as I remember. I finally found you after so many years. Please, never leave me again, little bunny."
Izuku knew there was no reasoning with this boy. He had to get out, and fast. As Kacchan once said, "Aim for the head." maybe just this once, he would follow his advice.
What happened next was unexpected for Todoroki, where Izuku gave himself an opening. Having been taking Bakugou's explosions head-on and analyzing heroes for years, he had gotten a few tips on strategy.
While not a real fighter in any way, the greenette was able to throw the only thing he had one him, which was his phone at a decent force, which hit Todoroki on the head, and staggered him slightly.
When the ice user was stumbling back, recovering from the blow, he ran past Todoroki and headed to the entrance.
Todoroki still tried to grab him with his hand and almost got him, but the boy was able to make his way to the entrance and out of the warehouse.
While he may be Quirkless, he still prided himself as a fast runner and can duck anywhere. He quickly navigated his way out of the city without looking back. Once he was among civilization again, he started to look for his phone to call the police. He was horrified, however when he realized he used his phone to daze Todoroki.
No, it was alright. There were plenty of public phones around, and he has his mother's number memorized. What matters was he had escaped.
"I lost him again. Does Midori not want me anymore?" Todoroki asked himself, looking saddened back at the warehouse. Todoroki looked down at the phone in his hands, glad that he had been able to take it.
After all, it most likely contained crucial information on his Midori. Like where he lived, for instance. Midori would most likely make his way to the place he called home or something, Todoroki mused. But of course, it wasn't really his home.
Scrolling through the phone, an insane determination spread over his face. "No, I will find him. I know I will. And once I do, I'll never let him go again."
Inko was worried as she received the call, confirming Bakugou's death. She wanted to call Izuku, but if Izuku was hiding, it would automatically give him away. So she decided to trust that her son is smart enough to get himself out, Quirk or no Quirk. Hopefully Izuku would find a way to contact her.
Inko wondered what she should tell Mitsuki. After all, her son was dead. However, Inko felt like she had to soften the blow before she can really tell any big news like this. She was afraid that if she went in bluntly, Mitsuki would have a breakdown and shut in on herself.
Just then, a call from an unknown number came. Inko picked up, and much to her relief, it was her son, who told her that he was on his way home. So her son was alright! And if he was safe, then that meant he had gotten away from the Shouto boy.
Now that the hard part was over, Inko could work on ways on telling Mitsuki about her son's death, and try to find a way to bring the youngest Todoroki to justice.
Inko had just decided to call Mitsuki to tell her, when someone rang the doorbell. She immediately thought that it was Izuku that had arrived. With a smile on her face, the woman walked up to the door and opened it.
"Izu–"
The rest of Inko's greeting was cut off as a hand suddenly shot up to her face and covered her mouth, silencing her.
Before Inko could even react, she was kneed in her stomach, which knocked the air out of her lungs and made her double over. An ice-covered fist then hit her at the side of the head, knocking her out cold.
"Sorry. But I would do anything to get back Midori," Todoroki said with a blank expression to Inko's unconscious body.
Meanwhile, Izuku came home, finally sighing in relief that he managed to escape that crazed boy. Although he did pity the boy for his home life, it did not mean he had to resort to such methods for a friend.
"Mum, I'm home!" Izuku announced, as he entered his apartment. However, there was no answer.
"Oh, hello there, Midori. Welcome home," a chilling familiar voice said from the kitchen, causing the greenette to freeze. He looked towards the kitchen, and saw none other than Todoroki Shouto smiling at him at the doorway. "You did pick a nice place to live in."
Izuku felt his blood run cold as he saw the youngest Todoroki's smiling face. His eyes went wide and face paled instantly. It was clear he hadn't escaped Todoroki like he had thought.
"W-What do you want? Leave me alone," Izuku said fearfully as he backed up, with Todoroki stalking forward.
"Midori, you know that I can't just leave," Todoroki almost looked apologetic. "It's time for you to come home. Like I said, Endeavor is gone. We can live together now, so come here already. Please, you know I can't go through anything without you."
"Please no. Just let me go. I'm really not the person you think I am," the middle school boy whimpered as tears started to fall from his eyes again.
"I don't know who told you those lies, but I know my Midori," Todoroki replied with conviction. "Now we can be together like we should be. We don't need anybody else. No Endeavor. No Natuso. No Fuyumi. And no mother. Just you and me, like it should be. I will take care of you from now on."
"Can't you get someone else?" Izuku was pleading.
He was trying to think of a way to escape, but he couldn't think of anything. The only door out was blocked by Todoroki, and the window to the living room was a viable option, but it was too high for him to jump through it.
Not to mention, even if he quickly made a dash for it, Todoroki proved he could catch up. He could only hope that his mother would notice that something was wrong and would call the police.
"I can't do that, Midori. We belong together," The ice user replied, smiling but not in a nice way. "Also, she wouldn't be able to help you."
He opened the closet door, and a gasp escaped his mouth as the door revealed an unconscious Inko out of the closet by the back of her dress. There was some blood dripping from the side of Inko's head, indicating that she had been attacked there.
"You probably heard of the news, right?" Todoroki asked, lifting and putting Inko in a chokehold. "You wouldn't want that to happen to this woman, now would you?"
"STOP, STOP!" Izuku yelled, afraid for his mother's life. This startled Todoroki enough to drop Inko, as he couldn't bear to hear Midori scream. The last time he screamed, he disappeared the next day.
Todoroki quickly pulled a cloth from his pocket. "Here. This will help calm you down."
Todoroki shoved the cloth over Izuku's mouth. The boy tried to struggle but wasn't strong enough to break free. He soon felt drowsy and fell unconscious in the dual-haired boy's arms.
"Sleep well, Midori. When you wake up, we'll be living our life free, like we should have from the beginning," Todoroki said to the unconscious boy, carrying his captive out of the apartment and heading to an unknown direction.
Moments later after the youngest Todoroki had left with his new Midori, a black car drove up to the apartment. Inside were none other than Natsuo and Fuyumi.
"I haven't heard from Midoriya-san about her son. What do you think happened?" Natuso asked.
"For the fifth time, Natuso, I said I don't know! Whatever it was, he was in danger since his phone was either lost, or taken by our brother," Fuyumi answered in a frustrated voice. "We will find out once we get there. So stop asking me that already!"
"I'm sorry. It's just that we have not heard anything from Inko about her son, so I've been worried since that Izuku boy most likely had an encounter with our youngest brother."
"I've been worried about him as well. However, we agreed that Izuku should not be contacted, lest we give away his location by calling," Fuyumi replied as she shut down the engine on the car and stepped out of it. "Besides, it hasn't been too long since we last contacted Inko."
"Feels like an eternity to me," Natsuo shot back as he got out of the car. "I just wish that we could do something, you know? To help them feel safe. I hate it when the boy is facing something like this with his friend dead and he's missing."
"As much as I agree, neither of us stand a chance against Shouto in a fight. It is all father's fault for focusing his abuse and training on him." Fuyumi reminded.
"Ugh, I hate this." Natsuo mumbled, as the two siblings walked up to the front door of the house and rang the doorbell. They waited a few minutes, with silence coming from the inside and rang the doorbell again. After waiting again and ringing the doorbell for the third time, worry started to etch into their features.
"What's taking Inko so long? She said she would be home, and you'd expect she'd answer immediately," Natsuo was concerned about Inko.
Fuyumi had to nod in agreement at her brother's statement. Something was off about this. She then noticed that the door was actually slightly ajar. Once she realized this, she pushed open the door and walked in, Natsuo following.
"Look!" Natuso gasped, pointing at the bloodstain on the wall. A shocked gasp came out of her when she had noticed the fresh stain on the wall.
"Something's wrong. We have to find Inko…" The white-haired boy said as he quickly made his way deeper into the apartment. When he went past the sofa, his body froze at the sight of Inko lying on the floor, unmoving. Fuyumi, who had followed, saw the state their mother's nurse was in and ran to Inko's side to check on her.
"She's alive, just unconscious. Although she might have a concussion with this amount of damage to her head." Fuyumi commented after checking over the woman.
"Izuku…you're…ok…" Inko mumbled. "Be…home…soon…"
The two siblings looked at one another. Izuku must have called to tell Inko he was alright. But then, if that was true…
Natsuo ran around, panicked. Where was the boy, then?
"What are you even looking for? We have to call the ambulance!" Fuyumi was using her ice to stem Inko's bleeding. "Calm down and call them already!"
"If what Inko said happened earlier, then where's the boy?" Fuyumi's eyes went wide at the realization of what might be going on.
However, they didn't find the green-haired boy anywhere in the apartment. They only found Inko's phone and nothing else. The history revealed an unknown number called Inko almost twenty minutes ago. From the looks of it, it must have been Izuku.
"Dammit, we're too late," Natsuo cursed. "Shouto must have taken that Izuku boy away with him and attacked Inko in the process. But why would he attack Inko?"
"Natsuo, you got it backwards," Fuyumi explained, trying to hold back her tears. "Shouto must have found the address and attacked Inko first. Maybe he laid in wait while Izuku came home, and that was when…"
She cried at not being able to help her brother or Izuku. Now Izuku was gone and they did not know what Shouto intended to do now he found "his rabbit".
"Fuyumi, don't worry about it," Natuso said as he placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. "We'll find him and get him back. Don't worry about it, alright?"
"...Sure, Natsuo." Fuyumi finally managed to say, as she composed herself to call the ambulance for Inko. As much as she wanted to not only convince herself and later Inko when she wakes up that Izuku would be found, they all knew better.
Shouto was a boy who knew how to disappear when he needed to.
There was a good chance that they, especially Inko, would never see Midoriya Izuku again.
BP: Well, I am not sure whether this should be a good ending or a bad ending. You choose.
I think next chapter should be the last chapter, since this is a short story. If you are interested in or have read my Pokémon fics, do read on. I need a little help.
For those who have read my Pokémon fics you should be aware of a character named Pakura. I am sure you know Pakura's backstory is really, really dark in both the PAL Chronicles and the Dark Chronicles.
I haven't even divulged everything, in fact. This Pakura also is incorporated in one of my stories, Prince of Shinobi. So after talking to a friend on her characterization, I decided to consult with you readers.
Here is what I want to know:
Do you want me to implement a sort-of-new Pakura with a completely different backstory, since perhaps her backstory is too dark for the Pokémon world?
As in, do you want to see what would she turn out to be like, after taking away everything that is influenced from her life with Team Rocket or Shiki? Do you want to see the original theme I have thought up for her and what she could have been if Shiki or Team Rocket was not a big part of her life?
Because it may turn out to be a completely different Pakura (fighting style, dressing, mannerisms), which essentially almost makes her a new character. After all, she may even be born somewhere else.
Or, do you want a Pakura that she would be if Shiki was alive in the original? The truth behind Shiki's personality and actions?
If yes to any of the two, then I will see what I can do to change this story to fit, and adjust the timeline and interactions. If not, I will continue Prince of Shinobi as per normal with all the original traits from Dark Chronicles/PAL Chronicles.
Please do vote in the poll for your answer.
Anyway, do review, favourite and follow!