A/N: Even if I'm not 100% looking forward to Season 6, I saw a preview video from the official MHA Facebook page that looked promising, and besides, my brain tends to worry about certain things more than it should, so whatever.
Anyways, a word of warning about this fanfic: There will be a couple of situations of intense peril that could prove triggering for certain people. If that sort of thing bothers you, please turn away from this fic. In spite of that, there will also be plenty of lighthearted moments, too. I hope you enjoy this one, which also happens to be MY 100TH FANFIC! YAY!
SOMETHING I FORGOT TO MENTION 8/26/2022: There will be no explicit sex in this fic. However, there will be some suggestive content, and as such, I would like to say that Todoroki and his women are 18 or older in this story.
It was a typically hot day in Los Angeles, and Shoto Todoroki walked down the main hallway of the Endeavor Agency with cold, hard intent. The son of Pro Hero Enji Todoroki, better known as "Endeavor", he had always hated his father for the hellish training that he had been subjected to as a child, and yet in recent years, he had come not to accept the man so much as tolerate his existence, and it was partly because of this tolerance that he elected to join the Endeavor Agency. That, and he needed a way to earn money. However, Todoroki had something different on his mind as he strode through these halls, and he approached the door with the "ENDEAVOR" nameplate on it as if he hadn't a care in the world, and he knocked just loudly enough to be heard.
"Come in," said a voice behind the door.
Todoroki entered the office, and there seated at the mahogany desk was none other than Endeavor himself.
"Shoto, what brings you here today?" asked Endeavor.
"Father, I'd like to start out by telling you how grateful I am that you chose to employ me. I feel as though I've grown not only as a hero, but as a person. Having said that, as of this moment, I hereby resign from your agency."
"What!?" Endeavor bolted up out of his chair. "But why?"
"For years, I have labored under your shadow, and it is because of this I feel that my potential has been severely limited. I could never live with myself if I didn't stand up and spread my wings. I hope you understand."
"But you're my favorite son! I trained you to become the hero you are today! You obey me! Besides, where would you even go if you left?"
"I have a pretty good idea."
Endeavor crossed his arms. "Then do tell me."
"I intend to start my own Hero Agency."
At first, Endeavor didn't respond to this revelation. Todoroki stood firm, doing his best not to show any emotion despite the fact that he had anxiety about how his father would respond. Given his past history with the man, his worry was understandable. Nevertheless…
"All right, you win." Endeavor sighed. "I'll call the payroll office and have your severance pay ready."
"Thank you." Todoroki bowed.
"Just don't expect any assistance from me in starting your agency, OK?"
"I didn't."
After his shift concluded, Todoroki returned to his apartment at the Woodcliff apartment complex, in the Westdale neighborhood. After having some zaru soba for supper, he fired up his Dell XPS laptop and searched for offices for rent in Los Angeles. He wasn't looking for anything grand at the moment, but he supposed that if he was going to be hiring a decent number of employees, then he'd need something of substance. However, employee salaries weren't the only thing he'd need to worry about. He also needed to factor in the purchase of furniture and hiring a company to move it all in, the costs of paying for utilities, Internet and insurance, as well as maintenance and janitorial costs. Nevertheless, he figured he could foot the bill, having saved up a fair amount of money working at his father's agency. After looking it over, he decided to go with a grand office space on the 12th floor of the Pershing Square Building, located in the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. With that out of the way, he did nothing but watch Miami Action on Netflix for the rest of the day.
The next morning, after a simple breakfast of Honey Nut Cheerios, a banana and a can of Mountain Dew Pitch Black, Todoroki not only took care of his dental hygiene, but also his daily exercises, starting with 50 pushups. He also did some bench presses, dumbbell curls and laterals. After putting on his outfit for the day – which included an Anvil Metal on Metal T-shirt, olive green M65 field jacket, blue jeans and "McNamara" combat boots – he headed to the location of his new office. Here, he met a middle-aged guy wearing a white button-down shirt, tan pants and a dark blue tie.
"Excuse me, my name is Shoto Todoroki. I'm here to take a tour of this office space."
"Nice to meet you! I'm Jim Steinbauer, the landlord."
Todoroki and Steinbauer shook hands, and Steinbauer proceeded to show Todoroki around. The more he looked at this office space, the better he felt about choosing this one. He figured that if he could just get the necessary employees to join him in his crusade, then it would be worth every penny he paid for the lease. Speaking of which, Steinbauer handed the necessary paperwork to Todoroki, who looked it over carefully. Thus far, the terms seemed to be in his favor, though he ended up negotiating for a lower rate and a limit in rent increases due to there being certain maintenance/repair costs that he was liable for. However, one thing that he liked about the agreement was that in the event of his death or suffering a permanent disability, then the terms of the lease would be nulled.
A couple weeks' worth of negotiating later, and the office was his. Also during this time, Todoroki spent money on buying furniture for the office. Additionally, he had an armory constructed in one room and bought a bunch of guns for it. He also bought a few muscle cars because he figured that depending on which Quirks his employees had, they might need a faster way to get around while on patrol or when pursuing bad guys. Having furnished the office, Todoroki put out ads in Craigslist, several local newspapers and magazines seeking employees. Then, he waited…and waited…and waited. For a time, it seemed that all Todoroki ever did was polish his desk and walk around the office making sure that everything was in order. Because of that, he wondered if there was anything in particular that he was doing wrong in trying to get the word out about his Hero Agency. However, thinking about it produced no useful ideas. Thus, Todoroki slinked back to his desk, and just as he was about to sink back into his chair, he heard his desk phone ring.
"Shoto Agency, Shoto Todoroki speaking."
"Shoto, there's a young woman here looking for you," said Jane the receptionist.
"Please send her up."
"Will do. Goodbye!"
Todoroki sat down at his desk, eagerly awaiting the young woman who was coming up to see him. Finally, after weeks of waiting, it gave him a great sense of relief knowing that there was somebody who actually wanted to sign up with his agency. He just prayed that whoever signed up was honorable enough to carry out the duties expected of a hero. Soon enough, Todoroki heard knocking on his door.
"Come in," said Todoroki.
The door opened, and in stepped a young woman with long, fluffy, 80s-esque dark green hair, matching green eyes, and freckles. She was dressed in a white blouse, dark blue suit jacket with matching skirt, and black high-heel shoes. She was carrying a packet of papers
"Excuse me, is this the Shoto Agency?" asked the woman.
Todoroki nodded. "Yes, this is the place. I'm Shoto Todoroki, leader and founder of the agency."
The woman smiled nervously and waved at Todoroki. "Hi, I'm Izuko Midoriya! I want to apply for your agency."
Todoroki stood up and approached Midoriya. "Nice to meet you, Midoriya."
Todoroki and Midoriya shook hands. Midoriya then handed the packet – her application – to Todoroki.
"Please, have a seat," said Todoroki.
Midoriya took the seat before Todoroki's desk, while Todoroki looked over the application for a little bit before making eye contact with Midoriya for the subsequent interview:
"Please, tell me a little about yourself," said Todoroki.
Midoriya sat up straight, hands on her lap, keeping as open a stance as possible. "Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to be a hero. The idea of helping people out and being seen as somebody that people could look up to always appealed to me. However, I was born Quirkless, and it wasn't until I met All Might that I finally got a Quirk of my own. Ever since then, I've been working hard, not only trying to improve myself physically, but also mentally and emotionally, because if I'm going to be a great hero, then I figure that I should be as well-prepared as possible."
"Mm-hmm." Todoroki nodded. "What would you say your greatest strengths are?"
Midoriya played with her hair a little. "For one, I have a very analytical mind. For years, I've been keeping notes on the greatest Pro Heroes as well as my own classmates in the hopes that I can use the knowledge of their Quirks and abilities to better myself. As a matter of fact, this has helped me to form complex battle plans on the fly, such as when I did a work study at the Nighteye Agency and fought the Wilshire Triad alongside them."
Todoroki nodded again. "Interesting. And what would you say your greatest weaknesses are?"
Midoriya bit her lip briefly. "Well, I'm a very caring and emotional person, and while this has helped me to push myself to rescue others in danger whatever the cost, it has also resulted in me getting overly upset whenever I fail to stop a villain or rescue someone. However, not only have I been reading various self-help books to help me let go of the anger, but I've also been seeing a therapist to help me cope with my emotional issues."
"I see. If you could start a business of your own, any sort of business, what would it be?"
"I've always liked the idea of owning my own bookstore, because not only do I love reading, but I want to help spread knowledge throughout my community, and I believe that knowledge is the key to conquering evil."
"Fascinating. How did you hear about this opening?"
"Because of All Might, I subscribe to LA Heroes' Digest, and I noticed your ad in the 'Classifieds' section. The ad itself looked promising enough, and it led me to check out your website, and based on what I read, this seems like the exact kind of Hero Agency that I'd like to work for."
"OK. Tell me about why you're leaving your current job."
Midoriya took a deep breath. "As much as I like working for the Landis Agency, I'm looking for a fresh challenge with a new company where I feel I can truly grow and also help others to grow as well."
"Right. Tell me about a time when a coworker or client got angry with you and how you responded to it."
"One time, a Captain of the California Highway Patrol criticized me for the way I handled a villain attack in Santa Monica. I was sure I was in the right, but after thinking about his words a little more, I realized that there were things I could've done differently in that situation, so I apologized to him and promised to do whatever I could to make it right."
"I see. Tell me about the most difficult decision you had to make in the past six months."
Midoriya fidgeted a little. "One time, a villain made me choose between stopping him or stopping a train on the Metro that was about to crash into a bus full of children. I analyzed not only my own Quirk, but the Quirks of my fellow heroes, and I chose to stop the train while having some of my comrades distracting the villain for as long as possible. Not only did I manage to stop the train, but I was able to help out my coworkers and stop the villain as well."
"Interesting. And what makes you a good fit for this job?"
"Not only do I have years of experience with other Hero Agencies, but I sincerely believe that I can parlay this experience into a career that will not only help me to grow here, but also help you and others to grow."
"OK, that's enough from me. Do you have any questions of your own?"
"Yes. First of all: you're not related to Endeavor…are you?"
For a moment, Todoroki didn't respond to that one. On one hand, he wanted to chew out Midoriya for daring to bring up his father, especially considering this was only her first question, but on the other hand, she struck him as the type who meant no real harm in asking this, so he composed himself as well as he possibly could and answered:
"Yes, he's my father, and it's because of him that I was inspired to found my own Hero Agency. Anything else?"
"What do you expect me to accomplish in my first 90 days here?"
"I'm looking for heroes who not only prove that they're brave enough to take on whatever challenges I throw at them, but also compassionate enough to truly make a difference in the lives of the citizens of Los Angeles such that they can look to us as some of the finest heroes they've ever known."
"Got it. What are the top three traits that your best performers have in common?"
"As far as I'm concerned, my top heroes should not only be able to work well with others, but if necessary, be able to hold their own. They should also be flexible in their approaches to problems, and furthermore, they must also be willing to rise to the occasion no matter how difficult or hopeless things seem."
"I see. What really gets results at this agency?"
"If you can not only make a difference in reducing crime in Los Angeles, but also in improving the public perception of heroes, then I consider that to be a success."
"OK. What are your agency's highest-priority goals this year, and how would my role contribute?"
"At the moment, I'm looking to grow this agency such that it becomes known as one of the rising stars among Hero Agencies, and with you potentially being one of my first recruits, you could be helping a great deal with the growth of this agency."
"Uh-huh. And what do you plan to do if there's a major villain attack anytime soon?"
"We'll respond swiftly and aggressively with everything we've got, because even if our contribution seems small, the way I see it, any little bit we can give would help out much more than standing idly by as we do nothing."
"Right. Just one more question: When can I expect to begin?"
"At the moment, with you being my first applicant, I don't have a set date as of yet, but I'll not only call you if you get the job, but also when our training academy begins."
"About that: what will this training academy consist of?"
"Not only will you be taught to hone your existing Quirk and abilities, but you'll also be given training in additional skills that you'll need while working here."
Midoriya nodded. "I understand. Thank you for your time, Mr. Todoroki."
"You're welcome." Todoroki got up from his seat. "However, only my father is to be addressed as 'Mr. Todoroki'. You may call me 'Todoroki', or 'Shoto' if you prefer. Have a nice day, Midoriya."
Midoriya got up from her seat and smiled. "You too!"
Midoriya left the office. The next order of business for Todoroki was to run a background check on her. In his opinion, he thought she did quite well in the interview despite showing a few signs of anxiety, and based on that and the information she provided in her application, she seemed like a good fit for the Shoto Agency, though he needed to know that she wasn't a villain, hence the background check.
Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.
