Author's Note: Here's the next chapter! Character growth! Woohoo! Anyway, not much else to say other than enjoy the chapter!
Also, if you want to get into a place with other lovers of MHA, and specifically IzuJirou stuff, come on and join this Discord server that I'm on: /eFtmT8cTbY We're only kind of crazy, and not at all a cult... except, we also kind of are. Anyway, yeah, join that! Or maybe you want something a bit less niche with still a lot of great authors? If so, I have another server! /6ZCTyGy7zZ I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's cross-posted on Ao3 as well. Leave a review if you want to. I welcome the feedback! See you next time.
Izuku dodged out of the way of a punch that was coming straight from his head. He tucked and rolled, quickly standing and righting himself against his opponent.
A jab followed by a cross and then another jab. Left hook. Jab. Cross. Dodge out of the way. Find a lapse. Then Izuku saw it. His opponent stepped slightly too far forward. He quickly hooked the leg and pulled it out from under his opponent, taking him to the ground. Izuku wasted no time in wrapping his legs around his opponent's arm and torso before pulling said arm into a very painful armbar.
Shouto tapped his legs, and Izuku released his grip. "That was really good, Shouto. You've learned fast." Izuku said as he stood up and offered Shouto a hand. The other boy took his hand and stood up.
"Quirkless fighting is weird." Shouto said, rubbing his shoulder that had just been torqued.
"But it helps you learn how to fight first. And once you know how to fight properly, you can start augmenting your fighting style with your quirk." Izuku assured.
"How do you do so?" Shouto asked, grabbing his water bottle and taking a swig of water.
"I use Analysis to think faster and analyze fighting styles and patterns. And then I use Luck to subtly shift things in my favor and give me an edge." He explained.
"Yeah, be thankful you're not doing quirked sparring with him. He's annoying as fuck." Kyouka yelled from across the warehouse.
"Kyouka, what does fuck mean?" Izuku heard Eri ask.
"Kyouka!" Inko scolded. "Eri, we don't say that word."
"Then why did Kyouka say it?" Eri asked innocently.
"Because she was being a bad girl. You don't wanna be a bad girl, do you?" Inko asked. A brief period of silence was followed by Inko speaking again. "Good. Then we don't say that word."
"Okay, nice lady." Eri said.
Izuku turned back to look at Shouto. The two of them were still on the floor. "I'm gonna give her so much shit because of that."
"So you and Kyouka. How long have you been together?" Shouto asked.
"That's a little complicated. We kissed for the first time about a week or so after we started doing this, and we slowly… well, not slowly, but we became a couple kind of naturally after that." Izuku explained.
"And you started this when?"
"About the time when the UA letters went around to everyone." Izuku said, somewhat downcast.
"There's a story here." Shouto said.
"Yeah. Hitoshi, Fumikage, and Kyouka all got into the hero course at UA. Mei got into the support course. I was the only one that didn't get in." Izuku explained. "But she came up with the idea for us to do this instead if any of us failed. So here we are now, a few months down the line."
"Couldn't you have gone to a different hero school?" Shouto asked.
Izuku chuckled. "Probably. But a bit before the entrance exam, I was saved from a villain from All Might. I asked him if I could be a hero with a quirk that wasn't very strong, and he said no. With the whole rejection from UA thing being fresh on my mind, I wasn't thinking about other hero schools. I was already convinced. And even if I had been able to think about other schools, I probably would have come to the conclusion that All Might was right."
"Wait, you called Luck weak? It's really strong." Shouto said.
"Yeah, now. Back then, I was passively lucky and could barely influence the luck of things that I was around. It wasn't until the Entrance Exam that Luck awakened, and it is what it is now." Izuku explained.
"Well, you all have done rather well for yourselves." Shouto said. "It's not a hero agency, but it's close enough. Even though I disagree with some of your methods, I can't say they aren't effective."
"Oh? I'm interested in hearing what you disagree with." Izuku leaned over.
"My first mission… fighting people is one thing, but you threatened his family." Shouto said, staring off in the common room where Eri was sitting on Kyouka's lap watching the TV.
"We were bluffing. Never were gonna go to his house or hurt his family." Izuku admitted.
"Then why go through all that trouble?" Shouto asked.
"We had to make it believable or else we weren't going to get the results we needed." Izuku said sadly. "I took a shot in the dark with his family. If I missed the mark with that, our chance at getting information out of him would have been gone. I doubt he would have talked at all if we hadn't done that, either."
"So you threatened him and his family." Shouto said again.
Izuku sighed. "We're not heroes. We have no formal authority. To most of the heroes, we're criminals. To some, we're misguided. To the villains, we're a bunch of posers trying to be heroes. We have to find a way to get what we need. And if we have to resort to some unheroic methods, that's what it takes." Izuku said, taking a drink of his water. "I know that you want to be a better hero than your father." Shouto visibly flinched, but Izuku kept going. "Be one of the people that changes the world to be a better place. That's what makes someone a good hero. Look at the underground heroes like your teacher, Eraserhead. He's not exactly the most morally upright man, but he's doing what's best for the people of Japan."
"That can be a dangerous statement." Shouto said with a furrowed brow.
"I get it." Izuku started.
"I'm not sure you do. You say you're not like him, but you sound very much like him right now." Shouto stood up. "I… I need to take a walk. I need to do some thinking." Shoto stood up quickly and walked out of the warehouse in a huff.
"Izuku, what happened?" Shouto could hear Kyouka ask as he walked out.
Not knowing where else to go, Shouto went to the one place in the area that he spent any amount of time in: the music shop, No Strings Attached. The train ride was both long and short at the same time as his thoughts were muddled by his frustration.
"He sounds just like him." Shouto thought to himself. "And he doesn't even realize it. The ravings of a man obsessed with power and fame."
Shouto hadn't even realized that he had made his way to No Strings Attached without thinking. He opened the door to see the owner standing there smiling at him.
"Todoroki-san! I have some news for you! You were here talking about that Societas Requiem group, right? One of them saved me a while back! It was great! I figured I should just let you know. Wow, they're good people." She said.
Shouto grimaced internally and turned to leave. "Thank you for letting me know." He said as he stepped through the door.
"Wait, where are you going?" The woman asked.
"I just remembered that I have something that requires my immediate attention." Shouto said. "I apologize for the inconvenience and wasting your time."
"No, it's really no trouble at all. Have a good day!" She said as Shouto was already mostly out the door. He didn't respond.
Instead, he got on the train again and rode towards Bunkyo. He remembered where that place was that they found Izuku at, so he figured he might as well scope it out. Even in his career as a hero, this place would be important to know what the place was all about and to see it with his own eyes. So here he was, looking up at the neon sign above the double door to said establishment: Heat Rush. He had only seen it from the outside, so he was eager to see the inside.
Pushing open the door, he was hit with the soothing aroma of grilled food and the sound of casual conversation. "Welcome to Heat Rush." A casual voice cut through the cacophony of the patrons to welcome him. Shouto approached the bar and sat down. A tanned man quickly placed a cup of water in front of him. "You look troubled." The man said.
"I guess you could say that." Shouto sighed.
"You wanna talk about it?" The man asked.
"I'm not sure that I can." Shouto said.
"Then we can talk about something else. Get your mind off of things." The man said, extending his hand across the bar. "Ryouya Harushi." He introduced himself.
"Shouto." He took Ryouya's hand in his own. "So why is this place called Heat Rush?"
"Ah, easy question. That's the name of my quirk." He replied.
"Fire." Shouto said simply.
"Blue fire." Ryouya said in the same tone.
"Do you know Endeavor?" Shouto asked.
"Yeah, your dad's come in a few times. Got a drink named after him, but you don't look old enough to drink, so none for you." Ryouya answered.
"How did you know he was my dad?" Shouto asked.
"I watched the Sports Festival. I know who you are. And I also know what he's done to your family. That's a popular topic of his."
"He gloats about me being his perfect creation, right?" Shouto asked.
"Quite the opposite. He talks about how in the search of his perfect creation, he's hurt his family beyond repair. And not in a gloating way." Ryouya said. "He talks about wanting to make things right, but he doesn't know how to do it."
"That's… What?" Shouto asked.
"Yeah." Ryouya said nonchalantly. "He's been trying for a while now. At least over a year. He started out by sending some flowers to his wife. That one was Rumi's idea." He gestured over to a rabbit woman that Shouto recognized as Miruko.
"Yo." She said before returning to her drink.
"I don't believe it." Shouto said, dumbfounded.
"I didn't either. Then he came in and started telling me his troubles. I gave the best advice I could. Rumi helped a lot. He's a good guy, deep down beneath all the fire and brimstone." Ryouya said.
Shouto just sat in silence, thinking. His mind led him back to a time when something like this was nothing more than a pipe dream. Back when he was still struggling with wanting to become a hero.
"I know you're scared of being like him." His mom said. "But you don't have to worry about that. You're a good person, Shouto. Stay true to yourself, and you can be one of the greatest heroes." She continued. She rubbed his head gently. "Just remember that. I love you."
He was shaken out of his thoughts by someone crawling onto the stool next to him. He turned to his right to see Nezu. "Hello there, Todoroki. Strange seeing you here." The creature said. "You look worried. Care to talk?" Shouto sighed and nodded. "Follow me, then." Nezu slipper off the chair and made his way to one of the tables in the center of the room. "It's a lot harder to listen into what is said at the tables than at the bar."
"Right." Shouto said.
"Now, what is it that you wish to say?"
"Izuku, what happened?" Kyouka asked. Seeing Izuku's face and knowing Eri was in the room, she spoke again. "Let's go to our room to talk, alright?" She turned to Eri and smiled. "We'll be back, okay?"
"Okay." Eri said, looking back at her.
Kyouka led Izuku to their room and sat him down on the bed. "So what happened?"
Izuku sighed. "I guess he wasn't thrilled about how we went about our last full group mission." He said.
"With the interrogation?" Kyouka asked. Izuku nodded. "You told him it wasn't going to actually happen, right? That it was a bluff?"
"How did YOU know that?" Izuku asked.
Kyouka gave him a look of disbelief. "Three things. One, did you really just ask me that? Two, I heard your heartbeat when you were doing that. You were super nervous when you were telling him what was going to happen. Coupled with number three, I know you and I know you wouldn't just ruin someone's life, I figured it was a bluff pretty early on."
"Huh." Izuku said. "I thought I did a good job at hiding that nervousness."
"You did from everyone but me. You can try harder next time, though, hon." Kyouka patted his cheek with a smile. "But back to what happened. You told him that it was a bluff and that you had no intention of actually doing any of that. Then what?" She asked.
"He doubled down. I tried to be realistic. We're not heroes, and villains in general don't respect us enough to do something like that. So we have to resort to things heroes don't sometimes. But it's for the good of what we're trying to accomplish. He said that was dangerous thinking. He said I sounded like 'him' which I can assume is his dad. And then he left." Izuku explained.
"Okay, I can see where he's coming from. It was going well until you said that it's for the good of what we're trying to accomplish." Kyouka said. "That's some tyrant shit."
"Yeah, I realize that now." Izuku said. "I just… I don't know how to justify it. I want him to stay. We'll need someone with such raw power to go up against some of these people. People like Overhaul. People like my father." Izuku explained.
"Not everything needs justification, Izuku. Yes, seeing you like that was attractive, but in the grand scheme of morals, we weren't exactly in the right with that action." Kyouka leaned back onto the bed. "Morals seem to be more important to him than they are to us."
"Morals are important to me, too!" Izuku defended, turning to look at her.
"I'm not saying they aren't. Just that they're less important to us than they are to him. That's gonna be something we'll have to keep in mind moving forward if he stays with us." She explained.
"Yeah, I guess you're right." Izuku admitted.
"Of course I am." Kyouka giggled. "Now, let's get you ready to apologize and try to make things right with Shouto, yeah?"
"Yeah." Izuku chuckled. "Thank you, Kyo."
"Of course, Izuku. I love you."
"I love you too."
"So that's what happened." Nezu said, slightly toying with the glass of water in his hands. "Interesting."
"Yes, Principal Nezu." Shouto said.
"Please, we're both out of UA grounds. You can just call me Nezu." He said. He took a deep breath before he continued. "So you're conflicted with this predicament that you've found yourself in. A difficult choice."
"Not much of one, honestly. I don't think I can work with them after that." Shouto said.
"So then you wouldn't want to work along heroes like All Might?" Nezu asked.
"I'm not sure what that has to do with this." Shouto said.
"All Might has had to kill villains before." Nezu said. "I would say that threatening someone, as a bluff, is much tamer than killing someone."
"What?" Shouto whispered.
"It's true. It's not publicized, but he has. It would ruin his image." Nezu said.
"I don't believe it." Shouto said firmly.
"Believe it or not, it happened." Nezu said.
"Even if it were true, it's not the same. Killing is sometimes required in order to stop villains." Shouto countered.
"You got information out of that man that let you rescue that Eri girl. She was crucial to Overhaul's plans if what we know is correct. But most of what we know is because of that information that your leader got that night. That information is going to cause a villain to be stopped. And you saved that young girl's life." Nezu explained calmly. When Shouto didn't answer, Nezu continued after a sip from his water. "The truth is that heroes sometimes have to do something that seems contrary in order to accomplish what needs to be done. That night was just one such time for you." Nezu said. "There were probably other avenues that your nee group could have taken, but they know how to play to their strengths. Midoriya is a good strategist, and he knows how to utilize his team."
"How do you know his name? I never mentioned it." Shouto asked, taken aback.
"I knew who he was before he came and fought all of the first year hero students. They were thorough, but I'm smarter than them." Nezu said with a smirk.
"So why didn't you turn them in? Why let me participate with them?" Shouto asked.
"Because this is my time when I dip into the gray of heroism. There are troubles that I can see as the principal of UA. Troubles that line up with what they want to snuff out. But I can't be the one to do it. So we have an agreement. A partnership, if you will. They take care of the things that I can't in ways that I can't. I'll admit I have a vested interest in them." Nezu said, chuckling slightly.
"So why tell me all this?" Shouto asked.
"Your role with them on a larger scale is that of control. Keep them from going overboard. Keep them on the path that heroes should be. But remember that there are times when morality must shift. Keep them gray at most. Keep them heroes, not villains." Nezu said. "They're on a path easily swayed to evil."
"You think I can stop them?" Shouto asked.
"Your personal beliefs closely align with their own, even if you might not think it the case. This level of guidance towards the right path comes best from someone one is close to. Someone that believes the same things as them." Nezu said.
"Why do you sound so supportive?" Shouto asked.
"Because you're a good person. You've shown yourself to be one. Everyone has their vices, and you're no exception, but what I have seen in your training and in your interactions with people, you're a deeply rooted good person. Both you and this group can grow from having you around." Nezu said. "I fully believe that." He smiled.
Shouto was silent for a few moments before he spoke again. "Thank you for your belief in me."
"Of course, Todoroki. It wouldn't look good if I didn't believe in one of my students." Then he clapped his paws together. "But it is time that I return back to UA. This was a fun day excursion. I'm glad I ran into you. This was enlightening for the both of us, I'm sure. Have a good night." Nezu hopped out of his chair and made his way towards the exit. "Have a good night, Ryouya." He waved as he left.
"You too, Rat-san."
Shouto sighed and stood up as well. As he was almost to the door, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Ryouya standing behind him. "Your dad… He's a great hero. He's not the best man in the world, and he knows that, as do you. I have no right to tell you what you should do but I will say... just be patient. Wait and see. He might surprise you, Mint-san."
"Mint-san?" Shouto asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, your hair looks like peppermint." Ryouya said with a straight face and a shrug.
With a deep inhale, Shouto turned around. "Thanks for the advice. I'll try." And with that, he walked out of the restaurant. Not really having any reason to be out anymore, he got back on the train, heading towards Sangen Jaya.
A lot of information was given to him today, and it was all pushing on his mind.
"What do I do? Nezu said he believes in me to be their moral compass, but they barely know me. They won't be willing to listen to me. It's best that I leave while I can." He thought to himself on the trainride and walk back to the warehouse. What he wasn't expecting, however, was for Izuku to walk up to him and bow deeply as soon as he entered the building.
"Shouto, I apologize to you. I'm sorry for crossing a line with you." Izuku said. "Our actions have violated a trust that I didn't realize had been put in place, and that is negligence on my end. I understand if you want to leave, but I do ask that you at least consider staying with us."
Shouto hadn't been expecting this. This, along with everything that had been said to him today…
"It's alright, Izuku. I'm not leaving." Shouto said. "Stand up straight. A leader shouldn't be that low."
Izuku stood up quickly, a confused expression on his face. "You're not leaving?"
Shouto smiled slightly. "I'm not leaving. Yes, you crossed a line, but I had someone tell me that all heroes have to do that at some point whether they like it or not. You've said your piece, and now I have mine. I don't agree with all of your methods, but I know they have to happen sometimes because of the situation. Keep those to a minimum, and we'll be good. If it starts getting too frequent, I'm gone."
"Those terms are agreeable." Izuku nodded.
"Someone has to keep you in line." Shouto said.
"Deal." Izuku stuck out his hand.
"Deal." Shouto grasped Izuku's hand with his own and shook it.
"Damn, fanfic writers would have a blast with this." Mei said from her chair. "Watch out, Kyouka. Shouto might steal your man."
"As if." Kyouka scoffed. "He's my man." To accentuate her point, she pulled Izuku away from Shouto.
"Hey now." Izuku said with a laugh. "I'm fragile."
"Bullshit. We're sparring. Now." Kyouka said, dragging him off to the padded corner of the warehouse that Shouto and Izuku had been in earlier that day.
He sat at the kitchen table and watched the two of them spar. It was fascinating to watch. They worked well, but as combatants and as a couple. Shouto knew they were good people, they just needed a little push in the right direction. If he was successful, he knew that the public opinion of this group would stay high.
