Shouto was training with his father when it happened.

Out of nowhere, he was training with his ice to form more specific structures - walls and other obstacles to block his father when his Quirk had just… Stopped working entirely.

Enji was predictably pissed, and continued the training nonetheless, thinking Shouto was just being rebellious yet again and now refused to use any of his Quirk. It did seem like something he would do, but… It genuinely unsettled him that he tried to use his ice and nothing came with it.

After he stopped their training and confined his son to his room, Enji thankfully left him and the rest of the household alone to go on patrol. Shouto finally started to relax and stop being so on edge, but the more he did so, he started to feel more and more unsettled from the sudden absence of fire and ice. He even felt more - well, empty, somehow - as if his Quirk was completely gone.

It was when he left his room the next morning and saw Fuyumi watching the news that he realized what it was.

INEXPLICABLE QUIRK EXCHANGE - UNKNOWN CAUSE

His eyes widened as he sat down next to his sister and watched the TV with an intense interest. A reporter explained further that so far there were a few hundred people affected by this - they had suddenly received someone else's Quirk. Footage of a detective being interviewed came on as he explained that people affected would have swapped with one other person, and these people seem to follow a similar trend of being close friends, romantically involved, or even complete strangers. He did note that the only people affected were all in Japan, and were the same age as their "swap partner". The report ended off on them explaining that an investigation was ongoing, and if anyone had any details, to call their local precinct.

Shouto felt a deep pit in his stomach as he considered if he could have been a victim of this. He closed his eyes and concentrated, wondering if there was any sort of… New Quirk he somehow hadn't noticed before. It was an odd thing to think, but… How else could he explain the sudden disappearance of his ice… and fire?

Fuyumi put a hand on her younger brother's shoulder, looking at him with concern. "Shouto-kun, is everything okay?"

Shouto stood up, brushing her off lightly. He nodded after a brief moment of silence. "I'm going out, Nee-san." Was all that he had said before putting on his shoes, shoving his phone in his pocket, and leaving before she could get another word in. He didn't like disregarding her, but this was something he needed to take care of himself.

It wasn't long before he ended up at the local precinct much like the news channel had specified. He had the location memorized, his father making him remember the nearest few police stations around. He entered and suddenly noticed the detective reporting on the issue on TV talking with the receptionist. He was surprised, Shouto didn't really expect it to be this convenient.

"Excuse me." He walked forward and tapped the detective's shoulder. He turned around and seemed confused, and Shouto cleared his throat. "You were on TV about the… Quirk swaps?"

The detective nodded and introduced himself. "If you have a concern regarding that, I'd love to help in any way I can. Let's go sit in my office." He held an arm outwards to lead him down to the very last hallway, where Shouto hesitated to sit, feeling a bit out of place. Nonetheless he sank down into the plush leather chair as Detective Tsukauchi took his own seat behind his desk. "You look really familiar. Are you Endeavor's son? I think I've seen you with him on patrols and whatnot."

Shouto nodded sharply with a bit of distaste. "Yes, my name is Todoroki Shouto." He said simply, studying the office a little instead of carrying on the conversation. There was an awkward moment of silence before the detective cleared his throat. "Well, Todoroki-kun, what brings you to the precinct here today?"

"Actually, I…" He took a deep breath, and looked Tsukauchi directly in the eye. "My Quirk stopped working yesterday." He then stared down at his lap, feeling a bit useless. "I don't know if I received another one… I guess it's hard to use a Quirk you don't know you have."

Tsukauchi looked surprised as he leaned forward and checked his notepad. "And what is your Quirk, Todoroki-kun?" He grabbed a pencil that he had resting on top of his ear, tugging a little as it got caught in his hair, and flipped through a few pages.

"Half-Cold Half-Hot," He advised. "I can control fire like my father, but also ice." Tsukauchi's search stopped suddenly as he paused, coming to a realization. "Fire and ice… Todoroki-kun, do you know of a boy your age named Midoriya Izuku?" He settled on a page slowly as he looked back to the red and white-haired teen.

"No, I don't know who that is." He admitted, and Tsukauchi made a quick note. "Is that who… Who received my Quirk?" The detective nodded slowly with a nod, unsure of what the boy's reaction would be.

Shouto seemed to breathe out in relief. He hadn't really fully considered it before, but… His Quirk was a burden. Maybe his father would never understand that it was gone, but this would let him get out of training. Get out of his father's expectations.

Maybe… It would let his mother see him in a different light.

Tsukauchi seemed surprised at his reaction, but continued. "Actually, the swap was perfectly timed. At the time, unfortunately, Midoriya-kun was being attacked by a villain. Your Quirk… It actually saved him. It came upon him suddenly and he lost control, so he passed out with minor injuries, but the kid had almost suffocated. He was really lucky."

Shouto seemed to brighten a little at this news as well. His Quirk had benefited someone other than his father. Maybe this stranger was better off with this Quirk. "He wasn't able to protect himself before?" Shouto found himself asking, hoping for clarification on whatever Quirk he might have received in exchange.

"About that…" Tsukauchi offered a bit of a pained smile. "I hope this doesn't come across as bad news to you, but… Midoriya-kun was Quirkless before all this happened."

Huh.

Shouto was certainly surprised. No Quirk… The thought was entirely foreign to him. And he certainly wouldn't be able to pursue heroics any longer, but… Maybe this wasn't such a bad thing.

"We're still working on a resolution for anything, but that could be a while away." Tsukauchi said suddenly, startling him out of his thoughts as the detective got up and went to the corner of his room where a coffee maker sat, then began to prepare a mug. "Of course, we still need to identify everyone affected. I'm sure you saw in the news, but it seems like the pairs of people that this happened to seem to have a trend of being close with one another, whether romantically or platonically… And then there's those like you and Midoriya-kun, who have never met." He began to think out loud, then sighed deeply as his coffee poured. "It's all very complicated. There's not a clear end in sight, but we're hoping we can get you your Quirk back soon at some point."

"I don't want it." Shouto said suddenly, yet seriously, and stood up from his chair. "He can keep it."

"...What?" Tsukauchi said after a moment, nearly choking on his drink. "Todoroki-kun, do you really not-"

"Where can I find him? Izuku Midoriya." Shouto cut him off, putting his jacket back on. "I'd like to meet him, if possible." He gathered his things, moving towards the door, but not leaving quite yet.

"Oh… Um…" The detective seemed unusually stumped, until he read over his notepad. "He should still be at Koharu Hospital. He was supposed to be sent home today, but I'm sure he's still with his mother. She was also a victim of this whole incident… She didn't fare as well as either of you."

Shouto was turning to leave, but at that statement, paused. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to meet him during such a stressful time.

"Thank you for everything, Detective Tsukauchi." Shouto said politely as he then chose to leave, closing the office door behind him. He didn't stop until he reached the nearest bus stop, then checked his phone to find directions to the hospital.

He noticed a few texts from Fuyumi, and even Natsuo, but swiped them away for the time being. He needed to focus on this before he could even begin to imagine explaining to his siblings what had happened.

As he sat waiting for his bus, Shouto thought over what it really meant to be Quirkless. How suddenly this had all changed, and what he could expect in the future… Perhaps if he got Tsukauchi to contact his father, that could be one worry off his shoulders.

Todoroki felt a bit overwhelmed as he entered the sterile hospital. This was also the hospital his mother resided in, within the long term care portion of the facility, but he assured his nervous mind that he wasn't here to see her. Not today. Not yet.

He walked up to the front counter, waited for the receptionist on duty to finish a phone call, and offered a small smile. "Good morning. Is there a patient with the name Midoriya here?"

She took a moment to look up the name, squinting to see the small text on the computer screen. Nodding, she turned her gaze back to him and smiled back. "We had a Midoriya Izuku yesterday, if you're looking for him. He went home today, though. It seems like he's around your age." She then looked at the other name listed. "We also currently have a Midoriya Inko, but she isn't having visitors at this time."

"E-excuse me…" Shouto perked up at a sudden voice to his side, and turned to see a small boy with dark green hair. "But were you looking for me? Or my mom? That's our name…"

It was like everything had clicked into place.

He stared into his eyes for a few seconds, and straightened up as the green-haired teen seemed to be unnerved by his stare - a patch of frost had formed on his cheek.

"You have my Quirk." Shouto said matter-of-factly, forcing himself to look away from the disheveled hair with a mass of freckles and what seemed to be tired bags under his eyes. Behind them, someone in the lineup coughed, signaling for them to move so he could speak to the receptionist. Shouto bowed in apology. "Let's go over here." He said to Izuku, not even sparing another glance lest he get distracted again.

Izuku fidgeted in the silence, feeling guilt take him over. He recognized this boy in a heartbeat - everything started to make more sense, somehow. He was Endeavor's son - there was coverage of him and his siblings on TV previously. Due to the pro hero's celebrity status, the media of course went after any juicy details they could, even if it was someone as stoic as the Flame Hero. And the Quirk that had been described to him yesterday? Fire and ice. He had yet to see any fire, only today did he notice the frost that he hardly had control of when he was distressed. Which had happened quite a lot in the last 48 hours.

"...You're mumbling." Shouto suddenly said, and Izuku spat out several apologies quickly. "I-I'm sorry! It's a bad habit… Todoroki-san, I'm sorry about this whole swapping thing, really, I didn't have any c-control over this, but the detective said they're working on a solution to get… um, everyone their Quirks back." He seemed to hesitate at the end of his apology. "I'm not sure if you know yet, but, um…"

"Yes, I know. You're Quirkless." Shouto turned to look down at him this time, and was pleased to find he was able to recover more quickly than before. He noticed with disdain however that Izuku seemed to flinch at this. "Don't worry. It's a good thing. Detective Tsukauchi told me that my Quirk saved your life."

Izuku was surprised, but nodded hesitantly as he played with his fingers. "Y-yeah, it did… I know neither of us had anything to do with this whole… Um, swapping thing, but… Thanks. I-I guess I'm glad that it was you, Todoroki-san."

"Please, call me Shouto." He surprised himself by offering this, but was tired of hearing his father's name. He didn't have his Quirk anymore, so he didn't need to have his name anymore, either.

"O-okay, Shouto-san." Despite everything, Izuku smiled up at him through all of his apparent shyness.

It felt pretty liberating, he had to admit.