"The pro-hero Deku has been found to have been born quirkless. Weeks ago we received an anonymous tip that he had been given his quirk from none other than All Might himself. We at Hero newsroom were confused by the allegation at first, but it was confirmed by the villain All for One himself. Not only that, but Izuku Midoriya's doctor and middle school teacher have both confirmed that he was quirkless before his time at UA." The male newscaster announced on television.

"Well, that certainly is some big news. We have reached out to Midoriya's mother as well as colleague Ground Zero. However, neither of them has decided to comment on the situation. The news has shaken the industry, many people have lost respect for Deku. Now, why do you think that is Takashi?" The female newscaster turned back to her colleague.

"It's simple really, many feel like Deku doesn't deserve the title as one of the top heroes when he got his quirk from the former symbol of peace. They feel like he cheated on his path to the top. Others feel like if such a transferable quirk did exist it should have gone to someone more capable-"

Izuku turned off the television not wanting to hear any more. It was all too much for him, the press, the backlash he received from his agency, and the amount of hate mail he's been getting recently.

"You okay?" Shoto went over and took a seat by his boyfriend. They had been living together for just over a year now, and in all that time he's never seen Izuku so deflated. He knew about the scandal that was going around and did not understand why it was that big of a deal. He found out about One for All soon after they started dating. Still, who cares if Izuku was given his quirk, he was still a great hero.

"As good as I can be." Izuku sighed, "I don't know what to do." Shoto pulled him into a hug, he hated seeing Izuku drained of his spirit. He swore he would beat up whoever tipped the journalists about One for All.

"I can't believe what these journalists are saying about you. It's ridiculous, I know how strong you are Izuku. I watched you go from a boy who would always break his bones to the strongest person I've ever met. Whatever flack you're getting, it'll blow over I promise." Shoto kissed his boyfriend on the head.

"Thanks, Shoto, I think I just need some time. I'm going to head to bed." Izuku walked back into the bedroom, leaving Shoto alone on the couch. He knew despite what he told him, Izuku would still feel bad about the situation. If only All Might were still here, he could clear up this entire thing. It didn't help that Shoto had a live TV interview the next morning. It's not like he wanted to go, but it was a requirement of his agency to keep on the press' good side. The public knew that Izuku and Shoto were dating, and his agency didn't want him to get dragged down with the scandal. When he looked back over at the spot that Izuku occupied earlier, he noticed an envelope. He opened it cautiously. It read:

Dear Deku,

You are not a real hero, you are just some All Might wannabe. Even with his quirk, you are only half the hero he was. Do us all a favor and give your special "One for All" quirk to someone who can do something useful with it. After you do that, then just disappear. Better yet, why don't you just go and kill yourself.

Shoto was ready to erupt into flames while reading the letter. He loved his boyfriend more than the entire world, and looking at this letter, he just wanted to burn it. Still, there was something suspicious about it, so he pocketed it and decided to go out to see a friend. Something was going on here. Shoto walked over to a small storefront sandwiched between an insurance office and a restaurant. There worked a friend of his agency, he went by the name Sike and had the gift of psychometry. He often aided detectives and hero agencies in finding villains.

"Well, isn't it the pro-hero Shoto?" Despite his talent, he had a disturbing voice which always made Shoto uncomfortable.

"Just figure out who wrote this," the bicolored boy handed the man the letter.

"Very well." Sike touched the letter and a soft glow erupted from his fingers. "Worried about your boyfriend are we?" The pro hero glared at him. The glow continued to intensify until it burnt out completely.

"Well? Who wrote it?" Shoto asked impatiently.

"Some guy, looked pretty strange if you ask me, blue hair and some sort of hand fetish."

"Hand Fetish? Shigaraki? That doesn't make sense, he was arrested by Deku over two years ago."

"And he escaped about two months ago. It wouldn't surprise me if he was the one leaking the information about your boyfriend." Sike pulled out a cigar, in this day and age, he was probably one of the only people to still smoke.

"Does that mean he wants to get rid of Deku? Is this his way of doing so?" he grabbed the letter from Sike angrily.

"Looks like it, I mean I thought Shigaraki was too dumb for psychological manipulation, but I've heard it's done a number on your boyfriend. Doesn't seem like he's been going out much recently, has he?"

"I'm going to kill him," Shoto said through gritted teeth.

"Calm down hero." He smiled slyly, "Now for your payment."

Shoto walked out of there quite ready to beat Shigaraki up. He thought that the League of Villains were finally passed them. When he got home he expected to find Izuku fast asleep, but instead, he was wide awake waiting for him in the living room.

"Where were you?" the green-haired boy asked worriedly as Shoto came in.

"This letter," he pulled it out angrily, "was written by Shigaraki."

"Shoto…"

"I swear I'm going to kill him."

"Shoto…"

"Like what the hell, he probably was the one who leaked information about One for All in the first place. I swear-"

"Shoto I know! I went to Sike earlier." The bicolored boy went quiet.

"What do you mean you went to Sike? I was just at his place and he never mentioned anything about you coming."

"Well, you know that guy is in it for the money. Anyway, I've been trying to track Shigaraki down since he escaped and figured this whole thing was because of him," explained Izuku. "I had Sike confirm it when I got the letter and I'm working on tracking him right now."

"But earlier…you seemed so deflated at the news. I read the letter and I thought maybe you were thinking about…" Shoto struggled to say the rest of his sentence, losing Izuku was his biggest fear.

"Shoto," Izuku pulled the taller boy in for an embrace, "I was sad that the public had to find out like this, but I would never even think of leaving you. I know I'm not All Might or the symbol of peace, but All Might sacrificed a lot for that title. I am just Deku, an ordinary pro-hero, but that's okay because I have friends like Ururaka and Kachan, my mom and most importantly you."

"I love you Izuku Midoriya," said Shoto as he settled into the hug.

"I love you too."

"So, what are you planning to do?" Despite what Izuku told him, Shoto was still worried.

"My agency told me to lay low for a little bit, so I'm not allowed on big rescues for a while. It's going to be mostly petty criminals and paperwork. Behind the scenes, I'll be tracking Shigaraki. If he thinks he crushed my spirits, he'll be more careless and we'll be able to catch him!" Izuku said excitedly.

"So you're okay with all this?"

"Despite what people say about me or my borrowed power, I'm going to still work on saving them because actions speak louder than words, right? I never became a hero for the praise, I became a hero so I can help people." Shoto's heart swelled at Izuku's words. He wondered if it was humanly possible to love a person this much.

"So, my hero interview tomorrow. Will you be able to come?" Izuku looked at him puzzled. They tried to support each other as much as possible, but with their busy schedules, they didn't have time to attend each other's interviews and public events. Moreover, it was frowned upon because the questions asked would often concern their relationship. Even if Izuku wanted to go, he couldn't due to his agency's policies.

"Unfortunately, I can't due to agency restrictions," Izuku watched Todoroki's face fall, "but I'll make sure to watch it on T.V." Shoto gave him a soft smile and proceeded to pull him in for a kiss which caused Izuku to blush. It wasn't like his boyfriend to normally be this affectionate.

The next day Shoto was preparing for his hero interview. He hated interviews, to him they were the worst formality about being a hero. Still, his agency insisted that he give one.

"Shoto, make sure you don't mention anything about your boyfriend's quirk-scandal, or anything about Deku at all." urged his publicist. His agency wanted to get as far away from the scandal as possible. As he sat down with the interviewer on the stage, he felt a familiar sense of dread. Still, at least this time he had something he wanted to say.

Back at his agency, Deku had the T.V playing as he filled out paperwork. He knew Shoto hated interviews, but he oddly didn't seem to hate this one as much.

"Now joining me is pro-hero Shoto, everyone gives him a welcoming applause." Izuku smiled at the screen. Shoto was a popular hero, which made him proud. The only time he would get jealous is when ladies would approach his boyfriend. The rest of the interview carried on as expected and the interviewer talked about Shoto as a pro-hero and recent villains he had defeated. That was until one question caught Izuku's attention.

"So, I know that you and Deku have been in a relationship for quite a while now. What is your opinion on his quirk-scandal?" This earned a confused murmuring from the audience. There were certain subjects you didn't touch on interviews like this and Izuku was sure Shoto's publicist had talked to the interviewer beforehand.

"Well, that certainly has been a discussion in our household," explained Shoto. When he looked back towards his publicist, he could see that she was a nervous wreck. He was going to have to apologize later for all of this. "That being said I think the public is blowing this all out of proportion. Yes, Deku's quirk was not what he was born with, but All Might chose him for a reason. Let me tell you, he had to struggle with that quirk for a while. His body totally rejected it and he ended up with many broken bones, but even then he kept trying. He worked hard and made that quirk his own. Now, he is a very capable hero. I think he is the greatest hero Japan could ask for. All he wants to do is help people and even with people cursing his name every 5 minutes, he still wants to help them. That's why he is my hero."

"Well, that certainly is an interesting take on it." said the interviewer. Shoto was happy, he hoped Izuku heard what he had said. He hoped the public realized how much of an amazing hero his boyfriend was.

Izuku's eyes filled with tears, Shoto was defending him on live television. He knew Shoto was warned against it, but he still decided to address the public. He felt so lucky to have such a great boyfriend. "I love you Shoto Todoroki," he muttered under his breath. Later that night, he would say the same thing to his boyfriend as they enjoyed each other's company well past midnight.