Izuku Midoriya will always remember the day Shouto Todoroki went missing.

It was Sunday, mid-July. A record-breaking heat wave was sweeping the area, and it hadn't rained in over a month; a fire warning was in place. For once, his dad had some time off, and he was home. Izuku leaned against his shoulder as they watched cartoons together; he clutched the new All Might figure his dad had bought to his chest. His mother was making lunch in the kitchen, and her quiet humming harmonized with the clinking of dishes to create Izuku's favorite song. He was fighting off sleep, not wanting to waste a single moment of his family together for what felt like the first time in forever, but it was a losing battle; his eyes closed, and he felt his dad chuckle before running a hand through Izuku's hair.

An alarm blared through the television's speakers, startling Izuku out of his doze. Text scrolled along the bottom of the screen as the cartoon still ran, the characters' voices drowned out by the alert. The writing went by too fast for Izuku to read fully, but the name Shouto Todoroki stood out. His dad quickly flicked through the channels to reach the news station while his mother set aside her cooking to join them. She gripped Izuku's shoulders tightly.

"-son of the Number Two hero Endeavor was abducted from just outside the Todoroki family estate. Security cameras show an individual wearing a black hooded sweatshirt carrying the unconscious child towards the north side of the city. The suspect is approximately 170 to 180 centimeters tall, thin and presumed male. Shouto Todoroki is eight years old, with half white and half red hair, with one blue and one gray eye. He also has a prominent burn scar over his left eye."

A photo flashed on the screen, a young boy matching the description except for the scar standing between a man and a woman in front of a school. Izuku recognized Endeavor immediately, so the woman must've been his wife. The photo zoomed in, making Shouto Todoroki the sole focus; he wasn't smiling, and clung to his mother's skirt as he stared into the camera, something like defiance in his eyes.

"Endeavor has asked for privacy for the rest of his family, but will hold a press conference later tonight. In the meantime, if you have any information or leads, the police have set up an anonymous tip number."

"How awful," his mother whispered, pulling Izuku close.

"I'm sure the police and Heroes are putting all of their resources into finding him," his father assured. "I wouldn't be surprised if they announced his rescue tonight at the press conference."

His parents didn't let him stay up late enough to find out, but he learned the next morning as they watched the news during breakfast that Shouto Todoroki was still missing.

A few days later, another child was taken from a town on the other side of the country. Their body was found not even twenty-four hours later, burnt nearly beyond recognition in an alley. (Izuku's parents tried to keep him from learning that, but there wasn't much they could do to shield him from the truth at school.) The boy needed to be identified through his dental records.

A week later, another child, another body.

Then another.

And another.

All from different parts of the country, but all of them were boys between the ages of seven and ten, taken close to their homes, and all of them had either red or white hair. The police weren't connecting the cases to the missing Todoroki, despite the similarities; all the other abducted boys' bodies were found within a day or two of their disappearance, but Shouto was still missing and presumed alive. They claimed to have a lead in both cases.

Izuku's dad had to go back to work abroad soon after. He hugged Izuku extra tight when they said goodbye, and whispered, "stay safe." His mom refused to let him go anywhere alone, not even to the playground with Kacchan and the others. At school, they made parents pick up their children individually, a teacher escorting them from the classroom to the school gate.

As his mom clutched his hand and walked him home, Kacchan and his dad right behind them, Izuku stared at the posters of Shouto Todoroki plastered on any available surface every few meters, that same unsmiling photo from the first broadcast.

"Why didn't they pick a different picture?" Izuku heard Kacchan mumble behind him. "He looks terrified in that one."

The thing about Heroes is that they are big and flashy. They swoop in to save the day from Villains who boldly proclaim their intentions and use their Quirks to wreak havoc and destruction. Heroes arrive in the midst of a disaster to rescue people and promise everything will be okay. They put their lives on the line every day for the sake of others.

But Heroes are not omniscient. If a Hero does not know a crime is being committed, they can't stop it. They can't save someone if they don't know they need to be rescued. If a child is silently taken from their home with no warning, and dead before anyone knows they're gone, what can a Hero do? It's the job of the police to gather evidence and clues; Heroes are called in to bring dangerous criminals to justice.

But Heroes are also supposed to do the impossible, and when children are dying, how can anyone demand anything less? If a tree falls in a forest, and there's no one around to hear it, it still makes a sound, after all; if someone needs help, and no one is around to save them, they still cry out in the darkness.

People were growing more frustrated with the police and Heroes alike. It felt like everywhere Izuku went, adults were whispering to each other with bitter words.

And always, a photo of Shouto Todoroki hung nearby.

The case came to a head a couple of weeks later.

Two more children were taken and murdered within forty-eight hours of each other. The parents of both, from the same city but from different neighborhoods and backgrounds, came together and spoke out on the news.

"How many more babies have to die before the Heroes do their jobs!? What is the point of a Hero if they can't even save a single child?!"

It was essentially a spark thrown in a keg full of gunpowder. Riots broke out across the country. People banded together in front of Hero Agencies and police stations, waving signs and screaming demands. They constructed vigils for the dead boys in front of Endeavors agency and the Todoroki home. Plastered over Shouto Todoroki's missing posters were pictures of the other lost children.

(Izuku's dad called every night and every morning, even though he was in a different time zone.

"I just need to hear your voices.")

Finally, when it felt like the country was a single step away from tumbling off a cliff, All Might came home.

All Might had been on loan to America for a few months, helping them take down a Villain ring that'd infiltrated the country's government itself. He was due to be there for a few months more, but the turmoil in his homeland brought him back early.

He arrived to a hoard of cameras and reporters, fans and dissenters alike yelling questions left and right as he descended from the private jet he'd flown in on. But when All Might held out a single hand, everyone fell silent.

"Things have gotten out of hand since I've been away, but fear no more citizens, for I am here! Start counting your days, Villain, for I will find you! Never again will I allow you to take another precious life!"

And as if All Might's words were a magic spell, the kidnappings stopped just as suddenly as they started. Only a couple weeks later, All Might apprehended a suspect.

The man was named Arnold Smith, a wanted criminal from America. He'd confessed almost immediately, and claimed he'd began his killings after Shouto Todoroki's kidnappings to sow discord amongst Japan in All Might's absence. They extradited him to America, and in the wake of the many crimes he'd committed in both countries, the man was executed. (Though Izuku didn't learn that until several years later.)

With the case solved and the criminal gone, the stolen boys fell away from the public consciousness. Even Shouto Todoroki, who was still missing, slowly faded from the spotlight. No one replaced his posters when they fell down. The number of officers assigned to his case dwindled down until only a single detective still worked on it.

And when the police discovered Shouto Todoroki's sneaker in a puddle of his blood a month later, they determined the boy was dead. Izuku didn't understand why at the time, however, when he investigated the case years later, he learned it wasn't just a small puddle, but almost as much blood as a child held in their body; there was no way Shouto Todoroki could lose so much and survive.

Shouto Todoroki's case went from that of a missing child to that of a homicide and fell cold. With no updates to his story, the news moved on to others. Every year, on the anniversary of his kidnapping, they flashed the photo of Shouto clinging to his mother. Eventually, Izuku found himself agreeing with Kacchan; the boy looked terrified.

But more than terrified, he looked lonely.