Life as a kunoichi was never the easiest, but Todoroki was proud to follow such a life if it meant protecting her home, Taiyogakure, aka "The Village Hidden In the Sun". Granted, she still hated her father Enji, the Fourth Korikage, the leader of the Land of Ice, but she was still doing this ninja business on her own accord, not because she was destined to follow her father as the next Korikage. Her outfit was rather inconspicuous as ninja went, if revealing: a dark blue hoodie unzipped to expose a black sports bra, short denim shorts and open-toe sandals. It was no secret that she was related to Enji, which was part of the reason why people stared at her. Another reason was that she was the most feared kunoichi in the Land of Ice, a reputation that had been somewhat rightfully earned, but was mostly due to more than a few rumors, such as one where she killed a guy without even attacking him.

However, recently, the winds of rumors had been blowing in a different direction: they spoke of a ninja who came from a cloud of smoke, seemingly out of nowhere, and disappeared just the same. What was more, not only did people claim he needed no smoke grenades or similar gadgets to produce such smoke, but that he was one of the most – if not the most – powerful ninja in the world. Todoroki dismissed these as just that: rumors. Little did she know, things were about to get turned on their head. For now, though, she walked about the village, caring little about anyone or anything except breaking the neck of whoever so much as thought about looking at her the wrong way. Fortunately for her and those around her, nobody bothered her…well, beyond the usual judgmental looks. Then, out of nowhere, a siren sounded, and a PA announcement rang out:

"Attention citizens, our village is under attack by an outside enemy. Please take whatever precautions necessary to keep yourselves safe. This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill."

Usually, in a situation like this, citizens would've been content to run away from explosions, fire and smoke. Todoroki, however, ran towards it, just as Taiyogakure's defense forces did. When she came to the source of the chaos, she was unsurprised to find a group of enemy ninja attacking the village. The TDF seemed to have an all right time fending them off, but it was clear to her that they could use some more help, so she did so by deploying her fire and ice attacks. Knowing that none other than Shoko Todoroki was on scene, a bunch of the enemy ninja attempted to flee, and while some of Todoroki's allies were content to let them retreat, Todoroki herself either froze or burned anyone without any regard for such niceties. For a while, it appeared that Todoroki and her allies were doing well. Then, from out of the chaos, a bunch of steel I-beams shot out at them like gigantic spears of bludgeoning death.

"So, you're the one they call Shoko, Mistress of Icy Hot Death. Well, your reign ends here!"

Todoroki recognized the ninja who emerged from the flames: Atsuhiro Sako, aka "Mr. Compress". She knew that he was especially dangerous due to his Quirk that allowed him to compress larger objects into marbles. Nevertheless, she remained convinced that she could defeat him. However, she found that her usual fire and ice attacks didn't do much on him even though she connected with accuracy that was sharper than an image.

(Damn, he's tough!)

Despite the hail of boulders, I-beams and other large objects that Mr. Compress rained down on the landscape, Todoroki refused to give up. However, even she knew that her fire and ice couldn't hold off the onslaught of debris forever.

"So…Enji Todoroki…the one they call 'Endeavor', I see you've chosen to join the fight too," said Mr. Compress. "It will be your last!"

"Tough talk, Mr. Compress. Let's see if you have an equally tougher walk!"

With Endeavor joining the fight, it should've been an easy go. However, Mr. Compress had another nasty trick up his sleeve: marbles that turned into crates full of TNT. With extra explosive power on his side, it was that much harder to hit him, though both father and daughter were determined to try. A couple of crates came too close to Todoroki, which made her wonder how much longer she could hold out.

Then, when all seemed lost, a cloud of smoke drifted towards the battlefield, and from it emerged a boy with shaggy green hair and matching green eyes. He wore an aqua green tank top with gold trim, matching pants and black sandals with red trim. He ran at full speed towards Mr. Compress and wall-jumped between a few buildings.

"DETROIT SMASH!"

With a powerful, well-aimed punch, the boy clobbered Mr. Compress and sent him flying through the air like a missile. The marble villain slammed head-first into a wall, not quite knocking him out completely, but definitely knocking him senseless. Mr. Compress attempted to clamber back to his feet, but the boy was too fast, and…

"TEXAS SMASH!"

With that, Mr. Compress was out for good, and it was about this time that the rest of the enemy forces were retreating or – unwilling to be captured – committing hara-kiri. With that, the boy once again disappeared into a cloud of smoke. Other kunoichi would've been content to let this mystery hero disappear, but not Todoroki; she too slipped into the smoke, ice surfing in an attempt to catch him. By the time the smoke cleared, Endeavor took notice of the disappearance of his daughter:

"Shoko? SHOKO!? Hana, Ichiro, Mitsuki, Seiichi…go find her!"

"Yes, Your Excellency!"

With that, the four ninja went off to find Todoroki.

As for Todoroki, she continued ice surfing, hoping to find the boy, whom she lost in the Hosu Forest. Other kunoichi would've turned around and headed back to their village, but again, Todoroki desperately wanted to meet the boy behind these legends. She didn't even stop to think that Endeavor would be worried about her.

By the time she found the boy, she must've covered half the forest in ice. She found him sitting by a small waterfall in a clearing, meditating. On one hand, she didn't want to disturb him, but on the other hand, she just had to reach out and touch him. To her, he wasn't a fearsome legend, but a deceivingly super-cute boy who deserved to have someone to care for him. Even if she only shook hands with him, that would be enough. There she stood, wondering exactly who he was, where he came from, how he produced all that smoke, what his mission was. She wondered if he'd even heard her following him all the way here. Judging by how he hadn't moved from that spot, she figured he hadn't. Slowly, she crept closer to him, hoping to get a closer look at him. However, she stopped when she was just a couple meters away from him. Soon, he stood up and turned around, and when he saw her, he yelped, hopped backwards and got into a fighting stance.

"Who are you and how did you find me!?"

Todoroki put a hand on her hip. "I followed you here. As for the whole 'who are you' thing…I could ask that exact same question of you."

"OK, how did you follow me here?"

"I simply chased you into the cloud of smoke back there. Now, I'll tell you who I am, but only if you agree to do the same."

The boy nodded, and slowly lowered his guard. "OK."

"My name is Shoko Todoroki, daughter of Enji Todoroki, Fourth Korikage of The Village Hidden In the Sun."

The boy smiled and waved. "Nice to meet you! I'm Izuku Midoriya, but a lot of people call me 'Deku'. Some even call me 'The Smokescreen Ninja'."

Todoroki relaxed her stance and nodded. "I see. Anyways, sorry if I scared you by following you; I had just heard so many legends about you and I wanted to see for myself."

Deku blushed. "Well…I knew a lot of people were talking about me, but you're certainly ambitious!"

Todoroki giggled. "No one's really called me that before, but thank you. Now, I must ask: why did you help my village?"

"I've been combatting a mysterious rogue shogun named All For One. I knew he would send his forces after your village because yours is home to some of the most powerful ninja in the world. I managed to get some valuable clues regarding All For One's location before I left, though. Now if you'll excuse me, I can't delay; the longer All For One is left alive, the more likely he'll bring his plan to fruition!"

"Wait!" Todoroki took Deku's hand.

"What is it?"

Todoroki smiled. "First of all, I wanted to thank you for helping to save my village. I admire your incredible bravery."

Deku smiled, too. "You're welcome!"

"Second, please, let me help you on your quest."

"Well, considering how well you fought and how you had the drive to follow me here, I accept your offer."

"Thanks again!"

Todoroki gave Deku a big hug. Despite being surprised by the gesture, he gladly returned it. Knowing that someone cared enough about him as a person rather than a legend made him feel all warm and tingly, and the legend was only going to grow from there.

Criticism is gold. Negativity and nitpicking are pyrite.