Chapter Text
Todoroki walks around some neighborhood, kicking a few pebbles. He could feel his quirks acting up, having to reign them in and fuck, he was furious. If he could burn down a building he would. But he can’t. That would be unbecoming of a future hero. Just saying it gave him a bad taste.
He was already close to snapping at his old man, done with dealing his stupid need for him to surpass his rank in the future. His family was broken up, having lost all contact with all three older siblings.
He doesn’t even realize where he is, just noticing he is thirsty. Todoroki looks around and sees he has no idea where he is, taking out his earphones. He pauses his music and sees a bar, the name All For One in the door in a dark red font. He just shrugged and walked into the All For One bar, tense and needing to let off steam.
The place looked nice, a little dark if it weren’t for the lights. He saw some burst of colors, which was off given the ambiance, but he felt like the place needed it. Something about the setting entranced him.
“Hey there! You look a little lost!”
He looks towards the voice, seeing a thin sickly looking man. His blonde hair seemed frizzy, two long bangs over his face and hair pulled into a low ponytail. Todoroki shrugs and sits down on the stool, arms crossed on the bar.
“I was walking around,” He says simply, “And I’m thirsty.”
“How old are you, young Todoroki?”
His eyes widen at being recognized, looking at the man who now had a grin. Todoroki couldn’t speak now, all words having left him and all he could do was open and close his mouth.
“Don’t worry, I won’t expose you,” He reassures him and wipes the glass, “You’re not the first underage kid coming around here.”
“So no drink?” Forgetting that this man knew who he was.
“Have you ever drank alcohol?”
“I’ve had some vodka I’ve stolen from my old man.”
“Ah. Well, since I don’t want you going home drunk, you can a margarita or water. Your choice,” He grins and raises an eyebrow at him.
“I guess water will do for now,” Todoroki lays his head down and sighs out deeply.
When he walked in, he had noticed it was empty. Well, not completely, but it could use more patrons. Where this bar was located, it made sense why not many came here. It was in a seedy part of town, too many petty thugs and low-level criminals. People tended to avoid this part of town, but as he said, he was walking around and ended up here now.
“Will you be staying for the later part of tonight?”
“What is there tonight?” He asks and sips his water, looking at the man.
“Some entertainment, and it’s always good. I may be biased as I know these people,” He chuckles and smiles, “But they’re really good kids. They’ll go far in the future.”
“So I’m not the only underage coming in?” Todoroki raises an eyebrow, “Do you serve them alcohol?”
“At times,” He shrugs, “But only two or three times a month, on special occasions. I don’t worry as they live together in this one huge place.“
“Huh. Lucky them,” Todorki sighs, not bothering to question such odd setup, instead raising an eyebrow as another glass was put in front of him.
“If you drink your water after that, then I’ll give you one more before you leave.”
Todoroki nods and hides his smile by looking down, taking a few sips and enjoyed the burn in his throat. He checked the time, seeing he had another four hours before his father went home. Might as well use his time to relax.
He talked with the man, who was named Toshinori, and he felt good there. For the first time in his miserable sixteen years of life, he was enjoying himself. More people started to come in, some older and some younger around his age. He saw a small stage starting to get set up, people coming to order drinks. He could’ve sworn he saw someone with hair white as snow, another white with red streaks, but shook it off his imagination.
“Hey Sensei! Who’s this?”
“Young Sero! How are you doing tonight?” Toshinori greets, ignoring the second question.
“I am living,” Hanta holds up two thumbs, “I just had the best day, and learned new skills! The crew and I have work tonight,” He says with a smirk that Todoroki questioned.
“Can’t wait to know all about it tomorrow night,” Toshinori chuckles and hands him some glasses of juice.
“Thanks! I’m sure Mina will be excited to tell you the story,” Sero grins and walks away with the drinks towards a table.
“That one of them?” Todoroki asks, frowning but curious.
“Yes,” Toshinori nods, “Most of them here are your age, maybe a few just two years older.”
“I see some who are much older,” He mumbles around the glass.
“Ah, those. They are mostly here to supervise, let off some steam,” He chuckles and grins, “They’ve had a hard day after all and have to go back to work soon.”
“Sucks to be heroes, huh? No breaks,” Todoroki hums softly.
“Sure does.”
It started to get more lively two hours after his arrival, and he even spoke to a few. One was an electric kid named Kaminari, a frog-like girl named Asui, even a tall guy with glasses scolding him for drinking alcohol who was named Iida. Todoroki ignored him, waving him off and held himself back from giving Iida the finger. More people older than him came too, the one with staples in the skin bothering his mind as he reminded him of someone.
“Hello there. Entertainment will begin soon, and if you have any song requests, make sure to write it down. Anybody is welcome to come to the stage and sing, but let’s keep it peaceful. No breaking tables.”
“Fuck off! It was your fault!”
“Now that’s just lies, folks,” The indigo-haired person smirks as a glass cup was thrown at him, dodging it effortlessly.
Todoroki found it odd how the entertainment was a bunch of high school students, the adults mostly just talking and having a few good laughs. He could even see a group playing a card game and another chess. Something felt off about this place, he didn’t belong here, but he was attracted by it. About twenty minutes pass when something started playing, and he looked over to the stage. He saw the indigo haired individual again, standing along with someone wearing a bandana and someone who seemed to be in all black. He heard them start to harmonize, the music started to play along and some turned their attention to them. The indigo-haired individual soon started singing and he was fascinated.
“ I was the one who wanted nothing
I was the one who lived in pain
I was the one who strived for nothing
I was the one who stood in rain ”
The individual had a hand on the mic stand, closing his eyes as he sang,
“ I feel like I'm no good I should run away
I feel like failure’s one step ahead of me ”
Todoroki wondered if this song was personal,
“ Fuck all the people in with Bentley's with their nice lives
Fuck all the people in the mansions with their bright skies
Fuck all the people sitting pretty with their sane minds
Fuck, think I'm becoming the villain of my story ”
He did flinch at the last line, a few cheering and seeming to agree with him, making him frown but shrugged it off,
“ I am the one that’s holding grudges
I am the one that lives in pain
I am the one who's out of touch and
I am the one inflicting pain ”
‘ Why did he smirk when he said that part ?’
“ I feel like I'm no good I should run away
I feel like failure's one step ahead of me”
Todoroki was now in a trance at his smooth voice, the chorus seems to repeat at this point and two people stood up to dance along. It made the lead singer laugh a little, shaking his head. The ending seems to come close as he held the mic close,
“ And I've been the bad guy for so long, I'm growing tired
Is it too damn late to twist the plot to turn it round ”
There was a round of applause, all three bowing slightly and waving as they got off stage. The lead singer went towards someone with shoulder length black hair, who patted his head and gave a smirk. There was even more chatter, the place having lit up at the somewhat somber, but also a catchy song.
“That is Shinsou,” Toshinori tells Todoroki, who blushes when he realizes he was caught staring, “Good singer, always going for the darker songs.”
“His voice is smooth,” Todoroki nods and sips his water, “Do the underage mostly sing here?”
“It’s a release for them. They usually all perform either individually, by group, or duo. Almost all of them go up at some point, even if to sing some silly song. There are probably like four or five who don’t know how to sing.”
“And they usually sing in English? I’m just glad I understand it.”
“They usually do, but there are some Japanese songs thrown in there. Just something about English songs they like.”
“Makes me wish I knew of this place sooner,” Todoroki chuckles and shakes his head, “It’s the best night I’ve had in a long time.”
Toshinori looks at him, seeing the lost look in his eyes, sad smile on his face. It makes him wonder what his father has done to him specifically.
“Well, we’re open pretty much every night unless told otherwise,” Toshinori tells him and slides him a card, “But no one else can know about this place. I’m still surprised you could find it.”
Todoroki looks at the card, seeing it was all black with gold lettering. He doesn’t read it, grabbing it and slips it into his wallet. He didn’t question his statement, turning back to the music where a group of four girls was singing another American song. He checks the time and sees he has to be home thirty minutes before his father, giving him one hour to do so.
“It was nice meeting you, Toshinori,” He nods and gets off the stool, glad he only had one glass of vodka.
“Nice meeting you too, young Todoroki,” Toshinori smiles and nods, “On the card is my number, so text or call me when you’re on your way. I’ll be letting you in. Get home safely.”
“I will and thank you. Have a good night,” Todoroki nods and gives a small smile, walking towards the exit and bumps shoulder with someone.
“Whoops. Sorry about that.”
“No prob...lem...” He sees green unruly hair walk by, a bright smile on his face as he walked to the bar.
Todoroki shook off the feeling he had, shoving his hands into his pocket as he walked home in the dark. He felt much warmer after being there, excited to come back.
“Wasn’t that Todoroki Shouto?”
“Sure was. The poor boy looked so down when he came.”
“Huh, never expected someone like him to come here. Did he see them?”
“Don’t think so, but I’m sure he’ll be back tomorrow. You have plans for him?”
“To turn him on our side. There is something about him that is making me very interested.”
“Be careful, young Midoriya. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
“Don’t worry about me. Someone should worry for his father instead. I have big plans for him after I have his son. Trust me, he’ll turn on our side.”