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“Now, remember this, Shouto.”
Shouto listens reluctantly. If he could get away with it, he’d tune Endeavor out, but as it is, that’s a flame risk he doesn’t need on the first day of school.
“You’re going to UA to surpass All Might. Not to make friends. Your own strength is what matters in the end. Don’t bother making any friends; they’ll just distract you from your goal.”
Your goal, Shouto thinks absently. As he leaves the house, though, the same thought process that led him to swear off his fire is picking apart Endeavor’s parting words. He doesn’t want me to make friends… Shouto slides into the car that will take him to UA. Therefore, to act counter to his wishes and spite him, the obvious solution is to become a social butterfly. It can’t be that hard, right?
In the time it takes to get from the front gates of the Todoroki mansion to the front gates of UA, Shouto has looked up at least fifteen listicles and videos on “how to make friends.” Almost all of them advise “being yourself;” the problem here is that Shouto is positive that “himself” is a little traumatized and a lot to handle. Not good friend material.
But it’s to spite Endeavor, and spite is the driving force behind his goals. He can do it. Shouto gets out and walks into UA.
He’s a little early, but not the first one here. He finds his seat and puts his bag on the seat, then goes to introduce himself to the other people. Yaoyorozu Momo he knows from the recommendation test, but he didn’t make a very good impression, he thinks. He bows to the familiar-looking boy with the dark blue hair. “Hello. I am Todoroki Shouto. It’s good to meet you.” Maybe a little formal, but that’s the formula that listicle number 7 said made for a good introduction.
The other boy bows back immediately. “Hello, Todoroki! I am Iida Tenya, and it’s good to meet you!”
Ah, that’s why he looks familiar. Being the prize son of the Number 2 hero means a lot of being dragged around to parties and shown off. The Iida family mansion is at least interesting with all the automation and robots.
Shouto stays standing and greets everyone who comes in, along with Yaoyorozu and Iida. Making friends is exhausting, but it’ll be worth it to see the look on Endeavor’s face. Two of his new classmates catch his interest. Shinsou Hitoshi, the tired purple boy who, upon inquiry, has a brainwashing quirk he used to make a pervert beat up robots for him in the heroics exam, just kind of grins at Shouto and then tries to take a nap on his desk. Listicle number 3 said to tell your friends nice things, so Shouto tells him that this was good tactics. Then the second, a green-haired boy who is Midoriya Izuku or Deku depending on whether you ask him or Bakugou, stumbles in with a grin just ahead of the teacher.
The teacher, who’s in a yellow sleeping bag and looks even more tired than Shinsou, looks around. “If you’re here to make friends, you can go ahead and leave.”
Hm. Problem. Shouto is here to make friends. Well, that and become Number One with only his mother’s ice… maybe Aizawa-sensei meant if they were here solely to make friends.
“Get in your gym uniforms and meet me outside. We’re doing a test.”
The day after the press break-in, Shouto is standing at the front of the classroom as usual. Even though he may not be class president or even vice-president, this is integral to his plan of making friends.
Today, Kaminari is early. In his rush to be here before Aizawa, he seems to have left his brain-to-mouth filter at home, because he finally blurts, “Hey, Todoroki, that’s a wicked scar. How’d you get it?”
Well, listicle number 13 said you need to be honest with your friends… ooh, and telling would absolutely undermine Endeavor’s reputation. Shouto will have to warn Fuyumi, though. Thank goodness for that case in Hosu. Endeavor’s been helping track down an escapee villain, and he’s slated to be gone all week. Plenty of time for Fuyumi to get a warning. “I got it from my mother pouring boiling water on my face after my father abused her into a mental breakdown.”
Dead silence in the classroom. Shouto looks around. “Did you want the long story?”
Shinsou picks up his head from the desk and raises his phone. “Yes, please. The long story, and don’t leave anything out.”
Shota kind of expected chaos today. With a field trip and All Might, chaos was bound to happen, and that was even discounting whatever his son was going to do. Hitoshi has a well-refined sense of chaos.
He did not, however, expect chaos to happen before they got to the bus. And yet the classroom is in uproar. He opens the door and activates his quirk automatically. “What is--”
Bakugou, of all people, roars, “WE NEED TO FIGHT TRASH FIRE!”
There is not a single student in UA whose quirk or personality would lend themselves to a nickname like “Trash Fire.” The only fire quirk Shota can think of belongs to a shy, sweet little second-year, and he’s even had his coffee. “Who is that, and why do we need to fight them.”
The noise abates, and Hitoshi tosses Shota his phone. “There’s the story. Trash Fire is Endeavor.”
Bakugou sneers, “Give me a day, I’ll figure out a better name and teach you all to sign it.”
Ten minutes later, the USJ trip is cancelled in favor of a crash course on “What To Do When You Suspect Abuse.” (For the record, Hitoshi did good at getting the dramatic “why I don’t use my fire” speech on camera, and Shota makes sure to tell him so. Kids in the foster system never get enough positive reinforcement, and Shota is looking to balance that out now that Hitoshi is his and Hizashi’s kid in all but name.)
Todoroki Shouto, looking vaguely confused at everything going on, is placed in mandatory counseling and Recovery Girl is calling a contact of hers who specializes in reversing old damage to see if they can do anything about his sight. Cementoss has been pulled out of class to construct a temporary housing situation for Todoroki Shouto and possibly Fuyumi, if she believes Endeavor’s rage might put her at risk. (As an afterthought, and since Hound Dog is already on the phone, Shota recommends counseling for Bakugou as well. More anger management than abuse counseling, though.)
All Might apologizes to Todoroki at least three times before Shota pulls him aside and explains that it’s not his fault that Endeavor took his jealousy too far, and right now the best thing he can do is help stonewall when Endeavor inevitably comes looking for his son . And rest up, Endeavor won’t listen to All Might’s secretary, go take a nap.
(An hour later, at the USJ, the League of Villains steps into an empty foyer, Thirteen having left when they were no longer needed. Shigaraki throws a fit, and Kurogiri warps them back before his tantrum can alert the heroes that UA was invaded. That’s an asset they can’t risk being burned prematurely. He’ll have to figure out why Eraserhead looks so familiar another time, then.)
Izuku sits with Todoroki in Recovery Girl’s office. They’re waiting for the counsellor; Recovery Girl’s contact won’t be awake for another hour.
Todoroki is wearing his usual blank expression and twiddling his thumbs. Izuku can’t take the silence anymore, and blurts, “You know it’s not ‘his fire,’ right?”
Todoroki turns to stare at him. “Come again?”
“It’s not his fire. It’s yours. You’re not him, and you never will be him. I mean--look how friendly you are! You’re going to get top marks in cooperation, at least!”
Todoroki snorts. “I am making friends out of spite, Midoriya. I’m not that friendly.”
Something in Izuku’s face must give away his confusion (most likely all of it--he wears his heart on his sleeve). Todoroki elaborates, “He told me on the first day of school that I was here to surpass All Might, not to make friends. Of course I looked up advice on how to make as many friends as possible.”
That explains a lot of Todoroki’s odd habits, if he's taking advice on making friends from the internet, but Izuku realizes they’ve gotten off track. “Okay, but the effect is the same. You are not him, and you never will be, because the only person who can be him is him!”
“Very true, Midoriya-kun.” Hound Dog steps through the door, and Izuku bites his tongue to keep from going on a ramble. “Todoroki-kun, if you’ll come with me, we’ll work out a schedule for you to receive counselling. Do you need to call your siblings and warn them about your father?”
“Yes, thank you for the reminder.” As Todoroki leaves, he starts texting. Izuku goes back to class, worrying about his friend. Because those listicles, as weird as their advice had been (Todoroki felt the need to share his favorite color and food--green and cold soba, by the way), worked, and Izuku considers him a real friend now.
Nice.
On Tuesday, Endeavor storms onto campus to find out what “safety concerns” mean when used as the reason Shouto hasn’t been home.
Looking out a fortuitously placed window, five of Aizawa’s students giggle as they load up the balloon slingshot. The balloons, loaded up with Ashido’s stickiest acid and all the glitter they could beg off Aoyama, go flying with weak nitroglycerin power, and there’s a roar from the ground.
Aizawa, who absolutely should not be condoning this, barks, “He can calculate your position from your trajectory if you stay in one place too long! Move!”
Toshinori, currently not using One for All, stares after them as they bolt for a new window and young Yaoyorozu takes their place. “Shouldn’t you be telling them to stop?”
“And miss a perfect teaching opportunity? Yaoyorozu, look up the formula of itching powder and try to make it already in capsules. That would be illogical, Yagi. Look how much they’re learning.”
“Illogical,” giggles the ventilation system. Oddly enough, there are two voices in there.
Toshinori peers in and meets the eyes of young Shinsou and young Jiro. “What do you plan to do?”
“We’re gonna play Rick Astley’s Never Gonna Give You Up on repeat, but keep changing the volume so he can’t tune it out.”
A flicker in the lighting heralds Endeavor’s rage at another volley of glitter slime balloons. Footsteps herald young Todoroki and young Midoriya. Todoroki has his phone and is rattling off a list of ingredients. Toshinori hears, “Toilet paper, water, food coloring, sugar--” before Midorya skids to a stop. “Yagi-san! Have you seen Kouda?”
Before he can answer, Todoroki shakes his head. “No, we can’t sic the poor birds on him. They’d get fried!”
“Um.” Togata Mirio and his two friends turn the corner and stare at the chaos that is the courtyard. “What is going on? Why is Endeavor in the courtyard?”
Todoroki shrugs. “He’s mad that UA is keeping me away from him after they learned about his abusing me and my mom.”
Togata opens his mouth, closes it, and whirls on his heel. “I’m going to tell my year rep.”
Fifteen minutes later, word has spread, and the entirety of UA has declared open season on Endeavor. After an incident with a nest of hornets and an entire case’s worth of wet, staining, sticky toilet paper balls, Endeavor flees without even having gotten to Nedzu’s office. The teachers try half-heartedly to stop the chaos, but they know this may be Shouto’s only chance at justice. Endeavor is a powerful man, and who knows when Todoroki Shouto will see justice? Who knows when Todoroki Fuyumi and Natsuo will be able to live without their father’s shadow over them? Who knows when Todoroki Touya and Rei will be avenged?
Turns out, with the entire Yaoyorozu legal team on the case, who knows when turns out to be a day before the Sports Festival. The news breaks and Endeavor merch stock tanks. A student at Shiketsu shouts, “I KNEW IT!” in the middle of homeroom and is an absolute pain for the rest of the day.
(In Hosu, a man on a mission sees a target most worthy of his time. He turns toward the Todoroki mansion, and Ingenium finds no trace of the Hero Killer.)
(Near Sir Nighteye’s agency, a man in a mask tells the purifier of the world that this is why quirks are evil. They will be going to watch the trial, and possibly exacting the justice that Rewind brings.)
The Sports Festival goes on, and the winners end up being Todoroki Shouto, followed by Bakugou Katsuki, followed by Izuku Midoriya, who would like to note he broke no bones, none! With no drive for revenge, Iida Tenya interns at the Iidaten agency and has a great time shadowing his brother. (Of course, with no brother to take up a legacy for, he’s still stumped as to a name. And he really does appreciate Todoroki’s suggestions, but “Speedy Boi” is a little memey for his tastes.)
In the final exams, Bakugou chokes out an apology to Izuku for how he’s acted, prompted by his counseling sessions. Izuku accepts it easily, and they defeat All Might with teamwork. (Then Bakugou gives him a friendly punch, Izuku freaks and judo flips him, and they get into a scuffle.)
And between the mall trip and the training camp comes The Trial.
It’s an open and shut case. A subpoena is excellent grounds for a trip outside the hospital sans Endeavor’s approval, so Todoroki Rei is able to stand witness. Then there’s Fuyumi and Natsuo’s testimonies, then Shouto’s.
Then, just as they’re about to wrap up, a window breaks and a young man with black hair and a small child jumps through. “Hi, is this the Endeavor trial? Also, this kid is mine now.”
Dabi, legal name Todoroki Touya (and if it weren’t for Eraserhead’s glare, the prosecution would be screaming), agrees to serve time for some minor shoplifting and arson if he gets to testify. Which he does. While holding a little girl with white hair and a horn, who he insists “her dad was definitely worse, so she’s mine now. Go find an angry shithead with a beak mask and a serious case of hotfoot.” The little girl is extremely quiet all wrapped up in Dabi’s coat, so the judge just rolls with it.
Even without Dabi’s testimony, it would have been an open and shut case. Todoroki Enji is stripped of his heroics license and sentenced to prison for domestic abuse, child abuse, and lack of care for the citizens he claimed to protect. Then just to add insult to injury, as he’s being transported to a suitable prison, a man in a red bandana mask wrecks the van and tries to stab him. Unfortunately for Stain, the heroes set to watch Endeavor are enough together to subdue the Hero Killer.
Overhaul is arrested before his golden moment comes, and Shinsou Hitoshi (soon to be Aizawa Hitoshi, as soon as the paperwork goes through) gets a new little sister, Eri, who he will die to protect. The Todoroki house is sold to a developer who specializes in lovely affordable housing, and Rei opens a ryokan with the profits. It’s in the center of Fuyumi’s preschool, Natsuo’s medical school, UA, and Dabi’s little place in Musutafu Ward, so all the ex-Todorokis can come visit easily, and Dabi can even drag his new neighbor along to make friends. Midoriya Inko and Rei get along just like their sons--Inko talks and Rei listens, and rarely does this change.
The training camp goes off without a hitch, since the League of Villains has no interest in trying to convert any of the students. Bakugou wasn’t accidentally indicated to be villain material, and Tokoyami didn’t get into the top three. Everyone gets their hero licenses--except for Monoma, whose constant attempts to needle 1-A tanked his cooperation score.
All Might retires to a quiet life teaching and raising his son--look, Midoriya Hisashi abandoned young Izuku, obviously the boy needs a father. In the words of Dabi, “mine now.” He’s so proud of Izuku, especially when Sir Nighteye admits, “You made the right choice.”
All For One’s equipment fails one night (geeee, the tubes were melted , no one knows how that happened, it isn’t like Dabi went undercover for a bit), and he dies quietly in his sleep. A death that he certainly didn’t deserve, but the only death that he could have without massive collateral damage. Without a good leader, the League splinters and fades away. It doesn’t help that Dabi is teaching the way of “good citizen by day, undermining the system by night,” which has the added benefit of people not looking twice at one because of villain status. Kurogiri goes back to his bar and makes an appointment with a memory specialist to figure out his fractured mind.
Dabi himself gets out of prison in ten months and sets about inciting a quiet rebellion. He may have joked that Eri was his kid now, but he’s serious when he says he will make a world for her where quirks and looks don’t define her, and she can do her teenage rebellion thing without being painted with the same brush as Overhaul. And, yes, okay, the late bloomer broccoli kid his brother won’t stop talking about deserves self-esteem. And yes, okay, the super hot Number One had a terrible childhood at the hands of the Commission and no up-and-coming hero deserves that. But it’s mostly for Eri, got it?? And Dabi does not have a crush, no matter how good Hawks is with Eri! Moooom!
When Shouto goes back to school for his second year, the name he writes at the top of his review is not “Todoroki.” And with that burden off his shoulders, he feels he can see his way forward clearly, obscured by neither smoke nor spite. He wants to help others in situations like his and Eri’s. So he expands his focus to Apprehension/Social Work and starts planning how to get a social worker license.
Thank goodness Enji told him not to make friends. Who knows where he’d be otherwise?