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Chapter Text

Shouto flinched when the letter slid under his door. His classmates had never slid things under his door before and it was four-thirty in the morning. No one should be awake. He shouldn’t be awake but nightmares had woken him up and he knew he wouldn’t get back to sleep anytime soon. 

He carefully picked up the letter. The envelope was a plain solid white. There was nothing to indicate who it was from or who it was for. Shouto reminded himself they were all safe here and opened it. Inside was a simple single-page letter. He read it. He read it again. He read it a third, fourth, and fifth time.

He ran down the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator, and slammed his fist on Midoriya’s door. He tried the handle but it was locked. He banged on it again and debated breaking down the door.

“Todoroki?” he heard from down the hall. He whipped his head to see who spoke only to find Tokoyami. Tokoyami had his head tilted to the side in a very bird-like way that expressed his confusion.

“Did you see Midoriya?” he asked.

“No,” Tokoyami said, blinking several times. Shouto didn’t stay to explain.

He bolted down to the common room. He didn’t see Midoriya anywhere. He checked where the shoes were kept in the front and discovered that Midoriya’s shoes were gone. 

Midoriya had left. He had gone.

Shouto threw his shoes on and took off as fast as he could. He didn’t know where Midoriya would go but he doubted it would be on campus. Midoriya was leaving.

At the bottom of the hill, he ran to the bus station. There was no sign of Midoriya. He checked the timetable. The buses didn’t start running until later so Midoriya had to be somewhere else. 

The train station was the only other place he could think of. His throat burned from running but Shouto ignored it as he started for the nearest station.

Shouto arrived at the station as the announcer called the first train of the day was arriving. Shouto fumbled with his wallet and took too long to scan his pass to get into the station. The doors-closing alarm was sounding. 

Shouto looked around the station, desperately searching for Midoriya. Shouto spotted him on the train. His green hair and yellow backpack made him unmistakable. 

“Midoriya!” Shouto tried to yell but it came out more like a wheeze, his throat not yet fully healed. Midoriya visibly flinched but didn’t turn around. Shouto tried to yell again but nothing coherent came out. He was running forward, trying to stop the door from closing but he was too late. He watched as the train pulled away, Midoriya still refusing to turn around and look in Shouto’s direction. 

All Shouto could think was how sad Midoriya looked.

It was nearly two weeks later when Uraraka cornered him and forced him to watch a video. A video of a villain being taken down by a vigilante. A vigilante with green lighting sparking around them.

“Where?” was all he asked.

“Sapporo.” Shouto nodded and began heading towards his room. “Are you going?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Bring him back.” Shouto heard the way her voice broke. 

He turned back to face her. “I won’t leave his side until I bring him home,” he promised. 

“Let’s get you out of here then.”

He was packing a bag and debating what he would need to bring besides clothing. Uraraka was sorting through his clothing and picking out all the items she claimed ‘won’t make you stand out like the rich boy you are.’ He had decided to trust her on that because he had no idea what clothing would make him stand out or not. 

It was when he finished packing that Shouto realized how angry he was at Midoriya. He had spent the last couple of weeks in a sort of stupor, unable to believe Midoriya had run off like that. Now he was angry.

Midoriya had left them. Left them all behind, claiming it was to protect them all. Shouto couldn’t put into words why that idea irritated him so much. He knew it was bullshit he just couldn’t express why. He would figure it out later. It wasn’t important right now. Now, they had a lead and Shouto was going to bring Midoriya back. He could tell Midoriya how much his reasons were bullshit afterward. For now, he was going to take all this burning hot anger and use it to keep moving forward.

It was dark by the time Shouto headed out. It worked in their favor because he wasn’t sure how he would have been able to sneak off campus during the day. Uraraka had no issue floating him over the wall. Shouto was sure he would have left evidence behind of his departure if she hadn’t been there.

He had a hat pulled down low to hide his distinctive hair. He hadn’t gone out in public since his father aired their family history to the entire world. He really hoped no one recognizes him.

Getting to the airport and getting on the next flight to Sapporo was easier than he expected. He was only recognized when his ID was checked but everyone was professional and didn’t call attention to him. He was thankful for that. 

Once he was outside the Sapporo Airport it hit him that he had no idea how to find Midoriya. He had a duffle bag with a few changes of clothes, his wallet, his phone, and nothing else. He had no idea how you went about tracking someone down.

Shouto couldn’t go to any of the local police stations or heroes. Midoriya was thought to be a vigilante even if he did have a provisional license. No, Shouto was going to have to go looking by himself.

He headed for the store the villain had been trying to rob when Midoriya had taken him down. That seemed like the best place to start. 

“Nah, man, Daiki was working that night,” the cashier said. Shouto clenched his fists, unsure what to do. “His shift starts in a bit so you can likely ask him then.”

Shouto gave a small bow, “Thank you.” He didn’t have any other leads and this was the best idea he had. His stomach twinged and he was reminded he skipped dinner last night. He slept on the flight and hadn’t bothered to get breakfast, it was nearly lunchtime. 

After grabbing a bento from the store he went outside and sat on the curb at the front. There was no seating around and he wasn’t sure where to even go at this point. He began searching on his phone while he ate. Maybe he could find other hints about Midoriya if he searched enough.

Shouto’s anger has been mostly buried under the realization that he had no idea what he was doing. It was still there but the anxiety had taken over instead. Shouto wasn’t good with people and his only real lead was strangers. He wanted to be angry at Midoriya for that too but Shouto was the one who had rushed into this without a real plan. 

Midoriya would have had a plan. Shouto groaned at his own stupidity. He needed to figure out what Midoriya’s plan was. Why was he in Sapporo? Where might he go next? He texted back and forth Uraraka, both of them coming up with places for Shouto to check.

He was scrolling through some local forums when the cashier walked up to him. “Hey, Daiki’s here. It’s pretty dead in there so now's a good time.”

Shouto stood so fast he nearly fell back down from vertigo. “Thank you,” he said with a bow, pulling his hat back down to make sure his hair is still hidden.

Inside the store, he approaches who he assumes must be Daiki. “Sorry to bother you but would you be able to tell me about the villain attack that happened here two days ago?” he asked.

“Ah, you must be the guy Ken mentioned.”

Daiki proceeded to regal him with a story of how heroic the vigilante was. How happy the owner was that their store wasn’t destroyed because he could have never afforded to rebuild it from scratch. When he finally finished Shouto asked, “Did you happen to see where the vigilante went?”

Daiki gives him a look that Shouto couldn’t decipher. “No. He was bowing and apologizing so fast I couldn’t even get a good look at him. He dashed in, beat the guy up, apologized a lot, and then dashed back out.” Daiki shrugged. 

Shouto sighed. Dead end. He didn’t know what to do after this. He thanked Daiki for his help and left the store.

He ended up wandering the bad parts of the city. Shouto had no better ideas. Midoriya would want to stay hidden, that much was clear, and the good parts of the city he was more likely to get noticed. It wasn’t the best idea but Shouto had no other ones.

After some scumbag had tried to mug him and Shouto froze his feet to the ground he decided to call it a night. Morning really, he could see dawn peeking over the edges of the horizon. Shouto went back to the nice part of the city, found a capsule hotel, and crashed for several hours.

He spent the next four days searching but found no sign of Midoriya. He witnessed over a dozen villain attacks throughout the city without a sign of Midoriya rushing in to help. Shouto had multiple less than savory encounters that he took care of himself. He may have let some of them drag on a bit to see if any nearby vigilantes would step in but no luck there either. 

Shouto had been texting Uraraka and they both were pretty sure Midoriya had already left Sapporo. Midoriya had made too big a splash when that video started going around. He was supposed to be in hiding, so moving on made a lot of sense.

This trip was a bust but Shouto was going to keep trying. He needed a better plan. He needed more information and some idea of how to track someone down. 

Shouto made his way back into the dorms. He was looking forward to sleeping on his futon again. He scanned the common room looking for Midoriya before it hit him that Midoriya wouldn’t be there. He sighed as the melancholic cloud settled on him once more.

He’d failed.

He had sneaked off campus, missed days of school, he wasn’t sure if his use of his quirk was completely legal or would be considered vigilante activity again, and it was for nothing. He came back with nothing. It was likely the teachers had noticed him missing too. At best he was going to end up with a black mark on his record. At worst he would be kicked out and his provisional license revoked and well, that didn’t really change anything. He would just keep looking. He expected his friends would keep looking for information too.

He would have to deal with his father though. His father might decide to force him into a different hero school. That might make things harder. Shouto didn’t think he cared.

Midoriya would feel so guilty if he got kicked out. Shouto did care about that. Causing Midoriya more guilt was the last thing he wanted. Maybe his father’s influence could keep him at U.A. As much as he hated to ask for anything from his father he would ask for that if it came to it. Better to throw away his pride than add something else to Midoriya’s conscience. 

“Glad to see you are feeling better Todoroki.” Shouto jolted and nearly stumbled. Aizawa was watching him from just around the corner. Shouto was careful to keep his expressions blank. Aizawa’s was as blank as his own, no indication if he meant what he said or not.

Shouto, unable to come up with a better plan, decided to go along with it. “Yes, much better.”

Aizawa hummed. “I expect you in class tomorrow,” he said before he moved and left the building. Shouto had the distinctive feeling that Aizawa knew he hadn’t been sick.

Shinsou sat down across from Shouto at lunch. He had never sat with them before and Shouto wasn’t sure what caused the change. 

Shinsou stared as Shouto slurped on his noodles. First day back and Lunch Rush had cold soba as an option. Shouto was so glad to not be eating convenience store food again and to have his favorite on top of that felt like a gift.

Shinsou cleared his throat. “No luck?” he said, still pointedly looking at Shouto. Their entire table went silent. 

It seemed his excursion was more well known than he would have liked. Shouto blinked at him slowly. 

“He was sick for a few days,” Uraraka said with a nervous smile. 

“Very sick,” Shouto deadpanned.

Shinsou’s gaze flicked between them all. “Feeling better?” he said, carefully.

“Unfortunately,” Shouto said and took another bite of food.

Shinsou nodded and seemed to understand. “Let me know how I can help next time you get sick.”

Uraraka smiled at Shinsou. Iida chopped his arm and said, “We will be sure to contact you in the future.” Shinsou looked down at his own food and tried to wave them off.

“I was thinking about talking to Aizawa-sensei,” Shouto said carefully. Shinsou’s eyes snapped back up to him. “I believe he knows how ill I was.”

Shinsou scooped some rice into his mouth and chewed slowly. “He probably does,” he finally said. “I would talk to him but not in explicit detail.”

Shouto nodded, understanding. He already suspected at least some of the teachers had an idea what Shouto had gone off to do. It was nice to have another confirmation that he should not outright say he was searching for Midoriya, even if he had already planned to deny it to anyone but his friends.

They all ate quietly but the anxious atmosphere remained. Even Shouto could pick up on how much they all wanted to talk but knew the risks were too high. Uraraka, ever the cheerful one even at the worst of times, looked towards Shinsou and asked, “How’s your training with Aizawa-sensei going?”

Shinsou grinned in a very Aizawa-like manner that caused a chill to run down Shouto’s spine. He made sure Shouto met his eyes as he said, “Very well, he has been teaching me about how underground heroes are always in need of plausible deniability.”

Shouto blinked several times in quick succession. He was going to ask for clarification but Shinsou turned his gaze back to Uraraka and in a very casual manner added, “Underground heroes sometimes need to work with people that have committed minor crimes but heroes aren’t allowed to work with any known active criminals. Arrests are required. Meaning there is a fine line underground heroes have to walk where they do not know about the crimes in exact details and can remain ignorant of them while they work with these people to catch violent criminals.”

Shouto got the message. Aizawa was going to need plausible deniability about what Shouto was doing. Shinsou was saying his teacher would help but only as long as he could deny he knew what was being done with the knowledge. It was good to know and if anyone could teach him how to track down Midoriya it would be Aizawa. 

Shouto heard Iida speaking but didn’t pay much attention. Instead, he mulled over ways to best approach Aizawa. 

Aizawa had dismissed class but Shouto remained in the room. Once the door closed behind the last student Shouto approached the podium. “I want to learn how to track down someone who doesn’t want to be found.”

Aizawa’s expression remained blank but his eyes were hard. “What kind of people are you wanting to learn to track down, Todoroki?”

Shouto expected he would have to give his teacher something if he was going to learn anything. Plausible deniability , he reminded himself. Aizawa would put the pieces together but that wasn’t the same as admitting to anything.  

“Vigilantes,” Shouto finally answered.

“Vigilantes or villains?” Aizawa asked icily.

Oh! That was why his teacher seemed so cold. “I don’t want to track down Dabi,” he stated bluntly. He knew his brother wasn’t something he could avoid thinking about forever but right now Izuku was more important. 

Aizawa hummed. “Come on then. You have a lot to learn and not enough time to learn it in.”

Their first year officially ended and the second year started. The school excused them from all final exams, claiming their actions in Jaku were more than enough to pass them. Shinsou officially joined their class. Shouto was afraid Aizawa was going to tell him to take Midoriya’s seat only to find there were now twenty-one desks in their classroom. 

Daily Shouto found his eyes wandering to that empty seat in front of him. He knew he wasn't the only one. He still scanned rooms as he entered them searching for Midoriya, often doing a double-take when he spotted Asui. Her green hair was so similar in color. Shouto had caught her looking back at him several times but he was sure she understood what was happening.

In the evenings his room had become the meeting place of the ‘we are most definitely not searching for Midoriya’ club, as Uraraka had dubbed it. They all knew he ran off to Sapporo to try and find him. They all knew he would the next time anyone finds anything but things had been quiet. It scared Shouto. Midoriya was like a force of nature and yet there are no sightings of him. Something might have happened. Midoriya could be-

He refused to think about it. 

Shouto took a look around the room, Uraraka, Iida, Asui, and Shinsou are all scanning various online sources looking for hints of Midoriya. It hadn’t been going well for Shouto and judging by the look of his friends it wasn’t going well there either.

Iida sighed. “I think we need help.”

Uraraka dropped her phone. “Huh?”

“Ribbit?” Asui said, looking towards Iida.

“Doing this manually isn’t working. We notice things too late and only after something big happens. We need help from someone with experience in this area.” Iida said, chopping his arm to emphasize his point.

“You sound like you have someone in mind,” Asui stated.

“I do.” Iida sighed again and Shouto got the distinct impression that he didn’t want to say what came next. “Hastume Mei in Support.”

Shinsou snorted. “The one who made an ass out of you at the Sports Festival?”

Iida removed his glasses and cleaned them off as he said, “Well, yes but she and Midoriya-kun are very good friends. I think we can trust her.”

Uraraka squirmed in her spot a bit. “To help, sure. But do you trust her to keep quiet? Hatsume-kun is so…” she trailed off unable to find the words. “She is just so,” Uraraka gestured around wildly, explaining without words.

Asui tapped her finger on her chin. “I think Hatsume-chan is a good idea.” Asui met Uraraka’s gaze. “She likes to talk about her inventions to people that use them or to get them interested in them. I don’t think any of you have heard about the modifications she made to my costume to help me with cold weather. Ribbit. She knows when to keep quiet.”

Shouto nodded. Asui was very level-headed and he always found her advice worthwhile. If she thought Hatsume could be trusted she was probably right. Shouto turned to ask Midoriya his opinion. 

He felt the sudden sharp pang when he didn’t find Midoriya in his usual spot. He schooled his features, refusing to let it show. 

Idiot.

His temper flared briefly. Anger at himself for forgetting again. Anger at Midoriya for leaving. Anger at his failure to stop Midoriya from leaving. Anger at his failure to find Midoriya.

Shouto shook his head. He wasn’t going to stew in his self-pity. Shouto turned to Iida. “Do you want to talk to her?”

Iida visibly shuddered before agreeing.

The news about Muscular being taken down in Saitama started trickling in after class. Shouto went to his room to gather his stuff as Yaoyorozu said something to him about it. He was nearly ready when Shinsou and Uraraka barged into his room.

“How are you going to get there? The trains aren’t running that far,” Shinsou asked without preamble.

Shouto shrugged. “Walk? Bike? There are likely to be some abandoned around. Doesn’t matter. I will get there.”

Uraraka lightly punched his shoulder. “I am sure you will figure it out, Todoroki-kun.”

Shinsou looked like he was going to say something when Iida rushed in. All eyes turned towards Iida as he closed the door behind him.

“I have a map of Saitama for you,” he said, handing over a folded piece of paper. “Hatsume-kun and I made notes about where the fight was and which way Midoriya-kun may have headed since we doubt he has stayed in the immediate area.”

“Thank you, Iida,” Shouto said, packing the map in his bag.

“Also, she said to give you this,” Iida pulled out a chunky-looking cell phone. Shouto raised his eyebrows in question. “It’s a satellite phone. The cell signal in Saitama is unstable, expected to be completely gone soon…” Iida trailed off.

Shouto removed his phone from his pocket and placed it on his desk, pocketing the satellite phone as he did. “Give her my thanks,” he said to Iida. “Uraraka,” he said with a jerk of his head towards the door. “Let’s go.” 

They are nearing the wall at the end of campus in a wooded area when Asui found them. “Todoroki-chan,” she said as she pushed a plastic grocery bag at him. Shouto looked inside and saw that it was full of non-perishable food he could eat on the go. 

He looked up at her eyes wide. “Thank you, I hadn’t thought about food.”

Asui nodded in understanding, “I was worried about that, ribbit. Be careful out there.”

“I will,” he said as he added the bag of food to his backpack. 

Saitama City went worse than Sapporo. Sapporo was still a functioning city, this felt like he was looking at a war zone. It was a war zone. Sometimes things seemed so distant at U.A. as if they were a different part of the world. But Saitama was only two prefectures over. It bordered Tokyo. Saitama City had had over a million people living in it, a large number of them commuted into Tokyo for work. But now? It was deserted and destroyed. Fallen buildings, others clearly ransacked, some of the traffic lights cycles through their programs while others were dead. All the people had relocated to shelters that the heroes were protecting. Anyone who had stayed behind was hiding. 

He had known things were bad, had seen the images and videos but actually being there was different. Things couldn’t go on like this. All for One and the rest of these villains needed to be put behind bars. And Midoriya was out there, without anyone else. Shouto had to find him. 

He had no real leads, even with the information Iida and Hatsume had gathered. There weren’t even people around to ask. His feet had blisters in places he didn’t know blisters could form. He had slept in abandoned buildings. He ached all over from sleeping rough and walking or biking everyone. He had found an abandoned bike but it went missing one night while he slept. It didn’t take him long to find another to use.

When he got back to campus he had Uraraka float him outside the dorm so he could sneak into his room and not face potentially running into Aizawa in the entrance again. Taking a shower for the first time in days had been heavenly. He could feel his muscles relaxing.

He collapsed in his bed and Iida had to wake him for class the next morning. Aizawa, never to go easy, had him join the extra lessons that afternoon with Shinsou. Unlike previous lessons that focused on finding people, this lesson seemed to focus on not being found.

Shouto had the uncomfortable realization that Aizawa was telling him that his excursions might have been noticed by others. He needed to be harder to track, harder to find. 

Entering the dorm building he headed straight for Kirishima, who was sitting on one of the sofa’s chatting with his friends. “Kirishima,” Shouto said, drawing attention to himself.

“Hey, what’s up?” Kirishima said with his toothy grin.

“Can you teach me how to dye my hair?” he said, running a hand through his hair and frowning.

Kirishima’s smile fell away. “I’d love to but we can’t get hair dye right now,” he said, pointing to his hair, where black roots were clearly showing.

Shouto suppressed a groan of frustration. Then he remembered he also wanted to talk to Yaoyorozu, she might be able to help in the hair dye department. “I’ll sort it.”

He knocked on Yaoyorozu’s door, hoping she was there since he wasn’t in the common room. She answered quickly. “Ah, Todoroki-san, what can I help you with?”

“Would you be willing to make hair dye?” he asked bluntly. 

Yaoyorozu seemed taken aback by his question at first but he could see her working things out in her head. “Yes,” she said firmly. “I will need to research it first but I can do that. Do you happen to know what kind of hair dye you need?”

Shouto’s brows furrowed. He knew there were different colors of hair dye but she had asked which kind not which color. “Kirishima said he would teach me how to dye my hair. We can ask him,” he said.

“Ah, yes, he is our resident expert on hair dying. He should be able to help,” she said with a smile. “Should we go speak with him now?”

“I also want to ask,” Shouto looked away, embarrassed, “if you would be able to teach me how to cover my scars.”

Shouto looked at her through the corner of his eye and saw her calculating gaze on him. He was sure he could trust Yaoyorozu, she had gone to Kamino with them. 

She nodded to herself. “Ashido-san and Aoyama-san are better with makeup, I am sure both would be willing to help and can tell me what kind of supplies I will need to make for you.” She smiled at him. “We just have to keep Aoyama-san away from the glitter.”

Shouto met her gaze and saw her determination. 

When Nedzu walked into class during their homeroom Shouto was worried he was going to be in trouble for dying his hair. The fact that Kirishima also dyed his hair and hadn’t gotten in trouble for it didn't occur to him. He kept his face blank and watched as Nedzu walked straight towards Aizawa, who was napping in the corner.

“Aizawa-kun,” Nedzu said and waited for an acknowledgment. He got a bored glare which appeared to be enough. “Ah, you’re awake!” he said cheerily. “I want to make you aware that Midoriya-kun’s withdrawal papers were accidentally destroyed. Since he is not here to fill out a new copy you will need to expel him to remove him from the school roster.”

“Too much paperwork,” Aizawa muttered loudly enough that even Shouto could hear it in the back before he turned away from the principal and closed his eyes again.

“Well, you teachers are given the freedom for such things,” Nedzu said and then walked out of the room.

Shouto blinked several times in quick succession. That had seemed theatrical . Midoriya’s withdrawal papers had been accidentally destroyed? Anyone who knew Nedzu knew how careful he was. Nothing in Nedzu’s care got accidentally destroyed. Aizawa unwilling to expel someone? Someone who hadn’t been in class in over a month. Bullshit.

The only thing Shouto could think was that they wanted the students to know. Know that Midoriya was still a student in this school, in this class. That he had a place to come back to. But it also meant that none of the staff had a way to contact Midoriya and they were hoping a student did. 

Shouto looked around the room and saw the same realizations hit several of his classmates. 

If Nedzu was on their side in trying to bring Midoriya home then Shouto knew there was one person he needed to talk to that might be able to provide some information.

Shouto wasn’t sure where to start but was glad All Might hadn’t pushed him to speak. He simply made tea for both of them and settled down to wait. Shouto had so many questions but it felt wrong to just start demanding answers of the former Symbol of Peace.

“I was awake when Midoriya slid the letter under my door,” he finally said. All Might jolted a bit in surprise at his words. “I tried to chase after him but I wasn’t fast enough.” Shouto hadn’t told anyone about that morning. He didn’t want to admit to anyone how he had failed to keep Izuku from leaving. It felt like a confession when he said it to All Might.

“Young Todoroki,” All Might started but Shouto wasn’t done. 

“I saw him get on the train.” Shouto ran a hand through his hair. “Midoriya looked so sad.”

All Might’s breath hitched. “Ah, I always did think you and young Midoriya gave off the same feeling.” All Might leaned his face against his hand nearly covering half of it. Shouto thought All Might had never looked older than he did right now. Shouto didn’t say a word, waiting for All Might to continue. “During the Sports Festival after your fight, he said to me, ‘Todoroki-kun looked so sad that I meddled when I didn’t need to.’” 

Shouto felt his chest tighten, a lump he couldn’t swallow formed in his throat, and he blinked several times trying to get rid of the sudden burn. He couldn’t say anything even if he had the words to. All Might filled the void for him, “I told him that meddling when you don’t need to is the essence of being a hero.” All Might huffed a laugh and shook his head. He clapped Shouto on the shoulder and said, “I will offer what help I can, young Todoroki. I don’t know where he is. I don’t know what help I can be. Myself and the other heroes cannot do much. Too many people are watching.”

Shouto blinked several more times and gathered his thoughts. It was his turn to meddle. He had hoped All Might would know where Midoriya was but nothing in life was ever that easy. “He didn’t speak to you before he left?”

All Might shook his head. “Young Midoriya left before any of us spoke with him.”

“Why did he run? Why hasn’t he come back?” Shouto asked, unable to hide some of the desperation from his voice.

“He seems to believe this is the best way to protect us,” All Might said solemnly. 

“You are being much more direct than anyone else I have spoken with,” Shouto said carefully.

“Ah,” All Might coughed into his hand. “I am retired. Just a normal civilian now, you know.”

All Might wasn’t bound to the commission and the rules that active heroes were. He said he would help in any way he could. Shouto knew he was probably overstepping but he needed more information, more understanding. He clasped his hands together and steeled himself. “In the letter Midoriya left me,” he looked at the floor unable to meet All Might’s gaze, “he told me about One for All. Well, he told all of us but my letter was a bit different. He wrote about how you gave him the quirk.”

All Might coughed loudly and Shouto saw drops of blood hit the floor. “Everyone else assumes you are related but the wording is wrong. He mentioned that All for One had killed the previous holders of this quirk and that now he was going after Midoriya.” He heard All Might wipe at his mouth. Shouto waited until he was done and looked up, locking their gazes. “All Might, what exactly is the quirk you gave him? Why is a villain that can steal quirks after him?” Shouto didn’t mean to let his anger out but he couldn’t hold it back as he asked, “What exactly is this damn mess you've gotten my best friend into?”

Shouto’s vision went blurry and he realized he was crying. “Dammit!” he said as he rubbed at his eyes with his sleeve.

“Young Todoroki,” All Might said comfortingly.

“Tell me,” Shouto bit out. “Please,” he begged.

All Might sighed and sat still while Shouto composed himself. Shouto was about to apologize for his outburst or maybe just get up and leave. He wasn’t sure which when All Might said, “One for All’s a special quirk…”

Shouto had never understood what people meant when they said that something left them reeling. Until now. Now, he fully understood. He felt like walking straight was going to be a challenge he was reeling so hard from All Might revelations. 

A quirk that could be passed down? An arch-nemesis that had killed the majority of the previous holders, almost killed All Might, and was out to kill Izuku? 

Shouto clenched his fists so hard it hurt when his nails dug into his palms. He tried to not blame All Might. He had thought All for One was dead, that Midoriya wouldn’t be targeted because there was no ageless supervillain to target him. 

All Might had unintentionally gifted his best friend a quirk and a burden so large Shouto couldn’t imagine. Midoriya thought he was getting a quirk that would help him achieve his dream. Instead, it broke his bones and now he was being hunted.

Even before they knew All for One was back, the sheer pressure Midoriya must have been under. He was expected to take on All Might’s mantle, just as Shouto was expected to steal it. Shouto had been weighed down by his father’s ambitions. Midoriya had a legacy to uphold, a pillar to become. Shouto took a deep breath. Once again he wondered why Midoriya had thrown away his chance at the Sports Festival just to help him. 

Midoriya was too kind for his own good. Under more pressure than Shouto could imagine. How had Midoriya not shattered beneath it all? 

Or maybe he had. Maybe this flight from everyone was Midoriya shattering. It was as self-destructive as the rest of Midoriya. Of course, this was what he would do. Push everyone away and take on the burden alone. 

All while still trying to tame a quirk that had passed the point of singularity. A quirk that he had gotten just before the start of high school. It was no wonder Midoriya had trouble controlling it. Then to suddenly start developing more quirks?

Shouto banged his fist against the wall. Hard enough to hurt but not hard enough to cause damage. He huffed. How had he been so blind to it all? 

 Shouto had seen Black Whip plenty and had seen him use Float during the battle. Danger Sense and Smoke Screen were also quirks he would have. Might have already. All Might wasn’t sure and the final two quirks were unknown. So much power, it was no wonder that All for One wanted it. Too many people would want such a power. No wonder All Might had been openly acting like the things Shigaraki had said were nonsense. 

Midoriya was out there, alone, and too many people had a hint that his quirk might be something they could take. He left to protect them so U.A. wouldn’t be targeted. Shouto kind of wanted to punch him for that. As if staying out in the open without anyone to help was the better choice. Midoriya might be hurt or worse.

No. That was- Shouto refused to think about it. He took a shuddering breath. He was going to bring Izuku home.

“I like the blue,” his mother said as he walked into her apartment. Blue wasn’t the first color he dyed his hair. Kirishima had suggested he use semi-permanent dye so he could change the color easier. He changed the color after every excursion . So far he had been yellow, orange, and pink. Aizawa had stopped giving him and Shinsou lessons on how to avoid detection so Shouto took that as a sign he was doing something right. “It suits you,” his mother continued.

“Thank you,” he said, unsure of what else to say. It wasn’t like he could tell her he only dyed his hair so he would be harder to recognize.

“Is this one going to stick?” Shouto shrugged. “I like it better than the yellow,” she added.

“I am just trying things right now,” he said, hoping to end the conversation.

His mother hummed. “You know Natsuo bleaches the red out of his hair.” Shouto cocked his head trying to remember ever seeing red in Natsuo’s hair but he couldn’t. That likely meant Natsuo had been bleaching it for a very long time. His mother laughed lightly at his visible confusion. “On the sides, he gets some red,” she said with a gesture near her ear and back.

Shouto was glad to see his mother enjoying herself over something so simple. “He should try some colors too. Maybe next time he visits we can match,” he deadpanned.

Shouto smiled as his mother put her hand to her mouth and laughed harder. “What color should I expect for that?” she asked with a smile that Shouto could hear in her voice.

“Ashido says the pink I used was terrible, awful, the worst pink color for me that could have possibly been chosen.” His mother’s laughter came back full force as his recitation. “I have been informed that a proper magenta is on the horizons in the near future. I am sure they won’t mind dying Natsu-nii’s hair too.” Shouto felt warmth wash over him as he watched his mother turn away to hide her amusement. He was pretty sure he even heard her snort.

Shouto loved hearing his mother laugh. It had been a rare thing when he was young and he hadn’t been able to visit as often as he would have liked once the dorms were implemented. Since his mother had been moved onto campus Shouto was visiting as often as he could. 

He had enjoyed writing her letters but actual visiting was so much better. Shouto got to see her smile, hear her laugh, and so much more. She was still technically a patient but her housing now was a small apartment. In a lot of ways, his mother seemed happier and he didn’t think it was because he was visiting more often. It strengthened his resolve to get her out of here as soon as he could.

“I am going to start dinner but I want you to tell me about your week,” she said, heading to the small kitchen area of the apartment. Shouto began telling her about what they were doing in class and some of the antics his classmates had gotten up to. 

While they chatted he was unable to keep the smile off his face. He loved his mother’s cooking and was looking forward to their meal together. It already smelled wonderful. He knew she cooked when he was young but he couldn’t actually remember how it tasted. Fuyumi had done the cooking for most of his life and while she was an excellent cook there was just something about his mom’s cooking that he couldn’t quite place that made it better.

Shouto watched his mother cook as they chatted. She told some stories of her own about some of her new neighbors. It was peaceful and Shouto felt some of the stress and exhaustion leak out of him. He wondered if this was what home felt like.

He hadn’t even noticed his mother had finished when she called him to sit at the table and began setting it. She placed a bowl of katsudon in front of him as he took his seat. Shouto felt a pit form in his stomach.

He must not have kept his face neutral as his mother began to fret. “Oh dear, do you not like katsudon anymore? I know soba is your favorite but you loved katsudon when you were little. Oh, I really should have asked if you still liked it. I just assumed but of course your tastes have changed.”

Shouto interrupted before she could continue, “I like katsudon. It looks wonderful mom. Thank you.” He took a bite and chewed carefully. Part of him hated how good it tasted. He wanted to share this with Midoriya. He wanted to show Midoriya how well his mom was doing. He wanted Midoriya to meet his mom. Shouto had told his mom about Midoriya a bit, how he was the one that convinced Shouto to see her again. She had said she would like to meet him but Shouto had never found the words to ask. 

It was stupid he knew. Midoriya would have agreed. He was always happy to do things for his friends but Shouto knew that for him, it was deeper than that. Shouto had long since accepted that he saw Midoriya as more than just a friend. He never said anything, couldn’t say anything, didn’t even know what to say. For months he had tried to convince himself it was just because of what Midoriya did for him. It was just admiration for someone willing to work so hard for their dream. A part of him knew that wasn’t the case but it was easier to admit. Shouto had spent most of his life suppressing his feelings after all. 

That was until lately. The tightness in his throat when Midoriya came up in conversation, the ache in his chest whenever he went looking for Midoriya only to remember he wasn’t here. Shouto couldn’t deny to himself what Midoriya meant to him. It was impossible to suppress the sheer amount of hurt he felt. The way it would batter him over and over again like he was drowning in the ocean. The waves of pain washing over him and pushing him under once again. 

He was going to find Izuku and bring him home. He wasn’t going to drown in his melancholy. Shouto had a mission and there were so many people helping him. He refused to fail.

He had been eating mechanically and could feel the way his mother was watching him. Trying to figure out what was wrong. “Would you teach me how to cook this?” he asked carefully. 

She still looked concerned as she touched her cheek and said, “Of course, Shouto. I would be happy to.”

Shouto tried to smile but he was sure he failed.

After dinner, Shouto was drying the dishes as his mom washed when his phone pinged. He had set that alert specifically. “I need to go,” he said quickly, drying his hands and leaving the dishes unfinished.

“Shouto?” his mom said.

He slid his one shoe on. “Sorry, mom. I have to run.”

“Shouto,” she said again and Shouto heard the note of fear. He turned to look at her and noticed she had gone pale.

“Mom?” he questioned, walking towards her not caring that he only had one shoe on.

“Why are you rushing off? Is everything okay? You aren’t going into danger again are you?” Shouto’s tongue was thick with lies he couldn’t speak. “I know you leave for days at a time. You visit almost daily for a couple of weeks and then I don’t see you for days. When you come back you always look so tired.”

Shouto clasps his mother’s hands in his. He couldn’t lie to her. “I’m sorry, mom. I can’t tell you.” He hoped she would assume it was hero work not his less than allowed excursions. She pinched her lips and he could feel her stare. “I am looking for someone, he said, unable to meet her gaze.

She quickly wrapped him in a hug and pulled his head close to hers so she could whisper in his ear. “This isn’t about your brother, is it?”

Shouto shook his head. “No, I know I can’t do that on my own.” He felt his mother’s trembling and knew he couldn’t lie to her. “A friend of mine left. He thought it was for the best. I can’t just- I won’t-” he groans in annoyance at himself unable to find the right words. “He’s an idiot,” he settled on. 

His mom pulled back and cupped his face. “He means a lot to you?” Shouto nodded. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. “Go bring him back then.”

“I plan to,” he said as he started to move back to the door. After he got his other shoe on he turned back to his mom and hugged her tightly.

She readily returned it. “Shouto, I am so proud of you.”

“You have your work cut out for you this time, Second Place,” Hatsume said in lieu of a greeting as Shouto entered his room. He didn’t have time to ask what she meant or how she got into his room before she continued. “He has completely ruined my babies so I am sending you along with this,” she gestured at a pair of cases that were only five or six centimeters thick. “One has a new costume for you, the other has Ten Million’s.” 

Shouto assumed this meant that he was going by train somewhere again, flights were becoming less common but the rail lines were becoming less and less connected. “The airport scanners will see them as laptops so you don’t have to worry about getting through security with them.” Apparently, Shouto was completely wrong and he was flying. “Customs might be a bit harder so we just have to hope they don’t search your bag.”

“Huh?” he said smartly. Customs?

Hatsume turned her phone towards him. On the screen was a clear shot of Midoriya, his costume in tatters along the legs and arms. The city didn’t look like any he had seen. “New York,” Hatsume supplied.

Shouto groaned aloud. No wonder his last few trips had been busts, they likely hadn’t even been about Midoriya if he had gotten across the planet. How had he even done that?

Hatsume took her phone back. “We hadn’t been looking outside of Japan but once I expanded my bot-babies to start looking for stuff in the US it seems like he has been there for at least a few weeks.”

Shouto grabbed his to-go bag from his closet. He listened as Hatsume continued speaking about what she had found, parts of New York that Midoriya seemed to be frequenting, and more. He put the new costume cases in his bag and added a few more changes of clothing.

There was a knock at his door and Hastume immediately went silent. Shouto opened the door to find Yaoyorozu standing outside. He let her in without a word.

“Hatsume-san, said you needed me?” she asked. 

Shouto looked at Hastume who didn’t look back at him. Then it dawned on him. He couldn’t be Todoroki Shouto when he traveled. 

“Midoriya was seen in New York,” he said to Yaoyorozu. She looked at him, brows furrowed together. “You don’t have to, I wouldn’t want you to do something that you’d be uncomfortable with but I-” he ran a hand through his hair, “I can’t be me.”

Yaoyorozu’s face slowly transformed to a look of surprise, then determination. “I understand Todoroki-san. I do not like it but these aren’t normal times.” She nodded to herself. “The need is too great.” 

She sat down as Hatsume turned a laptop towards her. It was several long minutes before she spoke again, “Do you have a name in mind?”

“Yamashita Tadashi,” Hatsume said before Shouto could say anything. Yaoyorozu nodded and they began discussing different options for the kanji used to spell the name.

Shouto’s hands trembled with how overcome he was with emotion. He was searching the country, now the world, for Midoriya, and everyone he knew had been willing to help. Bending and breaking rules, covering for him. And now, they were going a step further and fully breaking the law, international laws.

Yaoyorozu was suddenly in front of him. She grabbed his face and adjusted him just so. “Stay still,” she said. A moment later a passport emerged from her arm. Before Shouto could find the words to thank her, her skin was sparkling as she made something else. A large wad of American dollars appeared. 

Shouto gaped.

It was still daylight when Shouto was ready to head out. He had left during the day before but it was always harder. He went to text Uraraka when it dawned on him she was on patrol with Ryuukyuu. The students that had internships were allowed on patrols that checked the area around campus for any villain activity. Few had seen any action but it did help raise the morale of all the people now on campus and the hero students got to feel useful. Uraraka was going to be gone until much later that evening. 

“Shit,” he said, having no idea what to do. He could get off campus with his ice but it would be really obvious, especially during the day. Hatsume had looked up flights and none were leaving late that evening. He needed to go now. 

Yaoyorozu must have realized what the issue was. “Get on your balcony Todoroki-san.” He didn’t have time to ask what her plan was as she turned and left without another word. Shouto looked at Hatsume who was typing away on her computer and he shrugged. She got in on her own, she can get out too. He went to his balcony and closed the door behind himself.

Shouto was just starting to debate sitting down to wait for whatever plan Yaoyorozu had come up with when suddenly Dark Shadow was next to him. “I’m gonna pick ya up, kay?” he said. Shouto nodded, a bit shocked at his sudden appearance. 

He was placed on the ground next to Jirou. Dark Shadow left and not a minute later Tokoyami flew down to meet them. “Todoroki,” he said in greeting.

“Let’s get you outta here,” Jirou said as she started to lead the way.

“Thank you Jirou, Tokoyami, Dark Shadow,” he said when they reached the wall without incident.

“Good luck on this one,” Jirou said.

“I have confidence in your abilities to locate Midoriya,” Tokoyami said as Dark Shadow wrapped his hand around Shouto’s middle. 

Shouto nodded, unsure of what to say to either of them. Dark shadow placed him on the outside of the wall and Shouto started towards the train station.

Shouto was having trouble staying awake in class. He had gotten back late last night and was too jet-lagged to sleep until the early hours of the morning. Now he was sitting in English class and he could swear the words were blurring together. He needed to get better at English fast. He wasn’t incapable of speaking with native speakers but trying to get information out of strangers had been even harder with the language barrier.

New York had been a bust but he had expected that. Midoriya was always gone by the time they got news. Hopefully, now that Hatsume’s web program was searching outside of Japan he could get there faster. He did get one piece of information he was sure was tied to Izuku. A name, Firefly. It seemed Americans liked to name their vigilantes almost as soon as they appeared. 

It was a fitting name. Shouto wanted to suggest he change his hero name to that. Midoriya’s green glow at night was reminiscent of a firefly. Shouto hoped he was harder to catch though. 

Shouto missed just speaking to Midoriya. He wanted to hear him laugh over the suggestion of Firefly. Wanted to see him blush and try to hide behind his arms as Shouto told him how he thought it was a fitting hero name.

He wanted to share his one childhood memory of his mom taking him and his siblings out one summer evening to a field filled with fireflies and how Shouto was so convinced it was magic, not insects making the light. At least until Natsuo caught one and brought it over for Shouto to see. It flew into his face causing Shouto to fall over. Natsuo laughed so hard he got the hiccups.

Shouto looked at Midoriya’s empty seat and sighed. He felt like that empty seat was taunting him and his inability to find his friend, his first friend, his best friend. Shouto thought he knew Midoriya, though he understood him. Lately, he was hit over and over again with how little he knew. 

He still had trouble believing that All Might had given Midoriya his quirk. Which left the question, what was Midoriya’s original quirk? All Might had said the other quirks he had were all part of One for All. Maybe it was tear production. Shouto has never seen anyone able to cry like Midoriya could. That would explain a lot.

“That’s it for today’s lesson, Listeners!” Present Mic said loudly, pulling Shouto’s attention back to class, which he apparently missed the entirety of. “I have an announcement!” Present Mic said with a pose. “I am starting an extracurricular class for young heroes that want to get used to conversing in English in a way that will be used in the field. Yeah!” Shouto didn’t miss how Present Mic’s eyes flicked to him before he continued, “We’ll be meeting on Tuesdays and Thursdays in room…”

Shouto quickly jotted down the information as Present Mic spoke. He would be an idiot to not see how this was for him. Meaning the teachers knew he had gone overseas on his latest trip. This also didn’t conflict with any of his extra lessons with Aizawa. Shouto wanted to thank them. All of them. 

He wanted to thank Aizawa for the extra lessons that were always geared towards what Shouto needed to do to find Midoriya. He wanted to thank Mic for his additional English classes. He wanted to thank Nedzu for ensuring Midoriya had a place to return to. He wanted to thank Lunch Rush for always making Yaoyorozu larger portioned meals on days she made him extra supplies and for how there was always cold soba on the days he returned. And there was likely so much more he didn’t even know about. Shouto knew he couldn’t thank them, not explicitly. Plausible deniability was needed. 

But once this was settled and Midoriya was back? He was going to thank them profusely. He had no idea how he would do that but he would come up with something. Dogeza wouldn’t work since he wasn’t ashamed or sorry for what he was doing. He would have done this with or without their support. No, he would have to think about it more. Maybe Yaoyorozu would have some suggestions.

Uraraka clapped her hands together calling attention to herself. “I’m gonna go visit, Inko-san, anyone coming with?” she announced.

This wasn’t new. Most of their class had been to visit Midoriya’s mom at some point or another. Usually with Uraraka or Iida as the driving force. Shouto had been avoiding her. He was awkward enough with his own mother, he didn’t know how to deal with anyone else’s. 

Unfortunately, he didn’t have the excuse of visiting his mom. A group of adults that knew how to sew had gotten together and worked to repair any damaged clothing for everyone currently housed on campus. The weekly meetings allowed for the return of repaired items and distribution of items in need of repair. Shouto also gathered that his mother got a lot of news about other things going on around campus this way. It was so nice to see her have such freedom and he didn’t want to impede on it in any way. 

Uraraka gave him a pointed look when he didn’t respond. He didn’t have an excuse and she had been pushing him for months now. Unable to come up with anything he relented and agreed to join her and Iida for today’s visit. 

Midoriya’s mother was so excited to see them. Her eyes went wide when she saw Shouto and greeted him by name leaving him a bit off-kilter. “Call me Inko,” she said after he greeted her.

She served them tea and had mochi for them to eat. Uraraka gushed about how good it was which led the conversation to be about the Kitashirakawa family that had been evacuated onto campus. They had run a mochi shop and were happy to provide mochi to everyone else on the campus while they could. 

They mostly talked about school and other safe topics. Iida and Uraraka were more than happy to do most of the speaking. Inko reminded Shouto so much of Midoriya that he found himself unable to speak much but he did enjoy it. There was so much about Inko that reminded him of Midoriya. Shouto wondered if his friends met his mother would they see the similarities? He hoped he was more like his mother than father.

When Shouto could tell Iida was about to announce they should return to the dorms Shouto spoke up, “I will help clean the dishes.”

“Oh, you don’t need to do that,” Inko said with a dismissive wave.

“Please,” he said. “It would be rude to leave you with all the dishes and you have been so kind.”

She gave him a wobbly smile, much like Midoriya’s, before nodding her assent and walking with him to the kitchen, dishes in hand. 

The kitchen was small and Uraraka and Iida ended up waiting in the other room while the dishes were cleaned. Inko had taken up washing leaving Shouto with only the drying to do. He carefully wiped them down and heated them with his quirk to ensure no water was left behind. It was simple housework he had gotten used to doing with his own mother.

“I want to thank you, Todoroki-kun.” Shouto looked at her confused about what she was talking about. “For all you are doing for Izuku,” she said. Shouto’s eyes widened as he understood she knew. “All Might comes by and he...well, he is much more direct about what is going on.” 

She smiled at him and Shouto could see the sincerity of her words. All he could feel at that moment was the weight of his countless failures. “I’m sorry,” he blurted. Inko’s smile fell away as she cocked her head and looked at him. She opened her mouth to say something but Shouto cut her off. “I saw him leave. I wasn’t fast enough to stop him, to get on that train with him.” Shouto looked at the floor, unable to meet the sad look in her eyes anymore. “I am trying to find him but I shouldn’t have let him go in the first place.” 

Shouto could hear some rustling from Inko but didn’t look up. Fingers pressed at his chin gently but forcing him to meet Inko’s eyes. “That isn’t your fault. Izuku made this decision.” She removed her fingers and Shouto kept his gaze on her. “I understand it, but as his mother, I don’t agree.” Inko placed her hands on Shouto’s arms, squeezing lightly as she held him in place. “I don’t think any of you kids should be out there but I can see that same determination in you that I always saw in Izuku.” She shook her head and Shouto could see that her eyes were shining. He felt like he should say something to try and reassure her. She wrapped him in a hug before he could find words. “I won’t try and stop you but I will thank you for doing all this for my son. Thank you.”

Shouto tentatively returned the hug, unsure if he was doing it correctly, she was so much smaller than his own mother. “I will bring him home,” he declared. Inko squeezed him tighter.

Shouto couldn’t stop thinking about how Inko had thanked him. She hadn’t questioned his motivations or mentioned his family. She seemed to believe that Shouto was doing this for Izuku. And maybe a part of him was but Shouto was pretty sure he was mostly doing this for himself. 

He wanted Izuku back. He wanted him here. He wanted so much and the only thing he could think to do was go out and make it happen. 

It was late and he couldn’t sleep. Shouto decided to wander the dorm building. Without thinking he ended up in front of Midoriya’s door. He wanted to talk to Midoriya, ask him why his mom had said that, had been so kind. Except that Midoriya wasn’t there. 

He sat down on the floor and leaned back against the door he couldn’t open. His head hit the wood with a light thunk. Shouto sighed long and deep. This wasn’t the first time he had sat outside Midoriya’s room and it likely wouldn’t be the last.

He had failed to stop Midoriya from leaving. He had failed to find him over, and over, and over again. Inko had told him it wasn’t his fault but Shouto still felt like he should have been able to stop Izuku from leaving in the first place.

That isn’t your fault, she had said. It felt like his fault. Just like Touya felt like his fault. If he hadn’t been born then things would have gone differently. Would Endeavor have tried to change sooner when he didn’t get his perfect creation? Would his eldest brother have been driven so insane he was willing to kill his family?

Shouto scrubbed at his eyes, wishing away the burn. He stared up at the ceiling. He wished Izuku was here. He might stumble through words and wind around the problem but he would still say something that would resonate. He always did that. 

What would Deku-kun do? Uraraka would always mumble to herself when coming up with a plan in a class exercise. That was what Shouto needed. He needed to think like Izuku. Self-sacrificing, reckless, stupid Izuku. Shouto sighed and stared at the ceiling.

Yaoyorozu and Jirou were quietly chatting across the room from Shouto. He was trying to copy Iida’s notes but he was exhausted. Chicago had been another bust. He came back with another name, Cthulhu, which after several internet searches and some cackling explanations from Ashido he finally understood. Villains were scared of Midoriya and named him an eldritch horror. 

“Smoke spilled from the alley and then black tentacles wrapped around ‘im and pulled ‘im in and poof he was gone. I searched everywhere and there was no sign. It was like he was pulled into another dimension,” one man Shouto has spoken to had said in hushed whispers, like if he spoke too loudly he might summon something. 

It sounded terrifying. Midoriya was a force to be reckoned with but Midoriya with stealth? Well, the new name was fitting even if Shouto did prefer Firefly. It sounded like Midoriya had been using Smoke Screen and Black Whip to hide. It made him even harder to track down since no one had seen his face. Most assumed it was someone with a mutation quirk that was taking down villains but the talk of a flash of green put Shouto firmly in the belief that it was Midoriya.

His gaze kept falling on how Jirou and Yaoyorozu appeared so much closer than they had been before. He wasn’t sure when the change happened. Shouto knew he wasn’t the most socially adept person and he wanted to ask Midoriya about it. He thought about asking Iida but decided that was a terrible idea. Uraraka didn’t seem like a good idea either. Maybe he could talk to Asui about it.

Part of him knew he wouldn’t. It felt too much like he was replacing Midoriya in his life when he had to go to others for such things. There was this huge Midoriya shaped hole and he wanted to keep it there, no matter how much it hurt. He watched as Jirou bumped her shoulder into Yaoyorozu’s and had to look away.

Midoriya would do similar things anytime Shouto would get too stuck in his own head and space out. Shouto glared at the notes and copied several more lines. He knew it was irrational to be upset. Upset at them for finding something in each other. Upset for reminding him of what he was missing. Upset for living while Shouto just felt so stuck. 

“I could take the next one,” Shinsou said into the quiet of the room. Shouto dropped his pencil, completely forgetting about copying Iida’s notes as he stared at Shinsou. “I mean, look at you. You’re dead on your feet and going to end up failing classes if you keep missing them like this.”

Shouto didn’t know how to respond. He didn’t care about failing class, he cared about finding Izuku. He wanted to say no because he had to find Izuku but that wasn’t actually true. Shouto didn’t have to be the one to find him. Shouto wanted to be the one to find him. 

“I can take one!” Uraraka said.

“I, as well!” Iida said with a chop.

Asui shook her head. “I think I would stand out too much. Ribbit.” Jirou hummed an affirmation at her words.

Yaoyorozu fidgeted but before she said anything Shouto said, “No,” with a note of finality. Maybe it was conceited but he didn’t think any of them could convince Midoriya to come back. Shouto wasn’t sure he could either but he would deal with that when it came time. He would stay with him rather than leave.

It had taken Shouto until Jaku to understand that Midoriya wasn’t just selfless and reckless. He was self-destructive and in a way that Shouto understood all too well. Midoriya had recognized it in him during the Sports Festival but it had taken the better part of a year for Shouto to understand that Midoriya was the same.

Except Midoriya had saved Shouto and no one had saved Midoriya. When he was stuck, mute, in the hospital while Midoriya was in a coma he had gone over dozens of different plans to address the issue. He didn’t want Midoriya to destroy himself. 

While Shouto knew that everyone felt the same way he didn’t think anyone else really understood like he did. They didn’t have a large part of their self-image built on self-hate. They wouldn’t understand the need to push everyone away as some form of self-inflicted punishment or because they weren’t deserving. It might be arrogance that made Shouto believe that understanding this was going to be needed to convince Izuku to come back.

Shinsou raised his eyebrows, “Think you’re that much better than us?”

Shouto felt the sting of the barbed comment but shook his head. He needed to get this right. “Midoriya left to protect us. What I am doing, what we are all doing isn’t what he would have wanted.”

“Deku-kun’s an idiot. I don’t care what he wants,” Uraraka said vehemently, several others nodding at her words.

“He is,” Shouto agreed easily. “But that means we can’t get in trouble for this. Midoriya would blame himself.” Shouto tensed. He hated what he was about to say but it was true, no matter how he felt about it. “My father would protect me if I got caught.” The room was silent as everyone took in the reality of that statement.

“Dammit,” Shinsou said, slamming his book shut. “I can’t-” He ran a hand through his hair. “So the rest of us are just supposed to stay here and be useless?”

Shouto didn’t know what to say. “You aren’t useless,” Hatsume said from the corner of his room where she was tinkering with some new gadget.

“Huh?”

“You aren’t useless,” Hastume repeated and looked up at Shinsou. “You and everyone else here are going through all the things my bot-babies are flagging. Making it smarter and faster. Power Loader-sensei might have cut back on my course work but the bot-babies create a lot of data to look through. Without you all I couldn’t manage. You aren’t useless.”

“Hastume-kun is correct!” Iida said. “As much as it pains me to leave all the hard work to Todoroki-kun, he’s the one in the best position to take that on.” Shinsou sighed and went slack, looking defeated.

“I couldn’t do this without all of your support,” Shouto said. “I mean it,” he added when Shinsou glared at him. “You all tell me where to go and where to look, get supplies, help pack, get me on and off campus, make sure I don’t fall behind in class, help keep the teachers willfully ignorant.” He met Shinsou’s glare, “Without your advice, I don’t think I would have talked to Aizawa-sensei and you train with me. I would be useless out there without you.” Shouto stood and bowed deep, keeping his eyes on the floor. “I couldn’t- No, I can’t do this all on my own. I know you aren’t doing this for me. It’s all so that we can find Midoriya but it doesn’t change how extremely thankful I am.”

“Todoroki-kun!” he heard Uraraka say before she slammed into his side and began hugging him. Shouto went stiff, unsure of what to do.

“You are our friend too, Todoroki-kun,” Iida said a bit wetly and suddenly he was wrapped around Shouto’s other side.

“We would have done this just for you Todoroki-chan,” Asui said as she joined in. 

“We aren’t going to be able to call you the class ice prince if you keep this up,” Jirou said as she joined with Yaoyorozu right next to her. Hatsume followed behind them soon after.

“They’re right,” Shinsou said, with a flick to Shouto’s forehead. “You might even be a bigger idiot than Midoriya.” Shouto freed his arm from the confines of the others and wrapped it around Shinsou’s neck, pulling him in.

“We’ll find him,” he declared.