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Shouto is a man on a mission and he won’t be stopped. Granted, it’s not the most high-stakes thing he’s ever done, but it’s a request from the principal, so it must be important.
The only problem is, Shouto has no idea where he’s going to find it.
See, Nezu wants a specific brand of tea, and because it’s on the other side of the school, he can’t very well walk all the way over there, vents or not. It would take too long, and he has principal duties to attend to!
Shouto just has no idea where on the other side of the school the tea is. He’s pretty sure he’s checked every single room by now, thankfully not taking any heat due to the school-wide pass he’s been given. A lifesaver, if Aizawa’s glare was anything to go by.
Currently, Shouto’s making his rounds of the area again. He’s sure he missed something, he just has to look harder.
The vent system has also changed. Not by a lot, but the area over top of the lunch room is now altered a small amount. It’s… suspicious. Shouto’s already added it to his mind map, but maybe there’s something over there he missed the first go around.
So, he turns around and crawls in the direction of the new changes.
And, as he thought, they’re definitely bizarre. The new additions cover a decent amount of ground, but when he thinks about it, there’s a big open space in the middle of it.
Shouto circles around, searching for anything out of place. He finds it in the form of a card reader, blended into the wall. He stares at it for a minute or two, wondering if he’ll have to pick-pocket someone for the card when he remembers Nezu’s words.
“Basically anywhere.”
Shouto reaches into his pocket and pulls out the lanyard, holding the card up to the reader. He hears a beep, and the wall next to it pops open, allowing Shouto to push it in like a door and slide through. He closes it behind him, hearing the audible click of the lock, before turning around to take in the room.
His eyes widen. It looks like a very high-end break room, with a full kitchen (Is that a separate freezer??) a couch that looks unfairly comfortable, and a flatscreen tv.
Holy shit.
Shouto stands there, his eyes scanning the room before they land on a rack in the kitchen.
It’s the tea Nezu wanted.
That damn rat.
Shouto walks over and grabs one of the tea packets. It’s actually a pretty expensive brand, he notes. Fuyumi drinks it all the time, claiming that ‘It’s good, and it also drains dad’s credit card. What’s not to like?’ Shouto agrees with her, even if he isn’t a tea fan.
He sighs, pocketing the packet and turning around, only to come face to face with his homeroom teacher. He lets out a small sound of surprise, scrambling back until he hits the counter.
Ouch. That’s gonna bruise.
He rubs his injury, looking back to his teacher, who’s raised an eyebrow.
“Uh… hey, Sensei.”
“What are you doing here? No, wait, better question, how did you get in here?”
Shouto reaches a hand into his pocket, pulling out his pass, and holding it out to Aizawa. “It worked on the key reader.”
Aizawa sighs, running a hand down his face. “You know what? Whatever. I’m not paid enough for this.” He grumbles, handing the card back to Shouto.
“So, what exactly is this place?”
“It’s like a second break room for the staff. We usually don’t allow students in here, but you seem to be a favorite of the rats, for whatever reason. Just don’t take any of my food and we’ll be fine.” Shouto nods, glad to have his blessings to continue living.
Aizawa looks like he’s about to say something else when his phone rings. He makes a face, before moving to the other side of the room and answering.
“Hello? Hizashi? What do you need?”
All Shouto hears is silence, but whatever’s said on the other side can’t be any good if Aizawa’s face is anything to go by.
“What do you mean Tab is gone? Have you checked outside?” A pause. “His favorite hiding spots?” Another pause. “Did you ask Hitoshi?” A longer pause. Aizawa looks at the clock on the wall, sighing.
“Let me call him. If he doesn’t pick up, I’ll think of something. Go run your Radio show, I’ll handle things here.” Aizawa ends the call, tapping on his phone before the tell-tale sound of a phone ringing fills the room. Whoever’s on the other end - Shinsou, Shouto assumes - doesn’t pick up. Aizawa groans in frustration, muttering something that sounds like “Goddamn cat.”
Shouto thinks for a second. He doesn’t really want to go back home, and after bringing Nezu his tea, he is free after school…
“I can look for him. The cat, I mean. I have nothing to do, so…” Aizawa raises his eyebrows.
“Knock yourself out, I guess.” He waves a dismissing hand before making his way to the door.
“Just, don’t go overboard, alright?” Are his last words of advice before he clambers into the vents and crawls off.
—-----------------------------------
Shouto didn’t know this many people from his class stayed in the building after school.
School ends at three pm, and currently, it’s almost five. So far, while on his search of the campus, he’s seen Uraraka, Iida, Mina, Kirishima, Kaminari, Tokoyami, and Tsu, in that order.
Only Kirishima and Tsu spared him a nod as they passed, the rest too focused on whatever they were going to do once they got where they were going.
Weird.
Well, it’s not all that important. Shouto has a cat to find.
After giving Nezu his tea, Shouto elected to check the school floor by floor, starting from one side to the other. He knows Aizawa lives on campus - all the staff does. And Shinsou too, Shouto supposes.
Speaking of Shinsou, Shouto has yet to find him. He went over to Aizawa’s apartment and knocked on the door, but no one was there. To be fair, he didn’t expect there to be, but it was still worth a try.
Shouto is almost to 1-A at this point, through the actual hallway no less. He’s searched the better part of the school with absolutely no luck whatsoever, so he’s hoping to find something .
And, as it happens, the closer he gets to his homeroom, the more he hears…
Is that… chanting?
Huh?
Shouto quiets his footsteps as he creeps closer to the gigantic door. He presses his ear against the wood and…
Yeah, that’s chanting alright. Shouto can’t make out the language, but he thinks it might be Latin.
He steps back from the door, deciding that he wants to see exactly what’s going on in there. He makes his way to the vent at the end of the hallway, opens up the grate and hauls himself in.
He crawls the short route to the vent on the top of the far back wall, phone camera ready to capture whatever he sees inside.
Safe to say, he was not prepared for the scene in front of him.
The lights have been turned off, the curtains have been closed, and the room is lit by a circle of candles. Outside the circle, faces illuminated by the light, are a few of Shouto’s classmates. They seem to be the ones doing the chanting.
The only other light in the room comes from a corner, where Midoriya sits on his computer, typing something.
And there, inside the circle, sits Shinsou, who is holding a fluffy black cat.
Well.
That’s two problems solved, at least.
Shouto positions his phone to record the bizarre ritual. He still doesn’t know what they’re chanting, but now that he hears it, it’s definitely in Latin.
Shinsou looks utterly lost, clutching the cat - Tab, Shouto supposes - for dear life. It seems he wasn’t involved in the planning. Hopefully, Aizawa will spare him from his wrath when he inevitably finds out about this. Shouto isn’t a snitch, but it’s bound to happen.
Safe to say, however, that this is going into UA’s Secret Secrets for sure. Nezu’s going to have a field day with this one.
Suddenly, one of his classmates, Bakugo, Shouto notes with surprise, stands up, moving so he and Shinsou are facing each other.
“Now, we ask the great cat for long life or whatever the fuck.” He says in his usual aggressive tone. Shouto almost laughs out loud, and he’s so glad he has it recorded. It’s going to be his new ringtone.
“Kacchan! That’s not what you’re supposed to say!” Midoriya chastises from the corner, finally tearing his face away from his computer.
“Hah?? Then what the fuck do I say?”
“ We ask thy great deity for a long and prosperous existence ,” Midoriya recites.
“That’s literally what I just said. Also, who the fuck says ‘thy’ anymore?”
“It is not what you said, and I do, for the record.”
“Fuckin’ nerd.”
“Just say it, Kacchan.”
“Fucking fine. We ask thy great deity for a long and prosperous existence, I fuckin guess. This is stupid.” Bakugo goes to say something else but is cut off by the door opening, letting light flood into the room.
“What the fuck.” Aizawa says.
—-----------------------
“So, what you’re telling me is that you started a cult around my cat , in the classroom ?” Aizawa asks incredulously.
“Well, when you put it that way…” Kaminari trails off, looking to the side.
The lights have been turned on, the candles have been blown out, and the curtains have been opened. It’s significantly less spooky with the glow of the setting sun illuminating the classroom.
“Wait, Sensei, what do you mean your cat? I thought it was Shinsou’s?” Midoriya asks. Of course, he’d be the one to pick up on that.
Both people in question stiffen slightly.
“It’s my cat. Shinsou likes to take him for walks around campus, occasionally.” The lie comes out slightly forced to Shouto, but Midoriya nods along, buying it.
“Oh, okay!”
“I feel like the more important question is why the hell did you do this? I expect this sort of behavior from a few of you, but Iida? Really?”
Said boy hangs his head in shame. “I’m very sorry, Sensei.”
Shouto bites back a laugh. This is comedy gold, holy shit.
“And Todoroki, mind explaining to me why you’ve been watching this whole thing?” Aizawa asks, looking right at the vent and into Shouto’s soul.
Well.
Shit.
Shouto stops the recording and opens the vent cover, looking down at his wide-eyed classmates.
“Uh, I found the cat?” He says sheepishly.
Aizawa lets out a long sigh, visibly deflating. “I don’t know why I try anymore. Clean this mess up and, for the love of god, go home.”
Shouto’c classmates scramble to move, thankful they avoided any further punishment. Shinsou wordlessly hands Tab over to Aizawa, who takes him with a nod before exiting the classroom.
Shouto jumps down into the room, watching as the rest of the group gets to work.
All except… Midoriya. Who is still on his computer, typing vigorously.
Curious, Shouto comes up behind him, leaning in to look over his shoulder.
“What’re you writing, Midoriya?” Midoriya lets out an ‘eep,’ jumping a good few inches in the air before slamming his computer shut with such force that Shouto wouldn’t be surprised if he used his quirk.
“N-nothing! Nothing at all! Why do you ask?” Shouto blinks.
Definitely not suspicious.
“Oh. I was just curious.”
Midoriya gives him an apologetic expression. “Sorry, heh… you kind of scared me there. It’s just a… story, that I’m writing. Yeah.”
Uhuh. And Shouto’s a pink sheep.
He offers a nod before retreating to the opposite corner of the classroom, pulling out his notebook and flipping to a new empty page.
What is Midoriya writing?
-An actual story (unlikely, but possible)
-Quirk analysis (Also possible, but his reaction suggests otherwise. He’s never been shy about quirks around me)
-An essay (Again, unlikely, but possible)
-A very aggressive email (This one’s more probable than others. Midoriya rarely gets angry, maybe he’s embarrassed?)
-A detailed love letter (Certainly possible, if more likely than most others on this list)
-Fan fiction
Shouto pauses at that last one, before circling it. No explanation is needed.
He smiles to himself. It fits too well. Midoriya is a die-hard hero fanboy, and Shouto’s read some of his creative writing papers. He’s good at it.
Now all he has to do is prove it.
—------------------------------
Okay, apparently proving it was going to be harder than Shouto thought.
Midoriya is a very secretive person about the things he’s embarrassed about. You’d think he had no shame, due to the sheer amount of All Might merchandise that filled up quite literally every inch of his room, but you would be very wrong.
He guards all of his notebooks with better security than Tartarus, and Shouto’s only ever seen a page or two. To his knowledge, he’s the only one, bar Bakugo, that’s ever seen inside one.
Midoriya does the same thing with his computer. And he’s subtle about it, too. Making sure you can’t see any reflection in the window behind him, keeping it slightly tilted away from any angle someone could look at the screen, always sitting in corners whenever he’s on it.
It’s actually quite impressive, and Shouto would applaud him if it wasn’t so goddamn frustrating.
Shouto’s solution? The vents. No one ever looks up, after all.
Midoriya has a funny habit of staying behind after school to write in the empty classroom. Shouto asked about it once, and Midoriya stated that there was less wifi traffic in the school after hours.
Shouto asked why Midoriya couldn’t just write at his house, and the boy turned away, face red. There’s a story there that Shouto wants to look into.
One thing at a time.
So, Shouto watches through the grates in the vent as Midoriya types away on his computer. 1-A has two different vents, for some reason, but Shouto won’t count his blessings.
Midoriya had moved from his previous corner spot to one directly opposite the opening Shouto used to spy on the cult a few days ago, most likely wary of the idea that Shouto could be watching.
He’s incredibly observant. Too bad he didn’t notice the vent literally right above him.
Shouto can just make out some of the words on his friend’s screen, but it isn’t picked up on his phone.
He just needs to get a little bit closer.
But, as he inches across the grate for a better angle, he hears it give underneath him, and then he’s falling to the classroom floor with a yelp.
Midoriya honest to god shrieks, jolting out of his seat and knocking over another desk chair.
The room delves into silence as the two stare at each other.
“So… All Might fan fiction?” Midoriya’s face turns beat red.
“I- you weren’t supposed to see that…”
“I’m well aware.” Shouto picks himself off the floor.
Midoriya stills. “Were you… trying to see?”
Shouto tilts his head. “Yes? What else would I be watching you for? I just wanted to know what you were typing all the time.”
Midoriya sighs. “Y-yeah, it’s fan fiction, usually, but recently this one user’s been really pushy with requests, and when I tell them ‘no, I’m not writing that,’ they just keep asking . So I’ve been sending them a few… choice words, the past few days.”
“Do you want me to find who it is?” Shouto asks.
Midoriya’s head snaps to Shouto. “Would you? They’re really annoying. I just need their IP and I could block their computer. They keep making new accounts to harass me.”
Shouto nods. “No problem, I know just the person. I’ll give it to you when I find it.”
Midoriya gives Shouto one of his blinding smiles. “Thanks, Todoroki!”
—---------------------------
Tuesday comes around with no incident.
Mei is now trying to attach something to his right hand, tightening and loosening the screws as she goes, adjusting it to his wrist.
Shouto watches with fascination, almost forgetting about Midoriya.
Almost.
“Hey, Mei, if I wanted to get someone’s IP but didn’t have their computer, how would I do that?”
Mei looks up at him, eyes sparkling. “I’m glad you asked, my dear test subject! I have a baby for that, actually.” She tilts her head. “Why, you need it?”
“Yeah, a friend of mine keeps getting harassed by someone, and we want to block their IP.”
Mei nods. “Yeah, I got you. Let me finish this up and I’ll get the thing for ya!”
A few bottles of water and a lot of ice later, Mei finally hands a freezing Shouto a small USB drive, along with a sheet of paper. “It’s all in here! Just plug it in, pull up the terminal, and type this in along with the user. It’ll work like a charm!”
Shouto gives her a grateful smile.
—-----------------------
He meets up with Midoriya the next day after school, and they huddle around the computer as the drive is plugged in.
Shouto hands Midoriya the instructions paper - he’s much better with tech than Shouto - and watches as his friend types a bunch of nonsense into a black box with green text.
Eventually, the program is run and a string of numbers pops up. Midoriya laughs happily, immediately typing in another few strings of text into the window.
He types the enter key, satisfied. “Aaaaand there. Thanks a lot, Todoroki, you have no idea how much this helps me.”
Shouto doesn’t register the question, though, as he’s too busy looking at the very familiar IP to notice.
“Todoroki?”
“Oh- sorry. That uh, I think I’ve seen that IP before.”
Midoriya gives him a questioning glance. “Where?”
“I dunno, it actually kind of looks like-” His eyes widen. “Holy shit.”
“What?”
Shouto grabs the USB and instruction paper. “I need to get home. I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
He’s rushing out of the classroom before Midoriya can get another word in.
—--------------------------------
Shouto approaches his front door, hoping his old man is out of the house.
His prayers are answered when he opens it to see Fuyumi and Natsuo on the couch, watching TV. They both jump at the sound of him entering the room, before abandoning a mad scramble to change the channel when they see that he is not, in fact, their father.
Shouto gives them a nod before moving to the family computer.
He sits there for a few seconds, before pulling up google.
He uses those instructions to pull up the terminal, which he stares at for another few seconds before turning to google once again.
He types in something from the site and it brings up a bunch of numbers and letters that Shouto can’t wrap his head around.
What he can understand, though, is the string of numbers that shows up when he scrolls down to where the IP address is located.
It’s the same one that belongs to the person who’s been harassing Midoriya.
Shouto stares in shock.
“What the fuck.”
Natsuo looks at him. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Say, do you have a video camera somewhere?” At Natsuo’s raised eyebrow, Shouto elaborates, “I might be able to put good old dad in some hot water.”
He has the camera within seconds.
—---------------------------
Shouto approaches Midoriya’s desk the next day. “Can you send me screenshots of the person harassing you?”
Midoriya looks up, confused. “I mean, sure? I have everything saved just in case. I’ll share the drive with you.”
Shouto nods, pulling out his phone and scrolling through the file Midoriya shared with him.
It’s perfect.
He says as much and turns to leave.
“Uh, Todroki, if I may, why do you need this, exactly?”
“You’ll see.”
—--------------------------
Shouto knocks on his father’s office door.
“Come in. Shouto, what do you need?” Endeavor asks, glancing up from his work.
Shouto wordlessly slams a stack of papers down on his father’s desk.
Endeavor eyes him suspiciously before taking the pile, his eyes widening when he sees the first photo.
“Shouto, what is this?”
“Keep reading.”
He does. By the end of it, his father is white as a sheet, and wastes no time burning the papers in his hands.
“Where did you get this.”
“I’m not sure that matters. What does, though, is how the public will react to irrefutable evidence of their number two harassing a child for fan fiction. On Wattpad, no less.” Shouto states, badly stifling a smile at that last comment.
Endeavor sighs. “What do you want.”
—-------------------------------------
The next few days are hectic. Rei Todoroki is released from the mental hospital, as per Shouto’s request, but is unable to gain custody of her children.
Nezu, however, introjects at the exact moment he needed to, stating that he would be happy to take on the Todoroki siblings as UA wards, as well as provide housing for them and their mother.
Shouto’s never been happier for the rat in his life.
When he returns to school - his home - for class, he’s bombarded with questions. The only ones he bothers to answer, though, are Midoriya’s, which are asked in the empty classroom after school.
“So, whose IP was it?”
“My family computers.” Shouto watches with poorly concealed glee as his friend puts the pieces together.
“Oh my god.”
Shouto exits the classroom, leaving Midoriya to reboot as he enters the vents to make himself a cup of tea in the hidden staff room.
fin