Chapter Text
A young Shoto Todoroki was sitting on a swing in a park, trying to stay away from home. He knew that he would only get in trouble for doing so because his father only wanted him to train during all his free time to become the number one Hero that would surpass All Might, but Shoto just didn’t care. His mother was sent away because his father drove her mad, giving him his scar, and his oldest brother was dead, so Shoto just wanted to stay away from the curse that was his father and the left side of his Quirk that wasn’t really his own, it was his father’s.
Shoto looked up at the cloudy sky as shades of orange began to appear. He knew it was getting late and the important people in his family, Fuyumi and Natsuo, would get worried about him, but Shoto wanted to take in all the sweet time he had before going home. He took in a deep breath, his lungs feeling a chill from the nearing winter air. It was cold, just like the right side of his Quirk, a beautiful gift from his mother, and it made him happy. He couldn’t bring himself to smile, it’s been so long since his lips quirked up that he’d forgotten how to. He thought that maybe if he’d visit his mother and see her at the hospital she was taken to, he could, but he couldn’t bring himself to see her. She might not want to see him since she would only see his father in him, or maybe he had to prove himself first. But prove himself to whom? His mother? Himself? Shoto didn’t know what to do; the only thing he knew was he wouldn’t use his left side ever again. Flames could only bring harm; there wasn’t anything beautiful about it, unlike ice.
The troubled boy swayed slightly in his swing, sighing as he continued looking at the slowly drifting clouds in the blue and orange sky. Footsteps approached him, and he looked down, spotting a tall woman with green hair in a light grey coat and a green-haired boy around his age wearing an All Might hoodie and a green scarf. Shoto stared at them curiously, tilting his head.
The green-haired boy ran up to him with a big smile on his face, holding a red and white striped scarf in his green-gloved hands.
“Hi! Me and my mom were walking by, and then I saw you sitting all alone in the park, and you weren’t wearing a jacket. I asked my mom to get you a scarf,” the green-haired boy rambled, fiddling with the red and white striped scarf. “So, uh, here you go!” He held up the scarf to Shoto, who only stared at the scarf. “I saw your hair, so I picked this scarf, since it matches.” Shoto continued staring at the scarf. “...Uh, is that, ok?” The green-haired boy asked nervously.
“Oh. Yes,” Shoto replied, nodding and looking at the green-haired boy. He accepted the scarf with one hand as the other held the swing’s chain a bit tighter.
The green-haired boy’s green eyes brightened, and his smile seemed to grow. “I’m glad!” He chirped. “It’s gonna get colder, so you better wear it, ok?!” The green-haired boy turned back to see the smiling green-haired woman who was a few steps away, and turned back to Shoto. “Um, can I ask what Quirk you have?” He asked nervously.
“It’s Half-Cold, Half-Hot,” Shoto answered. “I use ice on my right and fire on my left.”
The green-haired boy’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “That’s so cool!”
“What about you?” Shoto asked.
“Huh?” The green-haired boy asked, his smile faltering.
“What’s your Quirk?” Shoto asked.
“Oh, um,” the green-haired boy frowned. “I don’t have a Quirk.”
Shoto never thought someone couldn’t have a Quirk; he had heard about there being Quirkless people, but he had never considered that he might meet someone Quirkless. In his silence and staring, the green-haired boy looked nervous.
“I never met a Quirkless person before,” Shoto said, feeling like he should say something.
“Oh, um,” the green-haired boy stammered, unsure what to say or do.
“You must be strong,” Shoto said.
“Huh?” The green-haired boy questioned, confused.
“Not many people like Quirkless people,” Shoto said, frowning and remembering the terrible words his father said about the Quirkless. “But yet, you can smile. You can smile even when most of the world is against you, so you must be strong.” The green-haired boy looked at him with wonder. “I have a Quirk; I’m supposed to have a future ready for me, but I can’t smile.”
The green-haired boy had a soft smile. “I love Quirks,” he said. “Even if I can’t have one, I still love them, and I want to be a Hero. I believe one day, you’ll smile, too! Maybe I can help you!” He then turned back to the woman, then back to Shoto. Um, but I can’t stay long, sorry. I have to go home.” He hopped away from Shoto and waved goodbye with his big smile. “Bye-bye!”
Shoto placed his new scarf in his lap and slowly waved at the boy. “Bye,” he said.
The green-haired boy giggled and ran off to the woman, whom Shoto just realized must be the boy’s mother. The two did have green hair and eyes, so it only made sense. The clouds shifted, allowing the sun to cast down on the two green-haired individuals as they walked away. It was as if the universe was telling Shoto that those two people were like the sunshine, brightening the world for others.
Shoto continued staring at the spot the green-haired duo had left, and Shoto just realized he had never learned the boy’s name. He got off the swing, wrapped the red and white striped scarf over his neck, and looked up at the sky. There were fewer clouds, and the sky was more orange. Shoto couldn’t avoid his father much more than he wanted to, so he walked home slowly, still spiteful against that old man.
When he got home, his father shouted at him for being out so late and told him he had to train twice as hard tomorrow to make up for his rebellious attitude. He wasn’t allowed to go out without supervision for the rest of the year and train harder as punishment.
In his barren room, he held the red and white striped scarf in his hand, staring at it softly. He couldn’t smile like that green-haired boy had, nor could his eyes sparkle like his. Shoto wondered if he would ever meet that boy again, learn his name, and maybe become friends with him. Then, he frowned and clutched the scarf as a darker thought appeared in his mind. He didn’t want to imagine never meeting the green-haired boy again, hearing something bad happened to him, or if he lost his smile and his eyes dulled. Shoto placed the scarf in his drawer and shut it with slight force. For Shoto, it only seemed like bad things happened to good people, and bad people got good things. His oldest brother died, his mother was sent away to a hospital, and he and his siblings were trapped with a curse; and that curse, his father, was The Number Two Hero Endeavor, gaining power, money, fame, and connections-- nobody outside his family knew he was a monster in disguise.
As Shoto was going to sleep, he closed his eyes. “Maybe it’s a good thing if I don’t meet that boy again. He’ll be safe. He won’t have to get hurt or suffer because of that old man,” Shoto thought. “Maybe that boy will forget about me, and it’ll be all good. Maybe I might forget about him, too, and I don’t have to worry about anything bad happening to him.”
As days passed, Shoto continued to think about the mysterious sunshine boy he met that evening long ago. Even during training, he’d find himself daydreaming about that boy, but then his father ruined his precious thoughts by yelling and throwing fire at him so he could become a strong Hero.
“Maybe forgetting about that boy was harder than I thought,” Shoto thought. He dodged the fire from his father, retaliating with his ice. “Maybe I can forget eventually. Hm… Maybe I can just not wear the scarf? Hide it? That could work.”
After training, Shoto went to his room and buried his scarf underneath his socks. He nodded confidently, hoping his plan would work, and wouldn’t worry about the sunshine boy’s future. Shoto believed it was a good plan, and he’d forget the green-haired boy soon.
Months passed, and Shoto occasionally thought about the sunshine boy, but he’d still believe in his plan.