Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

When Ashido Mina had gone out during the weekend to get some boba tea at a local cafe, she hadn’t expected to see her ex. She hadn’t expected him to be with another girl. She hadn’t expected him to be laughing so genuinely. She hadn’t expected that at all.

She noticed the way his shoulders were pulled back, with his head tilted up towards the girl, revealed that he was smiling at something amusing that she said. The way he held her fingers, hands interlocking, gentle and careful. And she noticed the way he looked at her, of awe and love, with his lips curling in a soft smile of admiration. Once upon a time, that was her.

When in reality, it was all a lie.

---

Mina had met Giman Usotsuki in her second year of middle school. One day during lunch, she noticed he was laughing and shoving other boys off him as he walked toward her. He had blushed, hand rubbing the back of his neck.

“Hi! I’m Giman Usotsuki and I really like you. I… wanted to ask if you would like to go on a date with me.”

She had been too naive.

Mina had accepted and gone date after date. She thought he was kind. That he was trustworthy. That he was honest.

She thought wrong.

She hadn’t noticed behind those kind eyes were cold and calculating. She hadn’t noticed behind that bright smile was bitter and had sneered at her. She hadn’t noticed behind his romantic words were all white lies. She hadn’t noticed.

She had been too stupid.

After months of dating, he took her on a special date. Something that she would remember, he said.

She didn’t realize it would be the last one.

Usotsuki had led her to a park that had been surrounded by nature and forests.

Specifically, he had led her near a river. Mina had been confused when his smile morphed into a sneer. He kicked her onto the muddy floor.

“Uso… Usotsuki?” She whispered, her body shaking.

“Oh, you’re so stupid!” He laughed. “I don’t understand how you could be so trusting! How you could think that someone would ever like someone like you. A mutation freak!”

Her eyes filled with tears.

“You’re so idiotic! And pathetic! You were merely some bet me and my friends had made. It was to see how long I could keep you as a girlfriend.” Tokuda smirked. “The bet had lasted too long so they stopped paying me. Me? Liking you? What a joke!” He smiled one last time, before kicking her into the river. “Hope you can swim!” His cruel laugh echoed as he walked away, footsteps fading as minutes passed.

This was the first time she was heartbroken.

Later that day, she arrived home dripping wet and her heart broken into pieces.

---

To see what could’ve been her, she quickly ran off, tearing up. Although a year had passed, she was still heartbroken by him. He had already moved on after breaking up with her fast, not even having single care for her.

She was so pathetic.

It was already dark when she arrived at Heights Alliance. Avoiding everyone, she ran to the rooftop. She had never truly gotten over Uso-no he didn’t deserve to be called by his first name. She had never truly gotten over Giman. She had ignored her broken heart and pushed those feelings aside, only for him to show up again. He had been her first with a lot of things. Her first date, her first kiss, her first boyfriend, her first love.

Love that had been stomped on and shattered without care.

She would’ve given her everything to him! She would’ve taken a bullet for him! She… supposed it didn’t matter anymore.

She was too loyal for her own good.

Mina fell to the ground on her knees and sobbed as she cradled herself in a ball. She weakly stood up and sat near the railings, staring at the stars. When she was young, her grandmother had told her that when people died, they would become one of the infinite stars in the universe. Stars that shined as bright as their souls. Hers would probably be dark.

She wondered if people actually cared for her, or if that was a joke. She wouldn’t be able to take it if her friends turned out to be fake.

Mina didn’t notice her thoughts turn dark. She wondered if people would care if she died. If they would mourn her or get over it quickly. She doubted anyone did care. They were just like her friends in middle school. They were more acquaintances that whom she spent most of her time with than anything. When they graduated, they would separate without care. Without her. She was just the idiotic friend that made questionable choices and made everyone laugh but no one cared for her.

No one would notice her gone with Kaminari there. As much as he was one of her best friends and she cared for him, she had always envied him a bit. He was so much more charismatic, funny, kind, and amazing than her.

Was life truly worth anything? Or was it just a waste of time?

Mina spent a few more minutes there, but then she heard footsteps coming up. If they asked about her, she would just tell them she was fine and lie to them as she always did.

They never noticed.

She didn’t expect Midoriya to be the one to come up.

“Ashido?” He asked while tilting his head, concern written all over his face.

“Oh hey, Midoriya.” She replied quietly.

He walked over to her and sat down next to her. They sat in silence for a few minutes, before she spoke.

“Can you answer my question honestly?”

Midoriya didn’t turn his head to look at her but replied, “Sure.”

She stayed quiet for another minute before speaking. “Do… do you think I’m worth it? Would people care if I died?” Mina whispered.

“Of course.” He said softly. “We, Class 1-A, all care about you. We would be deeply upset if you died. Do you want to talk about it?”

She stood up and leaned on the railings, staring at the stars. “You’ve probably heard it all before. I really thought that he would be the one, but then he told me he was done.” She stated, quietly. “He just used me as a game. He made money off me and never liked me. We dated for months.” Her vision went blurry.

Midoriya stood up and gently hugged her. Mina hugged him back as tears spilled down her cheeks. "And to think I actually loved that asshole!” she screamed as tears flooded her face. She buried her head in Midoriya’s chest as she cried.

“Do you know his address?” He asked, stroking his hand through her hair. It felt oddly calming.

“Wha- huh? Giman?” She questioned, a bit confused. Her voice cracked as she said that. She looked up at him.

“Is that his name? Yeah.”

“Why?”

“So I can punt that asshole straight to the moon. I’m sure I can get Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, and probably Kacchan to help. Aizawa-sensei would probably help if he wouldn’t get in trouble for it.” He stated. “Actually, I think I could get everyone in Class 1-A would love to help.”

Mina paused and then laughed. “I do, but you’re not getting it. All of you would get in a lot of legal trouble if you just kidnapped him and punted him.” She sat up straight.

Honestly, Mina was surprised that Midoriya, of all people, would consider hurting others if it wasn’t villains.

…Nevermind, she suddenly remembered how protective Midoriya was of his friends and family. That felt oddly comforting, that Midoriya was protective over her.

“It must be a lot of legal trouble if you would suggest that we shouldn’t. I would think you would do the same for everyone else if it happened to him.” Midoriya chuckled.

“I would just like to say you’re a bit idiotic for thinking no one would care if you died.” He said afterward. “You’re kind, you’re cheerful, you’re easy-going, you’re sociable, you’re funny, you’re passionate about what you love and I would say you’re one of the most liked kids in our class.” Mina smiled, turning away from him and waving her hand.

“You’re making me blush.” She chuckled sadly as she wiped the tears. She stopped for a minute. “I… guess I was a bit stupid.”

“You really were, Ashido.”

“Rude!” She laughed. “Anyways, call me Mina. If you’re going to comfort me, at least call me by my first name.”

He blushed, “Only if you call me Izuku.”

“Yeah! Anyways, thank you! I’ll head out for the night. I’m getting a bit tired.”

“Of course. Goodnight Mina.”

“You too, Izuku.” Mina smiled softly, as she saw the boy exit the rooftop.

I guess I found out what I have to live for.

Chapter Text

When Shinsou Hitoshi went on a walk for some fresh air to take a break from UA’s harsh curriculum and stress, he happened to run into some old bullies, Kawakami Atsushi, Norio Hase, and Morikawa Tomio. They were laughing about something. Hitoshi just didn’t want them to notice him. He tried to hide his presence as best he could.

It didn’t work.

As soon as they saw him, they instantly scowled, strolling up to him. No matter how much he liked to pretend he didn’t care about others, it was fake.

“How did a freak like you get into UA? Especially the hero course?” Kawakami growled, poking his finger into his chest hard before punching him, causing Hitoshi to stumble back and fall to the ground.

It didn’t matter that he was in UA’s Hero Course. It didn’t make him any less of a coward.

“I bet he used his quirk to force them to get him into the hero course.” Moritaka accused. Hitoshi shrunk into his shoulders.

He was pitiful.

“Oh, trying to ignore us now, are you?” Norio snarled, grabbing Hitoshi by the front of his shirt as he tried to slowly crawl away without getting their attention. Norio threw Hitoshi back towards a nearby wall, causing a thud. Kawakami stomped his foot on Hitoshi’s chest, causing him to wheeze in pain.

“You’re still a loser, getting into the hero course doesn’t make you any less of a villain,” Kawakami growled.

Of course, he was a villain, nothing ever changed. Why couldn’t he fight back- UA would believe him if he were to accuse them of picking a fight and beating him up… right?

...right?

Norio kicked his head, while Moritaka picked him up and punched his chest, throwing him back once more. The sight of a bruised and bloody Hitoshi made the three boys laugh in mockery.

“You’re never going to get far in the heroics community, once they truly find out what your quirk is capable of, they’ll kick you out.” Norio spat at him before adding, “Remember that, villain.”

Using his quirk, Moritaka spat a weak water jet at him before the three left.

“We’re doing a favor for the world, and you should do the world a favor and jump off a roof before you start going insane and go on a murder spree.” Kawakami sneered as he waved away Hitoshi with one hand, and the other hand in his pocket. The two others followed him away.

He was so pathetic.

Hitoshi picked up the last of his strength to force himself to head back to UA. He trudged through the gates and up the stairs to the rooftop. As soon as he opened the doors to the rooftop, he collapsed on the tiled floor and started to sob. Tears filled his face as he tucked his legs into his chest and hugged his legs.

As much as he liked to pretend he didn't care about what people said, that was a lie. He didn’t choose to have his quirk. They act as if he’d done a crime for being born with a ‘villainous’ quirk.

He didn’t hear the doors open through his heart-wrenching cries. He didn’t notice someone had entered the rooftop until he heard a voice.

“Uhhh-”

Hitoshi wiped the tears out of his face, sat up, and then turned to face the person so fast that he was distantly surprised he didn’t get whiplash.

“Wait, are you okay? Uh wait, that was a stupid question, of course, you’re not okay, do you- um how are you feeling? Do you need to go to Recovery Girl? What- what happened to you...” Midoriya continued to ramble and question him before realizing what he was doing.

Hitoshi narrowed his eyes at Midoriya as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and apologized.

“No, it’s fine… I’m fine. Don’t worry about me.” Hitoshi stated coldly.

What is the Golden Boy doing here… why would he even bother to pretend to care?

“Oh… okay.” Izuku sat down next to him. They sat in silence before Hitoshi broke it because he couldn’t help but ask Izuku a question.

“Why are you here? Why are you pretending to care about me?”

“Of course, I would care! Why wouldn’t I?” Midoriya exclaimed, confused, ignoring the first question. Hitoshi didn’t notice. Instead, his expression became dark. Something inside of him snapped.

“Why wouldn’t you-” Hitoshi laughed bitterly, “I’m a villain!” He continued, “Everyone ignores me, everyone steals. I don’t fit in with anyone here! Heroes don’t help villains, y’know. I was ‘born evil,’ and will stay that way the rest of my life because of my quirk. Because of something I didn’t choose to have.” Hitoshi muttered.

“I-”

“And for your other question, what was it, what happened to me?” Hitoshi growled. “There were bullies. My middle-school bullies. People in my old school who hated me for my quirk. Brainwashing. It’s as if I chose to have it. That I would suddenly go on a killing spree, murdering anyone in sight."

“You-”

He snorted, “Hah! Bullies as if you have ever heard of those! I bet everyone praised and glorified you. You’re the “Golden Child” of Class 1-A. Of UA in general actually. You’ve probably never had anything bad ever happen to you. Actually, I also bet you’ve never had to work a day in your life. Your ‘amazing and heroic’ quirk,” Hitoshi said sarcastically, “coasted you through life and will continue to.”

“Wait-”

“You probably saved me out of pity. Or you want me to let down my guard so you could befriend me and betray me later. I’ve had it happen to me so many times that I could see right through you.” Tears started running down the purple-haired boy’s face. His voice cracked, as he tried rubbing the tears out of his face. “You don’t know what it’s like to live my life. You don’t know what it’s like to have people accuse you of things you’ve never done. You don’t know what it’s like to have every day of your life being sneered at. You don’t know what it’s like to have your lunch knocked out of your hands, get punished for others' mistakes, to clean up the insults drawn into your desk, to be pushed around in the hallways, or to find notes in your locker telling you to go to hell and just die. You don’t know what it’s like to be hated for just being born. You. Don’t. Know, Golden Boy. Leave me-”

“SHINSOU!” Midoriya screamed to get his attention and to let him talk without being cut off. Hitoshi was startled when he cut off his sentence with a serious look in his eyes. The most serious look Hitoshi had ever seen on him. “I’m a late-bloomer for my quirk.”

Hitoshi’s eyes were red, but he rolled his eyes with the tear marks on his face. “So what? You got your quirk at seven?” His voice cracked.

“My quirk developed when I was fourteen. Specifically when I almost died at the Entrance Exams.”

Wait... what?!

Hitoshi remembered a few years back, there was a quirkless girl a year above him. Whenever he saw her, she was always covered in bruises, her back hunched, with more sneers directed towards her than Hitoshi had ever had. She was always so quiet, hugging her damaged textbooks. He had always pitied her but never stopped the insults and punches thrown at her. Why would he? Quirkless people were at the bottom of the social ladder. Even more below villainous quirks. At least people with “villainous” quirks had quirks at all, while the quirkless had none. Even if he did help, it would make himself an even bigger target. At least he wasn’t quirkless, he had thought at the time.

Hitoshi shook his head at the memory and glared at the green curly-haired boy with more passion than he ever had at someone. Midoriya looked at him with something he couldn’t identify. “Lying is just making this situation worse than it is. No one develops a quirk that late.”

Midoriya only smiled sadly at him. “I guess I was the first. Turns out if I had developed it any sooner, I would have exploded.” He sighed, before continuing. “What, like I don’t know what it’s like to be kicked down everywhere and told by everyone, including the teachers and my ex-best friend to give up on my dreams as a hero? Like I don’t know what it’s like to be given red spider lily flowers at least once a week- did you know once I had even gotten a vase of it from my teachers? Especially whenever a quirkless person who died showed up on the news? Like I don’t know what it’s like to not have anyone believe in you? Like I don’t know what it feels like to be pathetic, weak, and useless? Like I don’t know what it’s like to be ‘put in my place and just die already?’ I do know Shinsou. I understand how you feel. I just want to be your friend, because I understand how you feel. I understand your experiences.”

Hitoshi blanched.

“No matter what anyone says, you are a hero. The quirk doesn’t make the person, their actions do. You’ve never done anything bad, and we- you never deserved what you went through in your childhood. I believe that you’re a good person, I believe that you can be a hero.”

And…

he…

broke.

The tears were leaking out of his eyes once again like a waterfall. He kept trying to dry the tears with his sleeves but it didn’t stop the tears. He didn’t notice the slip-up Midoriya had made. That was the first time anyone had ever said anything like that to him in years. The last person who said that to him was his mother before she died, when he was six.

Midoriya opened his arms out and Hitoshi clung to him as he cried, tears flowing like a waterfall out of his face. The sun had already set as Hitoshi stopped crying and let go.

He sniffled, “You… you’re the first person to ever say that."

“And I promise you it’s the truth.”

It turns out the thing he couldn’t identify on Midoriya’s face was sympathy, not pity, something no one had ever looked at him with. A few minutes passed as they laid down and looked at the night sky.

Midoriya broke the silence as he pointed to a constellation. “Look, that’s a cancer constellation.” He put one hand behind his head as he pointed the other towards the sky.

Hitoshi lifted an eyebrow before he looked at the group of stars he had pointed at. “How did you know I’m a cancer?” “Vibes,” Midoriya shrugged. “You seem like a cancer and the personality for it. I like astrology, and study it now and then. Zodiacs and stars are pretty cool.”

“Personality?” He repeated. “Self-protective, caring, sarcastic, prideful, and loyal.” Shinsou smiled at the compliment and Midoriya grinned at that.

Maybe he can make a new friend… his first real friend in years.

And suddenly Midoriya’s phone rang with a ‘ding!’ Midoriya grabbed his phone in a pocket, looking sheepish as he texted someone.

“Sorry, Shinsou,” he said as he stood up, pocketing his phone. “It’s past curfew, Iida texted me, lecturing that I need to be back on time. Oh wait, by the way, you can call me Izuku!” The green-haired boy yelled as he ran away, waving back at Hitoshi.

“Then you can call me Hito- and he’s gone,” Hitoshi yelled back but stopped as he realized the freckled teen couldn’t hear him when he had run down the stairs. Hitoshi sighed but had a soft smile as he stood up and slowly walked down the stairs, through the gates, and down the road to his foster home.

He was almost in the hero course but he couldn’t just slack off. Now, more than ever, he had just found more motivation.

Chapter Text

Todoroki Shouto had just gotten back to Heights Alliance.

He hated his father.

He had just come back from break, a weekend that UA let students spend time with their families, filled with bruises, burns, and insults against him and his friends. Endeavor has made sure to personally insult each of his classmates when he realized Shouto had made friends. He noticed he’d been ‘trained’ much harder and longer than he usually does. It was probably because Endeavor had realized that it would be a while before Shouto would be home to be trained personally by him.

Shouto sat on his bed thinking about Endeavor, with knees pressed to his face. He scowled. His father would never get better, no matter what Fuyumi said. Shouto was similar to Natsuo in hating their father.

He would never forgive him.

Endeavor did many things that Shouto would never forgive him for. For killing Touya, for making his mother go insane causing her to hurt him (it was Endeavor’s fault, never his mother’s fault), hurting him, who was just a child , and for making Fuyumi take more responsibility than she would’ve ever had for a 12-year old. She shouldn’t have had to take their mother’s responsibilities and have to play peace-maker whenever someone accidentally pissed Endeavor off.

He despised him.

He hated that voice in his head, telling him how weak he was. The voice in his head sounded like his father’s.

He was nothing without Endeavor.

But that was wrong, wasn’t it? He was his own person, and would’ve never gotten as far if he was someone else. Shouto wasn’t Endeavor, nor did Shouto have his father’s quirk, just as Midoriya said. He just hated how the voice would criticize everything he did. How it sounded like him .

Shouto would never do anything illegal like murder (‘ Iida, what the hell,’ he had thought after the Hosu incident ), or something that would make a lot of people angry ( Kaminari and his pranks pissed off a lot of people ), so he questioned himself.

‘What were some things he could do?’ he contemplated.

He could prank him, but Shouto didn’t know how to do that. If he asked Kaminari or Ashido, they would most likely go overboard. And he wouldn’t want to dump his trauma and burdens on others.

He couldn’t involve people other than himself and his father. It was between them.

He could mess with his agency; mess and misplace paperwork, paint and vandalize his agency building, and other stuff similar to that.

He could ignore him, but Endeavor was his legal guardian until he was 18 and could unenroll from UA and to another hero school like Shiketsu if he wanted to. Obviously, he didn’t want that to happen and be kept away from his friends.

He could report his abuse, but no one would believe him. He’s the number two hero, after all. And Endeavor could blackmail or pay people off easily.

He could forcibly remove himself from Endeavor. He was supposed to surpass All Might. He was Endeavor’s “greatest masterpiece,” after all. Endeavor would no doubt be pissed if he didn’t have control over Shouto. That… that would be a good idea, actually. But how would he do that? It’s not like he could forcibly disown himself from Endeavor’s care.

He could run away, but he would inevitably get caught sooner or later due to tracking quirks. His father had a ton of money to hire people after all.

Shouto thought hard and came up with a solution. The solution wasn’t something new. He’s thought about it many times, just wanting to get away from his father. 

Suicide.

Was it overboard? Maybe. Did he want to make his father rage in frustration? Absolutely.

He wasn’t scared of death. He accepted that he would one day die, as everyone would. It was fine if he just ended his life just a little bit too soon, as he didn’t care much for his own life.

It’s not like anyone would care after a while. After a week or two of grief, they would undoubtedly get over it. No one, other than Fuyumi, his mother, or even maybe Midoriya, would care that much. Midoriya had only known him for a few months. But Shouto knew that boy cared for everyone, after all, he cared about Bakugou of all people, so he wasn’t sure about him.

It would make his father absolutely rage if he died. And it would make it better that he killed himself. Not to mention the bad publicity Endeavor would get for having two dead sons, especially if one of them died to suicide.

Plus, Shouto didn’t really have any plans for the future. All his life was planned out by his father. Shouto didn’t have any aspirations or dreams due to all of them being crushed by Endeavor. Hobbies? Not allowed, only training. Socializing? Unnecessary. Wanting to follow in the footsteps of other heroes, like All Might? A personal insult to his father. Wanting to be in any other career? Completely out of the question.

The only thing that he could think of was wanting to live to spend time and protect his friends. But that was okay, he knew his friends were more than capable of protecting themselves and each other.

And his siblings and mother… Touya was dead, long gone from the once beautiful blue flames that encased their home from his rage against their abusive father and burnt Touya alive, not even ashes left to remember him with. 

Shouto hasn’t talked to Natsuo in years, from their father forcing Shouto to not associate with a “failure.” And because of that, Shouto has never developed a bond with him, neither of them caring enough to talk to each other even when their father was gone.

Fuyumi, his lovely, sweet sister Fuyumi, similar to their mother in the way they were so kind. Fuyumi was the second thing Shouto’s ever cared about, second to only their mother. She comforted Shouto when their father was in a worse mood than usual. She lied to their father to protect Shouto, even at the cost of punishments for herself. When they were younger, Shouto remembered how she would sneak snacks and candy to Shouto making sure Endeavor would never know. She would grieve for him, but after a few months, she would most likely get over it.

And Mother , the woman who faced the most abuse from Endeavor, causing her to go insane, mistaking Shouto for Endeavor. Before the tea incident, Shouto remembered the sweet lullabies and comfort she brought. He remembered her kind smile, with eyes looking at him with so much love. He remembered her hugs, so gentle and full of love that he’d never get the same from anyone else. Shouto loved her so, so much and after visiting her once again, he knew she felt the same way back. He knew she would feel guilt, but it would only last a while. She, like Fuyumi, would grieve but after a few months, she would get over it.

There had been many times when he thought about death and committing suicide, just to get away from Endeavor. Just to stop feeling pain, anger, and grief around him. This wasn’t anything new. This would just be the last time he would ever think about it and finally do it.

And so, Shouto stood up, wearing his yellow cardigan, and walked through the hallways, and to the staircase to the rooftop. He slowly strolled over to the edge and grabbed the railed with both of his hands. It felt cold against his hands. He took a deep breath and looked at the rising moon. He could feel the gentle breeze brushing through his hair. It was calming in a way he’s never felt in so long.

It was time.

Shouto took one step after the other and right as he was about to jump, he heard someone slamming the rooftop doors open and yelled in anger and worry. He recognized the voice as Midoriya .

“TODOROKI SHOUTO! I SWEAR TO GOD I WILL JUMP RIGHT AFTER YOU AND DIE WITH YOU IF YOU TAKE ONE MORE STEP!”

What.

Shouto turned around. No, no, no. No one was supposed to interrupt his plans. And no one was supposed to die because of him. He didn’t want to indirectly kill Midoriya, of all people, because of his actions. Midoriya was one of the people he cared the most about. And Midoriya wasn’t a person to go back on his promises. Even if it killed him.

“I…”

Midoriya panted with his arms on his knees, looking out of breath.

“I’m sorry.” Shouto gave him a gentle smile and turned around to look at the seemingly infinite amount of stars. He loved the constellations they made, and the stories and their representation. They were stunning to him now, and as a child he was in awe. As a child, his mother told him about the zodiacs, the Big Dipper, Orion, Perseus, Hercules, the Ursa Major and Minor, and many other constellations and stars. It was a shame that if he jumped, he wouldn’t see them anymore.

He murmured, “I just want to stop the scars that grow, everytime that I go home. That’s why I came up here instead.” That’s what the boy in the yellow cardigan said.

Midoriya paused, and a few moments passed.

“I thought you learned.” He frowned.

Shouto turned to Midoriya, eyebrows furrowing.

“I thought you learned during the Sports Festival! Remember what I told you?”

“It’s your power Todoroki, not his!” Midoriya had screamed at him, as flames ignited along Shouto’s left side.

“Yes…?”

“The point of what I said is you’re letting him control your life. What do you think you’re doing now!?” Midoriya yelled, frustration clear on his face.

“Letting him influ- oh.” He realized awkwardly.

Shouto realized his father did influence most of his actions. He had made him hate this quirk, made him closed off and bad at socializing, and now his life was almost about to be thrown away because of Endeavor. Because of his hatred for his father. Endeavor was still controlling him if he jumped because of him. His last choice, if he died, would have been also because of Endeavor. Oh.

“Yeah.”

A few minutes passed.

“Midoriya, sometimes I wonder what I would be like if I never met you. If you didn’t exist… you’re a good friend. Don’t forget that.” Midoriya blushed but didn’t say a word.

“It’s just so hard. Sometimes I can’t deal with him. Sometimes I hear a voice in my head screaming at my every action. Telling me how stupid and weak I am. How pathetic I am.”

“You know this doesn’t have to be the last solution right?” Midoriya said softly. Todoroki was silent. “I didn’t realize Endeavor had gotten worse, I should’ve done something.” 

“You didn’t have-”

“No, Todoroki-kun. I really should’ve said something. Principal Nezu would definitely do something if he heard what happened.” The curly-haired boy paused to think, and then looked at him with a sinister grin that gave Shouto chills. “What do you think about ruining his career?”

Shouto smiled.

Perhaps… I didn’t have to go that far. Maybe we can find a different solution. A better one.