Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Shouto didn't remember much after he left the dorms on Friday night. He remembered being told by Aizawa-sensei that his father had gotten permission from the school to have him home for the weekend, which, of course he did, he's the Number One hero now, why would they suspect anything about that? He remembered the dread he felt, the sinking in his stomach when he got a text not long afterward as he packed a bag: a single message from his father.

flaming piece of shit 👎

You will be home this weekend to train. There is no excuse for failing your license exam.

As if that didn't make Shouto low-key want to pull a Midoriya and break a few bones just to stay in Recovery Girl's office instead.

Yeah. Right. Like he wouldn't have a couple broken bones anyway from the old man's 'training'. Wonderful.

So now here he sat on Saturday night, all lights out, sitting in the bathroom with his brother while Natsuo tried his best to patch him up in a way their father wouldn't notice.

"Nii-san, I'm okay, really."

"Shouto, hush," Natsuo halfheartedly glared at him. "You know as well as I do that you're not. I'm not just gonna stand back and let you suffer if I can help. This house is a damn nightmare. It's why as soon as I was legal I got the hell outta here, and you should do the same."

"I'm fine," Shouto insisted. "I have Fuyumi-nee."

"I love Fuyumi, but she's halfway delusional," Natsuo rolled his eyes. "She still has this ideation in her head that the piece of shit is 'trying to be better' and we can all be a 'family' again. As if we ever were."

Shouto nodded. "I know. But she cares about us, too."

"You're right, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't stand back and let this happen to you. Never speaks up to the old bastard to help you, or convince him to lay off. You're better off just sneaking out tonight and coming to stay with me at my apartment. I'll tell my partner to stay at their's tonight, it'll just be you and me."

The change of topic was a gladly taken one, and Shouto smirked at his brother. "You mean your secret boyfriend, Hawks?"

Natsuo sputtered. "How did you know?"

Despite himself, and the situation the shitty, tiring day Shouto had, he quietly laughed at his brother's shock and indignation. Natsuo shook his head and smiled, grabbing the antiseptic wipes from the first aid kit and opening the pack to continue seeing to Shouto's cuts and wounds from training.

Even knowing that he would get in trouble for it later, Shouto ended up taking Natsuo's advice and snuck out later that night after his brother had gone home, leaving him a message to let him know he was coming.

shouto 🔥❄️

i did it. i'm on my way.

 

natsu 🙂

sick!! i'll get some snacks ready and we can binge watch something!!

 

shouto 🔥❄️

okay.

thanks, natsu.

...

:)

Shouto had expected to find trouble for sneaking out. But he was thinking more punishment from his father, not finding someone injured in an alleyway. 

He'd thought at first that the faint groaning sounds were just some homeless person, probably hungry or something. So Shouto, the kind soul he is who loved to give away the abundant allowance of money his father gave him, cautiously approached them. The idea of it being a trick from a villain was in the forefront of his mind, since he could never be too careful with all that had happened to him and his class this year so far, so despite his idea to help, he was still on edge.

But it wasn't some homeless, hungry person. It was someone bleeding out on the pavement behind a dumpster. 

Shouto threw all caution to the wind and dropped to his knees next to the person, rolled over on their stomach, and shook their shoulder to let them know that there was someone there. "My name is Todoroki Shouto. Can I turn you over to assess your wounds?"

"...Todorok-ki? K-Kid?"

Oh, shit, Shouto recognized that voice.

"Sensei?" Shouto rolled the person over, and was greeted with the pale, blood-drained face of his homeroom teacher. "Shit."

Aizawa opened his mouth to speak, but choked on a bloody cough before any words could come out. Shouto quickly pulled his phone out of his back pocket and dialed 119, putting it on speakerphone and already getting to work on helping Aizawa's wounds from bleeding anymore.

He tore his shirt━very expensive shirt, his father would kill him━up to the middle of his torso so he'd have more material to use, bundling it up and pressing it over the darkest spot on Aizawa's hero costume, where he assumed the gut wound originated from. 

"119, what's your emergency?"

"I've found a hero gravely injured. I'm issuing aid as we speak," Shouto panted in slight fear, fighting to keep it under a tight lid so his teacher wouldn't panic either. "I need an ambulance to my location, my phone's GPS tracker is on. I'm applying pressure to the wound."

"Understood, sir, we'll send someone immediately. Please stay on the line."

Aizawa's breathing was labored and choppy, his hair matted to his face with blood and sweat. The torn fabric was already soaked through with blood and Shouto's hands were covered in it. The pressure he was pressing down hurt wrist, probably fractured from earlier training with the old man, and his own breathing was unsteady from likely bruised or broken ribs, but Shouto's only focus was keeping his teacher alive.

"T-Thanks, kid..." Aizawa gasped. "Don't kn-know how y-you know to d-do this, bu-but━"

"Don't talk," Shouto said. "Focus on breathing and staying conscious, sensei."

But instead of listening to Shouto's advice, Aizawa's head rolled to the side, eyes shut. 

Shouto cursed. "The hero has lost consciousness," he told emergency services over the phone. "Checking for a pulse."

As he said, Shouto pressed two fingers to Aizawa's neck, over his carotid artery, and swore again when he felt nothing there after a few seconds. "Damnit. No pulse, I'm starting CPR."

"You're doing amazing, sir. Please stand by, the paramedics are almost there."

Shouto let go of the bloodied cloth and did what Natsuo told him to do in situations like this if he ever faced one. He started pushing the cloth into the open wound with his thumb until it was sufficiently plugging the blood flow. When it was mostly in, Shouto straddled Aizawa's torso and crossed his palms over one another, starting compressions on Aizawa's sternum. 

He counted under his breath, remembering his brother's teachings. 30 compressions, 2 breaths, check for pulse and breathing, repeat if necessary and until professionals can take over or someone can stand in. The pressure of pressing his wrist downward with the other was sending waves of agony up Shouto's arm. "━27, 28, 29, 30."

Tilting Aizawa's head back by his chin, Shouto pinched his nose closed and gave one breath, then another, and leaned his ear down on Aizawa's chest to listen for movement. When he found none, Shouto started over again. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5━"

In the end, Shouto had to repeat the process several more times before sirens roared in his ears and red and blue lights flashed from the corners of his eyes. Shouto didn't stop his movements until a paramedic came over with an AED. Shouto tore the front of Aizawa's costume open for the paramedics to attach the shock pads to his chest, one to the right pec and one to the left side of his torso, under his left pec. 

Everything afterward was a hazy blur.

Shouto at some point was pulled off of his teacher and he could faintly hear a paramedic praising him for his quick acting and keeping calm in the situation until they arrived, but the voice was dull and distant over the ringing in his ears. The only thing he really remembered after that was refusing to leave his teacher's side when they put him in the back of the ambulance, and the paramedics had no time to argue so they let him ride with him after Shouto told them his teacher's identity and that he was a member of his class at U.A.

He didn't breathe contently again until Aizawa was hooked to an IV drip and stabilized on his gurney, a heart monitor beeping with the sounds of his teacher's restored pulse, and he reached out to grab Aizawa's unconscious hand in a move to ground himself with the fact that he was alive, Shouto saved him, he did well, Aizawa wouldn't die.

His hands were still bloodied, and his wrist was now at a slightly awkward angle, but none of that mattered to Shouto. He wasn't worried about that. All he cared about was making sure his teacher, who had risked himself for his and his classmates' sakes so many times, would live to see the morning.

Shouto was made to sit in the waiting room while they took Aizawa into emergency surgery. He refused any assistance from nurses who offered to get him some clean clothes or help him wipe off his hands and arms, instead just asked them to keep him updated on his progress and if anyone was coming for him. The nurses assured Shouto that they had called Aizawa's emergency contact upon his arrival after they'd taken him into the OR, and though it slightly eased Shouto's conscious, he still refused to leave. That was his teacher. His teacher's blood was coating his hands, under his nails, seeping into his skin, oh god━

"Todoroki? Is that you, little listener?"

The voice was familiar, finally, and Shouto looked up to see his English teacher, dressed down and out of costume, with worry lines pinching his face. He wore regular glasses instead of his usual strangely-shaped sunglasses, a pair of black sweatpants and a mustard yellow hoodie that looked haphazardly thrown on.

Shouto's voice was hoarse with emotion when he responded. "Hello, Yamada-sensei."

"You alright, kiddo?"

He went to nod, on instinct, but remembered that his father wasn't here to punish him for not being strong, and he instead dropped his head back down, holding his hands between his knees. "I don't think so."

"What happened? I was called in for Shouta, they didn't tell me you were here too," Yamada sounded confused.

"I was walking to my brother's apartment," Shouto said thickly. "I heard a noise in an alley. I was on edge, but I thought it was just some homeless person who needed money for food, so I was going to offer them some of my money to help them. But when I got there━" Shouto's breath shuddered. "I found Aizawa-sensei on the ground."

Yamada crouched down in front of him, putting a hand on the knee of his blood-soaked jeans, seemingly uncaring about getting it on his own hands. "I'm glad you found him, little listener. Have you called your brother to let him know why you never showed up?"

Shouto shook his head. Yamada was right, he should call Natsuo. 

He pulled out his phone with shaky, bloodied hands. He nearly dropped it, but Yamada caught it and offered his other hand for Shouto to hold for support. "Here, kiddo, I'll dial the number from your contacts for you, and if you want, I'll do the talkin' for ya, that sound alright?"

"Y-Yeah," Shouto nodded. "Okay."

The phone rang not even twice before Natsuo picked up the phone, and Yamada put it on speaker for Shouto to respond after Natsuo spoke. "Shouto, where are you?! Are you alright?! You were supposed to be here an hour ago!"

"I'm sorry, Nii-san," Shouto said. "I can't come over anymore."

"What? Why?"

Yamada gave Shouto a smile and spoke for him instead. "Hi, Todoroki-san, this is Yamada Hizashi, one of Shouto-kun's teachers. There's no need to worry, he's safe and in good hands. We're at Musutafu General Hospital."

"Oh, shit, did something happen?! Was it a villain attack?! Shouto, say the word and I'll be on my way."

"I'm fine, Nii-san. I found my homeroom teacher injured on his patrol and stayed to help after I called 119."

"That's good. I mean━! Not good that your teacher is hurt! I mean, good that you stayed to help! Fuck, that came out wrong. Sorry. I'm glad you and your teacher are okay, Shouto. Don't worry about the old man, I'll tell him you went back to school to finish an assignment so you can stay with your teacher. How's your wrist?"

"Um," Shouto nervously eyed Yamada, who seemingly just noticed the weird angle his wrist was bent at beneath the red staining his pale skin and was looking at it with worry. "I think it's still fractured, maybe broken. It wasn't bad earlier, but I had to do CPR."

Yamada's eyes bulged and water gathered from his tear ducts behind his glasses. Shouto figured it was probably from hearing that Aizawa lost his pulse after Shouto found him.

"Was there someone there you could have switched out with after a few rounds? How long were you doing compressions and breaths?"

"No, I was alone. I think around 8 minutes, the paramedics took over with an AED when they showed up."

"Shit, Shouto," Natsuo stressed. "Are you sure you don't need me to come to the hospital?" 

"I'm sure," he nodded, though his brother couldn't see it. "I just want to stay and make sure Aizawa-sensei is okay. He's in the OR. I wanna be here when he wakes up."

"That could be hours, even days, Shouto, you know that."

"I don't care. I want to apologize to him."

Yamada furrowed his eyebrows. "Apologize for what, kiddo?"

Shouto frowned. "For not getting there in time. If I had been there sooner━"

"Little listener, I haven't talked to any doctors yet, but I'm pretty sure you saved his life," Yamada said, as if it were obvious and Shouto was missing that fact. "You did CPR for 8 minutes straight with no breaks, with a fractured wrist. I won't ask you how that happened, but doing something like that with the injury you have is was very heroic of you."

"But━"

"No buts, Shouto," Natsuo said. "Your teacher's right. I'm so proud of you."

Tears sprung to Shouto's eyes without his permission. "Thanks, Nii-san. I'm going to hang up so I can wait for news with Yamada-sensei. I'll text you soon."

"You better! Had me worried sick!"

"Sorry, Nii-san," Shouto wearily laughed. "It won't happen again."

"I'll talk to you later, Shouto... Love you."

"...Love you too. Bye."

It was quiet for a moment after Shouto hung up the phone with Natsuo. Yamada kept his hand on Shouto's knee and placed his phone on the chair next to him, staying crouched to the tile floor in front of Shouto. Instead of keeping his free hand to himself, Yamada held it out in a silent offer for Shouto to hold it, in an act of silent support.

"I-I don't want to get your hands dirty," Shouto tried to decline. His chest clenched.

"I don't care about that, kiddo. I think we both need it right now."

Shouto sighed, the tension in his shoulders slightly lessened, and gently grabbed Yamada's outstretched hand. The large but slender hand clenched his own in a tight grasp, but not enough to hurt. He was mindful not to bump Shouto's other arm, the one with the fractured━broken?━wrist. Dried blood was starting to cake onto his skin, and was transferring over to his teachers, but like he said, he didn't seem to mind, even if it was Aizawa's blood and not Shouto's own.

After a long two hours, Shouto trembling softly in his chair from the events of the night and the pain in his wrist and ribs, and Yamada sitting on the floor in front of him in silent, companionable support, their hands clasped together the whole time, a surgeon finally walked in and called for Yamada. 

"Yamada-san?"

Both of them stood upright, though Shouto wasn't called for, he knew exactly what the surgeon's entrance meant.

The surgeon eyed Shouto, like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to speak the details of Aizawa's condition to anyone but Yamada. Yamada noticed this and wrapped a gentle arm over Shouto's shoulders to show that it was alright. "How's Shouta doing?"

"He's been stabilized. The surgery went perfectly well, we had no difficulties with his injuries. Aizawa-san did not flatline once, and there were no lacerations or tears to any vital organs. He was lucky that whoever did this didn't seem to be experienced in the weapon they used. Is this the boy who we found on scene with him?"

Shouto nodded. "Yes, that's me."

The surgeon smiled. "Aizawa-san was very fortunate that you knew how to handle the situation. You did well with the limited resources you had, and you did everything right. Normally we don't use already-blood-soaked cloths to stuff internal wounds like you did, but in the situation, it may very well have been what saved his life in the end after he was revived on the scene. You should be proud, son."

Shouto's knees gave out in his relief, and Yamada barely caught him in time before he hit the ground. He sunk to the floor next to Shouto and brought his face into his shoulder, letting Shouto privately cry his tears. 

"You did so good, kiddo," Yamada sobbed. "You did so good. I'm so proud of you, so proud. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Yamada pressed kisses to the crown of his head, like Shouto imagined a good father would do to their child. The actions made his tears come faster, and his chest shake with silent cries. He hadn't received a loving action like that since before his mother was sent away as a child. It had been over a decade. 

So in all fairness, Shouto thought his tears were justified. 

Shouto was grateful that Yamada seemed to recognize his allergy to leaving Aizawa's side, because when the nurse came around to tell them that visiting hours were over, he showed her his hero license and told her his affiliation to the patient and said he would be keeping Shouto there with him.

Well, Shouto hadn't expected to find out his teachers were married to each other, but he wasn't exactly surprised.

Sometime during his stay by Aizawa's bedside, Yamada had taken a rag from the bathroom in the private suite and dampened it to wipe off his and Shouto's hands, so now his hands were, thankfully, washed clean of any blood. 

"I didn't know Shouta had taught you guys first aid for rescue scenes yet," Yamada smiled. "I'm glad he did."

"He didn't," Shouto said. "My brother is in university studying in a medical field to be a paramedic himself. He taught me first aid."

"Kiddo, what you did wasn't first aid," Yamada's jaw dropped. "Any medical professional would see what you did and think you were BLS and CPR certified."

"BLS?" Shouto questioned.

"Basic Life Support," Yamada said. "What you did was on the level of trained medical professionals, Todoroki. Not to mention how long you performed CPR with your own injuries, which, again, I won't ask about unless you're comfortable with it."

Shouto shook his head adamantly, to both things Yamada said. "I was just doing what I had to. I wasn't even thinking about being heroic or anything the doctors and paramedics said. I just... I couldn't let him die there. I would have done it for anyone. At first, I didn't even know it was Aizawa-sensei. He was lying on his stomach, so I told him my name and asked if I could roll him over to assess his injuries. He repeated my name like it was a question, and I recognized his voice."

"What happened after that?"

Shouto hesitated, but told him. "He was coughing blood, so I told him not to speak and to focus on his breathing instead and staying conscious. But... he passed out right after I said it. I informed the dispatcher that he lost consciousness and I was checking for a pulse, but there was none. I straddled him so I could have a better angle for compressions and told them I was starting CPR."

"You know how to do CPR even though you're not certified? And for eight minutes?"

"Thirty compressions to the sternum, tilt the chin back to open the airway, close the nostrils, give two breaths big enough to make the chest rise, carefully lower their head back down, restart compressions, repeat," Shouto recited what Natsuo had taught him once, several years ago without their father knowing.

"That's... That's amazing, kiddo," Yamada breathed, shaking his head in amazement. "I've never been able to last longer that three minutes at a time doing CPR on a victim without needing to switch out, and I've been doing this for over ten years."

"He's... He's Aizawa-sensei. He's saved us so many times. Even if he hadn't, I couldn't just leave him there."

Yamada smiled gently at Shouto. "I'm glad ya didn't, kiddo. You saved his life, and you saved me from being a widower before I start going gray."

"Does he get injured like this a lot? Being an underground hero?"

"Sometimes, yes," Yamada nodded, sighing. "Being a hero is dangerous, but underground? That's where a lot of the more dangerous stuff is. Drug rings, trafficking rings, assaults, kidnappings, sometimes robberies. Normal heroes deal with this stuff sometimes, too, but underground heroes see it nearly every night. If you ask me? Underground heroes are the real heroes of this world. And I'm not just sayin' it because Shouta's one, I really mean it."

"...For a while I thought about not becoming a hero," Shouto admitted to the silence that followed Yamada's claim. "I wanted to be a hero like All Might when I was a kid, but there was a couple years where I lost all interest."

"Yeah?"

Shouto nodded. "Yeah."

"Well," Yamada smiled at him again. "I'm glad you chose to be one, Todoroki. You're going to be an amazing hero after you graduate."

"...Thanks, Yamada-sensei."

"No problem, kiddo."

By the next morning, Aizawa finally woke up. Shouto still hadn't slept, opting to eagerly and slightly impatiently wait for his teacher to wake, but Yamada was on the other side of the bed snoozing away in peace with his head laid next to Aizawa's thigh, his chair pulled close to the bed.

Shouto met the confused gaze of his teacher, who asked, "Todoroki? What are you doing here?"

"You... don't remember?" Shouto blinked.

Aizawa shook his head, wincing slightly. "No. Why is your shirt all torn up like that? And the blood on your pants?"

Shouto grimaced. He still hadn't changed or showered, either. "I'm the one who found you, sensei. I called the ambulance that brought you here."

"Shit, kid, I'm sorry you had to see that."

"I'm really glad you're alive, sensei," Shouto said. "That... That's all I care about."

"So the torn shirt..?"

"Pressure to your wound," Shouto nodded.

Aizawa's lips thinned. "How long have you been here? It doesn't look too light out, so visiting hours can't have started yet."

"Yamada-sensei convinced them to let me stay. It's been about seven hours since we arrived in the ambulance."

"Have you slept at all, kid?"

"No. I've been waiting for you to wake up. It's around 8 AM, so the doctor should be coming by any minute to check your vitals. How are you feeling, sensei?"

Aizawa's eyes softened, which Shouto had never seen them do before, but he didn't let his shock show. "Nothing I can't handle. Thanks, Todoroki."

A few minutes later, Yamada woke to the sounds of their conversation and not long after that, the doctor came in, like Shouto had predicted.

"Good morning, Aizawa-san," she smiled. "My name is Dr. Suzuki. Did you rest well?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Great!" Dr. Suzuki grinned. "These two haven't left your side since you returned from surgery, they've been very worried. I'm just going to check your vitals, and if you have any questions, don't be too shy to ask."

As Dr. Suzuki set out to do her job, Aizawa took advantage of her offer. "How long did the operation take?"

"Roughly two and a half hours," she told him. "Had it not been for this boy here, it would have been longer. We did not have nearly as much trouble as we thought we would when we got the emergency call, thanks to your student's quick thinking and skills."

"That so?" Aizawa raised his eyebrows, stunned. "I don't remember much."

"Perfectly normal," Dr. Suzuki said. "Would you like a recount of last night's events?"

"Yes, please. Thank you."

Shouto avoided Aizawa's eyes as she told him of how Shouto called and professionally handled the situation, staying calm and telling the dispatcher everything he did as he acted. He felt his cheeks heat slightly when he felt his teacher looking at him, stunned as she explained how long Shouto performed CPR after losing Aizawa's pulse, and how he knew to tear the front of his shirt when the medics arrived with the AED, and even how when he had to shift from putting pressure on the wound to doing CPR, he stuffed the wound to keep the bleeding at a slow rate. 

When she finished, Shouto reluctantly looked up to see Yamada's proud smile and Aizawa's suspiciously, uncharacteristically watery eyes and dropped jaw.

"You were very lucky, Aizawa-san," Dr. Suzuki finished. "Had it been anyone else with less experience, you likely wouldn't have even made it to the OR."

"So I hear," Aizawa rasped. "I... I don't know what to say, kid. You saved my life."

Shouto looked back to his feet, feeling tears in his eyes again. Damnit, he'd cried enough tears for the next two years, stop it already. "I couldn't let you die if there was something I could do about it. Not after all you've done for m-us. For our class."

He mentally cursed himself for the near slip-up. His teachers didn't know about how safe he felt at school, away from his father's hands and scalding fire. They didn't need to know. They probably wouldn't believe him anyway, with Endeavor being the new Number One hero and having been the Number Two for over twenty years.

"Still," Aizawa insisted. "Thanks."

Shouto nodded, still avoiding looking up from the floor. "You're welcome, sensei."

After Dr. Suzuki made sure his vitals were in good shape, she left the room with a small bow and a smile.

"...I didn't know you were BLS certified, Todoroki. I wasn't planning on teaching you all about victim aid for another month."

Shouto shook his head. "I'm not. My brother is studying to be a paramedic, he taught me first aid."

Yamada laughed softly. "Listener, we talked about this. What you did was not first aid."

"Right, sorry."

"Kid, you have nothing to be sorry for," Aizawa said, his voice still hoarse with disuse and dryness but still somehow stern. "Doing what you did with no real practice was nothing short of a damn miracle. It takes medical pros months to do those things."

Aizawa eyed Shouto properly for the first time since he woke. "Did the CPR injure your wrist? 8 minutes is a long time to do it by yourself."

"No," Shouto shook his head, glancing at his wrapped arm for the first time since a nurse insisted on helping him a few hours ago. "It was already fractured when I found you. I think it's broken now, but I don't really care. It doesn't hurt too bad anymore."

"Kami, Todoroki," Aizawa looked so moved. It wasn't a look Shouto was used to, with how he grew up.

Shouto didn't know how to respond, so he shrugged.

He missed the concerned glance between his two teachers, still keeping his gaze to the floor to avoid making himself cry again. He wasn't Midoriya, he could handle not crying.

Then Yamada came around to his side of the room and sat down in the visitor chair next to Shouto's, wrapping Shouto in a hug like he had several hours before.

Shouto cried again.

Shouta had never been more stunned in his life than he was when he woke up in the hospital today. He didn't remember anything after he collapsed in that alley after an altercation with a suspected trafficking ring leader. Waking up in a hospital bed next to his husband after a night of patrol wasn't an unusual occurrence in itself, but to hear that he was saved by one of his students with professional-level efficiency when he hadn't even taught his class basic first aid yet? 

That was definitely a shock to Shouta. 

As Shouta watched Todoroki break down in Hizashi's arms, for what couldn't have been the first time in the last few hours, he felt a foreign feeling welling in his chest along with suspicion in his head.

How did a 16-year-old kid know how to handle a situation like his own with such precision? With no training? 

Alarm bells rang loudly in Shouta's head. Something wasn't right with the Todoroki family.

And by Kami Shouta was going to get to the bottom of it.

Come Monday morning, Shouta was cleared to go back to work. Teaching, that is, not back to patrolling. He still couldn't do that for another week. 

He had other teachers covering heroics training classes, since he couldn't do anything strenuous with his situation, so in the time when those classes were going on, Shouta stayed back in his classroom while his students were off in the training grounds with other teachers. Shouta was glad for the quiet, alone time. It gave him the peace and solitude he needed for the case he was planning to open.

So, when his class went off to Ground Gamma with Toshinori, Shouta set to work calling as many of his trusted contacts as he could.

"Aizawa-kun, this is sudden," Tsukauchi Naomasa's voice rung through his phone's speaker, perched between Shouta's cheek and shoulder. He couldn't risk speakerphone with such a sensitive topic. "How did it go with the potential trafficker?"

"Not great, but that's not what this is about. I need your help."

"Ah. You opening a new case? That was quick."

Shouta sighed. "Yes, I'm opening a new case, but it's sensitive and can't be released to the whole precinct. I just need you and a few people I know I can trust."

"...Alright. Talk to me."

"I'm opening a case on Todoroki Enji on child abuse, endangerment, and most likely domestic violence."

"Oh, damn. Yeah, this can't get out. I'll see what I can find in some records and let you know what I come up with. Keep me informed on who all is involved with the case."

"Of course. Thank you, Tsukauchi."

"Anytime, Aizawa-kun."

One phone call down, one to go.

Shouta wasn't sure how the next call would turn out, it was a pretty big reach, but he had a gut feeling that he trusted not to let him down. 

He hesitated before hitting the call button, but tapped his foot impatiently as the line rang.

Then, thankfully, the cocky asshole picked up his phone. "Yo, Eraserhead! What's up!"

"Hawks. I need your help."

"Shit, you never ask me for help. This that serious?"

"Yes, and secret. If you decide not to help me, I need to know I can count on you not to let the fact that I'm opening this case out to anyone. Can I trust you enough to do that?"

Hawks's cheerful demeanor was gone in an instant. "Of course. What do you need?"

"I need you to get into the HPSC's system and find me any and all files on Endeavor and his family. Top-secret or not, I need them. Anything you can find. Minor offenses, medical histories on every member of the Todoroki family, past cases he's worked on. All of it, Hawks."

"Holy fuck. Yeah, I can get it. Might take me a few days to get around the HPSC without arousing suspicion, especially getting into their system and downloading secured files without setting off their security system. But I'll get it done. In fact, if you want, I have... connections with one of the Todoroki children. I can easily convince him to talk to you in secret. He doesn't live at his family home, so no one would notice any interviews you have with him."

"I'm not gonna ask how you have connections to Todoroki Natsuo, but that would be greatly appreciated. I have a feeling if I ask Shouto he won't be as open as you say Natsuo will be."

"I'll set something up and you can have your interview by tomorrow at the latest. Who else is going to be on this case?"

"For the time being, myself, you, and Detective Tsukauchi Naomasa. Don't worry, he can be trusted. I've worked with him on numerous cases over the years."

"Got it. Keep me posted."

"Mhm. Thanks, Hawks."

Hawks hung up the call first, likely to get started on setting up Shouta's interview with the oldest Todoroki son for him and getting to work on retrieving the files from the HPSC. 

Shouta sighed and ran his hands through his hair, plonking his head onto the surface of his desk.

This was going to be a long, grueling case to get through.

An hour later, as his class started trickling back into their seats after training, Shouta got a text.

hawks

todoroki natsuo agreed to do a recorded interview with you tonight

i looked up your detective, his quirk would be handy to have along for the ride, especially this interview

it would help the case exponentially

 

eraserhead

thank you. i'll get tsukauchi on board and be at natsuo's place after school. 

ping me the location and i'll be on my way as soon as classes are over.

 

hawks 

[todorokinatsuo.location]

Shouta texted Tsukauchi the moment Hawks forwarded the apartment's address to him.

eraserhead

interview with todoroki natsuo once my classes are over.

meet me in front of his apartment in two hours.

[todorokinatsuo.location]

 

human polygraph 

👍

"Todoroki-san, thank you for meeting with us on such short notice. I'm sure Hawks informed you of the reason for our visit?"

Natsuo waved Shouta and Tsukauchi inside. "Yeah. Finally someone's investigating the old bastard, even if it is top secret. Makes sense, though. Number One hero and all, I guess. Have a seat! Oh, and you can just call me Natsuo, it'll probably make this a bit simpler."

The two nodded and sat down across from Natsuo in his living room. Tsukauchi pulled out his phone and pressed record.

"Alright, Natsuo, let's get started. Do you consent to this interview being recorded?"

"Yes, of course," Natsuo nodded. "Anything that'll help."

"Full name, age, and occupation for the record?"

"Todoroki Natsuo, 19 years old, and I'm a university student working for a degree in Emergency Medical Services to be a paramedic once I graduate."

"True. Eraserhead, would you like to begin?"

Shouta leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Has Endeavor ever been physically abusive toward you?"

"Not me or Fuyumi, no. Shouto and Touya, yes."

"True."

"Who is Touya? He's not in any of Endeavor's public records. As far as the public is aware, Endeavor only has three children."

Natsuo scowled, though Shouta knew that it wasn't directed at himself for the question, but at Endeavor. "Touya is━was━our older brother. The oldest son, firstborn. He would have been 24 this year. I don't know the full story of his death, I'm sorry. The old bastard and Mom are the only ones who know. I think Shouto was there, too, but he was too young to remember it now."

"True," Tsukauchi frowned. "What about psychological abuse?"

"If neglecting Fuyumi and I counts as psychological abuse, yes. For Touya and Shouto, absolutely."

"True."

"I'm sorry to have to ask this, but has Endeavor ever sexually abused any of you four?" Shouta asked, hoping that the answer was no. He could already feel the bile forming in his throat at how horrible this already was.

"No," Natsuo shook his head. "That I'm sure of. He's a sick bastard, but thankfully not that sick."

"True."

"Tell us about Todoroki Shouto's facial scar, as much as you can in detail."

Natsuo's eyes turned sad. "Before that, I want to make sure you know that none of this was our mother's fault, and you need to know the whole story first."

"Go on."

"Endeavor bought her twenty-five years ago from her family, for her quirk. He knew that with his own power, he could never surpass All Might and be the Number One hero, so he decided to create us in his attempts to make the perfect quirk to surpass All Might. Touya was first, had fire hotter than even Endeavor's, but his body wasn't suited to handle it. He, like myself, was made to withstand ice and cold temperatures. But Endeavor still relentlessly 'trained' him to become a hero. 

"Before his quirk even manifested, though, Endeavor had already made Mom have Fuyumi, as a backup of sorts. Her quirk is the opposite of Touya's; an ice quirk with a body suited for heat. He deemed Touya's better, though, and cast Fuyumi aside. I was born three years later, with just a plain ice quirk exactly like Mom's. So I was pushed aside, too. Mom was already nearing her breaking point by the time Shouto was born. From the moment he was born and Endeavor saw his halved hair colors, he knew what Shouto's quirk would be before it even manifested. He threw Touya aside next, and focused on Shouto only. Then when Shouto was five, his quirk manifested and the 'training' begun.

"He struggled to keep up with the old man's cruelty. When he was six, Mom tried begging him to at least give Shouto a break. 'He's only six,' she said. 'He's already six,' he refused her. That was just about Mom's final straw, and she was in the kitchen one day making tea, when Shouto walked in. She took one look at his left side and broke down, pouring the boiling water from the kettle onto his face. His left side reminded her too much of our father. She realized what she'd done, though, and tried to help him. I can still hear her screams and apologies even now. But she didn't remember that his left side is resistant to heat, not cold, so she tried to freeze it to help, and her ice gave him the scar on his left eye. After that, Endeavor locked her up in a damn loony bin and has kept her there since, even though her doctors have long since cleared her as healthy."

"All true," Tsukauchi breathed in horror. 

Shouta felt rage boiling in his chest, and he wanted nothing more than to come face-to-face with Endeavor just once now so he could severely hurt him. How could someone do things like that? Not only is it highly illegal, it's just plain horrifying. Inhuman, even.

"Thank you, Natsuo. Now, can you tell us about recent events in which Todoroki Shouto refused treatment at Musutafu General Hospital after saving the life of an underground pro hero? Do you know why he would do as such, or where his injuries came from?"

Natsuo nodded. "Endeavor wanted him home for a weekend so he could 'train' him better, deeming him 'weak' and 'useless' as a successor to the Todoroki name in heroics for failing his provisional license exam. Shouto had texted me that he would be home for a couple days, so after Endeavor went to bed, I went back to the house and helped Shouto with his injuries as much I could without Endeavor noticing. If he saw Shouto's injuries wrapped or treated, it would only make it worse for Shouto. I managed to convince Shouto to sneak out and come over to my place to get away from him, but he found the pro he saved on the way here. I'm so proud of him."

"True. And are the claims true that you taught him the skills he used that night?"

"Yes. I showed him the skills in case he would ever need to use them, along with basic first aid for himself as well as others."

"True."

Shouta furrowed his eyebrows. "Todoroki Fuyumi's personal files say she still resides at your family home, does she not? Could she not have helped Shouto as well?"

Natsuo sighed. "Fuyumi... is complicated. She has an idea that there's still a chance that Endeavor will change in the future and we can all 'be a family again'. We were never really a family, by normal standards. Just victims in a house of horrors. She loves us, and we love her, but she's never once stood up to Endeavor on Shouto's behalf."

"True. Have you ever stood up to Endeavor on your younger brother's behalf?"

"A few times," Natsuo said. "Not while I still lived there, I was too angry about the forced segregation and how Endeavor neglected Fuyumi and I, and I still to this day blame him for whatever happened to cause Touya's death. But once I'd moved out and been on my own, I started getting more in contact with Shouto over phone calls and texts, to try and get to know him the way Fuyumi and I were never allowed. Anytime I would come home, I would defend Shouto if Endeavor got too upset with him for no reason."

"True."

Shouta asked the question that had been on his mind for the last few days. "Was Shouto's fractured wrist his only injury that night he saved the hero?"

"No. Shouto had a fractured wrist, but also had several bruised ribs. Hence, why I convinced him to get the hell out of there and stay with me the rest of the weekend until he had to go back to U.A."

"True."

Shouta felt sick to his stomach. His student, aloof Todoroki Shouto, had saved his life and performed 8 full minutes of nonstop CPR on him, while he had not only a fractured wrist, but several bruised ribs. "Were these injuries due to Endeavor's 'training'?"

"Yes," Natsuo replied. "He was harsher than he'd been in a while, since Shouto failed his license exam."

"True. Will you be willing to testify against Endeavor in a court of law in the future?"

"Absolutely."

"True. I believe that can conclude our interview for the time being, Natsuo. Only one more question."

"Anything you want to know."

"Do you believe that Todoroki Fuyumi will be as willing to do an interview with us as you were?"

"No, I don't."

"True. Thank you very much, Natsuo. This will be a very big help to our case, and we promise to keep you in the loop with anything we find that we can disclose outside of a courtroom."

"Thank you, detective. You too, Eraserhead. It's about time the old man gets what he deserves."

"Yes it is," Shouta agrees, pressing the button on Tsukauchi's phone to stop the recording for the end of the interview. 

After staying a few more minutes to chat, Shouta and Tsukauchi left Natsuo's apartment with heavy hearts and determined minds. 

"That was certainly enlightening," Tsukauchi commented gravely. "I'm glad you brought me in on this, Aizawa-kun. We'll make sure Endeavor is put behind bars soon enough."

Shouta ground his teeth together, clenching his jaw. "If I have anything to say, that bastard will rot in Tartarus for the rest of his days for what he's done."

"I don't doubt it."

It was almost an entire week before Hawks messaged Shouta to meet with him in the cover of night, saying he had what Shouta asked for. By then, Shouta had only told one other person of the case he had opened: Nedzu, since Shouta could probably use the stoat's smarts and his analytical skills. He hadn't even told his husband yet, which he would probably end up doing tonight if Hawks really had the files he asked for.

Shouta didn't know why he expected Hawks to be more discreet. The man had huge, bright ass red wings attached to his back. Hawks couldn't be discreet if he wanted to. 

And there was Shouta, leaning against the side of an old, abandoned warehouse in the edgy sides of town wearing a black hoodie over his hero costume, the hood pulled over his head and hair shifted to cover his face. As an underground pro, he'd learned that secret meetups and stealth missions were more likely to go unnoticed if he made himself as blended in to his surroundings as humanly possible.

So when Hawks landed a few feet away from him, curling his loudly colored wings into his back to make them seem smaller, Shouta tried━he really tried━not to scowl at him. He failed, obviously, but the effort was there.

Shouta got straight to business. "You got the files?" 

Hawks stuck a hand in his jacket, presumably into a hidden inner pocket, and pulled out a flash drive, wiggling it slightly with a smirk. "I got 'em. Took me a while, but anything you could possibly want to know about Endeavor, incriminating or not, is on here. You got a plan on how to explain to any defense attorneys how you got your hands on the information without getting yourself in trouble?"

"I'll figure something out," Shouta grumbled, taking the flash drive from Hawks with a nod of thanks. "Not my first time around doing these things. If I can't think of anything, we've got Nedzu on our side to help us out."

"Good, we'll likely need him."

Shouta narrowed his eyes. "I still don't know why you're so keen on being such a help in this case. All I originally needed you for was getting me the HPSC files. What's your aim here?"

"I used to be Endeavor's biggest fan," Hawks shrugged. "Then, as I'm sure you've guessed, I met Todoroki Natsuo and he told me the story of how Endeavor treated all of them. I'm kinda disgusted with myself for thinking so highly of him practically my whole life when he was making life hell for his wife and kids behind closed doors."

"Right," Shouta nodded again. "Well, I appreciate your help in this. If this case gets out to the public or the HPSC before we have all the evidence we need for a trial, it could mean bad shit for us."

"I know," Hawks said. "You think you'll be able to get Todoroki Shouto to open up enough to get some more to incriminate his father?"

Shouta sighed. "Possibly. It's hard to tell. He's a sixteen year old kid who's been traumatized and separated from his siblings his entire life. I know he's recently been going to visit his mother to repair that relationship, but it's a slow-going process. They send letters now that U.A.'s got the dorm system in place."

"...Is that worth trying out? Would it be too risky to try getting in to talk to Todoroki Rei?"

"I'm not sure," Shouta shrugged. "From what Natsuo said, she was deemed healthy enough for release a couple years ago. It's just Endeavor's money keeping her in the hospital so he can keep her under a tight leash. Even if she'd be willing to talk to us, it would be hard to get in for a visit without someone on the hospital staff informing Endeavor of our presence and interrogation."

"Theoretically, do you think that if you were able to get in to question her, would it be good for her mental state and recovery process?"

"Again, I'm not sure," Shouta shook his head. "Todoroki Rei is a mystery wildcard. Any move we make with her could possibly be detrimental to this whole case."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out, Eraser."

Shouta scowled. "I'm putting that bastard away even if it means I incriminate myself in the process."

Shouta didn't bother going to bed when he got home. He probably should have, considering his meetup with Hawks ended around 3 AM and he had school the next day, but he didn't. When he got back to his apartment on campus, Shouta made himself a pot of coffee and got his laptop out, settling himself on his couch and getting to work. One of his cats, Teriyaki, was miffed at being woken up by the addition of Shouta's weight on the couch and grumpily mewled in his general direction.

Once the files had downloaded to his laptop, Shouta blinked at the sheer amount that made it's way into his storage. 

Every single incident report and covered-up medical treatment sent wave after wave of utter horror through Shouta's veins. When he got to the incident report for the death of Todoroki Touya, Shouta had his head in his hands trying to regulate his own breathing. How could they have let Endeavor be a supposed pillar of society for so long? There were so many reports of him burning civilians in villain fights without offering them assistance or even apologizing, complaints from citizens and businessmen about property damage that Endeavor refused to pay for. 

He was so out of it that he didn't hear his husband waking up until he heard his voice calling his name.

"Shouta? Why are you still up? It's almost 5 in the morning."

"I can't sleep," Shouta mumbled into his hands. "I have to go through these files for this case."

"Is this the case you've been investigating for the past week and a half?"

"Yeah," he nodded, sniffing and rubbing at his nose. "'Zashi this... This is so much worse than I thought."

Hizashi sat down next to him on the couch and let Shouta curl into his side, pushing Shouta's laptop further away on the coffee table. "Wanna talk about it?"

"I have to get him out of that house, Hizashi," Shouta murmured. "He's not safe there. We need to get him away from his father."

"You need my help?"

Shouta trusted his husband. He could keep the case secret until the time was right. "I've opened a case against Endeavor. It was originally to investigate if he was abusive toward my student, but... it's so much worse. I have to get him out of there."

"Shit..." Hizashi breathed. "Yeah, I can see why you've kept this under a tight lid. Who all knows about it?"

"Nedzu, Detective Tsukauchi, Hawks, myself, and Todoroki Natsuo. Now you as well."

"Is there anything I can do to help out?"

"...I don't know. I just know I have to get Todoroki out of that house. He saved my life, 'Zashi. It's the least I can do."

"If anyone can pull this off, it's you, Shou. You'll figure this out."

"Thanks, 'Zashi."

A few hours later, Shouta walked into class first thing in the morning as the bell rang, practically dead on his feet and on his third pot of coffee.

"Alright class, settle down, sit in your seats, and be quiet. Today is a free study period, don't let it go to waste."

"Sensei!"

Shouta sighed. "Iida, what could you possibly need to question."

"I would like to ask if you are alright, I believe you are bleeding! Part of your costume is darker than the rest, and it looks to me like an injury!"

Looking down, Shouta felt the dampened spot on his costume that his student had pointed out, and cursed under his breath when his fingertips were sticky with blood. "I didn't notice. Thank you, Iida. Stay in your seats, I'll be back. If I hear you've misbehaved, I will not hesitate to give all of you a week's worth of detention."

A chorus of "Yes, Sensei!"s responded, and Shouta sighed, walking back out of his classroom toward Recovery Girl's office.

Looks like he'd ripped his stitches sometime during his all-nighter. Shouta was not looking forward to hearing Hizashi's lecture for that. He was only a couple more days out from being cleared to have them removed, and here Shouta had gone and ripped them. 

He was too tired for this.

Hours later, Shouta sat beside his husband in Principal Nedzu's office. Shouta's stitches ended up having to be redone and now he had to wait even longer to get them out, which neither he nor Hizashi were happy about━Shouta because he hated sitting around idly at their apartment, and Hizashi because he'd been careless and to taken proper care of himself.

"Aizawa-kun," Nedzu smiled, which, creepy as always. "You said you've received the files on Endeavor-san from Hawks? Tell me what you've learned."

So Shouta described, in detail, what he'd read from the HPSC's files thus far. He still hadn't gotten through all of them, there were so many, but just having those files wasn't going to make their case and have Endeavor locked away. Because, technically, he was never supposed to be able to get his hands on the files in the first place.

Hizashi and Nedzu were silent throughout Shouta's recounting of his findings. Even if he hadn't gone through everything yet, Shouta knew that just with what he did know, they already had more than enough to implicate Endeavor in a court of law. No judge in their right mind would allow him to stay on the way he is, no matter now much money Endeavor offered them. 

"I see..." Nedzu tapped the tips of his paws together. "And what do you plan to do to help Todoroki Shouto once you've gotten him out of the household? I suppose he could stay there with his sister, but from what you've told me and what I've heard from your interview with Natsuo, it wouldn't be likely that CPS would allow him to stay with her. I would suggest Natsuo himself, but he's a university student in a medical field, which leaves him barely any time for himself in his personal life, much less the time to care for a teenage boy on top of his studies."

Shouta frowned, but it seemed Hizashi already had an idea, as he blurted, "We'll take him in."

Ah. Shouta liked that idea.

Nedzu raised one of his eyebrows, his paws now flat on his desk. "Oh? How do you mean? Fostering him until adulthood, or legal adoption? Perhaps, now that U.A. is a boarding school, he could even be put under the school's care if you two don't feel prepared enough to take him in."

"No," Shouta shook his head. "He's a child who had nothing short of a traumatizing time growing up. If we can get permission from him, and the rest of his family members besides his father, Hizashi and I would be glad to bring him into our home. It's ultimately up to Shouto what he wants to do once this is all over, and where he wants to go, but our door will be open to him whenever he needs it, regardless."

"In that case," Nedzu shared a meaningful look between them. "We should inform him of what will be happening concerning him and his family situation, should we not? I can call him from his classes for the rest of the day and we can catch him up to speed, if you agree. It's your case, Aizawa-kun, so I leave the call up to you."

"...Bring him in."

Shouto didn't know why he was being pulled out of class. His classmates had all given him curious looks when Principal Nedzu came over the announcements in his classroom to call Shouto out, but Shouto was just as in the dark as they were. He hadn't done anything wrong in training, had he? Did he go too overboard and accidentally hurt one of his classmates? No one had said anything to him, if that was the case.

The only reason he could possibly think of was that his father had been upset with him over something again. He hated the bastard and how much control he had over him, but there wasn't anything he could do about that. At least not until he was of legal age like Natsuo and Shouto could get the hell out of the house, but that was still a couple years away. 

He wasn't expecting both his homeroom teacher and his English teacher to be sitting in waiting for him with the principal when he arrived, that was for sure. Did it have something to do with what he did to help Aizawa? Shouto knew he didn't have the right to do anything with the quite literal no training he had, so now maybe he was being punished for it. His father would not be happy with him for this.

"Todoroki-san," Nedzu said warmly. "Come sit down, would you?"

Shouto nodded and sat down between his two teachers opposite the principal's desk. He said nothing afterward. Why make things worse if he could just sit quietly and take whatever came to him? That usually seemed to work at home, it would be best for him to do the same here.

"I'm not gonna butter anything up and sugarcoat this," Aizawa sighed, turning to Shouto and looking him in the eyes. "I've opened a case against your father."

Shouto blinked. "A... case?"

Yamada frowned. "For the way he treats you, kiddo. There's no excuse for anyone to abuse or neglect their children like Endeavor has, even under the guise of him 'training you'. You... do understand that, don't you?"

"But he's the Number One hero," Shouto said. "There's no point in opening a case against him. It won't do anything."

Aizawa put a gentle hand on his shoulder, shifting Shouto to face him fully. "Kid, it doesn't matter what ranking he is in the hero charts. He's abusive not just to you and your siblings, but to the public as well. Endeavor is going to be put away for his crimes and have his hero license taken from him. I promise you that he can't hurt you anymore."

Shouto clenched his jaw, shaking his head. "It doesn't matter. He'll pay off any judge who will even think about going against him. He has the money for it, and he'll use it."

"We're not going to let that happen, Todoroki-san," Nedzu smiled. "Endeavor is going to be sent away, and there's no one he will be able to pay to get him out of it."

He didn't know what to say. Why were they doing this? Why now? After all this time... his father was going to be punished instead? Not him? 

Echoes of harsh yelling and the sounds of his own agonized shouts rang in Shouto's ears. He could still feel a distant ache in his ribs from nearly two weeks prior when his father had taken to getting his own frustrations on Shouto's failures out on him. 

His hand ghosted over the yellowing bruises covering his abdomen. Was this really happening? It wasn't just one of his childish dreams of Endeavor finally facing justice? His mom, Fuyumi, Natsuo... They would all finally be okay?

"Todoroki," Aizawa broke him out of his thoughts. "We brought you in here because we want to ask you if you're willing to help us on this case. He's your father, and if you don't want to get involved, that's entirely your choice. No one is going to force you into anything you don't want to do, not here. Okay? This is your choice."

"...Does he know yet?"

"No, kid," Yamada shook his head. "Endeavor won't know about this until we've gathered as much evidence as we can. Your brother, Natsuo, has already spoken with Shouta and Detective Tsukauchi to give us his side of the story. If you want to leave now and forget we asked, you're more than welcome to. We wouldn't want to have you bring up painful subjects just for our own benefit for the case. It's all your choice."

Shouto saw the raw honesty in the eyes of his teachers. So, he nodded. "I'll help."

Nedzu grinned, making the hairs on Shouto's arms stand on end. "Wonderful! Now, we do have other things to discuss as well. Regarding yourself, not Endeavor."

"Oh. Me? Why?"

Aizawa nodded. "Yes, you. When Endeavor is put away, CPS is going to be contacted regarding your living situation. Based on what Natsuo told us, you likely won't be living with your sister still, as she's been neglectful to your treatment by your father and hasn't attempted to help you at all, and apparently sympathizes with his actions in hope that he'll change. And with your mother's deteriorated mental state, you won't be able to live with her once she's released and no longer under his influence. So you'll have a choice to make."

"A choice?"

Yamada smiled softly. "You can choose to go into foster care with another family, a group home, or if you'd like... Shouta and I would love to accept you in our home. We're familiar faces that, hopefully, you trust, and we'll take care of you. You don't have to feel obligated to make a decision right away, and we won't think any less of you if you choose not to accept our offer, but we just wanted to make you aware of the fact that the option is absolutely on the table for you."

"I... I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything, kid," Aizawa patted his back lightly. "Just think about it. Know the offer stands."

"...Thanks, Aizawa-sensei, Yamada-sensei."

Yamada grinned. "Anytime, little listener!"

"Todoroki-san," Nedzu said. "For the time being, this case is still very much kept under wraps, and only a select few know of its existence. I understand that you may want to tell your friends about this if they ask about your absence from class, but I must ask that you wait until the time is right and we have gone public with this."

Shouto nodded. "I understand."

Aizawa cut in. "Not necessarily. He should be allowed to have a support system if he wants one. Maybe one or two classmates at most. Is there someone you can think of that you trust enough to share this with? Just to get anything off your chest if you need to?"

Instantly, Shouto's mind thought of Denki. He didn't know why, it wasn't as if he and Denki were the best of friends━Shouto had never even had a best friend. Denki did tell him a while ago to use his given name instead of his family name like everyone else uses, though. He would have considered Midoriya, but Midoriya can't keep a secret from Bakugou to save anyone's life, and Shouto didn't necessarily want Bakugou in his business.

Shouto hummed. "I think so."

Nedzu smiled. "Great! Now, if I may, I have an idea."

"What is it," Aizawa sighed. 

"If we want to gather more evidence to use against Endeavor in a court of law, it would be most beneficial to us to speak to as many members of the family as we possibly can. Now that Todoroki-san is on board with us, we could use this to our advantage and possibly speak to the mother as well. We've already spoken to Todoroki Natsuo and gained his knowledge of things, and he has told us that he doesn't believe their sister will be as willing to speak out against their father, but it is quite possible that Todoroki Rei will speak with us, if not a jury, about her own experiences and past with our current Number One."

Shouto leaned forward. "You can use me."

"Pardon?" Nedzu cocked his head to the side.

"Father will have people at her hospital on his side, and reporting back to him if someone interrogates Mom about him. If he doesn't know yet, that could ruin the chances of this going in favor of the case. So, use me. Now that we live in the dorms, students need to have a teacher shadowing them if they leave campus, right? The only reason I didn't a couple weeks ago was that Father is currently the Number One hero. But if Aizawa-sensei accompanies me to the hospital, we can use the excuse that he's shadowing me for the visit to get in and interview her. It wouldn't rouse any suspicion on his part, since Fuyumi has already told him I've started going to visit her now."

Aizawa mirrored Nedzu's grin. "Good thinking, kid. Logical and effective. We'll make arrangements for this weekend to visit your mother."

Shouto nodded. "I also don't think that her mental state right now would be effected by any questions. Bring up bad memories, yes, but she won't deteriorate back to how she was years ago. She's spent a long time recovering, and her doctors had already cleared her years ago. Mom would have been released years ago if Father wasn't paying the hospital to keep her locked in there."

"Good to know," Yamada said. "That's one less worry for us, then. You want me to come with you two this weekend?"

"Yes," Aizawa said. "If there's a possibility that her son is coming to live under our care, I want her to meet both of us so she'll know that he's going to be in safe hands and treated well, should he decide to accept our offer."

Shouto looked between his two teachers in silent awe, seeing the determined glance they shared with one another. 

They were really serious about taking him into their home.

He had a lot to think about in the coming days.

As the day passed on, Shouto ended up discussing details of the case with Aizawa, Yamada, and Principal Nedzu until hours after classes had ended and school was over for the day. He didn't really want to do anything else for the rest of the night, since the long discussions tired out his brain emotionally and pretty much drained his social battery enough for the next week. 

But, of course, as soon as he got back to his his class' dorm building, he was stopped in the common room for a questionnaire by his classmates.

"Dude, Todoroki! Where've you been all day?!"

"Todoroki-kun, is everything all right?!"

"Where did you go all day, man?!"

Shouto sighed. Why. He just wanted to go to sleep after the day he's had. But no.

After ignoring all of his classmates questions in favor of escaping to his room to lie in relative darkness on his futon, Shouto felt slightly better. His head hurt from all the information that he had gone over with his teachers and principal in that office, and his emotions were everywhere and nowhere all at once. He didn't know how he was supposed to feel, or what he was supposed to do. Was that normal? To feel indifferent to something that also meant everything at the same time? This case would change everything, and yet all he felt was numb. Shouto didn't know how to process this, and it was irking him greatly, but his head was pounding and there was nothing but static, white noise in his brain. 

A knock sounded on his door, and Shouto muffled a sigh into his pillow. "C'min."

"Todoroki? Dude? Shit, it's dark in here. Anyway! You good?"

"Hi, Denki."

"Oh! There you are!" 

Denki shuffled his way over to Shouto's futon in the dark room and sat cross-legged beside it. Shouto rolled over to face him, his blanket still half pulled over his face. "Hi."

"Hey," Denki grinned. He held out his hands. "I made you tea! See!"

Shouto sat up, gently taking the cup from Denki's hands. "Thank you. Why?"

"You looked really like, done with the world when you walked in earlier? And I know you like tea almost as much as Yaomomo does, so I just thought that maybe a cup would make you feel better, even if it's just a little bit? If you don't want it, it's fine! I can take it back to the kitchen! I mean, I've never really made tea myself before and it might not be good, it's probably terrible, actually, but I know my favorite stuff always helps me when I'm feeling shitty, so I just thought... You know what, you probably shouldn't drink it, it's gonna be all watery and I don't think I left the tea bag in long enough and━"

Shouto looked Denki straight in the eyes, and took a sip.

It wasn't the worst tea Shouto had ever drank in his life, but it wasn't the best, either. Still, Shouto appreciated Denki's gesture and took another, longer sip. If only to relieve Denki's worries about Shouto not wanting the whole cup, which he did. 

Denki seemed to relax at this, and Shouto offered the smallest of smiles. "It's good."

"It is? Thank god, I totally thought it was gonna taste like pure leaf water and have literally no taste whatsoever. So like, are you doing okay? You don't have to talk about whatever happened today if you don't wanna, I just... wanted to check up on you? I guess?"

"I don't know how I feel," Shouto frowned. "Just..."

"Head hurty, shitty feely?"

"In other words," Shouto nodded. "Yes, that."

Denki smiled. "I totally get that. Do you want me to go? I can go if you want. I know I'm not the best company when people already have headaches 'cause I talk a lot and I'm annoying so if you want me to leave you be I can totally do that. I just wanted to do something cool and make you some tea, even if it was just plain boiled leaf water."

Shouto shook his head. "You can stay. I like your company."

Denki blinked. "You do?"

"Yes," Shouto said. "You're nice to be around. It makes me feel better."

Red blossomed on Denki's cheeks, so bright that Shouto could see it even in the dark of his room. Denki opened and closed his mouth several times, like he had no idea how to respond, and Shouto smiled again despite himself. He scooted over on his futon, giving a look between Denki and the empty space, and Denki shook his hands for a second before he sat down next to Shouto. 

Shouto tiled his head. "Why do you do that with your hands when you feel happy?"

"Oh, the shaking? Sorry, I know it's probably weird," Denki rubbed the back of his neck. "It's like, an ADHD thing? I do it when I'm excited or happy sometimes when I don't know how to put my feelings into words, it's a stim."

"It's not weird," Shouto said. "I was just curious. I don't think you're weird for being excited or what you do when you are. It makes you who you are as a person, does it not? Why would I judge you for that?"

Denki shrugged. "I dunno. Some people think it's weird, I guess. I'm really glad you don't though, cause otherwise this would've been even more awkward, haha."

Shouto blinked. "What's awkward?"

Denki blushed again. "You know... me sharing your futon with you? You don't think it's awkward? I mean, we're friends, but... some people think that's more of a romantic thing, I guess?"

"I don't think it's awkward," Shouto said. "If you're uncomfortable you don't have to sit with me, I just figured I'd offer since you brought me this tea. I'm sorry if I made you feel awkward, that wasn't my intention."

"No, no, dude, it's cool! No worries!" Denki shook his head rapidly. "This is totally cool, totally awesome and friendly and wow your blankets are soft what the hell."

Shouto chuckled, earning him a wide-eyed look from Denki. Did he really not laugh around his friends? Why did he only laugh in the company of himself? It was that shocking to those who know him to hear him laugh? Wow. Thank you, Father.

"Bro, your laugh is adorable."

Shouto froze. "It... is?"

Denki nodded, jaw dropped open. "What would you do if I just. Said a bunch of terrible jokes in attempt to make you do it again."

He blinked again. "I wouldn't say anything?"

"Cool, cool. So did you know I don't trust staircases? They're always up to something, you know?"

"...But some of them go down, too?"

Denki nodded. "Okay, okay. That one failed. Hey, when two vegans get in an argument, is it still called a beef?"

"I think vegans eat tofu."

"Nope, didn't work either. 'Kay, how about... Oh! I'm on a seafood diet: I see food, and I eat it!"

Shouto softened. "I'll let Lunch Rush know about your food choices if you're uncomfortable with telling him yourself."

"No, I'm not on a━They're jokes, Todo! You're supposed to laugh!"

"Oh," Shouto blinked. "I'm sorry."

"It's all good!" Denki grinned. "I just gotta keep trying! So... what kind of villain hates cows?"

"...I don't know."

"A No-moo!"

Shouto smiled.

"Progress! Okay. Let's see. Oh! Uraraka was reading a book on anti-gravity the other day. She couldn't put it down!"

A snort.

Denki grinned. "Woo! I'm gettin' it! You know, Shishida from Class 1-B used to hate his facial hair, but then it grew on him!"

That got Shouto chuckling again, and Denki's face lit up bright at the sound. "There it is! Ahh! Do you feel better now? Laughing always makes me feel better! Did it work?"

"I think it worked," Shouto grinned and took another sip of his tea. "Thank you, Denki."

"No problem, Todo!"

"You know you can just call me Shouto," he said. "You let me call you Denki, so Shouto is fine."

Denki squeaked into his hands, covering his face. "Okay, Shouto!"

Denki ended up staying with him for a few more hours, and Shouto didn't even realize how late it had gotten until he'd woken up and it was dark outside from the window of his balcony door. His eyes were heavy when he blinked them open, and there was a foreign feeling on his head that he wasn't sure what to make of.

When reality came a little clearer to Shouto, he heard a soft humming noise. It wasn't a slow hum, either, it was Denki humming a quite fast-paced song. Then, he realized what he felt on his head was Denki petting him, running his fingers through his hair and slowly moving singular hairs from one side to the other. His head was also on Denki's shoulder, and they were both lying down now. That was new.

Shouto sighed softly. "I fell asleep."

"It's cool!" Denki smiled. "I was pretty entertained trying to separate your hair from one side to the other! Like, make sure all the red was on the red side and all the white was on the white side. I also have this really catchy English pop song stuck in my head? I don't know what most of it means but I heard Yamada-sensei listening to it from his headphones once and it just kinda like, stuck? I don't know. Did I wake you?"

"No, it's fine. This is relaxing."

"Oh, sick! I didn't want you to think I'm like, irritating or something."

Shouto frowned. "Do you think these things about yourself?"

"Huh?"

"That you're annoying or weird or irritating. Who told you those things?"

"Oh, uh, like... Everyone? My whole life? Besides my family and stuff but like kids in primary school and middle school? A couple of people here, too, but they never talked to me again so I don't really━"

Shouto thumped his forehead, stunning Denki into open-mouthed silence. "You're not."

"I'm... huh?"

"You're not the things they told you. You talk a lot because you have a lot to say, even if sometimes you don't think before you speak. You stim when you're excited or anxious and don't know how to use words. You like to keep your hands busy, and it makes you touchy sometimes. I don't mind it, and I know our classmates don't either. They make you who you are."

Denki buried his face in Shouto's hair and smiled. "Thanks, Shouto."

"For what?"

"You know. Saying all that."

"It's just the truth, though?"

Denki wrapped his arm over Shouto's chest. "You're the best."

"Thank... you?"

"No, dude, thank you! Wait this totally shouldn't be Comfort Denki Time, it's Make Shouto Feel Better time. You were feeling shitty earlier! Are you sure you're good? Did the nap help at all? And the tea? And the stupid corny jokes?"

Shouto sighed into Denki's shoulder. "Aizawa-sensei opened a child abuse case against my father."

Denki inhaled sharply. "Oh, shit... How's that going?"

"It's going as well as it can right now, I think," Shouto said. "It's still a secret to the public, so only a few people know. Aizawa-sensei I could tell a classmate or two I trust. I thought of you when he said that."

"...Me? Why me?"

"Because we're friends, and I trust you. Do you think you can keep it from our classmates until the case goes public?"

"Yeah, dude, absolutely," Denki nodded. "Thanks for telling me."

"...Can I ask another favor?"

"Hm? Yeah, totally!"

"Will you... stay?"

Denki threaded his fingers back through Shouto's hair and pulled his face snugly into his chest. Shouto sighed in content.

"Of course I'll stay."

By the time the weekend came, Shouto had prepared himself for this visit to his mother with his teachers. He'd been nervous for a while, about the things he would have to hear his mom say about his father and what life with him was like before and after he was born. It wasn't something that he ever enjoyed thinking about, since the devolution of her mental state over the years is what ultimately led to her pouring boiling water over his face because his left side looked too much like his father to her in the midst of her breakdown.

Sitting in the backseat of Yamada-sensei's car, Shouto stared out the window at the city outside. He wondered, if he had grown up in a different family, would his life have been normal? Could he have been like the boy on the sidewalk, walking hand-in-hand with his mother carrying half-eaten dango sticks to snack on during their outing. In another life, would he have been that boy smiling so wide with sticky rice flour coating his teeth, swinging his and his mother's joined hands back and forth as they went?

Shouto's phone pinged with a text message, and he tore his gaze away from watching the passerby out the window to look at who it was from.

denki⚡️✨

hi shouto!!!!!

good luck visiting your mom today!!!!

when you get back we should totally hang!!! sound good??

only if u feel like it tho!!!

A smile broke out on Shouto's face, despite the light feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach for the day ahead of him.

shouto 🔥❄️

thank you :)

i'll see you when i come back. meet in your dorm?

 

denki⚡️✨

totally!!! 

see you then !!! <3 !!!!

Shouto had a long day ahead of him, but maybe things were finally going to start looking up for him.

Maybe, once this was all over and done with, he could finally learn what it felt like to be normal. To be happy.