Chapter Text
"Let's go play to your house." Todoroki the master of human interaction said, having had walked up to the plainest kid he could spot.
"Huh? Sure!" Midoriya, equally as talented in the ways of social skills, answered and with that, the two seven years olds left the park, not even knowing each other's names.
They walked in silence for a bit before Todoroki remembered his sister telling him once that first introductions are very important. So it would probably be good to do that now, right?
"Call me Shouto," He said fully intent on hiding his identity. In his naive childish mind, the cap he had on was more than enough to fool anyone... And funnily enough, no one really paid attention to the streaks of hair that peaked out, not matching on the two sides of his head.
"Nice to meet you Shouto! I'm Midoriya Izuku!"
And with that, they arrived at the doors to the latter's house. The boy readily let the stranger in.
"Mom! A friend came over! " He yelled since he wasn't sure how else to put it. The other boy did introduce himself and offered to play together so they are friends, right?
"Oh? Wasn't Katsuki supposed to go to the dentist today?" Into asked walking toward her son and blinking in surprise at the new face. "Hello dearie, you're Izuku's friend? "
Todoroki nodded.
"I'm Shouto."
"Well, I will go make dinner now, play nice boys." The woman said and with a kind smile left for the kitchen.
Izuku, not deterred at all by the strange circumstances, grabbed the other boy's hand and lead him to his All Might-themed room.
"Cozy," Shouto commented because compared to his empty room that always felt too hot, it was really nice.
"Do you like it? All Might is my most favorite hero ever! Who's your favorite hero? "
"I don't know. I hate Endeavour though." Shouto answered because it was very important to check whether the other person can be trusted and such a preliminary conclusion can, clearly, be reached by saying who he hates and seeing the reaction.
"Why? Isn't he the number two hero?" Izuku asked, a bit confused. Isn't everyone supposed to like heroes?
"He's a bad person," Shouto said with all the confidence a seven years old who saw not only his mom but also siblings cry because of their father had. And that was a lot of confidence.
"I guess he does look mean..." Izuku agreed easily enough since his little fanboy heart had endless loyalty only for one hero so far. "Alright then! We don't like Endeavour here!"
And in that exact moment Todoroki decided that this, this is going to be his best friend.
He nodded energetically, a giddy smile that would become extremely rare in just a few months, forming on his lips.
"We don't like Endeavour here." He stated solemnly as if it was a promise, one that couldn't be broken under any circumstances.
"We don't!" Izuku chirped, happy to be able to get along with a new person. A new friend! Yay!
It was becoming harder and harder to hang out with others... Ever since he and then everyone else learned that he’s quirkless.
"We don't!" Shouto repeated in a far louder voice than he was used to, having a lot of fun.
Touya was right! Pretending that he had an extra curriculum and sneaking off to other people’s houses to bad-mouth Endeavour was a lot of fun!
"Hey, do you want to read All Might comics with me? They are completely Endeavour free!"
When Inko came to her son's room with cookies she couldn't help but smile at the two boys laying on the floor, reading one of Izuku's comic books. Her son was doing so out loud, making funny voices while the other boy was listening intently, reading a line from time to time, trying and mostly failing at making impressions.
What a wonderful new friend Izuku had made.
-------------_------------
"Oi! Who are you? I haven't seen you before!" Bakugo demanded angrily, his attitude even worse than usual since this week’s dentist visit didn’t go all that well and he couldn't eat as much candy as before. Which sucks!
"I'm Shouto," Todoroki answered readily, not all that bothered. After all, he was used to a far more dangerous kind of anger, the kind that burns and burns until warmth is associated with pain and freezing ice with the only thing safe in the house.
"He's my friend!" Izuku added and Todoroki nodded.
"Friend? Ha! Who would want to be friends with a useless freak when someone as great as me is around? " Bakugo asked, puffing his chest proudly and showing off his sparks.
Izuku looked down, quietly agreeing. It made sense; Kacchan did have an amazing quirk after all…
"Me," Shouto answered without a beat of hesitation, angering the blond further.
"Didn’t you hear me?! He's a useless freak! You must not know he's quirkless! "
"Now I do," Shouto answered with an unblinking stare, tilting his head slightly before straightening up and turning toward Izuku and showing thumbs up. "Cool."
Izuku blinked having no idea whatsoever how to react to that while Bakugo spluttered.
"What the heck is wrong with you?! Are you useless just like that nerd?! Is this why you're taking his side?!"
Shouto thought about it.
"You're useless." Shouto quipped back since it made perfect sense to say that. If someone just keeps on screaming and getting angry over nothing, it isn't very useful or even logical, right?
That's some useless behavior if Shouto had ever seen one and he sees his father on regular basis.
"I'll show you your place! You bastard!" Bakugo yelled pulling his fist back for a punch.
"Stop it Kacchan!" Izuku yelled, taking a stance before his new friend with his hands outstretched to protect the boy.
"Don't get in my way, stupid Deku!"
Bakugo pushed Midoriya to the ground and it didn't bode well with Todoroki. He froze, yes, the scene too familiar to the many times his mother tried protecting him from his father but this isn't his father. This is some stupid kid, one that Shouto can definitely defeat with his 'perfect' quirk.
A power that the boy never even wanted. A strength that always seemed to hurt others around him... Could it be used for something good? Could he, perhaps, do something with it that his father would not approve of? Yes… That’s the only thing he should use it for.
With those thoughts surging through his mind Shouto pushed Bakugo back and Katsuki actually stumbled back hissing in pain. One of his shoulders felt too hot while the other was freezing.
"What was that, you stupid idiot?! "
Suddenly Shouto remembered that one time Fuyumi took Natsuo's T-shirt and dyed it pink. What she said back then was...
"Heavenly retribution," Shouto answered with a voice devoid of emotions, crossing his arms.
"I'm going to kill you!" Bakugo roared and Todoroki took a fighting stance but Izuku, not wanting any of his friends to get hurt, grabbed Shouto's hand and started running away.
Todoroki just went along with it, not a huge fan of fighting. So the two sprinted away while Bakugo chased them yelling for them to come back so he can kick their asses.
Finally, they lost him and sat under a tree, Izuku breathing heavily while Shouto looked like he could probably run some more.
"I'm sorry for Kacchan... He can be kind of mean sometimes. "
Todoroki scrunched up his eyebrows in thought.
"He's mean so why are you apologizing?"
"Because he's my friend."
It made Shouto look even more thoughtful.
"He seems like a bad friend. Friends shouldn't be mean to each other, right?"
Not according to Fuyumi at the very least. Though she did try to get along with their father so, admittedly, she was rather confusing to him. He still loves her though.
"But... We've always been friends..."
"And he always has been mean? " Shouto prodded wondering why would anyone even try befriending the blond in the first place then.
"No... " Izuku admitted reluctantly. "He started being mean when he learned I don't have a quirk..."
Todoroki has a lot of emotions even if he usually doesn’t look like he has any. He’s young and they all are really confusing. He hates his father but a part of him wants to be accepted by him too. He loves Fuyumi but her approach to things, to father, confuses him. He loves Touya too but his oldest brother can be kind of... Uncaring at times. Natsuo is cool but seems kind of far away. And mom is amazing but she has… Bad days. More and more often.
Izuku is... Nice. Shouto likes him and he feels like the other boy actually cares about what he has to say. Sure he hadn't known his friend for very long but that’s just a matter of time.
That's why he decided to be very honest.
"If someone starts treating you differently because of your quirk... They aren't a very good person." He stated.
"Kacchan isn't a bad person!"
"He's bad to you."
Izuku was quiet for a bit.
"But he's my friend... "
"I'm your friend too. And I won't be mean because of your quirk... Well, lack of."
Midoriya blinked, looking unsure.
"Really...?"
"Really," Shouto answered readily and then got an idea. "We don't like him here. "
Izuku looked a bit confused before promptly giggling, remembering yesterday.
"We don't like him here! " He yelled, not because he meant it but because it felt a bit like a game, maybe a ritual or even a promise. Of what though? He wasn't sure.
"We don't. " Todoroki said nodding solemnly and Izuku tried to mimic his expression. He failed miserably but still went:
"We don't! "
And with that, he slowly stopped following Kacchan. He rather spends time with his new friend that is actually nice rather than the blond that hurts him for fun...
And sure sometimes Shouto is nowhere to be seen but he assured Izuku that he came here as often as he could and Midoriya believes him wholeheartedly!
They quickly grew to be best of friends.
-------------_------------
It was the seventh month of their friendship when Shouto suddenly disappeared; Izuku didn't see him at all for the whole two weeks!
And then the boy came looking far more tired and with a burn scar around his eye.
'Are you all right? ' froze on Izuku's lips when Shouto opened his mouth.
"We don't like Endeavour here. " He said in a strange choked tone that sounded so angry yet so very empty.
Still, for some reason, Midoriya instantly knew how to answer. He hugged his friend.
"We don't like Endeavour here!" He answered with so much conviction, such a dire need to reassure his friend, that Shouto couldn't help but sob into his friend's shoulder.
Because even if Midoriya had no way of knowing what had happened, Shouto felt as if the boy understood him. He was tired of his siblings trying to avoid him, of them being unsure how to act and what to do now that mom was gone.
Shouto knew they didn’t blame him, he thinks so at least. They surely realized it was Endeavour's fault. But he was like the means that enabled their father to finally break her and no one in the family knew what to do about that... How to interact with Shouto who although a victim had also been – to a certain point – the reason for their mom’s mental breakdown.
"Do you want to eat cookies and watch movies? It makes me feel better when I'm sad... " Izuku offered and to be completely honest Shouto didn't want that. But he didn't know what he wanted so he nodded and the other boy let go of the hug. It was fine though because he kept on firmly holding Shouto's hand.
Shouto didn’t say anything when they arrived at a familiar house. Didn’t greet Inko, didn't even answer when she asked him if he was alright. Instead, Izuku said that Shouto was sad.
The boy didn't give much of a reaction as his friend pulled him toward the sofa and then put a blanket around him. He didn't even thank for the cookies and tea that were put on the table for him. But he did try to focus on the movie about a little mermaid that fell in love and sold her voice to be with her crush.
He liked it. Especially the way her father had been left in the water, unable to reach her. Sure she did return to her home at one point but in the end, she chose to stay on the land. It was her decision. She was free. He felt jealous but...
He looked toward Izuku that glanced so very often from the movie to him.
"Thank you. I... I feel better. " Todoroki said quietly. He didn't feel fine but he was a bit more ready to face his home. His siblings.
"Really? I'm happy then! I was really worried... Do you want some cookies? "
Todoroki wasn't hungry. He didn't want to eat or even drink and yet he took one single cookie. He didn't nibble at it. He just held it in his hand for the remainder of the visit, the whole way back home, when Fuyumi opened her mouth, closed it, and then quickly left the room he was in... When his father returned home. He still held it as he want to sleep.
Because it was his only way of comfort in this uncomfortably hot house.