Gonna Kiss You On the Boulevard - BearfootTruck - 僕のヒーローアカデミア

Chapter 1: Wednesday Night

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It was a crisp late summer night in Musutafu City, and Izuku “Deku” Midoriya was walking down Banaizu Boulevard, having gotten the biggest shock of his life ever since he saw All Might in his usual form. Months earlier, Shoto Todoroki – one of the manliest and most handsome boys in UA High’s Class 1-A – had revealed that he was in fact Shoko Todoroki. This had earned varying reactions from the rest of his…er, her…classmates, from Katsuki “Kacchan” Bakugo yelling at her for not being up front with him, to Minoru Mineta perving out, to all of the girls giving her their full support, with Momo Yaoyorozu and Kyoka Jiro being her biggest supporters.

It had been an overwhelming day for Todoroki, but aside from the girls supporting her, perhaps the most meaningful support came from Deku, who told her how proud he was of her and promised to stand up against anyone who so much as thought of laying a finger on her. The first time he’d laid eyes on Todoroki, he’d found her somewhat attractive as a boy, more so at the Sports Festival when they were having their little chat before their match at the battle tournament, wondering why he couldn’t control his heartbeat and his urge to sweat around her. However, he never imagined he’d find her strolling right next to him, her hair grown in a 60s-style flipped bob, with a figure to rival Yaoyorozu’s, and quite frankly, he still wasn’t sure how to handle this, but he did his best…

“So, Todoroki…”

“Please, call me Shoko.”

“Right. So anyways, I just wanted to say…I…I’m still trying to process you as a girl. I mean, I’m proud of you for being brave enough to reveal your true colors, but I’m really not good at the whole love thing.”

“I’m not good at it, either. All I know is that your actions at the Sports Festival touched me like nothing else could, and I owe you a debt of gratitude for your help.”

Deku smiled nervously. “I…I’m glad!”

Deku and Todoroki said nothing else as they strolled along the boulevard. One thing that Deku couldn’t help but notice about the boulevard was that it was frequented by furui tetsu no aiko-ka, a subculture of people who imported old American cars, trucks and vans from the 60s-70s and held cruise nights here. Though similar in principle to the Swedish raggare, the furui tetsu no aiko-ka not only differed in their vehicles of choice, but also preferred to listen to 60s-70s psychedelic rock, hard rock, blues rock and proto-metal. Some of the vehicles retained their left-hand steering wheels, but some were also converted to right-hand drive by an Australian company. Speaking of Australian, aside from the usual Chevy Camaros and Ford Econolines, some of them imported Australian cars such as Holden Monaros and Ford Falcons. To Deku, it was almost like being in a different world, and with Todoroki by his side, it felt that much more surreal. At one point, Todoroki gently tugged at Deku’s hand, and they stopped.

“Why are we stopping?” asked Deku.

“This street light…it’s so secluded. Isn’t it romantic?”

“Um…”

Before Deku could answer, Todoroki wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. Despite the heat rushing to his face along with the redness, he nevertheless wrapped his arms around her as well. For years, he had dreamed of being a hero just like All Might, but until he met Todoroki, he never once imagined that being a hero could mean doing something as simple as helping somebody to come to terms with their identity. Nevertheless, in this moment, he felt extremely proud of himself, knowing that he’d helped liberate a poor, unloved soul from the crushing oppressiveness that came not only from having to hide who she was, but also letting someone else define half of her Quirk. That, and he also got a great deal of joy from experiencing her soft, sensitive side.

Todoroki got a great deal of joy from kissing Deku, too. The first time she laid eyes on him, she thought he was the absolute cutest green bean ever. However, owing to the fact that she was masquerading as something she wasn’t, she would’ve been hugely embarrassed to try to make any moves on him, not that she cared if people were going to mistake her for a gay man, but more so that he would’ve turned her down and told her that he wasn’t into men. Now that she was free to share her feelings with him, she could feel her body tingling from the excitement of laying her affections on him. The more time she spent holding him, the closer she felt to him. Overall, this was heaven for both of them, though even heaven couldn’t last forever, and eventually, they broke away from the kiss, but kept making eye contact with each other, smiling.

“I love you, Midoriya.”

“I love you too, Shoko. Also…”

“Yes?”

“Please…call me Deku.”

“A cute nickname. How did you get it?”

“Well, Kacchan came up with it because he thought it was short for ‘Defenseless Izuku’, but Uraraka told me how much she loved it, and since then, it’s grown on me!”

“Well, then you should keep using it. It suits you very well.”

Deku said nothing else, simply chuckling at Todoroki’s kindness. Even if the future hadn’t been written in stone, thus far, he felt the future was looking more hopeful with her by his side.

Chapter 2: Failure Is Always an Option

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Deku and Todoroki rushed around a corner, having been forced into a hasty retreat by the League of Villains. The two heroes had prepared as well as they could, and they tried their best, but the League had a couple of trump cards up their sleeves. Both of them huffed and puffed as they tried to cool down.

“Looks like we’ve lost them for now,” said Todoroki.

“Yeah, but they’re still out there, looking for us!” exclaimed Deku. “Seriously, why do I even bother sometimes!?”

“Deku, it’s OK! We’re still alive, aren’t we?”

Deku pounded his fist on the side of the building they were next to. “No! I wasn’t strong enough! I should’ve been able to beat them!”

Todoroki put a hand on Deku’s shoulder. “I understand you’re angry, and you have every right to feel that way. Just know that you have a choice in this matter: you can choose to let this failure define you and cease to keep trying, or you can choose to look back on this as a learning experience and use that knowledge to do better next time.”

Deku said nothing; he merely shook his head. Todoroki wrapped her arm around him.

“I realize it’s not so easy for you to deal with, but I promise you, I’ll always be there for you, and I’ll always love you.”

“Shoko…”

Finally, Deku turned around, and after making brief eye contact with Todoroki, he gave her a big hug and cried. Despite still being frustrated with the retreat he was forced to make, he just found her words so comforting and reassuring that he just couldn’t help but be thankful that he had someone like her by his side to take solace in. After all those years of being Quirkless, he wondered how he could’ve gone on so long without her to alleviate the pain of being bullied. Nevertheless, he tried not to lament the years without love so much as he tried to be grateful that she was there for him. He wondered if she was an angel. Whatever she was, he couldn’t have asked for a better person to be with.

Todoroki couldn’t have asked for a better person to have in her arms, either. After Deku had given her the courage to use the Hot portion of her Quirk at the Sports Festival, she knew that he was the kind of guy that she wanted to be in love with, and now that she was here, giving him her love, she felt really good about herself, especially considering that she was giving him comfort in his hour of need. While she didn’t have an intimate understanding of how much hurt the little green bean been through in the past, holding him in her arms, she felt that he must’ve felt really messed up inside to feel awful about something like this. Because of this, she elected to hold him in her arms as long as possible. He stopped crying at one point, but he too kept holding on to her. He did let go eventually, but not before both of them had gotten their fair share of comfort.

“I’ll always love you, too,” said Deku.

Todoroki smiled and gave Deku some tissues, which he used to blow his nose and dry his eyes.

“Hey Deku, if it’s all right with you, I’d like to take you out to dinner. I know this place that has really good katsudon.”

Deku gasped and smiled. “I’d love to! Let’s go!”

Deku and Todoroki held hands as they headed for the restaurant. Even if the League of Villains was still out there, at least he could rest easier knowing that he had the kindest, most beautiful girl by his side.

Chapter 3: Romantic Dinner

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Todoroki took Deku to a small neighborhood restaurant called Karuichi Soba & More. It wasn’t especially packed, though there were quite a few students studying on their laptops. This particular restaurant had a ticket machine in one corner where patrons ordered their food.

“After you!” Deku gestured to the machine.

Todoroki walked up to the machine and inserted a few yen. Some of the choices lit up based on how much she’d put in, so she inserted more until she had enough for her favorite: zaru soba, which she ordered along with a cup of Keemun tea. The machine spat out some change along with two food tickets in a separate tray. Deku went next, but then Todoroki gently grabbed his hand.

“Allow me to pay for your food,” said Todoroki. “You deserve it!”

“Awww, thank you so much!”

Todoroki smiled. “You’re welcome!”

After Todoroki put some money in for Deku, he stepped up to order. Fortunately for him, this particular restaurant had katsudon on their menu, so he ordered that along with some Sencha green tea. After Deku had collected his tickets, him and Todoroki took a couple of stools at the counter, being fortunate enough to find two adjacent seats. They then handed the tickets to one of the staff members at the counter.

“Thank you!” said Deku and Todoroki.

While waiting for their food, Deku and Todoroki made conversation:

“So, how long have you known about this place?” asked Deku.

“Actually, I discovered it two months ago while looking up places that serve zaru soba. One review mentioned that the katsudon here was really good, and I know you love that, so I made note of it just for you.”

“You memorized this place just for me? Shoko, you’re so sweet!”

Todoroki blushed. “Well…I tried!”

“By the way, has anyone told you that you look beautiful today?”

Todoroki averted her gaze. “Oh, I…um…does that mean I don’t look beautiful on other days?”

Deku laughed.

“What?” said Todoroki.

“Oh, you crack me up!” said Deku. “Seriously, though, what I meant to say was that you look especially beautiful today!”

“How so?”

“Well…I mean, it’s not just the way the sun makes your hair glow, or the fact that you have a really nice body, it’s the way I get lost in your differently-colored eyes, the seductive breathiness in your voice when you tell me how you made note of this place just for me, the…”

Todoroki covered her face with her hands. “Stop!”

Deku frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“I…I’m glad you think so highly of me, but…I…I just…I still don’t know how to be a girl.”

Deku put a hand on Todoroki’s shoulder and smiled. “I dunno, I think you’re doing an all right job of it so far.”

“How? All my life, my father tried to make me into a boy, always pushing me during his training, and this girl stuff is still so confusing.”

“I realize it’s confusing, but if there’s anything I learned from life, it’s that there’s no manual on how to go through it. Only you can decide how to be a girl.”

Todoroki uncovered her face. “All right…I’ll try my best. I do, however, have another concern…”

“What?”

Todoroki grabbed her well-endowed chest. “I still feel funny knowing I have these. I will admit, however, it is liberating not to have to wear a binder anymore.”

“I mean, I’d feel pretty funny, too, but hey, haven’t lots of people felt funny during puberty, too?”

Todoroki nodded. “That is a good point.”

By this time, Deku and Todoroki’s food was ready, and they started eating. Deku let out a hearty “mmmm” when he took his first bite of katsudon. The way the panko breading made it crunch and the fact that the flavor practically took his senses to Mars meant that he had one response for Todoroki:

“This IS really good katsudon! Shoko, I knew there was a reason I was so attracted to you!”

Todoroki swallowed some noodles and raised an eyebrow. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it, but…did you really know there was a reason?”

Deku laughed again.

“Why are you laughing?” said Todoroki.

“I-I’m sorry! I just think you’re so lovely!”

Todoroki stared at Deku briefly, but then broke out into a smile.

“Oh Deku, you’re so cute!”

Todoroki wrapped her arms around Deku and ruffled the green bean’s fluffy hair, causing him to giggle.

“Tell me: how long have you been attracted to me?” asked Deku.

“I have to be honest: ever since I first saw you, I thought you were the cutest boy ever. Granted, the fact that I was still pretending to be a boy at the time made things very weird for me, but now that I don’t have to pretend, I feel much more comfortable opening up to you!”

Deku put a hand on Todoroki’s shoulder and smiled. “Shoko, you shouldn’t have to worry about what other people think of you just because of how you identify! As long as you’re comfortable being yourself, that’s what really matters!”

Todoroki averted her gaze, but continued smiling. “I know. I was just worried that my father wouldn’t accept me, you know?”

Deku nodded. “I understand. By the way, I really love the way you did your hair! Why do you do it like that?”

Todoroki turned back to Deku. “Well, I was watching this old movie, and one of the characters had her hair done like this, and I thought she was so pretty, and I just wanted to be as pretty as her.”

Deku wrapped an arm around Todoroki. “Well, however pretty she was, I bet you’re at least a thousand times prettier!”

Todoroki cupped Deku’s face in her hands. “Deku, if you keep saying nice things to me, I’m gonna kiss you!”

Deku’s face turned bright red. “You know, for somebody who’s not sure how to be a girl, you’re really good at flirting!”

“Well…I do have a cute boy to thank for that.”

Without question, Todoroki kissed Deku. No matter how many times she kissed him, he still got that tingly, chilly feeling running up and down his spine, and he could never quite get enough of it. Even so, she broke away from it shortly thereafter.

“Why’d you stop?” asked Deku.

“As much as I love you, I also want to make sure our food doesn’t go to waste. Before we continue eating, however, I also wanted to ask why you do your hair like that.”

Deku stroked his chin. “I’m not sure. All I know is that it’s easier to take care of like this.”

“Keep it like that! It looks good on you!”

Deku giggled. “Oh, Shoko!”

===

After Deku and Todoroki finished eating and drinking, they stared lovingly at each other for some time before leaving the restaurant.

“Hey, Shoko…”

“Yes?”

“I can’t thank you enough for taking me here! May I walk you back home?”

Todoroki smiled. “I’m glad you asked! Please do!”

And so, Deku and Todoroki held hands as they walked back to Casa de Todoroki. At this time of the season, the sun was still sinking below the horizon later in the day, so there was plenty of light for the two lovebirds to walk by. As the sky gradually cast away its shades of yellow, Deku looked at Todoroki and couldn’t help but notice how the sun’s golden rays gave her bi-colored hair an ethereal glow. When the green bean first saw her hair, he really thought that snow white really went well with that wine red, so much so that he envied her. On the other hand, he was perfectly content with his own shade of dark green, and he figured that she would probably kill for that shade, too. One of these days, he vowed to ask her out just to watch the sunset, figuring maybe that she’d want to see it with him, too. Thinking on this, he also thought about how it had been a hell of a time since the two of them started going out. Even if she wasn’t 100% accustomed to acting like a girl, he thought she was doing well at it so far, and he was confident that she would shine in womanhood. Granted, he didn’t know what the future was going to be like, but he was hopeful that this woman – who at one point had been a fierce rival to him – would want to share in it with him. Soon enough, they reached la Maison de Todoroki.

“Well, I guess this is good night,” said Todoroki.

Deku nodded. “I guess it is. But, there’ll always be tomorrow, and the day after that, right?”

Todoroki wrapped her arms around Deku. “Right.”

Once again, Todoroki kissed Deku. Compared to the kiss at Karuichi, this one lasted longer, the better for her to make him melt like butter. Despite wanting to pass out in her arms, he wanted more of her touch. Even so, she let go eventually.

“Good night, my dear Deku!”

“Good night, my dear Shoko!”

With that, Deku and Todoroki parted ways. Even if they’d had a narrow loss to the League of Villains, both parties felt that love would win the day in the end.

Chapter 4: Mama Mama Mama, Let Me Drive Your Car

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Thus far, today was another average morning for Deku. After being awakened by the sound of Danny Elfman’s Batman theme from his alarm clock, he headed out to the dining room, where his mother Inko had already prepared him a breakfast of grilled fish, miso soup, steamed rice, tsukemono, nori and a green salad, plus a hot cup of green tea.

“Hey, how’s my little hero doing today?” asked Inko.

Deku took his seat. “Ah, I had a weird dream last night, but other than that, I’m fine!”

Inko got a more serious look on her face. “Oh? What about?”

Deku shrugged. “I honestly don’t remember too much of it, but I remember it was like nothing I’d dreamed before.”

Inko smiled. “But you’re still here today, aren’t you? It was only a dream.”

Deku nodded and took a bite of his fish. Sure, it was only a dream, but those had to make him wonder sometimes.

===

After breakfast, Deku took care of his dental hygiene and did his daily workout, which mainly consisted of pushups, pullups and dumbbell curls. After that, he did nothing in particular. There were no classes scheduled for today, no special programs, no obligations in general. Knowing that he had all this free time to himself, Deku was at a loss as to what to do at first, but then when he fired up his computer, he decided to play GoldenEye on an N64 emulator. However, his GoldenEye ROM was unique in that it was modded so the player was playing as All Might, and all the enemies and NPCs were replaced with villains and heroes that the Symbol of Peace had encountered in his travels. Because a keyboard and mouse just wouldn’t do, he controlled the game using an N64 controller hooked up to the computer via a USB adapter. Even though he’d played the game several times over, it still gave him great joy to blow away KF7-wielding bad guys, and this mod was one of the things that kept it fresh. Then, while he was wasting enemies, he heard John Williams’ Superman theme, which was the ringtone for his phone, so he paused the game and answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Deku, it’s Shoko.”

“Oh, good morning, Shoko! How are you?”

“I’m doing all right. And you?”

“I’m fine!”

“Good to hear. Listen, I called because I was wondering if it was OK if I paid a visit to you.”

“Of course! Feel free to come on over!”

“Thank you. I’ll be there soon. Goodbye.”

“Bye!”

Deku hung up. Ever since that fateful kiss on the boulevard, there hadn’t been a single person whom he’d been looking forward to seeing more than her, and now that she was paying a visit to him, he was looking forward to it that much more. He tried playing some more GoldenEye to while away the time until she got there, but considering that the mere thought of seeing her was causing his heart to race and his body heat to rise, it was very difficult to concentrate on the game. Nevertheless, he tried his best. Eventually, he heard knocking on his door.

“Come in.” Deku paused the game.

The door opened, and Inko stepped in.

“Izuku, one of your friends is here!”

Figuring it was who he thought it was, Deku headed for the door. Sure enough, Todoroki was waiting for him.

“Deku!”

Todoroki gave Deku a big hug and kiss, which he gladly returned.

“Glad to see you, Shoko! What brings you over here?”

Todoroki dangled a set of keys. “I thought we could go for a little drive.”

“Oh? Since when do you own a car?”

“I’ve had it for a while. Now please, come along.”

After Deku had put on his shoes, Todoroki led him outside to her car. He gasped when he saw it: a Matador Red 1972 Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency with a white vinyl roof.

“Whoa, that is a NICE car!” said Deku. “Where did you get that?”

Todoroki smiled. “I had it specially imported. Now, enough talk; let’s drive.”

Todoroki handed the keys over to Deku, who eyed them curiously.

“Um…are you sure you want me to drive?”

Todoroki put a hand on Deku’s shoulder. “Of course I’m sure! Besides, I trust you more than anyone else.”

Deku smiled nervously. “Well…OK…”

Deku hopped in the driver’s seat of the big Oldsmobile, buckling his seatbelt like a good little green bean, and Todoroki sat next to him. He smiled as the velour seating caressed his body. After that, he fired up the engine and got quite a rush from hearing that 455 Rocket V8 sound. After taking in the mighty V8 for a few seconds, he put the car in “Drive” and drove off. At first, he was quite nervous about handling such a slab of American iron on tight Japanese roadways, but as time went on, he grew to appreciate not only how responsive the gas pedal was, but also how smoothly the car drove.

“Hey, thanks for letting me drive!” said Deku. “This handles really well!”

“Yeah, and it’s really luxurious, isn’t it?”

“I’ll say! By the way, do you mind if I listen to the radio?”

“I don’t usually listen to the normal radio stations, but since you’re driving, I’ll allow it.”

“Great!”

Deku turned on the radio and tuned it until he found the station he was looking for…

“Hey, it’s Moriko in the Midday on 78.5 JOHY, Shizuoka’s number-one classic rock station! Here’s Foghat covering an old Muddy Waters tune: ‘I Just Want to Make Love to You’!”

Deku smiled as the song came on. He’d always loved classic rock, and Foghat was one of those bands that was always good with him. While Todoroki was more into heavy metal, she thought this song was pretty good, and she understood why he loved it so much. There they were, cruising through the streets of Musutafu, taking in the sights. Despite running into a bit of traffic in addition to a few red lights, neither of them felt extremely frustrated. After all, they had no place in particular to go today, so there was no rush. Besides, Deku was really enjoying the fact that Todoroki’s car was getting more than a few looks from pedestrians.

“Hey, Deku…”

“Yes?”

“If you don’t mind, there’s some place I wanted to show you…”

“Where?”

“Just follow my directions. First, we turn left at this next light.”

Deku obeyed Todoroki’s directions. In due time, their course took them out of the city, through smaller towns such as Fujieda and into the countryside, the radio playing songs such as “Photograph” by Def Leppard, “Girls Got Rhythm” by AC/DC and “Looks That Kill” by Mötley Crüe. While Deku was still getting his fair share of enjoyment out of driving Todoroki’s car, he had to wonder just where she was taking him. Then again, she did say that she trusted him, and if that was the case, then he was probably better off trusting her as well. Eventually, Todoroki’s directions led them to a dirt path that went to a secluded area in the forest.

“Park here,” said Todoroki.

Deku put the Oldsmobile in “Park” and shut off the engine.

“What are we doing here?” Deku unbuckled his seatbelt.

Todoroki unbuckled as well. “This is a spot I always go to when I want peace and quiet. Of course, now that you’re here…”

Todoroki wrapped her arms around Deku and laid him down on the bench seat as she kissed him. There was no question in his mind where she wanted to go with this, but of course, he was more than willing to let her have his way with him.

Chapter 5: Hero Days, Disco Nights

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Todoroki sat at her vanity, wearing a white thigh-high dress, applying makeup. At first, after outing herself, she’d never thought much about makeup, but now that she was with Deku, she spent time learning how to apply it, with a good deal of training coming from her sister Fuyumi. On a night like tonight, she was obsessive about applying it, mainly because she wanted everything to be perfect for her little green bean. Tonight, he had invited her to Club 1186, one of the hottest discos in Musutafu City. Ordinarily, she didn’t think much of disco music, but he had told her how much it would mean to him if he had somebody to go with, and since she loved him very much, she agreed to go with him. While Todoroki was still applying her makeup, she heard somebody knocking at her bedroom door.

“Hold on a minute!” said Todoroki.

“Sis, your boyfriend’s here!” said Fuyumi.

“Tell him to wait a minute!”

“Gotcha!”

Todoroki tried to apply her remaining makeup as quickly as possible, but also tried to be neat, too. Fortunately, she managed to do so without messing up, and she headed for the door. There was Deku, wearing a brown suit with black pinstripes, a white button-down shirt and a black bowtie. She smiled when he saw him.

“Deku, you look very handsome tonight!” said Todoroki.

Deku giggled. “Speak for yourself! You look stunningly beautiful!”

Todoroki blushed, but kept smiling. “You’re so sweet! Now enough delaying, let’s go!”

===

Deku and Todoroki headed to Club 1186. Formerly the Horikoshi Theatre, it had been converted into a disco in 1979 and had survived throughout the rise and fall of disco by catering to different groups. The lobby was basically unchanged from the building’s theater days, save for some neon lighting around the admissions desk.

After paying their entry fees, Deku and Todoroki headed for the dance floor. Ever since they’d approached the front door of the club, they could feel the music beckoning them to the dance floor thanks to the club’s Graebar sound system. In the lobby, the music was starting to fill them up, and by the time they got to the dance floor, it was really taking them higher. The lighting system was something to behold: a series of disco balls of varying sizes hanging at different heights above the dance floor, plus a green laser shining at random disco balls in sync with the music. As if that weren’t enough, the walls were dotted with small strobe lights that sparkled in random patterns, also in sync with the music.

Speaking of the music, the DJ’s current selection was “Deliverance” by Space. Granted, the song was currently in the slow piano-laced intro phase, but it was enough to entice Deku and Todoroki to the dance floor. Once that disco beat kicked in, the laser started cycling faster, and Deku and Todoroki really got up and boogied. Despite having been a fan of disco music for a few years now, Deku had always been too shy about going to a club, feeling that it would be silly to go by himself, but now that he had Todoroki to dance with, it gave him great joy. He didn’t mind that tonight was one of those nights where the club was really hopping, either. After all, nobody paid any particular attention to either of them, so they were free to dance and get lost in the music and lights. Right now, he was having the time of his life, and the more he danced with her, the more he wanted to come back on some other night.

Todoroki was really enjoying herself, too. What she really loved about the experience was how the music spoke to her. Hearing the repeated chants of “deliverance”, it reminded her of how Deku gave her deliverance from the inhibitions she had in regards to the “hot” portion of her Quirk, which led to her finding the courage to out her true identity to the rest of her class. Sure, heavy metal had always been her greatest love when it came to music, but this disco song was really speaking to her in ways that metal never had. Given how much she was enjoying dancing with her beau as well, she decided that disco was a genre of music she could really get into.

===

Deku and Todoroki danced for at least a couple of hours before deciding to call it a night. They exited Club 1186 holding hands with each other, smiles on their faces.

“Deku, thanks for taking me tonight! This was one of the best times I’ve ever had!”

“Actually, I should be thanking you, Todoroki! For such a long time, I was hoping that I could find somebody to come to this place, and now that I had you to come along with me, I wanna go back!”

Todoroki wrapped her free arm around Deku. “You and me both!”

Once again, Todoroki kissed Deku. While he enjoyed her kisses regardless, the fact that he could still feel the music within him made this one that much more sensual. She held onto him for quite a bit of time before letting go.

“Deku…would you like to come back to my place?”

Deku frowned. “I would…but what would your father think?”

Todoroki smiled. “Who says he needs to know? Besides, he’s out of town on business.”

Deku’s smile returned. “Good point. I accept!”

Todoroki said nothing else as she took Deku’s hand and they headed back to her place for the night.

Chapter 6: Die With Your Boots On

Chapter Text

Today had started off like any other day in New York City for Deku and Todoroki…that is, until they boarded the subway at the Mt. Eden Ave station. At some point between The Bronx and Manhattan, a group of four men wielding AKM assault rifles had brought the train to a halt and held all the passengers hostage. Their demand was simple: the NYC government was to pay them ten million dollars, or they would kill one hostage every minute the money was late. Supposedly, the mayor agreed to pay the ransom, but in reality, it was a trap set up by the NYPD’s Emergency Service Unit to ensnare the terrorists.

Thus far, in spite of the imminent threat to their lives, Deku and Todoroki managed to remain calm. In Deku’s case, he had faith that somehow, both he and Todoroki would get out of this alive. As for Todoroki, she kept her cold as ice demeanor about her as usual. Suddenly, a burst of machine gun fire rang out from somewhere in the subway tunnel, and various people on the train panicked, wondering just what was going on. A couple of terrorists fired back, filling the subway with the familiar AK chatter. For one hot New York Minute, the tunnel sounded more like Vietnam than the Big Apple, and most of the hostages kept losing their minds even after the shooting stopped.

“All of you, SHUT UP!” shouted one of the terrorists. “SHUT UP NOW!”

The hostages who had been screaming their lungs out did as they were told.

“You, conductor!” The same terrorist – presumably the leader – shook his AKM at the conductor. “Out of the train…NOW!”

The conductor – a man of average build with brown hair and a goatee – raised his hands and complied with the leader’s order. He made it a few yards before the terrorist shot him in the back with a brief burst, causing a bunch more people to scream. Despite this, Deku and Todoroki remained calm throughout the ordeal. Holding each other’s hands definitely helped.

“Attention, whoever’s in the train, this is Sergeant Gershon Maekawa of the NYPD!” said a voice from within the tunnel. “We’re sorry about the shooting, and we’re bringin’ the money over! No tricks, we promise!”

“There better not be any tricks, or another hostage will die!” said the terrorist leader.

Sgt. Maekawa began to approach the train, holding a large gym bag full of money.

“Remove your service pistol before you approach!” said the leader.

Maekawa slowly drew his Glock 17 from its holster and dropped it between the train tracks. He then approached the train slowly, praying that the terrorists’ leader wouldn’t tear him apart with 600 rounds per minute of 7.62x39mm lead. The hostages all looked on with a mix of fear and hope as well. Fortunately for Maekawa, he was able to make it to the train and hand over the money.

“Thank you for your cooperation!” said the leader. “Now if you’ll excuse us…”

Another terrorist at the train’s controls set the train in motion.

“WAIT!” exclaimed Maekawa. “This wasn’t part of the deal!”

“Tsk tsk, deals are meant to be broken!” said the leader.

Various people on the train freaked out when the train set off, so the leader fired his AKM at the ceiling.

“The next person who screams is going to get shot!” said the terrorists’ leader. “Is that clear!?”

Everyone else did their best to suppress screaming lest they receive 7.62x39mm death.

“Good,” said the leader. “It’s been fun, but we’ll have to get off here. See you never!”

The four terrorists hopped off the train near the next station before it started picking up significant speed.

“What’s going on!?” said one passenger.

“Is anyone even driving!?” said another.

“WE’RE GONNA DIE!” screamed another.

Todoroki got up from her seat and flashed an NYPD detectives’ shield. “Nobody’s going to die! I’m a cop! Deku, stop the train; I’m going after the terrorists!”

“Right!”

Todoroki tucked and rolled as she hopped off the train, while Deku flashed his own detectives’ shield.

“All right, everyone, I’ll do my best to stop the train!” said Deku. “Please, try to remain calm!”

Everyone watched as Deku headed for the engine and discussed the situation amongst themselves. Stopping the train seemed easy enough…that is, until Deku got to the controls and not only discovered that the motorman was laying on the floor with his throat slit, but the terrorists had sabotaged the dead man’s switch.

(All right, keep your cool, Izuku. I’m sure you’ll figure this out!)

===

Meanwhile, Todoroki was running through the subway tunnel, chasing after the terrorists. She detached an Uzi from its DeSantis rig concealed beneath her M65 field jacket and brought it to bear.

“NYPD, FREEZE!” shouted Todoroki.

Instead of freezing like they were supposed to, the terrorists raised their AKMs at Todoroki and attempted to blow her away. Fortunately, she blocked their bullets with an ice shield and returned fire. In comparison to the terrorists, she had better aim, killing two and hitting a third in the leg. Not wanting them to get away, she started ice surfing in an attempt to catch up. She easily caught up to the terrorist who’d been shot in the leg, but his accomplice was nowhere to be found.

“HALT!” shouted Todoroki.

The terrorist dropped his rifle and immediately put his hands up.

“Get on your knees and interlock your hands behind your head!”

The terrorist complied with Todoroki’s orders, and she patted him down before handcuffing him. She then lowered her Uzi and pulled out a Motorola hand-held radio.

“44-Squad-9 to Central,” said Todoroki.

“44-Squad-9 K.”

“Central, I’ve eliminated two suspects and have apprehended a third. My partner is still on the train, and I’m at the corner of East 149^th Street and 3^rd Ave…”

Suddenly, Todoroki’s train of thought was interrupted when a Peterbilt towing a tanker trailer nearly ran her down. Feeling that the terrorists’ leader was the one driving, and thinking quickly, she grabbed onto the trailer and climbed up the ladder on the back. Trying to maintain her balance as well as she possibly could, she walked towards the front of the tractor-trailer.

===

While Todoroki was attempting to stop the terrorists’ leader, Deku was still trying to figure out how to repair the dead man’s switch. All he could see was that a bunch of wires had been cut, so he would have to find out which one went where in order to get the train to stop. It seemed easy enough, but he was no electrician, so he had to analyze the wires carefully, and considering how much speed the train was picking up, that was easier said than done. Nevertheless, Deku figured that he could do it sooner rather than later considering that he had a penchant for success if he just analyzed something hard enough. He grabbed the wires and was about to set on connecting them properly when…

“What are you doing!?” said a middle-aged woman. “Our lives are in danger and you’re just fiddling around!?”

“Ma’am, please remain calm and go back to your seat,” said Deku. “I’m doing my best to fix this mess.”

“Fine!”

The woman grumbled as she shuffled back to her seat, while Deku continued trying to figure out which wire went where. Sweat dripped down his forehead, knowing that if he didn’t do it in time, then the train would crash and people would die. Soon enough, though, he managed to figure out the correct way to connect the wires. Getting them connected, however, was a whole other matter, so he headed back to one of the train cars.

“Hey, does anyone have any electrical tape?” asked Deku.

“Yo, catch!”

A Con Ed worker tossed Deku a roll of electrical tape, and he rushed back to the engine and did his best to reattach the wires. Fortunately, he got them reconnected, thereby reactivating the dead man’s switch and bringing the train to a halt.

“Yes!”

After pumping his fist, Deku returned to the car he was previously in.

“Is everyone OK?” asked Deku.

People gave affirmative responses despite being really shaken up.

“Stay here!” said Deku. “I’m going to get some help!”

===

While Deku was going to get help, Todoroki was still on top of the tanker trailer, trying to catch the terrorist’s leader. However, it wasn’t easy keeping her balance, for the driver attempted to swerve about every which way but loose. Realizing that standing was more likely to result in her falling off, she got down on her hands and knees, crawling towards the front of the rig. Despite being afraid of becoming road pizza, Todoroki kept her cool about her, refusing to back down even for a millisecond. Despite her best efforts to make it to the truck part, though, the leader eventually swerved so hard that Todoroki was thrown aside. She managed to catch onto the lip of the roof of the tanker trailer, but it was clear that if she didn’t do something quickly, then she would get thrown off. Looking around, she focused her gaze on the truck, and then, she shot a burst of flames at the rear tires. The terrorist leader took notice of this and shook the rig around wildly in an attempt to extinguish the flames. Recognizing that her grip wouldn’t hold forever, Todoroki let go and started ice surfing, seconds before the tanker swerved so wildly that it actually flipped over. She hurried to the overturned rig, a Smith & Wesson Model 29 drawn. The terrorists’ leader emerged, largely unhurt but clearly shaken up. Todoroki pointed her .44 at him.

“This is where it ends, Tomura Shigaraki.”

Tomura Shigaraki chuckled as he removed his gloves. “You’re so naive, officer. This is where it ends for you!”

Shigaraki touched the truck in an attempt to disintegrate everything around him. However, Todoroki blew his head clean off, thereby putting an end to the plot. Knowing that leaving the tanker trailer unattended would likely result in a huge fire and explosion, she froze it before calling to Deku on her radio:

“Shoko to Deku,”

“What’s up, Shoko?”

“I killed Tomura Shigaraki, the leader. Did you stop the train?”

“I did. Where are you?”

Todoroki looked around. “I’m at the corner of East 149^th Street and Walton Ave.”

“OK, I’ll be there as soon as possible!”

Not too long after, Deku showed up.

“Shoko, are you OK?”

Todoroki nodded. “I’m fine. I have to be honest, I couldn’t have asked for a better man as my partner!”

Deku smiled. “I couldn’t have asked for a better woman, either!”

Deku and Todoroki wrapped their arms around each other and kissed each other. Shortly thereafter, a bunch of NYPD and FDNY units showed up. A Black male NYPD officer approached the two.

“Whoa, what a mess!” said the officer.

“It couldn’t be helped,” said Todoroki.

“Hey Matthews, we stopped the train,” said Deku. “Let Central know that the hostages are somewhere between the 86^th and 77^th Street stations.”

Officer Ken Matthews gave a thumbs-up. “Will do!”

Even if not everything had gone according to plan, Deku and Todoroki could at least rest a little easier knowing that they not only saved the day, but had each other, too.

Chapter 7: Wheels of Steel

Chapter Text

Even before they’d fallen in love with each other, Deku and Todoroki knew that there was no such thing as an ordinary day in their lives, and today was another reminder of that. Recently, a mysterious individual known only as the “Motorway Murderer” had been running down random young women in his car, a Tuxedo Black 1968 Chevy Impala SS with chrome exhaust pipes on the sides. He offered to turn himself in to the police, but on one condition: somebody had to beat him in a drag race. No one dared to challenge him…that is, until Todoroki took him up on it.

Truth be told, she had quite a bit of anxiety about doing so, but Deku had faith in her and promised to love her no matter what, so here she was at New England Dragway in Epping, New Hampshire, driving her Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight Regency. Despite her anxiety, she was reasonably convinced of her success, for she’d installed a supercharger on her car’s 455 Rocket V8. Thus, here they were on the starting line, facing the Motorway Murderer, whose identity was obscured by a black full-face racing helmet. Todoroki got some chills down her spine as she turned and saw the madman looking at her. Noticing this, Deku put a hand on her shoulder.

“You’ve got this, Shoko.”

Todoroki looked over at Deku’s smiling face and nodded. After a brief burnout between both cars, they pre-staged before staging. Within half a second, the Christmas tree went green for both lanes, and the race was on. Despite Todoroki putting her foot to the floor, it looked as though the Impala might have the advantage at first. However, Todoroki’s raw determination meant that she kept the pedal firmly to the floor, and about halfway down that quarter mile, the Oldsmobile overtook the Impala, and soon enough, Todoroki and Deku had proven victorious. The crowd went wild for them, applause tearing through the air. However, as they pulled away from the track, it became clear that the Motorway Murderer was unwilling to hold up his end of the bargain, for he gave Todoroki’s Oldsmobile a bump on the rear end.

“Deku, I don’t think we’re clear yet!”

“Keep driving! I’ve got an idea!

Todoroki kept driving, ending up on Route 101, while the Motorway Murderer kept following them. Once they got out onto a nice, straight stretch of freeway, Deku cranked down his window, unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed up out the window.

“Deku, what are you doing!?”

“Just keep driving!”

Using the window sill as a platform, Deku jumped up into the air and…

“DETROIT SMASH!”

Deku aimed a punch square at the grille of the Impala, which not only connected, but smashed the front end in and caused the car to do a backflip through the air, landing on its rear bumper before ultimately flopping down on its roof. Once the carnage was done, Deku ran over to Todoroki, who’d come to a stop a few yards away from the wrecked Impala, which was leaking gasoline out onto the freeway. Suddenly, while the Motorway Murderer was attempting to clamber out of the wreckage, a spark ignited the pool of gasoline.

“NO!” The Motorway Murderer desperately flailed about as the flames engulfed him. “OH GOD, IT BURNS! IT BURNS! SOMEBODY HELP ME! HELP ME!”

The Motorway Murderer let out a blood-curdling scream, but it was useless: the Impala exploded in a giant fireball and took him with it, while Deku and Todoroki watched.

“Well…we did it,” said Todoroki.

Deku nodded. “Yeah. Good driving, by the way!”

“Thank you! You did well stopping the madman, too!”

“Hey, this was a team effort, and I’m happy to have you on my team!”

“Likewise!”

Todoroki gave Deku another hug and kiss, while the New Hampshire State Police and the Epping Fire Department responded to the Chevy conflagration. Another day, another victory for the forces of good.

Chapter 8: Congratulations From a Friend

Chapter Text

Another day of classes had ended at UA, and Deku and Todoroki were walking back to the dorms, holding hands with each other. No matter how hard any of their classes got, they were happy knowing that they had the consolation of being able to join each other after classes. Even so, Deku could never quite shake the intense warmth that welled up within him whenever he was around her. Part of him didn’t want to, figuring that it was normal to feel so weird around a beautiful young lady that he was so intensely attracted to. Todoroki even took notice:

“Deku, is everything OK?”

Deku averted his gaze slightly. “Oh um…yes. I…well…I still have a bit of trouble getting used to the fact that the most beautiful girl in the world was right under my nose this whole time.”

“I realize it’s not easy thinking of me as a girl, but I really appreciate the fact that you’ve been so kind and supportive towards me. Really, that’s the only thing I ask for from a boy.”

Deku did his best to look Todoroki in the eyes. “Really?”

Todoroki smiled. “Of course! Why should love be complicated? If two people really like each other, shouldn’t their relationship speak for itself?”

Deku nodded and smiled. “That is a good point. Even if I do still have trouble getting used to thinking of you as a girl, I’m glad you’re not very high maintenance!”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way!”

Deku and Todoroki held hands as they continued heading for the dorms.

“Hey Deku! Hey Todoroki!”

Deku and Todoroki paused and turned around to see who’d addressed them: it was none other than Ochaco Uraraka. Deku began sweating nervously when he saw her.

“Oh…hey Uraraka!” Deku rubbed the back of his head. “Hey uh…y-you’re not mad at me for going out with Todoroki…are you?”

Ochaco smiled. “Deku, I’m not mad at you at all! I’m really happy for both of you! I mean, all I want is for my friends to be happy, you know?”

Deku wiped off his brow and breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank you! I couldn’t have asked for a better friend!”

Ochaco averted her gaze slightly and twiddled her fingers. “Honestly, though, I think I might actually be a lesbian.”

Todoroki smiled. “Uraraka, whatever you are, I just want to tell you that I really appreciate how you supported me during my coming out, and I promise I’ll be there for you if you need it, too!”

“Awww, thank you so much!”

Without question, Todoroki pulled Uraraka into a hug. Despite being flustered by the fact that Todoroki’s breasts were smooshing against her head, Uraraka nevertheless returned the hug. Also, in spite of not being 100% sure of her sexual orientation, Uraraka felt really good about hugging Todoroki, mainly because it meant so much to her that someone who’d been through so much and who had gotten quite the outpouring of support was giving it back to her tenfold. That, and she really appreciated how soft, warm and cuddly she was. In her time at UA, Uraraka had made her fair share of friends, but thus far, none of them were quite like Todoroki. Even if they hadn’t interacted often, she had seen deep down inside that this girl with the bi-colored hair was truly a kind, loving soul who deserved to be called a hero.

Despite not interacting with Uraraka much, Todoroki had heard quite a bit about her from Deku, and based on what she’d heard, she thought of her as a positive, uplifting individual and decided that she was somebody she’d like to get to know better. However, because of her own cold, withdrawn attitude, she could never have fathomed making an attempt to get to know her better. However, when Todoroki came out as a girl to everybody, Uraraka revealed her true colors, and to Todoroki, they were the most vibrant colors that her eyes had ever had the pleasure of feasting upon. Ever since that day, Todoroki looked forward to getting to know Uraraka better, and while they hadn’t always had opportunities to hang out, she was nevertheless extraordinarily grateful for moments like this one. Though the hug could have potentially lasted forever, Uraraka eventually let go of Todoroki, and Todoroki did likewise.

“You’re welcome, my dear Uraraka.”

Uraraka giggled. “By the way, I really love the way you did your hair! What made you choose that style?”

“Well, there was a character in an old movie who had her hair done this way, and I thought she looked so pretty, so I chose it for myself.”

“Well, it’s a great choice!” Uraraka gave a thumbs up. “By the way, mind if I join you and Deku on your way back?”

Todoroki nodded. “Go right ahead!”

Deku smiled. “Yeah, you’re always welcome!”

And so, Deku, Todoroki and Uraraka headed back to the dorms, united in love, friendship and heroism.

Chapter 9: It's Electric

Chapter Text

It was a frigid winter night in Siberia, and Deku and Todoroki had but one mission: rescue one of their own from a Russian military gulag. To this end, they disguised themselves as Russian soldiers, wearing shinel longcoats over their M69 uniforms and ushankas with the familiar red star on the front. Both of them carried AK-74 rifles. Thus far, they were going about the camp unnoticed.

“Hey, got any idea where Kaminari is?” whispered Deku.

“I have a general idea, but to get more specific information, we’ll need to obtain a prisoner roster.”

Deku nodded. “Right. By the way, how are you not cold? Even with this coat and hat, I’m freezing!”

“I’m naturally resistant to extremes of hot or cold.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense with your Quirk.”

As they headed for the office where the prisoner roster was supposed to be, Deku and Todoroki continued to blend in with the other guards…mostly:

“Ey, kak dyela?” asked a guard.

“Nye plokho,” replied Todoroki. “A vy?”

“Mnye chyertovski kholodno!”

Todoroki said nothing further. Though he knew his fair share of Russian, Deku had elected to leave the talking to her. Besides, he thought she sounded really sexy when she was speaking Russian.

“Ty khorosho provodish’ noch’?” asked another guard.

Todoroki nodded. “Tak mnogo kak ya mogu.”

“Ah, khorosho!”

Thus far, Deku was relieved that their disguises were working, though he wondered how the guards didn’t say anything about Todoroki’s hair being visible under her ushanka. However, not everything was peaches and cream…

“Izvinitye, no mnye nuzhno uvidyet’ vashi dokumyenti,” said another guard.

Knowing that the guard was asking for identification, Deku and Todoroki wasted no time in whipping out their papers and handing them to him. They attempted to keep their composure as best as they could while the guard checked their IDs.

“Prostitye menya, rebyata.” The guard handed back their IDs. “Prodolzhat’.”

Deku and Todoroki nodded before continuing on their way.

“That was close,” whispered Deku.

Todoroki said nothing else; she merely nodded. Soon enough, they came upon a small office.

“This must be where the roster is kept,” said Todoroki. “Keep a lookout while I open the door.”

“Right.”

Deku did a brief looksee of his surroundings, and once he was sure that nobody was looking, he gave a thumbs up to Todoroki, and they entered the office. It was fairly sparse, save for some photographs and maps on the wall, plus a wooden office desk, a swivel chair and a file cabinet.

“Check the desk,” said Todoroki. “I’ll search the file cabinet.”

“Got it.”

Deku not only pored through the papers on top of the desk, but also the various drawers, while Todoroki went to work on the file cabinet. At first, they found nothing. Nevertheless, Deku was convinced that Todoroki was right, so they continued searching, but stopped when they heard the doorknob turning. While the door was opening, they attempted to compose themselves as best as they could and act normally. In stepped an officer, a lieutenant colonel or podpolkovnik judging by the two stripes and two stars on the shoulder boards of his uniform.

“Pokazhite mnye vashi dokumyenty!” said the officer.

Without hesitation, Deku and Todoroki whipped out their papers and handed them to the lieutenant colonel.

“Kto vash komandir?” asked the officer.

“Tovarishch podpolkovnik, razvye eta informatsiya nye dolzhna byt’ v nashikh dokumyentakh?” asked Todoroki.

The officer glared at Todoroki. “Kto vash komandir?”

Todoroki began sweating nervously. “Uh…”

“Kak vas zovut?” said the lieutenant colonel.

Todoroki’s face was red. “Um…”

“Kak vas zovut?”

Knowing that they were likely screwed if they continued to let the lieutenant colonel live, Deku whipped out his AK-74.

“STOP!”

Before the officer could draw his Makarov, Deku shot him in the head. Todoroki gasped.

“Deku, I’m glad you saved my life, but somebody could’ve heard that!”

“Then that’s a risk I’m willing to take! Help me drag his body behind the desk!”

“Right!”

Deku and Todoroki dragged the officer’s body behind the desk and continued their search. Soon enough…

“Deku, I think I found something!”

Todoroki held up a clipboard, which her and Deku did a quick lookover of. They found just what they were looking for: information on where Denki Kaminari was being held. However, they also heard someone approaching the office rapidly, so they put down the clipboard quickly and were about to leave when another guard burst in.

“Ey, kto-nibud’ iz vas slyshal stryel’bu!?” asked the guard.

Todoroki shook her head. “Nyet, zdyes’ vsye spokoyno.”

“Khorosho, prosto day mnye znat’, yesli uvidish’ chto-nibud’.”

The guard returned to what he was doing before, while Deku and Todoroki wiped their foreheads with the backs of their hands.

“That was close.” Todoroki put the clipboard on the desk. “Follow me.”

“Right.”

Deku followed Todoroki to the cell block area where Kaminari was supposed to be held. Along the way, despite the fact that Deku had shot a ranking officer, things were still going their way. Soon enough, they came upon the cell where Kaminari was.

“Oh no, please don’t take me away!” said Kaminari. “I know nothing, I swear!”

“Shh!” Deku put his index finger up to his lips. “Kaminari, we’re here to bust you out!”

Todoroki used her fire and ice powers to expand and contract the lock, breaking it within short order.

“Come on!” Todoroki quietly beckoned Kaminari over.

Despite having been thoroughly bruised and bloodied, Kaminari had enough strength to get up and hurry out of his cell. He would need all the strength he could get, too, for alarms went off all throughout the gulag.

“Ostanovite etikh dvoikh! Oni samozvantsy!”

The guards discovered Deku, Todoroki and Kaminari as they were attempting to make their escape and opened fire on them. However, since these guards were all graduates of the Imperial Marksmanship Academy, their shots missed by a country mile. However, the three heroes recognized that if they hung around here long enough, then their plot armor would run out and one of them would get shot. Thus far, though, Todoroki was doing a good job of keeping the guards at bay with her Quirk, and Deku was laying down some serious fire with his AK-74. However, Kaminari wasn’t too happy about the current arrangement…

“Guys, can we stop playing around!? There’s too many of them! We’ll never get out at this rate! Let me take care of this!”

Deku reached out for Kaminari. “Kaminari, NO!”

Thinking too quickly to stop, Kaminari let out a gigantic blast of electricity, shocking all the guards within shooting distance. While this made things significantly easier for the trio, this also had the effect of frying Kaminari’s brains like KFC.

“I’ll grab Kaminari!” said Deku. “We should be able to make a clean break for it!”

“Right!”

Deku slung Kaminari over his shoulder, and he ran away with the help of One For All, while Todoroki followed by ice surfing. Fortunately, they made it out of the gulag without injury, and in a clearing miles away, there was an Mi-17 “Hip” helicopter awaiting them, which they recognized as their extraction team, so they hopped on board and flew away.

“Well done, Midoriya and Todoroki,” said Shota Aizawa, aka “Eraserhead”. “Once again, you two have gone above and beyond my expectations. I’m mildly impressed.”

Deku smiled. “Well, I couldn’t have done it without the best girl ever!”

“Oh, Deku!”

Todoroki gave Deku another kiss.

“Having said that, I would have much preferred if you brought Kaminari back with his mind intact.” Aizawa crossed his arms.

“Duhhhhhhhhh,” was Kaminari’s only response.

Deku smiled sheepishly, while Todoroki frowned.

“Uh, he’ll get better…right?” Deku rubbed the back of his head.

Aizawa simply gave a stern stare to Deku. Deep down inside, however, he valued Deku’s and Todoroki’s help.

Chapter 10: Lonely Is the Night

Chapter Text

Todoroki was driving with Deku through a torrential downpour. They’d left an anime convention in Tokyo and were heading home. The weather reports had said something about rain, but nothing about it being this heavy. Nevertheless, Todoroki was determined to get home. Granted, she was making an effort to be safe, but still, she wanted to get home badly. However, the trip home would be hampered when Todoroki heard and felt the familiar “bumpity bumpity” sound of a tire going flat, so she pulled her Oldsmobile over, put it in “Park”, put the hazard lights on and went to inspect the car. As it turned out, the left front tire was the one that went flat, so she popped open the Oldsmobile’s trunk. Being an older, full-size car, this Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight had a full-size spare tire. While this problem was taken care of, Todoroki frantically searched through the trunk and found no trace of a jack.

“Come on, where did I put that jack!?” said Todoroki.

Defeated for now, Todoroki returned to the cabin of the car.

“Did you call JAF?” asked Todoroki.

Deku nodded. “I did. However, they said it would be at least an hour before somebody gets here.”

“In the meantime, let’s just stay in the car.”

“Good idea.”

Thus, Deku and Todoroki stayed in the Oldsmobile, while the rain continued to pour. Occasionally, a flash of lightning would streak across the sky, providing a source of light other than the intermittent illumination given off by the car’s hazard flashers.

“So, Shoko, since we’re out here in the middle of nowhere, unable to return home for now, how do you want to pass the time?”

Todoroki stroked her chin. “That’s a good question. Personally, I was thinking, maybe…we could play ‘Truth or Dare’?”

Deku nodded. “That could work. Who should go first?”

“I’m not sure. Why don’t we play ‘Jan-Ken-Pon’ to decide?”

“OK!”

And so, Deku and Todoroki played a round of what in the US would be called “Rock Paper Scissors”. Deku chose “paper”, while Todoroki chose “scissors”.

“Looks like it’s your turn,” said Todoroki. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare!”

“Very well. I dare you to show me your best All Might impression!”

Deku chuckled. “Very well!” He changed his face and voice to resemble that of the legendary Symbol of Peace. “Have no fear! I am here!”

Todoroki giggled when she heard Deku’s All Might impression.

“OK, your turn!” said Deku, now sporting his usual voice and face. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“OK, so…have you ever been jealous of any of the other girls in our class?”

Todoroki smiled and averted her gaze. “Well, I was kinda jealous of Yaoyorozu, but other than that, not really. Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Have you ever had a crush on any girls besides me?”

“Well, I’m aware of the rumors regarding me and Uraraka, but the truth is – and this might surprise you – I had a really big crush on Asui.”

“Oh? Why?”

“Well, I really love the way she does her hair, and she has a really cute face and voice, not to mention a nice body…not that yours isn’t nice, I mean.”

Todoroki giggled. “Deku, you’re such a sweetheart!”

“Well, I tend to be sweet on people, especially people like you who showed a need for it!”

“Come here!”

Todoroki leaned closer to Deku as if she were going to kiss him. However, before her lips could meet his, a pair of headlights approached the car from the other side of the road before coming to a stop, so she pulled away and looked over at the Toyota HiAce parked on the other side of the road.

“Could that be the JAF guy now?” asked Todoroki.

“Let me see something…” Deku looked at his phone. “I only called them a few minutes ago.”

“Let me take care of this…”

Todoroki got out of the car and waved at the mysterious shadowy figure who got out of the van.

“Hey, we need help!” said Todoroki. “One of our tires is…”

Todoroki cut herself off when a flash of lightning revealed the mysterious figure’s skull face and the glint of an axe blade. She gasped when she saw this and turned to her Oldsmobile.

“DEKU, HELP!”

Seeing that Todoroki was in trouble, Deku got out of the car and rushed over to her.

“Shoko, what’s wrong?”

“Over there!”

Todoroki thrust her index finger in the direction of the assailant, but…

“Over where?” said Deku.

“Did you not see that evil killer with the axe!?”

“Shoko, there’s nothing there but that van.”

Todoroki dropped her jaw when she saw that the mysterious figure had disappeared, and yet the van was still there. Without question, they searched the van, only to find nobody in it.

“We should find somewhere else to wait,” said Todoroki. “The car’s not safe.”

“But where?”

Todoroki looked around, and for a moment, she saw a mailbox illuminated by her Oldsmobile’s hazard flashers. Looking further down the driveway, she saw a large house off in the distance as another flash of lightning streaked across the sky.

“That house over there!” Todoroki pointed in the direction of the house.

Deku looked over to where the house was. “Shoko, that seems like a bad idea to me! The writer’s probably expecting us to go in! What if there are evil monsters in there?”

“What choice do we have? If we stay with the car, we’re probably doomed if a wanton motorist comes for us!”

Deku sighed. “All right, we’ll go in the house, but I’m doing so under severe protest!”

“Your protest is noted and understood!”

Continuing to struggle against the wind and rain, Deku and Todoroki headed for the house. Upon getting closer, they noticed that it was in a bit of disrepair. When they stepped on the porch, Deku knocked on the door. He got no response at first, so he knocked again, this time a bit more loudly.

“Hello!” said Deku. “Is there anyone in there?”

Deku knocked a bit more loudly than the last time, but he still got no response.

“Hey, let us in! We need some shelter from the rain!”

Deku and Todoroki still got no response, so Deku banged on the door quite hard. Still, there was no response, so with no other options, he decided to try opening the door and going in himself. Fortunately – or so it seemed – the door was unlocked, so they took their footwear off and went inside. Inside, it was pitch black, so Deku and Todoroki used the flashlights on their phones to search around in the darkness. Judging by what they could see, this house had fallen into disuse, with old, creaky floorboards, cobwebs covering various objects, old furniture that needed refinishing, even a dead wasps’ nest on the ceiling.

“Guess nobody’s home,” said Deku.

“Let me turn on the lights…”

Since the house was retrofitted with electric lighting, Todoroki looked around for the nearest light switch and found one. Unfortunately, turning it on did nothing, and an attempt to turn on a nearby lamp on a small table did nothing, either.

“Shoko…why is your hand on my shoulder?”

“I’m not touching your shoulder.”

Deku looked over at Todoroki and noticed that she was opposite the side of his body where he was being touched. Realizing that there was quite possibly a ghost in the house, he freaked out and ran away waving his arms around.

“DEKU, WAIT!”

Todoroki went after Deku, trying to allay his fears when all of a sudden, in one hallway, a giant skull leapt out at her, laughing evilly. She screamed as she recoiled from the terror, falling on her ass. She was unhurt otherwise, and she got back up and quickly looked around for Deku.

“Deku!? Deku!?”

Seeing no trace of Deku, Todoroki decided to proceed in the general direction of where she last saw him, hoping to find him.

===

As for Deku, once he was sure he’d gotten away from whatever it was that had laid its hand on his shoulder, he closed a door behind him and laid his back against it, sweating, huffing and puffing. Throughout his lifetime, he’d heard his fair share of tales about haunted houses, but up until now, he thought they were merely that: tales. Having gotten a taste of what this abode had to offer, though, he was doubting himself. Nevertheless, he was determined to find his dear Todoroki.

“There has to be a way back to Shoko,” said Deku to himself. “I think I heard her chasing after me after I got spooked, but I must’ve lost her. I could go back through that door and try to find her again, but what if I run into more spooky creatures again, and worse, what if they took her away? There has to be another way out of this room, but if there is no other way, I’ll have to make my own way because mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter mutter…”

“COME ON IN HERE!” said a demonic voice.

Deku screamed as he saw another door open into a hazy, bright red room. Worse, the opening of the door caused a swarm of bats to fly into the room where he was, and he screamed and swatted about as he attempted to bat away the bats. Not wanting to become bat food, he scurried to the new door, seeing no other way out. He entered another hallway, and he tried his best to make his way back to Todoroki, coming into another room that had a dead end.

===

As for Todoroki, she was proceeding through the hallway where Deku was last seen. Though she hadn’t a clue as to where he was at the moment, and though the house was giving her more creeps than Radiohead, she refused to give up. She opened a nearby door, which led into a bedroom. Like the rest of the house, it was similarly decrepit, though one item of interest that she caught was the fact that the queen-size bed was neatly-made.

“Deku?”

Chapter 11: American Curiosity

Notes:

Since there's been a heatwave in my part of the US, I figure it was fitting that this chapter should be next.

Chapter Text

It was one of the hottest days of the year in Musutafu, with temperatures hitting at least 95 degrees Fahrenheit – or 35 degrees Celsius as the Japanese would say – and Deku and Todoroki were out and about, trying their best not to melt from the heat. Ordinarily, they would’ve stayed home and blasted their air conditioners, but Uraraka wanted to have a little study session with them, so they agreed to help her out. Even dressed appropriately for the weather – Deku in an emerald green T-shirt and blue shorts, and Todoroki in a red tank top and white shorts with red stripes – they still felt as they were going to keel over from heat exhaustion. Not even Todoroki’s resistance to extremes of hot or cold was helping her out, and using the Cold part of her Quirk would only cause her to freeze up and have to defrost with the Hot part of her Quirk.

“We’d better find something or someplace to cool off,” said Todoroki. “I can’t take this heat much longer.”

“Neither can I, but we shouldn’t be too far from our homes,” said Deku.

“Problem is, it feels like they’re so far away. Why don’t we grab a cold beverage or something?”

“Kon'nichiwa, Musutafu shimin! Kyō wa genkidesu ka?”

Deku and Todoroki turned to see who’d addressed them: a young brunette of somewhat shapely build with her hair in a bun. She wore a dark green T-shirt with a lemon-shaped logo and Daisy Duke shorts. She was stationed at a small food cart with a green and yellow umbrella, and the cart itself had an enlarged version of the lemon logo, with the name “Del’s”, plus the slogan “STOP AT THE SIGN OF THE LEMON”.

“Hi there!” Deku smiled and waved at the woman. “We speak English!”

“Oh, cool!” The woman smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of her head. “My name is Jen, and I’m a representative of Del’s Lemonade!”

“Del’s Lemonade?” Todoroki tilted her head. “What’s that?”

“We’re a company from the US state of Rhode Island that specializes in frozen lemonade!” replied Jen.

Deku nodded. “Interesting. How did this company get started?”

“Our story goes back to 1840, when Franco DeLucia’s father carried snow to caves near Naples, Italy and insulated it with straw. When summer came around, he took the snow and mixed it with lemon juice and sugar to produce frozen lemonade and sold it at the local market. After the family came to America, Franco’s son Angelo began work on a machine to produce the frozen lemonade as well as a method of making it consistently awesome. It was because of this machine that the first Del’s Lemonade stand opened in the town of Cranston in 1948, and our company has grown since then. We’re currently looking to expand our operation over here to Japan, and we figured that Musutafu would be one of the prime spots to put down roots!”

Todoroki smiled. “It is a nice city. May we have some?”

“Certainly!” said Jen. “We’re giving out free samples!”

Practically dying from the heat, the choice was obvious to Deku and Todoroki…

“I’ll have some!” said Deku.

“Me too!” said Todoroki.

Thus, Deku and Todoroki each took a small green and yellow paper cup of Del’s and proceeded to annihilate their thirsts. They each let out a hearty “mmmm” as the freezing cold of the ice soothed their souls and the sweet lemon flavor excited their senses. Considering how exhausted the heat and humidity had made them, they pretty much inhaled their Del’s.

“That was GREAT!” said Deku. “May we have some more?”

“Sure! The prices are marked over here.”

Jen pointed out a little sign indicating sizes and prices. Without question, Deku and Todoroki each whipped out some cash for a medium cup of Del’s.

“Thank you for your business!” said Jen.

“You’re welcome! Have a nice day!” Todoroki smiled and waved at Jen.

“You too!”

Deku and Todoroki headed home while partaking in another round of Del’s.

“Shoko, I’m glad we found out about Del’s, but I have one question…”

Todoroki lowered her cup. “Yes?”

Deku winced. “How do you drink this stuff without getting brainfreeze?”

“I’m immune to brainfreeze. Besides, I read there’s a trick to not getting brainfreeze.”

“What?”

“Try to drink it without letting it touch the roof of your mouth.”

Deku did his best to smile. “Right, I’ll try to remember that. Thanks!”

Todoroki smiled, too. “You’re welcome!”

And thus, Deku and Todoroki headed home, not only satisfied with their current rounds of Del’s, but eagerly anticipating more.

Chapter 12: Red and White Sonja

Notes:

Hold on to your hats, everyone! This is a request that came from from Ryuujin96! In fact, it got so big that I've had to split it into three chapters! Anyways, about this request: this one is about nuclear war, and it's a most interesting topic for me because I have a collection of Fallout games in addition to having played a Fallout tabletop RPG with friends, so I...
We apologise for the fault in the Author's Notes. Those responsible have been sacked.
Mind you, nuclear war can be pretty nasty.
We apologise again for the fault in the Author's Notes. Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked, have been sacked.
Anyways, this request is one set in medieval times, which is most interesting for me because I haven't really done any medieval stories aside from a segment in an early Sonic fic. Like I said, this one is so big that it's been split in three chapters.

Chapter Text

The hot sun beat down on the landscape, and Deku had been through the desert on a horse with no name, and it felt good to be out of the rain. However, in the desert, he could remember his name, ‘cause there wasn’t…

The directors of the firm hired to continue the chapter after the other people had been sacked, wish it to be known that they have just been sacked.

The chapter has been completed in an entirely different style at great expense and at the last minute.

A dense fog shrouded the landscape of the Kingdom of Syrlania, and a quick galloping noise could be heard off in the distance. A faint outline emerged from the fog, and as it came into focus, it turned out to be Deku, clad in knight’s armor, only he was without a horse. Rather, the galloping sound came from his faithful manservant Bob – a brown-haired man of average height and build with a short beard – who was merely banging two coconuts together to make a galloping sound. Nevertheless, they were proceeding at quite a brisk pace.

“Whoa there!”

Deku held up his right fist and stopped, and Bob came to a stop as well. In the distance, Deku could see a light of some sort. He wasn’t too sure, but he figured it was probably a campfire. However, he could only faintly make out one other shape at best. He wanted to be sure that whatever the light source was, it wouldn’t lead him to danger. However, when a few minutes passed and nothing happened, Deku motioned forward to Bob, and they proceeded onwards towards the light. As the light grew brighter, it became apparent that it was a campfire. Furthermore, there were three knights seated around it. Almost immediately, they took notice of Deku and Bob.

“Who goes there?” said the first knight, a tall man with brown hair and a goatee.

“My name is Izuku Midoriya. Though I am but the son of a poor cobbler, I have ridden the length and breadth of this great kingdom, searching for valiant knights who will join me in my great quest. Will you join me?”

“What?” said the second knight, a man with blond hair and a moustache. “Ridden on a horse?”

Deku nodded. “Why…yes!”

“You’re using coconuts!” said the third knight, a man with black hair and a short beard.

Deku tilted his head slightly. “What?”

The third knight gestured at Deku with his hand. “You’ve got two empty halves of coconut and you’re banging them together!”

“So? We have ridden even as the snows of winter blanketed this land, over the northern mountains, through…”

“Where’d you get the coconuts?”

“We bought them.”

“Bought them?” said the second knight. “North of the northern mountains? The coconut’s tropical! If one were to attempt to transport it this far north, it would be bloody well rotten by then!”

“But it’s the truth!” Deku gestured at the second knight with both of his hands. “A fruit salesman was selling them at the market, and…”

“Oh, bug off, you silly sod!” said the first knight. “We’ve no time for your rubbish!”

The second knight gestured to an indeterminate point with his index finger. “Take your silly coconuts and bother some other poor bugger!”

Deku put his fists on his hips. “If you shall not join me, then I’ll find others to assist me in my quest!”

“HA! I should love to see you try!” said the third knight.

Undeterred by the knights’ rejection, Deku and Bob rode on.

===

The farther they went, the less faith Deku had in his chances of finding somebody to assist him on his quest. Sure, he didn’t seem all that bothered by the three knights turning him down, but given how far he’d travelled without anybody accepting his offer to join him, he had to wonder if he was doing this for naught. Despite his doubt, he also felt that he had to soldier on no matter what. Then, while lamenting his lack of companions on his quest, a loud sound interrupted his thought process. He looked over in the direction where the sound came from, and he noticed a large blast of ice emerging from somewhere. Upon closer inspection, he noticed two knights dueling it out in a clearing, one clad in light blue armor, and the other wearing black armor. The light blue knight was the one responsible for the ice blasts, while the black knight slashed through it with his sword and aggressively attempted to close in on his opponent. Deku wasn’t too sure, but his instincts told him that the black knight was not to be trusted, so he drew his trusty sword, charged at the black knight, and…

“NEWCASTLE SMASH!”

With one mighty slash, Deku chopped off the black knight’s arm, causing the knight to recoil for a bit and turn his attention to Deku.

“Interloper!” exclaimed the black knight. “How DARE you interfere with our duel!?”

“Black knight, I know you’re not a trustworthy person!” Deku pointed his sword at him. “Leave this knight be and stand aside!”

“HA! ‘Tis but a scratch!”

“A scratch? Your arm’s off!”

“No it isn’t!”

“Well, what’s that, then?” Deku gestured towards the chopped-off arm.

“I’ve had worse!”

“You liar!”

“Come on, you pansy!”

Despite being partially dismembered, the black knight refused to give up and instead valiantly charged at Deku, putting up a surprisingly good fight. The light blue knight observed curiously. Soon enough…

“YORKSHIRE SMASH!”

With one flick, Deku knocked the black knight’s sword out of his hand and chopped his other arm off.

“Victory is mine!”

Deku raised his sword triumphantly, before turning to talk to the light blue knight.

“Excuse me, but I have travelled a great…”

However, Deku was disrupted by a blow to his backside. As it turned out, the black knight – still having not learned his lesson – was kicking Deku, who growled out of annoyance.

“Come on, then!” said the black knight.

“What?” said Deku.

“Have at you!” The black knight continued to kick Deku.

“You are indeed brave, black knight, but this fight is mine!”

“Oh, had enough, eh?”

Deku threw his arms out at the black knight. “Look, you stupid bastard, you have no arms left!”

“Yes I have!”

“No you don’t!”

“It’s just a flesh wound!”

Deku shook his head and turned around, while the black knight continued to kick him.

“STOP THAT!” yelled Deku.

“Chicken!” said the black knight. “Chicken!”

“‘CHICKEN’!? I’ll give you ‘chicken’!”

Deku chopped the black knight’s left leg off.

“Right, I’ll do you for that!” said the black knight.

“You’ll what?”

“Come here!” The black knight hopped around.

“What are you gonna do, bleed on me?”

“I’m invincible!”

“You’re a loony!”

“The black knight always triumphs! Have at you! Come on, then!”

Deku shook his head and chopped off the black knight’s remaining leg.

“All right, we’ll call it a draw!” said the black knight.

Deku motioned to Bob. “Come, Bob.” He turned to the other knight. “You…will you join us on our quest?”

The other knight nodded and then removed his helmet, revealing that he was in fact a she, a woman with white and red hair in a flipped bob, snow white on the right, and wine red on the left, along with a dark red scar over her left eye, which was blue. Deku gasped when this became apparent to him.

“You…you’re a woman!”

“I’m surprised this wasn’t obvious to you, my good savior. Nevertheless, I will join you on your quest…provided you join me on mine, that is.”

Deku scratched his head. “That sounds intriguing, but what is your quest?”

“I shall explain on the way.”

Deku nodded. “Right. Let’s go.”

Deku, the other knight and Bob went on their way.

“Oh, oh, I see!” said the black knight. “Running away, eh? You yellow bastards! Come back here and take what’s coming to you! I’ll bite your legs off!”

===

Deku, Bob and the other knight headed deeper into Gleifnir Forest, where Deku asked his new companion about her quest:

“Well?”

“Allow me to introduce myself: I am Princess Shoko of the Todoroki clan. In recent times, an evil sorcerer calling himself ‘All For One’ has threatened to destroy my kingdom unless my father abdicates from the throne, so I have taken it upon myself to destroy All For One.”

“All For One…” Deku looked off into the distance as he touched his cheek with his index finger. “That name sounds familiar.” He lowered his index finger. “Anyways, it’s nice to meet you, Todoroki. I am Izuku Midoriya, the son of a poor cobbler. A fearsome monster known as Gigantomachia has massacred several villages in my kingdom, and I’m going to stop him once and for all. Bob here is my faithful servant who has chosen to accompany me.”

Todoroki nodded. “I see. It’s nice to meet you too, Midoriya.” She turned to Bob. “Nice to meet you too, Bob.”

Bob nodded.

“You know, Todoroki, I had a feeling you were a princess,” said Deku.

Todoroki scratched her head. “How did you figure that out?”

“You don’t have shit all over you.”

Todoroki simply shot Deku a blank stare.

===

Deku, Todoroki and Bob continued onwards in their valiant quest to defeat Gigantomachia and All For One. While Deku wasn’t 100% sure what lay ahead of them, he was feeling better knowing that he had Todoroki by his side. Her Ice Quirk seemed like a hell of a Quirk to him, and coupled with his own, they were sure to be unbeatable. Hell, he hoped they were unbeatable.

“So Todoroki, that’s a most interesting Quirk you have.”

“Thank you, Midoriya. I can also shoot fire from my left side, but I much prefer my right side.”

“Any particular reason?”

“I’d prefer not to discuss it now. Tell me about your Quirk instead.”

“Well…mine was sort of a gift, actually. When I first got it, I had trouble controlling it, which led to many broken bones. However, a friend of my friend taught me how to better control it, so now I rarely – if ever – get injured from using it.”

“How did you manage to injure yourself using your Quirk?”

Deku shrugged. “I guess my body couldn’t handle that kind of power. I’ve been getting better at controlling how much of it I use, though, and I can concentrate it in certain parts of my body, like my fingers.”

Todoroki nodded. “Interesting. Perhaps I was right in accepting your offer.”

Deku smiled. “With a Quirk like yours, I think you were!”

“You seem so sure of me, Midoriya. How do…”

Todoroki’s thoughts were interrupted when she caught something out of the corner of her eye: in a clearing was a chicken.

“What’s wrong, Todoroki?” asked Deku.

“Midoriya, that’s…that’s the Vicious Chicken of Brinfnir!”

Deku gave a blank stare to the chicken, and then laughed. “Todoroki, I think you’re pulling my leg!”

Todoroki put a hand on Deku’s shoulder and gently shook it. “This is no time to accuse me of pulling one of your limbs! The Vicious Chicken of Brinfnir is a brutal beast! Scores of people have attempted to best it in combat, and none have survived!”

Deku raised his sword. “Then I’m gonna be the first! NEWCASTLE SMASH!”

Deku valiantly lunged at the Vicious Chicken of Brinfnir, and it charged at him, too. Deku’s sword struck the bird square on, and when he landed, the chicken…was completely intact.

“WHAT!?

“Stand aside, Midoriya, I’ve got this one!”

Todoroki shot a blast of ice at the chicken, and she succeeded in freezing it. However, a few seconds later, the ice began to crack, and shortly thereafter, the chicken escaped with only minor – if any – scratches.

“No being should have escaped my ice that easily!” said Todoroki. “Let’s try this again!”

Todoroki shot another round of ice, while Deku and Bob attempted to distract the chicken. Again, she froze the chicken, but again, it broke free.

“Let’s try this again! No being can withstand cold forever!”

Once again, Todoroki attempted to freeze the chicken, but no matter how hard she tried, the bird always managed to break the ice. Eventually, ice started forming over her body, and her movements were slowing down drastically.

“Todoroki, use your fire against it!” said Deku. “It’ll just keep breaking through your ice!”

“NO! I’ll never submit to my father!”

“You’re hurting! You’ll have to warm up sooner or later!”

“Then let me hurt! I’d rather freeze to death than give my father the satisfaction of seeing me use his fire!”

Deku clenched his fists. “Todoroki, listen to me: just because you inherited half of your Quirk from your father doesn’t mean you should be ashamed of it! A Quirk is what you make of it no matter what your family history was like! It’s YOURS! Your Quirk, NOT his!”

Todoroki still didn’t want to use her fire, but hearing Deku’s words proved to be a veritable wake-up call for her. Feeling that she could use her own fire without having to submit to her father, she slowly raised her right hand as the chicken was charging at her.

“Thank you, Midoriya.”

Todoroki shot a mighty blast of flame at the chicken. That did it: not only was the chicken unable to dodge it, but it was fried through and through. Furthermore, Todoroki had managed to defrost herself.

===

After the battle, Deku and Todoroki made a little campfire and had some fried chicken for supper, as did Bob.

“Midoriya, thank you again for your uplifting words. For so long, I had shunned my fire half because of my father’s abusive upbringing of me, but because of you, I feel as though I can look to the future with hope.”

Deku swallowed the piece of chicken thigh he was eating. “You’re welcome! You seemed like you could use a friend, so I’m only too happy to help!”

Todoroki cast the drumstick bone she’d eaten aside. “About that…”

“Yes?”

“Midoriya, I haven’t known you for that long, but you seem like a very noble soul who would do anything for the people he loves, and I’m happy to have met you.”

Deku smiled. “Well, I’m happy to have met you too!”

Todoroki stared deeply into Deku’s green eyes. Then, she smiled, and after tenderly wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him. Deku’s eyes flew wide open when her lips met his. Having never been in a romantic relationship with anybody – never mind a princess – he lost all control of his senses. Nevertheless, feeling a mutual attraction with her, he wrapped his arms around her as well. He may not have known her for that long, but already, he felt such a deep, intense connection with her, and he wanted more of what she was giving him. Even if their quest wasn’t finished yet, he was feeling that much more optimistic about his chances of success.

Todoroki was feeling at least equally optimistic. Like Deku, she too hadn’t had any luck in the romance department, and to find someone who cared about her meant so much to her. It didn’t even matter to her that he was a mere commoner. She just found him to be so cute and noble that she felt that he deserved her heart. For so long, having labored under the shadow of her domineering father, she was now finally feeling free, and deep within her heart for what seemed like the first time in her life, she was also feeling hope. Todoroki couldn’t possibly abandon Deku at this point in her quest. She continued kissing him for quite some time, and when she finally broke away, she continued to make eye contact with him.

“I love you, Izuku Midoriya.”

Deku smiled. “I love you too, Shoko Todoroki. Also, you can call me ‘Deku’.”

Todoroki giggled. “What a cute nickname. Where did you get it?”

“Well, a friend of mine used it as a shortened form of ‘Defenseless Izuku’, but another friend really liked it and encouraged me to keep using it, so it stuck.”

Todoroki nodded. “Interesting. Since you allowed me to call you Deku, I shall allow you to call me ‘Shoko’.”

“Then it’s settled. Now let’s finish up the rest of this chicken!”

“Just one question…”

“Yes?”

“Your companion Bob, why does he not speak?”

Deku shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

===

After finishing what remained of the fried chicken, Deku, Todoroki and Bob continued on their quest. The next couple of hours proved to be uneventful for them. Soon enough, they came upon a lake in a clearing. By now, the sun was starting to sink below the horizon.

“Deku, I don’t know about you, but I feel that we should camp here for the night.”

Deku yawned. “Yeah, I’m getting pretty tired, too.”

Thus, Deku and Todoroki pitched a simple tent near the shore of the lake.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to bathe in the lake,” said Todoroki.

“So am I. Y-you don’t mind…do you?”

“Oh um…not at all.”

Thus, Deku and Todoroki stripped, trying their best not to look at each other. Then, they proceeded to bathe in the lake, as did Bob. After such a long journey, feeling the cool lake water against his skin felt so refreshing to Deku. Despite his best efforts, Deku ended up peeking at Todoroki anyways, and in doing so, he noticed she was very well-endowed. He knew she was beautiful, but knowing this about her, he couldn’t ever imagine spending his life with any other woman. That aside, once he felt suitably cleansed, Deku exited the water, dried off with a simple cloth he’d brought with him and was about to enter the tent when…

“Going to sleep, Deku?”

Deku looked over and saw Todoroki nearby, also having dried off.

“Oh um…y-yes…”

“Then please allow me to snuggle with you.”

Deku dropped his jaw as all the redness went to his face. “Um…are y-y-you s-sure?”

“Would I have asked you if I wasn’t?”

“I um…well I…”

“Deku, you seem very troubled by my offer. Is everything OK?”

“I…well…i-it’s just…no woman’s offered to do that with me before!”

Todoroki put a hand on Deku’s shoulder. “Deku, there’s no need to be so flustered about it. Do we not love and trust each other?”

Deku stared into Todoroki’s eyes. As embarrassed as he was by the fact that a hot naked woman was offering to snuggle with him, she did have a very good point, so he came to his conclusion…

“A-all right, I’ll snuggle with you.”

Todoroki smiled. “Thank you.”

Deku and Todoroki entered the tent and snuggled with each other under the blanket. For the first time, he discovered just how soft, warm and cuddly she was without her armor.

“Hey Shoko, thanks again for joining me on my quest! This has been the happiest day of my life so far!”

“Speak for yourself! For so long, my life had been occluded by darkness, but for you to come along and say what you said…I don’t know how I could possibly repay you!”

Deku giggled. “Shoko, kissing me was payment enough!”

Todoroki giggled, too. “Good night, Deku!”

“Good night, Shoko!”

And so, Deku and Todoroki embraced each other as they went to sleep. Even if the quest had yet to conclude, Deku was feeling optimistic about it.

Chapter 13: Red and White Sonja, Part II

Chapter Text

Deku awoke to feel a strange sensation on his neck. Soon, it became obvious to him that Todoroki was nibbling and sucking on his neck. He gasped when this became apparent to him.

“TODOROKI!”

Deku gently pushed at Todoroki until she stopped nibbling his neck.

“What?” said Todoroki.

Deku frowned. “You know, you could’ve just woken me up with a kiss!”

Todoroki smiled. “True, but I really enjoy nibbling and sucking people’s necks, especially handsome boys.”

Deku gave a disbelieving stare to Todoroki, whose smile didn’t waver for one second. Then, Deku broke out into a smile of his own.

“Hey Shoko…”

“Yes?”

“Enjoy THIS!”

Deku grabbed Todoroki’s well-endowed chest, causing her to let out a loud gasp.

“How DARE you grab those, you impudent commoner!?”

Deku smiled. “Hey, you get what you give!”

“Oh really!? I’ll give you something back!”

Todoroki wrapped her arms around Deku and kissed him, and he returned her gesture. Soon enough, they broke away.

“You may be an impudent commoner, but you’re still the noblest, most handsome boy I’ve ever met!” said Todoroki.

“And you’re the strongest, most beautiful woman I’ve ever met!”

“Deku, you’re so sweet!”

“I could say the same of you!”

“Let’s just get breakfast, shall we?”

===

After having breakfast, Deku, Todoroki and Bob packed up their tents and blankets before moving on. Thus far, things were going smoothly.

“Ah, what a beautiful day!” said Deku. “I feel like anything is possible today!”

“Wow, you’re especially cheery today! Care to explain?”

“What is there to explain? I’m that much closer to finishing my quest, and best of all, I have the most beautiful woman in the world accompanying me!”

Todoroki giggled. “Well, I suppose I’ll give you that!”

“Ni!”

Deku and Todoroki froze when they heard that simple monosyllabic exclamation. Standing in their path was a group of knights.

“Who are you?” said Deku.

“We are the Knights Who Say ‘Ni’!” said the head knight, a tall man with a long brown beard.

Todoroki gasped. “No! Not the Knights Who Say ‘Ni’!”

“The same!”

Deku looked over at Todoroki. “Um…why are we so concerned about these guys?”

“We are the keepers of the sacred words ‘Ni’, ‘Peng’ and ‘Neee-wom’!” said the head knight.

“Deku, those who hear those words seldom live to tell the tale!” said Todoroki

Deku drew his sword. “Well, we might just be the first!”

“The Knights Who Say ‘Ni’ demand a sacrifice!” said the head knight.

“Knights Who Say ‘Ni’, we are but simple travellers who only wish to reach a castle that lies beyond these woods!” said Deku. “If you shall not allow us to reach this castle, then we shall have no choice but to fight you!”

“Ni!”

The rest of the knights continued to pummel Deku and Todoroki with shouts of “Ni!” While Deku seemed to be unfazed, it was clear that Todoroki was having trouble coping with the onslaught, as evidenced by her clutching her ears. Bob was also feeling the pain of having to hear “Ni!” over and over.

“Deku, make them stop!”

“We shall say ‘ni’ again if you do not appease us!” said the head knight.

“Well, tell us what you want and I won’t kill you all!” said Deku.

“We want…a strawberry!”

A dramatic orchestral sting sounded when the head knight made his demand.

“A shrubbery?” said Deku.

“No, a strawberry!”

The same dramatic orchestral sting sounded again.

“Please, don’t say ‘ni’ again!” said Todoroki. “We’ll get you a strawberry!”

“You must return here with a strawberry, or else you shall never pass through this forest alive!” said the head knight.

“Knights Who Say ‘Ni’, though I dislike you, I find you to be just and fair, and we will get you a strawberry!” said Deku.

“One that is sweet and juicy!”

“Of course!”

“And not too expensive!”

“Yes!”

“Now, go!”

===

Deku, Todoroki and Bob branched off onto a different path, hoping to find a strawberry. They found none growing in the wilderness of Gleifnir Forest, but they soon came upon a small village in a clearing. After giving it some thought, they approached an old woman.

“Excuse us, ma’am, but do you know of any place in this town where we could buy strawberries?” asked Deku.

“No, we have no strawberries!” said the old woman.

“Ni!” said Deku.

The old woman cringed upon hearing this, but nevertheless stood her ground.

“Go away! We haven’t any strawberries here!”

“If you don’t tell us where we can buy strawberries here, then my girlfriend and I will continue to say ‘Ni!’” said Deku.

The old woman cringed again, but continued to stand against Deku, Todoroki and Bob.

“Do your worst!” said the old woman.

“Very well, then!” said Deku. “Ni!”

“No! Never! No strawberries!”

“Ni!”

The old woman let out a wet, hacking cough upon hearing the repeated utterings of “Ni!”

“Ni!” said Deku. “Ni!”

“Noo!” said Todoroki. “Noo!”

“No no no, Todoroki, it’s ‘Ni’!”

“Noo! Noo!”

“I said it’s ‘Ni’!”

“Oh, sorry! Ni! Ni!”

The old woman covered her ears in an attempt to shield herself from the barrage of “Nis”. However, no matter how hard she tried, she found herself unable to resist such verbal injury, and it seemed that she too would fall victim to this infamous word.

“Stop, you two!” said a mysterious male voice. “Stop, I say!”

Deku and Todoroki stopped saying “Ni” and turned to see who’d addressed them: a man dressed as a commoner wearing a strawberry-shaped hat.

“Are you two saying ‘Ni’ to that old woman!?” said the man.

“Y-yes…” said Deku.

“What is wrong with you two!? Are you mad!? Have you no sense of decency!? At long last, have you left no sense of decency!? Why, such a sad day it is when such young ruffians as yourselves can be so free and reckless in saying ‘Ni’ to old ladies! As a seller of fruit, I must protest your disorderly behavior!”

Deku raised an eyebrow. “Wait…did you say ‘fruit’?”

“Why yes, I deal in fruit, mainly strawberries. My name is Roger.”

“Well, if it’s not too much trouble, we’d like to buy some strawberries from you.”

“Ni!” said Todoroki.

“Todoroki, you can stop saying ‘Ni’ now!” said Deku.

“Oh…sorry!”

===

Having bought a carton of strawberries, Deku, Todoroki and Bob returned to the Knights Who Say “Ni”.

“Oh Knights Who Say ‘Ni’, we have brought you a strawberry!” said Deku.

“Several of them!” said Todoroki. “May we pass through now!”

The head knight took a bite of one of the strawberries and nodded. “This is a good strawberry, perhaps the sweetest and juiciest I have yet tasted. However, there is one small problem…”

“What is that?” asked Deku.

“We are no longer the Knights Who Say ‘Ni’.”

“Huh?”

“We are now the Knights Who Say ‘Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo Chari Bari Ruchi Pip Peri Pembo’! Also, we must give you a test!”

“What is this test, Knights Who…Until Recently, Said ‘Ni’?”

“Firstly, you must get us…MORE strawberries!”

The dramatic orchestral sting sounded again.

“But we already got you strawberries!” said Deku.

“Then, when you have gotten us the strawberries, you must get us…EVEN MORE STRAWBERRIES!” said the head knight.

Yet again, the dramatic orchestral sting cut through the air.

“Then, when you have gotten us those strawberries, you must cut down the mightiest tree in this forest, with…A HERRING!”

For the fifth time, the dramatic orchestral sting came up. Dissatisfied with the Knights Who Say “Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo Chari Bari Ruchi Pip Peri Pembo”, Todoroki clenched her fists.

“A herring!?” said Todoroki. “I’ll show you what you can do with your herring!”

Todoroki stomped her way over to the head knight. The other knights, genuinely afraid of what might happen to them, ran away, leaving the head knight to stand, frozen in fear by the sight of the approaching Todoroki as she snatched the herring from him and forced him to bend over.

“NO! What are you doing!? You must use that herring to cut down the tree! Please, let me be! I’ll do anything you want! I…!”

The head knight let out a high-pitched shriek as Todoroki shoved the herring somewhere where no herring should logically go. Unable to comprehend the pain, he keeled over on the ground.

“Come on, Deku, let’s proceed forth!”

“Todoroki, did you really have to do that?”

“When a woman is fed up with someone or something, then yes, she is obliged to do as she pleases!”

Deku smiled nervously. “Heh heh…OK! Let’s just keep going, shall we?”

===

Having passed the Knights Who…Until Recently, Said “Ni”, Deku, Todoroki and Bob continued their trek through the forest. Aside from the sounds of various birds and insects, there was nothing to disturb their trek onwards.

“Deku, I’ve been meaning to ask you…”

“What is it, Shoko?”

“This Gigantomachia…you have no idea where he resides…do you?”

“Exactly where he lives, I couldn’t tell you. However, I have a feeling that this ‘All For One’ you mentioned has something to do with him.”

“You really think so?”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out.”

Eventually, the forest ended, and Deku, Todoroki and Bob came to some grasslands. Not too far off from the grasslands, there was a lake. Proceeding further, not only did they notice a small boat on the shore and a man standing beside it, but across the way, there was a castle.

“That castle…” said Todoroki. “No! It can’t be! It’s none other than Castle Slayer!”

Deku and Bob gave Todoroki quizzical looks.

“Castle Slayer?” said Deku.

“This is the very castle where All For One is said to reside!” Todoroki briefly glanced at the castle before turning back to Deku. “Nobody who has set foot near that castle has survived! Rumor has it that even to see the castle is death!”

Deku patted the hilt of his sword. “Then let us be the first to do the impossible!”

Deku, Todoroki and Bob galloped onwards to the man with the boat, an old man with scraggly graying hair and an equally scraggly beard.

“Stop!” said the man. “Who would cross the Lake of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side he see.”

“Ask away, my good sir!” said Deku.

“What is your name?”

“Izuku Midoriya.”

“What is your quest?”

“To defeat Gigantomachia.”

“What is the time it takes for a coconut to rot?”

“Where was the coconut carried from?”

“WHAT!? I don’t know that!”

Suddenly, the man spontaneously combusted.

“HELP ME! I’M BURNING UP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!”

Like many fictional characters, the man’s reaction to burning up was to flail his arms about until he dropped lifelessly to the ground rather than stopping, dropping and rolling like any sensible person would do. Once he’d collapsed to the ground, the flames consumed whatever remained of him, while Deku, Todoroki and Bob gave each other curious looks. After this, they got in the boat, and Deku and Bob each grabbed an oar.

“Hold on, I know a faster way.”

Todoroki used her ice power to propel the boat across the lake in a matter of seconds. Then, despite not knowing exactly what to expect, Deku, Todoroki and Bob galloped on to the front gate when all of a sudden, Deku heard a yelp, so he turned around, and…

“BOB!”

Noticing that Bob had been shot with an arrow, Deku cradled his body in his arms, while Todoroki created an ice shield to block further attacks.

“Bob, I promise you…you will not have died in vain!”

Just then, Deku heard a groaning sound, only to notice that Bob was still alive.

“Bob, I promise you…you will not have been mortally wounded in vain!”

“Oh, I’m quite all right, actually,” said Bob. “I don’t think that really broke the skin.

Todoroki dropped her jaw. “Wait…you can speak?”

“Of course! Listen…Deku, Todoroki, my mission is complete here. Go on without me!”

“You shall not go on any further!” said a mysterious female voice.

Deku, Todoroki and Bob turned to see who’d addressed them: a woman with short mint green hair and matching eyes. She wore a black bodysuit, a green hooded cape, chain mail armor, brown leather boots with a fur lining and a black mask obscuring the lower half of her face.

“Who are you!?” said Deku.

“My name is Beros. All For One has enlisted my aid in his quest to conquer Syrlania, and you shall perish for your intervention!”

“No!” said Todoroki. “It’s you who shall perish!”

Beros raised her left hand, formed a bow with it, while Todoroki shot a blast of flames at her. However, Beros managed to dodge it.

“Did you really think you could best me that easily?” said Beros. “Embrace your demise!”

“Deku, I’ll distract her!” said Todoroki. “You close in!”

“Right!”

And thus, the battle between Deku and Todoroki vs. Beros began. Todoroki alternated between using her fire and ice not so much to fry or freeze Beros, but to give Deku a chance to close in on her and land a finishing blow. However, in a curious turn of events, Beros turned on Deku and attempted to shoot arrows at him. Fortunately, he was able to block them with his sword, though he needed a clean break in the arrows to really do her in. Then, just when things were looking hopeless, Beros got careless with her timing and got her foot frozen by Todoroki, thus giving Deku that opportunity he really needed…

“NEWCASTLE SMASH!”

In one quick, clean swipe, Deku beheaded Beros.

“Well, she’ll never get ahead in life,” said Todoroki.

Deku burst out laughing.

“What?” said Todoroki.

“Shoko, I didn’t know you had a sense of humor!”

Todoroki shrugged. “I didn’t, either. Now then, let’s head into the castle.”

Chapter 14: Red and White Sonja, Part III

Chapter Text

Todoroki used her fire to burn down the door leading into the castle, and her and Deku headed inside. Already, they noticed that it was quite dark and foreboding inside. They proceeded quickly yet carefully through the halls, keeping ever vigilant for any foes that might pop out at them. Thus far, there wasn’t much in their way, but Deku could tell that there was something waiting for them. Sure enough, something did pop out at them: a low-tier Nomu. Almost immediately, Todoroki tried to freeze it, but shortly thereafter, it broke free of the ice.

“Shoko, leave its head exposed! Cutting off the head is the best way to defeat it!”

“Right!”

As per Deku’s command, Todoroki froze the Nomu again, leaving its head exposed, and acting quickly, Deku beheaded it.

“Come on!” said Deku.

And so, Deku and Todoroki hurried through the halls of the castle, twisting and turning their way ever closer to victory. For the most part, they had an easy jaunt, only having to deal with low-tier Nomus, though as they went on, they were encountering some mid-tier Nomus. These were tougher in that they broke through Todoroki’s ice more quickly, but a single beheading swipe from Deku was still able to defeat them. Sometimes, Todoroki would switch things up and use her fire not only to heat up, but also to distract the Nomus so Deku could behead them. Overall, their chances of completing their quest were looking good at this point. Then, in one room…

“Oh no, that must be one of the upper-tier Nomus!” said Deku. “Cutting off its head won’t do any good!”

“Then I’ve got another idea! Try to keep it occupied!”

“Right!”

Deku charged at the Nomu, not only valiantly attempting to dodge and parry its attacks, but also chopping off its limbs in an attempt to slow it down. Thus far, he seemed to be doing an all right job of it, but it was clear that unless him and Todoroki ended this battle quickly, then they would be done for. However, Todoroki seemed to have an idea in mind…

“FLASHFIRE FIST!”

Todoroki delivered a seismic, white-hot punch to the Nomu, which burned it significantly. However, even then, it still possessed enough of itself to start regenerating.

“Deku, keep going! I’ll have this thing done with soon enough!”

As per Todoroki’s orders, Deku kept dodging the Nomu’s attacks while hacking away at its limbs whenever he had the chance, and Todoroki herself proceeded to deliver more of those punches to the Nomu. Fortunately, their cooperation paid off, and the upper-tier Nomu was out of action for good. Todoroki wiped the sweat off her brow after the battle.

“You all right, Todoroki?”

Todoroki nodded. “I am. I’m just feeling really warm right now.”

“Then let’s take a short rest.”

Deku and Todoroki slumped against a wall embracing each other, while Todoroki used the cold portion of her Quirk to create some ice cubes to cool herself off.

“Hey, Todoroki…”

“Yes?”

“I…I just wanted to say, if we don’t finish this quest alive, I…I’m really happy to have met you, and I wanna spend the rest of my life with you.”

Todoroki smiled. “As do I.”

Todoroki gave Deku another kiss. No matter how many times she kissed him, he could never get over the weird, tingly feelings he got. Nevertheless, he welcomed them, knowing that the most beautiful woman in the world cared to go the distance with him. However, they didn’t spend an exceedingly long time locked in affection.

“Gigantomachia shouldn’t be too far,” said Deku.

“Right.”

Deku and Todoroki headed down a long hallway, eventually reaching a golden door with intricate carvings on it. Together, they opened the door, and sure enough…

“Intruders!” said Gigantomachia. “Have you come here to be my food?”

“No Gigantomachia, we have come here to stop you from attacking innocent villagers!” said Deku.

“Then you too shall be eaten in the name of my master!”

Gigantomachia led the battle off by making a crushing swipe in an attempt to stop Deku and Todoroki. However, the two heroes avoided the attack and countered with some attacks of their own. Unfortunately for them, no matter how hard they tried, the giant just shrugged off their attacks.

“This is impossible!” said Todoroki. “We’ll never defeat him!”

“Don’t say ‘never’ now! I think I have an idea! Just keep him busy!”

“Got it!”

And so, Todoroki alternated between using her flames and her ice on Gigantomachia in spite of the fact that neither of them particularly had much effect on him, while Deku dodged around and attempted to put his new idea into motion. However, Gigantomachia took notice of this and temporarily turned his focus away from Todoroki to try to crush Deku like a fly.

“Don’t think you’ll beat me that easily!” said Gigantomachia. “Everything I do is for my master!”

“Oh yeah!?” said Deku. “Does that include foul murder!?”

“SHUT UP! You know nothing of what you speak!”

Gigantomachia attempted to hammer a mighty fist down on Deku, but he evaded it…barely.

(Come on, Todoroki, distract him!)

Fortunately for Deku, Todoroki had another ace up her sleeve…

“FLASHFREEZE HEATWAVE!”

Todoroki shot a massive blast of heat and cold at Gigantomachia. Despite its impressive power, the monster survived, though he got distracted.

“Stop annoying me!”

Gigantomachia prepared a swipe in an effort to take out Todoroki. Unbeknownst to him, Deku – having raised his sword – had an ace of his own, and his sword gave off an ethereal glow. This was it for Deku: either he was going to do this, or him and Todoroki were doomed.

(Here goes…) “SWORD OF LIGHT SMASH!”

With one quick, decisive slash, Deku attempted to hack into Gigantomachia. At first, it appeared that his new ultimate move had been for naught, but then, Gigantomachia slowly fell apart into two halves, with Deku and Todoroki both huffing and puffing after the battle.

“That was an impressive move!” said Todoroki.

“Thank you! All For One shouldn’t be too far away now!”

“Were you two looking for me?”

Deku and Todoroki turned to see no other than All For One standing at the opposite end of the room.

“You…!” said Todoroki.

“Yes, me,” said All For One. “And I see that your family has yet to abdicate from their throne.”

“We’ll never abdicate, not while there are good people willing to stand up and do the right thing!”

“Then…you will die!”

Deku and Todoroki squared off against All For One in what would be the final battle to end all final battles. If they thought Gigantomachia was tough, then they clearly hadn’t seen anything yet. For example, one thing they noticed about him was how easily he dodged their attacks when compared to Gigantomachia. Compounding this difficulty, on the occasions when they did land an attack, not only did the attacks fail to do any damage, but the resulting force got reflected back at them. Fortunately, Deku and Todoroki were some pretty tough cookies, but how long they could hold out was another matter entirely.

“So, Izuku Midoriya, you are the one whom the legendary All Might has chosen as his successor,” said All For One. “I shall take pleasure in destroying you, too!”

“This ends here, All For One!” said Deku.

“For you, yes.”

The battle raged on, with Deku and Todoroki using their best attacks. Again, no matter how hard they tried, All For One simply wouldn’t die. Furthermore, All For One was striking back at them with some attacks of his own, such as coiling his muscles and shooting shockwaves at the two heroes. Another tactic he tried was attempting to stab Deku and Todoroki with long tendrils emanating from his fingers. The two heroes did their best to dodge and parry the blows, and while they were doing a good job so far, it was becoming clear that they wouldn’t be able to hold out against All For One forever.

“You are beaten!” said All For One. “It is useless to resist! Don’t let yourselves be destroyed as many others have been before you!”

“That’ll never happen!” said Deku.

“You’re the one who will be destroyed!” said Todoroki.

“Suit yourself!”

Deku and Todoroki continued their valiant, epic fight against All For One. As the battle wore on, however, the two of them were feeling a creeping sensation of hopelessness. Where it was coming from was unknown to them, but the more they fought, the less they wanted to fight. Deku and Todoroki did their best to power through the feelings, but no matter how hard they tried, they found the fog of darkness enveloping their minds like nothing else could. This translated to them having slower reflexes. As a result of this, All For One ended up knocking Deku’s sword out of his hands and knocking Deku himself to the ground before threatening him and Todoroki with his tendrils.

“There is no escape, Midoriya and Todoroki,” said All For One. “Don’t make me destroy you. Join me, and together, we can bring peace to Syrlania.”

“We’ll never join you!” said Deku.

“Deku’s right!” said Todoroki. “As long as we live, our fight won’t end!”

“HA! You speak of resistance, and yet your voices tremble with fear! Why do you bother resisting at all? If only you knew my true power. Midoriya, All Might never told you what happened to your father.”

“He told me ENOUGH!” said Deku. “He told me you killed him!”

“No…I am your father.”

Deku blinked and shot a blank look at All For One.

“Wait…is this some kind of joke?” said Deku.

“What!?” said All For One. “How DARE you accuse me of kidding you?”

“I mean, I didn’t tell Horikoshi that I wanted you to be my father.”

“You fool! You don’t just tell someone whom you want for a father!”

“Well, what makes you think you’re my father, then?”

“Because my Quirk is the opposite of yours, and by official mandate of the Laws of Villainy, it states quite clearly that the main villain is to be father to the main hero!”

Deku crossed his arms. “Listen, powerful villains ripping off a famous line from a famous sci-fi movie is no basis for fatherhood! Being a parent derives from a man loving a woman and making love to her, not from some farcical attempt at parodying pop culture!”

“Be quiet!”

“Well, but you can’t expect to be my father just because some other evil villain was father to another hero!”

“Shut up!”

“I mean, if I was a powerful villain and I told the hero that I was his father just because some sci-fi movie had a similar setup, they’d come to take me away, ha-haaa!”

“SHUT UP, WILL YOU!? SHUT UP!”

“Ah, now I see the violence inherent in your system!”

“SHUT UP!”

Deku gestured to All For One with his hands. “Hey Todoroki, look at the violence inherent in his system! Help! Help, I’m being repressed!”

“BLOODY PEASANT!”

“Oh, what a giveaway! Did you hear that? Did you hear that, Todoroki? That’s what I’m talking about! Did you see him repressing me? You saw it, didn’t you?”

Todoroki nodded. “I did indeed.”

“SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU, SHUT UP!”

All For One attempted to launch another attack, but Todoroki aimed another Flashfreeze Heatwave at him, distracting him long enough for Deku to grab his sword and prepare another special attack…

“GALAXY SMASH!”

With his sword vibrating at a million times the speed of light, Deku made one valiant swipe at All For One. That did it: not only did All For One get vaporized, but all life as he knew it stopped instantaneously, and every molecule in his body exploded at the speed of light. Deku stood there, huffing and puffing as his mind got acclimated to hope again. Once he had calmed down sufficiently, he put his sword away and ran to Todoroki, who ran up to him as well.

“WE DID IT!” said Todoroki. “Oh, Deku!”

Todoroki and Deku hugged and kissed each other again, elated that their quests had intertwined and ended in ultimate victory. However, it soon became clear that their lives would come to a premature end if they didn’t do anything, for the castle started collapsing.

“Let’s get out of here!” said Deku.

Deku and Todoroki ran as if they were running to the hills that Iron Maiden once sang about. The whole castle rumbled and stone blocks fell all around them. Despite the intense odds, Deku and Todoroki managed to escape the castle before it collapsed completely. Having gotten a fair distance away, the two of them looked back on the ruins of the castle.

“Well…I guess that’s the end,” said Todoroki.

Deku nodded. “Yeah. Say Todoroki, I wanted to ask you something…”

“Yes?”

“Will you…”

Before Deku could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by police sirens and the sounds of screeching tires. Him and Todoroki turned around, only to notice a few Plymouth Furies in the NYPD’s familiar blue-and-white paint scheme, plus an unmarked one in addition to a Boyertown Merchandiser van. A bunch of NYPD officers – including some ESU officers – got out and pointed their guns at Deku and Todoroki.

“NYPD! FREEZE!”

Deku and Todoroki put their hands up. A Lieutenant wearing a tan trench coat and a matching fedora approached the two pointing his Colt Detective Special at them.

“All right, you two, up against the car and spread ‘em!” said the Lieutenant.

The other officers led Deku and Todoroki to one of the RMPs, where they put their hands on the hood and spread their legs, while the officers patted them down for weapons. One of them grabbed Deku’s sword from him.

“Care to explain this?” said the officer.

“But I’m legally authorized to carry that!” said Deku.

“Sure. You have the right to remain silent. If ya give up the right to remain silent, anything ya say can and will be used against ya in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If ya cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for ya without cost. Do you understand each of these rights I have explained to ya?”

“I do,” said Deku and Todoroki.

“Having these rights in mind, do ya wish to talk to us now?”

“No,” said Deku and Todoroki.

“Hey Todoroki, what’s up?” said Deku.

===

“WHA…!?” Todoroki closed her laptop. “Oh, hey Deku! I…I was just writing some medieval fanfiction!”

“Nice! I didn’t know you did any writing! May I read it when you’re finished with it?”

Todoroki rubbed the back of her head. “Yes, of course!”

“Anyways, I’m going back to my dorm. Best of luck!”

“Thank you!”

Deku kissed Todoroki before heading back to his dorm, while she smiled, knowing that she had the kindest, most handsome boy by her side.

Chapter 15: What Measure Is Kindness?

Chapter Text

Today was largely an ordinary day for Deku. He didn’t really have anything of importance scheduled, so he just decided to take a walk around Musutafu City. He had no specific route planned; he just walked wherever his feet took him. Thus far, it was a peaceful walk, and it allowed him to concentrate on how beautiful the weather was and how calm he was feeling. As much as he enjoyed learning about how to become the best pro hero he possibly could be, there were times that he genuinely wanted to take a break from doing anything- hero-related and just live life on his own terms. Thus far, it was a good day. Then, at one point, he saw Todoroki sitting on a bench curled up in the fetal position, so he quickened his pace and headed over to her.

“Shoko, is something wrong?”

Todoroki sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. I’ve just been thinking about how everybody’s been so nice to me lately, and I just feel like everyone’s being nice to me just because I’m a girl.”

Deku sat down next to Todoroki. “Oh? Why do you feel that way?”

“Before I even came out as a girl, I just felt so invisible, even feared, like nobody wanted to be my friend, and now…” Todoroki started to tear up.

Deku put a hand on Todoroki’s shoulder. “That’s not true! People like you not only because you had the courage to show your true colors, but also because you’re a very kind, caring person who would gladly stand up to protect her friends!”

“Deku, just stop. I get that you’re trying to cheer me up, but your words can’t change the facts.”

Deku frowned. “Then let me be even more honest: it doesn’t matter to me that you’re a girl! Even if you were a boy, you would still be one of the best people I’ve ever had the fortune to know, and I would still love you very, very much!”

Todoroki gasped when she heard this. In this moment, it occurred to her that maybe her friends really did care about her no matter what. Not knowing what else to do, she loosened her stance and cried as she gave Deku a big hug, which he gladly returned. After so many years of suffering abuse at the hands of her father, she just desperately needed to let her emotions out, and knowing that she was with Deku, she felt safe in doing so. His words meant more to her than anything else in the whole world, and it was because of them that she had that much more faith not only in him, but in the rest of her friends as well. Furthermore, she felt so liberated in being able to cry like this.

Despite being overwhelmed by Todoroki’s sadness, Deku held onto her tightly as she continued to cry. In this moment, he had to wonder just how badly she hurt to cry this much. He wondered if she’d ever felt like him in all those years of him not having his own Quirk and being bullied by Katsuki “Kacchan” Bakugo and other students for it. He speculated that this was exactly why they went so well together. Thinking back on when he told her that it was her Quirk and not Endeavor’s, he couldn’t help but think how much change he’d brought about in her and how much happier both of them had become as a result. Eventually, Todoroki stopped crying, but Deku continued to hold onto her, only letting go when she finally did.

“Deku, thank you so much! I…I can’t tell you how much your words mean to me!”

“You’re welcome, Shoko! I just didn’t want you to feel lonely and unloved, you know?”

Todoroki pulled out a tissue, dried her eyes and blew her nose. “Honestly, after hearing what you just said, I really don’t care whether or not people like me because of what I am, because I know that as long as my friends are there for me, then I’ll be there for them.”

Deku patted Todoroki on the back. “That’s the spirit! Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to take you out for a drink at this café I know about.”

Todoroki smiled. “Anything for the cutest, kindest boy ever!”

Deku chuckled. “Then let’s go!”

Deku took Todoroki by the hand and headed off to the café, their relationship looking brighter than ever.

Chapter 16: Café Jollies

Chapter Text

The café that Deku took Todoroki to was a place called The Id Café, a small out-of-the-way place that was easy to miss even if one was looking for it. Open for about a year now, it was known for having an extensive library of comics and manga based on video games, and it was also decorated with merchandise depicting characters and objects from various video games, from cutesy, innocuous stuff such as Pikachu to decidedly more mature stuff such as the Pinky demon from Doom. Only a couple of other people were here, so Deku and Todoroki took a seat in a far corner.

“This is an interesting café,” said Todoroki.

“I found out about it around the time of the Sports Festival. I’ve been here before, but I figured it would be more fun to bring someone I like over here.”

Just then, Deku and Todoroki were approached by a waitress who was dressed like Princess Peach.

“Hello, and welcome to The Id Café!” The waitress handed out some menus. “Do you need some time to order or may I take it now?”

Deku and Todoroki gave their menus a brief looksee.

“I’m ready to order whenever you are,” said Deku.

“Right, I’ll have an Earl Grey with one sugar and no milk, please,” said Todoroki.

The waitress wrote Todoroki’s order down. “OK, and for you?”

“I’ll have a sencha green tea with two sugars and no milk, please,” said Deku.

The waitress left to get their orders.

“Deku, thanks again for taking me here!” Todoroki smiled. “After crying my eyes out, a relaxing cup of Earl Grey is just what I needed to cheer me up!”

“Well, you cheered me up when I was in need of it, so I thought it was only fair that I return the favor, you know?”

“Awww, you’re so sweet!”

Deku smiled. “Well, I try to be! Aren’t heroes supposed to be well-mannered?”

Todoroki frowned. “Try telling that to my father, or even Bakugo.”

“I’m not gonna go on about your father too much, but I will say that despite his loud, brash nature, deep down inside, Kacchan is a very good person.”

Todoroki raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“For one thing, ever since I first knew him, he always talked about how he wanted to be like All Might. Furthermore, based on his body language and other non-verbal cues, I can tell that he really feels depressed and just wants somebody to love him.”

“You can actually read people like that?”

Deku nodded. “Of course. That’s how I could tell during the Sports Festival that not only did you harbor no ill will towards me, but that you secretly wished that you could use the fire half of your Quirk without fearing your father.”

Todoroki smiled. “That’s impressive! You truly are a wonderful person! Now tell me: could you also tell I was really a girl?”

Deku scratched his cheek with his index finger. “Well…not exactly, but I could tell that you harbored a really big secret that you were dying to reveal to everybody.”

“Which makes me wonder: how are you able to read people so well?”

“I think, for me at least, it was a combination of having an analytical mind as well as studying human behavior a lot.”

“Impressive! I will be honest, though: I’m glad you’re using your skills for good rather than evil.”

“Shoko, I could never use my powers for evil, not when I have a bunch of good friends on my side, and especially not when I have the most beautiful girl on my side!”

Todoroki giggled. “Deku!”

“What?”

“I know you think I’m the most beautiful girl ever, but you don’t have to keep saying it!”

“Why shouldn’t I? It’s the truth, isn’t it?”

“Then I’ll be honest with you: you’re the most handsome boy ever!”

“Awww!”

Just then, the waitress returned with their drinks.

“Thank you!” said Deku and Todoroki.

“You’re welcome!”

The waitress bowed before going to attend to other customers. Deku and Todoroki took their drinks, and the former held his out to the latter.

“Oh?” said Todoroki. “What’s this about?”

“You’ve never toasted before?”

Todoroki scratched her head. “No, what’s that?”

“So basically, it’s a way of either honoring someone or wishing someone well. Hold your cup out like this…”

“OK…but what exactly are we toasting to?”

“To good health and good relations for as long as we live!”

Todoroki smiled and held up her cup. “OK!”

Deku clinked his cup with Todoroki’s, and they proceeded to drink. Todoroki let out a hearty “ahh” as the warmth of the Earl Grey and the citrus notes of the flavor relaxed her senses.

“This is quite possibly the best cup of Earl Grey I’ve ever had!” said Todoroki. “Thank you so much for bringing me here!”

Deku lowered his cup. “You’re welcome, Shoko!”

Without saying much, Deku and Todoroki continued to drink their tea as they let the sounds of the café color their relaxing break. During this time, Deku reflected on how far he’d come with Todoroki. When they’d first gotten formally acquainted, the green bean actually feared the bicolor babe, though he didn’t think anything of backing down from his fear. Instead, it was because of his ability to read her and his willingness to face his fears that she became who she was today and that they were so close with each other. He couldn’t possibly think about what would’ve happened had he not given her those six little words during the Sports Festival. Similarly, Todoroki couldn’t help but think about how happy she was to have met Deku. When she first met him face-to-face, though she saw him as an arch-rival due to his connection with All Might, she secretly found him very cute and wanted to get to know him better, but feared what would happen if Endeavor found out. Since their battle at the Sports Festival, she had grown much more confident not only in herself, but also in her friends, and she smiled as she thought about how she owed it to her boyfriend. After finishing her tea, Todoroki took a brief look around the café, and then took a seat right next to Deku.

“What’s up, Shoko?”

“So…the café’s almost empty, and we’re sitting in this little corner by ourselves…”

“And?”

Todoroki said nothing else; she wrapped her arms around Deku and kissed him. Naturally, he couldn’t help but do the same. The first few times she’d kissed him, he couldn’t help but feel all hot and bothered by it, but now that he’d grown closer to her, he eagerly looked forward to moments like these. What he didn’t know was that contrary to her seeming enthusiasm for touching him this way, it actually took her a lot of courage to do such a thing the first time around. However, after the first time, it got a lot easier for her, and the moments would stay with her forever. Eventually, she broke away from the kiss, but kept her arms wrapped around him.

“Deku, I’ll never stop loving you. You gave me your heart, and I am forever grateful.”

“I’ll never stop loving you, either!”

While Deku and Todoroki were still embracing each other, the waitress came back with their check, which Deku paid.

“Deku, you didn’t have to do that!” said Todoroki.

“Logically, no, but because you were kind enough to pay for both of our meals that one time at Karuichi, I thought it was only fair to return the favor.”

“You’re so sweet! So, what shall we do now?”

“I had nothing in particular thought up. Why don’t we just go to a bench by Dagoba Beach and embrace each other while looking out at the ocean?”

“You’re so romantic, Deku!”

Deku giggled. “I try!”

And so, Deku and Todoroki left the café while holding each other’s hands, confident that no matter what happened the next day, they would both make the best of it.

Chapter 17: What's Up, Girlfriend?

Chapter Text

Another day of classes had ended at UA, and as usual, Deku and Todoroki were spending it by walking back to the dorms holding each other’s hands, much to Deku’s approval:

“You know, I never used to think much of walking back to the dorms, but now that I get to walk back with you, that gives me something else to look forward to every day!”

“Speak for yourself, Deku! School – not to mention life – in general has become more enjoyable ever since I came out, and I couldn’t have done it without you or…”

“Hey Todoroki!” said a familiar female voice. “What’s up, girlfriend?”

Todoroki spun around and saw none other than Momo Yaoyorozu standing behind them. Todoroki let out a loud gasp, and then smiled.

“YAOYOROZU!”

Todoroki ran up to Yaoyorozu and gave her a big hug, which the latter gladly returned. While Todoroki had always considered Yaoyorozu a good friend, the two had grown that much closer after Todoroki’s coming out as a girl, especially considering how supportive Yaoyorozu had been. Deku smiled when he saw those two hug, not only because he thought it was nice that two girls could be so physically affectionate with each other without people batting an eyelash, but also because he loved seeing Todoroki be happy in general. Finally, Todoroki finished off the gesture by kissing Yaoyorozu on both cheeks, what the French would call “la bise”.

“Wow, you’ve SERIOUSLY become a ball of happiness since you showed your true colors!” said Yaoyorozu. “Do you really enjoy being a girl that much?”

“It’s not just about being happier as a girl, it’s the fact that ever since I found the courage to reveal who I really was, I feel like I’ve had a weight lifted off of my head, and I owe a lot of it to Deku!”

“And I never imagined you’d be so into boys! You two really seem to be an item!”

Todoroki gently brushed her hair. “Well, the thing with Deku is…he’s so brave, heroic and selfless, he never gives up no matter the cost, he does his best to put smiles on peoples’ faces, he makes EVERY moment of my life feel special, he’s sweeter than all the honey in the world, and he’s so cute!”

Deku’s face turned the brightest shade of red, especially when Todoroki called him “cute”. Yaoyorozu even took notice:

“Awww…does Midoriya love when pretty girls call him ‘cute’?”

Todoroki turned around and saw Deku blushing. “Deku, there’s no need to act so shy! We’re in love, aren’t we?”

Deku rubbed the back of his head. “I know, it’s just…I feel so weird when you act so nice towards me!”

“Why should there be anything weird about it? This is supposed to be a happy thing!”

“Todoroki’s right,” said Yaoyorozu. “Being called ‘cute’ is normal!”

“Besides, I only flirt with boys I really like, and I really like you!” said Todoroki.

“Awww! Look at that, Midoriya! You really brightened up her life! Come on, Todoroki, let’s show Midoriya how much we appreciate what he’s done for you!”

Deku turned even more red. “Um…girls…!”

Before Deku could flee, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu were on him in short order and simultaneously hugged him. Still red in the face and sweating nervously, he wondered how he had not collapsed from how hot he was feeling at the moment.

“All right, you two lovebirds, say ‘cheese’!”

Yaoyorozu whipped out her smartphone and took a picture of her, Todoroki and Deku together. Despite his flustration, Deku nevertheless put on a happy face, feeling much better about himself knowing that Todoroki was happy and that this happiness was spreading to other people as well.

Chapter 18: TICKLES

Chapter Text

It was seasonably warm, but not overly hot, in Musutafu, the perfect day for people to head down to Dagoba Beach and take in the sun however they could, and that was just what Deku and Todoroki were doing today. Currently, they were sitting together on a large teal beach towel, Deku dressed in aqua green swim shorts, Todoroki dressed in a two-piece bikini that was white with red polka dots.

“Ah, what a beautiful day!” said Deku. “The sun’s shining, the breeze is nice and cool, and best of all, I get to spend it with my favorite girl!”

Todoroki smiled. “Awww, you’re so sweet! You’re my favorite guy too, Deku!”

“By the way, has anyone told you that you have a really nice body?”

Todoroki giggled. “Stop it!”

“What?”

“Really, you’re too kind!”

Deku rubbed the back of his head. “Well, I try to put smiles on people’s faces, especially beautiful girls like you!”

Todoroki giggled some more. “Deku, if you keep being so flirty with me, you’re gonna get a smile back!”

“Not if you get one first!”

“Deku, what are…AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Wow, who knew the youngest daughter of Endeavor was so ticklish?”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHP!”

“You’re already asking me to stop? But we’re just getting started!”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I CAN’T TAKE IT!”

“Awww, tough girl can’t take a few tickles? Too bad!”

“I’LL GET YOU! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“I don’t think…WHAT THE…!?”

“See Deku? I told you I’d get you!”

“SHOKO! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Did you really think you were gonna get away with tickling a girl?”

“PLEASE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Say ‘please’ all you want! I’m not stopping until I’ve had my fun!”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THIS ISN’T FUN!”

“Maybe not for you, but I’m really enjoying this!”

“NO MORE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Hmmm…I wonder what All Might would think if he found out you were ticklish.”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DON’T TELL HIM!”

“I tell you what: I won’t tell him if you admit you love it when I tickle you.”

“I’LL NEVER ADMIT THAT! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“OK, I guess I’ll just keep tickling you!”

“YOU SUCK! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Deku, that’s not a nice thing to say to your girlfriend!”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I’M SORRY!”

“Too late! Now you’re really gonna get it!”

“No Todoroki, don’t tickle…AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Don’t tickle your feet? I’m afraid they must be tickled!

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! STAHP! STAHP!”

“Every time you say ‘stop’, I’ll tickle your feet harder!”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OK, I WON’T SAY IT!”

“There, that’s a good boy!”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WHY ARE MY FEET SO TICKLISH!?”

“So that cute girls can make you laugh!”

“I’M DYING! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Don’t die on me now, Deku! How will I explain that to All Might?”

“EXPLAIN YOURSELF! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“Just for talking back to me, I’m gonna make the tickles worse!”

“AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! EVERYTHING’S SO TICKLY!”

“What else were you expecting, Tickledoriya?”

“PLEASE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I CAN’T TAKE ANY MORE!”

“I’ll stop tickling you, but you have to answer one question…”

“What?”

“Who’s the kindest, smartest, strongest, most beautiful girl you’ve ever met?”

“Y-you are!”

“There we go!”

Todoroki lied down with Deku, who was huffing, puffing, tingly and red in the face from all the tickling, and snuggled with him. He squirmed a bit.

“Um…Shoko…y-you can let go now!”

“Relax, Deku! I only want to snuggle with you!”

“Er…OK!”

Despite having received his fair share of tickles, Deku did his best to relax and enjoy the snuggling. Besides, he enjoyed having Todoroki’s ample chest pressing against his back.

“Ahhh, this is heaven!” said Deku.

“Glad you’re enjoying it!”

And so, Deku and Todoroki continued to snuggle, greatly enjoying each other’s company.

Chapter 19: Taking Hell

Chapter Text

It was a partly cloudy Sunday in Musutafu, and Deku was at home, playing Helltaker on his laptop. He’d discovered the game purely by accident, mainly because he saw one of those parody edits of a porn animation done by Twitter user Liquorice_NSFW, and since then, he’d been hooked. Even if it was a short game, he liked the gameplay and the presentation well enough that he couldn’t stop playing it. Then, while he was doing the third level with Cerberus, he heard knocking on his door, so he paused the game.

“Come in,” said Deku.

Inko entered the room.

“Izuku, your girlfriend Shoko is here!”

Upon hearing that his favorite girl was here to visit him, Deku bolted out of his chair and headed for the front door.

“SHOKO!”

“DEKU!”

Both parties gave each other a big hug and kiss.

“So, what brings you here today?” asked Deku.

Todoroki smiled. “No reason! I just wanted to hang out with my favorite person, is all.”

Deku chuckled. “Well, let’s go to my room, then!”

Deku led Todoroki to his room. Inko smiled as they walked past, thinking about how happy she was that her precious son had found somebody with whom he was in love. The two lovebirds finally reached Deku’s room, and the first thing that Todoroki took notice of was the computer.

“What are you playing?” asked Todoroki.

“That? Oh, it’s Helltaker!” Deku smiled.

Todoroki scratched her cheek. “A curious title. May I play?”

Deku gave a thumbs up. “Sure! Just let me reset it to Level One…”

Deku set the game back at the first level, while Todoroki took Deku’s seat.

“So, how do you play this?” asked Todoroki.

“It’s a puzzle game. Basically, your objective is to reach the woman at the end of the level in a set number of moves. Use the arrow keys or WASD to move around. You can kick rocks and skeleton monsters out of the way if you need to.”

Without further prompting, Todoroki began playing, and almost immediately, it became obvious to Deku that she didn’t need much – if any – training to master this game. As she navigated the level, she rhythmically bobbed her head side to side while the music – “Vitality” by Mittsies – thumped on. Ordinarily, she was into heavy metal, but ever since Deku took her out to a disco, she’d grown an appreciation for electronic music. Todoroki reached Pandemonica on the first try, and she selected the second dialogue option – “Maybe I can serve YOU instead?” As she got further into the game, Todoroki came to see just why Deku was so enthralled with it. When she got to the fifth level, where Zdrada was, she paused the game and smiled.

“This is fun. I do, however, have one question…”

“Yes?”

Todoroki raised an eyebrow and adopted a more serious look. “Why would anyone go to Hell just to meet women?”

Deku smiled sheepishly. “Why not? Video games don’t have to make sense, you know!”

Todoroki got up from Deku’s chair.

“Where are you going, Shoko?”

Todoroki walked towards the door. “I’m gonna pay a visit to Bakugo. Maybe I can convince him to join my harem.”

Deku dropped his jaw, sweated nervously and waved his hands back and forth. “Um…I don’t really think that’s a good idea!”

“Why not? Don’t heroes take risks?”

“Well no…um…yeah…but…!”

“Then what is the problem?”

Todoroki exited Deku’s room.

“Shoko, WAIT!”

Deku ran after Todoroki in an attempt to save her from being horribly murdered.

Chapter 20: Girl Problem #1

Chapter Text

Once again, Deku and Todoroki were walking back to the dorms together. However, judging by the way Todoroki had her hands on her back, not all was well, and Deku took notice:

“Shoko, what’s wrong?”

“My back really hurts! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind having breasts; it’s just…they’re such a pain sometimes!”

“I may not know exactly what that’s like, but if it’s any comfort to you, I have an idea that may help…”

“Oh?”

Deku made a “come hither” gesture to Todoroki, who leaned in a bit closer, and he whispered:

“Shoko, I’d like to give you a massage.”

Todoroki froze and blushed when she heard these words. Never before had anyone offered anything like that to her. Deku took notice and began sweating nervously:

“Um…did I say something wrong?”

“Oh no,” said Todoroki. “I…it’s just…are you sure about this?”

“Hey, it’s just a massage! There doesn’t have to be anything weird about it! It’s normal for people to give massages without any sexual intent, you know?”

Todoroki stared at Deku briefly. On one hand, she still wasn’t too sure about this, but on the other hand, she trusted him, and the more she stared at him, the less weird it seemed, so the answer was obvious:

“All right, Deku, I accept. Just give me some time to shed my clothes, please.”

Deku gave a thumbs-up. “Will do!”

===

After returning to their dorms, Deku and Todoroki began getting ready. First, Deku changed into more casual clothes, which included a gray AC/DC T-shirt, blue jeans and his favorite red shoes. Then, he grabbed a bottle of baby oil. He usually used it for himself, but he figured that it would do just as well for Todoroki. After this, he headed to her dorm and knocked on her door.

“Just a second!” said Todoroki.

Deku did so.

“OK, come on in!”

Deku entered Todoroki’s Japanese-themed dorm, and he had to muster his best effort not to drop the baby oil when he saw her kneeling naked on the bed, grasping a blanket in front of her. Even with the blanket, he could tell that she cut such a fine figure.

“Everything OK, Deku?”

Deku nodded. “Y-yeah. Just lie down face-first on the bed and let me take care of you.”

“As you wish.”

Todoroki lied down, and after he took his shoes off, Deku walked over to her, knelt down next to her and applied some oil to his hands. Then, he began massaging her. As soon as she felt his touch, she let out a soft gasp. While having his hands on her was nothing new to her, this was like nothing else she’d felt before, and she could tell that it was going to be a most sensual experience.

“You like this so far?” asked Deku.

“A little higher, please!”

Deku obeyed Todoroki’s wish.

“Mmmm yes…that feels so good!”

Todoroki moaned softly as she took in the delightful relaxation of Deku’s touch. After years of being forced to bind herself as per Endeavor’s orders in addition to enduring the aches and pains that came with being so well-endowed, it just felt so liberating for her to receive this sort of therapy. Also, any scruples that she initially had about the whole thing melted away as soon as he laid his hands on her, to be replaced by the satisfaction of knowing that she was getting such heavenly treatment. Granted, she wondered why he hadn’t offered this to her earlier, but she quickly pushed the thought aside and continued to bask in the pleasure.

She wasn’t the only one, either: Deku was also getting a charge out of doing this. While he was no stranger to doing kind things for Todoroki, this felt like a whole other level for him. In the past, he never would have had the courage to ask any girl to let him do this to her, never mind someone as beautiful as Todoroki, but because his confidence had grown so much since they began dating, they were here now. Granted, he still felt a bit nervous about being around a naked woman, but it was like he said: there didn’t have to be anything sexual going on. Nevertheless, Deku enjoyed rubbing his hands across her soft skin, and he especially felt good knowing that this was doing her good, too. However, all good things had to come to an end…

“Deku…”

“Yes?”

“I’m feeling much better now. You may stop.”

Though he really wanted to keep massaging Todoroki, Deku obeyed her wish and took his hands off of her, leaving her to let out a contented sigh as she took in the afterglow. After lying down some more, she got up.

“Deku, thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome! How did that feel?”

Todoroki rubbed her back. “Well, I’m still feeling a little sore, but other than that, that was really good.”

“It’s OK to still feel sore. I read that a little soreness is normal after a massage.”

“Even so, that was really nice of you to offer this to me! We should do this again some time!”

“Really?”

“Really!”

Deku smiled. “I’d be glad to! You deserve it!”

“Oh, Deku!”

Todoroki wrapped an arm around Deku and laid her head on his shoulder. If there was another girl who was meant to be with him, he hadn’t found her yet.

Chapter 21: You're the Czar When You Got a Kickass Car

Chapter Text

For Todoroki, today was seemingly another day in Epping, New Hampshire. Having finished some strength training exercises, she decided to go out to her backyard to meditate. Prior to meeting her current crop of friends, she’d never thought much of meditation, but ever since Yaoyorozu suggested it to her, she decided to give it a try. At first, it didn’t seem to do much – if anything – for Todoroki, but within a few sessions, she really started getting it, and it really helped to calm her. She was aware of the sound of birds and cicadas in addition to the occasional passing car, but none of those proved disruptive…that is, until she heard one particular car. Judging by the direction it was coming from, it seemed to her that this one was pulling into her driveway. Figuring that someone wanted to visit her, she got up and headed for the front door. Granted, she would much rather have been meditating, but there was the possibility that it was somebody or something important, so she answered the door.

“Hey, Shoko!”

Todoroki smiled. “Hey, Deku! What brings you over here today?”

Deku smirked. “Well, I just wanted to tell you that you’re not the only one with a nice car!”

“Oh?”

Todoroki looked over Deku’s shoulder and noticed his car parked in the driveway: a Green Gold 1973 Chevy Caprice sedan with a black vinyl roof. Without question, she stepped outside to get a closer look at it.

“That is a really nice car,” said Todoroki. “How long have you had it?”

“I got it last week! By the way, I was wondering…”

“Yes?”

“How would you like to go drag racing…you know, my car against yours?”

Todoroki’s eyes widened. “Really?”

Deku nodded. “Really!”

Todoroki smiled. “Then let’s do it!”

===

After Todoroki grabbed the keys to her Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, both of them headed down to New England Dragway. Plenty of people were here, not only to race, but to spectate as well. Eventually, it came to be Deku and Todoroki’s turn. Prior to the actual race, both competitors did a burnout in the “water box”, which not only produced a large cloud of smoke, but laid down some serious rubber. After this, both of them slowly inched to the starting line to stage. They ended up pre-staging and then staging at about the same time.

3…

2…

1…

The green lights lit up, and both of them proceeded to zing down the track. At first, Todoroki’s Ninety-Eight seemed to have the lead, but then Deku’s Caprice overtook her, shrinking away before crossing the finish line first. After the race, Deku and Todoroki met each other in the pit area.

“How did you beat me, Deku? My car has a supercharged 455 Rocket V8.”

Deku smirked. “Well, you see, I knew your car was going to be some hot stuff, so I decided to make mine even hotter by installing a 502 V8!”

Todoroki stared at Deku briefly. Then, she smiled and ruffled his hair.

“Deku, you may be a real showoff, but you’re still the cutest boy ever!”

Deku giggled. “Hey, what better way to impress the most beautiful girl ever, right?”

“Awww!”

Todoroki gave Deku another hug and kiss. No matter who won today’s race, being with each other and having fun was victory in and of itself.

Chapter 22: Super Bomb

Chapter Text

The waves of the Pacific Ocean gently lapped against the hull of the Oki Mariner, and Selkie and his valiant crew stood alert, ready to take on the mission that had been presented before them. According to intel from the CIA, a Russian Oscar-class submarine had sunk somewhere off the coast of Shizuoka Prefecture. What made this notable was its payload: one Status-6 “Poseidon” Oceanic Multipurpose System vehicle. Better known as the “tsunami bomb” in the popular discourse, this unmanned underwater vehicle was capable of vast destructive power, and Selkie’s crew had been given one task: retrieve the bomb before the Russians did. Also present among the crew was Tsuyu “Tsu” Asui, being accompanied by Deku and Todoroki, who had each been given a bit of a crash course in scuba diving as a condition of volunteering for this mission.

“Thanks for volunteering for this,” said Tsu. “Your help means a lot to me, ribbit.”

Deku smiled. “You’re welcome, Asui! We’re only too glad to help!”

“I told you to call me ‘Tsu’.”

Deku rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, right, sorry!”

“Anyways, what made you two want to come along with me?”

Todoroki gestured to Deku with her thumb. “Well, it was mostly Deku’s idea. We had nothing better to do, so he convinced me to come along with you.”

Tsu nodded. “I see. By the way, Todoroki, can I ask you something?”

Todoroki smiled. “Sure!”

“You’ve become a lot happier since the Sports Festival. Did using your fire power make you that happy, or was it something else?”

“It wasn’t just the fact that Deku made me feel better about the ‘Hot’ portion of my Quirk. You see, when I finally used my fire, I also found the courage to come out to you, Deku and everybody else. That, and the fact that you and all the other girls gave me your support meant A LOT to me.”

Tsu smiled. “Well, I’m glad! Besides, one of my best friends is transitioning, so I can totally sympathize with your reasoning, ribbit.”

“Thank you! And Asui…”

“Please, call me ‘Tsu’.”

“Right! You may call me ‘Shoko’!”

Tsu nodded. “Ribbit.”

“Come here!”

Todoroki gave Tsu a big hug. Tsu gasped and blushed when she felt Todoroki’s voluptuous chest press against her head, but she nevertheless returned the hug. Even if she did find the whole experience to be a touch awkward, she would much rather have had a warm, friendly Todoroki than one who was cold as ice and not approachable at all. Even so, the little frog girl felt the need to speak up about something…

“Shoko, I’m glad you’re happy, but you can let go now, ribbit.”

“Oh.” Todoroki let go of Tsu and smiled awkwardly.

“Now hear this:” said Selkie. “We’re just about at the area where the submarine is. Sirius, Mick, get the retrieval harness ready. Midoriya, Todoroki, Asui, prepare to dive.”

“Right!”

Sirius and Mick threw a retrieval harness attached to a rope over the side of the Oki Mariner, after which Deku, Todoroki and Tsu dove into the water. Deku, Todoroki and Tsu grabbed the retrieval harness and began their descent into the depths of the Pacific. To find the submarine, Tsu was using a waterproof Geiger counter that Deku managed to scrounge from Mei Hatsume, so it was mainly Deku and Todoroki following Tsu’s lead. As they went deeper and deeper into the water, Deku and Todoroki couldn’t help but be hypnotized by the various forms of aquatic wildlife that inhabited these depths, so much so that Tsu had to gently tug at the harness to snap them out of their trance.

Finally, after diving so far, they found the submarine, K-715 Severnaya. When they approached the submarine, Deku aimed another one of Hatsume’s toys – a wrist-mounted cutting torch – and started cutting open the area where the bomb was on the submarine. He would have to hurry, for Tsu tapped him on the shoulder and pointed her finger off in the distance. Todoroki had taken notice as well, and one thing became clear to them: the Russians had found the submarine, too. Breaking from his cutting job, Deku readied an APS underwater assault rifle, while Tsu got a speargun ready. The Russians attempted to fire at them, but Todoroki blocked their shots with her ice. Using the ice as cover, Deku opened fire on the Russians, hitting two of them, while Tsu used her ability to secrete mucus to mask her thermal signature from the Russians and sneak around them. In doing so, she plugged one of them with her speargun, which caused a bit of a panic. Knowing that the Russians’ attention was divided, Todoroki shot a blast of ice at them, freezing a couple more. Though the Russians were superior in numbers, the trio from the Oki Mariner had better training, and it was this training that enabled them to wipe out their opponents and get back to cutting open the submarine.

One thing that Deku had to be careful about when using the torch was that he didn’t accidentally cut through the bomb and set it off. Fortunately, his care paid off, and he was able to cut away enough of the Severnaya’s hull so they could reach the bomb. Because it was heavy, Deku and Todoroki had to work together to lift the bomb up just enough so that Tsu could get the harness underneath it. Fortunately, their teamwork paid off, and because the crew of the Oki Mariner was observing them through special CCTV mounts, they knew that the bomb was ready to be transported to the surface, so they brought it up carefully yet quickly, with Deku, Todoroki and Tsu supporting the harness so the bomb wouldn’t fall off. Fortunately, they managed to get back to the surface, but Selkie had bad news for them…

“Ladies and gentlemen, look over there!”

Selkie pointed off in the distance, where they saw a Russian Udaloy-class destroyer.

“Attention Japanese ship: this is the Russian Navy destroyer Friedrich Engels. You are hopelessly outgunned, and you cannot get away. Surrender now and hand the Poseidon to us, and we shall allow you to live. Do not test us.”

“Midoriya, what’s your plan?” asked Tsu.

“Shoko, can your fire or ice reach that far?” asked Deku.

Todoroki stroked her chin. “I might. I’d feel better if Tsu used her tongue to launch me at the destroyer so I could get a better shot, though.

“All right, I can do that, ribbit.”

Tsu stood behind Todoroki.

“Ready, Shoko?”

Todoroki gave a thumbs up. “Ready!”

With one more “ribbit”, Tsu wrapped her tongue around Todoroki and hurled her at the Russian destroyer as hard as she could. Fortunately, this got Todoroki close enough, and…

“FLASHFREEZE HEATWAVE!”

With this single attack, Todoroki blew the Friedrich Engels to kingdom come before splashing down in the water. In short order, the Oki Mariner showed up, and Mick threw down a life ring to her, which she grabbed onto. He then pulled her up, and Deku and Tsu came over to her.

“Wow Shoko, that was impressive!” said Tsu. “No matter how many times I see you in action, you never fail to amaze, ribbit.”

Todoroki smiled. “You can thank Deku for that. Had he not made me feel better about my Fire half, I would never have unlocked such immense power. Then again, the support from you and the rest of the girls revived my esprit de corps.”

Deku blushed. “Shoko, I didn’t know you knew French!”

Todoroki wrapped an arm around Deku. « Je suis un étudiant de plusieurs langues. »

“Hey, mind if I get a picture of you two?” asked Tsu.

“Go ahead!” said Deku.

“Please do!” said Todoroki.

“OK then.”

Deku and Todoroki continued to wrap an arm around each other, while Tsu snapped a picture of them with her phone. Overall, it was another great day for peace, love and teamwork.

Chapter 23: Slap Shot

Chapter Text

Another evening cast over Musutafu, and Deku and Todoroki were trying something a little different: tonight, they were going to a hockey game at the Musutafu Ice Palace to see the Musutafu Wolves take on the Oji Eagles, both teams being a part of Asia League Ice Hockey. Deku had plenty to say about this, too:

“You know, I’m still surprised that you’re into hockey.”

“Why for?” said Todoroki. “I’ve always been into winter sports.”

“On second thought, I guess that makes sense considering the Cold half of your Quirk. Still, you’re more adventurous than I thought.”

Todoroki put a hand on Deku’s shoulder. “I owe much of that to you.”

Deku smiled. “I’m not surprised by that. By the way, I was wondering…”

“Yes?”

“Why are you wearing an American hockey jersey today?”

Todoroki briefly looked down at her vintage Boston Bruins jersey, which had Bobby Orr’s name and number on it.

“You know, I’m not 100% sure. I have watched my fair share of NHL games, though, and perhaps my favorite hockey moment is the 1980 ‘Miracle On Ice’ at Lake Placid.”

“Well, you should wear this jersey more often! It looks cute on you!”

“Oh, Deku!”

Todoroki wrapped an arm around Deku briefly. Then, they proceeded to the main arena and took their seats. While neither of them had rinkside seats, they weren’t in the so-called “nosebleed section” either. There they sat, greatly anticipating the action that was to come. Soon enough, the lights dimmed, and the spotlights came on…

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Musutafu Ice Palace for another exciting presentation of Asia League Ice Hockey!” said the announcer. “And here’s your Musutafu Wolves!”

The players of the Musutafu Wolves came out onto the ice as spotlights shined on them. A good portion of the crowd cheered for them.

“Challenging them tonight is the Oji Eagles!”

Spotlights shined on the Oji Eagles’ players as they came out onto the ice as well. There was also a portion of the crowd that cheered for them. Soon, the lights came back on, and the players got into position. The ref dropped the puck, and the game got on as Musutafu’s Noboru Kawakami took possession. One thing that separated Asia League Ice Hockey from the NHL was that unlike the NHL, fighting in this league was against the rules and was severely punished. That didn’t make this game any less exciting for Deku or Todoroki, however. In fact, the game was that much more exciting because they were sharing in it with each other. It was a tough game for both teams, and neither one scored in the first period. However, things would get even tougher in the second period when Musutafu’s Masaru Inaba scored the first goal of the game, and Juro Kobayashi of Oji scored one a few minutes later, and thus, the score would remain tied at the end of the second period.

===

Neither team had been particularly willing to cede another goal, but in the end, the Musutafu Wolves won 3-2. Deku and Todoroki excitedly discussed the game as they left the stadium:

“Wow, that was one of the most exciting hockey games I’ve ever seen!” said Deku.

“I know! One of my favorite moments was when Okazaki blocked Matsumura’s shot near the end of the second period! Had he not done that, then Oji would’ve won the game for sure!”

“You know, it’s interesting how some games are decided by those little moments in between.”

Todoroki nodded. “I agree.”

“Anyways, thanks again for inviting me, Shoko! I always enjoy hanging out with you!”

“You’re welcome! The pleasure is likewise!”

Todoroki held Deku’s hand as they headed on home. While not the biggest sports fanatic in the world, Deku was looking forward to whatever other sporting events Todoroki might invite him to.

Chapter 24: Foreign Film Festival

Chapter Text

It was another ordinary Saturday morning for Deku as he sat in his dorms, looking through his notes on hero analysis. While he’d pretty much memorized the contents of those Kokuyo Campus notebooks, he figured that doing a read-through every now and then couldn’t hurt. Perhaps his favorite part of reading through these was reading about the Quirks of his fellow Class 1-A students, excitedly wondering what other super moves they’d develop by training with their Quirks. Out of all of them, he was having trouble deciding who had the best Quirk, but if he had to choose, he thought that Kacchan, Todoroki, Iida, Uraraka, Kirishima, Tokoyami, Ashido and Hagakure were top contenders. Then, while mulling over his friends’ Quirks, he heard knocking on his door.

“Coming!”

Deku put down the notebook he was reading and went to the door. Sure enough, Todoroki was there.

“Hey Shoko!”

“Hey Deku!”

Deku and Todoroki gave each other a big hug and kiss.

“So, what brings you over here?”

“I’m hosting a foreign film festival in my dorm. Are you interested in joining me?”

Deku gave a thumbs up. “Definitely! Just one question…”

“Yes?”

“Do I have to bring popcorn or any other treats?”

“I have already bought an ample supply of popcorn, and I have a mini refrigerator with plenty of drinks. You are, however, welcome to bring another item of food or drink if you so desire.

Deku nodded. “OK then. Who else is showing up?”

“Only Uraraka and Asui have shown any desire to participate.”

Deku shrugged. “Still, it sounds like fun! Let’s go!”

===

Deku and Todoroki headed to the latter’s dorm, where Uraraka and Tsu were waiting for them, along with somebody whom Todoroki hadn’t expected, but was glad to see, nevertheless…

“Hey girlfriend!”

Todoroki gasped. “YAOYOROZU! Glad you could join us!”

Once again, Todoroki gave Yaoyorozu a big hug in addition to “la bise”. Uraraka and Tsu smiled when they saw this.

“Wow Todoroki, you’ve grown so enthusiastic since you came out!” said Uraraka.

“Yeah, I only wish Uraraka and I had what you two have, ribbit,” said Tsu.

Uraraka giggled and ruffled Tsu’s hair. “Hey, you’ll always be my best friend, Tsu!”

Tsu let out another “ribbit.”

“Pardon me, is the guest list completely occupied or do you have space for one more?”

Everyone turned to see who’d addressed them: Fumikage Tokoyami.

“Ah, hello Tokoyami!” Todoroki waved at Tokoyami. “Yes, there should be enough space in my dorm for you, though it may be slightly cramped.”

“That makes little difference to me. As a connoisseur of cinema, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”

Deku smiled. “I’m looking forward to it, too!”

“Then let’s go!”

Todoroki led her guests into her dorm, where there were seating mats and chairs set up, plus a few large bags of movie theater-grade butter popcorn and a pile of DVDs/Blu-rays next to her TV. Tokoyami, Uraraka and Tsu ended up sitting in the front row, while Deku, Todoroki and Yaoyorozu sat in back.

“So, does anyone have any preferences for what we watch first?” asked Todoroki.

“Not really,” said Deku.

“I will be content with whatever you choose,” said Tokoyami.

“Same here,” said Uraraka. “I haven’t watched a lot of foreign films, so I’m excited to see what you’ve got, Todoroki.”

“Very well, then.”

For the first movie, Todoroki popped in The Fugitive. Everybody seemed to be engrossed as they watched Harrison Ford’s Richard Kimble desperately prove his innocence while being pursued by Tommy Lee Jones’ Sam Gerard. When it came to the language selection, Todoroki insisted on watching the movies in their original language with Japanese subtitles…not that anybody couldn’t understand English. By the time the movie was over, everybody was clapping.

“That was very well-done,” said Tokoyami.

“I agree,” said Uraraka. “I’d like to watch something a little less violent for a change, though.”

“I can do that.”

Next, Todoroki put in Encanto. This one proved to be a hit too as everybody not only got wrapped up in Mirabel’s quest to save her family’s magic, but also discovered exactly why nobody talked about Bruno. Overall, the films that Todoroki picked ranged from the popular to the obscure, the classics to the modern, the family-friendly to the brutal, including Mary Poppins, First Blood and The Laughing Policeman. Occasionally, they would take breaks to eat food other than popcorn. By the time Power Play wrapped up, it was clear that not everybody could go on with the fun:

“Todoroki, this was fun!” said Yaoyorozu. “Why were you laughing at some of these movies, though?”

Todoroki rubbed the back of her head. “Yeah…I have a habit of whenever the bad guys get killed in violent movies. Sorry!”

“Honestly, you’re weird sometimes, Shoko,” said Deku.

“But you still love me, right?”

“Of course!”

“Well, I liked this, but I gotta go.” Uraraka yawned.

Tsu yawned as well. “Ribbit…”

“I am in accord with everyone else,” said Tokoyami. “As much as I enjoy foreign cinema, I must also get rest. Have a good night, Shoko Todoroki.”

Todoroki smiled. “You too, Fumikage Tokoyami! Have a good night, everyone!”

Everyone got up and left…that is, except someone…

“Tokoyami, what are you still doing here?” asked Todoroki.

“Todoroki, I wanted to give you my thanks for having the courage to reveal that you were really a girl. That act was far more daring than any heroic deed than I have read about or witnessed, and it gives me hope that one day, people can exist in a society where people love one another regardless of immutable sex characteristics.”

“Awww…you’re welcome! That’s so sweet of you!”

Tokoyami blushed. “Right. See you tomorrow, Midoriya and Todoroki.”

“Bye!” said Deku and Todoroki.

Tokoyami headed back to their dorm.

“You know, the more my classmates tell me about how courageous I am, the more I like not only them, but myself as well.”

Deku put a hand on Todoroki’s shoulder. “You should! I feel like everyone’s better off now that you’ve gotten a more positive outlook on life!”

“You really think so?”

Deku nodded. “Really!”

Todoroki smiled. “Deku…”

Todoroki gave Deku another hug and kiss. As always, he was greatly looking forward to other opportunities to hang out with her, and he relished the fact that she was more open to hanging out with everyone else.

Chapter 25: Metal Pounders' Union

Chapter Text

Once again, Deku and Todoroki headed back to the dorms with each other on this lovely Friday afternoon. Today had been a bit of a tough one as the members of Class 1-A had to train their Quirks even harder not only to improve their power, but also their efficiency. The two lovebirds wiped their foreheads off.

“No matter how much I do Quirk improvement training, it never gets any easier,” said Deku.

“I agree. As much as I can withstand extremes of hot or cold, I get a great sense of relief from being able to return to my normal body temperature. By the way, I was wondering…”

“What?”

“You’ve gotten much better at using your Quirk without breaking limbs. How did you manage that?”

“Well, my internship with Gran Torino helped me to regulate how much power I can use, plus…”

“Midoriya, Todoroki, wait up!”

Deku and Todoroki turned around to see who’d addressed them: it was Eijiro Kirishima.

“What’s up, Kirishima?” asked Deku.

Kirishima had a serious look on his face. “I got a HUGE favor to ask of you guys…”

“What sort of favor?” asked Todoroki.

Kirishima pointed his hand, palm-up, at Deku and Todoroki. “So I bought three tickets to a heavy metal concert tonight, hopin’ that Bakugo and Kaminari could go with me, but Bakugo doesn’t even like the band that’s playin’, and Kaminari pulled out at the last second!”

“Did you ask anybody else?” asked Deku.

“I tried askin’ Ashido and Tokoyami, but Ashido is havin’ a girls’ night out with Hagakure, and Tokoyami’s goin’ out to eat with their parents.”

Todoroki stroked her chin. “We might go. Which band is playing?”

Kirishima smiled. “Aw, you’re gonna love ‘em! It’s Anvil!”

Todoroki’s eyes widened, and she let out a loud, drawn-out gasp as she put her hands up to her mouth.

“OH MY GOD! I LOVE ANVIL!” Todoroki smiled, put her hands on Deku’s shoulders and shook him a bit. “Deku, we HAVE to go!”

Deku smiled nervously. “Well…I’m not the biggest metalhead in the world, but I like metal, so I’ll go with you!”

Kirishima gave a thumbs up. “Hell yeah! This is gonna rock!”

===

The Anvil concert was being held at the Musutafu Civic Arena, a multipurpose arena that had been built 45 years ago and had played host to a number of events over the years, including rock concerts. The three comrades of Class 1-A dressed up in their own ways: Deku was wearing a black studded leather vest over a Judas Priest Hell Bent For Leather T-shirt, blue jeans and his favorite red kicks. Todoroki was wearing a Vanson Villainess leather jacket over an Anvil Forged In Fire T-shirt, skinny blue jeans and black knee-high high-heel leather boots. As for Kirishima, he was wearing a denim vest with a bunch of metal band patches sewn on, a Metallica Kill ‘Em All T-shirt, blue jeans and Vietnam-era jungle boots. Despite having to go through some security measures, Todoroki could barely contain her excitement:

“Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually going to a heavy metal concert! Thank you SO MUCH for inviting us, Kirishima!”

“No, thank you, Todoroki! If you and Midoriya hadn’t accepted my offer, those tickets woulda gone to waste!”

“We’re glad to help!” said Deku.

“Hey guys, how’s it going?”

Deku, Todoroki and Kirishima turned to see who’d addressed them: it was none other than Kyoka Jiro, who was wearing an Anvil Metal on Metal tank top, a denim skirt, red and black-striped leggings and black leather tanker boots.

“Hey Jiro!” said Deku. “We’re doing fine!”

“Glad to hear it! And I’m especially glad to see you, Todoroki!”

“The pleasure is likewise!” Todoroki waved at Jiro. “Although I must admit, I’m surprised to find out that you’re into Anvil, too!”

“Well, I’m mainly into alternative metal, but I’ll listen to pretty much anything. Besides, these guys influenced a bunch of bands.”

“I’m not surprised. By the way, may I ask you something?”

Jiro nodded. “Shoot.”

“Are you not jealous of being less well-endowed than the other girls?”

Jiro smiled and did a dismissive wave off to the side. “Not at all! As far as I’m concerned, smaller boobs are better because 1. I don’t have as many back problems, and 2. I don’t get stared at as much like you.”

Todoroki did a brief lookaround, but couldn’t really see anyone staring at her.

“I was unaware that this was a thing, and I’m confused as to why people would stare at me,” said Todoroki.

Jiro chuckled. “Come on! Lots of guys have a thing for big boobs! They see it as a sign of true womanhood!”

Todoroki crossed her arms. “I still don’t get how the size of one’s breasts is an indicator of womanhood, but if guys want to stare, then let them stare. I’ll break them if they touch me the wrong way.”

Kirishima chuckled nervously. “Todoroki, I’m glad you’re more assertive, but why don’t we concentrate on how much fun the concert’s gonna be?”

Todoroki loosened her stance and nodded. “Right.”

Deku, Todoroki, Kirishima and Jiro all took their seats in the arena, which were right next to each other. They weren’t in the “nosebleed section”, but they certainly weren’t right next to the stage, either. Then, an MC came up to the stage:

“All right, Musutafu, are you ready to rock!?”

The crowd cheered.

“I said, are you ready to rock!?”

The crowd cheered louder this time.

“Come on, let’s make some noise!”

The crowd cheered even louder.

“That’s what I like to hear! All right, give it up for our opening act, straight from Toronto, Canada: Skull Fist!”

The crowd cheered, and despite not expecting Skull Fist, Deku and Todoroki nevertheless had a good time headbanging to their stuff. Conversely, Kirishima and Jiro knew that this was to come, and they also enjoyed this band. Overall, the crowd seemed to really enjoy Skull Fist, and one of the more popular tunes seemed to be “Heavier Than Metal”. After they did their set, the MC came back up.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and people of alternate gender identities, here’s the band you’ve all been waiting for. Also from Toronto, it’s…Anvil!”

The crowd cheered really loudly this time as Anvil kicked off their set with “March of the Crabs”, a short instrumental from their 1982 album Metal on Metal. After this tune, lead singer/guitarist Steve “Lips” Kudlow thanked everybody for coming to the concert and expressed his gratitude for being here, and after some humorous banter, him and the band continued the set with the first cut off their 1981 album Hard ‘N’ Heavy: “School Love”. Overall, Anvil’s set consisted of classics such as “666”, “Bedroom Game” and “Free As the Wind”, plus newer material such as “This Is Thirteen”, “Badass Rock ‘n’ Roll” and “Ghost Shadow”, with Lips entertaining the crowd with his banter in between songs.

One particular highlight came when Lips told the crowd a story about meeting Lemmy in 1983 while touring the UK and getting extremely drunk – much to Lemmy’s amusement – after which he snorted something that the Motörhead frontman/bassist offered him, thinking it was cocaine, only for it to be speed. Lips even did a dead-on Lemmy impression at times. Lips even recounted fawning over Lemmy and how the rock god told him that somebody else would be fawning over him was well, and sure enough, Lips ended up meeting the members of Metallica later that year.

Another highlight came during the band’s performance of “Mothra”: during an extended instrumental break, Lips did his trademark trick of playing his guitar with a vibrator. In particular, Kirishima and Jiro laughed when he did this, while Todoroki looked on curiously, but nevertheless finding the trick fascinating. Deku had a bit of a curious giggle at the whole thing. Finally, Anvil closed out their set with what was perhaps their trademark song: “Metal on Metal”. The crowd got into it so much that not only did they sing the choruses – with Todoroki even singing along to the entire song – but also the ending chants of “metal on metal”. Overall, it would be an unforgettable experience for all.

===

After the concert, everyone was still feeling the rock power, but perhaps none more than Todoroki:

“Kirishima, thank you AGAIN for inviting me and Deku to this concert! I’ve always enjoyed listening to Anvil’s music, but this is my first time seeing them live, and it was a very nice performance!”

Kirishima gave a thumbs up. “You’re welcome, Todoroki! Glad you and Midoriya could be here!”

“I’m glad, too!” said Deku.

“Yeah, it’s nice to see you open up more, Todoroki!” said Jiro.

“Well, that was mainly because of Deku, although there is one other person I’d like to thank…”

“Who?”

Todoroki smiled and gave Jiro a big hug. Despite not expecting this gesture, Jiro gladly returned it and greatly enjoyed Todoroki’s touch, although there was one thing she had to speak up about…

“OK, Todoroki, I think I’m starting to become jealous of your boobs now.” Jiro’s face was smooshed against Todoroki’s chest.

“Then be jealous. You’re still a friend to me!”

“That’s nice, but I’m gonna have to ask you to let go now.”

Todoroki did so.

“Hey, can I have a hug too?” asked Kirishima.

“Of course!”

Todoroki gave Kirishima a big hug, which he also returned with a smile on his face. While he’d been aware of her ever since he joined UA, never in a million years did he imagine they’d get to this point, and now he saw some of what Deku saw in her. Soon enough, they let go.

“Ya know, Todoroki, it makes me feel happy that you’re in such a good mood! If only Bakugo was as cheerful as ya…”

“Well, I may not have an explanation for Bakugo, but I can’t thank my sweet little Deku enough for what he’s done!”

Todoroki gave Deku a hug and kiss, which he gladly returned. Kirishima and Jiro let out a collective “awww” when they witnessed this. Neither Deku nor Todoroki particularly minded this, because they knew that their friends only had very good intentions for them. Soon enough, they broke away.

“Hey, I’m gonna get goin’ now.” Kirishima waved at Deku and Todoroki. “Thanks again!”

“Yeah, see you back at the dorms!” Jiro waved as well.

“Bye!”

Deku and Todoroki waved at their friends as well.

“OK, I think Anvil is one of my new favorite bands now!” said Deku.

“Glad to hear you’ve taken so well to them!” said Todoroki. “I like sharing my favorite things with my favorite people!”

“Me too!”

And so, Deku and Todoroki headed back to the dorms, each with an arm wrapped around each other, not only basking in the afterglow of tonight’s fun, but looking forward to whatever fond memories they’d have in the future.

Chapter 26: Night of the Deadites

Chapter Text

A crisp fall chill permeated the air, and Deku and Todoroki were driving up a winding road on Mount Kenashi. Eventually, they reached a cabin in a small clearing, which looked like a traditional Japanese home on the outside. When they got out of Todoroki’s ’72 Oldsmobile, they had a good stretch.

“Ah, nothing like fresh mountain air!” said Deku. “And it was nice of Endeavor to let us use his cabin, too!” He stroked his chin. “Although…I have to wonder why he agreed to this if you two don’t get along too well…”

“Well, my father was in a tolerable mood for once. Besides, who says that he needs to know about you?”

Deku chuckled. “Good point!”

Despite the cabin’s traditional look, when they got inside, they found a few modern conveniences, such as a TV and a large selection of books. There was also an irori, a type of Japanese fireplace sunken into the middle of the floor that could be used for various purposes, including cooking, clothes drying and just heating the house. As soon as Deku and Todoroki got inside, they sat down on a mat in front of the irori, while Todoroki put some kindling in and used the Hot half of her Quirk to light a fire.

“So, what are we going to do now?” asked Deku.

Todoroki grabbed a canvas bag. “I decided to make a batch of my special zaru soba for both of us! Deku, would you mind helping me with this?”

“Not at all! Just tell me what to do and I’ll do my best!”

“First, fill that pot with water.”

Deku did so.

“OK, hang it over the fire now,” said Todoroki.

Deku hung the pot on an iron rod encased within a bamboo tube, after which Todoroki put the noodles in. Deku sat down, while Todoroki turned on a timer on her phone and wrapped an arm around Deku.

“Deku, thanks for coming along with me! You make everything worth it!”

Deku giggled. “You’re welcome! I could say the same of you, Shoko!”

“Oh, Deku!”

Todoroki laid her head on Deku’s shoulder. During this time, Deku reflected again on how things had changed between them. Even so, he still couldn’t help but shake that weird feeling about how he’d once known her in the guise of a boy. Still, he was willing to go along with the weirdness because he figured that it was a sign that he was truly attracted to her. Besides, she probably still felt weird about being a girl, too. Soon enough, the timer went off.

“OK, the noodles should be done by now,” said Todoroki. “Drain them, and I’ll run them under cold water. You get the seasonings ready.”

“Got it.”

Not sure of where else to drain the pot, Deku took it outside, being careful not to spill the noodles in the process. After that, he handed the noodles to Todoroki.

“Now bring the seasonings to a boil,” said Todoroki.

While Todoroki was rinsing the noodles under cold water, Deku whipped up some dashi stock, soy sauce, mirin and sugar in a saucepan and brought the whole thing to a boil. After letting the mixture boil for a bit, Deku removed it from the heat and set the pan down next to the irori, and Todoroki – who got back from rinsing the noodles – set them down next to the pan with the seasoning mixture and set another timer.

“So, would you like to snuggle?” asked Todoroki.

“Of course!”

And so, while waiting for the seasoning mix to cool to room temperature, Todoroki snuggled with Deku.

“I love snuggling with you!” said Todoroki.

“I love it when you snuggle with me, too!”

“Deku, you’re so cute!”

Deku giggled when Todoroki called him “cute”. While this wasn’t his first time snuggling with Todoroki, it still felt as warm and cozy as ever. Plus, with her voluptuous chest pressing against him, it felt like he had two large, squishy pillows to lean against. Eventually, the second timer went off, so Todoroki mixed the noodles with the dashi sauce before dividing them between her and Deku, after which she topped them with nori and green onions.

“Enjoy!” said Todoroki.

Deku dug into his soba and nodded as he took in the taste.

“Well, this isn’t my favorite food ever, but it’s very good, and I can see why you like it!” said Deku.

“I know, right? Ever since I was a little girl, this has been a major comfort food for me. Whenever I eat this, I don’t feel any sadness or pain. As a matter of fact, ever since you helped me to reveal myself as a girl, I feel like this has tasted even better!”

“Well, good, because I’m going to make you my favorite katsudon someday!”

“Awww, you’re so sweet!”

Deku and Todoroki continued to enjoy their meal. In particular, even though it wasn’t his favorite food, Deku had gained a positive association with zaru soba because Todoroki had once offered it to him when he was feeling edgy and sad from failing to rescue Eri. He figured that given the right moment, katsudon could have the same effect on her. After they finished the food, Todoroki grabbed two lowball glasses plus a bottle of Mitsuya Cider, which she poured into the glasses before offering one to Deku. She then held hers out to him.

“You remembered the custom of toasting!” said Deku. “So, what do you want to toast to?”

“To many more wonderful years of being together!”

“I’ll drink to that!”

Deku and Todoroki toasted, and they drank up. By this time, the sun was setting below the horizon.

“So, what do you want to do now?” asked Todoroki.

Deku turned his attention towards the bookshelf. “Well, one of my greatest fantasies has been to curl up and read a good book with a woman I really love…”

Todoroki wrapped an arm around Deku. “Who says it has to remain a fantasy?”

Deku blushed. “You’re right. Mind if I pick the book?”

“Not at all!”

“Cool!”

Deku broke free of Todoroki’s grasp and proceeded to pore through the bookshelf. When his hand hovered over one particular book, he thought he could hear vague chanting. His hand froze when he heard this, and he got chills up and down his spine. Nevertheless, he found the intrigue of that particular book to be more gripping than a vise, so he went for it again, only for the chanting to return. His hand froze again, and he got those chills, but even so, he ignored what should’ve logically been a sign of danger and just tore the book away from the shelf. In doing so, he heard the sound of something crashing against the wooden floor, so he looked down and found a Panasonic tape recorder, its battery door having been thrown off by the impact. After putting the battery door back on, Deku picked up the tape recorder and inspected the book. It was a brown book with a heavily-wrinkled cover resembling a mutilated human face. On the spine, Deku could just barely make out the title: Naturom Demonto. He brought the book over to Todoroki.

“What have you got there?” Todoroki took the book and looked at it. “This is highly unusual.”

Deku shrugged. “I don’t know, but it was almost like the book beckoned me to read it.”

“Does that explain the tape recorder you’ve got there?”

“Well…why don’t we find out, my dear Shoko?”

Todoroki only smiled as she wrapped an arm around Deku, and they proceeded to read the book while snuggling with each other. Reading the book, however, proved to be a memorable experience…and not necessarily in a good way: after getting past the stained inner front cover and first page, they came across a series of Satanic images such as a goat’s head superimposed over an inverted pentacle and messages such as “ABANDON ALL HOPE YE WHO READ THIS TOME.” Todoroki readily expressed her disapproval:

“Deku, should we…maybe pick a different book?”

“I would, but I feel like the book doesn’t want me to.”

“Please, stop reading it! It’s scaring me!”

“I…I can’t! Plus…what about…”

Deku hit “PLAY” on the tape recorder, and a mysterious male voice began talking:

“It has been a number of years since I began excavating the ruins of Kandar with a group of my colleagues. Now my wife and I have retreated to a small cabin in the solitude of these mountains. Here, I continued my research undisturbed by the myriad distractions of modern civilization and far from the groves of academe. I believe I have made a significant find in the Kandarian ruins: a volume of ancient Sumerian burial practices and funerary incantations. It is entitled Naturom Demonto, roughly translated…Book of the Dead. The book is bound in human flesh and inked in human blood. It deals with demons, demon resurrection and those forces which roam the forest in dark hours of man’s domain. The first few pages warn that these enduring creatures may lie dormant, but are never truly dead. They may be recalled to active life through the incantations presented in this book. It is through recitation of these passages that the demons are given license to possess the living.”

Todoroki hit the “STOP” button on the tape recorder.

“What did you do that for?” asked Deku.

“Deku, I really don’t like this! Please, let’s read something else!”

“All right, we’ll read something else, but let me check out the rest of this tape first…”

Deku fast-forwarded through a good portion of the tape before hitting “PLAY” again, and this time, the mystery man recited the following incantation:

“nataS das, reffus su edam eh erehw dehsloot elttil a saw erehT. 666 uoy evig uoy evig lliw eH. nataS si rewop esohw, das em ekam dluow htap elttil esohw eno ehT. nataS teews ym ot s’ereh, on hO.”

“ENOUGH!”

Todoroki hit “STOP” on the tape recorder again, but this time, it seemed to be a bit too late, for the cabin shook quite a bit, and the fire in the irori went out.

“Deku, what is wrong with you!?”

Deku rubbed the back of his head. “Sorry! My curiosity got the better of me!”

“We have to get out of here!”

“Right!”

Deku and Todoroki bolted for the door, but they would soon find conventional escape impossible as branches had grown all around Todoroki’s Oldsmobile. Todoroki dropped her jaw and put her hands on her cheeks upon seeing this:

“What do we do now!?”

“There’s only one thing we can do: RUN!”

Deku led Todoroki in a run down the same road they took to get up to the cabin. By now, the sun had completely set. Unfortunately for them, their escape was cut short when a landslide blocked the road ahead of them.

“Stand back, Shoko, I’ve got this! DETROIT SMASH!”

Deku aimed a super-powered punch at the rock pile. Unfortunately for him, not only did the rocks not break, but he very nearly busted every bone in his hand. Undeterred, he headed back to Todoroki, and…”

“DELAWARE SMASH!”

No matter how hard Deku tried, the rocks just wouldn’t budge. Todoroki put a hand on Deku’s shoulder:

“Let me try. FLASHFREEZE HEATWAVE!”

Not even Todoroki’s massive superheated ice attack could lay a scratch on the boulders.

“Hang on, I’ve got another idea!”

Todoroki scooped Deku off his feet and used her ice to try to surf over the pile of boulders. However, even this was thwarted when a bolt of lightning struck Todoroki and caused her and Deku to hit the ground.

“Shoko, are you all right!? Wake up!” Deku shook Todoroki.

Todoroki groaned as she slowly got up. “OK, that hurt way worse than any pain I’ve ever been through.”

“Can you walk? We have to get back to the cabin!”

Todoroki put her hand on her head and rubbed it. “Are you sure? What if something’s waiting for us back there?”

“What choice do we have? It’s probably safer than staying out here in the dark!”

“Right!”

Todoroki stumbled to her feet, and though she had difficulty moving at first, she managed to get up to speed again thanks to Deku. As soon as they got inside the cabin again, Todoroki used her fire to relight the irori. Just then, she heard the sound of breaking glass behind her and turned around, only to see a grotesque-looking humanoid with blank white eyes, grayish-green rotting flesh and clawed hands. She shot a blast of ice at it to stop it, but it just slashed through.

“Deku, there’s a shotgun above the bed! There should be ammunition on the bookshelf, too!”

Deku rushed over to the bed, and sure enough, there was a Parker Model 1878 side-by-side double-barrelled shotgun hanging above it. Also, as Todoroki told him, there was indeed a box of shotgun shells on the bookshelf. Deku broke open the shotgun and loaded two shells in. He had to hurry, too, because even though Todoroki was doing a manageable job of holding off the mysterious monster, more just like it had shown up. With careful aim, Deku fired at one that was getting too close to Todoroki and stopped it. Thus, the cabin became a scene of absolute bedlam as Deku and Todoroki worked their damndest to hold back the monsters. Todoroki in particular seemed to be having trouble with the monsters because they proved resistant to her fire and ice. Only by grabbing a katana from a stand on a nearby table was she able to do any significant damage to them, for they died automatically once beheaded or otherwise had limbs removed. Overall, Deku and Todoroki seemed to do an all right job of holding off the monsters, but it was clear that unless they found another way to defeat the monsters, then they would get overrun. Despite this possibility, they elected to keep fighting, hopeful that they would end up the victors. However, hope would soon begin to ebb when one monster – despite Todoroki hacking its arm off with her katana – managed to scratch her face before dying.

“TODOROKI!” exclaimed Deku.

As if the wound wasn’t enough, Todoroki clutched her face and screamed as she underwent a horrifying transformation, ending up turning into one of the monsters herself.

“Kill…” said Todoroki.

His face paler than a ghost, Deku dropped the shotgun and backed away from Todoroki. On one hand, he didn’t want to kill her, but on the other hand, if she was allowed to continue living like this, then he too would become one of them. Thus, his eyes darted desperately around the room, fumbling for anything that would put an end to this living nightmare. Then…

“THAT’S IT!”

Doing a front flip over the monsters, Deku jumped onto the couch and grabbed the Naturom Demonto, also ejecting the tape from the cassette player. Grabbing both in one hand and backing away from the onslaught of monsters at the same time, he drew his hand back, and giving it all he had, he tossed the book and the tape at the irori. Fortunately for him, both landed square in the fire, and as they burned, beams of white light emanated from the monsters’ bodies, and they desperately grasped about, not wanting to perish. Soon, most of the monsters disintegrated into puffs of smoke, barring Todoroki, who crumpled to the ground and fell unconscious. Once the smoke cleared, Deku ran over to Todoroki.

“TODOROKI!”

Deku cradled her body in his arms and shook her.

“Please, wake up!”

Just then, he heard a low groaning sound, and he looked down to see Todoroki opening her eyes.

“Deku…?”

“TODOROKI!”

Deku embraced Todoroki tightly and cried his eyes out. Hearing this, she lovingly returned his embrace.

“It’s OK to cry, Deku! I’m right here! Let it all out!”

Deku continued to cry as he hugged Todoroki. While life-threatening situations were nothing new to either young hero, this was probably the first time that he genuinely felt like he was going to lose her forever, and to pull her back from the depths of eternity meant more to him than anything in his life. Despite the overwhelming sadness, though, he enjoyed the fact that crying made him feel more snuggly in her arms.

Although Deku’s unbridled sadness proved overwhelming for Todoroki, she nevertheless happily embraced him as he continued to cry. He had gotten her through some tough times, so she figured it was only fair that she be there for him in his hour of need. In this moment, she also came to understand why he wanted to be a hero so much and how important putting smiles on other people’s faces meant to him. Even after Deku stopped crying. Todoroki continued to hug him until he let go.

“Deku, thank you so much for saving me! I promise I’ll love you forever!”

Deku smiled. “And I’ll also love you forever, Shoko!”

Todoroki chuckled. “Here…”

Todoroki handed Deku some tissues, which he wasted no time in blowing his nose and drying his eyes with.

“So…shall we snuggle again?” asked Todoroki.

“Absolutely!”

And so, Deku and Todoroki snuggled with each other by the dying embers of the irori.

“Deku, why are you so cute?”

Deku chuckled. “Well, God must’ve known that we were going to meet, so he decided to make me into the cutest boy that any girl would ever have the fortune to be with!”

Todoroki giggled. “Oh, stop it!”

Deku smiled as the warm and fuzzy feelings overtook him. Even if it was hard to forget about the hellish events that came to pass, it was also difficult to forget about how happy he was that he saved Todoroki and how happy he was just being with her.

Chapter 27: Chopping Mall

Notes:

I saw the new MHA movie My Hero Academia: You're Next in the theater today, and it ROCKED! Expect something inspired by the movie at some point in the future.

Chapter Text

Today was supposed to have been a simple day for Deku and Todoroki. It started when they’d been assigned to investigate an arms dealer known to have connections with the League of Villains. For the most part, the investigation had been going well…right up until they started suffering a series of what appeared to be random accidents, which escalated into a group of powerful villains pursuing them. No matter how hard the loving duo tried, they just couldn’t seem to defeat their foes, and tonight, they found themselves on the run yet again. They managed to make a narrow escape when Todoroki used both halves of her Quirk to break open a locked door. They then found themselves in a long, dark hallway, which Todoroki managed to help navigate using the light given off by her flames. Eventually, it led to a small room with what appeared to be electrical boxes.

“Let’s see if we can turn on some lights,” said Deku.

Deku and Todoroki opened a bunch of electrical boxes and flipped random switches. Sure enough, the lights came on, and when they exited the room, it became apparent where they were…

“I know this place!” said Deku. “This is the Kiyashi Ward Shopping Mall!”

“The mall? There should be plenty of places to hide, then.”

Deku looked down as his stomach grumbled. “Hopefully, there’s still some food here, too. I haven’t eaten much today.”

Thus, Deku and Todoroki made it a priority to find something edible as soon as possible. It was certain beyond all reasonable doubt that the food court would be closed, so they would have to find another source of comestibles. Fortunately, they found one before long: Uzaki’s Candy Store. Logically, they wouldn’t have been able to enter because of the retractable metal door placed over the storefront, but once again, Todoroki’s Quirk came to the rescue, and the two lovebirds headed inside and proceeded to gorge themselves on random candies: Smarties, Swedish Fish, Gummi Worms, M&Ms and such. Soon enough, they stopped filling themselves up, but they took some candy for later.

“That probably was no good for either of us, but I feel much better.” Deku smiled.

“I agree. Plus, I got to share in those treats with my favorite person ever!”

“Awww!”

Deku and Todoroki gave each other a kiss and a hug. They broke away and were about to snuggle up in a corner when Deku keeled over after a throbbing pain shot through his head.

“Deku, what’s wrong!?”

Deku clutched his head. “Something evil…it lurks in this building. I…I don’t know where, but…”

Todoroki knelt down next to Deku and wrapped her arms around him. “Listen to me: everything’s gonna be OK! Just take a deep breath!”

“God…so much pain…”

Todoroki continued to embrace Deku, and he did the same. Even if the pain didn’t go away, it did hurt a bit less with her holding on to him. Still, he could sense an evil presence somewhere in this building, and worse, he could sense that it was somewhere close by. His eyes filled with tears as he prayed for the pain to go away. However, his prayers would be dashed when he felt Todoroki tap him on the shoulder:

“Deku…”

Deku looked over to see what Todoroki was trying to signal him to: standing near them was a being who was human in almost every way except for his lack of skin. His muscles, organs and other visible parts had a bluish hue to them.

“You two…leave my domain immediately,” said the mysterious being.

Deku raised a shaky hand towards the mysterious being. “Please…don’t kill us! We only needed a place to hide!”

“That is unacceptable. You must leave immediately.”

“Whoever you are, please let us go,” said Todoroki. “My boyfriend is hurt.”

“My name is Electrocage. Your boyfriend’s pain is immaterial to me…as is yours.”

Todoroki got to her feet, as did Deku.

“Fine, if you won’t leave us alone, then we’ll make you leave us alone!” said Todoroki.

“Then…you will die.”

Now in fighting stances, Deku and Todoroki charged at Electrocage, Deku leading with a St. Louis Smash and Todoroki firing some ice at the demented being. Unfortunately, neither of those attacks had any appreciable effect, and Electrocage spread his arms apart, palms forward, and glowed. At that moment, a glowing blue cage with a grid pattern materialized around Deku and Todoroki.

“SHOKO, RUN!”

Despite the pain still throbbing in his head, Deku grabbed Todoroki’s arm and attempted to dash out the front door with her. Unfortunately, they were too late: by the time they made it out the door, the grid cage exploded in a blinding strobe flash, and Deku and Todoroki were blown off their feet as a massive jolt of electricity shot through their bodies. They survived, but were lying on the floor, struggling to get up after receiving such acute pain. Deku managed to get up first, and he shook Todoroki.

“Shoko, are you all right!?”

“Deku, I…I can’t move!”

“We gotta move! Electrocage is gaining on us!”

Sure enough, Electrocage had left the candy store and was rapidly walking towards Deku and Todoroki.

“Leave or perish,” said Electrocage.

Seeing that Todoroki still wasn’t moving, Deku hoisted her to her feet.

“Come on, let’s go!”

Despite Deku’s best efforts, Todoroki couldn’t stay on her feet, so he scooped her up and carried her bridal-style. Another cage formed around them, but it dissipated when Deku got out of Electrocage’s sight. However, it was clear that Electrocage wouldn’t remain out of sight for long when he began running after Deku and Todoroki. Even worse, the electrical villain could run faster than the green bean, especially considering the latter’s legs still felt a bit weak. When Electrocage got close enough, he attempted to form another cage around the two young heroes, but Deku ducked behind a directory board and again managed not to get shocked. However, it was clear that if him and Todoroki remained in this mall for too long, then they would eventually get electrocuted to death, so he beat his feet as fast as he possibly could, not particularly caring about where he was going so long as he could get him and her away from Electrocage. His efforts soon took him to the main entrance of the mall. Unfortunately, their hopes for an escape were dashed when they saw some familiar – and unwelcome – faces:

“So, you thought you could escape the Death’s Head Front?” said the leader of the villains, a tall man with white feathered hair, who was wearing a gray longcoat over a dark red T-shirt, blue jeans and black leather tanker boots. “You’re sadly mistaken!”

“I wouldn’t be here if I were you!” said Deku.

“Oh yeah? Why?”

Deku stepped aside, and Electrocage appeared on scene.

“More interlopers?” said Electrocage. “Have you no idea of whom you’re dealing with?”

“Yeah!” said the leader of the Death’s Head Front. “We’re dealing with some really pathetic sucker!”

The leader attempted to use his Quirk to bind Electrocage with chains, but the electrical madman simply broke them apart. Deku and Todoroki used this time to make a break from the others, while Electrocage used his Quirk on the leader.

“Hey, what the hell!?”

Once again, the leader attempted to attack Electrocage, but again, with a blinding strobe flash, he got horribly electrocuted. Seeing this, the rest of the villains scrambled to his aid.

“Boss!” said one villain, a bald, muscular man with red tattoos all over his body. “Wake up!”

“You’re gonna pay for that, asshole!” said another villain, a brunette with long, flowing hair and a dark pink bodysuit.

While the villains were vainly attempting to take out Electrocage, Deku and Todoroki were making a beeline for the electrical room and hallway where they’d originally entered. Fortunately for them, Electrocage kept his focus on the villains, and they made it out of the mall and a fair distance away before Electrocage could come back. They stopped running once they made it to the Id Café, and Deku set Todoroki down next to the building.

“Are you OK, Shoko? Can you walk?”

“Let me see…” Todoroki got to her feet, but obviously exerted herself in doing so. “I doubt I’ll be able to run very fast, but I think I can walk home.”

“Good.” Deku stroked his chin. “Though I gotta wonder: why did Electrocage help us back there?”

Todoroki shrugged. “He probably thought that the villains were a bigger threat than us. Regardless, I’m glad to be alive.”

Deku smiled. “As am I.”

Deku held Todoroki’s hand as he walked her back home. Later on, conducting his own independent research, Deku found out that Electrocage was a being that had manifested at some point after the first Quirks had manifested, inhabiting the electrical grid in the Kanto region. Also according to Deku’s research, Electrocage was a benevolent guardian, watching over the people in the various cities and towns in that region, but he much preferred sleeping at night and would turn violent if any lights or other electrical appliances were manually activated by intruders who happened to be in the building that he was sleeping in. Thus, Deku decided that maybe Electrocage had a fair deal going: don’t disturb him, and he won’t disturb you.

Chapter 28: The Town Has Eyes

Chapter Text

Today seemed to be another peaceful afternoon for Deku as Todoroki was taking him on a quiet little drive through the countryside of Shizuoka Prefecture. While Deku loved being with Todoroki regardless, he loved riding with her in her ’72 Oldsmobile because not only did it have such a smooth ride, but also because the special edition velour seating was so comfortable. He didn’t even care that she was listening to Saxon’s “Rough and Ready” over the custom-installed cassette radio. Even if he wasn’t as big a metalhead as her, he was growing to appreciate NWOBHM through her playing it for him. Overall, the drive was going well. Then, at one point, Todoroki pulled over.

“Why are we pulling over?” asked Deku.

“The oil light came on. Something must be wrong.”

Todoroki and Deku got out of the car, only to notice a trail of oil coming from it.

“Damn it.” Todoroki shook her head. “I must’ve sprung a leak somehow. Deku, could you please lift the car?”

“Right!”

Deku lifted the front of the car, and Todoroki looked under it. Sure enough, one of the oil lines had sprung a leak.

“How far is it to the nearest town?” asked Todoroki.

Deku put the car down. “Let me see…” He pulled out his phone. “There’s a town called Tatun less than a kilometer away from here.”

“I guess we can push the car, then…”

Todoroki hopped in the driver’s seat and shifted the Oldsmobile in “NEUTRAL”, while Deku pushed the car. Sure enough, they came upon Tatun, a small mountainside town that was rather easy to miss if one wasn’t deliberately looking for it. While they were pushing the car, an Atomic Silver 2016 Lexus IS 300 stopped nearby. Seeing this, Todoroki stopped her car and nearly knocked Deku off his feet.

“Need me to call a tow truck?” asked the driver, a tall, older man.

Deku waved at the man. “It’s fine, really!”

“We just need directions to the nearest mechanic!” said Todoroki.

The man gestured out the driver’s window with his thumb. “Take the third left at Yamashita Street, head two blocks, take a right at Kaji Street, keep going and Okamoto’s Garage will be on your left.”

“Thank you!” said Deku and Todoroki.

“Just be careful; some really strange things have been happening here lately!”

Deku put his index finger on his cheek. “What sort of strange things, may we ask?”

“Well, there’s been a string of odd murders happening in the past few days. Me and my department are doing our best to investigate, but we haven’t turned up any solid leads.”

“Your department?” asked Todoroki.

“Oh, that’s right! I’m Superintendent Haruki Kishimoto, Head of the Tatun Police Station, Shizuoka Prefectural Police!”

“I’m Shoko Todoroki, and that’s my boyfriend Izuku Midoriya!”

“Hi!” Deku waved at Kishimoto.

“Nice to meet you both! Anyways, I have to get going; I have business at the main police headquarters.”

“Bye!”

Deku and Todoroki waved at Kishimoto before pushing the car to Okamoto’s Garage. A couple of employees turned heads as soon as the red/white Oldsmobile pulled in.

“Whoa, I’ve NEVER seen a car like THAT before!” said one employee, a muscular fellow with a beard.

“What seems to be the trouble?” asked another employee, a man of Todoroki’s height with average build.

“One of the oil lines sprang a leak,” replied Todoroki. “I’m not exactly sure how it happened.”

The shorter man gave a thumbs up. “OK, we’ll take a look. Can’t exactly guarantee when we’ll get the part considering no one’s ever brought anything like this over here, but we’ll do our best.”

“Thank you!” said Deku. “In the meantime, you wouldn’t happen to know any place where we could stay until the car gets fixed, would you?”

The man pointed to his right. “There’s the Miyaki Family Lodge just four blocks down that way. I’d be really careful if I were you, though.”

“So you know about the murders too?” said Todoroki.

The man nodded. “Everyone around these parts knows, but nobody knows exactly who’s to blame. Jun here has an idea, though…”

The muscular man known as “Jun” cleared his throat. “This wouldn’t be the first time anything like this has happened in this town. In the first year of the Meiji Restoration, a man known as Makoto Matsushita was arrested for the murders of six young women. He escaped an execution attempt and hadn’t been seen since. Supposedly, he started a family of cannibal murderers, but nothin’ definitive has been brought up.”

Deku and Todoroki gave Jun blank, frozen stares, and their skin turned whiter than a porcelain doll. No matter how many villains they’d faced, hearing stories like this was something they could never get used to, and to Todoroki, the answer was obvious…

“Deku…why don’t we find somewhere else to stay?”

Deku pointed his hand, palm-up, at Todoroki. “But what choice do we have? This must be the only place to stay for miles around!”

Todoroki sighed. “All right…I’ll stay at the motel with you, but on one condition…”

“Yes?”

Todoroki crossed her arms. “If we fall victim to the mysterious murderers, I don’t want you to cry to me about it, OK?”

Deku nodded and smiled. “Agreed!”

Deku gave Todoroki a big hug. As much as she loathed the idea of staying in a town where murders where done, she just couldn’t resist when her cute, green-haired boyfriend hugged her with his strong arms, so she hugged him back.

“Enjoy that hug while ya can,” said Jun. “It’s your funeral.”

Deku and Todoroki shook off Jun’s words as best as they could.

===

After grabbing a few things from the Oldsmobile, Deku and Todoroki headed down to the Miyaki Family Lodge. It was a small place, but there was at least one vacancy, so Deku and Todoroki checked themselves in and got set up.

“I’ve changed my mind,” said Todoroki. “As much as I dislike staying in this town, this room is cozy enough, so I’ll put up with it.”

Deku smiled. “Plus, you get to stay with a cute boy! How’s that?”

“Deku!”

Todoroki gently shoved Deku down on the bed and proceeded to kiss his brains out. Even if he could never quite get used to the tingly feelings he got from her kissing him, he enjoyed it nevertheless. Once she’d had her fill of smooches, she snuggled with him.

“Deku, promise me one thing…”

“Yes?”

“If we make it out of this alive, I want you to buy me a gift.”

“Any gift?”

Todoroki smiled. “Any gift!”

Deku smiled. “Anything for my sweet Shoko!”

“Awww!”

Just then, Deku heard what sounded like Todoroki’s stomach grumbling.

“Are you hungry, Shoko?”

Todoroki nodded. “Very!”

“Let’s see…” Deku broke out his phone. “Hey, how about that? There’s a restaurant right next to this motel!”

Todoroki smiled. “What are we waiting for, then?”

===

Deku and Todoroki went next door to the restaurant, called Hisakawa’s Eatery. It too was a small place with a counter and only a couple of small tables. They paid for their food at the machine and handed the tickets to an old guy with glasses at the counter.

“Welcome, you two!” said the old man. “Out here on vacation?”

Todoroki shook her head. “My car broke down, and they said it would take a while to fix, so we’re just staying here until it gets fixed.”

The old man raised an eyebrow. “Considering what’s been happening in this town, you might not sleep a wink.”

Deku nodded. “We’re aware of the murders. Still, we’ll be all right. As a matter of fact, we’re interested in finding out who’s responsible.”

Todoroki gave Deku an odd look.

“Good luck with that,” said the old man. “If the police couldn’t find anything, then I highly doubt either of you will fare any better.”

Deku lightly banged his fist on the counter. “But we’re still gonna try, no matter the cost!”

The old man nodded. “You’ve got spirit, kid. Thing of it is, you remind me of a hero I once knew. You’re not the son of the legendary All Might…are you?”

Deku dropped his jaw as his eyes widened, while Todoroki looked at him and had a bit of a giggle. After recomposing himself, Deku shook his head.

“No, I’m not, actually. As a matter of fact, I barely know my own father.”

“Oh?” The old man leaned in a bit closer. “Did he leave or what?”

“Well, he was posted on an overseas assignment some time after I was born, and the only contact I ever had with him was a series of letters I wrote to him.”

Todoroki gave Deku a curious look. “Funny, you’ve never told me about your father before. Still, based on what you’re telling me about him, you seemed to have a better relationship with him than I ever did with my father.”

The old man looked at Todoroki as well. “May I ask about your father?”

“My father – who is currently the top hero in Japan – not only treated me as a weapon to surpass All Might, but also insisted on making me pretend to be a boy since he wanted a boy instead of a girl.”

The old man shook his head. “It breaks my heart when parents mistreat their children. I expected better from a man like that.”

“Well, when you want to surpass All Might, you tend to lose sight of what’s really important. By the way, what’s your name?”

“I’m Hayato Hisakawa,” said the old man.

Todoroki smiled. “Nice to meet you! I’m Shoko Todoroki, and this is my boyfriend Izuku Midoriya.”

“How do you do?” said Deku.

Deku and Todoroki each bowed at Hisakawa. Shortly thereafter, their food was done.

“Enjoy, you two lovebirds!”

Okamoto handed Deku and Todoroki their food, and they wasted no time in chowing down. Within the first few bites, they nodded and let out “mmmms” of approval:

“OK, this is officially the BEST katsudon I’ve ever had!” Deku gave a thumbs up. “Even if there are strange murders going on in this town, I’ll DEFINITELY be coming back for more!”

“I know, right? This zaru soba is extremely good, too!” said Todoroki.

Hisakawa smiled. “Glad you two like the food!”

===

After finishing their meals, Deku and Todoroki were heading back to the motel when…

“HELP! HELP!”

The two of them noticed a middle aged woman with graying hair running down the street in a panic, so they headed over to her.

“What’s the trouble, ma’am?” asked Deku.

“My Yuki…somebody killed my Yuki!” cried the woman.

“We’re sorry to hear that,” said Todoroki. “May I ask who Yuki is?”

“H-he was my dog! WHY!? WHY WOULD SOMEBODY DO THAT!?”

The woman buried her face in her hands and continued crying. Todoroki gently approached her and gave her a big hug, which the woman returned. In the past, Todoroki never would’ve had the confidence to approach a stranger like this but with Deku’s influence rubbing off on her, things were different. It was also because of Deku’s influence that hearing this woman cry made Todoroki hurt. Nevertheless, she kept holding on because she found hugs to be very comforting, not only to give, but to receive. Eventually, the woman stopped crying, but she kept holding onto Todoroki for a bit before letting go.

“Thank you, young lady!” said the woman.

“You’re welcome.” Todoroki pulled out some tissues. “Here…”

The woman blew her nose and dried her eyes.

“Ma’am, if it’s all right with you…” said Deku, “…my girlfriend and I are training to become pro heroes, and we’d like to investigate the murder of your dog.”

At first, the woman stared at Deku as if he had two faces. Then, she sighed.

“Well…all right. I don’t see what good it’ll do, though.”

===

The woman lived within walking distance of the motel and the restaurant, so it wasn’t too much trouble for Deku and Todoroki.

“By the way, we forgot to introduce ourselves. I’m Izuku Midoriya, and my girlfriend is Shoko Todoroki.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Hikari Uchiyama.”

Deku and Todoroki each bowed at Uchiyama.

“So, Uchiyama, where is your Yuki?”

Uchiyama sniffled a little. “He’s in the backyard, under a blanket. I’d be careful looking at him if I were you.”

Deku and Todoroki nodded before heading for Uchiyama’s backyard. Sure enough, there was a green blanket there, and when they lifted it up, they discovered Yuki – a Shiba Inu – whose corpse had numerous pieces of flesh stripped from it. Deku and Todoroki did their best not to regurgitate the contents of their supper upon witnessing such a horrific sight.

“Who would do something so horrific, and why?” said Todoroki.

Deku stroked his chin. “Judging by the way the flesh has been torn, I’d say that whoever killed Yuki also ate the animal. I can see a stab wound in the head, which means that the dog was killed with a knife or sword. If we could get a closer look at the stab wound, then maybe we could get some further insights.”

Todoroki waved her hands back and forth. “Forget it. I’m NOT getting that close to it, and if you even think of touching it, you’re washing your hands, understood?”

Deku nodded. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Holding his nose, Deku leaned in closer to look at where Yuki had been stabbed. He eyed the wound carefully, scrutinizing it from various angles. Then, after a minute’s worth of looking, he backed away.

“Well?” said Todoroki.

Deku stroked his chin. “Judging by what I saw, this dog was definitely killed by an uchigatana. Based on what else I’ve heard about the killers, if they have been breeding, then most likely, they’re Quirkless…unless they kidnapped people with Quirks and forced them to mate.”

Todoroki put a fist on her hip. “Then we’ll have to act quickly. Who knows where else they’ll strike next?”

“Right!”

Deku and Todoroki prepared to leave when Uchiyama approached them.

“Did you find anything?”

Deku nodded. “We think so. Listen, you might want to find somewhere to hide, just in case.”

“All right. You two be careful, OK?” Uchiyama clasped her hands together.

Todoroki nodded. “We will.”

Deku and Todoroki left.

“Where to now?” asked Todoroki.

“We go to the police. Even if Superintendent Kishimoto hasn’t been able to find anything, we may be able to help.

===

After punching in directions on his phone, Deku led Todoroki to the police station. On the way, they saw a group of people crowding around, making a commotion near some bushes, so they went to get a closer look. Upon doing so, they discovered a man’s body, beheaded and chewed up similarly to Yuki. Deku eyed the body carefully, but not too closely.

“This man was beheaded by an uchigatana,” said Deku. “The more of these bodies I see, the more I’m convinced that those stories I’ve been hearing are real.”

“So what do we do now?” asked Todoroki.

“Let’s keep going to the police.”

===

Eventually, Deku and Todoroki reached the Tatun Police Station. By now, it was getting dark.

“Can I help you two?” asked the officer at the front desk, a young woman with dark purple hair.

“We have information regarding the murders,” said Deku. “Superintendent Kishimoto might be interested, too.”

The officer gave a serious look and shifted in her chair slightly. “He’s supposed to be on business at the Prefectural Police Headquarters, but we called them not too long ago and they claim he hasn’t arrived.”

Deku nodded. “Thank you anyways!”

The officer smiled. “You’re welcome!”

Deku and Todoroki left the station.

“Something’s really off here,” said Deku. “If Kishimoto hasn’t arrived at his destination, then whoever’s responsible for the murders may have gotten him, too.”

Todoroki stroked her chin. “Do you really think the murderers would be foolish enough to attack a police officer, though?”

Deku pointed a hand – palm up – at Todoroki. “If they’re going around eating dogs and people, then would a badge really stop them?”

Todoroki nodded. “That’s a good point. How are we even going to find Kishimoto?”

Deku shook his head. “I don’t know. He could be anywhere by now. Odds are, he’ll probably…”

“HELP ME!” shouted somebody. “SOMEBODY HELP ME! I’M BURNING UP! OH GOD, HELP!”

Without delay, Deku and Todoroki hurried to the source of the shouting, and in doing so, they found somebody crucified to a tree on fire, burning brighter than an Olympic torch. Todoroki used her ice to extinguish the fire, afterwards, using just enough of her fire to melt the ice. They then removed the man from the tree, only to discover that it was Kishimoto. A few bystanders had shown up as well.

“What happened!?” said one woman.

“Smells like barbecued dog hair!” said one guy.

“I’ll go get some blankets and sake!” said another guy.

Meanwhile, Deku and Todoroki attended to Kishimoto, who was exhaling puffs of smoke from his lungs, not an easy task considering the burnt hair smell.

“Y-you’ve got…to stop…them,” said Kishimoto. “Please…you…m-might be…our…”

Kishimoto laid his head back, while Deku turned to Todoroki and shook his head.

“This is bad,” said Todoroki. “What do we do now?”

“We analyze the pattern that the murders took place in. If we can do that, then…”

“Hey, I got one!” shouted a mysterious male voice. “I GOT ONE! SOMEBODY GIVE ME A HAND!”

Deku and Todoroki rushed to the scene of the yelling, where they discovered an older man in his backyard with somebody caught in a bear trap. The trapped person was wearing rusted samurai armor and had diagonal black stripes painted on their face, and was carrying a katana.

“Is he one of the murderers?” asked Deku.

The old man nodded. “I think so.”

“Let me go, ya old bastard!” said the samurai man.

Deku looked at Todoroki and nodded. Todoroki proceeded to freeze the samurai’s feet.

“HEY! What the hell’s goin’ on here!?”

Deku took a step towards the samurai and shot a piercing glare into his eyes.

“You’re going to tell us everything you know about the murders, whoever you are!”

“I know nothin’!” said the samurai. “I’m innocent!”

“Shoko!”

Todoroki proceeded to freeze the samurai’s calves.

“Go ahead, turn me into an ice cube!” said the samurai. “I still won’t talk!”

Todoroki proceeded to freeze the samurai’s knees and thighs.

“Still not talkin’!”

“Is that so?” said Todoroki. “Perhaps this will convince you.”

Not only did Todoroki freeze the samurai man’s hands to prevent him from using his sword, but she lit a flame in her hands and approached him.

“HEY! Hey wait! What the hell are ya doin’!?”

Once Todoroki got close enough, she held her flaming left hand in front of the samurai’s crotch.

“Would you like to defy us still?” said Todoroki.

“WAIT! STOP! STOP! OK, I’ll talk!” The samurai was in tears. “Our hideout is in Mt. Yanbushi! I’ll even take ya there! Just don’t fry me or turn me into an ice cube!”

“Deku?” Todoroki turned to Deku.

“He’s telling the truth.”

Todoroki withdrew her fire hand and melted the samurai’s icy shackles, but not before grabbing his katana.

===

With the info they needed, Deku and Todoroki forced the samurai to lead them up Mt. Yanbushi. It was a rather perilous trek, mainly because daylight was almost gone, but so far, nothing had befallen them. However, Deku wondered just how far up the mountain the murderers’ hideout was located, especially considering the path they were taking wasn’t very well-marked. Nevertheless, he knew that this samurai was telling the truth, so he decided to put up with the trek. Eventually, they came upon the entrance to a cave, marked by a couple of dim lanterns.

“Stay here,” said the samurai. “They’re expecting me.”

Deku and Todoroki did as they were told, while the samurai entered the cave.

“Suisei, you’re late!” said a mysterious older male.

“Yeah, where the hell have ya been!?” said a mysterious older woman.

“Sorry, Papa Mokusei and Mama Kaiosei,” said Suisei. “I was almost ambushed by the local authorities.”

“Papa, Mama!” said a young woman. “Suisei’s lost his katana!”

“How DARE ya lose your weapon!?” said Papa Mokusei. “That’s a treasured heirloom!”

“I-I’m sorry, I…I musta dropped it when I was runnin’ away!” said Suisei.

“YOU BASTARD!” shouted Papa Mokusei. “You’ve killed us all!”

“Hey Pops, can I chop this dumbass’ head off?” said a young man.

“Keep your mouth shut, Dosei!” said Papa Mokusei. “If anyone’s gonna punish him, it’s gonna be ME!”

While the murderers were still arguing, Deku tapped Todoroki on the shoulder and nodded, after which they proceeded to charge into the cave, which was quite well-lit.

“DETROIT SMASH!”

With a single punch, Deku knocked down a samurai with a long beard, whom he presumed to be Papa Mokusei. The other murderers took notice of this:

“INTRUDERS!” Mama Kaoisei – an older woman with random-colored splotches painted on her face – pointed at Deku and Todoroki. “KILL THEM!”

Immediately, the cave turned into a massive frenzy as Papa Mokusei, Mama Kaiosei and their cannibal children attempted to kill Deku and Todoroki. Upon seeing Deku’s Blackwhip in addition to Todoroki’s fire and ice, though, most of the children scattered, being without Quirks of their own as Deku had predicted. However, one of them raised his sword, which gave off a bluish-green glow, and he swiped at them, shooting a laser bolt in the process. Another one turned her fingers into bandage-like appendages and attempted to restrain Deku and Todoroki. As for Papa Mokusei, he turned into a giant ball and attempted to crush the two lovebirds, while Mama Kaiosei turned into a wolf and charged at them. Despite the intense odds, Deku and Todoroki fought on. Deku caught Papa Mokusei with Blackwhip and hurled him against the wall, though he had to dodge another sword laser. As for Todoroki, she managed to freeze Mama Kaiosei, but nearly got caught by some bandages. Fortunately, an expertly timed blast of flame saved her. As the battle raged on, the Quirkless children easily gave up, but the others staunchly refused to surrender, especially Papa Mokusei, who briefly turned back into a human to chew out Deku and Todoroki:

“YOU! Release my wife from your ice…NOW!”

“Not until you surrender!” said Todoroki.

“Then, you will DIE!”

Papa Mokusei changed back into a ball and charged at Deku and Todoroki, who managed to evade him and take down the other two children who had Quirks. The family patriarch was proving to be quite a tough customer, much to Todoroki’s concern:

“Deku, how do we stop him!?”

“Think: a lot of transformation Quirks are temporary, aren’t they? Let’s just stay alive until he turns back into human form!”

“Right!”

Despite the odds, Deku and Todoroki kept using their Quirks on Papa Mokusei. Deku’s Delaware Smash and Blackwhip seemed to do a good job of at least diverting the villain, and Todoroki’s fire and ice at the very least slowed him down. Nevertheless, Papa Mokusei kept going. As Deku had predicted, however, he eventually had to change back to his regular form, which was the perfect opportunity for Deku to hold him down with Blackwhip and Todoroki to cast a more permanent restraint with her ice, also restraining others who were unbound.

“What sort of sorcery is this!?” said Papa Mokusei. “Lemme go!”

“No!” said Deku. “You’re going to Tartarus, and you’re gonna stay there for a LONG time!”

“YOU BASTARD! YOU WON’T GET AWAY WITH THIS!”

Deku opened his mouth to say something else, but was distracted when he heard Todoroki drop something.

“What was that?” said Deku.

“Yaoyorozu made me some emergency beacons, so I set one so the police can find these guys.”

“Shouldn’t we wait until they arrive, though?”

Todoroki nodded. “A wise decision.”

And so, Deku and Todoroki waited until the Shizuoka Prefectural Police could arrive. Even if it was going to be a while until Todoroki’s car would be fixed, at least they could rest easy knowing that they stopped this gang of cannibalistic killers.

Gonna Kiss You On the Boulevard - BearfootTruck - 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia (2024)

Chapter 1: Wednesday Night

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Chapter 2: Failure Is Always an Option

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Chapter 3: Romantic Dinner

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Chapter 4: Mama Mama Mama, Let Me Drive Your Car

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Chapter 5: Hero Days, Disco Nights

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Chapter 6: Die With Your Boots On

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Chapter 7: Wheels of Steel

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Chapter 8: Congratulations From a Friend

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Chapter 9: It's Electric

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Chapter 10: Lonely Is the Night

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Chapter 11: American Curiosity

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Chapter 12: Red and White Sonja

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Chapter 13: Red and White Sonja, Part II

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Chapter 14: Red and White Sonja, Part III

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Chapter 15: What Measure Is Kindness?

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Chapter 16: Café Jollies

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Chapter 17: What's Up, Girlfriend?

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Chapter 18: TICKLES

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Chapter 19: Taking Hell

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Chapter 20: Girl Problem #1

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Chapter 21: You're the Czar When You Got a Kickass Car

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Chapter 22: Super Bomb

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Chapter 23: Slap Shot

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Chapter 24: Foreign Film Festival

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Chapter 25: Metal Pounders' Union

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Chapter 26: Night of the Deadites

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Chapter 27: Chopping Mall

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Chapter 28: The Town Has Eyes

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