15 Shouto

"Hello everyone and welcome to the sports festival! Can I get a Plus Ulta?!"

Present Mic's booming voice could be heard even from the sidewalk outside the stadium and Izuku shook his head. Heroes.

Honestly, Izuku didn't know why they were still holding the festival this year after All Might had been killed on school grounds, but the principal had held a press conference a few days after the funeral announcing that it would continue as planned. Something about how with the symbol of peace gone, it fell to the rising generation to bring hope to the world, or something like that. Well, at least Izuku could get some good intel on the quirks he'd be facing in a few years. He wished he'd had that info before the USJ attack but, oh well, better late than never.

He walked past dozens of pro heroes as he went through the heightened security, but no one gave a kid in a T-shirt and jeans a second glance. He smiled and found his seat. Mastermind was here in their midst and the heroes would never know.

His mom had been so excited when he told her a friend of his had won tickets and invited him to go. They'd never had the money to afford it before, but Izuku hadn't had a shortage of cash since he'd become a villain. Too bad his mom didn't know about his secret funds, hence the cover story. He wished he could have brought Himiko, but a suspected serial killer couldn't exactly sneak past security.

"All right! Let's welcome in the students who faced a villain attack and survived! The same students that All Might gave his life for! Class 1-A!"

The stadium erupted into cheers and Izuku watched as the familiar students stride into the stadium. They looked vaugly uncomfortable...they probably didn't like the reminder of watching the number one hero die, it must have been traumatic. Izuku squashed the feelings of guilt that tried to choke him. They were heroes. They had been given everything in life just because of their quirks, while Izuku's life had been nothing but trauma. They deserved a little trauma after what they had put him through.

Watching All Might die in front of them was just payback.

He was excited to see what the purple haired student's quirk actually was. He figured it was verbal response triggered, considering his defiant behavior at the USJ, but the question remained of whether it put someone to sleep like Midnight's quirk, or was somehow more involved. He was also excited for the half-and-half boy's quirk, since he was one of the few who managed to fight back during the attack, and against the Nomu too! Izuku smiled darkly as he watched Katsuki climb the steps to give the opening speech. There was always the possibility that Katsuki would be injured in one of his matches, but Izuku knew he shouldn't get his hopes up.

"I just want to say, All Might was an amazing hero. We owe it to him to give it our all and that's why I'm gonna win this thing."

Izku rolled his eyes as the other students booed. Of course Katsuki would manage to compliment All Might and insult his competitors all in one breath. His old bully would never change, would he?

The first round was interesting, but not surprising. It was a surprise to learn that the half-and-half boy was Todoroki Shouto, the son of Endeavor. He managed to freeze most of the competition and narrowly beat out Katsuki as winner of the round.

Izuku leaned forward as he watched Todoroki glare blankly at the crowd as Katsuki lost it. His coloring was very distinct and he only ever created ice from his right side, so could he do it from his left? Izuku pulled out a notebook and began to write down his thoughts. It wouldn't surprise him at all if Todoroki had some kind of hybrid quirk, unfair, but not unheard of. Maybe he could create ice from the right side of his body, the white haired side, and fire from his left? If that was the case then why hadn't he shown off his fire side yet? It would have made much more sense to melt through the robots or use the fire to propel himself like Katsuki did, but Todoroki only used his ice. Interesting.

The next round gave Izku a good chance to evaluate the purple-haired boy's quirk. He was named Shinso, at least according to the scoreboard. Izuku watched as he took advantage of the other teams as they targeted Todoroki. He would approach them as if he wanted to team up, but then the other team would simply hand over their points without a fight. So some sort of brainwashing, not just putting them in a daze. Izuku wondered how complicated the commands could be. It was a useful quirk, shame it had to go to a hero.

In the end, Todoroki, Katsuki, and Shinso all moved on, as well as another team comprised mostly of class 1-A members, plus a support student. And still Todoroki didn't use his fire. Izuku knew he had it now. He'd seen it ignite briefly once when Katsuki had gotten too close, but Todoroki had looked angry and extinguished it almost immediately. His mastery of his ice was amazing, but Izuku couldn't help but wonder how powerful he could be if he stopped ignoring his left side.

He put his notebook away, stretched, and headed for the student areas. He never had been very good at ignoring his curiosity, had he?

Sneaking past the guards was almost too easy, even if they were pro heroes, and Izuku walked confidently as he searched for Todoroki. If he was caught, he could just say he was looking for 'Kacchan' and that they were old friends. Sneaking backstage to see him and wish him luck was something the old Izuku would have done, no question.

"You're a disgrace, Shouto." Izuku ducked behind a wall as he heard Endeavor's voice, "There wouldn't even be a question of your position if you would just use the fire I gave you."

"I will never use your fire," Todoroki's voice was tight with anger, "I will make it to the top, but I will do it without your quirk."

"Seriously, Shoto. I indulged you when you were younger, but it's time you give up this childish tantrum!"

Even from his place around the corner, Izuku could see his breath as the temperature dropped.

"It's time for you to go, Father. The tournament will be starting soon."

Izuku flattened himself against the wall as Endeavor stalked past him, radiating heat. The hero didn't even glance his way, just disappeared down the hall. Izuku waited a moment before turning the corner, it might not be the best timing, but he didn't want to lose his chance to talk to Todoroki.

Shouto's eyes widened slightly as a short boy with green hair, obviously a civilian, came into view. This area was supposed to be off limits for spectators. Endevor had gotten past security by virtue of being the new number one hero, but this was just a normal kid, so how did he get back here. Was he a threat? Shouto relaxed slightly when the kid gave him a brilliant smile. Anyone who could smile like that couldn't be dangerous.

"Hello, Todoroki?" The boy asked nervously. Shouto nodded and the boy smiled, "You're doing really well so far. Your skills are amazing! I especially loved how you beat out Katsuki in the last two rounds."

Shouto raised one eyebrow, "Katsuki?"

The boy's expression soured slightly, interesting. "Katsuki Bakugo. We've known each other since we were kids." He smiled again. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Izuku Midoriya."

Shouto nodded, "Why are you back here?"

Midoriya rubbed the back of his neck, "I actually have a question for you. You're obviously pretty powerful with just your ice, but you have a fire quirk as well, right? Why don't you use it?"

Shouto scowled, and turned away, "My father put you up to this, didn't he?"

Midoriya grabbed his arm, he was stronger than he looked, "No! I was just curious and I wanted to know because I thought it was interesting, not that I'm going to try to force you to use your fire I was just wondering and…" He trailed off and stood there awkwardly. Shouto didn't know if it was just one thing, but for some reason, he felt like he could trust Midoriya. Maybe it was his face when he talked about Bakugo, but for some reason Shouto thought that if anyone could understand what he was going through, it was this boy he'd barely met.

He sighed and leaned against the wall, "Have you ever heard of quirk marriages?"

Midoriya's eyes widened in realization, "No!"

Shouto nodded sadly, "My father always wanted to be number one. I guess he is now, but he wanted it to be because of his power, not because All Might got himself killed. He had enough money and power as the number two hero to buy off my mother's family and force her into a marriage. He got her pregnant multiple times trying to create a child with a quirk strong enough to beat All Might. He raised me to be his 'masterpiece', not his son." Midoriya was listening with wide eyes and Shouto took a deep breath. It felt liberating to finally talk about this. "In every memory I have of my mother, she's always crying. She called my left side unbearable, right before she poured boiling water on my face. I never blamed her though, it was all my father's fault for forcing her to that point."

Midoriya was staring at him strangely, "You must hate your father, then."

Shouto thought for a moment. Midoriya had said it like a statement, rather than a question, but he wanted to answer it anyway. Did he hate his father? He thought about the rage he buried under a layer of ice, about the fear he felt when he thought about using his fire. Is that what hate felt like?

"Yes." He said firmly. "I think I really do hate him."

Midoriya nodded, "I think that's good then. I understand why you don't want to use your fire, but just so you know, it's your quirk, not his and you can always use it to do things your father would hate. Good luck Todoroki! Crush Katsuki for me!"

And with that, Midoriya waved and left Todoroki to make his way back to his classmates.

"Where'd you go you half-and-half bastard?!" Bakugo yelled, "I looked everywhere for you and couldn't find you!

Shouto felt consumed by the hatred he had just realized he felt and it left him numb as he thought about Midoriya's words, "I ran into an old friend of yours."

"Friend?" Ashido laughed, "Bakugo had friends before UA?"

"Shut up Pinky!" Bakugo yelled, "Who was it?"

"Izuku Midoriya. He's interesting."

Bakugo sneered, "Deku? He's worthless and he's not my friend. I'd never sink low enough to be that idiot's friend!"

Shouto nodded absently, "I liked him."

He then tuned out any response Bakugo had and the laughter of their other classmates. He had a lot to think about.