Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Shouto's long fingers drummed restlessly against his desk. His right foot was shaking, making his entire leg bounce underneath the desk. His stomach felt like it was tied in knots, his mind running about a hundred miles an hour; his entire body on the verge of an anxiety attack. Every time he thought about the attack, his throat closed up and he struggled to breathe. Crystal blue hours flashed in his mind; he couldn’t forget them, couldn’t push them away. They had belonged to an utter stranger… a fucking villain nonetheless… and yet, they were familiar.

No matter how many years had passed, Shouto could never forget those eyes.

He took a deep breath, focusing on keeping his face blank as he listened to the university president drone on. Just breathe. Everyone is stressed. It's normal. Six days ago their class was attacked for the second time by the League of Villains during what was supposed to be a quirk training camp. The attack was chaotic, to say the least.

Bakugou had been kidnapped. Shouto looked up at his classmate, almost instinctively as the thought crossed his mind. Bakugou’s back was hunched, his fist clenched tightly around his pencil. But his head was turned to the side, his attention focused more on the view outside of their window, and Shouto guessed he wasn’t paying much attention to the president either. Shouto couldn’t see his face, so it was hard to tell how he was feeling. He had spent 48 hours with the League of Villains, the most famous, and arguably the most dangerous, villain organization in the city. Shouto was proud that he and Momo had decided to follow Izuku, Kirishima, and Iida in their crazy plan to save the aggressive blonde. They had saved him, but the aftermath had led to a huge showdown between the League and All Might that had nearly killed the #1 hero and forced him into an early retirement. And Bakugou… He was back. But he wasn’t really back. The few times Shouto had seen him since then, the blonde had seemed like an empty shell. Physically, he had been pretty roughed up. Although none of the professors would answer questions about it, it was clear to Shouto that his classmate had been abused by the League, possibly even tortured.

Not to mention the news coverage of the entire mess; the articles had been brutal. Half the news stations had sympathized with the teen, and the other half had said that the kidnapping was a cover-up story for Bakugou joining the league. Part of Shouto wondered if Bakugou would ever be the same.

Most of the students had only suffered minor injuries from the attack… most. Shouto shifted his attention to Izuku. The boy had large bandages wrapped around both arms, and was making sloppy, quick notes in one of his notebooks. Like always, the determined boy had pushed himself too hard, had pushed his body too far. If Shouto hadn't found him in the woods, he would be...

Shouto's breath caught. His fists clenched. His lips a tight line as he felt his face curl up in anger. If Shouto had made different choices, or if he had been even a minute later, Midorya would likely be dead. The memory flooded back, for the hundredth time since that night, despite every effort to forget it.

To forget those damn eyes.

Shouto was running through the woods, looking for any of his classmates. Only moments before he had been fighting alongside Bakugou and Tokoyami, but they had been separated. It was dark, and a thick smoke was hanging in the air. There was a fire somewhere nearby.

Shouto saw the flames at the same time he saw Izuku, the younger student’s broken body outlined by blue flames in the distance. Shouto could see that Izuku was hurt. His right arm was hanging limply at his side. His shirt was ripped up and stained with blood. But even without seeing his face, Shouto knew the look of determination that was there, and he watched as flashes of green rippled across the his skin. He was getting ready to attack. The villain must have seen it as well, because when Shouto reached the fight and looked up to face the attacker, he was greeted by a line of blue flame aimed straight for Izuku. Without thinking, Shouto launched a wall of ice upward to block them from the fire, but not before looking up and catching a fleeting glance of the Villain. Shouto had fumbled, nearly losing control of his ice as he made direct eye contact with two bright, sparkling blue eyes. It lasted only a split second before his ice wall blocked the villain from view, but Shouto's heart felt like it was going to explode; his blood pumping loudly in his ears as he stared at the ice. Tried to see through it, to see another glimpse of the attacker. He could hear Izuku calling his name, but it sounded far away.

Without thinking, Shouto ran to get around his own shield. Fuck those blue flames. He was resilient to fire. He had to know...

But the villain was gone. Shouto glanced around wildly, but there wasn't a sign of the blue-eyed man. The only evidence that he had been there to begin with was the blue flames.

"Shouto! Shouto!" Izuku's voice pulled him back. He looked down at his friend, green eyes large with concern. Shouto frowned as he saw the bruise blooming on Izuku’s cheek. He had a half-dozen small cuts decorating his face and a rather large chunk of dried blood running down his forehead. Shouto was mildly surprised to see Izuku's good arm clutched onto his own, shaking him. Two of the Izuku’s fingers were purple and swollen, and definitely broken.

"Are you ok? What happened?" Izuku's voice was filled with concern. Shouto almost laughed. Shouto barely had a scratch on him, and yet he was more concerned about Shouto then his own broken body. It was so typical.

Shouto nodded his head.

“I’m fine.” Shouto replied, giving his friend a faint smile, hoping it was reassuring. “Let’s take care of this mess and go find the others. You’re hurt, we need to get you some help.”

Izuku returned the smile with one of his own blinding smiles, although this one was a bit crooked due to his bruised cheek and the cuts on his face.

“Ok! I h-hope no one else got hurt. This attack seemed pretty planned out. I wonder what the league was…” Shouto walked away from the younger teen as Izuku’s voice dropped into one of his usual murmurs, his words quiet and almost bleeding together with how fast he was talking. Shouto could practically see the gears turning in his brain.

Shouto walked over to the smoldering flames. They had lost their blue hue and had significantly died on their own, but they had already consumed a few of the nearby trees and were spreading slowly but surely. Shouto began freezing the base of the fire. Ice wasn’t the best means to extinguish flames, but it was all they had at the moment. He worked slowly outward, watching as the landscape dulled. With each flame extinguished, the night around them grew darker, slowly fading into a cold, icy landscape. The work was tiring, and he knew that he, like Izuku, was probably over-using his right side. But if he didn’t, those flames would keep spreading and they might lose the entire forest to the fire. Compared to the fighting, the task was almost relaxing. It gave him something to focus on, something to draw his attention away from the rest of the night. And he was glad for it. This was hero work. Not the kind of masquerade hero work his bastard of a father paraded around doing, but genuine hero work. The kind Shouto was determined to bring to the world. The kind where hero’s genuinely helped people because they wanted to, not because there were camera’s around flashing pictures of them so their ratings would increase. The kind that didn’t need recognition.

Once he was satisfied that the flames were out, he turned back to his friend. Izuku was slouched down against a tree. He had passed out, and Shouto felt a strange panic rise up into his throat. The blood dripping from his hair, and the bruise on his cheek. Stupid Shouto. Izuku had obviously sustained a head injury, which could mean a possible concussion or internal bleeding. And Shouto had let him fall asleep! One of the absolute worst things he could do! He ran over, carefully scooping up the greenette in his arms and carrying him bridal style. Izuku was breathing, thank god, but he didn’t move as he was jostled. He didn’t even flutter his eyelids, and a feeling of dread filled Shouto’s stomach as he hurried back in the direction he thought the training camp was in. If Izuku died because he had stopped to extinguish that fire… he didn’t know if he could ever forgive himself.

Eventually he came across Ururaka, who helped him find the way back. There was already a hastily set-up medical station nearby to help some of the other students. He delivered Izuku to one of the Pussycats, who immediately called for back-up. The other students started to crowd around asking questions, but he ignored them all. He stayed just long enough to see Izuku’s eyes flutter open.

“Midorya, I need you to stay awake for me. Do you hear me? Medical attention is on its way, but you need-”

The sound of her voice faded away as Shouto withdrew from his classmates and headed inside to find an empty classroom. He was exhausted, and his right side burned from over-use. Probably just mild frostbite. It had happened before, when his father pushed him too hard during training. Hoping that if he could exhaust Shouto’s right side than he would have to use his flames. But the pain was more of an annoyance; it would heal on its own. Like it always did. But now that the night had settled, his mind had re-conjured the memory of locking eyes with that villain. He had seen those sparkling blue eyes before. He would recognize them anywhere.

Those eyes belonged to his older brother, Touya Todoroki.

“Psst… Shouto.” The noise drew his attention, drawing Shouto out of his memory of that night. He looked around, realizing that he was still in class. He had gotten so lost in his memories that he had spaced out.

As he looked around, he found that Momo was staring at him, her brow furrowed with concern. Of course she would notice. She probably knew something was wrong as soon as he entered the class. When she finally caught his eye, she discreetly pulled her phone out of her pocket and pointed at it. He nodded. Glancing around, he was glad to see their professor was at his desk talking to President Nezu. Using your phone in Aizawa’s class was a terrible idea. Their teacher was brutal when it came to punishment over such things. But when he looked up, Momo just raised her eyebrows at him, stubbornly pointing at the phone again.

Dammit.

Shouto was grateful his seat was in the back as he tried to quietly pick up his backpack and fish his phone out of the pocket. Kaminari watched him, the blonde’s eyebrows shooting up in surprise. But Shouto knew the other boy wouldn’t rat him out. He caught Kaminari and Sero smoking weed in the bathroom once. Instead of telling Aizawa, Shouto had spontaneously decided to join them. Although none of them ever spoke of it again, the blonde treated him differently after that. Like they had some kind of bond. Shouto didn’t get it. Potheads were weird. But he was glad no one else noticed as he pressed his fingertip against the reader to unlock his phone. 5 text messages. 4 from Momo. 1 from an unknown number. He frowned at the unknown number, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Trying to breath deeply, he opened Momo’s messages.

Momo: Are you ok?

Momo: You are not ok! What’s going on?

Momo: Ugh! Stop ignoring my texts. I know you can hear your phone buzzing!

Momo: Fine. Upstairs bathroom. Lunchtime.

A small cough from Kaminari caught his attention. He looked up just in time to see Aizawa getting up from his desk. Shoving his phone into his backpack, he pretended to look busy pulling out a notebook and pen. Glancing up, he met Momo’s eyes and gave a brief nod of his head.

“Alright Class,” Aizawa began, pulling everyone’s attention back up to the front of the class as Nezu left. “We can sit here and apologize about the attack all day long, but at the end of the day, we have to face this threat head-on. The cold truth is that for the second time in less than one month, this class was attacked by the League of Villains. Both attacks were carefully calculated, and have purpose, even if we don’t know yet what that purpose is. But the likelihood of another attack is high if we do not act. Although as heroes, it is not uncommon to have to face a villain with little to no knowledge of their quirks or motive. But to do so when unnecessary, especially against an entire criminal organization is dangerous. So our first step is to gather as much information as possible on the League. We do know that it is led by a very dangerous villain named Shigaraki. Up until the first attack at USJ, this was an unknown villain. But his quirk, decay, is lethal, and he seems to be easily riled up when confronted. A very dangerous combination. Thanks to one of your classmates, we know a little about the other villains, and we are working now with the police to find previous records. Any additional information that you students can recall about the attack from Friday night could be of help. In place of class today, we will be conducting individual interviews. These interviews will take place at the front of the class, in case one students memory might help other students remember important details. I understand that this is a stressful time, but I need you each to push emotions aside and provide as much information as possible about the attack. This is not a game. The information you might remember could be crucial to protecting this class and this university against a third attack. It might even prevent the death of one of your classmates. Even small details might be important. Any questions?”

Aizawa looked over the class, his face drawn in a tired scowl. Their professor always looked a bit worse for the wear, like he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in ages. He often took micro-naps as the students worked on assignments, and he seemed to survive off sipping from a large black thermos that he brought with him every day. It was assumed to be coffee, of course. But Shouto suspected there was more than coffee in that thermos some days. After growing up in ‘elite’ hero society, Shouto knew better than anyone else in that classroom how fucked up most hero’s were. It was a challenging line of work, and many hero's turned to less than ideal coping mechanisms behind closed doors. It made it easier to face the paparazzi with a smile.

But Aizawa looked worse than usual today. His eyes were even more sunken than usual, with dark bags underneath. He had faced off against the villains who kidnapped Bakugou and had sustained multiple injuries in doing so. He had also been involved with the team sent to rescue the teen. His right arm was covered in a bandage, and his left hand was bruised and swollen from fighting. His face was littered with cuts, and he nursed his right side when he walked. Rumor said that he had been stabbed by a knife. But he looked as determined as ever.

Shouto groaned inwardly. Great. An entire class discussion about the events at the training ground. The one night he wanted desperately to forget. He glanced up once more at Izuku, surprised to find a set of red eyes on him. As soon as he met Bakugou’s eyes, the explosive blonde looked away, a scowl on his lips. Shouto stared at the side of his head impassively. He was curious to hear the blonde’s opinion of the attack, curious if he would even be asked to talk. After 48 hours inside of enemy headquarters, the heroes would probably question the blonde at length, if they hadn’t already.

The interviews started with the students who had been left in the classroom for remedial training. They had very little information, as they hadn’t seen much of the attack first hand. It slowly branched outward. Most of the stories were similar, descriptions of the villains and bits of information about their quirks. But it had been so dark out. The villains had split up, working individually or in pairs, which meant that conversations between them had been kept to a minimum. And the conversations they had shared with the students had mostly been taunting. But they did end up with pretty clear descriptions of the league members involved with the attack, which Aizawa assured would be given to a police sketch artist to help the police identify the individuals. Shouto had blanked out during most of it, but he paid close attention anytime anyone mentioned the villain with the blue eyes. He made notes in his notebook. Not as many students had encountered him as the other villains, but enough that he got a shaky idea of the description, and it chilled Shouto to the bone. The villain was tall, with raven black hair and cold (although Shouto could never think of those eyes as cold) blue eyes. The bottom half of his jaw had been a dark purple and he had multiple piercings on his face. His eyes were shaded with purple as well, and his quirk was quickly identified as the ability to produce a deadly blue fire.

Bakugou’s turn to speak eventually came up, and all eyes turned to him.

“Of course I have more fucking information than the rest of you fucking extras.” The blonde scowled, though Shouto could hear a shaky uncertainty in his voice that wasn’t normally there. Bakugou was an asshole, but he was also arrogant and confident and he never questioned his own abilities. “They were a bunch of fucking saps, trying to talk shit on heroes so that I would join their pathetic little group. I have already told the school everything, more than once. So all you extras better pay attention, because I am only going to repeat this one more time. So if you see any of these crazy mother-fuckers, you will know to run. You all know our favorite itchy asshole, Shigaraki. His real name is Tomura. And the chick with the pigtails and a batshit crazy crush on Deku (Bakugou’s words, practically spit out and resulting in a very red Izuku) is Himiko. The creepy V for Vendetta wannabe with the mask and trench coat is called Mr. Compress. The warp asshole from the USJ attack is Kurogiri. The fucking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle motherfucker is called Spinner. The bitch with the big lips and magnet is Magne. And the arrogant bastard with the blue fucking flames is Dabi.”

Dabi.

Shouto silently repeated it, trying to reconcile that horrible name with the blue eyes in his mind. None of this felt right. Touya was a redhead, and his eyes were full of joy and understanding. For years he had been Shouto’s protector against their father, and had taken care of him. His quirk matched Shouto’s left side, and in Shouto’s opinion he had the ability to be as strong as Endeavor. And he probably would have been Endeavor's chosen successor if Shouto hadn’t come along, the perfect prodigy of his disgusting quirk marriage. None of the descriptions matched his memory, and yet, it had been four years. Touya would be 23 now. Who knows what might have changed during that time. And those eyes. He could never mistake those eyes…

“Todoroki.”

Shouto was lost in thought, staring at the notes in his notebook. At that name. Dabi. He didn’t hear Aizawa speaking to him at first.

“Todoroki.”

“Psst. Dude.” Shouto felt the finger poke into his arm. He startled and looked up at Kaminari. The blonde motioned with his head up to the front of the class. He looked up and saw disappointed, sunken eyes staring out at him. Oops. And Aizawa wasn’t the only one. The entire class had twisted around to look at him. He could feel Bakugou’s red eyes on him again, and he didn’t have to look at Momo to see the concern etched on her face.

“There you are Todoroki. Thanks for re-joining the class. Do you wish to share anything about the attack, or do you have more important things to do?” Aizawa’s voice held a hint of warning. And Shouto could tell he was walking a fine line between having Aizawa’s sympathy and snapping the tired professor's last frayed nerve.

“Yeah,” he murmured, forcing himself to keep his voice even and his face blank. He refused to meet the stares of any of his other classmates. “I don’t have anything new to add, really.” He could hear himself recounting the memories of the night, the fights alongside Bakugou and Tokoyami. Running through the woods and encountering Izuku facing up against the villain Dabi. His mouth twisted around the ugly name, and he choked up for a second. He could hear murmured sympathy from some of the other students. Everyone knew he had saved the younger student from likely death. They probably thought that was the memory that left him so shaken up. And it did. He couldn’t imagine his class without Izuku. He couldn’t imagine life knowing that such a shining sun had been extinguished in front of him. But he knew that deep down it was those eyes that had him so shaken he couldn’t think straight. But he couldn’t tell Aizawa about his suspicions, especially not here in the classroom. If he was wrong, he would be dragging his brother’s name through the mud. If he was right…

Well, he couldn’t think about that right now. After a moment, he finally looked up and said that he didn’t get a very good look at the villain before he had blocked off his flames with an ice wall. He quickly described extinguishing the flames and carrying Izuku back to safety. Aizawa seemed to accept his story without argument, simply jotting a few things down like he had after all the students.

“That was so cool. You saving Midorya was fucking manly dude!” He heard Kirishima whispering, and when he looked up the redhead was smiling and giving him a thumbs up. He heard Bakugou scoff as some of the other students mumbled in agreement.

Shouto just returned a blank stare, focusing on his breathing. Inside, guilt was eating him up. He could hear Aizawa’s words playing in a loop in his head. The information you might remember could be crucial to protecting this class and this school against a third attack. It might even prevent the death of one of your classmates. And yet he had left out the most important revelation from that night. But he couldn’t say anything yet… he had to be sure.

“Alright. Tokoyami you are next.”

Shouto breathed a sigh of relief when the attention was shifted away from him. As Tokoyami began describing his own battles, Shouto could hear the hesitation in his classmate’s voice. He imagined that Tokoyami felt some shame about that night. Tokoyami had one of the stronger quirks in Class 1A. But he had lost control of dark shadow during the fight, and Shouto was glad it had been him and Bakugou fighting alongside him. Their quirks were strong enough to keep dark shadow from hurting them and helping Tokoyami regain control. But it was still proof that dark shadow could be as much of a threat as the villains, and if Tokoyami hoped to be a hero, he had some major training ahead of him to ensure he wouldn’t lose control again.

Eventually, Shouto got lost once more in his thoughts. He drowned out the rest of the interviews, grateful when the bell rang and the class was excused for lunch. They had almost an hour before the next period started. He gathered up his backpack, glancing up at his dark-haired friend. Momo smiled at him, and mouthed the words “Bathroom. Now.” He could see the worry on her face, so he nodded slightly. She disappeared out of the classroom, and he looked up to see Izuku, Ururaka, and Iida standing in front of him.

“Um, Shouto, is everything ok?” Ururaka asked, her bag clasped in her hands. “You seem quieter than normal today. Do you want to join us for lunch?”

“We would be honored to have you join us for lunch.” Iida piped up at the same time that Midorya said, “We would love to have you join us!”

Shouto felt a twinge of guilt. Although he normally ate with Momo and Jirou, he sometimes ate with this group instead. They were easy to get along with. They didn’t care that he was quiet and somber, and they never pushed him to talk more than he wanted to. But when he did talk, they really listened. And he knew they cared about him too, even if it wasn’t as much as Momo did.

“Thank you,” he responded, offering up a small smile. “But I promised Momo I would help her with some homework during lunch.”

“Oh. O-ok.” Midorya replied, though Shouto wanted to cringe at the note of disappointment in his voice.

Ururaka smiled widely. “Oh. Of course! That’s ok. Have fun doing… homework.” She giggled and winked at him.

“I admire your dedication to your studies and classmates. You are an inspiration and as the class president I must thank you for assisting in another’s students time of need.” Iida bowed deeply, which made Ururaka giggle harder, her smile hidden behind her hands, and a light blush on her cheeks.

Shouto nodded, embarrassed by the undeserved praise as he grabbed his backpack and headed out. He could feel the slight heat of a blush on his cheeks and hoped no one else had noticed it. Ururaka had definitely insinuated something more than studying. This was not going to help quell the rumors. Everyone thought he and Momo were secretly dating. And although they weren’t exactly wrong, it was… complicated. But no one ever bothered to ask him, and he would be damned if he let some stupid gossip go to his head. After all, Shouto knew that he was good-looking, even with his scar. He had plenty of people tell him, and he knew that some of the other students had a crush on him. He was also powerful, and wealthy, and didn’t talk much. So he seemed to be a perfect topic of gossip. One time he and Bakugou had gotten into a fight in the locker room, and Kaminari had walked in on Shouto straddling Bakugou's waist. Shouto had been getting ready to punch the asshole in the face, but that definitely wasn’t what it looked like. And he had listened to rumors of him and Bakugou fucking for months, even Momo had asked him if they were true. And although a part of him kind of wished they were, he wasn’t about to admit that to anyone. And after the sports festival with Izuku, those had been the worst. They all started because he and Izuku were suddenly friends, and on a first name basis. Besides Momo, Shouto didn’t really do first names. Everyone loves Izuku, and the looks he had gotten when people wondered if he had stolen part of the greenette’s innocence were downright angry. He had legitimately worried that Bakugou might kill him. But eventually Izuku got wind of the rumors, and Shouto would never forget the blush on the his friend’s face when he told the class that he hadn’t fucked Shouto. But he wouldn’t meet Shouto’s eyes for weeks after that, and he blushed every time he and Shouto spoke. Shouto could feel the sexual tension between them, and he knew the other teen had been thinking about the rumors as much as Shouto did.

So… whatever. Ururaka could think what she wanted. Right now he needed Momo. Almost desperately. He wasn’t sure if he could talk to her yet, but she calmed him down. Even just being near each other. She was a constant calm in the storm. And she had comforted him now as many times as Touya had before he disappeared.

Dammit! Stop thinking about Touya! It couldn’t have been him. None of the descriptions matched.

Shouto finally reached his destination: the abandoned bathroom on the top floor of the school. A top student, one of the big three of that year, had overdosed on drugs a few years back, and had died in this bathroom. The school had done their best to cover up the accident, but the students all knew about it. And so most of them stayed away, shaken up by the thought of such a promising student turning to cocaine. But it made for a good place to get some privacy in the school. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door. Momo was pacing back and forth in front of the sinks. Stepping inside, he closed the door behind him and took a deep, shaky breath. Momo looked up at him, her eyes full of worry.

Momo was his best friend, more even. Their relationship was complicated. But they had each other’s back, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her in it. Their families were close, very close. His mother and Momo’s father had attended university together and had been good friends. When she was forced to marry his bastard of a father, Momo’s father had immediately cozied up to Endeavor as a means to pad his social influence. And it worked. The two families were always invited to one another’s social functions, and even to holiday gatherings. The kids were expected to smile and make an appearance, and then disappear. The adults didn’t seem to care where the kids went as long as they weren’t underfoot.

They had a small group of kids that came and went at such parties, but Momo was always there. At every party; no matter what. When they were really young, the kids learned fast to get out of sight early. Exploring yards or playing video games. But one day shortly after Shouto turned 13 the younger kids had sneaked into Touya’s room, only to find that he and Takami, his brother’s best friend, had stolen a bottle of whiskey from the party and were quite drunk. He had yelled at Shouto that night, one of the only times Shouto remembered his older brother yelling at him, and kicked the younger kids out of his room. But that sparked an idea in the younger kids.

Then, a year later, Touya disappeared from the hospital, and less than a week after that Endeavor hosted a social. Shouto had been livid, but when he confronted his father, Endeavor lied through his teeth, saying it had been planned for months. But Shouto saw through his farce. It was a distraction. Endeavor wanted to push his young run-away son out of everyone’s minds so they would stop talking about it. Stop gossiping about it. Stop thinking about it. And eventually stop caring about it… about Touya. That night Shouto stole a bottle of 20,000 yen Pinot Noir. He and Momo snuck away from the other kids. She knew he wasn’t ok. So they got drunk on red wine and fucked for the first time. It hadn’t been planned, although it wasn’t exactly unexpected. Shouto and Momo had been promised to each other since their quirks developed. It was a power move. The linking of two powerful families, his father had called it. But Shouto knew the truth. It was a fucking quirk marriage, just like his mother had been forced into. But that didn’t matter. They were promised in marriage, so Shouto had always assumed they would have sex eventually. Just not so soon. It was awkward, and he had been so excited to touch her that it lasted a whole ten minutes. But even so, it helped. He felt better. Less alone. And afterward, when they cuddled up together in his bed until it was time for her to go, he felt like some tiny part of his heart that had been broken apart at his brother's disappearance had been stitched back together.

After that, it became a game. One that all the teens were willing to play. At social events, all the kids drew straws. The one who drew the shortest straw was responsible for sneaking booze away from the party. Occasionally they got lucky and someone managed to get away with a bit of marijuana or some pain pills. Then the kids would indulge. Sometimes he and Momo would sneak away from the rest of the teens to have sex. It was a stress relief, a way for them to blow off steam. It helped after he would walk away from his father’s training with bruises on his body, or when she would be punished for scoring less than an A in a class. They were the perfect children, and expected to behave as such. And punished severely when they didn’t live up to those expectations. And fucking just helped. Occasionally he would end up in bed with one of the other teens, although he always felt a bit guilty when he did. But there was never bad blood between them. Sex with Momo was amazing, and he truly loved her, but not in the way he should have. Not in the way that one should love their betrothed. And he knew she felt the same. It felt good like jerking off felt good, or like a one night stand. They were best friends and fuck buddies, and that made his life complicated. But they agreed to keep that side of their life hidden from their friends at UA. The other students, they would never understand.

But they didn’t try to hide their friendship. They couldn’t. They knew each other too well. So of course Momo would recognize his stress. She was intimately familiar with it. And he knew that he would tell her about those blue eyes, and this horrible, nagging, aching pit in his stomach that had grown at the thought that Touya had suddenly re-surfaced in his life. As a fucking villain. A villain who tried to kill his friend, and kidnapped and possibly tortured his classmate. But he couldn’t tell her yet. He needed to figure everything out first. But he also couldn’t pretend to be ok. She would see right through him. So as they stared at each other; he knew she was waiting for him to talk.

“Momo,” he finally said, his voice so quiet he wasn’t sure if she would actually hear him. He didn’t know what to say. She waited, patiently, but there was nothing. His voice was stuck in his throat. He focused on his breathing, sitting down on the dirty bathroom floor and hiding his face in his hands. Suddenly, out of nowhere, he heard himself sob. He never cried in front of other people, but he couldn’t stop. And she was there, kneeling down on that awful floor alongside him, cradling his head against her shoulder as he sobbed.

“It’s ok, Shou. I’m here with you.” She whispered softly into his hair, and he curled himself into her. Her body felt so warm, so comforting. Every curve of hers fit perfectly against him, and her scent… God, she always smelled like roses. It smelled just like his mother did before she ended up in the hospital. It smelled like his childhood when he played in his backyard, and like his life before his quirk surfaced, when everything was so simple. It smelled like Momo, his best friend, and the one person who had melted away his stress more times than he could count. If only they could stay like this forever. He could feel her running her hands through his hair and cooing quietly and his sobs slowly subsided.

Eventually, once his shoulders stopped shaking and his breathing evened out, she pushed him away enough to look into his eyes. She wiped the drying tears off of his cheeks.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Yes. And he would. But not yet. So he shook his head, dropping his eyes. He was embarrassed at his outburst; bawling his eyes out like a fucking child. He also felt guilty about rejecting her offer to talk about it.

“No.”

“That’s ok.” She replied, quietly. He could hear the worry in her voice.

“Do you want to- ya know…” She said, and Shouto looked up in surprise. She was blushing, and it made her look even more beautiful than usual.

“You want to have sex?” He asked, trying to make sure he heard her correctly. “Here? At school. Sober…”

He and Momo had only ever been sober during sex one other time. And he had tried very hard to push that memory from his mind. It had been the evening of the Sports festival. He had lost to Bakugou, and had been shaken to the very core of his being by a certain green-haired classmate. He had barely looked at Izuku twice before that day, and yet Izuku had managed to wriggle into his soul and shine a light on the darkest parts of himself that had never before seen the sun. He had challenged everything Shouto believed in. He had drawn out Shouto’s fire, the side of himself that made him sick and drove his mother crazy. That he defiantly refused to use, despite multiple beatings from his father. The part of him that he despised. And then Izuku had smiled. Smiled like that side of him was the most beautiful part of Shouto that he had ever seen. Like seeing that side of Shouto was worth losing to him and giving up his own victory in the sports festival.

And it had driven Shouto crazy. When Momo came over with a bottle of wine that night, Shouto couldn’t wait. He practically tore off her clothes and pulled her into the bed, and pounded into her with a punishing rhythm. But he couldn’t look her in the eye, and he couldn’t stop thinking about green hair or green eyes or that god-damn blinding smile. And he had finished almost as quickly as that very first time they had sex. He felt so ashamed when he pulled out of her and collapsed on the bed. She knew, but she didn’t judge him. She curled up against him, and fell asleep and they never spoke of that night again.

“Are you sure?” He searched her face, suddenly wanting nothing more than to bury himself inside of her and forget everything, even if only for a little while.

She didn’t say anything. She just nodded, and watched his face.

“Momo…. I need you…” he whispered, cut off by the feeling of her lips crashing into his. Her lips, like always, were full and soft and needy as they moved against his. A wave of lust washed over him as he plunged his tongue into her warm mouth and tasted her, pulling her onto his lap as they kissed, both hands wrapped around her back, holding her body firmly against his. She tasted vaguely like mint gum and cherry chapstick, and he couldn’t get enough as he rolled his tongue against hers. They kissed until he had to away for air, and he could see the want in her half-lidded eyes. They moved quickly, both knowing they didn’t have long left before the lunch bell rang and they would have to return to class. Shouto froze the door in place as Momo produced a blanket for them to lay on. And then they were all hands and sloppy, fast kisses as he unbuttoned her shirt and pulled down her lacy red bra, sucking one of her beautiful pink nipples into his mouth. He rolled his tongue around it as his left hand pulled her skirt up. She moaned, and god did Shouto love the sound of her moans. He could feel his pants growing tighter as she palmed him, trying to concentrate enough to undo his button. Shouto planted kisses all over her neck and chest as he helped her undo the zipper, pushing his pants and boxers quickly to the floor. He was already achingly hard for her, and waves of pleasure shot through him as she wrapped her beautiful, long fingers around his shaft.

“Fuck, Momo.” He growled, his hands going down to stroke her pussy through the thin lace of her red underwear. The material was wet against his fingertips, and the feeling shot straight to his groin. She was mewling and grinding her hips down against his hand; the sound driving him wild with want. Capturing her mouth once more in a deep kiss, he grabbed her absolutely goddamn vixen-like thighs and carefully laid her down on the blanket. He peeled off the panties and spread her legs out as far as he could, drinking in the sight of her wet, glistening pussy.

“Shou, please,” She echoed his earlier statement, and when he looked up, her face was flushed and she was biting her lip like a sex goddess and all he could think about was burying himself into her warmth. Fumbling around to grab his pants, he pulled out a condom from his wallet. He wanted her so badly that his hands shook with need as he rolled it over himself. He took two fingers and buried them up into her. His cock twitched with want. She moaned his name as he curled his fingers up to stroke her g-spot.

“Yes. God, yes. Shou touch me there!” She keened as he pulled his fingers out and wiped her juice off on the condom, rubbing it around his head for lube. “Please Fuck me.”

“Fuck,” Shouto mumbled, his thoughts completely consumed by the sight of her below him, her legs spread open and her gorgeous breasts flushed, with pink nipples peaking out from under her lacy bra. He could smell her perfume and her pussy and fuck if that didn’t do things to his cock. Lining himself up, he groaned as he pushed up into her. Her pussy was so fucking tight every time, and so hot around his shaft that it nearly took his breath away.

He was so stressed, and she felt so good, that he knew he wasn’t going to last long. But they didn’t have long anyway. The bell was going to ring any second, and he would be damned if he didn’t get her to orgasm before he did. So he pushed her thighs up and angled his hips just enough that he knew his cock would rub against her g-spot with every thrust. And god she looked so beautiful as she turned into a hot mess underneath him, gasping and moaning every time he bottomed out inside of her. He picked up his speed as her pussy walls began to tighten around his cock, and Shouto smiled to himself. She was getting close. They had fucked enough times that he could read the nuances in her body. Reaching up, he tweaked her nipple with his left hand, activating his quirk just enough to warm his fingers the way he knew she loved. Within moments, she clenched around him, screaming his name as she came. He fucked her through it, his thrusts getting sloppy as he chased his own release, his mind going blank for a moment as his orgasm washed over him.

They panted as they both let the high of cumming wash over them. He could feel himself going soft, and carefully slipped out of her, pulling off the condom and throwing it in the trash. Shit. He felt good. So much fucking better; a part of him wanted to skip the rest of class and take Momo home and worship her body the way she deserved. Better than a quick fuck on a dirty bathroom floor.

But the bell rang and interrupted his thoughts. Shit. They had five minutes to get back to their next period, and they were both a mess. She giggled at the panicked look in his eyes. He watched her stand up and slide her panties back up over her glistening pussy. His cock twitched as she pulled her skirt back down and he realized that she planned to sit through the rest of class with panties soaked through by her desire for him. With a wet pussy that he could slide back into so easily. He blushed as she adjusted her huge chest back into her bra and re-buttoned her shirt. She had the best tits of anyone he had ever seen, and his mouth watered as he watched the buttons strain against her chest.

Fuck.

He had just taken her. How could he still be so horny?

“Are you just going to stand there and watch me until you have to go back with a hard-on?” she asked teasingly, though he could hear the satisfaction in her voice as she turned and tried to fix her hair in the mirror. They may not love each other, but he knew that she loved the fact that her body could drive him crazy. Dammit. He hurried and grabbed his boxers and pants, struggling into them. She was right, as usual. And he forced his half-hard cock into his boxers. He splashed cold water on his face, and he tried to think of anything but Momo to kill his growing hard-on. Finally, she met his eyes in the mirror and laughed. It was pretty obvious that something had happened. Their lips were both swollen from kissing, and her entire neck and chest was red. Although he hadn’t left any obvious marks, it was clear the red skin was more than just a simple blush. And although his hair had been easily re-tamed, hers was another matter. Even in a ponytail, the long, dark locks had an obvious hint of bed-head around the edges. And with a fucking half-chub he couldn’t seem to get rid of, it was going to be pretty obvious what the two of them had been up to.

“You should go in first,” he finally said, reaching over to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. “It will be less obvious if we don’t go back together. I will take the punishment for being late. I need a few minutes to calm down anyway.” She giggled, and the sound was beautiful. She glanced down at the bulge in his pants, and playfully touched it as she started to walk away. He groaned as his cock twitched, trying to get fully hard again. The sex kitten knew how to push his buttons.

Shouto hurried to melt the last of the ice holding the door closed, and she looked up and smiled at him as she stepped out.

“Don’t take too long,” She said as she began walking away. But she didn’t get far when she turned around and threw a second obvious glance at his erection.

He waited around a few minutes before grabbing his backpack and hurrying to their next period. He would only be a few minutes late. Hopefully, everyone would be so busy starting assignments that no one would notice. And the lecture he got from Aizawa later wasn’t enough to regret the quickie. He felt so much better, more relaxed. He needed that.

Then he opened the door, and for the second time that day every single eye was on him. Well, except Momo. She was blushing and staring at her desk. Kaminari was openly smiling and giving him a thumbs up. Ururaka was snickering behind her hands again, and Bakugou was glaring daggers at him. And Izuku, he was blushing almost as much as Momo.

“Sit down Todoroki,” Aizawa’s stern voice caught his attention. “You are disturbing the class.”

He nodded quickly, knowing that he was going to be asked to stay after class. Hurrying to his feet, he kept his face blank and avoided looking at anyone else. Luckily, Aizawa distracted the class with a pop quiz. Groans filled the air, as Shouto got seated. He pulled out a pencil as his quiz was set in front of him. Like usual, he was one of the first ones finished. The quizzes weren’t that hard if you actually paid attention in class. Bakugou finished just after him, and was still glaring at him out of the corner of his eye. Shouto looked up at the clock. He had thirty minutes to kill before the quiz was finished. Suddenly, he remembered the fifth text on his phone. The one from the unknown number. He told himself that he would check it after class. It was probably just spam. But it wasn’t the first unknown text he had gotten over the years, and his curiosity grew as he sat there fidgeting at his desk.

Finally he glanced up to see Aizawa napping at his desk. They still had ten minutes. Plus, if he got caught. Well... he was already in trouble.

Reaching down he fished into his backpack and pulled out his phone. He hid it behind a book, and unlocked it. He could feel his fingers shaking as he opened up the message. His heart jumped into his throat as he read the message. And suddenly all of the stress that he had just released with Momo came crashing back ten-fold. He couldn’t breathe. He just kept re-reading the words.

“We need to talk. Meet me on Friday night at 793 Usafa Street. Ask for Dabi at the door. -T”

Chapter Text

Shouto barely heard Aizawa’s lecture as he sat in the otherwise empty classroom. He was the top student in Class 1A. Although he didn’t have a perfect record (the downside of being friends with Izuku - when the greenette asked for your help, it was difficult to say no), he was not known for disturbing the class. And Aizawa knew that. The professor’s voice had a droll I’m lecturing you because I have to, but really I would rather be taking a nap tone to it. So Shouto made a show of watching his face, and nodding from time to time to make it look like he was paying more attention than he was. But his thoughts were still consumed by the text on his phone.

Ask for Dabi.

Finally, Aizawa stood up and shuffled around his desk, digging into one of his drawers. He pulled out a pamphlet and handed it to Shouto. Confused, Shouto glanced down.

‘Safe Sex Practices’ was staring back at him in bold, black letters. Underneath was a picture of a banana with a condom rolled onto it. He could feel his cheeks grow warm, blushing. And he had been worried about his classmates noticing he and Momo’s disheveled state.

“What is this?”

“Don’t play stupid, Todoroki.” Aizawa replied curtly. “You and Momo were not exactly subtle this afternoon. Be glad I’m not taking this matter up with President Nezu. Student’s have sex, we know that. But its against UA’s code of conduct to have sex on university property. I don’t care what you do at home, but you still need to be safe. You’re eighteen now, just a few months away from interning at your father’s agency. You may not be a pro hero yet, but you’re in the public eye whether you like it or not. A sex scandal while still in school would hurt your image, and your initial hero rankings. And if Momo got pregnant? Her chances of becoming a pro hero would be set back years. It may never happen depending on if your father would allow you to claim paternity over the child. I know you aren’t stupid Todoroki, but don’t let a teenage fling mess up the chances of either you or your partner achieving your goals.”

Shouto could definitely feel his cheeks blushing now. He had heard of kids getting ‘the talk’ when they were young, but that had never happened for him. He had never had an adult try to talk to him about sex. He never needed it. He wasn’t stupid; he used protection. Still, he was grateful for Aizawa keeping this between them. If he had gone to Nezu, they would have contacted Endeavor. Although he doubted his father would actually care about Shouto getting laid (the bastard would be a complete hypocrite if he did - after parading mistresses in and out of his house since long before his mother went to the hospital), Shouto would still be punished for getting caught.

“I understand.” He finally replied, making a show of cramming the awful pamphlet in his backpack. He had no intention of ever looking at that thing again, but he would have to wait until he got home to trash it. “Is that all?” He met Aizawa’s flat stare, hoping the professor was satisfied. He needed to get home.

“Yes. You’re excused.” Shouto shuffled to quickly get up and pull his backpack over one shoulder. He hurried to the door, and was opening it up when Aizawa’s said, offhand. “Don’t mistake my kindness, Todoroki. If I suspect you are having sex on UA grounds again, I will have you expelled.”

Expelled?!

Shouto whipped his head back around to his professor. Aizawa met his look with a challenging stare, and it was clear he meant business. Shouto knew Aizawa had expelled students for less, so he knew his professor wasn’t kidding. Aizawa cared about shaping them into Pro Heroes, and he wasn’t going to tolerate behaviors that would disrupt that goal.

Shouto nodded, quickly stepping out of the classroom and closing the door. Looking up and down the hall, he was glad to see there was no one around that might have overheard.

He headed toward the main entrance, checking his phone. It had buzzed a few times during his lecture.

Momo: I’m sorry if you got in trouble!

Momo: Hopefully Aizawa doesn’t give you a demerit!

Momo: You still seemed pretty stressed after class. Text me if you need anything.

Shouto: No demerit. It was worse than that.

Momo: What? You were only four minutes late! What was your punishment?

Shouto: I got a cheesy pamphlet on ‘safe sex’ and a lecture about not getting you pregnant.

Momo: …

Momo: LMAO!!!!

Shouto: You wouldn’t be laughing if Aizawa had lectured you about fucking. I hope I never have to hear him say the word sex again.

Momo: He must think its really important if he actually gave you a pamphlet.

Momo: I could come over later to study it with you. Practice the techniques…

Momo: We wouldn’t want to let Aizawa think we didn’t take his lesson seriously.

Shouto: Some of the techniques looked a bit complicated. It might take a few tries to get them right.

Momo: Good thing I make such a good study partner.

Momo: Tonight? 7pm?

Shouto: I can’t tonight. I have training with Endeavor. Raincheck?

Momo: Just this once.

Momo: But seriously. If you need anything Shou, let me know.

Shouto felt bad lying to his friend about training, but he needed some time alone to think.

Shouto had three older siblings. Natsuo was the eldest, and had been out of the house for almost ten years. Next was Fuyumi. She had been married to a wealthy family seven years ago. Then there was Touya. Even though Touya was five years older than Shouto, they had always been really close. Touya had been a smart kid, and had always been charismatic and charming. He had bright red hair, sparkling blue eyes, and he was always smiling, even when their father was being an ass to them. When his quirk emerged, so similar to Endeavors, the Pro Hero immediately started rigorous training. Touya started smiling less, but he always tried to stay positive around Shouto. Shouto’s quirk emerged four years later, dual-natured and with the potential to be stronger than even Endeavor himself.

When Shouto’s training started, he quickly realized why Touya had changed. Endeavor was a harsh trainer, both physically and mentally. He pushed both boys to their limit. If they didn’t perform well enough, they were punished. Touya made it a point to be there for training whenever possible, and often stepped in to take the brunt of their father’s wrath. He never complained about the bruises or the pain. And he never seemed to resent Shouto. Once Natsuo and Fuyumi were both out of the mansion, Endeavor got more physically violent during trainings, and Touya got more protective. More withdrawn. They were still close, but Touya changed. He started to dress differently and it was hard to make him smile. Shouto knew Touya had picked up a few friends from the rough side of town, but he knew Touya was dealing with a lot between his training at UA and his new internship at Endeavors agency.

And they had a plan. Once Shouto was old enough, they would move out of the Todoroki mansion and get an apartment together. They would become amazing Pro Heroes without that bastards help.

Then one day, everything changed. Shouto didn’t remember much about the night, but Touya had gotten high and attacked him. They both ended up in the hospital. A week later, Touya was gone.

That was four year’s ago.

Shouto never really gave up hope. Although he quickly learned that it was not a subject up for discussion. He tracked the search, for the short time it was active. And when mover’s showed up to take Touya’s belongings, he paid them off, with Endeavor’s money of course, to help move his brother’s stuff into storage.

About a year later, he got a text from an unknown number. It had simply said ‘I miss you. -T’ When he tried to respond, the number was no longer in service. When he contacted his cell phone company, it was reported that the number had been inactive for months.

Shouto had tried to re-open the missing person’s report. But the police refused to help, and Endeavor left him with an angry burn on his arm when he brought it up. He practically spit in Shouto’s face that Touya was probably dead and Shouto should just accept that.

Instead, he managed, after months of trying, to get his hands on a copy of the police report. For something that was supposed to be public record, the file had been exceedingly difficult to get ahold of. But it didn’t do him any good. The file was convoluted, and didn’t have any information on where Touya might have disappeared to.

Still, Shouto had stashed the document away for future use, pulling it out from time to time. He kept getting the occasional text message. Same thing as that first time. It would be short, a few words or a sentence. Followed up with a signature ‘-T’. The messages never came from the same number twice, and the numbers were always inactive, no matter how quickly he responded. But it was enough to let Shouto know that Touya was at least alive.

But this time was different. Now Shouto knew he was still in the city. He was going to get the chance to finally talk to Touya about everything that happened that day, and he wanted to be ready. He didn’t remember that day, so the police report was really all he had.

Pulling the report out from its hiding place in the top of his closet, he took it over to his desk. Just like he had done dozens of times before. The police report was jumbled, and hard to get a full picture of what happened. But he had spent hours reading every word, especially the police chief’s initial statement, released just a few days after Touya’s disppearance.

“On the morning of April 14, Todoroki Touya, also known as Intern hero Pyre, reported to The Endeavor Hero Agency. He was behaving unusually, and his patrol partner from that morning reported extremely aggressive behavior during patrol. When called to respond to a level three bank robbery, Pyre displayed erratic behavior and unsound judgment. This resulted in both one civilian casualty and failure to apprehend the villain or retrieve the stolen funds. Pyre underwent immediate disciplinary action through the agency. When Todoroki Touya returned home later that evening, he offered to assist in training for his younger brother, Todoroki Shouto. Todoroki Touya became agitated during the training, and overly violent. He attacked his younger brother, resulting in severe burns on the younger boys right arm and shoulder and a concussion. Their father, Todoroki Enji, had no choice but to intercede with brute force in order to stop the attack on Todoroki Shouto. Todoroki Enji had both children admitted to the hospital. Blood tests revealed high levels of LSD in Todoroki Touya’s blood, the believed cause of the boys violent and erratic behavior. Todoroki Touya was being treated for minor burns to his neck and arms, when he left the hospital without being properly discharged. Todoroki Touya was filed as a missing person, but repeated attempts to locate the intern hero have failed.”

Shouto sighed. He had gone over these reports so many times. He practically knew it by heart. But there had to be something he missed before. If Touya really was Dabi, then he had been here, in the city, this entire time. How did he manage to disappear while living right under their nose?

He set the statement to the side and picked through the rest of the file. There were numerous reports with complex documentation and witness statements. There were a few grainy photographs of both he and Touya’s injuries from that night. It was strange to see the pictures of himself in the hospital, of the burns on his arm. He remembered the injuries, the recovery time for his arm had taken months, but knowing that Touya had done that felt surreal. After all of the times his brother had protected him from Endeavor… But Shouto supposed that was because of the LSD.

Shouto shoved the file to the side, pinching the bridge of his nose. After a few minutes, he picked up his phone and opened up the message for the hundredth time.

“We need to talk. Meet me on Friday night at 793 Usafa Street. Ask for Dabi at the door. -T”

Friday night. That was tomorrow. Tomorrow night he was going to see his brother for the first time in four years. Not Touya, though. Tomorrow he was going to meet Dabi, a dangerous criminal and a member of the League of Villains.

It really made him feel sick.

Pulling up his internet, Shouto searched for the address: 793 Usafa Street. It pulled up pictures of a shady, run-down club in one of the worst parts of the city. Search results showed a high number of police reports about minor muggings and bar fights. Internet reviews gave it 1 star, with multiple comments of safety issues, a dirty environment, and a less than reputable clientele.

Shouto wasn’t really surprised, though. If Touya really was a villain - No, now that Shouto knew that Touya really was a villain… well its not like they could meet up for lunch at the mall or some high-end restaurant.

Shouto skipped school the next day. He knew Aizawa would be pissed after his lecture, but he just couldn’t bring himself to face his class. He couldn’t look at his professor, or even his peers, with a straight face knowing that he was going to be meeting up with one of the very villains who had terrorized their class a week ago.

He stayed in bed all day and ignored the texts from Momo and Izuku asking if he was alright. He searched the internet for any information about Dabi and The League. But the more he searched, the more sick he felt. Eventually he gave up. Although there was nothing online that linked Dabi’s name directly to the league, there was a clear history of fire associated with their attacks. There were buildings burned to the ground, cars set up in flames. There were people…

It was too much.

So Shouto forced himself to sleep, finally getting up around 7pm to get ready. Touya hadn’t specified a time, so Shouto decided to arrive around 10. Hopefully his brother would be there. Shouto knew the area was dangerous. Between coverage of his class for the sports festival and the attacks, and multiple news stories about his father’s home-life, Shouto was well-known. With his dual-toned hair, heterochromatic eyes, and a burn scar, he was pretty damn recognizable too. Risking the meet-up with Touya would mean nothing if he got attacked by some petty criminal with a grudge against his father on the way.

So Shouto carefully covered up his scar with concealer. He lined his eyes with black, something he knew was popular in the club scene. He messed up the straight line between his dual-colored hair and pulled it back into a messy bun. He chose an old outfit of Touya’s from storage: tight black leather pants with a studded belt, a fitted white T-shirt, and a pair of black boots with studs on them. He topped off the look with a black leather studded choker. Looking in the mirror, he was definitely satisfied. Not only did he not look much like himself, but he looked damn good too. Most importantly, he wouldn’t stick out from the rest of the club-goers.

Still, he was glad he had a strong quirk in case anyone decided to mess with him.

The travel to the club went smoother than expected. He got a fair number of looks on the train ride, but the walk from the train to the club was surprisingly empty. It was still pretty early though, and with the number of empty alleys and abandoned and run-down shops he passed by, he was grateful. He knew police and hero patrols were pretty rare down here, so it wasn’t exactly a safe place to walk alone.

When he finally arrived, Shouto was less impressed in person than he had been with the pictures online. The club front was all but falling apart, and the building was attached to some kind of abandoned warehouse that looked like it had been pulled straight out of a zombie apocalypse movie.

Stepping inside, he was met by a burly bouncer with a sour expression on his face.

“Get outta here kid,” the man said curtly, barely giving Shouto a second glance.

“I’m here to see Dabi.” He replied, trying to sound much more confident than he felt. He wasn’t supposed to be here; it openly served booze, so you were supposed to be twenty-one to even get inside. He didn’t even have a fake ID on him. All he had was that awful name to drop. The bouncer looked at him again, but if he was actually surprised by Shouto’s response, he kept it well-hidden. He looked Shouto up and down, and it took all of Shouto’s willpower not to blush. Shouto’s outfit didn’t leave a lot to the imagination, and he definitely wasn’t used to being looked at like that.

“The name doesn’t sound familiar.” The man drawled, looking smug.

What?! Shouto couldn’t believe his ears. This was the right place. Touya had said to ask for Dabi. What was he supposed to do now?

He stood there, feeling completely stupid for a few moments, trying to analyze his options, when the door opened again and two barely dressed girls rushed inside. One was a thin brunette in a short black dress with slits up the sides and pink heels. The other was a shapely blonde in a leather mini-skirt. She had black heels and a black jacket, with no top underneath. Thick pink tape made an ‘x’ shape over each nipple of two very large tits. Shouto tried to look at the ground, but it was hard to keep himself from staring. They were both looked older than him, but Shouto doubted they were old enough to be at this club either. They stopped right in front of him.

“I haven’t seen you at this club before,” the brunette cooed, running a long red-painted fingernail down his chest and stomach. He tried to play it cool, forcing himself not to stare at the obvious bloom of her nipples through the sheer material of her dress. He could feel himself starting to get aroused, and tried valiantly to think of other things. There would be no hiding an erection in these pants.

“Are you here alone?” the blonde asked, fluttering her eyelashes at him. “We would be happy to show you around the club...” She wriggled her shoulders just enough that her tits swayed under her jacket, and Shouto could already imagine how good they would look bouncing up and down if he fucked her.

Damnit Shouto! Stay focused.

“I’m actually here to meet someone.” He replied, trying to keep his voice level.

The blonde pursed her full lips, pouting.

“That’s a shame.” The brunette replied, her gaze lingering on the front of his pants before she looked back up at his eyes and smiled. “If they don’t show, I hope you will come and find us. We will show you a real good time…” She purred, leaning over and nipping the bottom of his ear between her teeth. His cock definitely twitched this time, and he was beginning to wonder if wearing such tights pants had been a good idea after all.

The girls both laughed. When they reached the bouncer, he asked for their ID’s. Shouto watched as they each took out a small chunk of yen and handed it to him. He nodded and motioned for them to enter.

Oh. Duh.

Shouto felt stupid. But if yen was what the bouncer wanted, he definitely had that.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his wallet and fished out 5000 yen.

Be confident. Be confident. Be confident.

“I’m here to see Dabi,” Shouto said, meeting the bouncer’s eyes and holding out the yen. The man took it, mentally calculating the amount and tucking it in his pocket.

“Do you have ID?” the man asked, face straight.

What?! He wanted more?

Asshole.

Shouto stopped himself from sighing, instead pulling his wallet back out and counting out another 3000 yen. The man pocketed it quickly and motioned for him to enter.

“Stairway is in the back. Second floor. Dabi’s room is the last one on the left. The room is open.”

“Thanks,” Shouto muttered bitterly.

Shouto stepped into the club, greeted by the sound of loud music and the smell of stale cigarette smoke. The interior was dimly lit, with a bunch of mismatched lights strung up around the ceiling. There was a bar along one wall, but most of the room was just a big dancefloor. Despite it being early, the club was already fairly crowded. Shouto followed the directions, trying to ignore the catcalls and wandering hands as he pushed his way through the dancers. The stairway was narrow and in as bad of shape as the rest of the club. There were six doors down the hall, and the last one on the left was open, just like the bouncer said it would be. He walked slowly down the hall, voices drifting out from the room.

Shouto's heart flipped a little at the sound of Touya’s voice. It was a bit deeper now, but that was definitely his brother.

"I will be there tonight. But I have other matters to attend to first, Kai. My next client is heading up. I don't need you here to scare them away."

"Cancel." A deeper voice said in a demanding tone. "Join me upstairs. You know I can pay better than any of your other clients."

"This one isn't about-"

Shouto was nervous about someone coming out and catching him eavesdropping. So he stepped into the doorway, and made a small noise in his throat to announce his presence. Two sets of eyes looked up.

It was... Dabi. He had Touya's crystal blue eyes, but Shouto could barely recognize the man in front of him. Instead of bright red hair, he had shorter spiked raven black hair. His entire lower jaw was covered in an intricate tattoo of black roses and vines that went all the way down his neck and disappeared under his shirt, more peaking out in full sleeves on each arm. He had snakebites and a spiked labret on his bottom lip, matching studs on the outside of each eyebrow, two subdermals at the top of sharpcut cheekbones, and more earrings than Shouto could count. He had thick black eyeliner under each eye, and his bottom lip was painted black to blend in with his tattoo. He was wearing a leather jacket and a tight blank tank underneath.

And he was actually there. In front of Shouto. For the first time in four years.

"This is your next client? I didn't know you accepted clients so young. I see now why you didn't want me to see him." That deeper, commanding voice drawled. Shouto realized that he had been standing there, probably with his mouth hanging open, staring at his brother. Touya had barely looked at him, his face neutral.

Shouto reluctantly turned his attention to the other man, only to find himself staring into sinfully golden eyes. This man looked like a Greek god, or a model from one of those high-end fashion magazines. He had short brown hair, and those eyes... They were accented by dark eyelashes and exquisite cheekbones. The man had full lips and perfect skin. He was wearing a green jacket with purple fur around the neck, and nothing underneath but a mouthwatering chest and washboard abs that Shouto wouldn't mind running his hands over.

And the look the man was giving Shouto should have been illegal as it wandered slowly over every curve of Shouto’s body.

"Yes, this is my client. And I don't have much time with our meeting later, so if you will excuse us..."

"Of course. I would never want to stand in the way of your business. But I do hope we will see more of this one around."

Touya didn't respond, waiting for the golden-eyed man to stand up and walk out, flashing one last sultry smile in Shouto's direction.

"Hurry up and get in here before anyone else sees you," Touya urged, a note of annoyance in his voice. "And close the door."

Shouto nodded, closing the door quickly, and hurrying to sit down across from his brother. Touya fished a joint out of his pocket, a short burst of blue flame from his fingertips lighting it up. He took a deep hit as he looked at Shouto. Finally, he exhaled the smoke, flashing a lazy smile.

"It's good to see you, Shouto," he said. "You look good. Almost too good. I expected you to wear something less like sex on legs."

"I wanted to fit in. I didn't want anyone to recognize me." Shouto admitted shyly, a definite blush rising to his cheeks.

"Well you definitely fit in. Guess I should be glad my old clothes are still being used. I would have thought daddy dearest tossed it all."

"He thinks we did. I had it all moved into storage with mom's stuff. I wanted you to have it for once you come back home." Shouto knew how childish it sounded. Four years later, he knew Touya would never come back to the house. He was an adult now, out from underneath their father’s brutish thumb. But his stuff had been a way for Shouto to hold onto hope since he disappeared.

Touya's smile dropped. He sighed heavily.

"That's not going to happen. That's not my life anymore. I belong here."

"But you don't have too Touya, you still-"

"Shhh..." Touya shushed him, standing up and peaking outside the door. "You can't use that name here. It's dangerous."

"It's your name." Shouto insisted.

"No. It's not anymore. Fuck Shouto. I don't know how you recognized me in the forest. But I know you have been googling me and The League and you have to stop. You are going to stir up trouble if you haven't already. This is all I have. And you don't want anything to do with it."

"Come home," Shouto could feel the tears gathering. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He would not cry. "Just come. Endeavor has the news in his pocket. He will help you twist the story, you don't have to work for The League."

"I can't. It's not that simple."

"Why not."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"No. It wouldn't make a difference."

"It would to me!" Shouto yelled, standing up and leaning into Touya's face. Four years! Four years alone in that house with that asshole. "You left me with him. After years of promising me that we would leave together. That we wouldn't have to live in that house forever, and then you just left. You owe me an explanation, dammit!" He sat back down, glaring at his brother and trying to steady his breathing.

"You think you know what happened four years ago? You have no idea." Touya replied quietly, staring into a cup on the table.

"I know more than you think."

"Why? Because you checked out the police record?” His brother’s eyes shot up to meet Shouto’s. Shouto was taken back for a moment by how cold and emotionless they looked. He could see now how some of his classmates had described them that way. Touya’s hands were shaking, and he took another hit. “Yeah, I know about your attempts to find me. Shigaraki has kept an eye on anyone looking for me over the years. You're the only one Shouto. You're the only one who cared that Touya Todoroki was gone. And I don't care if you memorized that case file, you would still have no idea what really happened. Every word was a fucking lie."

"Then tell me the truth. Tell me what really happened!"

Dabi got quiet.

“It's not going to change anything."

"Fine. I still deserve to know the truth."

"Do you remember when Endeavor went on that talk show and told the world that you were training to be his successor despite the weak right side you had inherited from Mom?"

"Yes," Shouto remembered it well. After the accident with his mom, Shouto favored his right side. He barely used his fire during training. Endeavor resented it, and pulled that stunt to try and publicly embarrass him about his ice. After that day, Shouto swore he would never use his fire again. He didn’t need that bastard or his quirk to become a hero.

"It was a few days after that. You and he had gotten into an argument during training the night before. He was pissed. The next day was one of my intern days, and Endeavor decided he was going to be my patrol partner. He bitched and moaned and complained about you. Said he was going to find a way to make you use your left side. Whether you wanted to or not. I told him to shut the fuck up.” Dabi laughed, but it was a cold sound. “He didn’t take that very well. Reported me for aggressive behavior. About an hour later, we got called in for a bank robbery. Biggest crime I had gotten to help with since starting my internship. Endeavor was the highest ranked hero on site, so he became the mission lead. He was fighting with some villain in the bank, but they were a smart group. Two of the others split up, one had over a million yen with him, the other had a little girl as a hostage. Endeavor told me to retrieve the money, that another hero was on his way to retrieve the hostage. So I did. But I had only chased him a block when I found myself facing off against four of them. Even with a powerful quirk, I wasn’t enough to stop them. They beat the shit out of me and left with the money. When I got back to the scene, the other hero hadn’t arrived in time. The little girl had been killed.”

Dabi took a minute. His breathing was heavy. Shouto felt bad. It was clear this was a difficult memory for him. But he had to know. If he had any chance of understanding, he had to know what happened. So he waited, and after a moment, Dabi continued.

“Endeavor was pissed that I didn’t retrieve the money. When we got back to the agency, I was in bad shape. Any other hero would have gone to the infirmary, but Endeavor handed me an icepack and told me to get to work on the paperwork. When I asked him what for, he told me that as my mistake had both cost the little girl her life and failed the primary objective of the mission, that it was my responsibility to complete all the paperwork for the death and the lost yen. My mistake. My fucking mistake.” Dabi took a sip of his drink, and a hit. His left hand was gripping his cup so hard his knuckles were white. “I knew it was no use arguing. There had been no other heroes around to witness his orders. So I took the paperwork. It took me hours, and I was exhausted by the time I got home.

When I got home, I found Endeavor in the training room. He was sitting in a chair smoking a cigar and staring at you. You were laying on the other side of the room, unconscious with your head resting in a puddle of blood. You had split the back of your head open and had some burns on your chest. It was clear you had tried to fight back, and your right arm had been overused. It was raw and bloody, and looked like Enji had pushed you way past minor frostbite from quirk overuse. When I asked him what had happened, he shrugged and told me that one day you would use your left side, one way or another. I started to gather you up to take you to the hospital, and he told me to leave you and go to bed. He said you would never learn your lesson if we healed you.”

“And I snapped. The next thing I knew, I was attacking him with my flames. I don’t really know what I expected to accomplish, but I attacked him with everything I had. But the bastard is strong, and I was already in bad shape from the day. He left me with third-degree burns all over my face and arms. He knew he had fucked up right away, and was forced to call the hospital. But to cover up for his abuse, he said I attacked you because I was on drugs. He paid someone off to falsify a drug test saying I had done LSD. Luckily the hospital was able to minimize the damage, though the burns were too severe to completely heal the scars. The doctors recommended one month in the hospital for healing and physical therapy for my face and arms.”

“A week later, Endeavor checked me out of the hospital in the middle of the night, and drove me to the worst part of town. He said he would never abide to have a child who would raise a hand against him. I had lost the right to be called a Todoroki. He told me to leave town. He said if he ever saw me again, he would have mom killed in the hospital. And he would Shouto. He really would have. He had you, that was all he ever needed from her. He left me there, and reported me as a runaway. He cut access to all my accounts, and closed all of my cards. I had nothing but the clothes on my back. It was Shigaraki who helped me. If he hadn’t taken me in, I probably would have died.”

Shouto felt like he had been punched in the stomach. He thought he might be physically sick. His mind warred between the police report and Touya’s chilling memories. He wanted to say something, but he didn’t know where to begin. He knew Endeavor was low, and he knew the pro hero had paid people off to spin a story in his favor before. But even he hadn’t thought his father was capable of sinking so low. Endeavor had nearly killed two of his children that night, and only a week later he had left Touya for dead.

Touya laughed, another cold and bitter laugh as he raised the joint back up to his lips.

“Do you feel better, Shouto? Will it help you sleep better at night, knowing the truth?”

Shouto looked up at Touya. At Dabi. This wasn’t fair. Endeavor shouldn’t be able to get away with this.

“We can fix it. If we work together, we can go to the newspaper without him knowing. We can set the record straight. You and I could get an apartment, and we could both escape that asshole.” Shouto was reaching for strings, anything. There had to be a way to fix this.

“That sounds real nice, Shouto. But there is no going back. I have done things in these past four years. I didn’t just run away and sit on my fucking thumbs. I am a member of the League of Villains. If you knew the things I have done, you would be disgusted. There is no more Touya Todoroki, Shouto. Dabi is all that is left.”

“But-”

“There is nothing else Shouto. That’s why I asked you to meet me here today. I need you to stop looking for me. You have been searching my name, and for information about the league. You are going to draw unwanted attention, if you haven’t already. Shigaraki and Himiko are the only people who know about my connections to that bastard, and that’s how it needs to stay. You want to help me, than leave it be. If Shigaraki finds out we are in contact, than its all over. You are on his list Shouto.”

“What?”

“The attack on the training camp. There were three targets on his list. Your friend Bakugou was only one of them. You were another.”

“And the third?” Shouto knew his voice had gone cold.

“Does it matter?”

“Yes, it does. I don’t know what you guys did to him, but Bakugou isn’t ok.”

“You have him back. That’s ok. If you hadn’t come for him the night you did, than Bakugou would have been lost to you. He would have joined our League one way or another. Shigaraki can be a real asshole at times, but he always manages to find a way to get what he wants. And once he has decided he wants someone in the league, he finds a way to make it happen. That’s why you need to stay the fuck away from me.”

“I am not going to just leave you alone.” Shouto replied. Touya was the only family he had left that really mattered to him. He wasn’t about to let him go, not after four years without him. “I have spent four years with nobody but that asshole. There has to be a way for us to see each other, without Shigaraki finding out.”

“It wouldn’t work. What happens the next time the League attacks your class? What happens if one of your little classmates dies?”

Shouto hesitated. He wasn’t sure how to reply. He didn’t know. He just knew he couldn’t lose Touya again.

Dabi’s phone buzzed, and the man glanced at it. Shouto looked up as he cursed, opening the message.

“Fuck. Fuck. He’s here.”

“Who?”

“Shigaraki. He is on his way up to see me. He can’t see you here.”

“I’ll leave right now.” Shouto stood up, already turned toward the door as his heart started to race. Meeting his brother was one thing, he had no interest in being anywhere near the other members of the League of Villains. Especially Shigaraki, not after everything that he had heard about the criminal.

“Fuck. Leaving is too risky. Upstairs is a dead end, and if you ran into him on the stairs, it would all be over. He wants you, and he wouldn’t chance another debacle like Bakugou’s rescue. Fuck.”

Dabi worried at his bottom lip, than looked up at Shouto.

“Get underneath the table.”

“What?!” Shouto wondered if he heard correctly.

“Don’t argue. We don’t have time. He will be here any second.” Dabi was unbuttoning his pants, unzipping them to reveal black boxers underneath. “If you want to return to your classes tomorrow, you will get under the table, hide your pretty face in between my fly and pretend to blow me. He won’t bother to look at you closely if he thinks your just some drugged up junkie giving me a blowjob. But if he notices your eyes, or your hair, than we’re both in trouble.”

Shouto could feel his hands shaking. This was crazy! But the thought of Shigaraki finding him here scared him.

Nodding dumbly, he dropped to his knees below the table. Blushing furiously, he leaned over Dabi’s crotch and up close to the open zipper, trying not to actually touch the fabric outlining his brothers dick. He was so close to his brother now, the smell of cologne and cigarette smoke was overwhelming. It didn’t smell like Touya.

Suddenly he could hear voices outside the door. Touya stiffened a little at the sound.

“-is no time for dancing. We are only here to let Dabi know about tonight.” He could hear a muffled voice through the door as someone knocked. That must be Shigaraki, the voice sounded vaguely familiar. Shouto could feel his breath growing ragged. What if this didn’t work? What if he was recognized? He opened his mouth slightly, trying to regulate his breathing. But the heat of his brother's crotch and the fabric around his face made it hard to get enough oxygen.

“Relax,” Dabi hissed quietly. “Just moan a bit and act natural.”

Act natural. Act natural! There was nothing natural about having your face pressed up against your brother’s crotch.

Dabi raised his voice slightly, calling out toward the door.

“I’m with a client.”

The door opened anyway. He heard a shuffling in the doorway. And then suddenly a squeal erupted.

“Oh my god, Dabi!” A girls voice giggled, “Looks like we arrived at the perfect time.”

“What the fuck is this Dabi? Too busy getting your dick wet to respond to my text. I told you I needed to talk. It’s important. Get rid of this junkie and put your fucking dick away.” Shigaraki sounded irritated. Shouto focused on breathing. Act natural. He moved his head up and down slightly, mimicking a blow job, trying not to flinch when the tip of his nose accidentally brushed against Touya’s dick. He felt Touya’s thighs tense up for a second as well. He definitely noticed.

“What’s got your panties in a twist today?” Dabi sneered, leaning back as if it was the most normal thing in a world to get a blowjob from some random John while talking to his… boss? Shouto thought Shigaraki was the one in charge, but he wasn’t really sure. Wait, was Touya getting hard? Shouto wouldn’t have believed his flush could get any worse. Touya’s dick was definitely harder than it had been a minute ago. “I already know about the fucking meeting tonight. Kai found me. I will be there. Now if you will excuse me, I still have a client.”

Touya’s hand was suddenly on the back of Shouto’s head.

Shigaraki made a slightly disgusted noise in the back of his throat.

“A fucking client? You mean some whore dumb enough to suck your fucking dick for drugs?”

“If you simply must know Tomura, this time its personal. This one thought he didn’t have to bring enough yen for the order he made. So we compromised. Isn’t that right?” Touya’s leg nudged Shouto’s shoulder. Shouto wasn’t really sure what to do, so he moaned lowly in agreement. Touya’s dick twitched in his boxers. It was becoming painfully clear that Touya was well-hung, and Shouto was starting to smell his brother’s arousal. Dammit, these two needed to leave soon! “So if you will excuse me, I need to finish collecting my payment. I have an important meeting tonight.”

A wild giggling interrupted the table.

“Dabi, let us join you. This one needs a good lesson. You haven’t been to the base in almost a week! Poor Shiggy here could use some stress relief.”

Another disgusted snort. Shouto could feel panic starting to curdle in his stomach.

“Hey, eyes above the table Toga.” Touya snapped. Toga. Shit. That was the crazy chick that Bakugou had mentioned in class.

“Oh, but Dabi I just want to watch.” She whined.

“You just want to see my dick,” Touya replied. The hand in his hair tightened around his bun, moving his head slowly up and down. Why the fuck were these two so interested in his brother getting his dick sucked? Shouto wanted to curl up and die from embarrassment, especially since his own dick was twitching every time his nose brushed against his brother’s erection. And was that a piercing? God. This was definitely some sort of cruel, ironic punishment.

“It’s not like I haven’t seen it before…” She cooed, giggling slightly. “I need to make sure this one is treating it right.” Suddenly a small foot had found its way up between Shouto’s thighs, wriggling around until it found his cock. She laughed as she wriggled her toes directly against his cock. If his cock had been trying to come to life before, he had a full hard-on now. “Besides, if his cock is anything to go by, I think he likes me!” Another fit of giggling.

“No,” Touya’s voice was harsher this time, almost possessive. “This one is personal.”

“Drop it, Toga,” Shigaraki’s voice cut in. “We don’t have time for this shit, and neither does Dabi.” There was a definite disappointed whine. “We have shit we need to do before the meeting. You have ten minutes to blow your load down this twink’s throat and meet us at the car. Don’t test me Dabi. I don’t have time or patience for your shit today.” Shigaraki’s voice had dropped dangerously low, a note of warning in his words.

“Can do, boss,” Touya replied, a forced casualness in his tone.

Shouto listened to the sounds of more shuffling as the pair of villains made their way toward the door.

“You make sure to swallow every drop, sugar!” Toga called out, giggling as the door closed behind them. Shouto cut off a groan as his dick twitched again, the vision of him actually blowing his brother flashed through his mind. He pushed it away. Shit, where had that even come from?!

Shouto hurried and sat back at the sound of the closing door, trying to get himself away from the image.

“Shit,” Touya cursed, and Shouto could hear his brother taking deep breaths as he watched his brother adjust his cock and zip his pants back up. “That was close. I wasn’t sure if Toga was actually going to drop it. She’s the worst voyeur I know.”

“I need to get out of here,” Shouto scrambled back up to sit next to Touya. He couldn’t meet his brother’s eyes, and he knew his face was probably bright red, his hair a mess from Touya’s firm grip. “I need to leave in case they come back.”

“Relax, Shouto. Shigaraki is nothing if not a man of his word. He won’t come back. But he will be out by the car. It’s better if you wait for us to leave. I will send you a text with an all clear and then you can head home.”

Shouto nodded, staring at Touya’s drink on the table. He wasn’t really sure what to say at this point. Between Touya’s story, a run-in with two dangerous members of the league of villains, and having his brother’s dick in his face, the night had definitely not gone according to plan. Shouto wasn’t sure what he had expected, but it certainly hadn’t been any of that.

Touya must have followed his gaze, because he suddenly pushed the drink toward Shouto.

“Take a drink. You look like you could use it. I don’t know what you are so embarrassed by. Don’t tell me this is the first time you’ve had a dick in your face?” Touya’s voice had definitely taken on a teasing note now. Shouto looked up, another blush rising up in his cheeks. He wasn’t sure if Touya was serious, but Shouto could definitely use a damn drink. Picking up the cup, he sniffed it. Whiskey, he thought. Closing his eyes, he downed the last of it, a familiar burn in his throat.

No, tonight had definitely not gone according to plan.

“Look, I was serious about what I said before,” Touya continued after a moment. “You need to stop trying to keep tabs on me. You don’t want to be a part of this world. And if Shigaraki gets his hands on you, there will be no going back. Let Touya Todoroki go.” The words were cold, completely emotionless. Shouto stared at the table, the now familiar lump rising back up into his throat. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he just sat there in silence while Touya snuffed out his joint in the ashtray, stood up and left the room, closing the door behind him.

He felt numb. He wanted to cry, but he didn’t. He was grateful for the whiskey starting to settle, taking the edge off of his racing thoughts. Everything he thought he had known about Endeavor, and about Touya’s disappearance. Shouto thought he had hated his father before… The thought that that man could have done something so despicable. Shouto’s hands shook with rage.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting there replaying the story in his mind when he noticed his brother’s half-smoked joint sitting in the ash tray. He stared at it. Momo would tell him to leave it be. Getting stoned at home with friends was one thing. Getting stoned while in a strange club in the worst part of city, it was stupid. He knew that. But he hadn’t gotten the all clear yet, and he needed to take the edge off. If he went home this angry… if he saw Endeavor... He wasn’t sure what would happen.

So he grabbed the joint. He mimicked Touya, using his fire to re-light it. He lifted it up to his lips, taking a few small puffs to get it going again, and then slowly inhaled. He held the smoke in his mouth as long as he could before exhaling. He took a few more drags, and a familiar relaxation started to wash over him. He hadn’t intended to smoke the whole thing, but it was gone before he realized it. Shouto knew it was probably stupid, Touya’s shit was stronger than what he was used to. But he was glad he did. The stress of the night was starting to fade away. He felt calm.

His phone dinged. Another unknown number. He already knew what it said, but he opened the message anyway.

“Clear”

Shouto sighed, shuffling out of his seat and stepping back into the hallway. He could definitely feel the high now as he made his way back down the stairway. The thumping music washed over him as he re-emerged downstairs. The dance floor was packed now, a sea of sweaty, half-dressed bodies grinding against each other to some techno beat. Trying to get through that to the entrance would be nearly impossible, so Shouto chose the long route along the wall of the club. He tried to hurry, but he felt like everything was moving in slow motion, each step taking an age. He got distracted watching an amazing red light shining in the corner, when suddenly a hand on his wrist caught his attention.

“We were hoping we would see you again.” A coy voice shouted over the music in his ear. He turned slowly to the side, grinning widely when he saw the two scantily clad girls from earlier. The one in the the miniskirt had lost her jacket somewhere, and her beautiful chest was on full display. He stared, his senses completely overwhelmed with the desire to reach up and peel away those pink ‘x’s covering her nipples. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he should turn back around and leave. This club was dangerous. He shouldn’t be here.

But when the brunette was suddenly pressed up against his body, the feeling of her tits pressed against his chest and the overwhelming scent of floral perfume flooding his senses, he couldn’t seem to remember why he needed to leave so badly.

“Dance with us,” she cooed sultrily into his ear. Her breath was hot against his neck, and the feeling shot directly to his groin. He nodded, and allowed himself to be led out onto the dance floor. The two girls positioned themselves against him, the brunette against his back, and the blonde against his front. His movements still felt slow, so he let them take the lead, enjoying the feeling of them grinding against him as they all swayed to the music. The girls were not shy, and his body tingled with anticipation as they touched him. All of his training for the hero course had left him with a lean, firm physique, and he knew the girls were enjoying it as they pushed his T-shirt up and trailed their fingers up and down his abs and chest, occasionally dipping down low enough to brush against his rock-hard erection that was bulging almost painfully against the tight leather pants.

Eventually he found his right hand cupping one of the blonde’s full tits, his thumb brushing up against the pink tape wistfully. Shouto heard her moan as he lowered his head and traced his tongue over the tape. She tasted like body glitter and sweat, and he couldn’t get enough. He trailed wet, possessive kisses around her chest and up her neck, finally claiming her mouth. He swept his tongue along her bottom lip, pushing it fully into her mouth the moment her lips parted and exploring the wet heat. The other girl was kissing and sucking on the back of his neck, one hand dipping into the waistband of his pants, her fingertips gently caressing the head of his cock through his boxers, the other hand tracing lines up and down his abs with her red fingernails.

He could feel his pre-cum starting to soak into his boxers as he continued to taste the beautiful mouth under his.

“Do you…” the blonde panted between kisses, “Do you want to go somewhere more private? There is a bathroom in the back of the club…”

Shouto nodded. He wanted to fuck these girls. Right now. But he didn’t want to be interrupted by some asshole needing to take a piss. Something in the back of his mind told him it was a bad idea, but he decided to take them back up to Dabi’s private room. His brother and the other villains wouldn’t be back for a couple of hours, if they came back at all.

Nobody would have to know.

“Follow me,” he said, grabbing one of each of their hands. They followed him gladly, and he pulled them back up the stairs to the private room in the back corner and closed the door. There was no lock, but he doubted anyone would bother them. Without much care, he pushed the table against one bench to give them a bit more room. Growling possessively he pulled the brunette against him and kissed her hungrily. She had full lips, soft and pliant against him. He could feel his T-shirt being pulled off from the back, and broke the kiss long enough to let the two girls slip it up over his head.

The brunette put her hands on his chest, pushing him slowly backwards until he was sitting on the bench, his back pressed against the cool wall. She stepped back, swaying her hips seductively as she started to dance in front of him. The blonde leaned down next to him and kissed him firmly on the mouth. He felt her tongue prod against his lip, and opened his mouth. Suddenly he felt her push a small pill against his tongue. She pulled away and gently closed his mouth.

“Swallow that, baby boy.” She purred. And he did, without hesitation. The blonde’s tits felt so good against his bare chest. This was the best fucking high he could remember, and he didn’t even think about questioning what the pill might be. “Just relax. Let us make you feel good.”

The blonde dropped to her knees in front of him, and Shouto groaned as she ran her fingers up his shaft to his button. She unbuttoned the leather pants and unzipped them. He arched his hips up, and her long fingers slid into his waistband, slowly pulling his pants and boxers down to expose his raging hard-on. Her eyes widened at the sight in front of her, and the brunette moaned at the sight.

“Oh baby, we are going to make you feel so good.” Her breath was hot against his shaft, and the feeling was intense. Each breath sending ripples straight up his cock and into his body. He had been told he had a nice cock, and his partners always seemed to love it. It was long, and decently thick and had a nice curve that made most of the girls he fucked scream at the right angle. But watching the blonde’s pupils blow wide at the sight, and watching the brunette lick her lips hungrily as she stared, aroused him more than ever before. His thoughts felt so hazy, and his desire to fuck was almost overwhelming.

Standing up, the blonde turned to her friend, and pressed her tits up against the black dress. They kissed, and Shouto watched as their hands started wandering up and down each others bodies. He groaned as the brunette slowly pushed the blondes miniskirt down, and it fell to the floor around her heels, revealing a bright red g-string. The blonde kicked her skirt to the side, and Shouto’s cock throbbed as he watched the brunette grab her ass as she used her teeth to pull the pink tape off the blondes nipples. The blonde had curves for miles. Shouto started to slowly stroke his cock as he enjoyed the sight of her almost naked body. She had large nipples, and a high thick ass that Shouto couldn’t wait to bury his cock into. Her g-string disappeared in between her perfect ass cheeks, and all he could think about was pushing his face in between them and using his teeth to pull the garment off.

Before he could move, though, the blonde had turned the brunette around to face him. Smirking over the brunettes shoulder, she pulled the black dress slowly up and off of her friends body. The brunette was much smaller, her body thin and lithe. Her tits were smaller than the blondes, but they were perky and had tiny pink nipples that he couldn’t wait to put his mouth on. She had a long stomach and long legs, and a tiny, lacy black thong that barely covered her pussy. She also kept her heels on.

Then the blonde reached down from behind and slid her fingers underneath the lacy black fabric. The brunette moaned lustfully, and Shouto grabbed onto his cock harshly to try to relieve some of the pressure. He was so fucking turned on that his groin ached with desire.

“Do you like what you see? Do you want to touch?” the blonde asked softly, her fingers moving slowly up and down as she touched the brunettes pussy, her other hand reaching up to fondle one of the brunettes tits. Shouto couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight, his mouth watering as he saw the occasional glimpse of her pussy lips.

He nodded slowly, licking his lips and wondering what her pussy would taste like if he ran his tongue along it.

The blonde smirked, pulling her fingers out of the lace, and drawing them slowly up to her lips, her pink tongue flicking out to lick them. The brunette turned her head and pulled one of the fingers into her mouth, and Shouto watched as the two made out around them, their perfect mouths fighting for the taste of the brunettes pussy.

He closed his eyes. He didn’t think his cock had ever been this hard before. And he wasn’t sure if he could last if they kept up this teasing. Suddenly, he felt a nudge against his cock, and when he looked down, both of the girls had crawled in between his knees. The blonde smiled up at him when she was certain they had his attention, and then licked a long, hot stripe from the bottom of his shaft up to the tip, sucking his head into her mouth.

“God damn!” he moaned as the brunette leaned in and starting licking his balls as the blonde worked her hot mouth up and down the top of his cock. The brunette sucked one of his balls into her mouth, swirling her tongue around it before blessing the other side with the same treatment. He groaned when the blonde suddenly took him down fully, choking slightly as his head hit the back of her throat and her nose buried itself into his pubic hair. The sound sent a ripple of desire through him, as she slowly pulled back upward. Then the two changed places.

The brunette had almost no gag reflex, and after a few minutes the blonde stopped sucking his balls and wrapped her hands into the brunettes hair, guiding her friends head up and down to deepthroat his cock. The brunette was humming lowly around his cock, and the vibrations caused a familiar coiling sensation. The feeling of her throat constricting around his cock was too much. He was going to cum.

“I’m…” he moaned, barely able to think straight. God. Had a blow-job ever felt this good before? “I’m going to…”

“It’s ok, baby. Cum for us.”

The pleading in the blondes voice sent him over the edge. His vision turned white for a few minutes as an intense orgasm came over him and he shot his load straight down the brunettes throat. She choked on his cum as she deep-throated him through it, and the constriction of her throat as she worked to swallow every drop sent post-orgasmic shudders through his body.

“God you look so good cumming for us, baby boy.” The blonde purred, leaning in to kiss his mouth, as the brunette slowly licked up and down his softening cock. His head was reeling from the orgasm, and he let the older woman take control of the kiss as she pushed her tongue deep into his mouth. She tasted faintly like his cock, but he didn’t care. Every brush of her skin against his sent shivers rippling through his body.

He wanted more of the contact, and pulled her carefully onto his lap. Her huge chest settled against his perfectly. And the feeling of her hard nipples rubbing against his skin made his cock twitch, already trying to come back to life. She rolled her hips against his soft cock, moaning into his mouth. When Shouto broke off the kiss to try to catch his breath, he realized the brunettes head was still down between his legs. Looking down, he groaned when he realized the brunette was tracing her tongue up and down her friends pussy lips as she ground against him.

“Mmm, Anaya, you are soaking wet,” the brunette murmured, her voice muffled.

Shouto reached around, running his index finger up and down the blondes lips, and then pushing it up inside of her. The blonde gasped, and Shouto could feel his arousal returning as the blonde soaked his finger. Adding a second finger, he slowly started thrusting them in and out of her, the brunette’s tongue eagerly licking up the juices dripping down his hand.

The blonde was sucking his neck, little mewling sounds escaping against his skin each time his fingers thrust into her. It wasn’t enough. Desire raced through his veins, and he needed to be inside of her. Although not at full attention, his cock was hard enough to fuck, and damn if that wasn’t the only thing he could think about.

As if reading his mind, the blonde reached down between them and grabbed his cock. She stroked it a few times before pulling his fingers away and lining him up, whining lustily as she fully sheathed him inside of her.

The brunette grabbed his hand and eagerly licked up every drop of her friends pussy from his fingers.

“Fuck, yes.” The blonde cried out as she bounced up and down on his cock. Just like he had imagined when he first saw them, she leaned back slightly so he could watch her blushed tits bounce up and down as she rode him. “Fill me up with your big cock.” She looked like an angel as her blonde hair swayed back and forth. Her lips were swollen from kissing, and he was determined to have his cock between them again before the night was up.

When the brunette was satisfied that his hand was clean, she laid down on the bench beside him and hooked one leg up around his shoulder. He felt himself getting harder inside of the blonde as he watched the brunette carefully pull the lace aside. Like the blonde, she was already glistening with desire, and a small silver ball peeked out from the hood of her clit. She slowly rubbed circles around it.

“Touch me baby,” she cooed, and Shouto was eager to comply. He took the same two fingers she had licked clean and pushed them slowly up into her pussy. She moaned loudly as they sunk in all the way to the knuckle. It was an awkward angle, but Shouto curved his fingers slightly to rub against her g-spot as he started to fuck his fingers in and out of her, adding a third finger and relishing in the feeling of her walls tight around him.

The feeling of his fingers inside of the brunette intensified the desire in his cock, and he could feel his desire pooling again. He didn’t want to cum again before they did. So he grabbed onto the blonde’s waist with his other hand, and focused on thrusting upward into her, fast and hard until she was screaming on his cock. He barely stopped himself from cumming as her pussy walls tightened around him and he fucked her through her orgasm.

Pulling his fingers out of the brunette, he slowly eased the blonde off of his cock and moved in between the brunettes thighs. Although her own pussy was already soaked, it turned him on to know that the blondes cum all over his cock made for a great lube as he sheathed himself up into the brunettes lithe frame. He twisted his hand into her soft hair, and fucked her hard. She was so thin, and her pussy was so fucking tight that he felt like he barely fit inside of her, and the feeling was overwhelming. She gasped and whined as he attacked her throat with small nips, tasting her skin as he thrust into her. Suddenly, she was cumming all over his cock. God. She was a squirter, and Shouto’s mind blanked as her hot juices literally poured out onto his cock. He had already been close before, but the sight and feeling of her cumming sent him over the edge and he pushed himself as far into her pussy as he could and blew his load.

His second orgasm was stronger than the first, and he stopped breathing as it rocked his body. He had never cum directly into a woman’s pussy before, and the feeling of her pussy wall’s clenching around his bare cock was almost enough to make him lose his mind. He forgot how to breath for a moment as he continued to slowly thrust his cum up into her, riding out the high. Finally, his cock got too soft and fell out of her.

He drank in the sight of his cum sliding out from her swollen lips. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a warning was flashing through his mind, but he ignored it. That was so fucking sexy. And then the blonde was there, burying her face in between her friends thighs and licking up his cum.

“That’s it,” he moaned, curling his hand up into the blondes hair as she eagerly fucked her tongue up into the brunette. “Drink up every last drop of my cum. Yes. Fuck yes.” God! He wasn’t supposed to do that. He wasn’t supposed to cum directly into the brunette, but seeing the blonde clean up his mess with her perfect little tongue was sexy as hell.

His mind was still swimming, and it was getting harder and harder to concentrate. He started to kiss on the blondes neck as she worked her tongue up and down the brunettes beautiful lips, occasionally stopping to run in her tongue in circles around the silver stud and suck the brunettes clit into her mouth.

Shouto urged her on, but he was sinking deeper and deeper into the euphoria of drugs. He had never felt so good. And when his cock was being pulled back into someone’s mouth, he let himself get lost in the feeling of his high. He let everything else fall away, and all that mattered were the hands and mouths that were kissing and touching every inch of skin on his body.

Chapter Text

Shouto stirred as the sound of a blaring horn interrupted his sleep. He pulled his blanket up over his face, groaning as he attempted to roll over. He felt like complete and utter shit. His mind struggled to wake, and his head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton, spinning slightly as he stirred. It was a bad combo to the horrible headache that throbbed just behind his eyes. He struggled to move. His entire body was sore, as if he had undergone an intense training with Endeavor. And his stomach rolled, a wave of nausea washing over him.

Fuck, he was going to puke. He needed to get to the bathroom ASAP.

He forced himself to roll over and sit up, fighting the urge to vomit all over his bed. When he stood up, he stubbed his toe and proceeded to trip over a table in the middle of his floor, and found himself face down on the carpet.

What in the hell?

His stomach rolled, and his head spun, and Shouto puked in his mouth. He swallowed it back down, gagging at the horrible taste and looked around.

Where in the hell was he?

Shouto was certain he had never seen this apartment in his life. It was tiny and dim and noisy. Between the honking and some dog outside yapping incessantly, it was difficult to concentrate at all.

How did people live like this?

But he didn't have time to worry about that right now. He was moments away from puking again. He struggled to stand up, and stumbled into a tiny kitchenette and puked all over the dishes in this poor person’s sink.

His eyes watered and his nose stung at the acidic bile in his throat. He spit desperately into the sink, gagging at the awful taste in his mouth and the smell of his own vomit wafting up from below.

Shouto turned on the water and used his hand to scoop it into his mouth. The water here tasted almost as bad as his puke, but it slowly took away the horrible burning in his mouth and throat.

He shut off the faucet, staying hunkered over it in case he puked again and squeezed his eyes shut. His headache was way worse now. He breathed for a few minutes, a deep feeling of shame washing over him as the muscles in his legs trembled slightly, and he had to use the counter to support himself from falling over.

Here he was, soon to be Pro Hero Shouto, hungover as fuck in a stranger's apartment, puking all over their dishes.

He thought he had been hungover before. But he had been so, so wrong. He had never felt this shitty.

He wasn't sure how long he stood there before the nausea started to fade. His head was still pounding, but it was manageable. He quickly rinsed his puke down the drain, took another few drinks of that godforsaken tap water, and headed back to the couch.

The apartment was tiny. It had a little kitchenette with a bar instead of a dining room. Their was a cramped living room on the other side furnished by a single black leather couch with a small coffee table in front of it, a TV set up on some old desk, and a bookshelf filled with books and movies.

One wall had a large canvas painting of an abstract white rose, but otherwise the walls were bare. There were faint yellowed stains in some spots, and the carpet looked like it had seen better days. But it was tidy, or had been until Shouto had flung blankets all about and nearly tipped over the coffee table, which had spilled the contents all over the floor.

The room smelled faintly like cigarettes and coffee, but the painting and the bookshelf had an air of familiarity to them.

He needed to brush his teeth.

On the other side of the kitchen was a small hallway that led to two doors. The first one was locked, and the second, thank God, was the tiniest bathroom Shouto had ever seen in his life.

He flicked on the light. Like the living room, the bathroom was clean and tidy, and he was surprised to see a new toothbrush sitting on the side of the sink with cinnamon toothpaste beside it.

Then he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and his jaw dropped. He stared at his reflection, a horrible sinking feeling gnawing at his stomach.

What in the fuck did he do?

His hair was completely tangled in some awful rat’s nest on the side of his head. He had horrible bags under his eyes, complemented by smudged eye-liner, and a choppy looking scar still partially covered by last nights concealer. His skin looked especially pale, and his lips were swollen. But the worst part. The worst part was the fact that his neck and chest were decorated with obvious hickies.

Bits and pieces of last night started to flash through his mind. He had met up with Touya at the club. They had talked - and Shouto did his best to push that particular conversation to the back of his mind. Trying to sort through his thoughts about all of that was definitely going to have to wait until another time. He had smoked part of Touya’s joint, and then…

Then he had met those two girls. He remembered dancing with them, and taking them back up to Touya’s booth. He had kissed them, and… Wait, he vaguely remembered taking something else. The blonde had given him something. Damnit Shouto! How stupid do you have to be to take some random drug from some random hook-up in a club? And then he had fucked them. He remembered that much, even if the sex itself was pretty hazy in his memory. Damnit. Had he used a condom? He couldn’t remember.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Shouto pulled up his T-shirt, groaning when he saw that the hickies continued down onto his stomach, and even his hips.

Momo was going to be pissed.

Wait… Momo. School. It was Saturday today. He was supposed to be at school. Shit! What time was it?

Grabbing the toothpaste, he struggled to brush his teeth as quickly as possible and washed his face. He tried to open up the cabinet above the sink to look for painkillers, but it was locked. Seriously, what kind of a person locks their bathroom cabinet! Some kind of a sociopath probably. Shouto had taken drugs and gone home with a sociopath who had left him in this tiny apartment and was probably out buying the supplies to kill him and chop up his body into tiny pieces.

He needed to get out of here.

Hurrying out of the bathroom, glaring suspiciously at the locked bedroom door as he passed it, Shouto searched around. His phone had been dumped off the table, and was lying face-down next to a note. A bottle of aspirin was a few inches away, lying haphazardly on its side. Curious, he picked up the paper.

There is aspirin on the table and a bloody mary in the fridge. You’ll feel better if you puke first. I will be back in a few hours. -T

Touya.

Shouto looked around once more. This run-down, tiny apartment with its crazy locked doors belonged to his brother. No wonder the decor had seemed so familiar. Touya had a mild obsession with roses, and Shouto remembered that his older brother used to help their mother tend her rose garden before she went to the hospital. Shouto had tried it a few times, but it had seemed so droll. So he never understood Touya’s fascination. After their mom went to the hospital, Touya tended the bushes on his own. It made Shouto smile to see the picture, and remember the intricate tattoos on his brothers face and neck. That part of his brother, at the very least, had never changed.

That and the books. Touya had always loved to read, and was one of the smartest people that Shouto had ever met. It was what had made him a top student at his time in UA, and would have helped him to be a successful hero. And probably what makes him such a valuable asset to Shigaraki. The thought came unbidden, and it erased the small smile that had crept onto Shouto’s face.

Why did this all have to be so complicated?

Still, somehow he had ended up here at Touya’s apartment. The last thing Touya said yesterday was that Shouto should forget about him. Forget that Touya Todoroki ever existed. As if he could really, truly do that. Then Touya had left. He had gone with Shigaraki and Toga without looking back.

And yet, here he was.

He read the note again. I will be back in a few hours. He wondered how long ago that had been.

Shouto picked up his phone and checked the time. 1:22pm. Classes were almost over. Even if he left now, class would be over for the day by the time he arrived. He had missed an entire second day. He also had 11 text messages, and 6 missed calls. Almost all from Momo.

6:00am
Momo: Are you coming to class today? I can pick you up if you need.

6:30am
Momo: Hello?

Momo: We have a big project coming up, details being handed out today. You should come!

7:22am
Momo: Are you ok?

Momo: Please answer my texts, or my calls. I am really worried about you.

7:28am
Izuku: Hey Shouto! Noticed you have been out the past few days. Are you sick? I can bring my notes over after class if you need!

9:00am
Momo: Please answer your phone!

Momo: I’m really worried. I asked Aizawa and he said that he hasn’t heard from you at all! I called your house phone, and Lars said you didn’t go home last night. Where are you?

11:00am
Momo: This isn’t funny Shouto.

11:17am
Izuku: Momo is freaking out. Is everything ok? She seems really worried…

12:15pm
Bakugou: The fuck r u icy-hot? Were partners for a fucking paper thats due next week. Not gonna wait til the last fucking minute. I don’t care if ur sick, I just want to get this over with. I’m coming over tomorrow at noon.

Well, there is really no point in rushing back home now. School is over. And Shouto doubts that Endeavor has noticed his absence, even if Lars, their butler, did. And though he was feeling better than when he woke up, he still felt like utter crap. His stomach was still testy, his headache barely dulled, and although he isn’t shaking like a pathetic dog, his muscles are still sore all over. He might as well stay here until Touya gets back. Maybe Touya will hear him out this time, and then he can head home when he is feeling a little less shitty.

Opening up his GPS app, Shouto quickly marked the apartment. Touya lived in a terrible neighborhood, but Shouto wanted it marked in case he ever needed to come back here.

Shouto closed the GPS app, and opened up his messages. He typed out a quick message apologizing to Momo for worrying her, and promises to call her later to explain everything. He will worry about Izuku and Bakugou later. There is no way he is going to let Bakugou come over tomorrow and see him covered in hickies. Bakugou is just going to have to deal with waiting a day or two. But he knows the explosive teen is going to freak out, and he just doesn’t have the energy or patience to deal with that right now. It was bad enough that Aizawa assigned them as partners in the first place. They were rivals, and thats how it needed to stay. Shouto realized early on that he had an annoying, schoolgirl crush on King Explosion Murder. And although Bakugou was literally the most arrogant asshole he has ever met, he is a force to be reckoned with. The boy has a powerful quirk, a well-trained body that makes him good in combat with or without his explosions, a determined and passionate attitude that drives his success, and is hot as hell. And Shouto had imagined more than once what Bakugou might be like in the bedroom, if he would fuck with the same wild passion that drove everything else in his life.

Shouto pushed the image back down. He would never find out. Bakugou’s sexual preferences were difficult to pinpoint, and he wasn’t entirely sure he was even into guys. He knew that Bakugou got mildly hard during combat, but adrenaline spikes can do that kind of shit to people. And even if Bakugou was into dick, it would only be a matter of time before he and Izuku got together. Those two have an almost unhealthy obsession with one another. No, he needed to forget about Bakugou as anything other than a rival. But that was harder to do when Aizawa forced them to spend unnecessary time together.

Shouto put his phone on the table and made his way back to the kitchenette. It still smelled mildly like vomit, and made his stomach queasy. Opening the fridge, he found the bloody mary that Touya had mentioned. And not much else. There was a nearly empty half-gallon of milk, a couple of staples like butter and eggs, and a few take-out boxes. Shouto was mildly disappointed in his brothers obviously unhealthy food habits. Touya had had enough hero training that he should know better than to put that much crap into his body, and it made Shouto worry about his brother. But it wasn’t like he could do much about it.

Grabbing the bloody mary, he made his way back to the couch, wrinkling his nose at the disgusting smelling drink in his hand. He had heard that a bloody mary was supposed to help a hangover, and he was fairly sure that was an old wives tale. But if his brother bothered to make it, he might as well give it a try. He doubted it could make the hangover any worse.

Shouto managed to uncover a remote for the TV and settled into the blankets on the couch with remote and drink in hand. The bloody mary was absolutely awful, and it was pretty clear that Touya had not been stingy with the alcohol, but after about 30 minutes, he did feel mildly better. He wrapped Touya’s blanket up around his shoulders, and he felt oddly happy. Something about this tiny apartment felt… cozy. He let his eyelids drift shut as he breathed in the scent of cigarettes and spices, the smell of his brother. Well, not of Touya, but of Dabi. Still, it helped to lull him back to sleep.

* * * * * *

“Wake up Sleeping Beauty.” Shouto jerked awake as someone gently shook his shoulder. Startled, he sat upright to find Touya standing over him. Shouto’s heart raced slightly from his wake-up, but he was relieved to realize that he felt much better. Touya looked down at him, and Shouto sat up, self-consciously patting his hair. It felt just as tangled and gross as it had been earlier. Shouto knew he probably looked like hell.

Touya, on the other hand, looked just as good as he did last night. Although it was still strange to see him covered in those intricate tattoos and piercings, and Shouto wasn’t sure if he would ever get used to the black hair, but he had to admit that Touya looked good. He had an edgy look that was both sexy and dangerous, and the dark hair and eye-liner made his bright blue eyes absolutely smolder in a way that made it hard to look away. But it was unnerving to know that Touya was actually dangerous, really dangerous.

Touya nudged his legs, and Shouto quickly sat up and took his legs off the couch to make room for his brother. Touya sat down, and placed a bag of takeout on the coffee table.

“I thought you might be hungry. It’s soba. Used to be your favorite.” There was an odd tone in Touya’s voice, but Shouto was happy that Touya had been thinking about him.

Shouto nodded. His stomach was still a bit testy, but he was hungry and soba was still his favorite.

“Why am I here?” He asked, starting to dig through the bag of take-out and open up the containers. His mouth watered as he set the feast out before him. The food was still warm, and it smelled divine.

"You don’t remember?” Touya looked over at him. Shouto met his gaze, and gave a non-committed shrug of his shoulders. He took a big bite of noodles.

“Not really. I remember bits and pieces.” Shouto mumbled over the mouthful of food.

“I should have figured. You were high as a kite when I found you last night. That shit was either the stupidest or the most manipulative stunt I have ever seen.”

"What do you mean?" Shouto frowned. He wasn't stupid. And manipulative?!

“After I left you at the club last night, I couldn’t shake the feeling that you might have been stupid enough to try to leave a note or some shit for me in my booth. So after my meeting, I decided to swing by the club and make sure things were clean. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to find you high off your ass, bare-fucking-naked, mid-threesome with two random chicks from the club.”

“No,” Shouto closed his eyes. Touya walked in on him having sex last night? That meant he saw…

“Look at that blush. You weren’t nearly so shy last night. In fact, you and those chicks were all quite adamant that I join you so you could show me a real blowjob. I have to say, its been a few years since I have seen you naked. You really have grown-up quite nicely.”

Shouto wondered if it was possible to literally die from embarrassment. How could he not remember any of this? He remembered pretending to blow Touya so Shigaraki wouldn’t notice him. And maybe it had turned him on, but he wouldn’t offer to really blow his own brother, would he?

“Did we…” Shouto left the words, not really sure if he wanted to know. Did he suck off his own brother? Did they fuck? Shouto dropped his head into his hands, not wanting to look at Touya. The image of his brothers cock outlined by his black boxers flashed through his mind. He would remember if he had actually seen it, right? If they had…

“No,” Touya snorted. “You were too far gone, all but unconscious. I may be a villain, but I have fucking standards, Shouto.”

A mixture of relief washed over Shouto. Relief and disappointment, but he pushed that thought all the way to the back of his mind. No. No. He had a bad habit of being attracted to things he couldn’t have. He wasn’t attracted to Touya. There were brothers, and the fake blowjob was only to save his ass from Shigaraki. Nothing more. Still, he couldn’t help but notice that Touya didn’t mention the fact that they were siblings as his reasoning to not fuck Shouto.

“Glad that you seem to have such high moral standards,” Shouto snorted, not really sure what to say.

Touya smiled, but he didn’t respond. The two sat next to each other in a semi-comfortable silence as Shouto ate. Shouto had so many questions he wanted to ask his brother. But he wasn’t sure where to start. So, tell me what its like to be a villain? What have you been up to in the league? Do you enjoy burning down houses and killing people? No, Shouto didn’t want to know about Dabi. He wanted to know about Touya, and he wasn’t sure where one ended and the other began.

“Why did you come to the club last night?” Touya finally asked as Shouto neared the end of his meal.

“What? You asked me to come.” Shouto replied, confused by the question.

“Yeah. I asked you to come. But you didn’t have to. You knew who, what I was. You knew that you were coming to meet up with a member of the League of Villains. And yet you came anyway. What did you hope would happen? That you could convince me to come home and we could pretend like nothing happened? That we could hang out like brothers, go to the movies or the mall or shit like that? What?”

Shouto felt his shoulders drop. It was a fair question. Honestly, Shouto didn’t really know. But not coming hadn’t been an option.

“No. Yes. I don’t really know.” He began, setting the last of the food back on the coffee table and turning to look at Touya. “But I have spent the last four years missing you. You were the most important person in my life when you left. Having you leave. Thinking that you ran away because you had attacked me, that I was the reason you gave up your chances of being a pro hero. It hurt, Touya. You were always there to protect me. To challenge me. To help me be stronger. You inspired me to want to be a hero, to go to UA. I wanted to be able to really help people, and protect people like you always did to me. You think I never noticed the way you protected me from Endeavor? You were my hero growing up. I didn’t realize how much pain you saved me from until you were gone and there was no one to help me deal with that asshole. I know things have changed, Touya. But I still love you. And I don’t care if it isn’t the same. I want to have you in my life again.”

Shouto clamped his mouth shut, and turned back to stare at the table. He hadn’t intended to say so much, it just kind of spilled out. All of the emotions he had been bottling up since Touya left. And it was all true. Everything changed the day Touya disappeared. Shouto could feel tears burning at the corners of his eyes, and quickly wiped them away.

Things were quiet for a few moments. Shouto glanced at his brother out of the corner of his eyes. Touya was staring down at his hands, his mouth twisted sadly.

“Well, fuck.” Touya finally whispered. “That makes this shit complicated.”

“Yeah…” Shouto muttered. Complicated, but true.

“You know this isn’t going to end well, right?” Touya asked, his voice quiet. Shouto started, turning to stare at his brother.

“What are you saying?” he asked, trying to quell the spark of hope that had flashed in his chest.

“This. You and I having some sort of relationship. This isn’t going to end well, not for one of us. Maybe not for both of us. Hero’s and villains, we don’t mix well. We don’t get to be friends behind closed doors and pretend like its not going to impact our life. I don’t think you really understand, Shouto. If UA finds out, I end up behind bars. Maybe dead. If Shigaraki finds out, then your chances of becoming a hero could be lost forever. Is it really worth it? Is knowing me really worth it?”

Shouto’s stomach twisted more and more with every word. Maybe eating hadn’t been such a good idea, after all. Touya was right. Their past didn’t really matter, not anymore. Shouto loved his brother. He couldn’t imagine losing him again, not without trying. But was it worth it? Was it even possible to try?

Shouto didn’t say anything.

Touya sighed deeply. Shouto could see his brother in the corner of his vision, running his hands through his hair. After a moment, Touya stood up and walked into the kitchenette. Shouto listened to the sounds of drawers opening and closing, of shuffling around. After a few minutes, Touya sat back down next to him.

“Last night turned into a shit show. You left me with almost no options. If I left you there, even out of my booth, there is a chance you would have been recognized and reported to Shigaraki. I couldn’t take you home. If Endeavor found you that high on drugs, there would have been hell to pay. I couldn’t exactly text one of your friends and tell them to come pick you up high on ecstasy or whatever those chicks gave you. They wouldn’t have known the signs to watch for if you had over-dosed. So I brought you here. But now you know where I live. Hell, you’ve probably already pinned my apartment in your phone.”

Shouto tried not to look embarrassed.

“I didn’t want to lose you again.” He muttered, a faint blush in his cheeks.

“I know. And that is a mistake. But, at this point the choice is yours. You know who I am and where I live. There is no taking that knowledge away. So you have to decide.”

Touya set a piece of paper down next to the food on the coffee table. It had a single phone number written across it.

“That is my actual phone number. Not just a burner number. If you are a smart man, and for your sake Shouto I really hope that you are, you will go home and burn that number. You will forget about this apartment and me, and you will focus on your training and become a damn good Pro Hero. And if you ever see me out in the field, you will treat me like the villain I am and take me down for my crimes… if you can.” Touya smirked slightly at that, before continuing. “But if you are really dead set on having a relationship with me, than that is how you can reach me. But there are a few rules, if you decide to text that number. One, Touya Todoroki really is gone. That phone number is for Dabi, and if you text it, that is the person you are going to be spending time with. Two, that number can not be saved in a phone, and at no point can you say my name in any traceable message. Three, you can’t ask me questions about the league. And if you overhear information while spending time with me, you need to keep that shit to yourself. Shigaraki would kill us both with barely a second thought if he thought it was for the good of the League. Four, you need to understand that Shigaraki will eventually find out about you, and when he does, thats on you. I will not have any control over what happens at that point. And finally, when this ends badly… and it will almost certainly end badly… you have no one to blame but yourself. So think carefully, Shouto. Think about what you want out of your life.”

Shouto stared at the paper. His mouth felt dry, and his stomach churned with a strange mix of happiness and despair. After four years, this was what he wanted. He had the chance to have Touya back in his life. But, this wasn’t Touya. This was Dabi. Fuck. Shouto’s mind raced. He had a lot to think about. Carefully he reached out and picked up the paper, folding it in half and slipping it into his wallet.

“Do you understand?” Touya asked after a few moments of silence.

“Yes. I understand Touya.” Shouto replied.

“Dabi.” There was a note of impatience in his brother’s voice.

“Dabi.” Shouto repeated, the name felt like ash on his tongue.

Touya got back up, gathering up the take-out dishes and moving them into the kitchen.

“I have company coming over in a little while,” Touya, no Dabi, said as he threw out the garbage and the sound of water in the sink filled the apartment. “You can’t be here when they arrive. Do you have a way home?”

Shouto nodded, before realizing that Touya couldn’t actually see him.

“Yes,” he muttered. He would call Momo, have her pick him up from somewhere nearby. He had the money to take the train, but the chances of him being recognized by someone during the ride were too high. He still looked like shit, and he had no concealer to cover up the numerous hickies on his neck. The last thing he needed was for someone to snap a picture of him looking like this and sell it to the media. Besides, he needed to talk to Momo anyway. And he thought maybe it would be easier in person than over the phone.

Shouto took a few minutes to use the restroom and try to tame his hair. It was sticky and clumped and disgusting. Shouto was definitely going to need a shower when he got back. He folded up the blanket Dabi had borrowed him, and left it on the couch. Shouto felt a twinge of guilt as he watched his brother washing out the sink.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye.” Shouto said awkwardly, not really sure what to say.

Dabi nodded, finally looking up from his task and looking Shouto straight in the eye.

“For your sake, Shouto, I hope so.”

Chapter Text

Shouto ended up hiding out in a filthy convenience store bathroom two blocks from Tou— Dabi’s apartment. The store was the seediest place he had ever visited, and probably used primarily for illegal drug trades and prostitution. And the bathroom? Ugh. It was old and rusted. It looked like a Saigon slaughter house, and was caked with what Shouto believed was literal shit. The place looked as if it hadn’t been cleaned since the store opened. Touching anything was too risky; he decided to duck into a stall and avoid his skin making contact with any surface. But he needed a place to lay low until Momo got here to pick him up.

Sometimes Shouto hated that he was so recognizable. It didn’t help that Endeavor had literally plastered images of him all over social media since his quirk emerged. Even more so since Shouto enrolled at UA university and it was announced that he was to be Endeavor’s successor. Endeavor wanted him to surpass All Might, which meant that people had to know his name. But it also meant that wanting to go unnoticed took considerable effort. So he hadn’t been surprised when people at a restaurant started pointing at him as he walked past. At first he had waved out of habit, a hero had to be friendly! But then he had quickly remembered what he was dressed like. What had Dabi called him? Sex on legs. And, oh yeah, covered in hickies. He sped up his pace, but when he noticed people pulling out phones, he ran to the nearest gas station, took refuge, and called Momo.

It’s ok. He wasn’t out there for very long. Nobody had gotten a picture.

Hero scandals were worth big money to civilians. They had never really been a thing until last year when two top 50 heroes got unknowingly filmed having a threesome with some quirkless chick. The video was leaked online, and watched by millions. Both heroes made public statements against the video, and one of them pleaded with the public that recording the video was non-consensual, humiliating, and should be considered a form of sexual harassment. Honestly, Shouto agreed with that. But the damage was already done. Within a month, both hero’s ratings had tanked, one of them had been forcibly retired by his agency to minimize the bad publicity, and people realized that Pro Hero scandals could be worth a lot of money.

It also meant that many of the seedier papers in the city would pay good money for scandalous pictures of heroes. A fact that led Shouto to this current predicament.

Luckily, Momo had agreed to come pick him up with little argument. He knew he was going to get an earful later, but the worst so far was a quick ‘!?!’ reply when he texted her his current location and a message saying ‘Please bring a big hoodie. Locked in mens bathroom in a Kaija convenience store. Knock three times so I know it’s you.”

He hadn’t bothered to go into detail. She would know the truth soon enough. Well, part of it at least. He couldn’t exactly tell her about Dabi, especially with how uncertain he still was about his brothers sudden reappearance. His phone number felt like a weight in his pocket, but he did his best to ignore it. He focused instead on avoiding contact with all surfaces, not easy since he still felt pretty weak and his head still thrummed dully. After almost 30 minutes, he thought about sitting on the toilet. He had pants on, after all. But then he saw what was probably a pube on the seat and, hell no. He would stand all day if he had to.

Luckily it was only about 15 more minutes before he heard a quiet triple knock.

“Shou,” Momo called out quietly. Shouto peeked out of his stall. Luckily no one else was in the bathroom at the moment.

He cracked open the door and pulled her inside, relieved to see a blue hoodie bunched up in her arm. Thank god for her quirk at a time like this. She looked around quickly, her nose wrinkled in disgust.

“This place is disgusting. What are you—” Shouto had tried to grab the hoodie and get it on before she really looked at him, but he was too slow. Her mouth dropped open as her eyes skimmed over him from head to toe. He could imagine what she saw. His grimy, tangled hair. The hickies on his neck. The choker, and the T-shirt, and the skin-tight leather pants. He blushed as her gaze lingered on his neck. She seemed speechless, so he took advantage of the moment and shoved his arms into the sleeves, pulled the hood over his hair, zipped it all the way up, and tied it off so it covered everything but his face and his tight, black leather pants.

“Let’s go.” He mumbled through the thick material. It had been a day, and he was more than ready to be at home, showered, and rolled up in his own bed.

“That’s it?!” she asked, incredulous. “I come pick you up in the middle of the slums, dressed like that with hickies all over your neck. And that’s all you have to say?”

He shrugged.

“I will tell you in the car. Please, just take me home.”

She pursed her lips. He hated that she looked so fucking proper and beautiful, still in her school uniform with her hair and make-up perfect as usual. And he looked like this. This awful walk-of-shame shit that he was completely unused to.

“Fine. But you owe me an actual explanation.”

He nodded, and they dodged out of the bathroom, practically running to her father’s Lexus and jumping inside.

A sense of relief washed over him as they drove away from that convenience store, headed toward the wealthier side of town. He curled up inside his hoodie, and slouched down in the seat, his eyes mindlessly scanning over the apartments and storefronts as they passed. He breathed in Momo’s perfume, relishing the feeling of familiarity that always came with it.

“So?” She finally asked. “Are you going to explain all of this to me or not?”

“Yeah,” He began. She deserved the truth, but he couldn’t tell her all of it. The story he had thought up in that disgusting bathroom was a bit risky. It wasn’t the complete truth, but it wasn’t a complete lie either. She knew him too well to believe that it was just the incident at the training camp. And if he strayed too far from the truth, she would be able to sense it. He didn’t know how she always knew if he was hiding something, but she did. It was like she had some second god-damn lie detecting quirk or something.

“I heard a report that someone had seen Touya in the city.” He began, working hard to keep his voice as flat and neutral as possible. “In that club. I… I didn’t think the police were going to do anything, so I decided to go to the club myself and ask around about him. But it was a dead end, as usual.”

Momo was the one person who knew how much Touya had meant to him before his disappearance, how close the two brothers had been. She also knew that he had tried to re-open his missing person’s case more than once.

“Oh, Shouto. I’m sorry. Is that why you were so stressed on Thursday?”

“Yeah. I had just heard. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, I guess. Good thing. Not a sign of Touya. I was so disappointed that I got ahold of some weed to take the edge off. I was just about to head home when I ran into a couple of girls who asked me to dance. They were touching me, and one of them gave me something, but I don’t know what. I ended up spending the night with them, and woke up feeling like shit. And here we are.”

“What?!” Her voice took on that fierce, almost maternal tone that he was used to if he ever did anything she thought was particularly stupid. He had expected it, but it still made him feel ashamed. “You took random drugs from two strange girls and then fucked them? I know sex helps you calm down, but how could you be so stupid? They could have taken advantage of you. They could have hurt you!”

Shouto noticed her movements get more robotic, almost jerky. It was a trait common to Momo, he just wasn’t used to being the cause of it.

“I know. It was fucking stupid. It just felt good, I guess.” He replied sheepishly.

“Please tell me you used protection.”

“I don’t think so. I don't really remember...”

“What?! You don’t know? That’s kind of important!” She chided him, irritably. “What if they had some horrible STD? Ew! We should take you in to see Recovery Girl and make sure you are ok.”

Shouto groaned at the thought. Nope. He just wanted to go home. She was right, but he could deal with that shit tomorrow. For now, he just wanted to sleep.

“No. I will go in later.” He replied, sinking further into the seat. “I feel like shit, Momo. I just need to sleep for a little while.”

“Of course you feel like shit! What did you expect? You need to be more careful! You should have told me what you were doing. I could have come with you, helped make sure everything was ok.”

“That would have been worse Momo, and you know it. I had my scar covered and my hair fussed up. I doubt anyone at the club recognized me. But if you went, it would double our chances of someone recognizing us from TV. And you are pretty memorable, Momo.” He vaguely motioned towards her chest. Her hero costume was more revealing than his current outfit, and her family was almost as wealthy as the Todoroki family. Like Shouto, she had grown up with her face in the magazines. She had even been a child model briefly, before her quirk emerged. People recognized her anytime they went out together. And in a club full of people apparently looking to get laid, she would have attracted more attention than him.

Besides, he couldn’t risk any of his classmates knowing about his brother.

“Still, you can’t just do that kind of stuff. What if those girls recognized you and tricked you into sleeping with them? You know how the media hounds are desperate for a good hero sex scandal! What if someone had mugged you while you were high? What if you had ran into a villain? So many bad things could have happened!”

Shouto tried to drown at the rest of her lecture. He knew staying at the club after Dabi left had been stupid, but without telling her the whole story, she just wouldn’t understand why he had been there. Slowly, the tall buildings and apartments of the city started to fade into neighborhoods, and then slowly into the larger, wealthier estates. When Momo finally drove through the large wrought-iron gate that led to the Todoroki mansion, Shouto could have wept with relief. He just needed to sleep. He needed to forget about all of this for a little while, and get enough sleep that he could actually think straight.

“Thank you, Momo,” he said genuinely when she pulled up to the front drive. “Thank you for coming out to get me. I’m sorry I worried you.”

“You should be,” she chided, but she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Just don’t do that again.”

“I won’t,” he said, hugging her quickly and then pulling back and getting out of the car. He all but ran inside and up to his room. Although it was unlikely that his father would be home at this time of day, it definitely wouldn’t go well to encounter Endeavor looking like this. Or anyone who reported to Endeavor, for that matter. After a long, hot shower, he pulled on a pair of black boxers and collapsed on top of his bed. Shouto felt like the hot water had sapped what little strength he had regained, and he was utterly done with everything. He briefly thought about getting fully dressed, but he was too tired to care. He buried his head in his pillows and passed out.

* * * * * *

When Shouto woke the next day, he felt like a new man. Although still covered with the ugly hickies as reminders of the club, his lingering hangover was finally gone, and he felt like he could think straight. Momo had texted him to let him know she would come over later to help him sort out all of his classwork. But he had a few hours before that. And he decided that he definitely deserved another shower.

Shouto loved the feeling of hot water running over him, he always had. A long shower always helped to melt away some of his stress. And although two showers in less than 12 hours was probably a bit much, he didn’t really care. He still felt gross. He wished he remembered more of the actual sex with the two chicks. Yeah, he remembered it being sexy and feeling good, but it was so hazy. Instead, he just felt ashamed he hadn’t used a fucking condom, and the memory of his hang-over was clear as day in his mind. He just wanted to scrub away the dark purple bruises, and the bite marks he had found on his thighs. Forget that all of it had happened. It was bad enough that he was going to have to visit recovery girl to get tested for a fucking STD, without having to remember the mistake every time he looked in the mirror.

But he supposed with a good bit of concealer, at least his classmates wouldn’t realize what happened.

He heard the door open and close to his bedroom. Apparently Momo decided to come over early, but that wasn’t unusual. She was really worried about him, after all. He thought he heard her mutter something through the door, but he couldn’t hear very well over the water.

“Give me a few minutes! I will be right out.” He yelled, hoping that she could hear him.

He shut off the water, and stepped out. The cold air rushed over him, and he shivered as he quickly toweled himself dry. He brushed his teeth and hair, carefully separating the red and white strands. He glanced ruefully at the marks on his body before turning to the door. He hadn’t brought in any clothes, but he doubted Momo would care. She had seen him completely naked plenty of times. So he just wrapped a towel around his waist.

Besides, the idea of teasing her made him smile. She was always teasing him when no one was paying attention, and he hoped it would ease some of the tension between them. And if it turned into more… well, he wouldn’t really mind. He wasn’t really in the mood to study right now anyway.

“I thought that we could start out by studying that pamphlet Aizawa gave me last week,” he yelled through the door. He pushed open the door and walked out. “I hope you brought enough condoms because some of—”

Shouto’s words died on his tongue.

Bakugou was standing in the middle of his room, watching Shouto walk almost naked out of his bathroom. Not that it was that big of a deal. They changed together in the locker rooms every day. Shouto had seen pretty much every male classmate all but naked, some of them completely so. But this was different. Those were usually quick glances. This time Bakugou was openly staring at him, mouth hanging open in surprise, his eyes darting between the hickies all over Shouto’s neck, and chest, and stomach. He would swear that Bakugou’s traced the ‘V’ on his lower stomach and lingered for a moment on the towel hanging very low on his hips. Finally, those red eyes met his own.

Shouto had completely forgotten that Bakugou was coming over to work on the project. Today at noon.

Shit.

“What in the fuck, halfie? What in the fuck are you talking about”

Shouto shifted uncomfortably, pulling the towel up a little higher on his hips. He stood there awkwardly.

“I’m sorry, Bakugou. I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Who the fuck were you expecting?! Walking out half-naked and talking about condoms and shit.”

Shouto stared at him for a moment, not really sure what to say.

“Tch. Who the fuck you fooling around with anyway,” Bakugou asked, turning around and finally giving Shouto a bit of privacy. He could have done that in the first place! Bakugou had definitely been checking him out. Maybe the asshole was into men after all. “You look like you were mauled by a fucking bear. Who the fuck let’s someone leave hickies like that all over them?”

Shouto hurried to his closet, pulling out the first outfit he could find, gray joggers and a black t-shirt. It would have to do.

“It’s none of your business, Bakugou.” Shouto replied, trying to sound nonchalant as he dressed quickly.

“It’s probably fucking tits, isn’t it?" Bakugou snapped. "I’m pretty sure everyone knows you two are fucking after the other day. Didn't take her for the aggressive type. Guess we know who's the top in that relationship.” There was obvious irritation in his voice. Something else too, but Shouto wasn’t sure what it was. Jealousy? It would make sense. Shouto didn’t think that many of the guys in his class were getting laid regularly. Of course they would be jealous of someone if they knew they were.

But he couldn’t let Bakugou think that Momo had left him with these marks. Yes, they were having sex. But those weren’t her, and it wouldn’t be fair to her to let Bakugou think that she had done that. These marks were reckless, almost possessive, intimate. Way too intimate considering that he didn’t even know the names of either of the chicks who had left them there.

“It wasn’t Momo.” He replied as he finished dressing and turned around. Bakugou’s head whipped around to stare at him. Shouto felt ashamed. It was bad enough that Momo knew what happened, now Bakugou would know too. He would probably think Shouto was a whore. If there ever had been a chance to fuck the explosive blonde, he doubted it was still there.

“You were gone the last two days from school, and now you look like this. What in the fuck were you doing this weekend, Icy-hot?”

“Why do you even care? I was just blowing off steam, ok. A friend offered to sneak me into a club down-town. I took him up on the offer. They let me have a couple of drinks, and then I met someone and fooled around a bit. That’s it. Nothing more.” He hated to keep lying. But if Bakugou knew what really happened, if he had any idea that Shouto had met up with one of the league members who had kidnapped him and practically begged to be a part of the villain’s life… The blonde would hate him.

He supposed this was part of what Dabi meant. Heroes and villains didn’t really mix well.

“Tch. Sounds fucking stupid to me.” Bakugou sneered.

“Yeah, probably. But sometimes getting laid helps, ya know?” he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Bakugou scowled.

“Not all of us have time to go around and get laid.” He snapped defensively as he moved over to the desk and shrugged out of his backpack.

Wait. Was Bakugou saying that he had never… that he was?

Shouto knew that Bakugou was focused on his training. The blonde had never openly dated, but Shouto always assumed he had at least fucked someone, at some point.

“Wait. You’ve never?” Shouto asked. He couldn’t help himself. He was really curious, now.

“None of your fucking business.” The blonde retorted, angrily pulling out his books and slamming them on Shouto’s desk. Shouto forced himself not to smile. Bakugou Katsuki was a virgin. That was definitely not something he expected.

Then he realized that Bakugou was starting to clean up his desk, and was picking up pieces of Touya’s file. Shouto hadn’t cleaned it all up yet. He hadn’t expected anyone to come into his room and see it. The blonde had picked up the picture of his brother and was staring intently at Touya’s youthful face.

Fuck.

Dabi didn’t really look like Touya anymore, but the blonde had recently spoken to Dabi. What if he recognized him.

“Who the fuck is this?” Bakugou asked.

Shouto marched over and snatched the picture out of Bakugou’s hands, quickly gathering up the last of the file and clutching it in his arms. Bakugou glanced up at him, his eyebrow arched at Shouto’s defensive response.

“It’s my brother.” He replied, tensely.

“Hmm. He seemed familiar.”

Fuck. Why hadn’t Shouto put everything away? Shit. Shit. Shit.

“Yeah well, he went missing a few years ago. They put this picture up all over the internet and the news. Everyone saw it. But when he wasn’t found, everyone just kind of forgot about him.” Shouto replied quickly. It was true. Touya’s disappearance had been the talk of the town for about a week until Endeavor had purposely buried it. He just wasn’t about to add that Bakugou had been up close and personal to that very person not that long ago.

“Shit, man.” Bakugou responded, sounding a lot less volatile than normal. “Sucks.” He responded awkwardly as Shouto took the file and shoved it haphazardly into the top of his closet.

“It’s fine.” Shouto replied quietly. “What’s this project about anyway?” He was glad for the excuse to change the subject.

"Well apparently the university is hosting some fancy-ass dinner for the annual quirk heritage week. We have to create a fucking presentation for a retired hero with a quirk similar to ours."

"To ours?"

"Yeah. A fucking fire quirk. You can create fire, even if you're a stingy mother-fucker about doing so. I can create fiery explosions. Apparently that's close enough for Aizawa's taste." Bakugou pulled out his notebook and opened it up to some clean hand-written notes.

Shouto frowned. Although he was occasionally using his left side now, it was still a sensitive issue with him. Now he had to pretend to celebrate his fire with the biggest show-boating quirk user in class. Great. Aizawa had to know how much he was going to hate this. This must be his real punishment for his fling with Momo the other day.

"And we just have to put together a presentation?" At least it was a pretty straightforward assignment. Easier than most of Aizawa's group projects.

"Yeah. A fucking presentation. On some fucking tri-fold poster board or some shit. Like we're all still in middle school or something."

Shouto just shrugged his shoulders, pulling his computer chair over to the desk.

"Any ideas on who to present?"

"Fuck yeah! We had to submit our hero for approval before class ended today. Since I got stuck with an apparently lazy asshole partner who decided to skip school so they could get fucking laid, I decided for us. Retired Hero Inferno. He reached the status of #4 before he retired seven years ago. That fucker was a badass!" For a moment, Bakugou's passion for heroics shone through. He even sounded a bit like his old self again.

Shouto didn't know much about Inferno, although he did know Endeavor had briefly worked at his agency before opening his own. Apparently two bull-headed fire quirk users in the same agency had been a bit much. Endeavor didn't speak very fondly about the retired pro. Which meant, for Shouto, that Inferno was the perfect choice.

Fuck you, Endeavor.

"Sure," he responded, doing his best to sound like he didn't care. Bakugou didn't need to know any of that.

"Let's just get this shit over with so I can go home." Bakugou replied. "Do you have a laptop?"

Shouto set up his laptop, and let himself get lost in the research with Bakugou. It was a surprisingly pleasant distraction, as Bakugou was one of the other top students in the class. He stayed focused. And he didn't even seem as pissy as usual. He occasionally looked over at the marks on Shouto's neck and scowled, but he kept his comments on the matter to himself.

Once Momo arrived with the rest of Shouto's homework, an awkward tension seemed to fill the air and Bakugou pretty quickly excused himself. Luckily, they had knocked out most the research. And if the growing pile of papers on his desk was any indication, he had plenty of other work left today.

This was why Shouto hated missing classes. And two days in a row? Never again.

* * * * * *

The next week passed quickly. He saw Recovery Girl first thing on Monday (and she didn't even ask any questions, something which Shouto was beyond grateful for. Though it did leave him with a second pamphlet decorated with that damn condom covered banana. He officially had the beginning of a collection - great). After that, he dove headfirst back into his schoolwork and training, leaving him with very little time to think. Which was good, because every time he did, he would remember Dabi's number in his pocket and fall into a mini existential crisis. He hadn't even touched that paper.

He was completely torn about what to do.

Half of him wanted to open up to Dabi, and get close to him. Help him see that Touya isn't really gone, and get to have his brother in his life again. The other half was terrified about Dabi's warning. What if Shigaraki did find out? What would happen? Dabi had already mentioned that Shouto was on Shigaraki's list, whatever that meant. And knowing that he could have been kidnapped alongside Bakugou was disconcerting, to say the least.

Dabi had said Shigaraki can be a real asshole at times, but he always manages to find a way to get what he wants. And once he has decided he wants someone in the league, he finds a way to make it happen. If that was true, it was likely that the League might target him again, regardless of what he did with Dabi. That also meant that he would have to deal with Shigaraki eventually, as much as the thought scared him. Was it worth cutting his brother out of his life just to stall the inevitable?

Hell if he knew.

So he just kept ignoring the decision. Eventually he would know what to do. At least, he hoped so.

Then Friday rolled around, and the shit hit the fan. Shouto was beginning to hate Fridays.

It started out just fine, but he knew something was off as soon as he got to class. The other students seemed more animated than usual, and if the hushed whispers in the hallway were any indication, there was definitely some juicy, new gossip sweeping through the school. He would probably hear about it from Momo. She loved new gossip.

He was early to class, but as he walked in he would have sworn that all of his classmates were staring at him. Izuku waved awkwardly, giving him an uncertain smile as he passed by. Shouto waved back, ignoring the others as he watched Mineta whisper something to Kaminari, the two snickering at something on Mineta’s phone. Shouto plopped down in his chair, his long legs barely squeezing under his desk. He went to fish out his notebook when Momo sat at the desk in front of him.

“Hey Shou,” she said, and her voice had a sympathetic tone to it. He had heard that before, and it made him suspicious. That and the looks from the rest of the class.

“Hey,” he replied, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. “What’s going on?”

“Did you see the new issue of ‘Hero’s Weekly’?”

“No.” ‘Hero’s Weekly’ was one of the magazines that preyed on heroes' private lives.

A sinking feeling started to form in Shouto’s stomach.

She looked at him with wide eyes, pulling out her phone and opening up an app before handing it to him.

“I’m sorry, Shou.” She mumbled as he took the phone. He looked down, his jaw falling open at a picture of him walking down the road. It was obviously from the morning after the club, and it looked like an obvious walk of shame with his leather pants and skin tight T-shirt. His scar was obvious, and his dual-colored hair was messy and gross. And the hickies on his neck.

Fuck! Since when did phones take such good pictures?

Todoroki Shouto: Future Pro Hero or Party Boy?

Clubbing. Drinking. Drugs. Sex. Skipping school. This certainly doesn’t sound like the behavior of a future Pro Hero. Apparently it is for Todoroki Shouto, son of Pro Hero Endeavor. Two weeks after Pro Hero Endeavor moved from #2 to the #1 hero in Japan, his successor, Todoroki Shouto, has been spotted in a rather suggestive outfit on the outskirts of Musufatu. Todoroki Shouto was officially named Endeavor's successor upon starting his training in the acclaimed UA University heroics course earlier this year. Todoroki was admitted to the course by recommendation, and has excelled since then, placing 2nd for the school's annual sports festival. But is the pressure of his training for the role of #1 hero too much for the youngest Todoroki?
If these exclusive photos are any indication, it might be. The photos clearly portray Todoroki Shouto in a very compromising outfit, with large purple marks on his neck that by-standers identified as multiple hickies. Based off the time of day, it is believed that Todoroki purposely skipped school that morning to return home after what we can only assume was a wild Friday night of drinking and sex.
Todoroki Shouto was witnessed by multiple civilians who claim that he purposely hid inside of a convenience store until he was picked up by a friend. Although no clear photos of his ride were captured, one witness believes that it was fellow class-mate and socialite Momo Yaoyorozu.
Although we reached out to multiple clubs in the area, none would confirm if Todoroki spent his Friday night there. This is unsurprising considering that the youngest Todoroki is only eighteen, and should have been barred entry to the clubs and drinks within.
Was this a one-time mistake by a future Pro? Or is this the beginning of a trend for the young Todoroki? Will he fall into the tempting Playboy trap so common to this city's wealthy youth?

…Fuck.

There were a few more photos under the article, although none were quite as clear as the first. There was one that showed a blurry picture of the back of Momo's head as he got into her car. But the photos clearly showed both his dual-colored hair and his scar. There would be no denying that the pictures were of him.

Endeavor was going to have a shit-fit. He had probably already seen the article. He was going to see this as Shouto spitting in his face. His father considers rebellious behavior of any kind as a direct insult to himself and his image.

"I'm sorry, Momo." Shouto whispered as he closed the app and handed her phone back. This article would reflect badly on her as well, even if the picture wasn't clearly identifiable, having her name in the article would affect her. "I didn't mean to drag you into this mess."

Shouto lowered his forehead to his desk and wrapped his arms over the back of his head. Shit. Shit. Shit.

He didn't want to look up. It was pretty clear now what the daily gossip was. All of his classmates had seen those pictures and knew about his mistake. And Aizawa. Fuck. Aizawa would see it too.

He could hear Momo talking to him, but his blood was rushing in his ears and it was hard to focus on anything. This was bad. This article was really bad. He could feel his heart racing, and he tried to just focus on breathing.

"Todoroki."

As if thinking about Aizawa had summoned the man himself, the professor's droll voice cut straight through him.

He uncovered his head and looked up at his professor. Present Mike was at the front of the class, writing something on the chalkboard. Aizawa was standing at the door glaring daggers straight at him. The last time he saw Aizawa this pissed was after he fought Stain with Iida and Izuku.

"Good morning, Aizawa-sensei," he replied, trying to remain calm. It was clear that his professor had already seen the article.

"Follow me. President Nezu wants to speak to you."

He could hear the breakout of gossip in the room, but one stern, sweeping glare from Aizawa silenced his classmates.

Shouto nodded, quickly and quietly gathering up his backpack and following Aizawa out the door. He didn't bother looking at anyone, and Present Mike promptly took over a lesson to distract the class, but it didn't matter. They all knew what this meeting was going to be about.

Aizawa was completely silent during the walk, his back stiff as he led Shouto down the hall and into the office.

Nezu was sitting at his chair in the office. He had a small file folder in front of him, and was waiting patiently with his little paws clasped together.

"Hello Todoroki," he greeted, waving the pair in. Aizawa went in first, taking a chair, and Shouto slouched in after, taking the chair next to his professor.

"President Nezu-san," he replied, bowing his head in a formal greeting.

“I imagine you know why I have called you into my office today." The president stated, flatly.

"Yes sir," he replied, trying to keep his voice level. Freaking out would do no good. He did what he did and now he had to live with the consequences. "I was photographed in a compromising outfit and location, and that photograph was published in a media magazine. This reflects badly on myself, my father, and this university."

Aizawa made a clicking noise in his throat, but did not interrupt. He didn’t have to. Shouto could feel the disappointment radiating off the man.

"You are right. This is a very scandalous article. Now we are currently partnering with The Endeavor Agency to compile an appropriate response, but it would help if we understood what happened that day. Can you please explain the circumstances that led up to those pictures?" Nezu was straightforward and to the point, as usual.

Shouto nodded, clearing his throat. He would have to come clean about some of what happened. But how much? How much did they already know? He wouldn’t be able to deny everything. The pictures had made it pretty obvious that he had done something. He decided to tell them something close to the truth, and hope for pity.

“I, uh,” he began nervously, glancing over at Aizawa. His professor stared back, face set in an unhappy scowl. Shouto quickly looked back at the desk, focusing instead on the file under Nezu’s paws. “I was really stressed about everything that happened at the training camp. It was really hard for me to see Izu- Midorya get hurt so badly. And Bakugou hasn’t been the same since he was kidnapped. And I was having a hard time dealing with it. I got in trouble in class,” he cast a quick, guilty glance at Aizawa, whose scowl deepened further, a feat which Shouto would have previously thought impossible. “And I… um, I just wanted to relax for a night.”

Oh and of course, he had just found out his long lost brother was alive, in the city, and a dangerous villain. But they definitely didn’t need to know that part.

“And?” Nezu asked after a moment.

“And so I disguised myself and ended up in some shitty club. I decided that smoking weed would be a good way to take the edge off of everything happening. And I was going to head home right after, but then I ran into these girls. I think they might have given me something else because I don’t really remember much after that. But I woke up the next day feeling really sick and in some stranger’s apartment. It was pretty obvious we had sex. I stayed at the apartment until I felt less sick, and then I asked Momo to come get me. I only walked a short distance to the store, and I didn’t expect anyone to get pictures of me on the way.”

Shouto hated lying, but there was so much he just couldn’t share.

“You are openly admitting to smoking marijuana and having unprotected sex?” Aizawa finally asked, and he sounded a little surprised.

Shouto nodded, eyes glued to that manilla file.

“I don’t know if we used protection,” he said quietly, “but I don’t think we did.”

“So that’s why you visited Recovery Girl for STD testing the following Monday?” Nezu asked, and Shouto’s head jerked up, mouth open.

“I thought our visits were confidential?” He asked. They had already known about those tests before he entered this office. Which meant they knew about the sex already.

“They are, to a degree. Shuzenji is not required to report the requesting of such tests or the results to us, however those tests are required to be kept as a matter of public record. Which means they are available if requested. You were lucky that the results came back negative. However, the tests did reveal that you had both marijuana and MDMA in your system.”

“MDMA?”

“Ecstasy.” Aizawa answered.

Ecstasy. Dabi had been right. Those girls had slipped him ecstasy.

Shouto nodded, unsure of what to say.

“Luckily, the magazine article is unaware of the drug use, even if they did suggest it. But still, this is a very serious breach of our university’s code of conduct. Drug use, including the use of marijuana, and certainly the use of Ecstasy, is unacceptable.”

“I understand, President Nezu.” He hurried to add, looking up to finally meet his president’s eyes. “I’m not a druggie. This won’t happen again.”

“How many girls did you say there were?” Aizawa asked, not bothering to let Nezu reply to his apology.

“Two.”

“And did you engage in unprotected sex with both of them?” The amount of disapproval in Aizawa’s voice made Shouto hunch his shoulders under the older man’s scrutiny. He might as well bring up the fucking pamphlet and Shouto’s blatant disregard for it’s message.

“I’m not sure, but I think so.” He responded, refusing to look at his professor.

“And if one of these girls ends up pregnant? Do you even know if they recognized you?”

“I didn’t think about that. I was high. It didn’t seem very important.” He replied truthfully. The manilla folder had a tiny fold on one of the edges.

Aizawa sighed.

“Although Aizawa has a valid point,” Nezu finally came to Shouto’s rescue, sort of, “those are things we cannot know. So we have to hope for the best. In the meantime, we do have to address the blatant breach in UA’s code of conduct. We cannot simply turn the other cheek, not with a public media article already out. Do you understand?”

Shouto nodded.

“I hope you understand that your behavior and the resulting defamatory article was enough for us to justify expulsion from this school.”

Expulsion! Shouto looked up at the president, stunned. Shit. He cannot be expelled. Endeavor would literally kill him!

“However, due to the extenuating stress your class has been under in the past few weeks, as well as your exemplary performance as a top student in your class, we have decided to reduce your punishment to a mandatory 7 day suspension starting immediately, with permanent demerits on your record upon your return. There will be a one month probationary period. A repeated incident in that time will result in immediate expulsion. And finally, you will also issue a public apology, in conjunction with the public relations response currently being put together by your father’s agency.”

A 7 day suspension! Shit, that was the longest suspension he had ever heard of being issued by the university. And a public apology being guided by Endeavor. God, he didn’t want to imagine how his father planned to try to spin this story in his favor. His father hadn’t even found out about the suspension yet.

Fuck.

He wanted to beg the president to reconsider, but he knew it was unlikely they would reduce his punishment even more. It wouldn’t matter how sorry he was.

“Thank you for not expelling me,” he replied, bowing his head once more to Nezu.

“I hope you understand there will be backlash for this article. We sincerely urge you to follow your father’s guidance for an appropriate PR response to this scandal. I understand that you are young, but a bad reputation can tank a hero’s career quickly. And you are more in the public eye than any of your other classmates. You are the #1 hero’s son and successor. But a little money can only go so far in hiding a scandal. You need to take your training and studies seriously. Very. Seriously.” Nezu replied flatly.

Shouto nodded, a blush rising to his cheeks.

“Do we need to call your father to come pick you up?” Aizawa asked.

“No,” he replied, too quickly, he realized when Aizawa gave him a strange look. He wasn’t ready to see his father quite yet though. “I… I drove today. I don’t need a ride.” It was a lie, but if they called Endeavor, he would be face to face with him before he was ready. He needed a bit of time to pass between Endeavor seeing that article and seeing Shouto. As much time as possible, if Shouto could have his way.

“Very well. I will send your classwork home with Momo daily. I expect it to be completed fully when you walk back into my classroom next Friday.”

“Yes, Aizawa-sensei,” he gave a half-bow to his teacher as he stood up and scrambled out of the office.

Well, shit.

* * * * * *

Shouto had been hiding in his bedroom for hours. He had officially ignored 13 texts and 22 missed calls from Endeavor. His father wasn’t just pissed about the article. He was livid. And if the texts were any indication, the next time he saw Endeavor may very well be the last time. Endeavor could be home any minute, and he would probably discover Shouto hiding out. Would it be better for Shouto to be right in the main entrance, try to get a bit of an upper-hand by catching his father off-guard? Or should he keep hiding and hope his father was too tired when he got home to deal with him tonight.

He was trying to decide when he got a text from Class 1A’s group chat, and a third option suddenly opened up. Mina’s parents were going out of town for the night, and she was going to host a party at her house. Mina did this anytime her parents went out of town, and most of the class loved it. There was usually even a little bit of booze, from what Shouto had heard. He had never gone to any of the parties before. They just weren’t his thing. Parties meant a lot of awkward small-talk with his classmates, really shitty booze (at least compared to what they usually scored at the more elite parties that he and Momo were often forced to attend), and party games. Truth or dare. King’s Cup. Never have I ever. Seven minutes in heaven. Spin the bottle. You name it. Izuku had told him all about it. Class 1A was big into party games. Shouto was not.

But tonight. Tonight was a whole different story. Cheap booze and lame party games sounded like a damn paradise compared to sitting around waiting for Endeavor to come home.

So he crept downstairs, pilfered a bottle of decent wine, and headed out to the party fashionably early.

He wasn’t the first person to arrive. Kirishima, Kaminari, Sero, and Bakugou were already there, helping to set up chairs and such. That wasn’t surprising, those five were all pretty damn close, but Shouto was a bit surprised to see Bakugou busy cooking for the party. He would never have pegged the blonde as someone who enjoyed something as mundane and domestic as cooking. He thought about going in to talk to Bakugou, but the guy had earbuds in and his usual fuck-off energy as he bustled around the kitchen.

So instead, he awkwardly sat around and listened to Kirishima and Mina gush about how excited they were to have him come to the party; but there was definitely a bit of an awkward tension in the air. Nobody brought up the article that came out, although Shouto knew it was only a matter of time before someone arrived who would. It was only natural, the class would have noticed that he never returned after his meeting this morning.

Then slowly, most of the class started to show up, minus Iida, Koda, and Mineta (who probably wasn’t even invited). Shouto stayed in the corner, hoping to attract as little attention as possible.

“Hey Shouto,” Izuku came over as soon as he arrived, but Shouto had expected that. Izuku was such a good friend, he was probably one of the few in the class who was actually concerned about Shouto instead of curious about his sex life.

“Hey Izuku,” he replied, scooting over on the couch so the greenette could sit down next to him. Which Izuku happily did.

“How are you doing? I- I was worried about you.”

“I’m fine. It was stupid of me to go out and party like that. Luckily, Nezu didn’t expel me.”

“I know. Aizawa told the class that you were out on a mandatory 7 day suspension because you violated the school’s code of conduct. When I saw the article this morning, I didn’t think it was true. But- but now… Are you ok?” Izuku blurted out, his entire body turning toward Shouto, eyes wide with worry.

“Dude, he’s fine.” Kaminari butted into the conversation from the other couch. “He went out clubbing and got laid. He’s probably feeling better than the rest of us.”

“I heard you were suspended for drugs,” Jirou added, and Shouto sighed as he realized that all of the other conversations in the room had died. But he had expected this. This was juicy gossip, and apparently citizens weren’t the only people interested in that stuff.

“I was,” he replied simply. “I smoked a joint at the club.” They didn’t need to know about the ecstasy. Momo knew, which probably meant that Jirou already knew. But he doubted that the purple-haired girl would say anything.

Izuku looked more upset than before, not less. Shouto felt bad. He would have to talk to his friend about it some other time.

“How did you even get into the club?” Kirishima asked innocently.

“Of course they let him in! Didn’t you see how hot he looked?” Mina exclaimed, and Shouto blushed. She realized after a second what she had said, and clamped her hands over her mouth. Embarrassed, she quietly added, “I mean, you definitely had some major sex hair going on, but your outfit looked, like, really hot.”

“They don’t let people into clubs because they look hot, Mina,” Kirishima argued with his girlfriend. Shouto smiled. That was exactly how those two girls had gotten in, that and their yen.

“I bribed the bouncer with yen.” Shouto replied honestly. He had lied so much the last few days that he didn’t feel like lying about anything else if he didn’t have to. Besides, this would quell most of their curiosity, and hopefully help the gossip to die down faster.

Izuku’s mouth dropped open. Everyone went quiet for a moment.

Then suddenly Bakugou was bustling through the room, bringing in a giant tray of Gyoza.

“Do all you fucking extra’s really have nothing better to talk about than that fucking article? Stop jabbering and eat some food before it gets fucking cold.” He was scowling, as usual, but he briefly met Shouto’s eyes. Shouto was grateful to him for changing the subject. He supposed Bakugou would know better than most what it felt like to be the center of a scandal. There had been some pretty scathing articles about the explosive teen after both the sports festival and his kidnapping.

After that, things seemed to settle down. Eventually, Shouto was able to score a few joints from Kaminari when no one was paying attention (although his classmate was pretty stern about Shouto not ratting him out if he got caught again; he was all for helping a friend relax as long as it didn’t come back to bite him in the ass). Shouto knew it was probably stupid after everything else, but it was already in his system and he knew he would probably need something to help get through the next couple of days.

When he got back to the living room, everyone was starting to gather around for a game of King’s Cup. Nope. Definitely nope.

“Hey Mina, where’s your bathroom?” He asked. If he slipped away now, he doubted anyone would notice if he didn’t return right away. After another 8 missed calls from Endeavor during the party, and 3 texts that he was too scared to actually look at, he still wasn’t quite ready to go home. But that didn’t mean he was about to sit through a ridiculous drinking game.

“It’s upstairs at the end of the hall,” she replied.

He headed upstairs, ignoring the door to the bathroom, and peeking inside of the other rooms. Eventually, he found what he assumed was Mina’s bedroom, if the bright pink bedspread was anything to go by. Her bed was conveniently against a wall with a big window. Shouto opened up the window, and sat down on the bed next to it, pulling one of the joints out of his pocket.

He had just lit up, and was enjoying the first hit, blowing the smoke out of the window, when the door opened and Bakugou walked in.

“Tch. I figured you were up to some shit when you disappeared upstairs. Guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Guess not,” Shouto replied, taking another hit off the joint. “Want to join me?”

“This is fucking stupid.” The blonde replied, but he closed the door and made his way over, crawling onto the bed and sitting next to Shouto, close enough that their shoulders pressed together. Shouto didn’t say anything. He just waited for the blonde to get comfortable, then handed him the joint.

It was pretty obvious that this wasn’t the first joint the other teen had smoked, which didn’t surprise Shouto at all considering how close he was to both Kaminari and Sero. In fact, it was kind of hot to watch the normally uptight guy relax this way. Shouto watched the way Bakugou’s lips wrapped around the joint as he inhaled, and the way he turned his head to aim the smoke out the window gave Shouto a nice glimpse down the collar of his shirt to his well defined collar bone.

“I didn’t think you were a party person,” Bakugou finally muttered as he passed the joint back. “You never come to Mina’s fucking parties.”

“I’m not.” Shouto replied, serious. “When people drink, they want to socialize. I’m not exactly great at that. And games like King’s Cup, they just aren’t my thing. They are just a silly excuse to find out who wants to fuck who.”

“So why bother coming tonight?”

Shouto laughed lowly. He wasn’t high enough to admit that he was afraid to go home and face his father.

“You saw the news article. You heard the others. It’s a shit show. I almost got expelled over the whole thing. And I have to release a public apology, one approved by Endeavor’s agency of course, about my poor judgement. I wanted a distraction, I guess. Something to take my mind off the fact that everyone thinks I am a damn whore.”

“I told you that shit was stupid. You know the paparazzi is terrible about that stuff. Why did you fucking do it in the first place?”

Shouto sighed. Bakugou was right, of course. It was fucking stupid. But he didn’t expect him to understand.

“I had heard some pretty shitty news that night. I wanted something to take my mind off it. Those girls did. I was pretty high for most of it, so I guess I didn’t really think about getting caught until the next day.”

“Girls huh?” Bakugou snorted. “More than one? And I doubt you had smoked just one joint like you said downstairs to be high enough not to think about that shit. Sure glad to know the article got things fucking wrong.”

“I’m not a fucking party boy, Bakugou,” Shouto retorted. “It’s not like I go out clubbing and fucking strangers every weekend. That was the first time, not that it’s any of your business. Before that, I only occasionally fooled around. Now this article comes out and fucks everything. Endeavor has publicly announced me as his successor, and he will take this article as me shitting on that. I came tonight so that I could avoid going home for a few hours longer.”

Bakugou was quiet for a moment as Shouto took a few really deep hits. He didn’t know why he felt the need to explain himself to the other teen. But the blonde was his rival, and Shouto refused to let himself be shamed for fucking. Nor did he want the explosive teen to think he was weak. Damnit, he was Bakugou’s equal, no matter what any article said.

“Daddy issues at home, eh?” Bakugou asked quietly.

Shouto snorted, amused by the thought of Endeavor as any kind of daddy. He didn’t give two shits about his kids, beyond how they could help to increase his image, wealth, or power.

“He is… controlling.” Shouto finally answered, careful with his words. He knew some would call it abusive, but it was complicated. He didn’t really feel like going into all of that right now.

Silence again for a few moments, passing the joint between them as they sat shoulder to shoulder on the chair. It was almost gone. The effects had started to leave a gentle calm on him, though. The event’s of the day were starting to fade in importance.

"The league told me about your dad, ya know." Bakugou eventually broke the silence between them.

"What?"

"Their initial tactic to convince me to join was talking about how fucked high-end hero society was. About how many heroes succumb to bribery or pay-outs. About how a lot of Pro Heroes are shit, but they pay-off the media so society doesn't know. They said most of them cared more about their damn rankings and money than about actually helping people. That some of them have even done some pretty fucked up shit that the public doesn’t know about."

"Ah," Shouto nodded, unsurprised. They weren't wrong. There were a lot of issues with the hero system as it was. And although there were some genuine heroes, most were pretty low-ranking. A lot of the top heroes were involved in shadier deals, and Shouto knew first-hand how much a little money could twist a news story into someone's favor. After meeting with Dabi last week, he understood it now even more than before. His brother’s disappearance was the perfect fucked up example.

"You don't sound very surprised."

"I'm not. I have been around a lot of High-ranking heroes. Most of them have skeletons in their closet. The League isn't really wrong."

"I didn't believe it at first." Bakugou said. "After spending years looking up to the top Pro Heroes, and working so damn hard to join them. I thought they were trying to trick me. Then they gave me examples. Endeavor was one of them. They said a lot of shit about him accepting pay-outs and bribes… but they also said he abuses his children. Is it true? Is that why you really don't want to go home."

Of course they had used that example. Dabi had lived it first-hand. And since Bakugou knew Shouto, it was a clever tactic to sway his emotions to their favor. Either Dabi thought up that plan, or Shigaraki was as intelligent as his brother. That thought was pretty terrifying. Still, he wasn't really in the mood to expose his private life to Bakugou. He wouldn't understand. He would think Shouto was weak for allowing it to happen.

"I told you. He is just controlling. He doesn't usually hit me." Shouto mumbled, almost disgusted at the words. He wasn't sure why he was defending that asshole, he just wasn't ready for the truth to come out. "Besides, he has gotten better. He's a lot less violent since--"

Shouto clamped his mouth shut. He hadn't meant to say that much.

"Since..." Bakugou pressed.

"Nothing. It's not important."

"Tch. Whatever. He wasn't the only example. If they were fucking right about everyone they talked about, its fucking disgusting how many Pro Heroes have accepted tainted money. Hell, Hawks entire agency was started with money earned from selling drugs to the poor. And Gang Orca? Did you know he fucking raped Mount Lady last year? When she reported him to the Hero’s Council, they told her that she must be mistaken because she had been drinking that night. Then, she dropped ten spots in the next month’s ranking, despite increased popularity with the public. And it goes on and on. The entire thing is fucking disgusting. It's hard to believe that people who you looked up to so much could be so corrupted."

An image of Dabi flashed in his mind.

"Yeah."

"I can’t stop thinking about that night. About everything I learned sitting in that shitty fucking bar, listening to those fuckers shit all over what I thought I knew about being a hero. And when that didn’t work, they… Fuck! I’ve felt like shit since that night! It's like they took my dream and threw it on the ground and stomped all over it. I sure as shit ain’t interested in being a damn villain… but now I'm not so sure I really want to be a hero anymore. I feel fucking empty."

Fuck. Bakugou's words struck too close to home. It was an argument he had been having with himself for years. But each time he convinced himself that he could make a change. That a hero with influence and money and a genuine interest in helping people could really make a change.

But who knows. He is almost ready to risk it all to help Touya. Would a true hero give up the chance to save thousands to help just one person.

"Does it help?" Bakugou asked after a few moments.

"What?"

"Going out to clubs. Drinking and smoking and fucking. Does it actually help?"

Sometimes. If you aren't stupid enough to get caught. Shouto wasn't really sure if that would make Bakugou feel better. Bakugou's soul focus at UA was to be the #1 hero. The league had found the chink in his armor, the way in to his thoughts.

So Shouto did the only thing he could think of at that moment, the same thing Momo did for him after Touya left and it felt like nothing in the world would ever be right again. He climbed into Bakugou's lap, straddled his legs, and pressed his lips against the blonde's.

At first, Bakugou's mouth didn't move. Shouto could feel the blonde’s muscles tense up under his thighs. Shouto deepened his kiss, tentatively nudging Bakugou's bottom lip with his tongue. It felt so different from his other partners. He had always been certain of his partner's attraction to him, now he just hoped Bakugou wouldn't try to set off an explosion in his face.

Just as he was about to pull away, Bakugou's mouth moved. His lips felt rough compared to most of the people he had kissed, and it sent a thrill of excitement through Shouto as he thought about that feeling on the rest of his body. Bakugou, like always, smelled faintly of burnt sugar. Shouto was used to it during their fights, but now it filled his senses and made him feel heady as Bakugou's tongue started pushing back against his own. It was soft at first, and then more aggressive as Bakugou's hands grabbed onto Shouto's hips and pulled their crotches flush together.

Shouto groaned into the blonde's mouth as their clothed erections pressed together, and he rutted his hips forward, reveling in the pleasure it sent up into his groin. Eventually he pulled away, catching his breath and enjoying the feeling of Bakugou kissing and nipping at his neck and collarbone.

“Let me help you forget everything for a little while.” Shouto whispered in Bakugou’s ear.

Shouto pulled out of Bakugou's grip, getting down to kneel between the blonde’s legs. He quickly worked the button and zipper on Bakugou’s pants open, pulling the other teen’s pants and underwear down just enough to expose his cock. Bakugou's cock was a nice length and thickness, already hard and flushed with desire, pre-cum beading up on the head.

Shouto eagerly eyed Bakugou’s arousal, wrapping his long fingers around his shaft and pumping his fist slowly up and down. Bakugou moaned, low and deep in his throat as a bead of pre-cum slid down his shaft onto Shouto's hand.

Fuck, that was hot.

"Eager?" Shouto mused, arching an eyebrow at his rival. Not that he had much room to talk, Shouto's own erection was uncomfortably hard against his jeans.

"Fucking suck it already, princess. We don't have all fucking night before those extras start looking for us." Bakugou tried to glare, but the look was ruined by his obvious lust, his pupils wide as he watched Shouto lick his lips.

God, Shouto couldn't wait to make him squirm.

"Yes sir," he replied with a wink. Then he flattened his tongue and drug it slowly up the bottom of Bakugou's shaft, the salty taste of his pre-cum on Shouto's tongue as he wrapped his lips around Bakugou's head and lapped his tongue lazily over his slit.

"Fuck!" Bakugou groaned, trying to rut his hips up into Shouto's mouth. Shouto placed one hand on each of Bakugou's thighs and pushed them firmly back against the bed. Bakugou was strong, and the amount of pressure needed to subdue his movements made Shouto even harder as he imagined how strong the blonde's thighs were. God, he couldn't wait to feel them fucking up into him.

Shouto started to slowly bob his head, going slightly farther down with each movement, tracing his tongue along the vein on the bottom of Bakugou's cock as he did.

Bakugou's thighs pushed against his arms, and Shouto wasn't surprised by the hand wrapping, almost painfully, into his hair.

"Don't tease me, Icy-hot. I know you can take more of-- Fu-Fuck!" Shouto allowed the blonde to push him down until his nose was buried against Bakugou's shirt and he could feel Bakugou's head swelling at the back of his throat.

"Fuck yeah, princess, just like that. Fuck. Oh my fucking God. You take my cock so fucking well with that pretty mouth of yours."

Shouto swallowed him down the best he could, trying not to gag until he finally had to pull away to catch his breath. He thought that must be the highest compliment he had ever heard out of the blonde’s mouth, satisfied that Bakugou was muttering without even realizing it. Bakugou's cock was flushed a deep red now, and Bakugou glared down at him as he caught his breath.

"Didn't want you to blow your load too soon," Shouto said breathily, trying to catch his breath as he smirked up at the other boy. Bakugou scowled as Shouto swallowed his cock back down. He activated his left side just slightly, making his mouth slightly hotter, and hummed low in his throat. He set a steady rhythm, letting Bakugou start thrusting up slightly so his cock hit the back of his throat with each thrust. It made Shouto's eyes water, and he gagged slightly each time, but it made him rock hard.

"Fucking Hell Todoroki. Oh my- Fuck. Fuck. Yeah, let me fuck your mouth. Fucking yyyeeesssss....." Bakugou moaned as he twisted his other hand up into Shouto's hair and increased the speed of his thrusts.

Shouto stopped focusing on precise movements, letting his jaw slacken as the blonde fucked up into his mouth. Shouto licked his tongue up and down the base of Bakugou's shaft, reveling in the taste of precum mixing into his spit.

"Fuck, you keep that up- Fuck. I can't, I want to—” Bakugou's thighs were tensing, his thrusts getting more erratic. He was close, and Shouto knew it. Bakugou tried to pull away, but Shouto grabbed his thighs, and held Bakugou in place as the blonde came, a muffled groan filling the air.

Bakugou tasted sweeter than any of his other partners, and Shouto loved it. He slowly trailed his tongue up the base of Bakugou's cock, milking out and swallowing every pulse. Finally, he pulled off. The blonde looked fucking hot as hell, his neck flushed and chest heaving as he worked to catch his breath, his lips were swollen, and his hair had been mussed up against the wall. Not quite sex hair, at least not yet.

Shouto wanted more. And he pulled the blonde's head back into an aggressive kiss, settling Bakugou's hand against his erection. Bakugou kissed back eagerly, if breathlessly, his hand starting to move up and down over Shouto's pants as he wrapped his other arm around Shouto's waist and pulled him back onto his lap.

Bakugou started to clumsily undo the buttons on Shouto's shirt when a voice called out from the hallway.

"Yo, Bakubro! You up here? It's 11:30 my man. We got class in the morning, and Denki’s ready to head out." It was Kirishima, a faint slur in his words.

Shouto raised his eyebrow at the blonde as they listened to a door open down the hallway.

"You drove with Kaminari? You realize he is probably one of the least sober people at this party, right?"

"Shut the fuck up. He was the only one able to borrow his parent’s shitty ass car.”

"Yoohoo..." Kirishima's voice called out again. "Blasty! Where are you?"

Bakugou grimaced at the nickname, shoving Shouto off his lap. Shouto landed ungracefully beside him as Bakugou climbed off the bed and shoved his cock back into his pants.

"I've got to fucking go." He mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Thanks for the- ya know. Look, no one knows that I… I haven’t really told anyone else that I’m into dudes. Please, don't… Just don’t tell anyone about this shit."

"Dude! Not cool! Bakugou!" Kirishima's voice was right outside the door. Bakugou glanced between it and Shouto nervously.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Shouto sighed. His fun for the night was clearly over.

Bakugou glanced down at Shouto's obvious erection.

"I'm… Fuck." He mumbled. The door started to open, and Bakugou all but ran over and out into the hall. Shouto listened to him leave.

"I'm fucking right here! Jesus Red."

"Bakubro! We were all looking for you! Where did you go? Dude, King’s Cup was lit!" The sound of their voices disappeared.

Looking down at his erection, he sighed. So much for getting fucked by Bakugou tonight. Damnit.

Almost midnight. He should probably head out soon too. But if he was quick, he would have time to jerk off in the bathroom. Shouto was not a huge fan of jerking off, but it was definitely better than driving home with blue balls. Sighing, he hurried down to the bathroom and locked the door. This was definitely not how he wanted his night to end.

Chapter Text

It was almost 1am by the time Shouto made it back to the mansion. He had delayed coming home as long as reasonably possible, and his high had pretty much worn off. He was anxious to go inside, but with luck he could sneak in without being noticed. The house seemed quiet as he opened the door and stepped inside, but that wasn't unusual. Such a big house often felt quiet.

Shouto started toward his room, carefully checking for Endeavor in each room as he went. He was increasingly surprised by the man’s absence, and quite satisfied. His plan to go out must have paid off. Endeavor must have decided to go to bed and deal with this scandal in the morning.

Almost relieved, Shouto opened his bedroom door, his heart dropping. Enji was sitting in his big computer chair, an almost untouched cup of whiskey in his hand. He was out of his hero costume, a good sign that he probably wouldn’t use his quirk tonight lest he ruin another outfit. He seemed surprisingly calm, all things considered. But with the number of ignored texts and calls from this evening, Shouto knew that his father was most likely livid.

"Father," Shouto croaked as he stepped inside, leaving the door open, just in case.

"I’m glad you finally decided it was worth your time to come home. I was beginning to think you were too much of a coward to face the consequences of your actions." Endeavor didn’t break eye contact, his voice was cold. He was slowly swirling the ice in his whiskey, the amber liquid threatening to spill over the sides.

"Actions? You mean going out and dancing. Trying to relax a little. Acting like an actual teenager?" Shouto knew it wasn't exactly a fair statement. He had been irresponsible; stupid, really. But he was too proud to admit that to his father. Especially considering that his father was the king of hero scandals, he was just really good at not getting caught… or covering his bases if needed.

"Relaxing a little? That's certainly a way to describe doing drugs and going to a strangers apartment to fuck two junkie whores."

"How do you—"

"Don't play stupid with me, Shouto!" Endeavor roared, his anger finally starting to bubble to the surface as he threw his glass of whiskey straight at Shouto’s head. Shouto didn't expect it, and barely had time to put up his hand, coated in ice, to block the glass. It shattered, amber liquid spraying all over his arm and face as the cup broke into shards. A stray piece still managed to get past his defense, leaving a long, thin gash across the left side of his face, right under his scar. "I have already talked to the university. Marijuana. Ecstasy? Ecstasy Shouto!"

"The magazine doesn't know about the drugs." Shouto tried to wipe the whiskey off onto his pants, his lip curling up in disgust. His white shirt was definitely ruined and he reeked of alcohol.

"You think that matters?” Endeavor sneered. “You still took them! In what world did you decide it was acceptable for a Pro Hero to do drugs and fuck around like a common god-damn whore! How do you expect to help people if you’re too high to realize what you are doing? You want to be the #1 hero? If so, then you need to start acting like it. You are not a fucking child anymore, Shouto. The citizens of Musutafu need a hero who makes them feel safe. Who is there to protect them. Who they can rely on. Do you think they will feel that way about you after this? A rich party boy who sneaks out to have his cock sucked on the weekends. Is that what you want to be?"

"What an inspiring speech, dad," Shouto retorted, his own anger rising as he stood up straighter to face Endeavor. "Who helped you write it? Probably a new intern, because they must not know you very well. You think I don't know about all the drugs that come through your fucking parties? And I can't even begin to imagine the number of strange women you’ve fucked. Hell, you even had mom admitted to a psychiatric hospital just so you could get your fucking dick wet more often!"

Endeavor was on him in an instant, his large hands latched onto Shouto's upper arms. He was shaking Shouto, his hands were uncomfortably hot on Shouto’s skin. He was beginning to worry that his father might decide to use his flames after all. He carefully formed a sheen of thin ice over his right arm, just in case.

"How dare you speak to me like that! You insolent whore! Do you know what it took today to cover your ass? Do you know how much money it cost me to pay off both the fucking university and the papers! You have no idea what I did for you! Your career as a hero would have ended today if it hadn’t been for me!

Shouto should have realized that President Nezu hadn’t decided not to expel him because of a couple good grades. Or because of extra stress. UA didn't expel him because Endeavor decided to make a generous fucking donation to the heroics program.

"I guess I figured after all of the money you have shelled out over the years to cover your own ass that you had a frequent flyer discount."

"Augh! You ungrateful child!" Endeavor grabbed onto Shouto's throat with his right hand and slammed him into the wall, pushing him up the wall so that Shouto’s feet were dangling and he could barely breathe as his father choked him. Shouto gasped for air, the attack catching him off guard, and before he had time to react, Endeavor's arm, which was pinning Shouto to the wall and pressing uncomfortably into Shouto's collarbone, pushed down until there was a small cracking sound.

Shouto cried out as pain shot down into his chest and arms and up into his neck, making it hard to breathe. Endeavor realized his mistake immediately, dropping Shouto. He fell in a crumpled heap on the floor, struggling to catch his breath.

"One day you will be grateful for everything I have done for you, Shouto." He sneered. Then he turned and headed toward the door.

"Wait," Shouto gasped, pushing himself up with his right arm. It was hard to think. It hurt to breathe. Any pressure on his left arm was agony. "I think... I think you broke my collarbone."

"Sleep it off. You can go see Recovery Girl tomorrow."

"I'm... Fuck! This hurts. I'm… I’m suspended for a week." Shouto groaned.

Endeavor was quiet for a moment before he turned around to look at Shouto. His face was impassive.

"Well at least I won't have to worry about you sneaking out to do drugs while you are suspended. Maybe you will think twice before doing something like this again. I will send up some pain-killers. You will learn to behave, Shouto. One way or another.”

With that, he walked out, closing the door behind him.

"Fuck you!" Shouto yelled after him, collapsing back to the floor, cradling his left arm. It took a bit of the intensity out of the pain. He felt pathetic. And disgusting. The entire left side of his chest hurt. His father didn’t give a fuck about what happened. And he was covered in whiskey, which was quickly drying into a disgusting, sticky mess on his skin.

Seven days.

He had to spend seven days with a broken collarbone and that asshole, hoping that he didn't lose his temper again. And his father wouldn’t accept the injury as a reason to forgo his training. After all, heroes get hurt all the time. Learning how to fight, despite the pain of an injury would be considered a valuable lesson.

He couldn't do this. He needed to go somewhere. Just for a day or two.

But where?

The university was clearly off-limits with his suspension. Momo’s was too obvious, Endeavor would find him before the end of the night and make him return home. Izuku's? Maybe. But Izuku would definitely report the broken bone. And that might make everything worse.

Shit.

This was one of the few times he regretted not having many close friends.

He could rent a hotel room, just for a night or two. But the only card he had with enough money for that was Endeavor's, which meant one quick call to the bank would tell him where Shouto was at.

Fuck. He was going to be stuck in this hellhole.

Unless…

Unless he went to Touya's... To Dabi's. Nobody else knew about his brother. Nobody would find him there. Dabi would be pissed about his collarbone, he was certain, but he would patch him up the best he could, just like when they were little, and let it go. He could stay a day or two in that tiny apartment, and then he could come home once Endeavor had a bit of time to cool off.

But if he did, that was it. He would be acknowledging Dabi, and everything that came with being a part of his brother's new life.

‘When this ends badly, you have no one to blame but yourself.’

Suddenly there was a quiet knock at the door. Uchi, one of the older maids, peeked inside. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of him lying on the ground. She hurried in and closed the door, carefully stepping over the glass to set a small tray on the table.

“Shouto,” she said sadly. “Your father sent me up with pain pills.” She knelt down beside him, and Shouto let her help him stand up. Uchi had worked in the household since he was a child. She was almost a second-mother to him, his only mother, really, now that his own was in the hospital. She knew about Endeavor’s temper.

“Thank you, Uchi,” he replied once he was back on his feet. He cradled his left arm, and tried his best to smile. “You can leave the pills on the desk.”

“Nonsense. Let’s get you cleaned up.” She smiled, and he knew resisting would do no good. So he let the older woman help him to the bathroom. He was given a full dose of the pain pills, and then she carefully helped him out of his shirt, and wiped the alcohol off of his skin and out of his hair the best she could. She cleaned up the cut on his cheek and used an ace bandage to pin his left arm to his chest, helping to relieve some of the pressure on his collarbone. He was probably a better medic than her with his hero training, but it still felt good to have someone care enough to help. Besides, the pain was still enough that it was hard to think.

Finally she settled him down into his bed.

“Your father said to tell you to take tomorrow to rest. He is going to be busy. But he wants you to be ready for training first thing Sunday morning.” She said, a definite worried look in her eyes. Dammit. Shouto hated how well he knew his father. Wounded or not, his father would not allow a full seven days to pass without training.

He nodded in agreement, and lay down as if he meant to go to sleep. But he had no intention of actually sleeping.

He was going to Dabi’s.

The moment she closed the door, he shoved the blankets off and got up. He fished out his wallet and pulled out the piece of paper he had been avoiding for the last week. With a shaky hand, he dialed the number and held the phone up to his ear.

It rang nearly seven times before Dabi finally answered.

“Shouto?” Dabi sounded groggy, and Shouto realized he had probably woken his brother up.

“Hey,” he realized he hadn’t really thought about what to say. “How’s it going?” he added, lamely.

“It’s almost 3 in the morning, Shouto. Is everything ok?”

“Oh. Yeah. Well, Endeavor’s kinda pissed at me right now. Can I come over to your apartment for a day or two?” Shouto hated how pathetic he probably sounded. What if Dabi said no?

“This is about that article, huh?”

Of course Dabi had already seen it. Everybody had fucking seen it.

“Yeah… He, uh. He didn’t take it very well.”

“Did he hurt you?” Dabi asked. He sounded angry, as if he already knew the answer.

“Not… not very badly.” He lied. He could explain the broken bone later, “Look, I just need a couple days to lay low so he can cool down. Can I come over, please?”

There was a pause, and a shuffling sound on the other end of the phone.

“Fine,” his brother finally answered, “but I’m not home. I am out of town for a couple days. There isn’t much food, but you can crash on the couch. You will have to have my landlord let you in. When you get to the building, go to room 104 and tell him you are there for the party on the top floor. He will know what to do.”

“Dabi,” he hated the sound of that name on his tongue, “thanks.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you aren’t recognized going in. And if anyone comes by while I’m gone, don’t let them in.”

“Okay.”

There was a click, and the line went dead. He hurried and scribbled down room 104 on a paper. He packed up his backpack with a change of clothes and the pain-pills. He awkwardly pulled a large T-shirt over his head, The left side bulging out funny with his arm pinned to his chest underneath. He pulled on the large blue hoodie Momo gave him to help hide his arm, and tucked the sleeve into his pocket. He pulled on a beanie, shoving every bit of hair underneath, and quickly covered his scar with concealer, adding that to his backpack as a last thought.

He crept out of the house, and walked the half-mile to the train station. The trains were almost empty this time of night, but he didn’t mind. Although it was unlikely anyone would recognize him with the beanie and make-up, he still didn’t want to make awkward small talk with strangers. It was almost 30 minutes to the stop by Dabi’s. The train-ride jostled his arm, and he was relieved when they finally arrived at his stop.

It was only a block to Dabi’s apartment, but he stopped at that disgusting convenience store to pick up some cheap food. When he got to the apartment, he pulled his hoodie up over the beanie and hurried in. 104 was the first apartment on the left, and he knocked quietly. Despite the hour, the landlord was pretty quick to answer. He was a tiny guy, with dark hair slicked back. He had on bright pink pajama bottoms, a white tanktop, and a long silky floral robe. He had on dark red lip-stick, with a fat cigar sticking out of his mouth.

“Yes,” he said, his voice surprisingly deep for someone his size.

“I’m here for the party on the top floor.” Shouto quickly answered, nervous as the landlord looked at him very closely.

“I’m sure you are, honey.” He replied, turning around and picking something up off the table beside him. It was a large key-ring. The man shooed Shouto out of the doorway, and stepped out. He locked the door behind him. “Follow me.”

The man was quiet the rest of the way, letting Shouto in to the tiny apartment without a word. Shouto thanked him, and offered him a small tip (was that appropriate? Shouto had no idea. This was completely new territory for him, but he figured the guy wouldn’t mind). He hurried inside, and re-locked the door. As the smell of the apartment washed over him, he finally relaxed.

* * * * * *
The PR response to Shouto’s scandal was issued the next day by The Endeavor Agency. Momo texted him a link to the article, which he got a few hours later when he finally woke up. A feeling of dread filled his stomach when he realized what it was. He had forgotten about the damn PR response. Shit, he had no idea what his dad had decided to put in it.

He avoided it at first. His shoulder and arm hurt too much to deal with that shit anyway. So he took some pain-killers (probably more than prescribed, but he didn’t bother reading the label to find out - somethings are better not knowing). He brushed his teeth and washed his face. He even managed to scrounge up some stale coffee grounds to make a cup of coffee. Dabi had definitely not been lying when he said their wasn’t much food. Shouto was just grateful that he found water bottles in the fridge.

Finally, coffee in hand, he decided to open the link. The article was, surprisingly, short.

A Mission Gone Wrong: No Partying for Future Pro Hero Todoroki Shouto

Another piece of uninformed Hero news hit the shelves yesterday, devastating up-and-coming Hero Shouto, the youngest son and successor of #1 Hero Endeavor. The article accused Shouto of going out to party, drink, and engaging in sexual intercourse. This kind of accusation can be crippling to a young hero, and the Endeavor Agency, along with the renowned UA University, hope to set the record straight.
As a top student in the heroics course at UA, Shouto was chosen to assist in an under-cover mission to help recover information in regards to a prostitution ring in the city. His costume, including the hickies reported on his neck, was chosen to help him blend-in to the environment for his job. Unfortunately, the mission went wrong. Shouto was solicited for sexual favors, and was forced to run and hide as he is not yet licensed to use his quirk to defend himself in public. His partner did not see him run, and the student ended up hiding in an alley until morning.
All agencies involved with this mission are deeply sorry to have put a Future Hero in danger. Todoroki Shouto is no longer involved with the mission, which is currently being re-evaluated for safety. Shouto has, as well, apologized for any confusion his appearance caused.
“Participating in this mission was a great honor. I am sorry for my appearance in those photographs. Graduating UA as a top student and becoming a Pro Hero are very important to me, so that I can one day help this city as much as my father has. I do not condone the use of illegal drugs, and hope that these photographs do not stop me from becoming the future #1 hero.”

The article was accompanied by a completely photo-shopped picture of Shouto sitting in his leather pants and T-shirt, having fake hickies applied to his neck, as he looked at what appeared to be a map of some kind. Even knowing the picture was photo-shopped, he had to admit that it was really convincing. It must have taken a lot of money to have someone produce something so realistic so quickly.

The article wasn’t as bad as it could have been, although it had his father written all over it. Honestly, Shouto had been expecting something much more elaborate. The worst part is that his classmates would all know it was a lie. He had openly admitted to going out to the club and smoking. They would all think that he had been involved with the cover-up. Fuck. Bakugou would think…

Damnit. Bakugou would think he was just another high-society hero who paid dirty money to cover up a scandal.

And he was. That was the worst part. It didn’t matter that it was Endeavor’s money.

Like father, like son.

“Dammit!” he yelled at the empty living room.

He un-locked his phone to send a quick message to Bakugou, only to find that the angry blonde had already messaged him, hours ago.

8:17am
Bakugou: Guess I shouldn’t be fucking surprised. You are a fucking Todoroki, after all. Asshole.

Shit.

Shouto threw the phone on the table and sat back on the couch. He ignored the pain that shot through his arm as his shoulder hit the cushion. Was the text even worth responding too? Bakugou probably wouldn’t believe that Shouto had no choice, no say at all in the article. He had known it was coming. Nezu had told him that much. Honestly, there was nothing he could have done to stop Endeavor from publishing the response. Shouto was, after all, his successor. Bad press about him reflected on the #1 hero. And the quote. Anyone who knew him well enough would realize that he hadn’t said that (so that I can one day help this city as much as my father- what a joke). But Bakugou didn’t know him that well. Hell, Momo was probably the only one who would realize that.

It didn’t really matter what Bakugou thought, anyway. They were rivals. They weren’t friends. He was pretty sure the blonde hated him. It wasn’t like one fucking blow job was going to change all of that. They were high. They had what Shouto supposed most people would call ‘a moment’ and then Shouto sucked his cock. That was it. End of story.

Still, a small part of Shouto had been hoping that maybe…

Whatever, it was too late now. He would go back to school in a week. Neither of them would speak about the other night, and they would go back to being rivals.

Fuck.

He hated the sound of that. This was why Shouto didn’t go out much. Emotions made everything so complicated.

His phone pinged again.

12:37pm
Don’t Answer: Shouto! Where the fuck are you? I expect you to come home immediately.

Guess Endeavor finally realized he was missing.

Shouto: I decided to stay at a friends house. I will be back in a few days. Don’t worry, I will be sure to remember your advice and not do drugs.

Shouto: Or be a whore.

Shouto: :)

Shouto put his phone on silent and set it down.

He picked up the remote and turned on Dabi’s TV. He dug through his backpack and found one of the joints that he scored off Kaminari at the party. This would help the pain. Take his mind off Bakugou. Besides, he didn’t have much else to do. He lit up the joint, took a long drag, and settled in to watch some old action movie with badly choreographed Kung Fu.

The next few days passed by in a blur. The pain didn’t really get better, so Shouto kept upping the dose of pain-killers. The weed helped for a little while, but he only had a few joints and they ran out by Sunday night. He finally decided to break the lock on Dabi’s medicine cabinet (no one here to report him for using his quirk off school grounds), and managed to find some different pain pills. They were definitely more effective, but they left him feeling groggy, so he slept on and off.

He was originally planning to go home Sunday night, but when Sunday night rolled around he just couldn’t bring himself to leave. He texted Dabi to let him know that he was going to stay one more night. Dabi didn’t seem to care. Apparently he wouldn’t be home until Thursday. Work. Dabi using that word made Shouto cringe a bit. He couldn’t help but wonder what kind of work a villain might have that required going out of town for almost a week. But he didn’t really want to know, so he didn’t ask.

And when Monday came around, he decided that he would stay until Wednesday. It was stupid. It was selfish. But he didn’t care. He didn’t have to deal with Endeavor, or the stupid PR article, or his homework. He had pills that helped to keep the pain of his collar-bone under control. And he didn’t have to pretend to be alright with everything that was happening. He could sleep. He could cry. He could get lost in stupid TV shows. He could eat whatever he wanted. He could just be.

And that was the most free that Shouto had ever felt.

* * * * * *

Shouto awoke with a start as a door slammed loudly. He opened his eyes, his heart racing wildly as he looked around, taking in the coffee table and the TV and the bookshelf. Its alright. He was ok. He was still at Touya’s apartment. He put his right hand on the couch, ready to sit up, when a sound caught his attention and he froze. He wasn’t alone.

There was a bit of shuffling, and panting, and… wait. A low moan filled the room.

There was a loud thud, followed by the distinct sound of kissing and moaning.

Fuck. Dabi came home early, and apparently he brought some company.

Shit. His brother probably didn’t even realize that he was here. Shouto hadn’t bothered to tell him he was staying a bit longer than planned. Dabi was set to be home Thursday, So Shouto was planning on leaving later tonight. His brother would never have known.

“Get on your knees,” a deep, semi-familiar voice said.

Shouto very slowly sat up, peeking up over the top of the couch, his eyes widening as he took in the scene in front of the door. His brother had dark paint covering up the tattoos on his face and neck, and thick, black eye-liner smudged under his eyes. His black hair was in a wild disarray. His shirt had been discarded in a crumbled pile next to him as he got down onto his knees, and for the first time, Shouto was able to see the full expanse of his tattoos up his arms and spreading across the expanse of a very well-defined chest. He was wearing black gloves that covered halfway up his forearm. But there was something else on his gloves, shining in the light. It looked like…

Blood. It looked like blood. It was on his face too, although hard to see against the black paint.

Fuck.

Towering above him, making it almost hard to see his brother once Dabi was fully on his knees, was a tall man with brown hair. He was faced away from the couch, but Shouto recognized him immediately. He was wearing an olive green jacket with dark purple fur around the collar. It was the man Shouto had seen with Dabi at the club. A surge of jealousy hit Shouto as he remembered the man with the golden eyes. That man was hot. And a thrill of excitement shot through Shouto as he watched the man pull off his jacket, a black T-shirt stretching itself almost obscenely over his shoulders as they flexed.

“Keep your hands at your sides,” the man said. His words were soft, but the commanding tone of his voice sent shivers down Shouto’s spine. “Undo my pants, and take out my cock.”

“Yes, Kai.” His brother’s voice, low and sultry.

Suddenly the man, Kai, brought a hand up and wrapped it into Dabi’s hair, forcing his head back so Dabi had to look up at him.

“What did you call me?” There was a distinct anger in Kai’s tone.

“Yes… Overhaul.” Dabi corrected himself. The taller man made a satisfied noise in his throat, letting go of Dabi’s hair and trailing his hand intimately down his brother’s cheek. Shouto wanted to shudder as Kai’s fingers slightly smeared the blood over the dark paint. Dabi’s bright blue eyes were fixed upward, looking demurely into the taller man’s face as he waited for that hand to stop. Finally, Kai wrapped his long fingers under Dabi’s chin, and pulled his mouth open and forward.

“Good boy.”

Fuck.

Shouto slowly lowered himself back down. A mixed rush of emotions flooded over him. It felt wrong to see his brother like this, but he had to force himself not to look back over the edge of the couch. The sight of his brother with the man, Kai or Overhaul or whatever his name was… it did things to him. It turned him on, and he could feel his cock trying to come to life. This was fucking wrong.

He listened to the sound of their breathing, heavier than normal, and the sound of what Shouto assumed was Kai’s zipper. He closed his eyes, trying to think of something… anything! Other than what was happening just a few feet away.

“That’s it, Dabi,” Kai’s voice praised, “You’ve almost got it.”

Fuck. Think of Endeavor. Think of Aizawa. Think of helping old ladies crossing the road!

“Oooohhhh… Fuck Dabi. Yes…”

Shouto’s cock twitched.

Think of school and training. And Mineta! Think of…

“Nng… you look good sucking dick. Fuck, yes. Now be a good boy and take the whole thing.”

There was a muffled noise of agreement, and a long string of curses from Kai. Shouto could hear the sloppy noises of the blow-job and he could only imagine that Dabi was now working Kai’s cock down into his throat. Fuck. God, he was already completely hard again. He wondered what the brown-haired man’s cock was like. What it looked like sliding in and out between his brother’s lips.

“Hey!” Kai sounded angry again, and Dabi made a slightly pained noise, the sound of slurping and sucking suddenly gone. “I said to keep your hands at your sides. If you want to feel good, Dabi, then you need to ask me nicely. You get to feel pleasure when I say you do. Understand?”

“Yes.” Another slightly pained keen came from his brother. “Overhaul… I understand.”

“I am not sure if you do.” Kai’s voice had an almost eager note in it. “But you will. Stay there.”

There was the sound of someone moving, and Shouto pressed himself as far down as possible into the couch cushions, praying that Kai didn’t see him as he moved around. Shit. What would the brown-haired man do if he found Shouto? The thought both terrified and excited him. The thought of him commanding Shouto in that same tone of voice he commanded his brother…

“Your door is locked? Where is the key?”

“It’s in my pocket.” Dabi replied. It sounded like he was, indeed, still where Kai had left him.

“Stand up.” Kai instructed, “and come to me.”

Shouto listened to the sound of shuffling, and Dabi walking toward the bedroom. There was another loud thud, and the sound of more kissing. Kai’s voice, breathy and muffled “Unlock the door.”

There was more shuffling, and finally the sound of a door opening.

“Finish getting undressed,” Kai commanded, but there was no sound of the door closing. Of course not! Why bother? They thought it was an empty apartment. Shouto closed his eyes, tried to tell himself to lay down and cover his ears. But he just couldn’t. He knew it was wrong, but he peeked back up over the top of the couch.

Dabi’s room was small, like the rest of the apartment. And the open door gave a perfect view of the bed. Shouto watched as Dabi slid his boxers down and stepped out of them. God, his brother looked good. Like, really good. And watching Dabi undress, it did things to him. Especially to his cock. His brother was tall and lithe, but damn he was well-defined. His tattoo emphasized a nice chest, and he had two small metal balls on each side of his nipples. The roses gave way to pale, smooth skin that emphasized his abs and the thin line of dark hair that led down to his…

Fuck.

Dabi was completely naked. His cock was at full attention, long and glistening with pre-cum. He didn’t have long to admire it, though before Kai stepped back into the doorway and blocked part of his view. But Shouto didn’t complain as his eyes raked over the other man. Kai had taken off his T-shirt, leaving his naked shoulders and back on display. He was slightly taller than Dabi, but much more muscular with slightly darker skin. Kai let his hands rove up and down Dabi’s sides before pushing him toward the bed.

“Crawl over, put your wrists against the headboard, and sit on your knees.”

Dabi nodded, and Shouto watched shamelessly as his brother followed the instructions. Shouto slid his right hand down and started palming his erection through his boxers. He had a perfect view of Dabi’s toned ass as Kai moved over to the headboard. Shouto moved his head slightly higher to get a better look, realizing the the golden-eyed man was tying Dabi’s wrists to the headboard. The two men were both so fucking sexy. He couldn’t look away as Kai moved Dabi into the position he wanted him, arms stretched forward, his head between them, on his knees to give the other man full access to Dabi’s ass. Kai crawled up onto the bed behind him, and Shouto found himself shifting slightly for a slightly better view. Fuck, this was wrong. But it didn’t stop Shouto from pushing down his boxers, spitting on his fingers, and slowly starting to jerk himself as he watched.

Dabi’s thighs tensed as Kai ran his hands over his ass and thighs.

“I very much enjoyed watching you tonight. I have seen you work before, but I have never seen you lose control like that, Dabi. Do you often beat men to death with your bare hands?"

Do you often beat men to death with your bare hands?

The words echoed in Shouto’s mind. He grasped onto his cock, stopping all movement as his breath caught in his throat. The blood... he knew something had happened. But, he didn’t think… Fuck. Dabi had killed someone! Tonight! Probably not even that long ago if the blood was any indication. In class they had been taught to identify old blood vs. fresh blood; that had definitely been fresh blood.

Kai continued rubbing his hands up and down Dabi's ass, humming appreciatively as he finally pulled Dabi’s cheeks apart and drug a single finger down between them. Dabi groaned when he did.

"Only if they really deserve it." Dabi moaned in a throaty voice.

Kai picked up something off the bed next to him, a bottle of lube. He popped it open and began to coat 3 fingers in the slick substance.

"We paid you to use your fire. What you did to that man, it was… unexpected. Tell me what he did to deserve worse than those other scumbags."

Kai dropped the bottle on the bed, and slowly started to trace one finger up and down Dabi's hole.

Shouto couldn’t take his eyes away as he watched Kai’s long finger barely penetrate Dabi’s ass. Dabi was pushing his hips backwards, a quiet plea for more. It was fucking sexy, but the conversation made Shouto feel sick. He was still hard, but this cosmically fucked up. His cock begged him to keep moving, but the idea of getting off to two villains fucking and talking about murder left a bad taste in his mouth. God, what was he doing jerking off to his brother anyway? Fuck, if people thought he was a whore before…

"When you told us to gather everyone up for the meeting, I found him in his office, jerking off to a video of a… a child." Dabi's voice was clenched. And it caught as Kai's index finger slid inside of him. "He deserved to die before the others."

"What justice," Kai said, sliding his middle finger inside next to the other, before slowly moving them in and out. "Did it feel good?

"Fuck... Agh..." Dabi groaned as Kai's fingers disappeared completely into his ass. "It felt... Good. Every hit. Shit, Overhaul. The feeling of his skull breaking apart under my hands. Nng. Knowing that asshole was getting what he… Fuck! What he deserved! God, yes. It felt good to kill him."

Fuck. Look away Shouto. Cover your ears. What are you doing?

But he couldn’t move. He felt like he was stuck there, hypnotized as he watched Kai’s slick fingers slowly pump in and out. Dabi’s ass clenched around those long fingers, his hips rocking backward as if he couldn’t get enough.

"Good boy," Kai preened, slipping the third finger inside, moving them in and out as his other hand snaked around Dabi's waist. Shouto couldn't see where it went, but if the string of groans that erupted as Dabi dropped his head and thrust his hips backwards were any indication, Shouto would guess that Kai's hand was wrapped around his brother's cock. "Who knew a partnership with Shigaraki's little League would be so fruitful for the Yakuza. But when Mr. Satsiko receives the video of you beating his man to death, and burning his warehouse to the ground, he will never double-cross the boss again."

Wait… The Yakuza?

Shit.

The Yakuza was the oldest gang in the city, and the most powerful. They had a lot of strings in the police department, and it was rare for heroes to actively investigate the gang. They were dangerous. Very dangerous. This Kai... No, Overhaul. He must be a member of the Yakuza. Dabi was involved not just with the league, but the Yakuza as well! Shit. This made things even more complicated.

"Stop teasing... Fuck me." there was an edge of desperation to Dabi's voice.

"Beg for it."

"Please Overhaul! Please fuck me. I want to feel your cock inside of me. Agh. Fuck!"

Shouto's cock twitched.

Fucking traitor, he thought as he glanced down at his erection.

"You did such a good job tonight, I suppose you did earn a reward." Shouto looked back up. Kai had pulled his fingers out of Dabi, and lowered them in front of him. A moment later, Kai was lining himself up to Dabi's ass. He barely got a glimpse of Kai's cock as he buried it into Dabi's ass, but it definitely looked thick, and if Dabi's scream was anything to go by, the brown-haired man was well-hung.

"Fuck!" Dabi's hands were clenched around the rope tying him to the headboard. His knuckles were white.

Kai gave him only a moment to adjust before he started to move. Shouto was mesmerized, watching Overhaul set a hard rhythm as he fucked in and out of his brother.

Shouto clenched his right hand as tightly as he could around his shaft. His cock was starting to ache, and he could feel pre-cum wetting the tip as he listened to his brother moaning, and the sound of their skin slapping together with each thrust. As he watched Kai's fingers wrap into Dabi's hair to pull his head back as he fucked him. Shouto watched the muscles in Kai's back, hypnotized by the way they rippled and flexed as he fucked, the way his hips moved, his ass barely covered by his pants. He felt guilty for wishing they had removed the rest of the man’s clothes. He shouldn't be watching this, and he definitely shouldn't want to see more.

"God, your ass is practically sucking me in. You're so fucking tight." Kai started to increase the speed of his thrusts. He leaned over Dabi’s back, his free hand disappearing around Dabi once more. His brother gasped.

Shouto definitely did not wish that he could see what that hand was doing.

"Fuck, you are a sloppy mess Dabi." Kai murmured, yanking his brother's head to the side and biting his shoulder.

“Yes. Ahh! I’m close… fuck you feel good.”

“Cum for me,” Kai purred, his thrusts were losing rhythm, Shouto could see it. They were sloppier, less rhythmatic. He was close too. Shouto started to slowly pump his hand up and down to relieve some of the pressure. His cock was starting to ache. God it felt good.

Dabi cried out as Kai pushed him down onto the bed and started to fuck him even harder, burying himself into Dabi’s ass and almost collapsing over him as he cried out. Shouto watched every muscle up and down the older man’s back ripple as he came, and Dabi moaned lowly below him. Shouto had never let a man fuck him bare-back before, and he couldn’t help but imagine how good his brother must feel, what it would be like to have that sexy fucking golden-eyed man cum deep in his ass.

Fuck, he needed to get off. His balls were starting to ache painfully. He ducked back down against the couch as the pair finally seemed to recover from their orgasms and move around. He heard the soft thud of Kai lying down on the bed. They were both panting heavily.

“You know,” Kai managed between breaths, “You could leave the League entirely. Join the Shie Hassaikai. We are going to change everything, re-invent what it means to be a part of the Yakuza. You could be invaluable. After tonight, you would be welcomed with open arms. I could make you more powerful than Shigaraki ever could.”

“I can’t leave Shigaraki. I owe him too much.” Dabi replied, and Shouto could hear the bed creaking slightly as one of them moved around.

“If it’s about money, the boss would help you with that.”

“It’s not about the money.” Dabi replied. Dabi had said that he would have died without the other villain. It’s the only thing Shouto could be grateful to Shigaraki for. And the very thing that tethered his brother to this dark underworld.

“That’s a shame. This temporary partnership isn’t going to last forever, although I plan to take full advantage of it while it does. Join us. You will have more money, power, drugs, whatever it is you want. I bet I fuck you better than him too.” Kai was serious, even if he made it sound like teasing.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Dabi replied, and Shouto could hear the smirk in his brother’s voice.

Shouto’s head reeled with the realization that this was Dabi’s life. His brother had tried to warn him. Dabi was not only a member of the League of Villains, but he was fucking Shigaraki. And now Overhaul, who must be a prominent member of the Yakuza if he felt comfortable making those promises to his brother. Dabi was obviously heavily involved with two dangerous criminal organizations. Shouto had known since the beginning that his brother had murdered for the League, but all of those articles had felt so distant. In the past. But tonight. Dabi had literally killed a man tonight. He said the man deserved it, that he had been… Shouto didn’t want to think about what Dabi had seen. It must have been bad to elicit such a dramatic response from his brother. But Overhaul had implied there were others. An entire warehouse burned to the ground, including everyone inside of it. Surely they didn’t all deserve to die.

Suddenly, Shouto heard one of them walking around.

Fuck! What if they found him? Trying to be quiet, he shoved his cock back into his boxers. It was really aching now, and Shouto knew he was just going to have to deal with it. At least the pain had made it soft again. He pulled his blanket up over him with his good arm, lay back down and tried to regulate his breathing. Please, let Overhaul leave. Then Dabi will pass out and he can sneak out without anyone being the wiser.

“I will be right back,” Kai said, “I need some water.”

Shit.

The kitchenette gave a direct view of him on the couch. If the gang member turned around, there would be no hiding. Shouto held his breathe, watching as the man walked in and opened up the cupboard. God he looked fucking sexy. His hair was mussed up, and he was still shirtless, a thin sheen of sweat making the muscles of his arms and back glisten as he moved. The man took down a cup and filled it up from the sink. He took a sip, and spit the water back out in the sink. Shouto felt for him. The water in this part of the city was awful.

“This place is a dump, Dabi,” Kai complained. “Your water tastes like shit.”

“There should be some water bottles in the fridge,” his brother called out from the bedroom.

Overhaul turned around, starting to open the fridge, the light gleaming deliciously off of his body, when he glanced up and made direct eye contact with Shouto. Shouto felt his own eyes widen with alarm as the man froze, his eyebrows lifting in surprise. They stared at one another. Shouto let out a shaky breath, his body urging him to jump up and run away. Get as far away from the apartment as possible. But Overhaul would be able to intercept him before he reached the door. The man’s face grew serious. He closed the fridge.

Fuck. This was it. He was going to be killed by a Yakuza gang member. And nobody would ever find him, because nobody knew where he was.

“You didn’t tell me you had company, Dabi,” Kai’s voice was cold, and it sent a shiver of fear through Shouto.

“Company?” There was a definite confusion in Dabi’s voice. “Oh… oh, shit.” Suddenly his brother’s head appeared over the back of the couch. His head blocked out the light, so Shouto couldn’t really see the look on his brother’s face, but he didn’t need to. Shouto had heard… everything. This was bad. This was very bad.

Chapter Text

The living room light flicked on. Shouto quickly pulled his blanket up under his chin as Kai walked around the bar. The older man seemed calm, but a distinct tension had fallen over the room. Dabi stood back up, and Shouto couldn’t see him anymore. Not that it would have mattered, he was too busy warily watching as Kai leaned back against the counter and met Shouto’s gaze. God, he looked fucking good. Couldn’t he have at least put on a shirt! He hadn’t even zipped up his fucking pants yet.

Shouto realized that he was staring at the man’s crotch, the thin sliver of dark gray boxers underneath his jeans. Blushing, he quickly looked back up to find the golden-eyed man smirking at him.

“Kai-” Dabi began, but he was cut off as Kai put up his hand. The other man didn’t say a word, didn’t even take his eyes off of Shouto’s. But it was obvious what he meant. Stay quiet.

"Stand up." He used that same commanding tone he had used with Dabi earlier. It sent a twitch of interest straight to Shouto’s cock. Shit. Shouto silently wished that he could disappear into the couch cushions. This was not a man to refuse, but this situation was a disaster. He was wounded, almost naked (why bother to wear anything but boxers to bed if there isn’t anyone around, especially with his arm all wrapped up like it is), had already angered the gang member with his mere presence, and had absolutely no idea what this other man was capable of.

But there wasn’t really another option. So Shouto stood up, dropping the blanket onto the couch. If he acted scared or weak by hiding behind it, he would just be giving the older man more power over the situation. He was a hero, dammit! Even if he was half-naked, he had to put on an air of confidence. It was his best option until he knew more about Overhaul’s quirk. He was probably an odd sight. Hair messy from sleeping, his arm all wrapped up and strapped awkwardly to his chest. His boxers barely concealing (he hoped) the boner that was slowly, way too fucking slowly, waning away after watching them fuck.

“What the fuck is that?” Dabi hissed, pointing at his arm.

“Quiet, Dabi.” Kai quickly shut down the others concerns. Shouto didn’t look at his brother. Dabi knew what it was the moment he saw the wrap. There was no point drawing extra attention to an obvious weakness. Instead, he tilted his chin up ever so slightly and continued to make eye contact with the other man.

Overhaul’s gaze slowly moved downward, taking in every curve and muscle of Shouto’s body. Shouto could feel the blush on his cheeks, but he refused to acknowledge it. Remain confident. The golden-eyed man took a step forward, starting to close the space between them.

“You were that kid from the club?” he asked.

Shouto nodded, refusing to take a step backwards when the man continued forward. Kai stopped right in front of Shouto, intimately close to him. He lifted his hand up to Shouto’s face, cupping his cheek and running a smooth thumb along the bottom of his scar. Shouto tried not to flinch, but he felt his body stiffen up as anger flared in his chest. He couldn’t believe Kai’s audacity to touch his scar with such… such, tender familiarity.

“You had this covered.” It wasn’t a question. He was so close that Shouto could feel the man’s breathe on his face. If he leaned forward even a few inches, and tilted his head just so, they would be kissing. It made Shouto nervous, his blood still boiling as Kai’s hand pulled away. But he took a deep breath, and focused on maintaining a stoic facade. But it was hard; he could feel nervous sweat starting to build around his temples.

He nodded almost imperceptibly.

Kai’s lips turned up slightly at the corners. The man’s hand, which had been slowly lowering to his side, stopped mid-motion. Suddenly, almost as if on a whim, he reached out and touched the wrap holding Shouto’s arm to his chest. And suddenly the wrap was gone. Shouto’s arm dropped painfully downward at the unexpected release, and Shouto made a pained gasp before he could stifle it, grabbing his pained arm and looking down in surprise. The wrap was lying in a pile of stringy thread at his feet. What had the other man done? The move had been almost instantaneous. It had to have something to do with his quirk, but it had happened so quickly it was impossible to understand what the man had actually done. Some kind of a disintegration quirk, maybe? Similar to Shigaraki’s? The thought made him shutter.

It also left him even more vulnerable. The sudden jolt of his arm had re-awakened a pain that made his stoic confidence hard to maintain. It would also make it harder for him to react to Kai if he needed to defend himself.

The man finally took a single step back, admiring Shouto’s new stance with a gleam of approval in his eye. Whether it was for his obviously weakened arm or his now completely exposed chest, Shouto wasn’t sure. And it definitely made him nervous.

"I suppose I should have recognized you anyway." Kai said, finally looking back up to meet Shouto’s eye. “ You know, tonight has been full of surprises. I came over to this apartment for a quick fuck. Maybe a bit of political dabbling. Dabi is, after all, a well-known member of the League of Villains, and an associate of the Yakuza, though I suppose you may not have known that until tonight. He's a pyromaniac and an arsonist. He's a criminal, a drug-dealer, and a murderer. So you can imagine my surprise at finding you here. The future #1 hero Todoroki Shouto, curled up like a little fox on Dabi's couch. His client, if I recall correctly. So, I am very curious to know what brought you here. And why I shouldn't just kill you where you stand."

His voice was soft, almost like a lovers, but cold and distant at the same time. His last words sent a chill down Shouto’s spine. They weren't a threat. It was a fact. This man would kill him where he stood without blinking an eye.

"I came here to get away from a few things.” Shouto replied, his voice much more confident than he actually felt. “I was told no one would be here until Thursday. I’m not here for information. And I don’t really care about who Dabi is fucking. I would gain nothing by revealing what I heard tonight, so I won’t. I promise, I won’t say a word about what I heard.”

Overhaul’s eye’s tightened, his look scrutinizing. He seemed to be thinking over Shouto’s words. Shouto was beginning to wonder if he should elaborate even more, when the other man sighed and turned around. He went back over to the bar and put his hands on the dark granite. Finally, he turned back toward Shouto, leaning, once more, against the counter.

"You intrigue me, hero,” he sneered, “And I want to believe you, I do. But there is one small problem.”

“And what’s that?” Shouto’s throat was dry. He felt like his mouth was stuffed with cotton. It was a wonder that he had forced the words out all.

“It’s simple. These types of promises. The ones made in a life or death situation. They are, frankly, utter bullshit. Oh, I'm sure you are trustworthy, a man of your word. And you will be, for a few weeks, while the memory of our meeting tonight is still fresh. But it won't be long before you will find yourself sitting in class one day, surrounded by all your hero professors. And you will feel safe... untouchable. And you will decide to say something.” The man’s golden eyes were completely cold now. Any sign of the interest he had in Shouto seemed to have disappeared. It was a dangerous shift. The gang member was preparing himself mentally for the possibility that he would have to kill him. It left a cold chill that seemed to settle in Shouto’s blood.

“I… I won’t. I can’t.” he started to stutter. His confidence was gone. But he tried to remain calm, at least.

“But you will. And every day I will have to wonder if that is the day it will finally happen. The day you decide this information could benefit you. Selling out a few villains would look so good on your record. It might even help to cover up some of the recent stains from your little scandal. If I kill you now, it’s done. I never have to worry about that day again.”

"You don’t understand.” Shouto choked out, trying not to let his desperation show in his voice. “I really can’t tell anyone about tonight. If I did, I would have to tell them how I knew. The university wouldn’t accept some ‘through the grapevine’ excuse, especially because of my little scandal. And if they found out I was here, I would be expelled from the heroics course. My career as a hero would be over before it began. There would be no coming back from that."

It was the cold truth.

Kai kept direct eye contact for a moment. He was quiet, probably trying to determine if that was a lie or not. After a moment, he glanced back and forth between Shouto and Dabi a few times.

"This is very risky for you, then.” He finally replied. “So tell me why? Why are you even here? He is obviously more than your fucking drug dealer, or else you wouldn’t be spending night’s here, especially not if he wasn’t home. That means this is more than just sex, or some booty call. I doubt you two are actually lovers considering how eagerly Dabi invited me to his bed tonight. So what is it? What do you get from this?”

Shouto braved a quick glance at Dabi, a blush rising on his cheeks. His brother’s expression was hard to read beneath the black paint and smeared blood. He wasn’t really sure what to say. This whole relationship was still so new. They hadn’t really talked since that night after the club. He wasn’t sure what he was allowed to divulge.

"He's my brother." Dabi answered for him, his voice flat. Shouto’s mouth dropped open in surprise. He hadn’t expected any help from his brother, and he had definitely not expected Dabi to own up to the truth.

"Brother? That would mean..." Kai’s full attention had shifted to Dabi. His words had a sharp edge, as if he didn’t believe a word.

"Nothing. It means nothing. Endeavor is an ass and a womanizer. He has quite a few bastards out there. He doesn't acknowledge me, and he certainly doesn't give a damn what happens to me, before you get any ideas, Kai. You could probably kill me in front of him and he wouldn't bat an eye. But Shouto found out about me, and he comes here sometimes to get away."

Shouto stared at Dabi. Nothing his brother had said was technically a lie, probably not even about Endeavor having illegitimate kids, although Shouto didn’t actually know of any firsthand. And his father had disowned Dabi… But his words definitely implied that they were only half-brothers. Although it made Shouto sad that Dabi would only admit to the worse half of his parentage, he wouldn’t hold it against him. Being a full-blown heir of a famous pro hero and extremely wealthy family was probably a very dangerous thing in the criminal underground of this particular city. Hell, if word reached the wrong person, Dabi could be killed for it, even for the twisted version that he had fed to the other gang member.

Kai glanced back and forth between the two, obviously looking for similarities that might support Dabi’s claim. They did share some physical traits, although it wasn’t as obvious now that Dabi dyed his hair black and covered half his body in black roses. But they had a similar build, even if Dabi was slightly taller. Shouto also shared one of his brothers brilliant blue eyes.

“Brothers…” Kai finally replied. “That’s very interesting.”

Kai turned back toward Shouto, walking forward to run his finger down the arm that Shouto was cradling.

“And this…?”

"Endeavor" Dabi answered venomously.

"A broken collarbone." Shouto said at the same time.

Overhaul ran his hand up and over Shouto's collarbone. Shouto tried to ignore the feeling of Kai’s fingers on his skin as the older man stared at the bare skin for much longer than Shouto thought was necessary, the silence stretching on uncomfortably. Finally, the corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smile and he looked back up to meet Shouto's eyes.

"Take a deep breathe, little fox. This might hurt a bit. My quirk isn't really ideal for healing."

"What—" Shouto started to reply, but within seconds, Overhaul grabbed his shoulder, pressing his thumb against Shouto's broken collarbone. There wasn't time to register the movement before an agonizing pain ripped through the skin on his shoulder. Shouto screamed. Shocks of pain washed over him under the other mans touch. It was too much. Shouto let the grip on his arm go and collapsed onto his knees. But the older man didn't flinch, his hand following Shouto's movement.

Then, as quickly as he had began, Overhaul let go. The intense pain left, replaced with a dull ache across the front of his chest. Shouto groaned, trying to regain his senses as he looked down to see what the other man had done. There was thick rivulets of blood dripping down his chest, and a strange scar sitting over Shouto's collarbone, right where Overhaul's thumb had been. It almost looked like a symbol, but it was hard to see it well.

Shouto flexed his left arm around, testing the pain. It still hurt, but it felt better. Had the other man really healed him?

Overhaul stepped back, admiring his work.

"They call me Overhaul after my quirk. You see, I can manipulate matter with just a touch. Any matter, including skin and bone. But I have to touch that matter directly. It also means that I can kill with just a touch. If I wanted you dead, you would already be ash at my feet. But because you are Dabi's brother, I am going to let you live, for now. But I promise you, if you breathe even one word of what you heard tonight, you will wish I had spared you with such a quick death."

Kai held out his hand. Shouto hesitated, but he finally allowed the other man to help him back to his feet.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, unsettled by the truth of Kai’s words. If the criminal wasn’t exaggerating about being able to kill so easily, than Shouto really would be dead. He hadn’t thought twice about letting the older man run his fingers over his skin. And even when he had clasped onto his shoulder, Shouto had summoned neither his ice nor his fire to defend himself.

Kai put a hand under Shouto’s chin, forcing his head up so that Shouto was forced to make eye contact once more.

"I don't want you to mistake my decision for mercy.” Kai said. “I spared your life, Todoroki Shouto. This means that you are indebted to me. And one day, I will ask you to repay that debt. When that happens, I expect you to do so without question. And to ensure you don't forget about me, I have left the symbol for the Shie Hassaikai permanently marked on your skin. Once you repay your debt, I will remove it. If you want me to, at least. Until then, I expect that mark to remain untouched on your skin. The next time I see you naked, I will be looking for it.

Shouto could feel his mouth hanging open. His brain could hardly process everything. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t be indebted to a criminal. He was going to be a hero, for god’s sake. And he hadn’t agreed to anything of this sort!

But if he argued? What would Overhaul do then?

Fuck.

He looked down once more at his collarbone. It was definitely a symbol, left boldly on his skin for anyone to see.

Shouto opened his mouth. He needed, somehow, to tell Overhaul that he wouldn’t be indebted to and marked by a fucking gang, even if it meant death. That he would never, at any time, repay this imagined debt to the Yakuza member. He needed to demand that Overhaul remove the mark!

But somehow all that came out was...

"The next time you see me naked?" Shit.

Overhaul's smile deepened, and Dabi made a strange groaning sound behind them.

"Don't act so innocent, little fox." Overhaul replied. "And don't pretend you weren't imagining yourself in Dabi's place while you watched me fuck him tonight." He leaned forward until his lips were almost pressed against Shouto's ear, and whispered, "unless of course you were imagining yourself in my place..."

Shouto could feel himself blushing. He couldn’t meet those golden eye’s now. Shame burned him up that it was so obvious he had been watching. But he wouldn’t indulge the man with an answer. He had to walk away with some tiny shred of dignity left.

Kai straightened back up, running his finger over the Yakuza mark before turning away from Shouto.

He walked over to Dabi, lightly touching his tattooed shoulder before heading to the bedroom. Dabi didn’t look at Shouto, and it was hard to tell how his brother felt about all of this. Angry maybe? Probably. Shouto had stayed those extra days without permission, and forced Dabi to reveal a lot about himself to the other man.

Kai stopped in the doorway, turning back and looking at Shouto.

“Are you going to join us?” He asked, his tone heavy with the implications of what that would entail. The idea sent a jolt of desire straight to Shouto’s cock, and his mouth went dry at the fantasies that swirled through his mind at the thought of saying yes.

But he shook his head. He would maintain his tiny shred of dignity, dammit!

“Suit yourself.” He replied smugly. “We both know you will be getting off to thoughts of me anyway. Try not to make a mess.”

The door closed.

Shouto stared at it for a second before collapsing back onto the couch.

Fuck! Tonight had not gone according to plan. Everything had happened so quickly. One more night away from Endeavor’s shit, and suddenly he was in debt to the fucking Yakuza.

The sounds of moaning could already be heard on the other side of the door.

Shouto groaned, covering his head with his pillow and burying his face into the couch. At least they had closed the door this time, but it was apparently too much for them to stifle the sound of their fucking. They were probably being loud on purpose. God dammit! Shouto grabbed his phone, turning on a bit of music to try to drown out the noise.

Please let this night end quickly.

Chapter Text

Despite his desperate attempts to try, sleep evaded Shouto after his encounter with Overhaul. Although it had been awhile since they had disappeared behind that door, the horrible (and stupidly arousing) noises that kept coming from the other room were distracting. No amount of blankets and cushions shoved over his head, or music, or even TV completely blocked out the sounds from those two fucking. They had to be doing this to him on purpose. No one was that loud during sex! And he supposed it would be so much simpler if he just gave in and jerked off, satisfy the primal desire that the pornographic sounds in the apartment left him with. But he just couldn’t.

The reality of what had happened between him and Overhaul was sinking in. No matter what he tried, their conversation re-played itself over and over in his mind. The memory made his hands shake and his stomach had twisted itself up into knots. He had been weak. Embarrassingly so. Shamefully so. His brother had warned him about the dangers of being here, of being a part of his life. And yet he had so naively underestimated this other man.

What would tonight mean?

He was now connected to the Yakuza. That much was undeniable, as sick as it made him feel. Overhaul would not forget about him, of that he was certain. One day the gang leader would call in the favor he believes that Shouto owes him. But when? A month? A year? Thirty? How long would this debt last? Knowing that the entire time, his work as a hero could be tarnished. Tainted by tonights mistake and his now tenuous connection to the oldest, and possibly most dangerous gang in Musutafu.

And when that day came, what would the Yakuza expect from him? If they asked him to kill someone, or to do something that would knowingly endanger the life of even one other person, Shouto wasn’t sure if he could. He would probably be killed if he refused. Of course, heroes died all the time saving another person, but this just didn’t feel the same.

And where did that leave him until then? A little hero pet in the Yakuza’s pocket? Would Kai expect little things from him up until his debt was paid? Was he considered a part of this Shie Hassaikai? Kai had made it clear they would see each other again, but the thought made Shouto's stomach churn.

He had heard of other heroes getting pulled in to criminal organizations. Either turned away from the path of heroics, or blackmailed into abusing their favor and helping lowlife gangs. Things never ended well for them.

This must be how that happened. One stupid mistake. One moment of weakness. A hesitancy to react, to defend himself against a known villain.

And now he was fucking branded. How was he supposed to explain the mark to his friends, or his classmates? What if his teachers saw? One of them might recognize it, and everything he had worked for would be over. His classmates saw him all the time while they changed for training. And sex? Every new partner who saw him naked was a risk that they might recognize the symbol. Not to mention, it was on his left side. The side that sometimes burned up when he used his fire, leaving his skin exposed for anyone to see.

Fuck!

And the worst part, the most dangerous part, was that, despite everything, Shouto was drawn to the golden-eyed man. He was alluring. Powerful. Sexy. Shouto wanted to be noticed by the man. He wanted to be touched by the man. He wanted Kai's attention. He just didn't want to be owned. And there was a very thin line between those things, if there was a line at all.

Which meant he absolutely could not be here when Kai finally got done fucking his brother. So Shouto decided, middle of the night or not, it was time to return home.

He opted for a quick, freezing cold shower first (it wouldn't do him any favors to be photographed on the subway with a hard-on). He hurried to cover up with his concealer and beanie, just in case the damn paparazzi decided not to sleep either. Then he quickly folded up his blanket, gathered his things, and left.

The train ride back was just as unnerving. The same thoughts churning in his mind again and again. He should have just left Monday. Dammit! All he wanted was a few extra days of peace and now his entire future as a hero was probably fucked.

It was almost 4 in the morning when he finally got home. No one had been expecting him, so luckily the house was quiet.

When he got up to his room, he found a small mountain of homework waiting for him on his desk. Momo must have been dropping it off daily, despite the fact that he had told her that he would be out of town for a few days visiting some of his mother's family.

Dropping his stuff at the foot of his bed, the first thing he did was go check out the scar on his collarbone. It was hard to see from above, and the mirror finally showed him what everyone else would see.

It wasn't as big as it could have been, only about the size of half his palm, and roughly the same color as the scar on his face. It was definitely not a tattoo, and looked like somebody had branded it into his skin years and years ago. It was high on his collarbone, and the symbol had clean lines. It would be easy to recognize for anyone with the knowledge.

Fuck.

Maybe he could find a way to convince the villain to get rid of the mark early. Or offer something the man would consider payment. Something that didn’t require killing anyone or selling out to the Yakuza. He would have to talk to Dabi. They seemed to be friends, of sorts. Maybe his brother could help him.

Shouto finally pulled on sweats and a T-shirt, and decided to get a head start on the ridiculous amount of homework on his desk. (Seriously, there was no way his classmates had done this much- Aizawa had to be sending extra as punishment). His thoughts were still way too scattered to sleep, and the work might actually distract from his new dilemma. Maybe he would be able to think of a better solution if he could just clear his head for a little while.

And it helped, sort of. The work went pretty quickly. A good chunk of it was reading. There was a copy of the university’s code of conduct, and an assignment to write up a summary of the important points for the heroics course (yeah- that was definitely an extra assignment for him), a ton of math, an essay, and a bunch of reading for some big project that Present Mike was putting together. He knocked out a big chunk of work within just a couple of hours, but by the time 11am rolled around, he was finally starting to feel tired again.

So he typed out a quick message to Momo asking her to stop by after class today, and crawled into bed.

* * * * * *

Shouto was roused from sleep by the warm feeling of kissing on his inner thighs. It felt so nice, pulling him back into consciousness, that he lay there enjoying it as the mouth moved up and starting licking gently up his shaft. It was a few moments before he remembered that he hadn’t gone to bed with anyone that morning.

His eyes popped open to find the outline of a second person forming a lump under his blanket. He yanked it aside, revealing an almost naked Momo peeking up at him as she took his full length into her throat. She had taken off her school clothes, and was wearing a black bra and panties, her amazing tits spilling out of the top as she leaned over to blow him. She had taken out her ponytail, and her hair fell in dark waves around her face and shoulders. And god it was nice to watch her hair fall over her face as her throat constricted hotly around the head of his cock.

He groaned at the feeling, relieved and feeling slightly embarrassed at his reaction. Of course it had been Momo. Who else would feel comfortable enough to crawl into his bed and wake him up with a blow-job? It was definitely not how he expected his afternoon to go, but after struggling through hours of blue-balls last night this was definitely a nice surprise. So instead of objecting, he curled his hand up into her hair and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of her mouth working up and down his shaft.

“Good morning,” she mumbled around his cock. God, the sound of her talking with her mouth full was sexy as hell.

“Morning,” he replied. “Seems like somebody has missed me.” He teased. Although it did feel like it had been awhile since they had really spent much time together. There has just been so much happening over the last few weeks. He hadn’t seen her since he was suspended. And it had been a few weeks since they fucked in the bathroom at the university.

She pulled off his cock with a loud popping sound, licking her lips and smiling up at him.

“Are you sure I didn’t just miss your cock?” she teased back with a wink, before taking it fully back into her mouth.

“I wouldn’t blame you. I do have a pretty damn nice cock.” He smirked, thrusting it gently up into her mouth a few times for emphasis.

She snorted around his cock, doing her best to deep-throat him as he fucked slowly against the back of her throat. God she was getting so good at taking his entire length. Fuck, he loved the sight of her with her mouth full. Finally she choked up, and had to pull off for air.

“You are such an arrogant ass,” she sighed dramatically. “Even if you are right.” She added quietly.

He smiled at her, reaching down and pulling her up to straddle his waist. He could feel the heat of her pussy through her panties, and he pulled her against his chest to make out with her. He loved the feeling of her tits against him, and the feeling of her mouth on his, tongue prodding eagerly against his lips, sent jolts of desire up and down his body. He hadn’t actually fucked anyone since the night at the club, and he was ready to go.

He reached around to the clasp on her bra, unhooking it and pulling off the garment. Her breasts fell heavily against his T-shirt. Hunching down, he took one of her nipples into his mouth, nipping hungrily at the sensitive skin.

She mewled in satisfaction, all but purring against him as he continued to work her nipple gently between his teeth. She had started to grind against his cock, and his desire was growing quickly.

“Do you have a condom ready?” he managed, as he moved his mouth to her other tit.

She nodded vigorously, pulling away from him to grab something off the bedside table. She shifted back slightly as he admired the movement of her body as she worked. Momo was absolutely perfect with her huge chest and tiny waist. She had a tight, round ass and hips that made his mouth water. And her pussy was like heaven to bury his cock inside of. Watching the subtle movements of her stomach muscles ripple as she worked was so sexy. For so many, she was just a pretty face. But he knew what she was capable of. Momo was strong. She had to be ready to defend herself against a villain if her lipids were low. She was good in combat, and anyone who thought her body was just nice to look at would be in for a surprise.

She smiled up at him, a pretty flush on her cheeks, as she rolled the condom over his shaft.

“You have no idea how much I have needed this,” She sighed as she positioned herself over him and sunk down on his shaft.

Fuck. Her pussy was always so wet and so hot when he was inside of her. He started to thrust up into her, but she stopped him with a hand on his chest.

“Let me make you feel good, Shou,” she cooed.

Then she started moving her hips. She started slowly, sitting up and using her hands to lift her hair out of her face. It gave him an unobstructed view of her body, and he stared, mesmerized as her tits swayed and her hips ground against him. He loved the feeling of her walls tightening around him when she rolled her hips forward, and could already feel his orgasm building as she started to increase her pace.

“Mmmm, Shou. You have such a big cock. I love the feeling of it inside me.”

“Fuck, Momo. You feel so fucking good.” He groaned, unable to resist slowly thrusting up as she fucked him. Something inside of him wanted to be buried as deep inside of her as possible. All other thoughts had left his head except how good he felt fucking her; how smooth her skin was as he ran his hands over her stomach and hips and tits.

“Shou. Shou. Shou. Yes!” She chanted his name, her movements slowing slightly as his increased. He fucked up, trying to angle his hips to hit her g-spot. He was already close, and he wanted her to get off with him. He settled his hands on her hips, holding her steady as her body fell forward. She used the wall to hold herself up, her breasts inches from his face, bouncing with each thrust. He couldn’t take his eyes off them, straining his head up to catch one of her nipples in his mouth.

It was apparently enough to push her over the edge, because she all but collapsed on top of him, crying out his name as her pussy clenched around him, a rush of heat washing over his cock as she came. He groaned at the feeling. He had been trying to hold back, and he finally let himself go, cumming hard as her breasts all but smothered him.

She didn’t move, her chest heaving as they both struggled to catch their breath, riding out their orgasms.

“Fuck,” he finally managed, pushing at her to indicate that he couldn’t really breathe.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, pushing herself to sit back up. He sucked in a deep breath of air as she slowly pulled up off his cock, and let herself collapse onto the bed beside him. He immediately missed the feeling of her around his cock.

He carefully pulled off the condom and tied it, dropping it onto the floor to deal with later. He turned and snuggled against her, playfully teasing her now very sensitive nipples as he curled his leg over her and nibbled at her shoulder. She giggled and wriggled underneath him.

“Stop, Shou,” she begged. Although she didn’t try very hard to actually escape.

“Fine,” he said in a playfully sad voice, burying his head into her shoulder and pulling her against him.

God, he felt so good. He didn’t realize how much he needed that. He breathed in her perfume, and the faintly floral scent of her shampoo. Her skin had a thin sheen of sweat on it, his did too. It made his T-shirt stick to his chest. But he didn’t care. The feeling of being pressed up against her smooth back, one hand rubbing gentle circles over her thigh, her ass pressed against his now soft cock. It was all so damn good. It helped to wash away everything that happened last night. Even if it was just momentarily.

“I missed having you in class this week,” She finally murmured. He wasn’t really sure how long they had been laying there, but he didn’t want it to end. So he just kind of grunted into her shoulder, wrapping his arm across her stomach, and pulling her back against him as much as possible. “It’s true! School has been brutal this week. You might have gotten suspended, but we have all paid for your little escapade.”

“What happened?” he asked, his words muffled slightly against her shoulder.

“Well, for starters, you weren’t the only one who got suspended. Saturday, administration went to every single class to review the university code of conduct. In detail. They talked about you, although they never mentioned your name specifically. Mentioned that you had taken illegal drugs. They reminded the students that they had a zero tolerance for drug use, and to emphasize their point, they brought in the police department with drug dogs to do a sweep of the university grounds. Kaminari and Sero were both suspended for three days after they found joints in their lockers. In total, 29 students were suspended for anywhere from 3-5 days. They were also told that such behavior would result in immediate expulsion if it happened again.”

“Shit.” Shouto replied, a tinge of guilt at the thought that he was at fault for the raid. But they were the ones who brought drugs into the university itself. Even he hadn’t done that.

“Yeah,” she said. “And Aizawa has been brutal with his assignments. Plus, we have had pop quizzes every single day!”

“Every day?” Shit. There was no making up pop quizzes. That meant that it would be a hit for him, Kaminari, and Sero. It was a clever tactic to make them really regret the missed days. There was no way he could maintain his top-of-class status. He was going to have to get top marks through the end of the year even have a chance of making it into the top three.

“Yeah. Even Present Mike had one in English.”

“That’s a lie.” Present Mike didn’t do pop quizzes. He barely did regular tests. His class was mostly reading and essays.

“I swear!” She wriggled around until she was finally facing him. “And training days have been the worse! Not to mention that Bakugou has been in an especially foul mood during training. He broke Mina’s wrist on accident during hand-to-hand combat, and yesterday he nearly blew off Midorya’s leg. He even tried to pick a fight with Kirishima, and they both got demerits! It’s like everyone has been going crazy.”

“Really shit.” He frowned, not really sure what else to say. He felt a little guilty for avoiding everyone these past few days, hiding out at Dabi’s house and feeling sorry for himself. But he couldn’t control what happened while he was gone. He wasn’t even allowed back until Friday. But everyone probably blamed him for the issues. Going back was definitely going to be fun.

“God. It’s been awful.” She sighed dramatically. “Not to mention that you have officially been labeled a ‘bad boy’. There have been girls, and even a few boys, from the other classes coming by almost daily to see if you are back yet. There are two girls from third year who tried to bribe me twice to give them your number! And even Mina asked me if we were dating. When I told her no, she asked me if I thought you would be interested in going out with her. Mina! She is dating Kirishima. You and those leather pants from the picture are apparently quite the hot commodity right now. I dare say you and your cock are going to have quite the few weeks ahead of you.”

So much for the PR Response helping to repair his reputation. The last thing he needed was other students basically throwing themselves at him in class. If Aizawa saw, there would be hell to pay. And as for sex, that was how this whole problem had begun in the first place. Everything was fine when he limited himself to just fucking Momo occasionally (well, mostly Momo). Suddenly opportunities for sex keep popping up everywhere. And the more he indulges, the worse everything seems to get.

And yet… he is still intrigued to find out who all has been asking about him.

Not that he could really do much. The mark on his shoulder would make casual sex hard. Hell, he hadn’t even dared taking his shirt off to fuck Momo. If anyone recognized that symbol, or even started asking questions about it, his problems would get a hell of a lot worse than they are now.

“Hmmm,” he finally managed, not really sure how he felt about all of that. “What about Bakugou?”

Shit. He hadn’t really meant to ask about that. Even though he was curious. Really curious.

She pushed up onto her elbow, looking down at him.

“What about Bakugou?” She asked. He had definitely opened a can of worms.

“Nothing.” He tried to escape, turning over to get out of bed. But her grip on his shoulder stopped him, and she forced him to turn back to face him.

“What about Bakugou?” she repeated herself.

Well, there was no going back now.

“Did he… did he ask about me?” he finally blurted out.

She arched an eyebrow at him, studying his face. He tried to keep it stoic. But he couldn’t meet her eyes. Shit, was he blushing? Dammit.

“Shou. Did something happen that you haven’t told me about?” Straight and to the point. Leave it to Momo.

He shrugged his shoulders non-committedly.

“It did! Oh my gosh Shouto!” She squealed, shoving him playfully as she twisted herself around, her tits bouncing enticingly as she did. Only Momo would be excited to hear about Shou’s sex life, after literally just fucking him herself. This was why it was all but impossible to describe their relationship to anyone else. “Did you fuck him? I didn’t even know he was into guys!”

Shit. No one did. And he had promised the blonde he wouldn’t tell anyone.

“No!” He rushed to respond, overly-defensive. “I mean, not really. But shit, Momo. You have to swear you won’t tell a soul. He hasn’t come out, yet. I promised him I wouldn’t tell anyone.”

“You did sleep with him, you whore!” she giggled. “I knew it! Oh my god! Bakugou Katsuki… THE Bakugou Katsuki likes dick. How did this even happen? I thought he hated you! Wait?! Is he a top or a bottom. I bet he’s a bottom! Please tell me that you got to fuck him.”

Shouto rolled his eyes. She was possibly more excited about this than he was.

“I didn’t fuck him, Momo.” He interrupted her. “Look, I just… I blew him. That’s all.”

She stared at him.

“You gave Bakugou a blow-job?” She seemed incredulous. “Are you crazy? I mean, I was thinking like hate-sex or something. But he actually, knowingly let you put his cock in your mouth? And he didn’t try to blow your face off?”

“Something like that,” he grumbled, definitely blushing now.

“Okay. Okay. Look, I promise, I will not tell a soul about this. But you have to tell me more! Did you kiss him? What is his cock like? Is he big? This is a story I need to hear!”

He groaned, burying his face into the pillow.

“What are the chances of you just letting this go?” he muttered into the soft fabric. She managed to hear him anyway.

“Not likely, lover boy.” She replied, and he could hear the smirk in her voice.

So he gave in. Whatever. She already knew. It’s not like the details made much of a difference anyway. So he told her the story. About sneaking up to Mina’s room and smoking. He skimmed over the conversation, only mentioning enough for the story to make sense. And then about the blow-job. And finally, about being pushed off and having Bakugou practically run away from him.

“Oh my god!” she managed, once he had finally finished the story. “I cannot believe that we were all downstairs innocently playing King’s Cup, and you two were upstairs with his cock in your mouth! Can you imagine if Mina found out what you did on her bed?”

“You can’t tell her… ever,” Shouto shut down that idea. “Or anyone. He would literally kill me.”

“Hmph.” She pouted, pursing up her lips and pressing her body up against his.

“Or maybe,” she said coyly, “You don’t want me to tell anyone because you like him.”

“No.” He said, a bit too quickly. “I don’t like him. It was just a blow-job. I doubt it will ever happen again.” He suppressed the twinge of sadness at the thought. This was getting ridiculous. He did not like Bakugou. There was literally zero chance of them getting together, especially now. This whole stupid crush had to fade away. He just needed to distract himself.

“Sure, Shou.” She replied, snuggling up into his neck and wrapping her arm over him. “Whatever you say.”

* * * * * *

Friday finally came around, and Shouto was relieved to finally get back to his normal routine and try to forget about everything that had happened since he sat in the administrative office last week. Especially his encounter with a certain golden-eyed Yakuza member. The man had been right about one thing. It was going to be impossible to forget about him with the damn mark. Every time he saw his chest in the mirror and saw it, that conversation came flooding back. He was determined to find a way to have the man remove the mark as soon as possible. Before he actually became a hero. Before the Yakuza could sink their twisted claws into him anymore.

He decided to arrive right before the bell rang. If Momo was right about all of the extra work, his class was bound to be a bit frustrated with him. Especially Kaminari and Sero, since the drug raid that got them suspended was technically his fault. He didn’t really want to spend a lot of time before class dealing with people. Not that he was much of a social guy usually, but he didn’t want to take any chances that his classmates would forget that.

He was surprised to find Aizawa waiting in the hallway, perched beside his door with his ugly yellow blanket wrapped around his shoulders. The man looked half-asleep, but he definitely noticed when Shouto entered the hall. His eyes tightened just slightly, and he nodded his head in acknowledgment. Shouto pretended not to notice his teacher, hurrying to his locker. He groaned inwardly when he saw that Mina and Kirishima were still out at the redhead’s locker, just a few down. She was busy showing him something on his phone, one hand clinging to his arm as she leaned against him to point at something on the screen. They were both smiling. If he hurried, maybe they wouldn’t notice him.

“Hey Todoroki! You’re back!” Mina exclaimed excitedly, popping up next to him. She positioned herself just so that she was lightly brushing against his arm, and when he stood up at the sound of her voice, his arm ended up fully pressed against the cleavage straining her shirt. He quickly stepped to the side.

“Hey Mina,” he greeted her casually, “Kirishima.” He added as the redhead came up next to her.

“Hey bro!” Kirishima responded enthusiastically. “It’s good to have you back! Seven days suspension is crazy! Really tough luck, dude.”

“Yeah,” he mumbled a response, pulling off his jacket and shoving it into his locker. He was just wearing his school uniform, nothing unusual or new. But he would have sworn that Mina was checking him out when he closed his locker.

He shook his head. He was just imagining things. Momo’s story had just gotten to him.

“Yeah. Classes have been crazy this week. You must have so much homework to catch up on! If you need any help, I would be happy to come over to your house and help you study!” Mina offered, looking up at him and smiling shyly. “Or if you just need someone to talk to or… whatever. I bet your suspension was really stressful.”

“Oh man. Mina’s a great tutor!” Kirishima remarked. “That’s so manly to help a friend.” The redhead smiled at his girlfriend. They had been dating casually since the beginning of the year. Apparently they had gone to school together before UA, and Shouto was fairly sure the shark-toothed boy was in love with her. And she was pretty, in a very unusual way. Her pink skin, curly hair, and large eyes made her look so innocent, but he was pretty sure she had ordered her uniform a size too small, so the short skirt barely covered her ass, and the buttons on her uniform stretched so tightly over her chest that he was certain they were going to break off one day. But honestly, Mina barely ranked in the top 50% of the class academically. Kirishima just happened to rank lower, so of course he would think so. But her voice had dropped at the end, and he couldn’t help but wonder what ‘whatever’ meant.

“Of course!” She replied, laying her hand on Shouto’s arm and squeezing it. “That’s what friends are for! I would be happy to help Todoroki with anything…” she finished, turning her head slightly so that Kirishima couldn’t see as she winked. Then, as if it hadn’t happened at all, she withdrew her hand and started to pull the redhead toward the classroom. “Now let’s get to class before we are late!” She giggled.

Kirishima happily followed her inside, and Shouto trailed behind them. Aizawa nodded at each of them as they entered, stepping in behind Shouto and closing the door. They were apparently the last ones to class. At least he wouldn’t have to talk to anyone else for awhile. He tried to ignore the whispers as he made his way to his desk. He gave Momo a half-smile, and waved at Izuku who waved back with way, way too much enthusiasm considering that it was early in the day. He glanced at Bakugou, but the blonde had his head buried in a book, an obvious tenseness in his shoulders. Not even a sarcastic jibe about Shouto holding up the class on his first day back.

Back to rivals it was.

Sighing, Shouto collapsed in his seat and curled his legs up under the tiny desk.

Shit.

It was going to be a long day.

Luckily, class passed by fairly quickly. Though that was because Shouto felt like he was having to play catch up for most of the class. He might have done the homework, but it was obvious there had been a lot of extra material that the homework hadn’t covered. And he was pretty sure he had bombed the pop quiz.

Lunch time finally rolled around, and Shouto quickly found Momo and hurried her to the food court. He did his best to ignore the stares and obvious gossip from the other classes as he passed. Even the shy waves from some of the girls. They got food quickly, and he pulled her to a corner away from their usual table.

He really wanted to talk to her in private, but they had barely gotten settled when Ochako, Tenya, and Izuku joined them.

“Hey!” Ochako greeted them first, sitting down across the table from Shouto.

Honestly, Shouto wasn’t really in the mood to socialize. Especially considering that it was very likely they were hoping to join to ask about the suspension, or the events that had led up to it… neither were topics he cared to talk about today. But he also didn’t want to be rude, so he didn’t try to stop them.

Momo scooted over a bit to make room for Tenya, and Izuku came around the table to sit near Shouto.

“Ok, Shouto,” Ochako said, grabbing her chopsticks and pointing them at Shouto accusingly. “First you tell us that you bribed your way in to the club, the next thing we know an article comes out that the whole thing,” she said, dramatically motioning toward him, “you had going on in those pictures was a ruse. Spill it. What happened?”

“Ochako,” Izuku chided their friend, obviously surprised she would be so blunt.

“What happened?” He repeated, pushing down the urge to groan. He should have known he couldn’t avoid this conversation forever. “I already told you at Momo’s party.”

“Oh, please,” Ochako replied. “We all know there is more to the story than that!” Izuku giggled, hiding his interest in a large bite of ramen.

“Now, now,” Tenya began, his voice taking on his class rep tone, “You need to respect Todoroki’s privacy. He may not want to talk about it. There is no need for all of us to be privy to his private affairs.” Thank you Iida. For once his lectures were actually beneficial.

He was about to agree with Tenya when two older girls approached the table. They were both cute. One of them had long brunette hair with a petite frame. She had on dark eye-shadow with red glasses, and dark red lipstick. Although she was wearing the same school uniform as all the girls, she had sheer black tights underneath so she was pretty much covered from head to toe. The other was a pale-skinned, voluptuous blonde. Her uniform tighter than Mina’s. She also had dark make-up with black lipstick and lots of earrings in both ears.

Shouto felt the color drain from his face as he recognized them, and a flash of them at the club washed over him. The brunette in her skimpy, slitted black dress. The blond with her mini-skirt and those damn pink ‘X’s over her tits. Shit. He had known they were young too, but he would have never thought they were undergrads as well. And in his own university? Shit. This had to be karma.

Their eyes were directly on Shouto, and they came to stand behind him.

Momo was pursing her lips at them. These must be the two she warned him about. Of course. They probably recognized him in those pictures, realizing who they had spent the night with.

“Hey!” The blonde greeted them. “Can we join you guys?”

Shouto opened his mouth to suggest not, but Tenya answered before any words could come out.

“Of course! Welcome to our table!” he answered, motioning dramatically for them to sit down. Iida could barely keep his eyes off the blonde. “My name is Iida Tenya, and I am the class rep for 1A. This is Ururaka Ochako, Yaoyorozu Momo, Todoroki Shouto, and Midorya Izuku.”

The blonde stared at him strangely for a moment, which made a blush form on his cheeks (it also made Ochako pout, which Shouto found mildly amusing). Instead of taking the empty seats at the end, though, the two girls squished on either side of him. The brunette perched on the tiny bit of bench to his right, the blonde forcing Izuku to scoot over so she could sit down between them.

“We know who you are.” The brunette replied in a high voice. Flashes of that voice moaning at the club came back to Shouto. He couldn’t look at her. Seeing them, suddenly the hazy sex from that night was coming back to him. He remembered the blonde sliding her friend’s black dress up her body, how inviting the brunette had looked with only that tiny black thong and high heels. Her skin had felt so soft as he ran his fingers over it. And her mouth… Shit. And the blonde with her full tits, red panties, and that round ass… His cock remembered too. “Your class has made the news so many times, I think everyone in the university knows you.”

The blonde nodded in agreement.

“You have some pretty impressive quirks,” she added, looking pointedly at Shouto as she did. “My name is Chianko Anaya, and thats my friend Hurako Yamasoa. Most of you don’t know us. We are in class 3C.”

They seemed nice enough here, but they clearly had another side. They had been out looking for sex at that club, and probably not for the first time. They were the ones who had slipped Shouto ecstasy. The ones who had seduced him. They were bad news. And they were definitely sitting as close as possible to Shouto, their sinfully delicious curves pressed up against each of his arms.

“Did you need something?” Momo finally asked impatiently, her gaze taking in how close they were to Shouto with distaste.

Tenya gasped. Ochako smirked. Izuku stared open-mouthed. Shouto wasn’t surprised. Momo could be a real mama bear if she thought there was reason, especially when it came to her friends.

“That is no way to talk to fellow students,” Tenya began sternly, his eyebrows furrowed dramatically as he lectured.

“Its alright,” Chianko replied, giving Momo a brief but irritated look. “You see, we know Todoroki. And we just came over because we wanted to check on him after his ordeal last week. We saw the article about what happened with your mission.” She put her hand on Shouto’s arm, squeezing his bicep and smiling. He was still doing his best not to make eye contact, but her hand on him made it difficult to think of anything but her naked skin sliding against his own.

“It’s hard to think that UA would put a student in such a dangerous area of town,” Hurako added, touching his other arm with a concerned smile. His cock was quickly coming to life, and they had to know what they were doing to him.

Izuku choked on his food.

Shit. His classmates all sort-of knew what actually happened that night. These two definitely knew what had happened. And everyone at this table knew the second article was a lie. But if Momo found out these two knew, she would be able to figure out pretty quickly that they were the two from the club. And who knows how she would respond. Even outside the heroics class, their reputations would be damaged if it came to light that they were also at the club, and Shouto’s testimony that they had given him ecstasy could get them expelled. So what did they want? Why bother introducing themselves? They graduate in just a few months, why take the risk of him exposing them?

The only thing he could think to do was pretend he didn’t really know these two, and hope that they didn’t keep pressing him about the article. Honestly, he had kind of been hoping no one would bring up the PR Response at all. Most of his classmates, Momo and Bakugou aside, had no idea that hero scandal cover-ups were even a thing. And he didn’t really want to be the one to have to break it to them. They would know eventually, anyone who actually becomes a Pro Hero does, but they didn’t need to know yet.

“Yeah,” he finally muttered, after what had to be a painfully awkward amount of time.

“But that’s not—” Ochako began, cut off as Momo elbowed her and flashed them a fake smile.

“That’s not entirely UA’s fault.” She added in quickly. “They didn’t expect Shouto - er, Todoroki - to attract so much attention.”

“It’s crazy,” Chianko added, turning to Shouto with wide eyes. “The university has never involved students in missions that deal with prostitution. And to use a student as… well, bait. It was quite irresponsible, especially putting you in that outfit with such realistic hickies on your neck.” The blonde had slid her finger up his arm, tracing little invisible circles over the side of his neck as she spoke. He could feel her breath on his skin.

Ochako made a small squeaking noise, and Iida was staring at her fingers against his skin, his mouth hanging open. Shouto didn’t even dare risk looking at Momo and Izuku. He had never envied Hagakure more than in this moment.

“You must have been so scared,” Hurako added, squeezing his arm. Shouto tried to ignore his skin tingling under her fingers.

“You may not remember,” Chianko purred, “but Hurako here has a knack for helping people to relax. If you wanted, we would be happy to let you talk about what happened. Sometimes it helps to have people listen. You could tell us all about what really happened that night.” Chianko’s other hand suddenly curled itself around his thigh under the table. And he visibly tensed as it dragged backwards over his pants, gently grazing over his erection before pulling away. A satisfied smile crossed her lips, and she leaned in and whispered quietly in his ear. He prayed no one else heard her. “If you don’t remember, we would be happy to show you…”

His words caught in his throat as he tried to utter a response, coming out as a horribly embarrassing strangled choking noise. His face had to be bright red. He risked a look at Momo and immediately wished he hadn’t. She had a strange look on her face, clearly trying to figure out what was really happening. Ochako had her eyes glued to her plate, her face as red as his own must be. And Tenya still hadn’t moved. Seeing this interaction may have actually broken the blue-haired teen. Hurako was blocking his view of Izuku, so who knew what he thought of all this.

He cleared his throat, and tried again.

“Um… thanks,” he managed.

“In case you are interested,” Hurako added, sliding a small note under his hand. She leaned forward and placed a single kiss on his cheek, her chest dragging itself against his arm as she did. He could clearly feel her nipples through her shirt, and he had to bite off a moan at the feeling of her lips on his skin. Images of those lips on other parts of him flashing through his mind. Dammit.

Then, as if nothing untoward had happened, the two stood up and walked off.

“See you later, Todoroki,” Chianko added as they headed toward the door of the food court.

Shouto squeezed his eyes shut, trying to push away thoughts of those two underneath him. He tried to discreetly put his hand underneath the table to rearrange his boner. The table was deathly quiet. Finally, the sound of Izuku slurping up a bite of ramen seemed to break the spell.

Shouto, hoping his face had returned to some semblance of a normal color, opened his eyes and looked around. Momo looked obviously irritated. Ochako, still pink cheeked, was staring at him, her eyes scrunched together as she too seemed to be trying to figure out what had just happened. Tenya had finally closed his mouth, but he seemed kind of frozen as he stared at the spot the blonde had been. And Izuku, who had turned an almost beet red, was clearly trying to act as if nothing had happened at all.

Shouto quickly looked around the cafeteria to see if anyone else had been paying attention. No one seemed to have to noticed, until he glanced at the table with the Bakusquad. Bakugou had clearly been looking in his direction, snapping his head back to look at Kirishima instead when Shouto locked eyes with him.

“Why didn’t you tell them the truth?” Ochako asked inquisitively, before Shouto could try to figure out if Bakugou had been watching him. “That article… it was a lie.” There was a mild accusatory tone in her voice.

He wanted to laugh. This was all some horrible joke that the universe must have decided to play on him. Tell them the truth. If Ochako only knew…

“Yeah,” he replied instead, purposely ignoring the first question and wishing that he could just disappear into the tiles of the cafeteria. “The article was Endeavor’s idea.” That part was technically not a lie. “He didn’t think it would look good for him or his agency if people thought his successor had gone out to get high and have sex at some club. I didn’t really get a choice about the PR article. I didn’t even get a chance to read it before it went public.”

He decided not to tell them that this was pretty common for hero scandals. That was definitely a conversation for another day.

“Oh,” She replied, a dissatisfied frown on her face.

“And Nezu agreed to let Endeavor publish it?” Izuku asked. Of course he would catch that detail.

“Um, yeah.” He replied, looking down at his food. “Endeavor can be pretty persuasive, I guess.” Or pretty fucking rich.

Izuku nodded. Shouto glanced over at him. The greenette was staring at his food, and it was obvious that he was thinking really hard about that. He had started muttering under his breath. It was hard to discern much, but it seemed to be him weighing the pros and cons of why the university would allow something like that.

“Look,” Shouto said, glancing at Momo for help. “I know the whole article was really shitty. And I know that I really messed up going to that club. But the cover-up has already been published. It would only make everything worse if I started telling everyone that the second article was a lie. It’s bad enough that our class knows it isn’t true. If the news found out, it would be really bad.”

A quiet tension fell over the table.

Ochako’s lips had curled up in distaste as she glanced at Tenya and Izuku.

“You can count on us to help keep your secret,” Iida finally responded. Ochako and Izuku both nodded, although it was clear Ochako wasn’t happy about it.

The rest of lunch was pretty quiet. Besides Momo, his friends would barely look at him. He knew they were probably disappointed in his behavior. If they knew the whole story. Fuck, he really would be done for as a hero if anyone found out the whole story. Everything that had happened after the threesome at the club. He could almost feel the mark on his shoulder as a sense of shame washed over him.

All he had wanted was to reconnect to Touya. Now he had some horrible connection to the Yakuza. Compared to that, the threesome, those two girls knowing who he was, even the ecstasy… none of it seemed very important. Not so long as he was indebted to Overhaul. The temporary distraction of his classes pulled away, the sense of dread from the past few days seemed to return with a vengeance.

He had to find a way out. And he needed to find it quickly.

He pulled out his phone, and opened it up. He scrolled down to Dabi’s number and typed out a message.

Shouto: Hey. I need to talk to you. Can we hang out later this week?

He hit send, and tucked his phone back into his backpack. Hopefully Dabi could help him figure out a way to lessen this grip the Yakuza suddenly had on him.

* * * * * *

The rest of Friday passed by quickly, and Saturday too. Shouto dove headfirst into his classes. He needed both the distraction they provided from his bigger problems, and to start catching back up to his classmates. Dabi did eventually respond to his message. They arranged to meet up at Dabi’s apartment on Wednesday. And by Sunday night, Shouto was finally starting to feel like things were returning to normal. Although class was still awkward (yeah, his classmates definitely blamed him for the increased work load), it was enough of a distraction that he wasn’t constantly thinking about his encounter with Overhaul. He had learned to wear an undershirt to keep on when they changed in the locker room, and definitely avoided looking at himself in the mirror naked. Seeing the mark was too hard. And he was determined to have Dabi help him find a means to have it removed by the golden-eyed man as quickly as possible.

But by Monday morning, he felt like he was back in his old rhythm. Morning classes went by quickly, and he was hyped for physical training when it finally rolled around that afternoon. He felt restless, and Aizawa usually planned something challenging for the class on Mondays.

“Alright students,” Aizawa corralled them out to the middle of the field. There were hurdles set up sporadically around the track. “Today’s training is a good old-fashioned quirk-free race. You will have to run the track four times for a total distance of about 2 miles. The rules for this are very simple:
1. You are not allowed to use your quirks at any point. Using your quirk will result in disqualification and a failing grade for today’s class.
2. You cannot skip the hurdles. Failure to jump over them and you will have to restart your current lap.
3. You cannot purposely intervene in another students ability to complete the course. Which means no fighting. No shoving people. No touching people. You send a classmate to Recovery Girl, and your disqualified and will receive a failing grade for today’s class. Got that Bakugou?”

“Tch. Whatever. These extra’s just better not get in my way.” The blonde sneered, a disgruntled frown on his face.

“4. The first three students to complete the race get an A. The next 5 get a B. Everyone else who completes the course gets a C. You will have 30 minutes to complete the course. Questions?”

“What about physical quirks Aizawa-Sensei?”

“As usual, students with physical quirks will be expected to not use their quirks to give them an unfair advantage during the course. For example, Shoji may not use his extra limbs to assist him in jumping the hurdles.”

Shouto tuned out the rest of the questions, looking around at his classmates. His athletics grade had taken a big hit, since you can’t participate in a training if you can’t attend class. Luckily, he was a pretty fast runner. But even without quirks he had some steep competition. Iida and Midorya were both great runners, even Bakugou. And the blondes determination to be number 1 always made him a challenger on the field.

“You have 10 minutes to warm up, then I expect you all at the starting line. If you arrive late, then you start the race late. So don’t lose track of time.” Aizawa finished, taking his clipboard and heading over toward the starting line.

The class spread out and started stretching. Shouto had just started when Bakugou walked past him, shoulder-checking him and nearly knocking him off balance.

“Don’t get in my way, you half-and-half bastard,” he sneered, not waiting for a response before stalking to an empty patch of grass.

“Sorry bro,” Kirishima apologized sheepishly, coming up right behind his friend. “He’s been in a mood lately, worse than usual. Good luck man!” Then the redhead was off, picking a spot near Bakugou to start his warm-up. Shouto narrowed his eyes at the pair, careful to keep his expression cool. When he turned back around though, Momo was trying not to giggle as she leaned down to stretch out her back.

“What’s so funny?” Shouto asked, sitting on the grass and focusing on stretching his legs.

“I think he might like you too,” she whispered quietly so no one else could hear. “It’s like when you are in grade school and you bully the person you like!” She smiled, peeking up at him.

“If that’s the case,” Shouto replied between stretches, “than Bakugou must like the whole damn class. I don’t think that rule applies to assholes who are rude to everyone.”

“Pssh,” she retorted. “He’s worse to you than anyone else. Well…” she paused thoughtfully, looking pointedly at Izuku who was jogging in place, a big smile on his face as he listened to a story that Ochako was telling him. “almost anyone else. Do you think they have, ya know…” She made an awkward sexual gesture with her hands. Shouto groaned and covered his face, praying silently that no one else would notice.

“No,” he replied once she finally stopped with that horrible gesture. “I don’t think they have done that.” Shouto knew they hadn’t. Bakugou had told him that he was a virgin, so unless something had happened since Mina’s party… and he didn’t think the blonde would be in such a foul mood if that was the case. He really hoped it wasn’t. The thought of Izuku and Bakugou having sex made him feel…

Whatever. It wasn’t important.

Stay focused on the race. He had to be one of the first three to finish. He needed that ‘A’.

“I’m heading over to the starting line,” Shouto announced, pushing himself back up. “I want to be at the front.” It was true, but he also needed to stop having this conversation. Talking about Bakugou was too much of a distraction.

Momo nodded, getting up and following him over. As soon as they started to move, others followed. They had to line up in rows of 7, and the people in the front would have a slight advantage. He and Momo got in line first, choosing the front middle. The rest of the class fell in line around them pretty quickly. Bakugou and Kirishima made it to the front as well with the rest of the Bakusquad next to them. Izuku and Tenya both made it to the second row. Shouto closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. When he opened them, he focused in on the first set of hurdles. He could do this.

When Aizawa finally gave the signal to start, the class surged forward. The race went much as expected. The beginning was chaotic, most of the class struggling through the bottleneck of the first set of hurdles. But as the first lap ended, the slower students started to fall behind. Throughout the second and third laps, he managed to keep pace pretty well, although Tenya was in first, and Midorya had managed to stay a bit ahead of him as well. With only one lap left, he doubted he could outrun those two. But he needed to come in third. And that meant his problem was Bakugou. The blonde teen had been practically neck and neck with him the entire race. He had been hurdling the occasional insult at him, but Shouto did his best to ignore it. He couldn’t afford the distraction.

But despite his best efforts, he couldn’t get ahead of the blonde. His legs were aching, his breathing heavy, and he had sweat pouring down him from the effort.

Tenya crossed the finish line. Midorya would cross in less than a minute. He put his focus on one last sprint, when suddenly he felt Bakugou’s shoulder clip his. The blonde was breathing too hard to insult him anymore, but the nudge made Shouto stumble, and he barely caught himself before going down completely. That asshole! Determined, Shouto returned the gesture, satisfied when he heard Bakugou swear and saw the blonde start to go down. Just as he went to push off into a sprint, though, he felt something grab onto his arm, yanking him backward and to the ground.

"You fucker," Bakugou hissed as Shouto practically fell on top of him, grabbing onto the blonde’s arm to try to lessen the blow. Instead he ended up landing with nearly all of his weight directly on Bakugou's right leg.

He rolled off quickly, his left hip hurting from landing directly on Bakugou’s thigh. Shouto started to push himself back up, determined to recover and finish the race before Bakugou could. He had only a matter of seconds before Sero overtook them and he lost his chance for a desperately needed ‘A’.

Just as he went to stand, Bakugou lunged forward, digging his shoulder into his stomach and spearing Shouto back to the ground. Like lightning, the angry teen had forced him on to his back and pinned him down by straddling his lower stomach. Shouto moved to push him back off, when Bakugou's right fist connected to his cheek.

Fuck this. That fucking asshole.

Shouto punched back, and it quickly turned into a scuffle as Shouto tried to push the blonde off.

"Kacchan! Todoroki! Stop it!" He could hear Izuku running toward them, but before the greenette could get there, Bakugou fired off a warning explosion toward him. The blast letting out a cacophonous roar, and sending dust scattering everywhere.

Their other classmates were starting to gather as well. Shouto knew he needed to end this fast. Aizawa was going to be pissed when he reached them, but he would be damned if he let Bakugou win! The other teen would never let him forget it. He needed to get the upper hand, and it wouldn’t happen if Bakugou kept him pinned.

He remembered some of his training from Endeavor about how to overcome an opponent that had you pinned to the ground, and quickly let his instincts take over. Shouto ducked his head up behind his arms which he brought together as a shield, and drove his elbows hard into the meat of the blonde’s thighs. Bakugou roared in pain, and Shouto used the distraction to grab the front of Bakugou's shirt. He yanked the blonde forward and head-butted him as hard as he could. It sent a wave of pain through his skull, but he had been ready for it. The hit shocked the blonde, and Shouto was able to throw off the other teen, flipping their positions. Bakugou ended up on his back, Shouto pinning the blonde’s thighs with his legs, arms with his hands, and hips with his own. It left their crotches flush together, and they both seemed to realize that Bakugou was hard at the same time. The blonde’s eyes widened as Shouto panted, putting all of his weight into holding the blonde in place.

Before either could react, Shouto felt something constrict around his upper body and yank him backward. He landed hard on his ass, with Aizawa glaring at him. The other half of his teachers scarf was constricting Bakugou on the ground, and his normally tired expression was twisted with anger.

Shouto looked around, his entire class had gathered around to watch them fight.

"Bakugou. Todoroki. You will both receive failing grades for this afternoon's training session. Report to Recovery Girl and get yourselves cleaned up. I will expect to see you both after class." His tone was cold.

"Yes, Sensei." Shouto replied.

"Yeah, whatever." Bakugou muttered, nursing his bloody nose.

"Everyone else, back to the field. Anyone who hadn't completed the race will start back at the beginning of their current lap."

A chorus of groans erupted around them, but their classmates all began trudging back to the starting line. Shouto was fairly sure that Tenya and Izuku were the only two that finished before the fight broke out.

Aizawa's scarf finally let go, and the professor left them alone after giving them one final, withering gaze.

Shouto didn't wait for Bakugou, and he sure as hell didn’t plan to go to Recovery Girl. His head throbbed, and he guessed he had a nice black eye forming after Bakugou cheap-shotted him on that first punch, but he didn’t have the time. He needed to shower and be ready for the next class. This scuffle had cost him yet another grade. At this point, he couldn't afford to miss a single class period.

"Too good for Recovery Girl?" Bakugou sneered, following him into the locker room. There was definitely a slight limp in the blonde’s step.

"Screw you, Bakugou." He replied, not bothering to look at him. "You are such an ass. You know I can't afford to lose points after my suspension, and now I have a failing grade for training today. I can't miss class."

"Spare me, halfie. No one feels bad for you. Just cause you're fucking stupid enough to get wrapped up in drugs and shit." He started opening his own locker. "And if you hadn't tried to trip me up, we wouldn’t be here."

"I tripped you up?! You tried to do the same thing to me seconds before, you asshole." He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to remain calm. The blonde really knew how to piss him off.

"Tch. Whatever." The blonde pulled out his shower kit and towel, laying it on the bench behind them.

"Whatever." Shouto echoed, biting off the word angrily as he watched the blonde out of the corner of his eye. The blonde looked in rough shape. There was still blood trickling from his nose, and he had a fat bottom lip. Shouto just couldn’t figure out what the other teen had been thinking. Bakugou had specifically gone after beating him in the race, not Tenya. So his goal hadn’t been to win, and that was not like Bakugou at all. He was clearly still pissed about the PR article. But his erection when they had been fighting... Maybe the other teen wasn't as angry with him as he thought. He should probably just let it lie. "Besides, you didn't even care about that race."

Or not.

"What?" The blondes voice grew deadly low, and he turned to Shouto, shower items completely forgotten on the bench as he stepped toward him. Shouto ignored him for a few minutes, setting his own shower kit on the bench and closing up his locker. Finally, he turned to face the crimson-eyed teen. Bakugou’s face was set in its usual scowl, his shoulders tensed.

“You obviously didn’t care about the race. Otherwise you would have gone after Iida.” Shouto shrugged, training his face into an impassive stare. “But you went after me. You give me the cold shoulder all week, and now all this just to get my attention? Admit it. You like having me back.”

“Why the fuck would I like that?”

“I dunno. Maybe you like me. Maybe you just liked having your cock in my mouth. Either way. I think you have been thinking about me.” Shouto flashed him a quick, cocky smile. It definitely wasn’t something he did often, and Bakugou’s face twisted with rage as he did.

In a split second, Bakugou shoved him up against the lockers, left arm pressed against his chest, right hand popping with little warning explosions as he lifted it up towards Shouto's face.

"Do you want to say that again?" He sneered, their faces only inches apart. God, Shouto hated him in this moment. Arrogant. Conceited. Haughty. Asshole. But the movement sent a jolt of desire through Shouto that made him question whether he wanted the blonde to dare punching him in the face, or start ripping off his clothes.

"What? The part where you're pissed because you might like me? Or the part where you liked fucking my m—"

"Fuck you, Icy-hot!"

The blonde's explosion had fizzled out. Instead, he punched Shouto square in the jaw. Shouto hadn't expected it, he hadn’t braced for the blow. It knocked his head fiercely back into the locker, scattering his thoughts. Practically dazed, he reached up and rubbed his jaw. Bakugou was such a fucking asshole. He glared up at those crimson eyes, as his fist clenched up, every fiber of him aching to fight back.

But he couldn't afford to get in another fight. They were both on thin ice, him especially. So he shoved Bakugou back, sneering at his rival.

"You would like that, wouldn't you?" Shouto replied, dropping his voice. Bakugou's face twisted, his stance aggressive. Shouto didn't waste time, stepping forward and grabbing Bakugou's dick through his pants. The blonde was already half-hard, and he curled his hand around the other teens cock the best he could through the thick cloth.

Bakugou growled, deep and primal. It went straight to Shouto's groin, and he could feel his own cock starting to grow. The blonde grabbed onto his wrist.

"Wouldn't you?" Shouto all but yelled, dragging his hand slowly up Bakugou's cock, shuddering as he felt it hardening fully beneath his fingers.

"You such a fucking whore Todoroki?" The other teen snarled, and released Shouto's wrist. Grabbing his shoulders, Bakugou pushed him down onto his knees, yanking at the buckle of his pants.

Shouto let himself be shoved down, cringing slightly as his knees hit the hard cement. He was fully hard at this point, his eyes glued to Bakugou's crotch as the blonde pushed his paints down to his thigh.

Bakugou's cock was already flushed, and Shouto took a moment to admire it. This was a much better angle than last time, and his cock looked even bigger than he remembered, fully exposed and ready.

"What are you waiting for, Princess? Suck it." The blonde growled, digging his fingers harshly into Shouto's hair and yanking him forward until his cock was pressed against Shouto's lips. Shouto furrowed his brow, grabbing onto Bakugou's hips and digging his fingers into the blondes hipbones. He flinched, growling in surprise. Before he could react, Shouto opened his mouth and yanked the blonde forward, wrapping his lips around it.

Bakugou's growl deepened as Shouto started bobbing his head up and down, his tongue pressed against the base of his shaft, dragging upward until he could swirl it around the head with each movement. He could already taste the other’s pre-cum, and it sent a wave of desire through him. Bakugou tasted fucking good, and it made Shouto want to suck him off to taste more.

Bakugou didn't let him have control for long. The blonde tangled his other hand into Shouto's hair and started to rock his hips forward, pushing his cock slightly further into Shouto's mouth with each thrust. It stretched Shouto’s mouth open even more, his jaw aching with each thrust from where Bakugou had punched him a few minutes ago.

"Fucking yes," Bakugou groaned. "You... mmm, God. Fucking desperate for my cock. You better take it all." His words were low and husky, and he finally shoved his cock in until it was as far down Shouto's throat as he could go. Shouto's eyes watered, and he felt his hands tighten around Bakugou's hips even more, hard enough it had to be hurting the other teen. Bakugou held him there, nose buried so hard into his blonde’s pubic hair that Shouto could barely breathe. He finally let go of Bakugou's hips, pushing back against him until Bakugou let him go.

Shouto pulled back, gasping for breath and glaring up at the blonde. He wiped at the tears in his eyes.

The blonde chuckled, low and deep in his throat and Shouto's cock pulsed with desire. He was so hard, his cock was starting to ache as it strained against his pants.

Bakugou didn't give him much time, grabbing back onto his head and shoving his cock back into Shouto's hot mouth. The blonde was in complete control this time, setting a hard and deep pace as he fucked into him. Shouto did his best to relax his jaw and breathe through his nose, doing his best not to gag each time Bakugou's cock rammed into the back of his throat. His own cock throbbed with desire. He couldn't stand it. As the angry blonde continued to fuck his mouth, he unzipped his pants and pushed them down enough to pull out his cock.

He moaned with pleasure as he wrapped his fingers around his shaft and started stroking it. The sound must have reverberated against the blonde’s cock, because Bakugou groaned at the sensation, slowing down his thrusts to push fully into Shouto's throat with a few long thrusts.

"This not enough for you, Icy-hot?" The blonde asked as his fingers tightened in Shouto's hair and pulled him off, admiring his work. Shouto knew how spent he must look. His face was red, tears running down his cheeks from the brutal pace. He was bruised up from the fight. His lips were swollen, and coated in a sloppy mix of saliva and the blonde's pre-cum. And he was desperately jerking himself off as the blonde's gaze lowered to take in his cock.

Bakugou growled at the sight. He stepped around to stand behind Shouto, grabbing harshly onto his neck and pushing him forward with his left hand as his right struggled to push Shouto's pants down to his thighs. Shouto caught himself with both hands against the cool floor as the blonde pushed him until his forehead was practically touching the ground. He could feel Bakugou forcing his legs as far apart as possible, his pants stretching at the seams.

Shouto shuddered as Bakugou traced a finger down between his ass. His fingers were wet and slick with spit. Without warning, Bakugou began to sink a finger into his ass.

Shouto hissed at the sudden burn, there wasn't quite enough lube for it to be comfortable as the blonde’s finger pushed in to the knuckle. He took a breath, trying to relax as Bakugou slowly pulled it back out and then pushed it right back in. Adjusting hurt less if you relaxed. Pushing his hips back, he adjusted his legs to try and give the blonde slightly better access, not easy to do with his pants halfway down his thighs and the other teens vice-like grip on the back of his neck.

"Eager, Todoroki?" Bakugou sneered as he added a second finger. Shouto stifled a yelp. He hadn't quite adjusted to the first, and spit made for shit lube. Not that Bakugou probably gave a damn. He was about to complain when the blonde began to scissor him open and suddenly hit that perfect spot deep inside, a rush of pleasure washing over him.

"Nng... Bakugou," he huffed, trying to focus as the blonde hit his prostate again sending another wave of pleasure through him. His thighs were already starting to feel shaky, and he could feel pre-cum starting to leak from his cock. He wasn’t quite prepped, but suddenly he just could not wait to feel the blonde’s cock inside of him. "God! Fuck! I'm ready... Just fuck me already." His voice was rough and gravelly from having Bakugou's cock shoved into his throat again and again, and timbre made him shiver with anticipation at the control the blonde seemed to have over him.

It briefly crossed his mind that Bakugou had never done this before. The blondes first time would always be this angry, spiteful fuck in the locker room. But he didn't care. He wanted Bakugou inside him. He needed to feel the other inside him.

"Fuck," Bakugou growled, and Shouto could hear him spitting. He pushed his hips back impatiently. "Eager fucking whore."

Then finally Shouto could feel Bakugou's head lining up against him, his other hand letting go of Shouto’s neck and latching roughly onto Shouto's hip as he pushed in.

Shouto hissed at the intrusion, both painful and pleasurable. Bakugou's fingers hadn't quite prepared him for the blonde’s girth, and it had been awhile since Shouto had been fucked by another guy. He didn't bother to stifle his moans as the blonde continued to sink in, the cock threatening to tear him apart.

"Fuck," Bakugou gasped out, his voice low and husky. "You are... so, so fucking tight. Shit."

Bakugou’s cock felt so fucking big as it filled him up. He braced himself on an elbow, slowly reaching between his legs to stroke his cock as he wondered if he had ever had such a big cock inside of him before. Bakugou was breathing heavily as he leaned over Shouto's back. The blonde didn't move for a few moments, probably overwhelmed by the sensation of being fully sheathed in Shouto's ass.

Finally, when Shouto couldn’t stand it any longer, he nudged back with his hips, enjoying the gentle push against his prostate as he did.

"You going to... to fuck me," he panted.

Bakugou growled, almost possessively. Shouto's cock twitched at the sound. Fuck. He needed the other to start moving. Finally, the blonde grabbed onto his other hip and began to pull out. His first few strokes were slow, almost tentative. But his cock was just long enough that it grazed Shouto's prostrate with every thrust, making Shouto moan.

"You want this half-n-half?" Bakugou grunted, speeding up his thrusts, his fingers curling painfully into Shouto's hips. "You want my fucking cock?"

Shouto would not give him the satisfaction of answering. He may have Shouto whimpering like a fucking slut, his gut coiling with the need to cum, but fuck that arrogant bastard. Bakugou didn't seem to care, continuing to increase the speed of his thrusting to a hard pace, the sound of skin slapping and Shouto's moans echoing through the locker room.

"Yeah, you fucking like it." The blonde shifted slightly, and suddenly Shouto's vision went white as Bakugou's cock fully hit the bundle of nerves that it had been teasing, and Shouto cried out as he came all over his hand and the cold cement of the locker room floor. His body tensed as his orgasm washed blissfully through him. For a moment all he could sense was the sound of his blood rushing in his ears. Then everything rushed back, and he could hear the blonde muttering 'fuck' again and again as he suddenly grunted out, body stiffening up against Shouto's ass as he came deep inside of it.

The blondes grip on his hips loosened, both panting and struggling to catch their breath as he felt his cock begin to get soft inside of him, the slick feeling of Bakugou's cum starting to slide out of his ass as the other boy pulled out, collapsing back to sit against the lockers.

"Fuck," Bakugou panted, and Shouto could practically feel the blondes eyes on his ass. Strangely self-conscious, he pushed himself up and pulled his pants back up over the sticky mess.

He glanced at Bakugou, the other averting his crimson eyes the moment he did. The blonde looked fucked, although he probably looked worse. He felt guilty about taking the blonde’s virginity. Guilty, yet he already wanted to fucking do it again. Dammit.

This was so damn stupid. Aizawa had warned him what would happen if he got caught having sex at school again. And here he was. Anyone could have walked in and seen them. Shit, they still could. With Bakugou's pants around his knees and Shouto awkwardly holding his sticky, cum-covered hand, it would be pretty obvious what they were doing.

Reaching over, ignoring the pain as he did, he grabbed his towel and shower kit off the bench.

"You might want to get dressed," he muttered lowly, not really sure what to say. He had definitely not expected for all this to happen, and he doubted the blonde had either. An uneasy tension lingered in the air between them.

And then he walked to the showers, leaving Bakugou half-naked on the floor.

He had only been in the shower for a few minutes when he heard the shower next to him turn on as well. He tried to ignore the little sounds Bakugou made as he showered. But he couldn't. He couldn't stop thinking about the blonde. Everything had happened so quickly, he hoped the other teen was ok with it. A part of him wondered if he should ask Bakugou if he needed anything. Aftercare was a thing. Even for Bakugou, right?

That's when he realized this wasn't a stupid crush. Momo was right. Shouto actually liked Bakugou Katsuki.

Shit.

Chapter Text

Shouto arrived at Dabi's apartment in the early afternoon. There was no answer when he knocked, but the door was not locked, so he went in anyway. Dabi's apartment was dark. He flipped on the lights as he walked in, but nothing happened.

"Bulb must be burned out," he muttered to himself. He closed the door and took off his jacket, hanging it on the hook. He toed out of his shoes, pushing them to the side of the rug. The apartment felt different, somehow. Smaller than normal, but less... safe.

"Dabi?" He called out hesitantly. It was Wednesday, they had plans. But his voice almost echoed in the empty apartment. He stepped in to the living room, irritated. Hopefully his brother hadn't forgotten about today.

Then he noticed the light under the door to his bedroom.

"Hey Dabi," he called out again, knocking lightly on the door. No answer. Seriously? His brother was probably stoned or some shit.

Sighing, he opened the door. He blinked. Sitting in the middle of the bed, on top of the covers, was Overhaul. He was leaned casually back against Dabi's headboard, smoking a joint. Shouto's mouth went dry as his eyes traveled over the older man's body. He was shirtless, with dark ripped jeans on. The 'V' shape of his hips was hard to look away from, drawing attention to the fact that his pants were unzipped, laying casually open to reveal maroon boxers underneath. Laying nearby on the far edge of the bed was a colorful beaked face mask.

Overhaul had a lazy smile on his face, the smoke from his exhale swirling around with a slow, hypnotic rhythm. God. No one has a right to look that damn sexy.

"Nice to see you again, Shouto." His voice was low, sultry. A shiver of anticipation crept down Shouto's spine at the sound of his name on the man's tongue.

"Overhaul." Kai. The second name hovered, unspoken. He wanted so badly to say it, but he held back, afraid of how the man would react.

The other man's smile only widened, his eyes almost glowing in the dim light of Dabi's bedroom. He didn't say anything, taking another slow hit of his joint. After exhaling, he snubbed the joint out directly on Dabi's nightstand. He motioned with a single finger for Shouto to come over.

Every muscle in Shouto's body screamed to follow the other man's command. To walk over and surrender to Overhaul, but his memory of their last encounter played through his mind. He couldn't make the same mistake again. Letting the older man know about his attraction to him would be playing right into the Yakuza leaders plans.

So he shook his head. It was a slight gesture, but it took everything he had to resist those alluring eyes.

It didn't seem to faze the other man. Instead, Overhaul stood up off the bed, his pants riding dangerously low on his hips as he walked toward him. Shouto took a step backward, his heart racing in his chest. Overhaul stopped directly in front of him, reaching up with his long, slender fingers and cupping Shouto's cheek.

"Are you afraid of me, Shouto?"

Shouto couldn't look away. He nodded his head.

Overhaul smiled, leaning slowly forward until his lips were almost touching Shouto's.

"You should be," he whispered, and he pressed his lips to Shouto's.

Shouto's eyes flew open. His heart was racing in his chest as he realized that it had been a dream. He took a deep breath, rolling over and glancing at his clock. His alarm was set to go off in about fifteen minutes. Shit. It wasn’t even worth going back to sleep.

Yawning, he pushed himself out of bed, trying to adjust his morning wood (it was normal - it had nothing to do with his dream!) and headed into the bathroom to take a quick shower. It was Wednesday. He was going to Dabi's after school today to try to figure out some kind of solution for the issues with Overhaul. And he just found out that he didn't have school on Saturday because of some big hero convention that the teachers were attending. A nice change of pace since his father was making him give up his Friday night for a charity dinner.

School went quickly that day. He took a few minutes before leaving campus to quickly put some concealer over his scar and don his beanie to hide his hair. It was a hassle, but it was better than being recognized on the train heading down to one of the worst areas of the city. The ride was cramped, and he was relieved when it finally pulled up to the stop near his brother’s apartment.

Hurrying down the block, he made his way up to Dabi’s.

“Hey,” Dabi greeted as he opened the door, motioning for Shouto to come in. The apartment smelled amazing as he stepped inside, shrugging out of his jacket and hanging it by the door. It felt strange being here, after what happened the last time he was at the apartment.

“Hey,” he replied, stepping out of his shoes and setting his book bag by the door.

“I picked up some Sushi before you got here,” Dabi said, heading into the living room and sitting down on the couch.

“Thanks,” Shouto replied, making his way into the living room. Things definitely felt a bit awkward, considering how he left the apartment last time he was here. He sat down on the couch next to Dabi, his stomach rumbling at the smell of the Sushi.

Dabi divided the food out between them, a strained silence hovering in the room. Finally, he pushed Shouto’s plate of food over, and started to eat. Shouto was quick to follow suit, eager for anything to distract him. This was the first real time they had spent together in years.

“So, how’s school?” Dabi finally broke the ice between them.

“School?” Shouto repeated. After everything that happened last time he was in this apartment, Dabi wanted to talk about school?

“Yeah. School. The heroics course; your classes and shit? Isn’t that what normal brothers talk about?” Dabi pressed, taking a large bite of Sake Nigiri.

“Oh. I guess.” Shouto replied. “I guess I didn’t think you would care about that stuff.”

“Isn’t that the whole point of having me back in your life? What did you think I would care about?”

“I don’t know.” Shouto felt awkward. Of course it was better to start small. He had so many important things he wanted to talk to Dabi about. Overhaul being at the top of his list. But their relationship was still fresh. They needed to start slow. “I didn’t really think about it.”

Dabi sighed.

“You need to relax, Shouto.” He finally said, looking over at him. “At least every once in a while. You take everything so seriously. You wanted to come over. You probably want to talk about Kai. I get it. A lot happened last time you were here. A lot that you haven’t said a word about yet. But unless you just came here for business, we might as well start off by catching up a bit. You know, like real brothers.”

“Yeah,” Shouto exhaled, letting his shoulders relax a bit. Like real brothers. Shouto used to tell Touya everything. Could it still be that way? “Yeah, I guess.”

Dabi set his food on the plate in front of him, standing up and walking toward his bedroom. Shouto watched him, averting his eyes as the door opened, and memories of seeing his brother in there with Overhaul came flooding back. He felt a blush immediately rise to his cheeks. He tried to push the thoughts away, taking a large bite of food and focusing on his chewing. A few minutes later Dabi returned. He sat back down on the couch, and held up two joints.

“To help you relax?” He offered one up to Shouto. Shouto stared at it. He hadn’t smoked anything since the last time he was at this apartment. And he really should say no. He had class tomorrow, after all. If Aizawa detected even the faintest trace of marijuana on him, he would be screwed. But, maybe a few puffs wouldn’t hurt. He was feeling pretty wound-up after all, and he still needed to talk to his brother about Overhaul, a conversation he was dreading.

He nodded.

“I don’t need the whole thing though. Just a few hits should help.”

“Suit yourself,” Dabi replied. He placed both joints in his lips, opening up his palm and sparking a small blue flame from the center. He leaned forward, inhaling to start off both joints. He took a few small puffs, the smell of the plant immediately wafting over Shouto. Finally, when he seemed satisfied, he took one of the joints from his mouth and handed it over.

Shouto took it, bringing it up and placing it between his own lips. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the feeling of the smoke filling his lungs. He held it for a moment before finally exhaling. Then he took another, and another. Within a few minutes, he could already feel the familiar sense of calm starting to wash over him.

“So, what do you want to know.” He finally asked, setting the joint down in the ashtray to resume eating.

“Anything. Tell me about your classes. Your friends. Whatever you want.” Dabi replied, shrugging.

“Not much to tell, really. You went to UA. You know how it is.” Shouto began, talking quietly. “It’s been a bit of a shit-show since those pictures came out. I almost got expelled. Didn’t. Thanks to Endeavor, I guess. Paying off the school, and the papers to publish that damn cover-up article. Still got in a ton of trouble though. Suspended for a week. A shit ton of demerits on my record. I was at the top of my class. Now, I’m struggling to get back up into the top half.”

“You’re still in first year though, right?” Dabi asked.

Shouto picked the joint back up. He was definitely feeling better. One or two more hits wouldn’t hurt anything.

“That’s right,” he replied.

“No sweat, than.” Dabi said reassuringly. “Everyone knows first year is mostly busy work. You still have enough time to get back up into the top of the class. Even if you don’t quite make it, things don’t get really serious until second and third year.”

Shouto laughed.

“You try telling Aizawa that,” he smirked, imagining his professor’s face at such a declaration.

“Yeah. I never had him. He started teaching at the school the year after I left. He seems like a bit of a stick in the mud.”

“He is a good professor.” Shouto defended him. Although he was a bit on the serious side. He cared about the class. He was strict because he wanted them to be successful. He wanted to help them reach their full potential. “He is just a bit serious is all. Besides, I’m not exactly his favorite student right now. After he found out about the drugs and the sex, and then the fight the other day. I’m probably on the bottom of his list. If you met a few of my classmates, you would understand what a low place that is to be.”

“Fight?” Dabi’s interest piqued. Shit. Shouto hadn’t meant to tell him about that. It was such a stupid and immature thing.

“Oh. It was nothing. It was just this guy from my class, Bakugou. The other day in training he tried to trip me up. One thing led to another and we were punching each other. It was stupid.” He admitted sheepishly.

“Bakugou. I’m not really surprised,” Dabi mused, taking the last bite of his Nigiri. He picked up his own half-smoked joint from the ash tray and leaned back against the couch. “He did seem the type to get easily riled up.”

Oh yeah. Dabi had met Bakugou. Dabi had kidnapped Bakugou. And then tried to help Shigaraki convince him to abandon his hero studies and join the League of Villains.

And here Shouto was. Sitting on his couch and making small talk. Like none of that even happened.

Shit.

“Yeah,” Shouto mumbled, pushing his half-eaten food away. He suddenly wasn’t as hungry as he had been a minute ago. He picked up his own joint, mimicking his brother.

“Did you win?”

“Sort-of. I guess. We didn’t really get to finish the fight before Aizawa got there.” Bakugou probably thought he won after that sucker punch in the locker room. The asshole.

“You could have won,” Dabi remarked simply, as if it were no question at all. “Bakugou has an impressive quirk, don’t get me wrong. But you are still stronger than him. You could have beat him at the Sports Festival too.”

“You saw that?” Shouto was surprised. Somehow he just couldn’t picture Dabi sitting casually on the couch and just watching the evening news. It seemed so mundane.

“I don’t live under a rock, you know. Besides, I have kept an eye out for news about you and daddy dearest over the years. Curious, I guess. And it helped me. Seeing you. Knowing you were ok.”

“Oh.” Shouto wasn’t really sure what to say. It made a small piece of him happy to know that despite everything, Dabi had still thought about him. Had kept tabs on him. And the occasional texts. Maybe Dabi had missed this as much as Shouto had.

Suddenly a thought occurred to him.

“Is that why Shigaraki wanted him? And me? Because we have powerful quirks?”

Dabi smiled as he took the last hit of his joint. Shouto watched him, deliberately holding it for a moment before slowly exhaling. He leaned forward and put the joint out on the ashtray, finally settling back against the couch. He met Shouto’s eyes.

“Breaking the rules already?” he asked, an amused smile threatening his lips.

Shit. Rule three. He wasn’t supposed to ask questions about the league.

“Oh… I’m sorry. I forgot. You don’t have to answer. It doesn’t really matter anyway.” It did. Shigaraki wanted Shouto, and it would be damn nice to know why. Especially since Shigaraki knew who Dabi really was, he had to know they were brothers. It made things complicated for Dabi, one of Shigaraki’s closest lieutenants. Their relationship might even be deeper than that, if what Kai had said the other night held any truth. But none of that mattered. Shouto was still on the list. Which meant that Shigaraki must have a strong reason to want him there. And he wanted to know what it was.

But that would have to wait for another day.

“I guess I can’t really fault you for being curious.” Dabi finally replied after a few moments. “But no, not exactly. A strong quirk does have its benefits. Abilities to create fire or explosions, ice walls that can block up half a stadium or more. There is no doubt those abilities would be useful for the league. Can you imagine what we could accomplish, you and I, by working together?” There was a definite smile on Dabi’s lips now. He looked sinister behind the tattoos and that brought a small chill to Shouto. It would seem this wasn’t the first time Dabi had thought about Shouto joining him. “But no. That’s not exactly why Shigaraki wants you two. His reasoning is more… complicated than that, I suppose you could say.”

Shouto nodded. He desperately wanted to ask for more information, but he kept his mouth shut. He was more curious now than ever. If Shigaraki didn’t want his quirk, what could the villain possibly want with him? Important enough to risk kidnapping a high profile up-and-coming hero. Even after the last attempt at the same thing had nearly destroyed the League.

“And now you have attracted the attention of Overhaul. You have spun yourself into quite a little web with that one.” Dabi finally remarked after Shouto stayed quiet for a few minutes.

“I didn’t know… How was I supposed to know you were going to bring him here to…” Shouto didn’t even know where to begin. He hadn’t done anything to attract the gang member besides being in the wrong place at the wrong time. How was he supposed to guess that his brother would come home early to fuck a powerful member of the Yakuza. “Shit. I didn’t think you were going to be home that soon. If you had told me, I could have left sooner.”

“And the text that you sent; saying you were planning to leave on Monday?” Dabi pressed. “We had finished our work early. Things got a bit heated between us afterward. If I had known you were here, I wouldn’t have invited him over.”

Shouto looked away, taking a few more puffs on the joint. His was almost gone now too. Had he really smoked that much?

“Look, I get that Endeavor is an asshole. Living alone with him can’t be easy. And if I had known that he had broken your collarbone…” Dabi’s face twisted angrily as he spoke. “You wanted to get away for a bit. I get that. But this only works if you tell me the truth. It’s not safe for you to just pop in and out of this apartment whenever you want. I have to know ahead of time when you plan to be here, and how long.”

“I’m sorry.” Shouto mumbled. God, could this feeling in his stomach get any worse?

“Not much we can do about it now.” Dabi replied. “I guess it’s just luck that Kai found you practically naked and sporting a hard-on from watching us. With your messy hair, your naive eyes that couldn’t look away from his body, and your arm wrapped up like some cute injured animal. It’s no wonder you intrigued him. Probably a good thing, though. If you hadn’t, you would be dead. Being my brother didn’t really have anything to do with his decision. He would kill his own brother if he thought it necessary. Kai can be a powerful ally. But he is a more powerful enemy. You need to be careful, Shouto.”

“I don’t want to be careful, Dabi. I don’t want to be affiliated with him at all.” Shouto pushed away the memory of his dream. Of Kai’s lips on his own. The man was sinfully attractive. But he couldn’t afford to let that distract him. He didn’t… he couldn’t want anything to do with him. He needed to break this tie. “That’s why I needed to talk to you. I need you to help me find a way to repay this debt I owe to him.”

Dabi made an amused noise, deep and low in the back of his throat.

“You want to purposely ask Kai for a task to repay what he considers a life debt?” Dabi ran his hand through his hair, slightly messing up the neat style that he had going. “You really have no idea what you have gotten yourself into, do you? There is no re-paying a life debt, not really. If you go and ask him for work, you are going to find yourself ensnared in the Yakuza so deep that there may never be a way out. He has already expressed more interest in you than he does in most. Don’t underestimate him, Shouto. My suggestion is to stay away and hope that his interest in you passes, and that he forgets about your debt for a very, very long time.”

“I can’t.” Shouto admitted. That couldn’t be true. Overhaul had said that if he re-payed the debt, that he would take away the mark and be free. That’s what he needed. If Shouto had any hope of actually becoming a hero, the number one here no less, he had to do this.

“Why not?”

“Because of this,” Shouto reached up and grabbed onto the neck of his shirt, stretching it down to reveal most of the symbol that Overhaul had left on his skin. Dabi leaned forward, curious, and traced his finger over the mark. Dabi’s fingers were cool against his skin, and he suppressed the urge to shiver. Finally Dabi leaned back again. Shouto pulled his shirt back into place, glad to cover up the mark once more.

“I had forgotten about that.” Dabi nodded his head, staring at the spot on Shouto’s shirt right over the scar. “It’s pretty distinctive, if you are familiar with it.”

“I can’t have this mark on me if I want to be a hero. If anyone recognizes it, then my entire future is over. It’s already making things difficult for me. I can’t even take off my undershirt to change at training. I will have to be careful every time I use my fire so that I don’t burn off part of my shirt and expose the mark. Can you imagine a picture of that making it to the papers? It would make a few hickies look like nothing! And I can’t even take off my shirt for sex. What if my partner recognizes the mark? It’s a mess. I need Overhaul to get rid of it.”

“So what?” Dabi shrugged, “Does it really matter if you have to wear an undershirt to change? Get your hero costume fire-proofed, you hardly ever use that side anyway. And sex? Do you really think that Yaoyorozu is going to turn you in? Even if she found out the truth?”

“Well no…” Shouto replied, irritated by his logic. It didn’t really matter if he had on an undershirt to change. Some of the other guys wore them too. And the school had offered to fireproof his costume when he first applied. He had refused under the premise that he wouldn’t be using his left side. Now that he did, they would probably help him. But still. It was the principle of the thing. “And no. I don’t think Momo would turn me in. But she isn’t the only person I have sex with.”

“I know.” Dabi teased. “I have seen that firsthand.”

Shouto blushed deeply. He had managed to forget that Dabi had found him mid-threesome with those girls from class 3C. Even worse, he had tried to entice Dabi to join them.

“Look, can you help me arrange a meeting with Overhaul or not?” he asked, trying to change the subject.

“If you insist,” Dabi replied, hiding a coy smile. “Although, for the record, I still think it’s a terrible idea. But if you really want to see him, then a bunch of us are planning on hanging out Saturday night. Kai was planning on bringing over a new drug that the Yakuza wants the League to help them push to the streets. Shigaraki doesn’t like pushing anything he hasn’t tried personally. You could join us.”

“Hanging out and doing drugs? Like a party? You’re inviting me to a party with the League? I didn’t even know villains did stuff like that.”

“Shouto, most of us are in our twenties. Villains or not, we like to party sometimes.” Dabi shrugged. “Look, its the best I can offer you right now. It would give you a chance to see Kai with a few other people around. Something more casual. My advice, get him to like you before you go around asking for work to be released from your debt. Kai doesn’t have much in the way of empathy, but what empathy he does have is reserved for people he actually cares about. Which there are not many of.”

Shouto’s mind was racing. This sounded like an utterly terrible idea. He couldn’t party with a bunch of fucking villains! Like they were all best friends or something. Like he belonged with them.

“But the League will be there. Shigaraki…” he trailed off, really not sure what to say.

“Yeah, Shigaraki will be there. And Toga. Magne. Spinner. Most of the League of Villains. But I could talk to Shigaraki before hand. Tell him about our reconciliation. Convince him that you are considering working with us once you found out about me.”

“But I’m not! I don’t want to work with the League!”

“Look, its up to you Shouto. But Shigaraki is going to find out eventually. A little white lie is better than him trying to kidnap you, isn’t it? And it gives you a chance to see Kai. The entire thing will probably be a fucking mess, but for what you are asking me to help you with, its seems like as good an option as anything else.”

“Shit.” Shouto replied, slumping against the back of the couch with a frown on his face. Party with the League of Villains, and apparently the Yakuza. A party with drugs, and the League of Villains, and the Yakuza! He should say no. Definite no. But Dabi might be right. If he wanted to achieve his goal, then getting to know Overhaul with other people around, gain the older man’s trust a little, this might be his best option.

“And you promise me that Shigaraki isn’t going to try to, like, kidnap me or something. Right?” he asked with resignation.

“I ain’t gonna promise shit.” Dabi replied with a smile. “But I will talk to him ahead of time. Do my best to smooth things over before he sees you. This plan isn’t without risk, but you walk a dangerous line anyway. So what do you say? Should I tell my boss to expect you?”

“Yeah.” Shouto replied, reluctantly. He felt like he was signing a deal with the devil. “You give me the address and time, and I will be there.”

“The address?” Dabi laughed, “I will pick you up. 10pm sharp. Now, enough of this serious shit. Let’s enjoy our high for a bit. Wanna watch some TV?”

“Sure,” Shouto replied. A distraction would be nice.

Dabi picked up the remote. Settling against the back of the couch, and draping his long legs over Shouto’s thighs. It sent a wave of nostalgia through Shouto. Touya used to do that very thing when they watched movies together. He turned to glare at Dabi, and was met with the same puppy dog eyes that he remembered from before, dark make-up, tattoos, and piercings aside.

Shouto sighed, and Dabi beamed triumphantly, settling in and flicking on the TV. They settled for some old American Kung Fu movie. Shouto relaxed as he began to feel the effects of his own high settling over him. This was nice. This was the side of his brother that he missed the most.

* * * * * *

Friday night finally rolled around. Endeavor was being especially difficult. He wouldn’t let Shouto choose his outfit, picking out a dark gray suit with a white shirt, red vest, and black tie. He must have had it made for Shouto, because it matched his measurements perfectly. And completely unnecessary. Shouto already had over a dozen nice suits that would have been fine. But it was useless to argue. Once Endeavor decided on something, it was difficult to change his mind.

Then, his father had worn a suit as well. He didn’t do that. He always wore his hero costume to these kind of dinners. Charity events were a peak opportunity for heroes to make a public appearance. A chance to show the city that they cared about them. It helped boost a heroes rating, old and new alike.

Shouto was pumped, however, to find out that he got to sit next to Momo for the charity dinner. That also never happened. Usually these dinners were divided into tables for the hero agencies and tables for the wealthier elite. Although technically the Todoroki's counted as both, Endeavor always chose to sit next to his agency.

This meant that Shouto had to sit there too. Not that he disliked the other heroes, but undoubtedly the conversation would fall into hero politics which was both depressing and something he didn't understand very well. He would have to sit through dinner until he could finally sneak off with Momo and her friends and they could hang out in a quiet corner until it was finally time to go.

Occasionally he got lucky and Hawks agency would be seated next to them as well. Hawks, for whatever reason, actually looked up to his asshole of a father. He and Touya were really good friends growing up. Occasionally, Hawks would tell Shouto stories about his brother, if he didn't think Endeavor would overhear. The two had been pretty close, close enough that Shouto wondered if they might have been more than friends. But the stories had always made Shouto feel closer to Touya, made him forget for a little while that his brother was gone.

Now he was back. And Shouto wondered what the hero would think if he met Dabi. Or what he would think of Endeavor if he ever found out what really happened the night that Touya disappeared.

What if he knew already?

Shouto pushed the thought away. He liked Hawks. If what Bakugou said was correct, then Hawks agency was already on the corrupt side.

But he couldn't know what happened...

Shouto pushed the thought away. He had too many other things on his mind to stress about. He had this charity dinner, and tomorrow he was going to meet the League of Villains. The League of Villains, including Shigaraki. Who Dabi had already talked to, and who was probably planning, at this very minute, about how the meeting could be used to his advantage.

Shouto pulled nervously at the red tie around his neck. Tapping his foot on the floor of the limo. He glanced over at Endeavor, who was also in a suit and tie. Everything felt off.

"Why aren't we sitting with your agency?" Shouto finally asked, eager to fill the awkward silence between them. Endeavor wasn't really a small talk kind of guy.

"I will spend a portion of the night with them. You are going to spend the entire night with Momo, at the dinner. So don't sneak off with your friends. We have one of the best photographers in the city coming to get some pictures of you two tonight."

"Pictures of Momo and I? Why?" This was the first Endeavor had mentioned anything like that.

"For the article on Monday. Yaoyorozu Isao and I are officially announcing your engagement. It's the final part of our plan to fix the mess you made a few weeks ago. That you so nicely pulled Momo into when she came to help you."

Announce their engagement? What?!

"No. We can't. I don't want..." Shouto's thoughts were going a million miles an hour. They weren't supposed to announce it for years! He and Momo had time to try to change their father's minds. Now... Everyone would know. His professors. His classmates. His friends. Everyone was going to see them differently. "You said we weren't going to announce it until we graduated. You wanted us to get through college. To focus on our hero training. This is going to change everything!"

"No. This is going to save your reputation. Help the general public forget those other pictures. Young love, and at a charity event where you two will publicly represent your houses to donate over a million yen. It's a perfect opportunity to get you back into public favor."

Of course. Instead of allowing Shouto to slowly regain favor through hard work and actions, Endeavor was choosing the fastest route.

"But what about my life? What about Momo's? No one is going to treat us the same once they know!"

"What are you worried about, Shouto? Dating? Sex? It's better if you don't get distracted with those things right now anyway. Once you are an older, established hero, and learn some kind of tact, then you can fuck whoever you want. Trust me, marriage doesn't get in the way of that."

"But I don't even love Momo! Not that way. We don't want to get married."

"You will get over that eventually. You may even learn to love each other that way. You’re already sleeping together, so you must like each other at least a bit."

"How would you know?" Shouto retorted. He wasn't about to admit that to his father.

"Oh please, I'm not stupid. Isao might still think his daughters a virgin, but I have no such notions. Especially after your recent behavior. I don't know how long you two have been sleeping together, but do not insult my intelligence by lying to try to deny it."

"Fine." Shouto admitted grudgingly. The last thing he needed was to upset Endeavor. He needed his sympathy if he had any chance of changing his mind about the article. "But why? Nobody believes in arranged marriages anymore! You didn't make Natsuo or Touya marry against their will."

"You are not a nobody. You are the primary successor to the Todoroki name. Natsuo didn't have half the power you do. Even Touya wasn't as strong as you. If he was here, and rivaled your abilities, maybe he would be marrying Momo. But he's not here, is he?" Endeavor snapped. Shouto could tell he was losing his patience.

"Please," Shouto begged as they approached the venue. "At least push the article off, give me time to tell my friends!"

"It's too late," his father stated as the car came to a stop. "The article is already set in stone for tomorrow. They will get the pictures tonight, and it's done. Everything is paid for. There is no changing this. So, you better smile when you are with Momo today, and pretend to be fucking happy."

"I don't want to pretend like I'm in love."

"You don't have to. In fact, it's better if you don't. Look happy. That's it. Over the next few years, occasional articles will come out about you two so the city feels like it's going to watch you fall in love. Once you both graduate, you will have a public wedding. You will be Japan's favorite couple, and their favorite heroes when you partner up at my agency. You will come out the gate ranking in the top 100's, maybe even in the top 50. Years ahead of most new heroes, and when Momo retires a year later to give birth to your first child, and you have to take a lead position in my agency to support your growing family, your ranking will skyrocket, giving you a clear path to become my successor. My publicist and I have been working on this for weeks. In fact, it may be that your sex debacle will become the best thing to ever happen to your career. Now I want you to open your damn door, and smile for the cameras."

Fuck. Shouto could already see the camera's flashing outside. This was no red carpet event, but with so many well-known heroes and the cities elite, the paparazzi would be everywhere.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open his door and stepped out. He didn't smile, but he tried not to look as upset as he felt. He waved for the cameras and walked as quickly as he could manage through the crowd and into the building. Endeavor all but jogged to catch up with him, glaring at him when he finally did.

"Relax, Shouto." He whispered out of the corner of his mouth as they approached the main ballroom.

"That's easy for you to say," he replied as they entered the crowded room. He looked around, they were arriving later than normal. Most of the tables were already filled. It felt strange not to head toward the hero tables, but he felt better when he saw Momo.

She had apparently spotted him first, and had stood up to wave him over. As usual, she looked absolutely stunning. She was dressed in a long red dress that tied up around her neck and hung all the way to the floor, leaving her arms bare. She had her hair up in a slightly fancier version of her usual ponytail, with gold earrings and bracelets.

Wait, the red dress was the exact same color as his tie...

No wonder Endeavor had insisted he wear that exact outfit. They had been dressed to match. Symbolic for their arranged marriage, and to be aesthetically pleasing so more people enjoyed seeing the pictures. He hurried over, giving her a hug when they got to the table, ignoring the tell-tale click of what he assumed was 'one if the cities best photographers' getting ready to ruin his life as he knew it. When they pulled away, Momo flashed him a nervous smile. Her make-up looked perfect, but there was a tell-tale hint of red around the rims of her eyes that told him she had been crying. She must know about the article too, and he doubted she had anymore luck than he in trying to stop it.

"You look beautiful, Momo," he said quietly as they say down next to each other.

"Thanks Shou," she replied with a hesitant smile.

"So this is it, huh?" Shouto mused, picking up his water glass and taking a sip. He wasn't sure if he was going to be able to eat tonight. With everything else going on, Endeavor just had to surprise him with this. He didn't care if it was good for his future rankings. He was only eighteen! He wasn't ready to be engaged. He was already socially awkward, and his wealth already made it hard to relate to many of his classmates. Now things would be even worse.

At least he wouldn't have to worry about Baku— about anyone seeing Overhaul's mark on his shoulder. He doubted anyone would want to have sex with him knowing he was engaged, arranged marriage or not. Especially not a certain angry blonde.

But he would probably have to tell Momo... Eventually. They were going to be married in a couple years after all. But how do you tell your future wife that you got mixed up with the most notorious gang in Musutafu? And with them both being future heroes.

What if she doesn't accept it?

"Hello? Earth to Shouto!" Momo snapped her fingers in front of his face. He hadn't even realized that he had spaced out.

"I'm sorry Momo," he gave her a sheepish smile. "I guess I'm feeling pretty rattled about everything."

"I get it. I've been upset about it all day. I wanted to message you earlier, see how you were doing, but Jirou thought it would be better to give you some space."

"All day?! And Jirou knows!" Jirou found out before he did! Who else knew? God, this day could not get any worse. "When did you find out?"

"This morning. Didn't your dad tell you?" She asked, a confused look on her face as waiters started to pour wine. He pushed his wine glass way out, hopeful that the waiter would pour some without noticing his age. After a moment, Momo just nodded, setting her glass out beside his.

"Yeah. You know that isn't really how Endeavor works." He whispered, leaning in close to her ear so his father couldn't overhear.

"Of course," she replied quietly, giving him an apologetic smile. " So when did you find out?"

"About fifteen minutes ago." God he wished that she had decided to message him earlier. He would have had time to tell people. Or make himself really sick so he could stay home. Or run away and hide at Dabi's. No pictures, no article.

"Shit," she murmured. The waiter was just getting ready to pour the wine in his cup when Endeavor looked over, putting his hand over the rim. He gave one look to the waiter, who bowed profusely and hurried past, skipping over he and Momo's cups.

Endeavor leveled the glare at them next. Shouto returned the look the best he could.

"I could use that drink way more than you." Shouto said flatly. Momo gasped slightly behind him.

Endeavor rolled his eyes. Taking both he and Momo's wine glasses and setting them on his other side.

"Can you at least try to care about your reputation. You really want pictures of you with a full glass of wine all over the front page. This article needs to repair the damage to your reputation, not make it worse."

Shouto doubted that anyone would really care about a single glass of wine. He had gotten away with it at these dinners before. But tonight was different. They were taking engagement photos. God, the thought made him sick.

"Fine" he agreed reluctantly, turning back to Momo.

"It's going to be ok, Shou," she said, resting her hand tenderly against his cheek. Her palm was warm, and he could smell the faint whiff of perfume on her wrist. He nuzzled slightly into her hand. Closing his eyes, he tried to ignore the horrible clicking of the camera nearby.

"No one is going to treat us the same after this." He said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. "We weren't supposed to have to do this for years. It's ruining everything."

"I know," she replied, running her finger up over his cheek and into his hair, smoothing it away from his cheek. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek softly. It felt good, that slight pressure of her lips on his skin. If only they were alone. He wanted to curl up around her and just breathe in her scent, lose himself in the warmth of her skin against his. "But it's going to be ok. We can't control any of this. Our friends will understand. And anyone else? Fuck them. They don't matter."

Shouto laughed, opening his eyes back up and meeting her gaze. At least he wasn't in this alone. If he had to go through with this arranged marriage, at least it was with Momo.

"You're right." He nodded, leaning back into his own chair as the waiter set a plate down in front of him. It looked like some kind of American-style chicken dish.

They set one in front of Momo as well, the waiter blushing when Momo smiled at him and said thank you.

"So, have you told anyone yet?" She asked quietly, as she started to cut her first bite. He shook his head, staring at his food. He wasn't really hungry at all.

"I haven't had the time. Besides, how do you tell someone over text, ya know." He put his hands up, adding a sarcastic pitch to his voice. "'Hey! Hope your doing well! I'm engaged to Momo, by the way. Have been for years! Sorry I didn't tell you sooner. It's arranged, so you know how that goes. Lol.' Yeah, that's going to go over well."

"Yeah," she replied, swirling a chunk of chicken around in the white sauce on her plate.

"You told Jirou. Did you tell anyone else?" He asked, not really sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"Yeah. I told Ochako too. They were over at my house this morning, studying for the math test on Monday." Her voice started to catch a little, and Shouto could see tears starting to form in her eyes. "I couldn't stop crying after my dad told me. So I finally told them. Izuku and Tenya probably know by now too."

He just nodded. What were his friends really going to think about all of this?

Before he could reply, the mayor had made his way up to the front of the room, a small applause breaking out as he picked up the microphone. He was a small man, shorter and thin, with carefully trimmed dark hair and a tidy black suit with a white shirt underneath. He had only been recently elected into the position, and he still had an exuberance about him that a couple years of politics in this city usually took away by the end of their term.

“Thank you! Thank you!” He began, as a handful of other men and women came up to stand behind him. They were probably the leaders of the charity that the dinner was being held for. Something for cleaning up the beaches to help preserve Japan’s natural wildlife. A good project, but he was too distracted to listen to the details. Besides, Endeavor was going to make a donation one way or another.

He discreetly pulled out his phone, ignoring the frown his father gave him. Opening it up, he found Bakugou’s number and typed out a quick message.

Shouto: Hey! Can I stop by your house later tonight? I need to talk to you.

He closed his phone and glanced up at Momo. She had been watching him send the text, and flashed him a sad smile when he met her eyes. Shit. Would this even matter? Would it make any difference if he told Bakugou in person? He doubted the blonde would want anything to do with him once he found out. The thought left an empty ache in his stomach. Maybe this would be easier. He liked him, and his engagement meant that there was literally no chance that he and Bakugou could end up together. Maybe it was better for everything to end before things went any further.

It wasn’t long before his phone buzzed.

Bakugou: What the fuck u want to talk about? the locker room? fuck off. I’m good.

Shouto’s stomach twisted up even more. Really, they should have talked about this already. And Shouto wanted to, but Bakugou isn’t exactly an easy person to talk to. And he still wasn’t sure if Bakugou had feelings for him, or if they had just fucked because they both liked dick and found themselves in the heat of a moment.

Shouto: It isn’t about that. I can’t really explain it over the phone. I just need to see you.

Shouto: Tonight.

Bakugou: Busy tonight. If this is some booty call, u r going to have to settle for ur damn hand.

Bakugou: Maybe hook u up with a pic if u return the fucking favor.

Momo giggled. Shouto looked up. Shit, she was still reading his messages. She arched an eyebrow at him.

“The locker room?” She whispered quietly, a curious gleam in her eye. “Is there something you haven’t told me yet?”

“Shhh,” Endeavor hushed them, pointing up at the front. One of the charity leaders had taken over the microphone, and was rattling on about what the donations from tonight were planned to achieve.

“I will tell you later,” Shouto mouthed. But he was more confused than ever. Was Bakugou actually flirting with him? Maybe there was something between them. And the idea of having a picture of Bakugou’s cock on his phone was definitely something Shouto could be down with.

Wait, if he agreed and they exchanged nudes, that could make things even worse once the blonde found out about his engagement. He needed to stay focused on the bigger picture.

Shouto: This isn’t a booty call. I really do have something I need to tell you tonight.

Bakugou: Fine. Whatever. u can come over. I have a couple guys from class over, though. You better be ready to get your ass kicked.

Shouto: ???

Bakugou: Mortal Kombat Icy-hot, chill.

Bakugou: What time will u fucking be here?

Videogames. Bakugou told him no earlier because he was playing videogames. Asshole.

Shouto: 10:30?

The charity dinner was supposed to end around 10. And he doubted Bakugou would care. Usually the blonde was early to bed, but with the long weekend, none of them had school in the morning. It’s probably the reason he had guys over playing games in the first place.

Bakugou: Fine.

Shouto pushed his phone back into his pocket. He sighed, looking down at his untouched dinner. Upside, at least he would get a chance to tell Bakugou in person, before that damn article came out in the morning. Downside, he had to tell him in front of a bunch of his other classmates. It was going to be much harder to judge the blonde’s reaction, and he would have to deal with god knows how many other people. It sounded socially exhausting, to be honest.

Suddenly Momo scooted her chair over to sit directly next to him. Her arm pressed up against his, and she whispered quietly under her breath.

“You should have let him send you the picture. It would have been way more exciting than anything going on here.” She reached over underneath the table and started tracing lines up and down his thigh with her fingers. “Besides, you know you wanted him to.”

He jumped as her fingers traced over his cock, trying to recover with a forced smile for the damn camera-man that was circling their table like a vulture.

“Really, Momo? Now?” He hissed, trying to act normal as waiters started to pass by to pick up their dinner plates.

“I’m bored.” She shrugged, repeating the motion. He wanted to groan as his cock began to strain against his pants. Dammit. This was the last thing he needed. “Besides, there is only one person really paying attention to us. I thought maybe we could put on a bit of a show for him.”

“What? Put on a show for who?”

“That man at the table over there. The one with the golden eyes. He has been watching you almost exclusively since you sat down.” She whispered, motioning with her chin towards the table.

With the golden eyes. No. No way. There was no way that he would be here tonight. He looked up slowly, his stomach in knots. Sure enough, sitting just a few tables over and staring directly at him, was Overhaul. The man smiled when Shouto met his eyes, a lazy sultry smile. He looked like a fucking god in his black suit and golden vest. His suit fitted him perfectly, showing off his shoulders and perfect physique. Shouto’s stomach was doing flips as they stared at each other. Overhaul took a slow drink of his wine, licking his lips ever so suggestively afterward. Fuck. He really must have the worst luck in the fucking world.

Tearing his eyes away, he hurried and pushed Momo’s hand back to her lap.

“We can’t,” he whispered, “they are taking pictures of us tonight. We can’t risk someone catching on to what you wanted to do.”

“You don’t want him to see,” Momo ignored his comment completely, looking over with a renewed interest at Overhaul. “Do you know him? Shouto, he is so handsome. Who is he?”

"He is no one. Some rich guy who probably just recognizes me from that magazine article or something." Shouto replied. Just because he would have to tell Momo eventually didn't mean it had to be today. What was he doing here anyway? He's a bad guy! Shouto hadn’t expected to have to see him until tomorrow. Not today. Not with everything else going on.

New goal: avoid Overhaul.

"Fine. Lie to me if you want. You will tell me who he is eventually." Momo replied, a note of irritation in her voice. The waiters were starting to distribute dessert. Vanilla ice cream with caramel. "I just don't see why we can't have some fun tonight." She sighed.

"He really is nothing." Shouto reaffirmed, pushing his ice cream to the edge of the table. He had no appetite at this point.

"Whatever you say," she replied. Reaching over, Momo took a big scoop of vanilla ice cream with her finger, bopping Shouto on the nose and smearing it on his lips before Shouto realized what was happening. His mouth dropped open in shock. Within seconds, a dribble of ice cream started running down his chin. He licked his lips, trying to wipe up the rest with his napkin before it made a mess. The whole while, Momo just giggled, watching him as she ate her own ice cream

"What was that?" Shouto snapped, irritated by the sticky residue left on his skin.

"Well you may not want to put on a show for that guy, but I do. He is absolutely gorgeous. If he isn't interested in what I have to offer, the least I can do is help you seduce him. And a good starting point is helping him imagine what you look like with something white and sticky on those pretty lips."

Shouto groaned, lowering his head to the table in defeat. The gods clearly had no mercy today.

"Oh come on, Shou," Momo said, playfully pushing on his shoulder. " Can't we just pretend that everything is normal for one more night? Have some fun with me!"

"You want normal fun? Let's go find an empty room in this place and we can fuck until this event is over." He retorted. No chance of running into Overhaul with that plan.

Endeavor choked, and Shouto realized he might have said that a bit too loudly. He looked around quickly. Luckily no one else heard. When he looked at his father, though, Endeavor was frowning.

"Don't even think about it, Shouto. For God's sake! We are at a charity dinner. Keep it in your pants for one evening." He whispered heatedly. Shouto blushed. When he looked at Momo, she was blushing too.

"So much for that idea," she said quietly, leaning her head down to rest it on Shouto's shoulder. "That's too bad. I think we could have convinced that handsome man to join us. Oh well, there is supposed to be dancing later. Will you dance with me, Shou?"

"Yeah," he agreed hesitantly. He didn't really like dancing much. At least not the boring type of dancing at these events. But it would distract Momo and take his mind off well, everything. Besides, he could get himself out of Overhaul's line of sight. The other man did seem to be watching him with an almost predatory interest. It made him nervous.

Things got quiet as Momo finished her ice cream, and some of his when it became apparent that he didn't intend to eat any.

Finally, the music started to play. Momo squealed, jumping up from her seat and pulling him toward the dance floor. Shouto followed, pulling her into his arms as soon as they reached the floor. He wrapped one arm around her waist, the other holding her hand. He and Momo had taken a number of dance classes together, so they made a good pair. They probably wouldn't win any awards, but they were a good sight better than most of the other dancers at these events.

Momo slowed down their rhythm a bit, leaning her head forward to rest against his shoulder. She breathed in deeply, and he felt her weight shift to press against him.

"I'm not ready for everyone to find out." She sighed.

"I know," he replied, resting his cheek against the top of her head. "I'm not ready either."

They fell quiet after that. Dancing slowly to the music. Shouto closed his eyes, letting himself get lost in the feel of Momo's body pressed against his, the scent of her shampoo. He could still hear the occasional clicks of the camera, a reminder that they were still not alone. But he ignored them. In this moment, everything felt okay. At least for a little while.

After a few songs, though, a gentle tap on his shoulder brought him back to reality. He stopped dancing and opened his eyes, Momo coming to a halt beside him. Overhaul was standing beside them, that damn sexy smile on his lips.

"I hope you will pardon the interruption, Miss Yaoyorozu," The man said, "but I was hoping I might steal your partner for a dance or two."

A large smile broke out on Momo's face, and she flashed Shouto a knowing look.

"Of course. Mr...?"

"Chisaki. My name is Chisaki Kai," he replied, lifting up her hand and kissing the back of it gently. She swooned, and Shouto swore he could see little hearts in her eyes.

"Of course, Mr. Chisaki," she curtsied, flashing Shouto a quick 'you better not mess this up' look, and scurried off. If she had any idea who she was abandoning him too. Any idea at all.

Shouto's mouth felt dry as he watched her disappear into the crowd. Turning slowly, he looked up into Overhaul's golden eyes.

"May I have this dance, Shouto?" He asked, holding out a black-gloved hand.

So much for avoiding him. Well, Dabi had suggested that Shouto try to get on his good side. Now was as good a time to start as any. But he couldn't bring himself to answer, simply taking Overhaul's hand.

Overhaul immediately pulled him forward, wrapping one arm around his lower waist, mimicking the position Shouto had held Momo in just moments before. Shouto stiffened up as Kai's grip on his hand and waist tightened possessively.

Relax. He can't do anything here. There are too many people around. You are safe.

"I didn't expect to see you here tonight, Shouto." Kai said, speaking softly so none of the other dancers might overhear. "Especially not with such a lovely... companion."

"Fiance," Shouto spoke up quickly. The word was hard to say, almost bitter on his tongue. But if he was going to get close to the gang member, it would help set boundaries between them. The older man was enticing. Shouto desired him, and having the man's arms around him made his body respond in ways he desperately wished it wouldn't.

But he would have to figure out a different way to get close to this man. Seducing him was too risky. It would be too easy to get drawn in too far to ever escape.

"Fiance?" Overhaul sounded genuinely surprised. "Aren't you a little young for that?"

"It's arranged. We've been engaged since our quirks emerged." Sympathy. Maybe he could play this off to get Overhaul to feel sympathy for him. That would be a good start.

"And you are allowing him to control you like that? I have seen your quirk on the news. You are stronger than your father. He can't force you into such a thing." Shouto looked up in surprise. Kai looked serious, almost angry even. Shouto weighed the words in his mind. He couldn't just refuse this, could he?

"You've never even considered refusing, have you?" He asked. "That's the problem with your hero training. They don't teach you to think for yourself. Your father, your professors, your coaches. They teach you to follow the rules, to play their game. They teach you to be sheep. I can help you to be so much more Shouto. You won't have to live in their shadow anymore." Overhaul's grip had tightened even more, his fingers curled around Shouto's waist.

"I only mean to repay my debt, Over--"

Kai clapped his hand over Shouto's mouth.

"Kai," he said firmly, a displeased curl on his lips and deadly intent glistening in his eyes. "And you say that now, but you will see how much better your life can be if you are by my side. When I heard you were going to be there tomorrow, I was content to wait. But after seeing you tonight, I don't want to wait any longer. Spend the night with me, Shouto. Let me show you how good it can be."

Shit. So much for boundaries.

"I... I can't," Shouto replied, trying to talk past the lump in his throat. "I have plans tonight... Important plans."

"Cancel them. I want to spend--"

Suddenly a hand grabbed onto Shouto's upper arm, yanking him roughly out of Kai's arms.

"What is this?!" Endeavor roared, glaring daggers at Shouto. Kai stared at him, mouth open. Endeavor ignored him, yanking Shouto around to face him. The hero lowered his voice, leaning forward and hissing into Shouto's face. "I thought I made it very clear that you were to behave tonight. I let you out of my sight for ten minutes! And I find you dancing in the arms of another man like some kind of faggot!"

His grip was so tight on Shouto's arm that Shouto winced. It was definitely going to leave a bruise.

“What did you call him?” Kai stepped up beside them, a vicious snarl in his tone as he put a warning hand on Endeavor’s arm. Shouto was relieved to see that Kai still had his gloves on. With such a dangerous quirk, a fight between him and Endeavor would end quickly if the gang member managed to touch his father’s skin.

“I’m sorry if my son led you on,” Endeavor responded bitterly, shrugging his arm away from Kai, “but he isn’t interested in men. Are you, Shouto?”

Shit. This needed to end quickly. Shouto could see Kai’s temper flaring, an anger in his eyes that he had never seen before. And the longer he faced off against Endeavor, the tighter his father’s grip was getting around his arm. He was starting to lose feeling as it was.

“No.” Shouto lied. “Please, let’s just go.” He flashed what he hoped was an apologetic look at Overhaul.

The golden-eyed man didn’t seem pleased by that answer at all. He stared at Shouto for a moment, then at Endeavor. He stepped forward and got directly into Endeavors face.

“I would be careful using a word like faggot,” he said threateningly. “You might offend the wrong person.” Then he leaned down and whispered in Shouto’s ear. “I will see you later tonight, little fox.” And with that, he turned around and disappeared into the crowd.

Chapter Text

“I will see you tonight.”

The words raced through Shouto's mind as Endeavor pulled him through the crowd and back toward the table. What did he mean? He told the older man that he had plans, and the ‘party’ wasn't until tomorrow. Maybe Kai intended to try to get him alone before the dinner ended? He had to avoid that. He needed time. Time to decide what he was going to do.

It was clear that Overhaul was interested in a more intimate relationship with him. And he couldn't deny that the idea wasn't appealing. The man was handsome, charismatic, powerful, and wealthy. And really fucking sexy. The type of partner that most people dream of. But he was also dangerous, controlling, and possessive.

And the way he had spoken tonight... His words resonated within Shouto. Could he really forsake the plans his father had for him, and take control of his future? Maybe he could… but at what cost?

God, he was more confused than ever.

Momo was already at the table when they arrived. Her smile dropped when she saw Endeavor hauling him over, practically throwing him back into his seat before finally letting go of him. He resisted the urge to rub his arm, although it throbbed where his father's hand had been. Endeavor was seething in the seat beside him.

"I swear, Shouto," Endeavor hissed, his voice barely above a whisper, a threatening bite to each word. "you need to end this little rebellious streak. Your behavior is unacceptable. You’re as bad as your brother! You are making a fool out of yourself, and a mockery of the future I am giving you. Either you need to shape up, or I WILL find a way to get you under control. Mark my words."

Shouto stiffened up at the mention of his brother. He didn't have to ask which brother he meant. And after everything Endeavor had done, the fact that he would talk about Touya at all infuriated him. It was Endeavor's fault that Touya was gone, and that Dabi had ended up the way he had.

And now he had the nerve to threaten him. He wanted Shouto to push aside all of his own desires and just accept the life Endeavor had planned out for him. Follow the rules, play their game.

A gentle hand on his arm brought Shouto back to reality. His jaw was clenched, his hands curled into fists on the table, his shoulders stiff. Taking a deep breath, he turned away from his father, looking towards Momo. She had touched him, so gently, her eyes wide with concern as she looked over his face. The playful, mischievous Momo that had left him to dance with a handsome man less than twenty minutes ago was gone. She looked sad and worried as she tried to read his face.

"Are you alright?" She whispered, so quietly that Shouto thought he was reading her lips more than actually hearing her.

No. He was confused and angry and desperately frustrated that his life felt like it was spiraling out of control. But she didn't need to know that. She had enough on her plate as it was. So he relaxed his shoulders, unclenched his fists, and nodded. He even managed a small, forced smile.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm ok."

She didn't look like she believed a word he was saying, but she knew better than to push the issue. She just nodded.

When Shouto looked up, Overhaul was conspicuously absent from his seat, despite the rest of his table still being seated. Shouto looked around, but there was no sign of the older man. Where did he go?

His absence left a strange feeling in his stomach. Relief, mostly. But also... Disappointment. And that scared him.

Pull yourself together. Being with Overhaul was not an option. It wasn't like fucking around with Momo, or those girls at the club, or even Bakugou. If he slept with Kai...

Shouto pushed the thought away. He distracted himself by talking to Momo about an assignment in English. Neither of them really needed the help, but it was a nice distraction. Especially from the fact that Overhaul never came back. For better or worse, he was gone for the night.

Finally, after what felt like hours, the dinner was finally over. Shouto was honestly ready to go home, go to bed, and forget about everything for a little while, but he still had to make it through going to Bakugou's. It would be his only chance to tell the blonde about his engagement before that article hit the papers in the morning.

Endeavor was less than thrilled about Shouto needing to 'work on a project' instead of heading home. Luckily, Momo was there to back up his story. He was actually pretty glad to avoid the car ride home with Endeavor. His dad's sour mood had not improved after finding him with Kai, and he had drank significantly more wine over the last hour of the dinner. He didn't want to know how his father would react if he found out Shouto was bisexual, or that he had already slept with men in the past.

Finally, with an agreed upon curfew of midnight, he was able to escape his father and head toward the bus station. He had only been to Bakugou's house once before. But he knew it well since he and Izuku always passed it when he went over to Izuku’s house. It wasn't too far of a train ride. He might even have enough time to go tell Izuku in person before he had to head home. There was always a chance that Ochako hadn't told him yet (although it was admittedly a pretty slim chance).

The train ride went quickly, and he was able to snag a seat near the back so he didn't attract much attention. Although he was pretty sure a few people managed to snap a picture of him, especially a trio of teenage girls that were trying desperately to get his attention, forcing him to pretend to actually care about the scenery passing him by.

He jumped off quickly at his stop, making his way down the block toward the Bakugou household. It was a pretty short walk, and when he arrived, he found himself standing nervously in front of the door, not quite able to bring himself to knock.

If Bakugou really had no interest in him outside of a quick fuck, then he was about to look like a damn fool. If he didn’t try, and Bakugou was interested, the article might ruin any chance of… well, anything. Honestly, he wasn’t sure what he really hoped to achieve if Bakugou was still interested.

Oh well. He was already here. No point backing out now.

He knocked, wringing his hands together nervously as he waited. A few minutes passed, with no answer. He knocked again, but to the same result. He debated calling the blonde, testing the doorknob. Surprisingly, the front door opened right up. Tentatively he poked his head inside and looked around. The entryway and front room were dark, and there wasn’t a sign of anyone around. Stepping inside, he kicked off his shoes and lined them up near the door. There was an entire pile of others, so he knew everyone must still be here.

Bakugou’s room was at the top of the stairs, and as he ascended the steps, he could hear the faint sounds of fighting coming from above. By the time he reached the room, the noise coming from the room was so loud that it was no wonder no one had hear him knocking.

He opened Bakugou’s bedroom door and stepped inside. It was utter chaos in the blonde’s room. The volume coming from the TV was so loud he almost had to cover up his ears. And the small room was packed. Mina was straddling Kirishima on the bed, the couple taking advantage of their friends being distracted to make out, Kaminari was jumping up and down in the middle of the room, screaming about some maneuver. Bakugou, Sero, and, surprisingly, Izuku were all seated as close to Bakugou's little TV as possible. Bakugou and Izuku both had a controller in their hands, and were apparently battling it out.

There was also a bottle of Sake on the nightstand, and another on the floor near the TV. Cheap Sake, but enough that they probably had a pretty decent buzz going if both bottles were empty. Not that it mattered. Bakugou’s parents didn’t seem to be home and with no school tomorrow, it was unlikely anyone would ever know they had been drinking.

"Shut the fuck up, Pikachu!" Bakugou was screaming, his attention on his fight, "That's not even the right fucking character!" No one had noticed him yet, so Shouto just watched for a moment, not bothering to say anything. Izuku was playing a sexily clad woman who used fans to fight, and Bakugou was playing a large troll with four arms. Shifting his attention to the health bars, Shouto was amused to see that Izuku was winning the match. The greenette’s attention glued to the screen, his mouth moving as he mumbled to himself while he played.

Kaminari was the first person to finally notice him.

"Todoroki! My man!" Kaminari called out, coming over and throwing an arm around Shouto's shoulder. He smelled like marijuana, and was having a hard time keeping his eyes focused. The eccentric blonde was definitely flying high right now. "I didn't know you were coming over. You look sharp, man!" The blonde reached over with his other hand and started to rub the fabric on his coat-sleeve, suddenly fascinated by the texture. He stopped after a moment, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a joint. “Welcome to the party!”

Before Shouto could reply, Mina noticed him too.

"Hey Todoroki!" She called out, quickly adjusting her shirt as she craned her upper body around to wave at him. Kirishima waved too, though he seemed much more concerned with pulling Mina back down on top of him than he was with Shouto's sudden appearance.

Shouto took the joint, tucking it into his pocket. Depending on how tonight went, he might need it later.

"Fuck!" Bakugou screamed, an iconic 'finish him' playing. He threw his controller down as Izuku’s character threw two blades at his, one sticking into the trolls gut, the other in its face. The blades expanded out into fans, slicing the troll into pieces as the woman summoned wind to scatter them.

Graphic.

"That's five out of seven matches, Kacchan! And you even chose both characters for that last match! Admit it! I'm better at this game than you!" Izuku declared proudly.

"Fuck you, Deku!"

"Don't be a sore loser, man" Sero chimed in. "He is kicking your ass."

"Fuck you too, tape-face! If you hadn’t brought booze, I would have won every fucking round!"

"Chill guys," Kaminari cut in. "We have a new challenger!"

Bakugou turned around, suddenly realizing that Shouto was there. Izuku saw him at the same time, a wide smile breaking out on his face.

"Hey Shouto!" Izuku called, waving him over, and motioning for him to sit down in the empty spot between him and Bakugou.

He eyed the spot, trying to decide if he should just tell everyone about the engagement now and get it over with. Or if he should wait until later. But the idea of saying anything right now made him feel kind of sick. So later would be just fine, right?

"Took you long enough, Icy-hot." Bakugou snapped as Shouto walked over. God, Bakugou looked good. He was wearing tight jeans, and a black T-shirt with a skull on the front that perfectly accentuated the definition in his arms and chest. "What the fuck are you all dressed up for?"

"I had a charity dinner tonight," he replied. Pleased to notice that Bakugou was definitely checking him out too. He shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it in the corner and loosening his tie a bit before sitting down. Kaminari all but leapt for the jacket, shrugging it on and running his fingers slowly up and down the fabric. He was definitely tripping.

"Whatever." Bakugou scoffed, "You ready to get your ass beat?" The blonde motioned for Izuku to give up his controller. Izuku smiled as he handed it over.

"You got this, Shouto." He said, his eyes glistening mischievously, "Kacchan is an easy match. You can play me next if you want a real challenge."

"Fuck you!" Bakugou yelled, switching the screen over so they could choose their characters.

Shouto’s phone buzzed. It was probably Endeavor reminding him about his curfew. He still had hours. Ignoring it, he picked up the controller and started to check out which characters were available. He had never played Mortal Kombat, so it probably didn’t matter who he chose.

"I've never played this game before," Shouto admitted. He had played the PS4 a few times, he even owned the system! But between his classes and Endeavor’s rigorous training schedule, Shouto didn't have much time for video-games. He played co-op occasionally with some of his estate friends, but the only game they really cared about was Grand Theft Auto.

"How the fuck have you never played Mortal Kombat?" Bakugou said, staring at him as if he had suddenly sprouted a second head. Even Izuku and Sero looked surprised. Kaminari, on the other hand, was so busy trying to show off Shouto's jacket to Kirishima, who was equally busy trying to push the blonde off the bed as Mina giggled uncontrollably, that none of them had heard the admission.

Shouto shrugged self-consciously. This was why he didn't really like 'hanging out'. He always felt so awkward around his friends from UA.

Bakugou, however, recovered pretty quickly.

"You are definitely getting your ass kicked, Princess," he sneered as he chose a character named Scorpion. Shouto looked at his opponents choice, but the character selection screen didn’t seem to tell much about his fighting style.

"Go easy on him, Kacchan." Izuku admonished him, "It's his first time!"

Bakugou chuckled.

"He doesn't want me to go easy on him, trust me." The blonde retorted. Shouto blushed, trying to ignore them both as he scrolled through the characters. The blonde was definitely flirting, and it confused Shouto more than he wanted to admit (even if the implication turned him on… just a bit). Luckily, Izuku didn't pick up on the double entendre. Sero, on the other hand, looked suspiciously back and forth between the two of them.

A loud thump distracted them.

“Owe,” Kaminari complained. Kirishima had finally managed to knock him off the bed, and the high teen was sitting on his ass glaring up at the redhead. But the distraction was apparently enough for Mina, who was crawling over the bed to watch the new match. Kirishima glared at Kaminari, but resignedly made his way over to sit behind Mina, wrapping his arms around her.

Kaminari didn’t seem to be bothered for long. Pushing himself onto his hands and knees, he crawled over and flopped down to sit behind Izuku.

"Hurry up and choose," Bakugou snapped, ignoring the commotion around him as he watched to see who Shouto would decide on.

Shouto finally chose a character name Sub-zero, who appeared to have ice powers. Seemed fitting. Right as he hit select, his phone buzzed again. Who was it? It was probably still Endeavor. He would check after the match.

Three rounds. And none of them lasted long, considering that Shouto knew none of the right combinations or moves to score more than a few measly blows on Bakugou’s character, who seemed to jump around the screen like crazy, and kept pulling Shouto’s character straight to him with a chain anytime Shouto tried to dodge away. So he quickly resorted to button mashing. Izuku, Sero, Kirishima, and even Mina kept trying to yell out combo moves for his character, but every time he tried to perform one, he got interrupted by Bakugou. Finally, ‘Finish Him’ sounded out once more as Scorpion sent a fireball through Sub-zero’s chest. The ninja collapsed to his knees and Scorpion cut off the front of his face so that he was left with his brain and tongue exposed in a pool of blood.

Very graphic.

As soon as the last round was over, Kaminari snatched Shouto's controller out of his hand.

"My turn!" He declared loudly, squeezing in between Shouto and Bakugou, so that both were forced to scoot over so he could sit closer to the TV.

"No way. You just stood there last time, dunce-face. I am not playing you again." Bakugou retorted.

"I almost won!" Kaminari retorted, as Sero and Izuku snickered.

"You just stood there hitting the 'Square' button, dude." Sero laughed. "Besides, it's time for the lovebirds to play."

Mina squealed, grabbing the remote out of Kaminari’s hand. Bakugou handed his to Kirishima.

"My bets on Pinky," he said as he stood up. "Now all you extras better keep your hands off my shit. Icy-hot has something important to tell me. I don't want you rifling through my stuff." He stared directly at Kaminari as he talked.

Ok. Apparently Bakugou wanted to do this right now. Shit.

Izuku looked at Shouto curiously, but the greenette didn't say anything as he stood up and followed Bakugou out of the room.

Shouto’s phone started buzzing again, and this time it didn’t stop. Really? Someone was calling him now? Mildly irritated, he pulled his phone out of his pocket as he followed Bakugou out into the hallway. It was Dabi. He was probably just checking in to make sure everything was set for tomorrow. He would have to call him back later. Although he was desperate for the distraction, and definitely wouldn’t have minded putting off this conversation a bit longer, it would just annoy the blonde. So he denied the call and put his phone back into his pocket, following Bakugou down the hall.

Once they reached the last door, Bakugou pulled Shouto into the bathroom, locking the door behind them. Then, with no warning, Bakugou shoved him up against the wall and started to kiss him eagerly, his hands grabbing onto Shouto’s waist and holding it in place as Bakugou ground their crotches together. The blonde was already hard, and Shouto’s cock responded quickly at the feeling.

Shit.

This was not the plan. This couldn’t happen yet.

Shouto pushed him away.

"What the hell, Bakugou?! I thought you didn't want a fucking booty call." Shouto said. Bakugou had left the taste of alcohol on his lips. God. The thought of fucking him was tempting, especially since Bakugou’s cock was perfectly outlined, straining against his tight jeans. The blonde was clearly ready to go.

"Maybe I changed my mind," he said, his eyes trailing up and down Shouto's body. "Maybe I do want to fuck you again."

"Maybe you're just drunk." Shouto retorted.

"Maybe. But I bet you want me to fuck you anyway. Don’t you, Todoroki?"

"No. I mean yes. I mean… Fuck! Not right now. I really do have something important to tell you." Shouto stuttered over the words. This was not going the way he had imagined it.

His phone started buzzing again. For God's sake! He pulled it back out of his pocket; Dabi again. What the hell was so important?!

"Hello," Shouto answered. This better be quick.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Bakugou groaned. "I want to fuck and you answer your phone. Fucking asshole." He must not be that bothered, though. The blonde pulled off his shirt. God he was so fucking cut that it made Shouto’s mouth water as his eyes wandered over Bakugou’s chest and abs. Bakugou stepped forward, reaching up to start unbuttoning Shouto's vest.

"Finally!" Dabi replied, an obvious stress in his voice. "Are you fucking ignoring me?"

"It's not a very good time." Shouto’s voice cracked as Bakugou sunk his teeth into his neck, biting down hard as he proceeded to roughly pull off the red vest and throw it on the floor. Bakugou sucked on his neck as his fingers moved to the buttons on his shirt, the feeling shooting straight to Shouto’s cock. "We need to make this quick."

"Well you need to make it a good time real fast. Kai wants to party tonight." Dabi said. "Tomura is freaking out about it. And it's a fucking mess but it's happening.

Bakugou was struggling to get the last few buttons undone, nipping at Shouto’s chest and stomach as he exposed it. The blonde had fallen to his knees in order to get the last two buttons. Bakugou pushed his shirt open and began to run his hands across his stomach, and down to palm his cock. This was too fucking much. The sight of Bakugou on his hands and knees, the feeling of the blonde’s rough hands on him. The warm breath on his lower stomach. Shit.

"I can't. I can't fucking make it tonight." Shouto said, closing his eyes so that he could try to stay focused on the conversation. The blonde wrapped his fingers into the waist band of Shouto’s pants, and started to pull at the button and zipper. Shouto reached down to try to stop him, but Bakugou grabbed his hand and pushed it against the wall to get it out of the way.

"Hurry it the fuck up, Icy-hot." Bakugou growled, almost damaging the zipper of his pants as he managed to finally get everything undone.

"What the fuck are you doing Shouto? Who was that?" Dabi asked, clearly agitated.

"I'm just busy," he managed through clenched teeth as Bakugou pulled his pants down over his hips, the blonde moaning huskily as Shouto’s cock sprang up, hard and erect. Without warning, Bakugou leaned forward and took Shouto's entire length into his mouth. Shouto’s mind blanked out for a second. He would have never, not in a hundred years, ever thought to see Bakugou willingly put a cock in his mouth.

"Fuck! Can't you wait till I'm off the phone?" He hissed quietly at Bakugou, holding the phone away from his face. But apparently it wasn't quiet enough.

"You're fucking around? This is serious, Shouto. You wanted to go to this thing. And now both Tomura and Kai are expecting you. Tonight! I am not going to be the one to tell them you can't make it. Especially not because you’re having sex." Dabi said flatly. "Send me your current address. I will be there in 30 minutes. That should be plenty of time for you to finish up whatever it is you have going."

Shit. He wasn't ready. Overhaul was doing this because of him. Kai had wanted to see him tonight, and he refused. This was a power play. If he didn't show up, he would piss off an already unhappy Overhaul. The exact opposite of what tomorrow was supposed to achieve.

Fuck, Bakugou's mouth felt fucking good on him.

"Fine." Shouto said, groaning softly as Bakugou’s tongue traced lines up and down the bottom of his cock. For someone who supposedly didn’t have much experience, Bakugou knew what he was fucking doing down there.

"Well are you going to tell me where you are?" Dabi pressed.

"I will... Shit. I will text you the... the address." Fuck it was hard to think. He was already getting close.

"Be ready to go." Dabi said, and the phone clicked off.

Shouto quickly typed out the address, then practically threw his phone on the counter behind Bakugou. He twisted his hands into Bakugou’s hair, and threw his head back against the wall.

“Fuck, Bakugou,” He moaned, trying to keep it quiet in case any of their friends came looking for them.

Bakugou pulled off for a moment, using his left hand to stroke Shouto, and putting two fingers into his mouth. Once they were covered in spit, he reached up between Shouto’s legs as he took his cock back into his mouth. The blonde’s fingers slid slowly upward until they found his ass. Without warning, he pushed one finger straight in to the knuckle. The unexpected stretch hurt, but just for a moment. He groaned, much louder than he should have, as the blonde’s finger began to move inside him. Bakugou didn’t wait long enough before he added a second finger, but Shouto didn’t care. Between the hot mouth on his cock and the fingers in his ass, he was so close to cumming that he couldn’t care about anything else.

Then Bakugou’s finger hit his prostrate, and Shouto’s orgasm hit so quickly there was not time to warn the blonde before he came all over the other’s mouth. And for the second time, Bakugou did something completely unexpected and swallowed all of it. The blonde even moved his mouth slowly up and down, the sensation nearly over-whelming as post-orgasmic pulses spilled the last bits of his cum on the blonde’s tongue.

Before he had time to recover, Bakugou pulled his fingers out and pushed himself up. He forced Shouto toward the sink, pushing his stomach up against the cold tiling and forcing his face down towards the mirror. Shouto could see the blonde in the mirror, his eyes dilated with lust as he worked to quickly undo his belt and pants, pushing them down to uncover his cock. It was already red and flushed, and Shouto couldn’t wait to feel it inside him again.

The blonde spit on three fingers, pushing them all inside Shouto and scissoring them to finish prepping him. Fuck it felt good.

Wait… he still hadn’t told the blonde about his engagement. Fuck. He needed Bakugou to know before they had sex again. The longer he waited. The more they did together. The worse it would be when he finally found out.

“Wait, Bakugou,” he managed, struggling to turn around to face the blonde. “I have something I need to tell you first.”

“Fuck that, halfie,” Bakugou replied, using brute strength to hold Shouto in place as he continued to work his fingers in and out of Shouto’s ass. He could feel Bakugou’s cock brushing against the back of his thigh. “You can tell me after I fuck you.”

“Bakugou,” He managed, gasping as all three fingers pushed fully inside of him. “I’m engaged.”

The movement stopped immediately. He met Bakugou’s crimson eyes in the mirror, trying to read his expression as he took in the information. The blonde stood there for a moment, his fingers still buried inside of Shouto’s ass.

“What did you say?” The blonde asked, and Shouto could hear the immediate change of tone in his voice. He was already getting angry.

“I”m engaged.”

“What the fuck do you mean engaged?” Bakugou spat as he pulled his fingers out and stepped back. The sudden movement burned, then left this empty feeling inside of Shouto as he watched a mixture of anger and betrayal start to play across the blonde’s face in the mirror. “Like to be married?”

Shouto averted his eyes from the piercing gaze, standing up and self-consciously pulling his pants up to cover himself. He felt ashamed. He shouldn’t have let things go so far.

“Yeah,” He replied as he turned around, tentatively glancing up to meet Bakugou’s eyes once more.

“What the fuck are you talking about?”

“It’s an arranged marriage. A… a quirk marriage. Momo and I have been betrothed for years,” He explained. Bakugou’s face was beginning to twist with rage, and he didn’t know how long he had before the blonde blew up on him. “We didn’t tell anyone because we thought we could change our father’s minds. That it would never actually happen. No one needed to know. But Endeavor is going to announce it publicly. He thinks it will improve my reputation after my ‘scandal’. I wanted to tell you. Ya know, before the article comes out tomorrow.”

“You’re engaged to fucking Tits? For fucking years!” Bakugou snapped. Shouto wished that the blonde was sober. That he hadn’t just sucked him off. This was not going well.

“It doesn’t mean anything. I don’t love her.” Shouto replied. Bakugou was quickly tucking his own junk back into his pants. His movements angry and erratic.

“You still fuck her, though.” He snarled, picking up Shouto’s vest and throwing it at him.

“It still doesn’t mean anything,” he repeated, catching the red fabric and setting it down behind him on the sink next to his phone.

“Fuck.” Bakugou turned around, punching the wall out of frustration. “You didn’t think to tell me this before you came down my fucking throat.”

“You weren’t listen—”

“Oh? What about the time you let me fuck you in the locker room? Or sucked me off at Mina’s? You were fucking engaged back then too you fucking bastard!” He growled, turning back around and glaring at Shouto. “Didn’t think it was too important when you had my fucking cock in you!”

“I wasn’t… We thought—”

Bakugou lunged forward, grabbing the collar of Shouto’s shirt and shoving him roughly back into the counter.

“You thought you could just get your fucking kicks in whenever the fuck you wanted?” he snarled. “Momo. Me. The girls at the club. God knows how many other people you have been fucking. Why the fuck are you even bothering to tell me now, you fucking whore!” He was practically screaming it in Shouto’s face. Shouto prayed that none of their friends would step out of that other room, overhear it. Bakugou was right. Shouto had been sleeping around a lot lately. It was a way to kill stress. It hadn’t seemed so bad when it was happening.

“I wanted you to hear it from me,” Shouto defended himself. He needed to say it in person, trying to push Bakugou away from him.

“Why the fuck do you think I care!” the blonde retorted.

“Because I fucking like you!” Shouto replied before he could stop himself. Shit. He clapped his mouth shut. He had not meant to tell Bakugou that. This was supposed to be closure. He was already in too deep between his engagement, and whatever the hell it was that Overhaul was expecting of him. It wasn’t fair to keep involving the blonde. But it was true. For whatever damn reason. Bakugou was the biggest asshole he knew. The blonde was arrogant and obnoxious, and drove Shouto crazy. But he still liked him.

Bakugou stared at him. There was a horrible silence between them. Finally, after what felt like forever, Bakugou let go of his collar. The blonde grabbed his vest and phone off the sink and shoved them into his hands.

“Get the fuck out of my house, Todoroki.” Bakugou didn’t bother to respond to his confession. He didn’t get angry about it. He didn’t snarl. He didn’t yell. He didn’t even raise his voice. And for some reason, that seemed even worse than if he had done any of those things.

“Please, lets talk—”

“Get out!” Bakugou snarled, unlocking the door and yanking it open. He grabbed Shouto’s arm, his fingers digging painfully into the bruise Endeavor had left earlier that night. Shouto juggled his vest and phone as Bakugou pulled him out of the room and shoved Shouto down the hallway.

“Stop, Bakugou,” Shouto struggled to push back, determined to make Bakugou listen.

“Um… guys?” a timid voice cut through the tension between them. Shouto spun around, and Bakugou’s attention snapped forward. Izuku was standing at the top of the stairs, a bowl of popcorn in his hands. His green eyes widened as he took in the scene in front of him. And Shouto imagined it was quite a scene. Bakugou was still shirtless, belt undone, hair mussed up, and lips swollen from giving Shouto head. And Shouto was no better; shirt unbuttoned to reveal little bite marks across his stomach and on his neck, chest and face flushed from his orgasm, vest awkwardly balled up in his hands. Shouto quickly pulled his shirt closed, trying to cover up the marks Bakugou’s teeth had left on his skin. “Is everything ok?”

“We’re fucking fine, Deku,” Bakugou snarled, shoving Shouto forward. He hadn’t been expecting it, and nearly lost his footing. Izuku almost dropped the popcorn, running forward to help Shouto catch his balance. “Icy-hot was just leaving.”

“Shouto?” Izuku looked at him with concern.

“I’m fine, Izuku,” He said, turning around to glare at Bakugou. The blonde just stared at him, his mouth curled with distaste. Fuck. This went way worse than he had anticipated. It was clear that Bakugou was pissed. But he didn’t know how to fix that problem, not with an audience, and definitely not without Bakugou being more sober. Dabi was going to be here any minute. He didn’t even have time to try.

Shit.

“I was just leaving,” he muttered, his frustration rising as he turned back toward Izuku and flashed him a forced smile. Then he gently stepped around his friend and made his way downstairs, putting on his shoes and heading out the door. He was halfway out to the road, carelessly buttoning up the rest of his shirt, before he realized that he had already given Dabi this address. He would have to wait here until his brother arrived.

“Shit,” he cursed out loud, glaring at the red vest in his hands. The stupid vest that Endeavor picked out to match Momo, so that they would already look like the perfect couple for their stupid engagement photos for that shitty article that was already ruining everything! Stalking over to the garbage, he chucked it inside. Then he reached into his pocket, and pulled out the joint Kaminari had given him earlier. He lit up, and took a few quick puffs.

“Shouto?” he heard Izuku’s timid voice call out. Shit. He threw the joint on the ground and quickly put it out with his shoe, turning around and flashing another forced smile at Izuku. The other boy was standing on the edge of the porch, staring uncertainly. “Are you really okay?”

No.

“I’m fine, Izuku,” he managed. He needed to get the other boy back inside quickly, before Dabi got there to pick him up. “You can go back inside and finish kicking Bakugou’s ass. I am just waiting for a ride. They’ll be here any minute.”

“You don’t seem fine,” Izuku pressed, stepping down off the porch and hurrying over toward Shouto. He crinkled his nose at the smell when he got close, but he didn’t say anything about the joint he had caught Shouto smoking. “You look… disheveled.”

Shouto glanced down at himself. He had gotten his buttons mixed up, so they were off by one, and his shirt-tails were hanging sloppily. His jacket was inside, probably still on Kaminari, his hair was probably a mess, and he didn’t know where his tie had even ended up.

“I am alright.”

“Is this about Momo?” Izuku asked, quietly. Apparently he had heard, after all.

Shouto’s jaw clenched, but he gave a brief nod of his head.

"Yeah." He muttered, "You heard about that?"

"Ochako told me." He replied. Of course she did. "I... I had no idea.”

"That was the point." Shouto shrugged, "Momo and I don't love each other. We thought we could change our father's minds. No one needed to know."

"But you and Momo..." He got quiet, making a weird gesture... "Ya know..."

"Have sex." Shouto finished for him.

"Yeah." Izuku replied, blushing.

"Sometimes." He replied. "It just feels good. It doesn't really mean anything."

"And Bakugou?" Izuku frowned. Shouto could see him trying to put things together after what he had seen upstairs. It irritated Shouto. After everything Bakugou had said upstairs, he wasn't in the mood to be judged. Yeah, maybe he fucked around a bit more than he should. It wasn't anyone else's business.

He made a non-committed grunt. Let Izuku think of that what he wanted.

"Ah," the greenette mumbled, assuming the worst (even if it was technically the truth).

"Yeah… well, now you know," he replied, not sure if he meant the information about Momo or Bakugou.

"I wouldn't have cared, Shouto," he said, an earnest tone in his voice. "You can't control what your father is making you do. This doesn't change anything."

He sighed, not sure if he believed what Izuku was saying. There was no way this wasn’t going to affect things. But at least he was trying to help.

"Thanks Izuku," he replied. He wished the others earnestness made him feel better. But after Bakugou blowing up on him, and now this stupid party that he was dreading. He felt like shit. Nothing was going according to plan.

Izuku didn't reply, but stepped forward and wrapped his arms around him in a big bear hug. Shouto stood there for a moment, but finally returned the gesture. The hug felt really good. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small, dark car pull up.

Shit, that must be Dabi.

The passenger door to the car immediately burst open, and a busty black-haired girl jumped out. She had a wild smile on her face, and was wearing a school girls outfit, and Shouto had literally never seen her before in his life.

"Izuku!" she yelled, running toward him and waving. "Izuku!"

"Who is that?" Izuku asked, letting go of Shouto and turning to face her. "Do we know her?" He looked as confused as Shouto felt. He glanced at the car, it was clearly Dabi in the driver's seat, his tattoos mostly covered with a black face mask and hoodie, motioning for Shouto to hurry as soon as he caught his eye.

The girl ran up and threw her arms around Izuku. She was rather tall, and his face ended up pressed firmly against her chest, a blush spreading over his entire body as she held him against her boobs.

"It's so nice to meet you, Midorya Izuku! You are my favorite hero! I just love you!"

"Uh... Thanks..." Izuku replied, giving Shouto a pleading look for help as he tried to find somewhere appropriate to put his hands to try and gently push her away. Who the hell did Dabi bring with him? This chick seemed crazy.

The woman completely ignored Izuku’s attempts to get away, reaching up and running a hand through his green hair. Ok, that was enough. Shouto grabbed her hand, stepping in to try and force the two apart.

"This is a friend of mine from highschool," Shouto lied, hoping that she (whoever the fuck she was) didn't correct him. The last thing he needed was Izuku to be suspicious of what he was doing tonight. Although there wasn't a chance the greenette would guess what he was actually doing, he didn't want the greenette to think he was going out to the club again. People had apparently started to think he was a whore, no need to feed into that rumor. "A couple of them agreed to come pick me up since Bakugou kicked me out." He finally managed to pull her completely away from Izuku, holding her arms in his hand as she struggled to get out of his grip.

"Oh," Izuku replied, sounding no less confused, despite the weak excuse. Shouto would have to think of a better excuse for why an old friend tried to practically suffocate Izuku with her tits and text him later. He needed to get her and Dabi out of here as quickly as possible.

“Do you want to come with us, Izuku?!” The girl squeaked, wrenching her body around to smile at the younger boy as Shouto continued to pull her down the driveway. “We would all have so much fun!”

“Nope. He’s good.” Shouto quickly added, flashing an apologetic look in Izuku’s direction. Fuck. Now Izuku was definitely going to be suspicious. “We aren’t really doing anything! Just a ride home.”

“But what about the party?” the girl asked, a disappointed whine in her voice. God. She was fucking strong. He kept trying to turn her around so that she would stop ogling Izuku, but he couldn’t get her to hold still and walk forward. He glanced nervously at the car, Dabi was making a very exaggerated ‘get in here now’ motion.

“Um, Shouto?” Izuku peeked past him at the car, Dabi quickly turned away from the window, pulling his hoodie farther forward to hide his face. Izuku took a few tentative steps toward them. “You don’t have to leave now. You can come to my house.”

“YES!” The woman screeched, her efforts to escape Shouto doubling. He grunted as he finally just wrapped his arms around her completely and started pulling her backward.

"It’s ok. I have a curfew tonight, anyway.” He managed, finally getting to the door and managing to get it open. “Thanks again, Izuku. I will text you later!" Izuku watched them, a strange look on his face as Shouto struggled to force her into the front seat. He couldn't imagine what Izuku must be thinking as he finally closed the woman’s door and climbed into the backseat of the car.

Dabi must have been in just as much of a hurry to get away as Shouto, because the second his door closed, his brother hit the gas and revved down the street.

"He hugged me!" The girl shrieked happily, turning to face Dabi. "Did you see that? He actually hugged me!"

“Yeah," Dabi mumbled, his attention on the road.

"Umm… who are you?" Shouto asked.

"Oh!” She squealed, as if just remembering that he was there. The woman twisted around in the seat, flashing him a wide smile. “I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Toga Himiko! But you can call me Himiko!" She giggled. Toga! What the hell? She didn’t look anything like Bakugou had described her. He stared, and after a moment she looked down at herself. She looked surprised, then blushed with embarrassment. The woman turned around, and for a second she looked like she was melting. Shouto’s mouth dropped open as he watched the woman slowly transform into a tiny blonde woman with pigtails.

She could transform! What. In. The. Fuck!

The girl turned back around, flashing him another wide smile. Then, with absolutely no warning, she was maneuvering around to try and crawl into the backseat.

"Himiko, stop," Dabi tried to push her back down with one hand. "Tomura is going to be furious if you damage the car." She just giggled and squirmed until she managed to land in the backseat, practically in Shouto's lap.

She didn't seem to have much sense of personal space, barely moving so that she was no longer sitting on Shouto's leg, but still pressed up as close to him as possible. She touched his arm, and the hickey Bakugou had left on the side of his neck. He sat there, not sure what to do as she ran her hand into his hair, and even touched the scar on his face. Then finally she threw her arms around him, sighing happily as she hugged him.

Shouto froze, glancing up and catching his brother’s bright blue eyes in the rear-view mirror.

"Himiko, relax," Dabi chided, trying to hide a smile as he watched their interaction. "You are going to scare him off before we even get to the party."

"I'm just so happy to meet you!" She said, reluctantly unwrapping her arms from around his waist and scooting over (maybe) an inch. "I know who you are!"

"Everyone knows who I am," he replied, not sure how much she actually knew.

"No silly," she giggled, touching his arm, "you're Dabi's little brother! I know! I know Dabi really well! We're lovers..." That last bit she said very quietly, leaned in close, as if she didn't want Dabi to overhear.

"We're not lovers," Dabi replied, but Toga just kept nodding her head.

Then, suddenly, she buried her nose into the crook of his neck and inhaled deeply.

"Mmm," she coo'ed happily. "You smell just like him."

"Like Dabi?"

“Like Izuku!” She exclaimed, as she practically threw herself backward, missing the side window by mere inches. “He smells so good. Especially when he has been fighting.” She leaned in again, as if to convey a secret. “I bet he tastes good, too. Especially his blood." Bakugou had mentioned that she was obsessed with his friend. And if her reaction to seeing him earlier was any indication, the blonde was probably right.

Wait… his blood?

Shouto had no idea how to respond to that. She had inched one of her fingers in between the buttons on his shirt and had scooted back over to press her body as close into him as possible.

"Dabi's blood tastes really good. I bet yours would taste a lot like his. Can I find out?" Her fingernail jabbed painfully into the soft skin of his belly.

"Ouch!" He jumped, grabbing her hand and pushing it away from him. She pouted.

"Himiko," Dabi's voice sounded harsh this time, definitely a warning.

"Fine," she whined, resorting instead to playing with the sleeve of his shirt.

"So," Shouto tried to change the conversation, doing his best to ignore Toga. "Do we have to drive far?"

"About thirty minutes," Dabi replied.

"Can I start getting him ready Dabi?" She asked.

"Get me ready?" Shouto repeated. He did not like the sound of that. What the hell were they talking about?

"It's Shigaraki," Dabi replied. "He insisted we take a few precautions. Just to ensure that you can't do much harm if you're intentions aren't what you say."

"What kind of precautions?" Shouto didn't exactly like the sound of that any better.

"Just a few things… No phone. Blindfolded once we are about fifteen minutes out. And a quirk-suppressing bracelet."

What?!

"No! No way! You want me go in blind, with no phone, and no quirk to defend myself if something were to happen! Are you crazy?! We didn't agree on this!" Shouto tensed up. How could Dabi agree to something like this? Without even bothering to ask him!

"Nothing will happen now that you are joining us!" Toga replied, "Shiggy is going to love you!"

Shit. Dabi was supposed to tell them he was thinking about joining them. So much for a little white lie!

"You didn't expect him to let you have free reign, did you? It doesn't matter what I say, you are a hero. Well, training to be one at least. One call to the wrong person. A showy display of your quirk to draw attention. Even you knowing the general area. It's too risky."

Fuck. He hadn't considered that. Of course Shigaraki wasn't going to trust him right away. But what if things went wrong? He could end up six feet under and there wouldn’t be a single hero to know what happened.

"I just need to send one quick text." Shouto said, pulling out his phone and opening it up. He would send one quick text to Momo to have her check on him in the morning. Just in case.

"Uh uh," Toga said, snatching his phone out of his hands as soon as he pulled it out of his pocket. "Shiggy said you would want to do that. But he said no texting or calls after you found out about the rule.”

She tossed the phone in the front seat.

"I'm sorry, man," Dabi said. "But I will be there the whole time. Just remember, this is what you wanted." He leaned over and popped open the glovebox. Pulling something out and handing it back to Toga. She squealed happily, grabbing it.

No. No, no. This was definitely not what he wanted.

"Already?" Shouto groaned, realizing it was his blindfold. "I thought you said I didn't have to wear this until 15 minutes out?"

"Trust me," Dabi replied, "she isn't going to let this go until that thing is securely tied around your eyes."

He glanced at Toga. She looked positively ecstatic, grinning wildly as she held the blindfold almost reverently.

Shit. What difference did it make at this point anyway? There was a 50/50 chance that between Shigaraki and Overhaul, he might never see the light of day again. What does a handful of minutes matter anyway. Besides, it might be a good distraction from the fact that he was sitting next to a villain who just asked to taste his blood.

"Fine." Shouto agreed. Toga squealed happily, climbing into his lap and straddling his waist. She wriggled around, pulling up her skirt to reveal a lacy pair of pink panties. Smiling at him, she adjusted to make sure that those panties were settled directly against the zipper of his pants. He could already feel the heat of her pussy. Fuck. What was she playing at?

When she finally seemed satisfied at their position, she reached up and ran her hands through his hair. She gently placed the blindfold over his eyes. Leaning forward, she practically shoved her boobs directly in his face as she reached around him to tie it. She had on a light, floral perfume. But there was an off scent too, a strange undertone of copper. She wriggled around incessantly as she tied the blindfold, and he groaned as the heat and pressure of her pussy started to stir his cock back to life. She giggled, wriggling even more as he started to get an erection.

Then he felt something close around his wrist, clicking in place before he could even try to resist. It must be the quirk suppressing bracelet. It wouldn't take his quirk away completely (quirk canceling bracelets are all but impossible to find outside of the top hero agencies), but it would render both of his quirks almost useless. He would be lucky if he could use it enough for party tricks, lighting up a joint or chilling a drink.

"You silly boy," she giggled, starting to unbutton his shirt. "You didn't even button up your shirt correctly. He tried to reach up to stop her, but she batted his hands away. "Relax, Shouto. You can’t even see the buttons! I will help you." She finished undoing his buttons. But instead of doing them back up, she pushed his shirt open and started running her fingers along his abs and lower stomach, stopping every few seconds to press her fingers into different spots on his skin.

"What the hell?" He jumped, trying to push her hands away.

"I wonder who left these pretty little marks here?" She asked, ignoring his attempts to stop her. Fuck, he had forgotten about the bite marks Bakugou had left. Then suddenly she gasped, her hand jumping up to the mark on his shoulder. He tensed up.

"The Yakuza?!" She exclaimed. "Dabi, does Shiggy know?"

"Not yet," Dabi replied, a serious note to his voice. Shit. Shouto hadn't even thought about how the LoV leader would react to the mark. If he thought Shouto was considering joining the League, what was he going to think when he finds out that he had already been pulled into the Yakuza?

He might be really pissed.

"He is not going to like that, Dabi." She replied. "He hates when you go help them. You know he doesn't trust Overhaul."

"He doesn't trust anyone." Dabi replied. "But it would be best if I told him. So for now, can we keep that little mark a secret?"

"Ok,” she replied, tracing her finger in circle after circle over the mark. "How did you get that mark anyway, Shouto?"

"It doesn't matter," Shouto replied, taking advantage of her distraction to close his shirt, trying to feel blindly to start buttoning it back up.

"Oh, you're so shy!" she giggled, "Just let me help you!" She started buttoning up the shirt. She made it a point to touch his chest as much as possible while she did, and left the top two buttons undone. "Perfect!"

"Are we almost there?" Shouto asked, trying not to grunt as Toga shifted all around, elbowing him twice in the stomach, in order to sit more comfortably, nuzzling her face into his neck. At least now he didn’t have to deal with the heat of her pussy directly over his cock.

"We are only a few minutes away," Dabi replied.

"Ee!" Toga squealed. "Are you so excited to meet Shiggy?! He is just going to love you! He's wanted you in the League for so long!"

"Sure," Shouto replied, afraid of her response if he said anything else.

He could feel Dabi slowing down, the car turning. His heart was starting to race at the thought of walking in. And honestly, he must be genuinely crazy. Like batshit crazy! How this idea ever seemed like the right thing to do was beyond him. This had to be legitimately the worst idea he has ever had.

He honestly still had no idea how to approach Kai. And if Shigaraki expected things from him? Fuck.

"We're here!" Toga squealed, wriggling around on his lap to open the door and climb out. She disappeared for a second, her tiny hands latching onto his arm a moment later and pulling to indicate for him to get out. "Come on, Shouto! I get to lead you in. Oh, we look so cute together! Like a real couple!"

"I have to grab a few things from the car." Dabi said, "Himiko will take you inside. I will be right in."

"Can't we all go in together?" Shouto replied as Toga started to pull him away. Honestly, Dabi had to be just as dangerous as every other person in that room, but he was Shouto's brother, and he would feel a lot better going in if they went together.

"You will be fine. I will be right behind you." He replied. "But Himiko... No funny business."

"Yes, sir!" She replied with a giggle. Shouto reluctantly let her lead him away, the bad feeling in his stomach getting worse with every step.

Yes. This was undoubtedly the worst idea he had ever had. If he survived this night, he would never willingly agree to party with villains again. End of story.

The walk in was much longer than he had expected. And Toga didn't help. She skipped around, and kept stopping, exclaiming about one thing or another. At one point she even stopped to help him 'tuck in his shirt', an awkward struggle in which she blatantly undid his pants, and stroked his cock as she tucked in his shirt-tails. She got so distracted by his quickly growing erection, that he had to forcibly stop her from touching him just so he could re-zip his pants.

"Oh silly, don't be so shy," she said, grabbing his hand as he finally managed to get his zipper and button done up. She started pulling him (hopefully) forward toward the door. "You have such a nice cock! Just like your brother! I bet its going to feel really good just like his too!"

Shit. This chick really was crazy. He absolutely did not need to know his brother had fucked her. And he had absolutely no intention of doing the same.

"Yeah. I’m good. You don't have to fuck me." Shouto replied, trying to sound as casual as possible. Definitely didn't want to piss her off considering that she was solely in charge of him at the moment.

"Oh, I don't mind!" She replied, exploding into a fit of giggles. Then, by the grace of God, he finally heard a door open.

"Step!" She squeaked. Shouto moved carefully, holding on to her hand more tightly for support as he stepped up into... Well, wherever this was.

He could hear the faint sound of heavy metal music and muted conversation. And the smell, it was almost overwhelming. It smelled of cigarettes and marijuana.

Then suddenly there was pressure on his arm, indicating for him to stop. The quiet conversation died, leaving only music to fill the silence. He took a deep breath. He could feel someone grab onto the blindfold, the light blinding him momentarily when they pulled it away.

When he looked up, he was staring directly into Shigaraki's cold, red eyes.

Chapter Text

"Everybody out," Shigaraki said, his voice flat as he eyed Shouto. Shouto had seen him once before, from a distance during the attack at USJ, but he had been in a full costume that day, completely covered with white hands that made it difficult to get a look at the man himself. Today, he was completely exposed, and he looked nothing like what Shouto had imagined. He was tall and thin, almost gangly in his appearance, and his skin looked stretched and thin over his bones. It was dry and pale and almost mummified in its appearance. His red eyes were dark and sunken in comparison, half-hidden by a shaggy mop of silver-blue hair. His lips were thin, cracked along the edges. Most of his skin was covered by a large black hoodie, black jeans, and bright red sneakers. But the arms were pushed up to reveal bandages wrapped around his hands and forearms, hints of blood seeping through in some spots.

“What?!” Toga pouted, stamping her tiny foot in protest as she latched onto Shouto’s arm.

Shigaraki glanced at her, his mouth tightening with mild irritation.

“You can stay if you can keep your mouth shut.” He replied, turning away from her to watch the other villains leave. There was a number of other villains, some he vaguely recognized from the descriptions in class, others he didn’t recognize at all. But there was no sign of either Dabi or Overhaul. Shouto could hear his blood rushing in his ears, his heart beating quickly.

Ok. He could do this. He could handle meeting Shigaraki. He just needed to be confident. That had been his mistake when he met Kai, being too meek and submissive. He needed to handle himself better around this villain, establish himself as someone that the other man couldn’t just walk on.

He took a deep breath. He could do this.

Toga wrapped her arms around Shouto, smiling up at him. Somehow it didn’t make him feel very much better.

Finally, the door to the other room closed. Shigaraki turned back around, an insincere smile on his face. It made his lips crack even more, the skin all around his jaw stretching up tightly at the movement.

"Todoroki Shouto," Shigaraki mused, starting to walk in a circle around him and Toga. The leader seemed to be measuring him up and down, taking note of every small detail about his person. Shouto itched to move away from the villains critical gaze, but he forced himself to stand perfectly still, trying to plaster his usual apathetic neutrality onto his face. He was so nervous he thought he might throw up, but there was no need to let Shigaraki see that.

Toga’s grip on his stomach tightened, her entire tiny frame almost vibrating with excitement as she watched Shigaraki size him up.

"Somehow I was expecting the son of the number one hero and one of the wealthiest men in Japan to be a little more... put together.” Shigaraki’s voice was deep, and raspy. Like the rest of him, it seemed dry, like sand blowing over stone. “I’m almost disappointed.”

Toga giggled

“He was having sex! Dabi called him and said—" Toga started to explain. One sharp look from Shigaraki, though, and she shut up, a tiny whine escaping her mouth as she suppressed the rest of her story.

"I could say the same thing.” Shouto replied, forcing a confidence into his voice that he definitely did not feel. “The future number one hero is considering joining your league, and you’re going to criticize him for a few wrinkles in his shirt?" He was cringing internally, praying that the show of arrogance would pay off.

"And you are just as much of a fucking shit as your brother, I see." Shigaraki replied, a difficult to read expression on his face. "You look a lot like him. At least, a lot like he used to look when I first met him. Back before your father nearly killed him."

How the fuck was he supposed to reply to that?

He finally decided to just stay quiet. Shigaraki was trying to get a rise out of him. He wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

"So tell me, Todoroki, why are you here?" Shigaraki eventually asked, taking out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He offered one to Shouto, but he shook his head. Shigaraki just shrugged, getting on for himself, stuffing the pack back into his pocket and pulling out a lighter.

"Dabi already told you why I was here.” Shouto replied, trying not to flinch or choke as the villain exhaled almost directly into Shouto’s face. The smoke filled his senses, an acrid aroma that made him want to cough and move away. “There is enough corruption in hero society that I am considering joining your league. Maybe see if I can make an actual difference out there.”

"Cut the shit.” Shigaraki scowled. “Pretty little heroes like you don't just decide to become a villain. I want to know the real reason you are here tonight."

"Fine.” Shouto swallowed. Fuck. What the fuck was he supposed to say? The villain obviously knew about Endeavor, so that seemed as good a place as any. “My father is an asshole. You know that. I know that. Everyone knows it. He's an abusive prick who is more worried about ratings than actually helping people. And I knew there were other heroes like him. Ones that were in their position for the money and the status, but it was easy to ignore. Then you and your gang kidnapped Bakugou. And you fed him all the same bullshit I already knew, but hearing another hero say it… It just seemed different. So when Touya contacted me, and I found out who he really was and why, I decided that maybe I wanted to make a change too.” Fuck. The worst part was that it wasn’t really a lie. There were some good heroes out there, sure. But a lot of them were almost as bad as some of the villains they put behind bars on a daily basis.

Shigaraki’s face didn’t change. He seemed completely unimpressed, continuing to puff on his cigarette.

"That's a pretty story." Shigaraki finally replied. "But I think you got a few things wrong. You see, I know exactly how many pathetic times you tried to find your brother. You were desperate to have him back. Now that you have him in your life, I think you will do almost anything to keep him there. It's almost disgusting really. He whispers a few things in your ear and your little rebellious teenage spirit is all in. But you don't really want this. Sure tonight sounds fun. Party. Get high. Maybe even get laid. But what happens when I need you to get those perfect little hands dirty? And you decide this is all one big mistake? What happens when you run away and cry to your little hero mentors?"

Fuck. It sounded so much like what Overhaul had said to him. He couldn’t make the same mistake and be cowed. Be confident. Make him believe you.

"I wouldn't do that. Even if I don't join you, I wouldn't. If I take you down, than I take Dabi down. He's a trump card for you. Like you said, I care about him." Shouto replied, praying that that would be enough to assure Shigaraki that he was serious. Even if he was only telling a partial truth. He had no interest in joining the League. But he couldn’t turn them in, not until he found a way to get Dabi out. Dabi’s flames were a big part of the League’s success, and apparently now the Yakuza’s. If the law were to ever get a hold of his brother, Dabi would spend the rest of his life behind bars.

"You don't know what you would fucking do. What are you? Eighteen? Nineteen? You don't even know who you are yet. And you sure as hell don't know who Dabi is. I can't risk having you out there as a loose cannon when you find out. So here is how tonight is going to. This isn't some game where you get to decide if you want to play or not. You're way past the starting line already. And I don't trust having you here. So by the end of tonight, I will either have a reason to trust you, or I will have my friend here help me find a better use for you." Shigaraki snapped his fingers.

There was a movement in the corner of the kitchen, and Shouto looked up to notice a large mutant stepping forward. It was fucking huge! And it was… wait. It was just like the monster that Shigaraki had brought to the attack at USJ. A nomu. Shouto’s heart dropped. He was definitely going to throw up. He was alone, with barely any access to his quirk, and Shigaraki had a fucking nomu lined up to take him away if the night didn’t go to Shigaraki’s satisfaction.

And he had been worried about what to do with Overhaul.

Fuck.

"So tonight, you will party. I give you a drink, and you will drink it. I give you drugs, and you will take them. I take out my cock, and you will get on your fucking knees and suck it. Do I make myself clear?"

So much for the show of confidence. He was trapped. At least Dabi would be there, eventually. He wouldn’t let things go too far, would he? New plan. Make Shigaraki happy. Make Overhaul happy. Try to escape tonight without being locked away as some villain’s pet where no hero would ever find him.

He nodded. His bravado was gone. He could hardly breathe past the lump in his throat.

"Good boy," Shigaraki smiled. "It's also important that nobody else finds out that you’re Dabi's brother. The only people who know are Toga and myself, and it needs to stay that way. Nobody else needs to know that Dabi is a fucking Todoroki."

Shouto nodded. It would make things a little harder. He would have to pretend that he didn’t really know Dabi. But that was alright. He could work with that.

“Good boy,” Shigaraki replied, patting his cheek carefully so that his thumb didn’t touch Shouto’s skin. Shouto closed his eyes at the touch, trying not to flinch away. He had seen the results of Shigaraki’s quirk on his professor’s elbow, and it was gruesome. Having those dry fingers touch him, knowing what they were capable of, made him shudder.

"Eee!!" Toga squealed, jumping up and down a little. "Didn't I tell you? I told you Shiggy would love you!"

If this was Shigaraki 'loving' someone, he did not want to see how the villain behaved with someone he didn't like.

Shigaraki just gave him a dry smile, before walking over to open the door to the other room and motioning for him to go through. Toga grabbed his hand, practically skipping as she led him through the doorway. The music was much louder in here. And honestly, besides the overwhelmingly pungent smell of cigarettes and the fact that he knew everyone in the room was a fucking villain, it was almost cozy. There was a huge, cushioned couch and two large matching armchairs all arranged around an oval coffee table. A tall, round restaurant-style table took up one corner of the room, flanked by two leather barstools. There was an old jukebox next to the table, and the far wall had some (probably fairly expensive) vintage paintings of ancient Japanese heroes. The place must be pretty large, because there was a long hall and two other doorways leading out of the room. But it was clearly a party, and the tables were covered in various bottles and cans of booze, a few ashtray’s already overflowing with ash and cigarette butts.

"Everyone here has been eager to meet you, Todoroki.” Shigaraki drawled, following them into the room and casually putting his arm over Shouto’s shoulder. Shouto tried not to, but his shoulders tensed involuntarily at the contact. Shigaraki’s arm was practically weightless. And although the hoodie made it hard to tell, Shigaraki felt like skin and bones as his weight pressed against Shouto’s side. He desperately wanted to pull away from the contact, but he forced himself to stay put. “It's not everyday we get to meet the future number one hero." There was a definite hint of mockery in his voice. Shouto cringed, recognizing his own words being thrown back at him. “Let me introduce you to the crew.”

“This green mutant over here is Spinner,” Shigaraki began, pointing to a villain that Shouto recognized from Bakugou’s description (a ‘teenage mutant ninja turtle mother-fucker’, and honestly, Bakugou wasn’t really wrong). “His quirk is basically useless if there isn’t a fucking wall around, but he will fuck you up with a sword with or without some fancy quirk.” The man glared at Shouto, not bothering to even pretend to be happy to see him.

“Then there is Magne. She is one of the toughest bitches here, and she will fuck you up in hand to hand combat. Try to run, and she will happily use her quirk to pull you straight back to her.” He continued, pointing to a very muscular woman with red hair, large lips, and a pair of sunglasses covering her eyes. Shouto had seen her briefly during the attack at the training camp. She had nearly taken Tiger out, despite his enhanced strength. She actually smiled at him, but it definitely didn’t feel like a warm and welcoming smile.

“The big guy over there is Muscular,” Shigaraki pointed at a large man spread out on the couch. He was almost as big and solidly built as the fucking nomu, and there was no doubt that he was pure muscle. He had blonde, spikey hair, and might have been handsome except that one of his eyes was a cold, almost-robotic implant that made it hard to meet his gaze. “He doesn’t usually need his quirk, but if you piss him off than you only make him stronger.”

The man stared flatly. Shouto tried to only look at his one green eye. Shouto noticed that Shigaraki was making sure to introduce each of them with a bit about their quirk. It was definitely an intimidation tactic, and it was working. Even without this damn bracelet, Shouto would be no match for the entirety of the power sitting in this room.

“This next asshole is twice. He can duplicate things, including himself. Definitely not the type of person to try to overpower if you know what’s good for you.” He pointed to an older man with spiky blonde hair that looked vaguely reminiscent of Bakugou, albeit much more scarred and with a sallow, drawn skin that betrayed years of heavy drug use. “He has a bit of a split personality, making it twice as easy to piss him off.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Todoroki Shouto!” The man actually waved happily. But his smile dropped a moment later, and in a deeper voice he growled, “What the fuck is this kid doing here?” At least he bothered to say hi?

Dabi was next, sprawled out on one of the armchairs. He had taken off the black face mask, and lowered the hood of his jacket. He looked really fucking good tonight, and Shouto wondered if he had taken extra time with his appearance to impress Kai. But, strangely, Dabi had two women hanging on him. They were obviously twins, both in their late twenties, with their hair hanging down their backs and in matching skirts and tube tops. One of them was sitting on the floor next to him with her head resting on his leg, the other was perched on his lap, sharing a joint between them.

“The guy with the tattoo’s is Dabi, accompanied as usual by a bit of arm candy that he probably bribed with drugs in order to entertain some of the other men. These two seem especially eager to please.” Shigaraki scowled at the sight of the girls hanging all over Dabi. “He is my right hand, and if you step out of line, I will have him burn you alive.” No veiled threat there, and Shouto wasn’t really sure if the threat was meant more for him or Dabi. But the thought of Dabi using his blue flames against him made Shouto shudder.

“Of course you already know Toga,” Shigaraki smiled dryly, and Toga squealed happily at her own introduction. Toga. Apparently some sort of shape-shifter who really likes knives and blood. “She has agreed to help get you settled in tonight.” Of course she had. She had all but glued herself to his side, and Shouto wasn’t sure if he would be able to get away from her long enough to even take a piss.

There was still no sign of Overhaul. Although Shouto hated himself for even thinking it, but the presence of the golden-eyed man would make him feel better. He was undoubtedly as powerful, if not more so, than Shigaraki. But at least he seemed to like Shouto. And he didn’t think the Yakuza leader would let the other villains mess with him.

Fuck. He was definitely in a bad spot if he was hopeful to have a villain protect him from other villains.

It was going to be a long night.

Shigaraki finally let his arm drop away from Shouto’s shoulder. He walked over and chose a clear, plastic cup from off the coffee table. He sniffed it for a moment, than brought it over and handed it to Shouto with a smile. Shouto accepted it, inspecting it suspiciously. It was almost clear, with only the faintest hint of color in the dim light.

“Well,” Shigaraki urged him, pushing the cup toward his lips. “Drink up.”

Shouto took a tentative sip, trying not to choke. The drink had to be like, 99% vodka, he was sure of it. Shigaraki frowned, pushing the drink forward more so that Shouto had to choke down a much bigger amount, vodka dripping past the cup and down his cheek.

Toga leaned up and licked the alcohol off the side of his cheek, grabbing the cup and leading him over toward the couch. She sat him down next to muscular, all but climbing happily into his lap as she took a sip of his drink. The woman on the floor next to Dabi looked over at him, smiling shyly. She was really cute, and she definitely had a nice body, her outfit showing off her long legs, slim waist, and a decent chest. But Shouto didn’t get much of a chance to check her out before Toga leaned off the couch, glaring at the girl until she gave up and turned all of her attention back to Dabi. Satisfied, Toga wriggled around until she was snuggled between the arm of the couch and his side, her legs thrown possessively over his thighs.

Shigaraki had lit up another cigarette, taking a deep drag and taking out his phone. He frowned.

"Dabi,” Shigaraki snapped, demanding his brother’s attention. “Where the fuck is Overhaul? It was his fucking idea to move this thing to tonight, and he can't even bother to get the drugs here on time?"

"Relax, Tomura,” Dabi replied, “He got held up with his boss. The drugs should be here any minute, and he will join us a little later."

“Oh, you are going to like this Shouto.” Toga exclaimed happily. “We are going to be pushing a new type of cocaine for the Yakuza. It’s apparently much stronger than normal, so you don’t have to take as much, and it lasts a bit longer!”

“Oh,” he wasn’t really sure how to respond. He had actually never done cocaine before. And he didn’t really want to. He knew a little about it. They had been taught to identify basic signs of drug use for their emergency medical training at UA. Cocaine generally made people feel good. But it also altered their ability to think and make sound decisions. And it was very addicting. Smoking a joint was one thing, but cocaine?! He had a bad feeling that he wasn’t really going to get a choice.

“That fucking kid doesn’t care,” Muscular growled, glaring down at Shouto. “Why don’t you leave him be and come over here and give a real man some attention.” He patted his leg, scooting his legs slightly to make room for her to climb onto his lap.

“Ugh! No!” She pouted, clinging harder onto Shouto. “Last time you said my room was too pink! You are a jerk! I bet Shouto likes the color pink! Don’t you?”

“How can you not like pink, you bastard?” Twice taunted, a deeper voice echoing “No one likes that fucking pink room.”

Toga frowned at Twice, turning her attention back to Shouto.

Shouto nodded. Sure. He could like pink.

Muscular growled, leaning forward and grabbing a can off the table. He popped it open, taking a large swig as he turned his attention to the two women still sitting with Dabi. Dabi had his head leaned back against the chair, one of them was kissing his neck, the other, the one who had smiled at Shouto, was running her hand up and down his thigh. Shouto was pretty sure they were barking up the wrong tree. But his brother seemed way more relaxed than he had been earlier, so Shouto was glad they were there.

“Why the hell are you even here, hero?” Spinner asked, practically spitting the last word. Shigaraki snorted derisively, and Shouto glanced around. The leader was sitting at the table in the corner, drinking something and just… watching.

“Same reason you are, I guess.” He replied. He already had this conversation with Shigaraki. He didn’t really feel like repeating it with some guy who clearly disliked him. “Not really happy with everything. Thought I would see what you guys had to offer.”

Spinner scoffed.

“I didn’t realize this was some kind of audition.” He quipped. “First that fucking blonde asshole, now this kid? What are we now? Some kind of after school club for emotionally constipated heroes?”

“Shut the fuck up Spinner,” Shigaraki retorted. “Maybe if you had done your job at the training camp, I wouldn’t have to recruit new members.”

“New members?” The green man retorted. “This kid? He is way too fucking naive for this shit.”

“Be nice to Shouto,” Toga replied, defending him. “He is much stronger than you think!”

Muscular laughed. Even Magne cracked a smile.

“Strength ain’t worth that much,” Spinner said, silencing Muscular’s laugh and earning the mutant some hard looks from his friend. “Being a villain takes gumption. And grit. Just because this kid has a flashy quirk and a pretty face doesn’t mean that he belongs here.”

“The last job I had was only supposed to last ten minutes. A quick in-and-out to collect some money, ya know,” Magne joined in, leaning forward and speaking directly to Shouto. “It took three hours, a few broken fingers, and a dead kitty before the guy finally decided to pay up. Could you have done that, Todoroki?”

“That’s nothing!” Muscular cut in before Shouto could even answer. Not that he wanted to. No. No, he didn’t think that he could have done that. Nor would he have wanted to. He didn’t want to be in the League at all. “Remember last year when we had to clean up that political mess with the mayor? I had to kill 4 men to keep that mess quiet. And do you think our nice mayor helped with the clean-up? Of course not. Twice and I spent almost two days taking apart those bodies and burying them. Bet you couldn’t do that either, hero.”

“I got a nice gold ring from that job,” Twice replied cheerily, “Not really gold ya know…” his lower voice grumbled in response.

Shouto kept his mouth shut. He could almost feel Dabi watching his response. For all those pompous claims that the League was meant to fight corruption, it certainly didn’t feel like that was their main focus. These guys sounded like the type of low-life thugs that should be behind bars. The thought of killing people made him physically sick. These guys were definitely right. He didn’t belong here. But the worst part was that he had to pretend hearing those stories didn’t bother him at all.

“What about that time—” Spinner began, but he was cut off by Shigaraki.

“Enough,” Shigaraki finally cut in, his voice even drier than usual, an almost deadly tone in it. “If I say he belongs, than he belongs. I dragged most of you out of the fucking gutters before I brought you here. Do you really want to question my judgment? Because I spent last week breaking half of you good-for-nothing assholes out of jail after you failed the mission at the training camp. Dabi was the only one who managed to accomplish anything other than getting their asses handed to them by a bunch of fucking heroes in training, this one included.”

The room grew quiet.

“That’s what I thought.” Shigaraki replied after a moment.

A movement in the doorway caught Shouto’s eye. He looked up to see a guy with a long white jacket, and strange beaked black and white mask that covered his entire face, and a hood pulled over his hair.

“I told you the drugs would be here soon,” Dabi said.

"Fucking finally," Shigaraki scowled. The man just shrugged, but handed him a very small, white box.

"Overhaul will be here in a few hours. He expects your answer tonight." The man said, his voice low and flat.

"Well, then he better hope that these drugs are as good as he claims. I won't push cheap drugs like the last shit you tried to dump on us, Chronostasis.”

The other man, Chronostasis, didn’t bother to reply. He looked around the room, his masked gaze stopping on Shouto. He just stared for a moment, then turned around and left.

"Well," Dabi said, pinching the girl on his lap playfully to get her up. "Let's get the real party started."

"You aren't taking any of this." Shigaraki replied, matter-of-fact. "You and Twice still have a delivery to make tonight."

"What?" Dabi exclaimed, an alarmed look crossing his face. Shouto felt it too. If Dabi had a delivery, then he wouldn't be here. That meant Shouto would be here alone with the League, a thought that made him very nervous. "I thought that delivery got postponed till Monday."

"Nishioka changed her mind. She needs it tonight." Shigaraki replied flatly.

"That's two cities over. We will miss the entire night!"

"And?"

"And you should let Magne go with Twice. She is just as capable as me, and they both know the route. As your number one drug pusher, don't you think I should be here to try our newest product."

"As my number one drug pusher, I expect you to deliver drugs when and where I say without argument."

Dabi clenched his jaw. Shigaraki met his gaze without hesitation, raising an eyebrow questioningly, as if daring Dabi to disagree.

"Are you unwilling to do your job, Dabi?" Shigaraki asked.

Fuck.

Toga giggled to herself.

"Look at them pretend to argue." she said happily, "They really love each other, ya know?"

Shouto honestly had no idea. He knew Dabi had respect for Shigaraki, cared about him even. But love? He kind of hoped not.

"Fine," Dabi finally replied through gritted teeth, a cold fury in his voice as he glared at Shigaraki "I will do it."

Shouto's heart dropped into his stomach. This was it. This was going to be the end for Shouto.

"Twice," Dabi snapped. "Get your shit together. We leave in fifteen minutes."

"Okay Dabi," he replied cheerfully, followed by a much lower, "Fuck you."

Dabi stalked over, leaning down and whispering in Shouto's ear.

"Be careful."

"We all know the real reason Dabi wants to stay," Spinner quipped the moment Dabi touched Shouto. "He likes those tall, young guys.”

"You're just bitter that he won't fuck your ugly face." Magne replied with a snicker.

"Fuck off," Spinner sneered, standing up and disappearing in to the kitchen.

Dabi gave Shouto a serious look as he stepped back. It was interrupted by Toga, who threw her arms around Dabi's waist.

"It's too bad you have to go! You are going to miss all the fun." She pouted, burying her head into his chest.

He scowled, turning his head to glare at Shigaraki.

"I better not miss too much fun," he replied, a dark tone in his voice. He pushed Toga gently away from him, and stalked out of the room, scowling.

"It's going to be a long ride for you, Twice," Magne joked as the other man followed his brother out of the room. Shouto watched the door close behind them. He wanted to throw up.

This was bad.

When he glanced back around, Shigaraki was staring at him.

"You're up, Todoroki," the leader sneered, opening up the box and pulling out a small bag of white powder.

Fuck.

Toga jumped out of his lap, grabbing his hand and pulling him off the couch with a huge grin on her face. Shigaraki kneeled down, scowling at the mess on the coffee table.

“You,” he sneered, pointing at one of the twins. “Clean up this shit.”

She hesitated for a moment, but finally gave in and starting to gather up the empty bottles and cans. Her sister tried to join her, but Muscular grabbed her before she could help and settled her tiny frame on his lap.

“You can make yourself useful right there, sweet cheeks.” The burly man said, his hand wrapped around her thin waist.

Those two looked just as unhappy as Shouto was at Dabi’s disappearance.

Shouto kneeled down next to Shigaraki. A part of him felt like he was kneeling in front of the headsman’s axe. No Phone. No quirk. No idea where he was. And not a single person in the room who gave a real fuck about him. And now he was going to be drugged up.

Shigaraki waited for the table to be cleared, sprinkling a small pile of the white powder on the wood surface. He took a small wooden rectangle, and pushed the powder into a long, thin line. Satisfied, he fished a fat, white straw out of the box, handed it to Shouto, and motioned toward the table.

Shouto held the straw. He knew how it worked, in theory. It couldn’t be that hard, right?

He glanced around nervously. Everyone was staring at him. When he looked at Shigaraki, the gaunt leader just stared at him with his sunken red eyes and eventually raised an eyebrow. Toga walked around and leaned in behind him, taking his hand and positioning the straw against his nose. She gently pushed his head down toward the table.

Here we go, Shouto thought to himself. He set the straw against the table, and sniffed up the line of coke just like he had seen in the movies. And it was… awful. The powder burned in his nose, and he pulled away from the table, rubbing at his nose. Fuck. Why did people do this stuff?

Toga laughed happily.

“Me next!” she exclaimed.

Shouto pushed himself back up, sitting on the far end of the couch, as far away from Muscular as he could. He watched as one by one, each of the League members did a line. Toga stayed by Shigaraki the entire time, cheering each of them on. There was only a bit left once everyone, except Shigaraki (who Shouto noticed didn’t actually take any). Shigaraki poured it on the table, lining it all up.

“Todoroki,” he said, looking up at Shouto.

“I’m good.” Shouto replied. He could already feel the effects of the first line. He felt good. Confident.

“I wasn’t asking,” Shigaraki stated flatly.

Shouto hesitantly pushed himself up off the couch and made his way back over, dropping to his knees. Shigaraki handed him the straw. Hands shaking, he leaned down quickly snorted the second line. It was just as awful, but at least it hadn’t been quite as much as the first line.

Pulling back away, he set the straw back on the table.

Shigaraki smiled at him.

“Good boy,” he said, his red eyes eerily reminiscent of blood in the dim lighting.

The party took off after that. If he had started to feel good after the first line, he felt amazing after the second. They turned up the music, and the twins started to dance together, grinding and touching each other in a way that definitely didn’t seem appropriate for sisters (although Shouto would not be the one to try and stop them). Toga loved it, and quickly pulled him up and over to join them. For a little while, it felt like he was at the club. Loud music and sweaty bodies grinding up against each other.

Shouto couldn’t stop smiling. He just felt so fucking good.

After a few songs, Toga started jumping up and down, pulling him back over toward the couch.

“You are getting another call!” Toga squealed happily. Shouto hadn’t even realized that she had his phone. He had assumed it was still somewhere in Dabi’s car. “It’s ‘Zuku! Oh, Shiggy can we answer?! Maybe he will come and play with us too!”

She watched happily as a little picture of Izuku flashed on the screen, running her finger hopefully over the picture.

“No,” Shigaraki replied, “No answering Todoroki’s phone. No matter who calls.”

“Fine,” She whined, watching the picture until it finally stopped ringing.

She snuggled up next to Shouto on the couch, nuzzling up underneath his arm and against his chest. Shouto was grateful for the warmth. God, it was really cold in here. He looked around, everyone seemed to be winding down just a bit. Muscular had settled down in the largest armchair, and had pulled the twins onto his lap, one on each leg. They seemed to be much more comfortable after the cocaine, and were openly laughing at something he had said. One of them already had her tube top pulled down, and Shouto was enjoying watching her perky breasts bounce slightly as she laughed. Spinner and Magne had moved over to the corner table, looking at something on Spinner’s phone. Shigaraki was sitting in the chair across from he and Toga, watching them.

“Will you tell me about him?” Toga sighed, running her hand across his thigh.

“About who?” Shouto asked. Her fingers on his thigh felt good.

“Izuku, of course!” she giggled. “Tell me about Izuku.”

“He is a really cool guy, ya know.” Shouto replied. Man, he felt really good. Was this what cocaine was like? No wonder people did this stuff. He felt great! “He is really strong. His quirk is one of the strongest in our class.”

“What is his quirk?” Shigaraki asked.

“He’s just like… super fucking strong.” Shouto said. What was his quirk? Definitely super-strength. But he also had that like electrical thing. Super-electrical-strength. Yeah, he should ask Izuku about that sometime.

“Where did his quirk come from?” Shigaraki pressed. Toga ran her fingers across his cock, giggling as it twitched in response.

Where did his quirk come from? Shigaraki must be high as fuck right now. He was fucking born with it, duh.

“Um. Same place as everyone, I guess.”

“How well do you know Izuku?” Shigaraki asked.

“Does he have a big cock?” Toga asked at the same time.

“I don’t know.” Shouto replied, closing his eyes as Toga slipped her fingers into the waist of his boxers and touched his cock. Yes. That felt so good. “I… I’ve never seen his cock before.”

“Oh,” She sighed, “That’s too bad. I bet he has a big cock.” She pulled her hand out of his boxers and started trying to undo the button and zipper on his pants. “You guys must be really good friends.”

"Yeah we are pretty good friends. He helped me a lot with my quirk." Shouto replied, shifting slightly and pushing her hands away.

"Where you guys going to have sex?" She asked innocently, ignoring him and wriggling her fingers around to get his button and zipper undone.

She dipped her hand into his boxers and wrapped her fingers around his cock again. God, it felt good. Great actually.

He felt really great.

He stopped trying to push her hands away, scooting forward slightly to give her better access. She crawled off his lap and got down on her knees in front of him, eagerly pulling down his pants and boxers.

Wait. What was the question?

Sex with Izuku?

"No. I wasn't having sex with Izuku."

She started licking the shaft of his cock. Fuck. She was barely touching him. How did it feel so good? He wanted to feel her entire mouth on him. He reached down, tangling his hand into her hair.

She giggled, taking his entire length in her mouth and then popping off with a playful wink.

"What were you doing with my ‘Zuzu, then?" She asked, peeking up at him coyly.

"I went over to Bakugou's and he was already there. They live really close together so they were just hanging out and playing videogames." For being completely crazy, she was damn good with her mouth. She had almost no gag reflex, and Shouto didn't think he had ever felt someone do so much with just their tongue.

Fuck. No wonder Dabi fucked her.

"And where does Bakugou live?" Shigaraki asked as Toga took his entire cock into her mouth and deep-throated him.

"In the suburbs." He replied, his fingers curling into her blonde hair as she swallowed around his head. "Fuck... On Shipporo-nishi. Fuck, Toga!"

She pulled off slightly, giggling around his cock. God. The vibrations felt amazing.

"Mmm... Do you like fucking my mouth Shouto?" Toga asked.

He nodded, looking up and meeting her yellow eyes. She made a happy noise, standing up and sliding her pink panties off. She straddled his lap, lining him up and settling herself slowly down onto his cock. Her schoolgirl skirt spread out over them, a pathetic attempt at decency considering that they were openly having sex.

"I bet I can make you feel even better!" She said breathily, a sexy flush on her cheeks. She started to ride him, reaching over and undoing the buttons on his shirt.

He groaned, enjoying the heat of her pussy on him.

"What in the fuck is that?" Shigaraki growled. Shouto had almost forgotten that the man was there watching them. He was surprised by the sudden outburst, until he realized that Toga had uncovered the Yakuza symbol on his shoulder.

Shit.

Super shit!

“Oh!” Toga gasped, realizing her mistake at the same time as Shouto. “Dabi said you weren’t supposed to see that! He said it would be best if he told you about it later!” She stopped grinding against him, staring at the mark, a very concerned look on her face.

“I see.” He scowled. “Dabi seems to have a lot of opinions about this. Tell me, Shouto… Did Dabi tell you to lie to me?”

“I didn’t lie to you…” Shouto mumbled. He didn’t lie to Shigaraki. He just hadn’t told him yet. Everything was ok. Toga was making him feel so good. Fuck. He wished that she hadn’t stopped. He started to move his head to the music, enjoying the feeling of Toga’s body pressed up against him, the twinkling of the light in the room shining off the two girls going down on muscular. He stared at the trio. That villain’s cock was a fucking monster. He shuddered painfully at the thought of being fucked by it.

Suddenly, Shigaraki grabbed his face and turned it back toward him.

“I asked you why you were here. You told me you were interested in joining my league. Now I find out you are already marked by the fucking Yakuza. That means you lied.” His fingers were tightening painfully on his cheeks. Shouto tried to move his head away. Did he have gloves on? When did that happen? At least it made his touch seem softer. He hadn’t enjoyed the coarse feeling of his hands earlier. He felt so… dry. Dead. “I don’t like people who lie to me. But I am going to give you one chance to redeem yourself. Don’t you want me to be happy with you, Todoroki?”

Shit. He had to make sure Shigaraki was happy with him.

“Yeah… yeah,” He groaned as Toga shifted, her pussy tightening around his cock as she did.

“Then I need to know how you got this mark. No lies, Shouto. I want the truth.”

“Ok, yeah. Whatever.” Shouto replied. Why in the fuck did this even matter? Couldn’t they talk about this later, after he finished fucking Toga. “I was at… at Dabi’s.” He could remember everything. Fuck, watching Overhaul dominate his brother… Fuck his brother… “They were… fucking. I didn’t mean to, but I saw them. And then Kai saw me.” Wasn’t Kai supposed to be here tonight? God he wanted to see him. He wouldn’t be so shy this time… “He was angry at first. He… threatened to kill me. But then he didn’t. He left this mark, and said that I belonged to him.”

Toga gasped, turning to stare at Shigaraki.

“You saw Dabi fucking Overhaul?” Shigaraki asked. He sounded angry. Fuck. Shouto had pissed him off. He wasn’t supposed to do that. He only had one chance to make him happy.

“No… No. Kai fucked Dabi.” He explained.

Shigaraki stood up suddenly, pushing the couch slightly as he did so. Shouto could feel the reverberation throughout his entire body. Toga jumped off his cock, leaving it feeling cold. Shouto sighed, letting his head fall back against the couch.

“It’s ok, Shiggy!” Toga said, running over and trying to hug Shigaraki. “He didn’t mean it. I know he didn’t mean it!”

“I told you!” Shigaraki yelled. “I fucking told you they were sleeping together.” He pushed her away. He screamed, grabbing a half-full bottle of vodka off the table and chucking it at the wall. It exploded, spraying alcohol and shards of glass all over that side of the room. “FUCK!”

“Dabi fucks lots of people!” Toga squeaked, still trying to grab his arm comfortingly. “It doesn’t mean anything to him. You know he loves you!”

“Overhaul doesn’t give a fuck about Dabi. He just wants to take him away from me.” Shigaraki hissed, grabbing another bottle and chucking it, the resulting shatter of glass echoing through the room as loudly as the first.

“Boss?” Muscular was pushing the two girls off him, half-standing from his chair.

“Get out.” Shigaraki replied, without even looking at him. “All of you, get out!”

Fuck. Shouto didn’t want to walk. His legs felt relaxed… almost numb. He pushed himself up, half-falling off the couch in his attempt. His head swam slightly at the movement.

“Not you, Todoroki. Or you, Toga.” He replied. Muscular gathered up the two half-naked women and ushered them out of the room. Spinner and Magne got up from their chairs in the corner, following the burly villain. Shouto relaxed, letting himself fall against the couch. Thank god. He didn’t think he could walk.

The door closed.

“You need to relax, Shiggy.” Toga replied. “We can talk to Dabi tomorrow.”

“Relax. You want me to—” Shigaraki began, stopping. A moment later, Shouto felt someone grab his arm. He opened his eyes. Shigaraki was leaning down next to him. The leader put his hand underneath Shouto’s arm, pulling him back up and onto the couch. Shigaraki settled him back against the couch, pulling his sleeves off of his arms and throwing Shouto’s shirt on the floor.

“Mmm…” Toga hummed, running over and jumping on the couch next to Shouto. “Isn’t he cute?”

“Tell me, Shouto…” Shigaraki asked, his voice, although still raspy, was much softer than before. “Has Overhaul fucked you yet?”

"No." Shouto thought maybe tonight. But he wasn't here yet. Maybe Kai didn’t really care about him that way. Maybe the gang leader was just playing with him.

"He must not care about you very much then." Shigaraki smiled, his words echoing Shouto’s own thoughts. "No doubt that Dabi has already let him know you are here with me. And yet, he hasn't come. Anything could have happened to you by now."

"Poor Shouto!" Toga whined, wrapping her arms around him in a hug, snuggling her nose into his arm. "We care about you!”

Why don't we show Overhaul how much we care about his new toy?" Shigaraki suggested, reaching over and touching Toga’s cheek with one gloved hand. Wait. Shouto tried to shake his head, but they ignored him. He was ok with Toga fucking him. She was cute, and she felt great. But Shigaraki. That man terrified him. And the thought of being fucked by him made Shouto squirm.

"What about Dabi?" Toga asked.

"Dabi deserves to know the consequences of his actions" Shigaraki replied. The villain stood up, kicked off his shoes and stripped down until he was left in just a thin pair of black boxers and his black gloves and bandages. The man really was practically skin and bones, his skin stretched over his ribs and pelvis the same disturbing way it stretched over his face. And just like his face, his skin was pale and dry, and he had large scratches across his chest and stomach.

Toga jumped up, running her hands up and down the man’s stomach, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him.

Shouto watched the pair. Shigaraki wrapped his long arms around her waist and dipped his head down to kiss her deeply. Shouto cringed to think about the way his dry lips would feel on his skin. They continued to kiss for some time, and part of Shouto hoped that they would forget about him. Though Toga did feel amazing fucking him…

"First, though," Shigaraki finally said, pulling away from Toga, "we cannot forget our original plan. Did you bring your knives?"

Toga squealed, jumping up and running out of the room.

Knives?

"Let's finish getting you undressed, Todoroki. We can't very well fuck you like that, can we?" Shigaraki said, kneeling down on the couch next to him.

Shit. Shouto cringed as Shigaraki’s gloved hand wrapped around his arm. He didn’t want this. But he had to make Shigaraki happy. If this was what the villain wanted… Toga had already pulled his pants most of the way off, so Shigaraki was able to strip him the rest of the way very quickly, leaving him completely exposed, those red eyes scanning over every inch of naked skin.

"You really are such a pretty boy," he said, pulling off his left glove. Shigaraki hesitated for a moment, before reaching over and setting all five of his fingers over the mark on his shoulder. Pain erupted under the man’s fingers. Shouto screamed, flinching away from Shigaraki as a burning pain seared into his chest.

Shigaraki let him pull away, smiling as he sat back and calmly slid his glove back on.

Shouto looked down. Shigaraki had used his quirk to destroy the mark that Kai had left on his shoulder, leaving an ugly, open wound where the mark had been.

"That's much better. I wouldn't enjoy fucking you nearly as much with that thing on you."

Toga came skipping back in with a large, glittery pink bag. She set it down on the coffee table, then turned around. She had a huge smile, but it dropped when she saw Shouto cringing over on the couch.

"Shiggy! What did you do?" She pouted, stamping her foot. "I had his cock nice and hard!"

"Don't worry," Shigaraki said, standing up and walking around behind the couch, "This whore wants us to fuck him. He will get hard again."

She nodded in agreement. Shouto tentatively touched the wound on his shoulder, hissing at the pain. God, it definitely killed a part of the high he had been enjoying.

Shigaraki leaned over the couch, firmly grabbing Shouto’s arms and re-positioning him to be sitting up once more as Toga busied herself pulling out knives from her bag, gushing over each one as she tried to decide. She finally chose a small knife with a curved blade, smiling happily as she tested it with her finger and a small drop of blood marred her pale skin. She set it on the couch next to Shouto as Shigaraki wrapped his arms around Shouto’s, holding him in place on the couch. Toga fished out a small bottle, setting it next to the knife.

“Shouto, you are going to love this!” She exclaimed gleefully as she started to get undressed. Shouto wanted to enjoy the show. Fuck, Toga was actually really pretty. She had beautiful tits with small, pink nipples, a slim waist, and she had trimmed her pubic hair into a cute heart shape. But the cold knife that was resting near his thigh, and the pressure of Shigaraki’s arms holding him in place made it hard to relax. Once she was fully naked, Toga dropped back down to her knees, taking Shouto immediately back into her mouth, humming happily as she stroked him with her tongue.

"Mmm..." She moaned, popping off for a second and licking her lips. "I just love how you taste!"

Shouto groaned as she wrapped her lips around his cock again. Her mouth was a nice distraction. The pain in his shoulder had subsided to a dull throb, and he could feel himself getting hard in her mouth.

"Good boy," Shigaraki whispered. Shouto shuddered at the feeling of the man’s cool breath on his neck. "Enjoy her mouth. She loves being fucked. Close your eyes. This next part is going to pinch just a little bit."

Toga climbed on top of him, lining him up and sliding down onto his cock. Her pussy was already soaking wet from fucking him earlier, and it felt amazing inside of her. At the same time, Shigaraki bit his neck, grazing his teeth across the sensitive skin as he sucked on the very same spot that Bakugou had earlier. It felt really good, and Shouto lay his head back against the soft cushion of the couch, tilting his head slightly to give Shigaraki better access to that spot. Closing his eyes, he focused on the feeling of Toga’s pussy moving up and down on his cock.

He cringed as a sharp pain suddenly bloomed on his chest. His eyes shot open, and Shigaraki’s hold on him tightened as he struggled. Toga was dragging her knife across the bottom of his right pectoral, the sharp blade cutting shallow as she went. She squealed as blood started to trickle across his skin, grabbing the bottle and using it to collect the rivulets.

“Stop,” he pleaded, struggling underneath the pair. His body still felt so weak.

Shigaraki resumed kissing his neck, as Toga placed the knife in between her teeth and started to knead the skin around the wound, causing the blood to flow harder. It hurt like fuck, and the only thing that kept him from going completely soft was the continued heat of her pussy grinding against him.

She added a second cut on his stomach, just a few inches below the first; and a few minutes later, she added a third on the other side over his abs. Toga seemed ecstatic, licking the knife in between cuts, her eyes following every trickle of blood as it rolled over his body.

"Is it good?" she moaned, finally holding the bottle up to Shigaraki. "Can I have the rest?"

Shouto didn't hear a response, but Shigaraki must have nodded, because she squealed happily. Shigaraki let go of Shoutos arms, and took the bottle from her. Toga stopped fucking him, putting her face down against his chest and tasting the blood trickling down.

She groaned, low and deep in her throat.

"God! You taste so good!" She whispered, licking large stripes of the blood off his chest and stomach. He tried to push her away, but she was surprisingly strong as she tightened her thighs around his waist and pushed his hands away.

Shigaraki came back a few moments later, pulling Toga away from Shouto and leaning down to kiss her, despite the blood all over her mouth. Toga’s pussy tightened as she made out with the other man, and she started to roll her hips once more.

"Are you ready for more?" Shigaraki asked, his voice low against her lips. She nodded happily and pulled away, leaning down against Shouto's chest and pressing her lips to his mouth.

She tasted like vanilla chapstick and copper, and he wasn't sure if he liked it, but she reached up and held his head in place as she pushed her tongue past his lips, moaning into his mouth.

Shouto felt the couch sink slightly on one side as Shigaraki kneeled down beside her. Shouto could feel the other man's cock press against the very base of his shaft. Toga slowed down her movements, leaning as hard against Shouto as she could, the pressure stinging the fresh cuts on him. Shouto wasn’t sure what they were doing, until he felt an intense tightening as Shigaraki started to push his cock up into Toga’s pussy, right alongside Shouto’s.

Fuck. Shouto had never done something like this before. Toga had such a tiny frame, he wouldn't have thought it possible for him and Shigaraki to both fuck her, but she moaned wantonly as Shigaraki continued to slowly push up inside of her.

"Yes! Yes!" She cried into Shouto's mouth. He could only groan in response. The further in Shigaraki got, the tighter everything felt. And the extra pressure of having the other mans cock slide in against the base of his shaft felt so fucking good on his cock that it was almost enough to make Shouto cum.

"Fuck Toga," Shigaraki panted, leaning his head against her shoulders. "You must like him, you're dripping all over."

She hummed in agreement, and tentatively moved up just slightly, and then pushed herself back down onto their cocks.

Shouto gasped. Fuck. This was indescribable. The pain in his chest and the blood on Toga’s mouth and the fact that it was fucking Shigaraki’s cock pushed up against his right now; nothing mattered. Everything was tight and hot and wet, and that was all that mattered as Toga slowly fucked them.

Shigaraki pulled Togas head back, leaning down to kiss her. She was a mess. Shouto's blood had dirtied up the beautiful pale skin on her tits and stomach. And all three of them were covered in a thin sheen of sweat. The rhythm changed as Shigaraki wrapped his gloved hand around Toga’s throat, choking her slightly as he took over, fucking up into her and sliding his cock up and down Shouto's shaft.

It was too much. Shouto had already been so close. He could not hold back. He cried out as he came inside of Togas pussy and all over Shigaraki's cock. Everything blanked out for a moment, the orgasm washing over his entire body.

Toga must have been close too, because her pussy clenched and convulsed around him as she screamed, cumming right after he did.

"Fuck," Shigaraki moaned, slowing down his thrusting as he watched Shouto cum. He pulled out, Toga sagged against Shouto's chest, panting as she came down from her own.

"Mmm..." She sighed happily, nuzzling into Shouto's neck.

"You two made a mess," Shigaraki remarked, motioning at his cock. Shouto looked over. It was obvious that the other man hadn't cum yet, He was rock hard. His cock was long, but thin, the skin stretched over it in that funny way his skin stretched over his entire frame. And it was completely covered in cum. "Shouto, clean me off."

Toga looked up, giggling happily!

"Oh I will help you Shouto!" She climbed out of his lap, kneeling on the couch next to him. Shouto stared at Shigaraki’s cock. He wasn't very certain he was good with that. Sure, he had tasted his own cum before, but only the vaguest hints of it on the lips or skin of a lover.

Shigaraki didn't seem to care, putting his hand on the back of Shouto’s head, and lowering it down toward his cock. He wanted to say no, but the other man hadn’t cum yet. And he needed to make Shigaraki feel good, give the leader a reason to trust him. Hesitantly, he opened his mouth and wrapped his lips around the head of Shigaraki's cock. He tried not to make a face, the combination of his and Togas cum was bitter and salty on his tongue. Toga happily joined him, leaning in to lick up the shaft of the long cock.

"Come now, Shouto," Shigaraki urged, "you can take more than that." The older man pushed firmly against the back of Shouto’s head, forcing his mouth further onto his cock. Toga giggled as he did his best to swallow around the long cock. The skin felt strange on his tongue. But he closed his eyes, trying his best not to think about who that cock belonged to and just make it feel good. It was hard to take it completely, and he struggled not to gag. It must have still felt alright though, because Shigaraki was groaning and thrusting slowly in and out of his mouth.

"Poor Shouto," Toga giggled, "let me show you how!"

"It's ok, Toga," Shigaraki said, pulling out of Shouto’s mouth and smiling down at him. "I want more than just his mouth."

Toga gasped.

"I knew he liked you!" She said, beaming happily. "He really likes you! He almost never fucks anyone besides me and Dabi!"

“Yes Todoroki, I like you," Shigaraki said, but the tone of his voice indicated otherwise. "Now be a good boy and turn around for me.

Shouto really didn't want to. Shigaraki was too long, and he doubted the leader would be gentle. But he didn't think refusing was really an option. So he nodded, turning around slowly, spreading out his legs and leaning forward.

"You are going to love this!" Toga squealed, pulling his head around to kiss him. He felt Shigaraki's weight behind him, felt one of his hands pulling his hips back just slightly. Shouto tried to relax, preparing himself for the stretch of Shigaraki's fingers inside of him.

Instead, Shigaraki lined his cock up and buried it in Shouto’s ass with no prep and just the little bit of spit from he and Toga giving him head. Pain blossomed over his body, burning. Shouto cried out, his entire body tensing up against the intrusion. He clamped his mouth shut, digging his fingers into the cushion of the couch as Shigaraki held his hips firmly in place to stay fully sheathed. Fuck. Even his first time hadn’t hurt that much.

"Holy fuck, you're so tight." Shigaraki groaned, "your ass is practically sucking me in."

Shigaraki didn’t wait long enough for Shouto’s body to adjust to the stretch, starting to thrust slowly in and out. It burned so much at first that Shouto’s eyes watered, and all he could think about was clenching his jaw so that he didn’t cry out again. Toga touched his face, and kept reassuring him that he was doing such a good job.

It didn’t take long, thank god, before Shouto could feel Shigaraki’s thighs tensing up against the back of his. His thrusting increased to an almost brutal pace until he finally let out a strangled cry, pushing as deep as he could as he came.

“Fuck,” Shigaraki moaned as he pulled out and collapsed on the couch next to Shouto. “That felt fucking good.”

“I told you that you needed to do that more often!” Toga beamed, crawling up onto Shigaraki’s lap, as Shouto pushed himself up off the couch, looking for his pants. He could feel Shigaraki’s cum leaking out of him, and it made him sick. He wanted desperately to clean up, take a hot shower to scrub away the smell of the other man on his skin, but for now he would settle with at least covering himself up. The wound on his shoulder, and the fresh cuts stung as he moved around, fresh blood starting to trickle onto his skin. And his ass… fuck, it hurt to move almost at all.

“Not many people do it for me anymore,” Shigaraki said, picking up a pack of cigarettes off the coffee table and lighting one up. Shouto struggled to pull on his pants, trying not to look at the naked couple as Toga cuddled up against the older man. They hadn’t even bothered to wipe the sweat or blood off their skin. “Luckily for me, I have camera’s in this room. So I will always have a nice video of myself fucking the future number one hero.”

Shouto froze, his pants half-way up his thighs. A video! A fucking video!

Toga giggled.

“Don’t look so surprised, Shouto,” Shigaraki replied, “Did you really think I didn’t have camera’s set up around my main headquarters? That wouldn’t be very smart of me, now would it?”

“What—” Shouto’s voice was shaking as he quickly pulled his pants the rest of the way on. Fuck, it hurt so fucking bad to walk. No. No, this couldn’t be happening. “What are you going to do with them?”

“That depends on you,” he replied, holding up a cigarette for Shouto. Shouto shook his head. He was definitely going to throw up. “Really, you should be thanking me. That video finally gives me a reason to trust you. You say anything to the heroes about the League, and I release that video to the press. I wonder what they would like the most… you willingly giving up information about another hero, or you letting a villain cum inside of your ass? I bet your father would like that last bit the best.”

Fuck. This was a fucking disaster.

“I wonder which part Overhaul will like?” Shigaraki mused.

“Overhaul?” Shouto echoed, looking up at Shigaraki “Why would you show Overhaul?”

“Well, since he missed the drugs and most of the party, I thought he could at least enjoy seeing the show.” Shigaraki replied, pausing to a take a long drag off the cigarette. “I hope he wasn’t planning to fuck you for the first time tonight. He might be pretty angry with you, giving yourself to me like that.”

Shit. Shigaraki was right. Overhaul was probably planning on spending the night with him. He had asked him as much earlier that night. The entire point of coming tonight was to get on Yakuza leader’s good side.

“Shit. He… he is going to be pissed. He can’t… he can’t see me like this.” Shouto stammered. If Kai touched him, he would know…

“Tsk, tsk Shouto.” Shigaraki empathized flatly. “You should have thought about that before you fucked us, you little whore. I guess we will just have to wait and find out. He should be here, well, anytime really.”

No. Kai cannot see him like this. Better to let the gang leader be angry with him for leaving early than to let him find out that Shouto had let Shigaraki fuck him. To see him with remnants of that sex all over him. It was… disgusting.

“Please. I cannot be here when Kai gets here.” Shouto said, turning around and getting down on his knees in front of Shigaraki. It hurt to move around so much. “Can you please just take me home?”

“What do you think, Toga?” Shigaraki asked, taking another long drag of the cigarette and blowing the smoke directly into Shouto’s face.

“I was really hoping he would spend the night,” She pouted. “He could sleep in my room…”

“Now Toga,” Shigaraki replied coolly, “Don’t you think someone might come looking for him if we keep him that long? They have already been calling. Besides, its nearly 2 in the morning. I don’t think we will be seeing Overhaul tonight after all. It seems that he must not care about his new toy very much at all. It’s a shame, really. I would have enjoyed seeing the look on his face when he realized that I fucked you first.”

Shouto, on the other hand, was relieved that he would not have to find out how the golden-eyed man would react to such a thing. He didn’t want Kai to see him like this.

“Do you still have the blindfold?” Shigaraki asked Toga. She squealed, running out of the room to grab it.

Time passed in a blur after that. Shouto could feel himself coming down off the drug, and he felt like shit. Not only that, but now that they had finished fucking, he was literally freezing. Toga kept yanking him from one place to another, and he was quickly starting to hate that damn blindfold. The car-ride back to the city was much bumpier than he remembered, and by the time the car finally came to a stop, he was on the verge of puking.

“We are going to remove your bracelet now Todoroki,” Shigaraki’s voice came from somewhere in the front. “We are going to give you your phone, and help you out of this car. You will wait a full minute before removing your blindfold, not a second less. Do you understand?”

Shouto nodded. He would have agreed to just about anything to get out of that car.

“And if you try to produce so much as a single fucking ice cube with that quirk of yours, I will personally make sure that the entire city of Musutafu wakes up to our video. Do I make myself clear?”

He nodded again.

“Good.” Shigaraki replied dryly. “Toga, the bracelet.”

“I had so much fun, Shouto!” Toga said happily as she picked up his hand and started to fiddle with the bracelet on his wrist. “I hope you will come to play with us again soon. Maybe Dabi can join us next time!” Shouto wanted to cry with relief when he felt the bracelet pop off.

Never again. Never fucking again.

Toga helped him out of the car, standing him up and placing his phone gently into his hand. He felt one small kiss on his lips, and then she was gone. He heard the car rev up, could smell the exhaust as it sped away. He listened to the sound of it disappearing, finally (after what he hoped was 60 seconds) pulling the blindfold off of his eyes. But instead of his father’s huge estate, Shouto found himself staring at a tiny convenience store. He looked all around, but there was hardly any lights in the distance.

Where the hell had they left him?

He pulled out his phone, struggling to pull up his location. It took him a few minutes to realize they had turned off his GPS. When he finally got everything turned back on, he realized glumly that he was on the very outskirt of the city, practically in the middle of nowhere.

Shit. He would have to find a way home. He couldn’t call Dabi; his brother was probably in the next city over by now. A quick search on his phone showed that the nearest bus stop was almost 3 miles away! He was disgusting, and the more the drugs started to wear off, the more his body hurt. Shigaraki had done a number on him, and every step he took was painful. There was no way he was going to be able to make it.

Flipping through his phone, he felt sick. He had dozens of unread messages, and 8 missed calls. Most of them were from his father, but there was a few from Momo and Izuku. Even one from Bakugou. He was trying to decide what to do when a car pulled up, and Shouto realized that he looked just as bad as he did the night those fucking pictures were taken that started the entire fucking scandal that had messed up his life. Fuck. He could not afford a repeat of that. Limping, he made his way toward the back of the gas station, hiding in between two big dumpsters.

He laughed bitterly as he sat down on the disgusting ground. Todoroki Shouto, future #1 hero, found hiding between dumpsters behind ghetto convenience store on the outskirts of town, high on cocaine and with League of Villain leader Shigaraki’s cum leaking out of his ass. What a headline that would be.

Opening his phone once again, he tried to swallow his shame and called the only person he could think of.

“Shou?” Momo’s relieved voice picked up after the first ring. “Oh my god! I was so worried about you! Are you ok? Your father called me a few hours ago trying to find you! I came over to Bakugou’s and he said you left before 11! Bakugou said you told Izuku that you were going with some of your ‘private school’ friends, but we have been calling everyone I could think of and no one has even spoken to you!”

Shouto could hear Bakugou in the background telling Momo to let him talk.

Fuck. She was at Bakugou’s house?! Of course! Bakugou was the last person he wanted to see tonight. The blonde would be disgusted with him.

“I’m…” Shouto paused. What should he say? He didn’t want to worry her. He just needed to get home. He could clean himself up and come down from his high. No one needed to know. “I’m ok. I just… I need a ride back home. Can you come and pick me up?” Fuck. He even sounded like shit.

“Where are you?” She asked.

“I’m on the outskirts of the city. I have it pulled up in maps.” Shouto said. He didn’t really know where he was, to be honest. He had never been in this part of the city before. “I will text you the address.”

“Ok. I will be there as soon as I can,” she replied. She definitely sounded worried. “Shou, you don’t sound very good. Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine, Momo. When you get here, drive around to the back of the building. I will see you soon.” He hung up. He couldn’t talk anymore. He sent her the location he had pinged on his map. Fuck, he just wanted to cry.

He could still feel Shigaraki touching him. The cold leather of his gloves, the dry skin of his arms, thighs, and cock. The cuts on his skin burned with each little movement, and the wound on his shoulder was agony. Even moving carefully, blood trickled out of some of the cuts, staining his white dress shirt. Especially over the wound Shigaraki had given him.

Shouto laughed bitterly at the cruel irony of it all. The entire purpose of the night was to try to find a way to have that mark removed, and now it was gone. But instead of it helping him, it made everything infinitely worse. Overhaul was going to be pissed about it. He had explicitly told Shouto not to alter the mark. Even if Kai didn’t find out about tonight, how would Shouto explain that to him?

And to top it all off, he was still so fucking cold. He was even starting to shiver. Ignoring the pain from his cuts, Shouto curled his knees up against his chest, and wrapped his arms around them for warmth. He quickly checked the address. He was almost 40 minutes away from Bakugou’s house. That meant Shigaraki must have driven him further away, instead of closer to the city. The fucking asshole.

Finally, after what felt like hours, a set of headlights came around the back of the building. It was dark, but Shouto recognized Momo’s car. He could also see the faint outline of two people in the car, the faint light from her dashboard reflecting off of tell-tale spiky blonde locks. Dammit! Bakugou came with her?!

Standing up, he felt especially pathetic to have not just one but two of his friends see him crawling out from between two dumpsters like a fucking junkie. He hurried over, trying to ignore the pain in his body and walk normally. He just had to make them think everything was ok until they dropped him off. He could pretend that everything was normal.

He climbed in to the backseat and closed the door quickly so that the overhead light wouldn’t be on for long. It was dark, and if they couldn’t see him very well then they wouldn’t realize how fucking shitty he looked. He quickly buckled up.

“What in the fuck, Icy-hot?” Bakugou scowled as Momo started to drive away. “You fucking ask tits to pick you up alone in the middle of fucking nowhere.”

“I’m sorry,” he replied, wrapping his arms back around himself and trying not to shiver.

He looked up, and the blonde was staring at him. Thank god it was dark in the car.

“You look like shit,” Bakugou commented. “And you fucking reek.”

“Bakugou!” Momo chided, glancing up to look at Shouto through the rear-view mirror.

“It’s fucking true,” The blonde retorted, turning back around and settling grumpily against the seat. Of all the people, why did it end up being Bakugou here with Momo? As if things weren’t awkward enough between the three of them at the moment.

“Shouto, what happened tonight?” Momo asked gently. “And don’t lie to me. I know you weren’t with any of our other friends. Was it the guy from the dinner tonight? Did he leave you out here?”

“Guy from the fucking dinner?!” Bakugou scowled, turning around to glare at him.

Shouto ignored him, crouching down against the seat. He could almost hear his teeth chattering. He was shivering hard enough that it was hurting the cuts on his chest. Clenching his jaw, he took a deep breath. Act normal. You just have to act normal until they drop you off.

“No.” It definitely wasn’t Kai that did this to him. Although he might do worse once he found out what happened tonight. The very idea of trying to explain everything to Overhaul made him feel sick. “It wasn’t him.”

“Then who left you out here?” She pressed.

“I… I don’t want to talk about it.” He answered, truthfully.

Before she could reply, his phone rang. He quickly fished it out of his pocket, grateful for the distraction. It was Dabi, the unsaved number flashing on the screen. He accepted the call.

“Sorry Momo, Bakugou. I need to take this real quick.” He said directly into the receiver. His brother needed to know that he wasn’t alone. “Hello.”

“Momo? Bakugou?” Dabi hissed, keeping his voice low. “Shouto, what the hell happened tonight? I just got off the phone with Kai. He went over to the party and everyone was fucking gone. He is livid.”

“I…” Shouto hesitated. Momo and Bakugou were both probably listening to his every word. He had to reply carefully. “I just couldn’t be there anymore. I didn’t want to see him.”

Bakugou scoffed.

“You didn’t want to see him? That was the entire fucking point of taking you over there!” Dabi groaned. “What in the fuck changed? What the fuck do I even tell him? He is beyond pissed.”

“I’m a mess. I will explain it later.” Shouto replied.

“A mess?” Dabi questioned. “How much of that new drug did Tomura give you?”

“I’m not sure.” A lot, he thought. But he had never taken cocaine before. He didn’t really know how much a lot was.

“Fuck. I knew he was up to fucking something.” Dabi muttered under his breath. “Are you feeling ok?”

“I guess.” Shouto replied. “I’m just cold.”

“Look, I haven’t taken this drug. But I have done cocaine plenty of times. It makes you feel like you are on top of the world when you are on it, but its a real downer for most people as it starts to wear off. You are going to feel like shit. Your body will have a hard time regulating itself tonight. That’s why you are cold. You might start to feel really sick. If it gets too bad, then go to the hospital. You can overdose on that shit.”

“Ok,” Shouto agreed. He was not going to go to the hospital. If they found out he had done cocaine, he could kiss the rest of his training at UA goodbye. Not to mention that they would probably do a full-body examination, and the report would show that he had been fucked. His father would probably disown him, and if they tested the DNA… He shuddered to think of what would happen to his hero career if they linked the cum in his ass back to Shigaraki. No, he could deal with being cold.

“Did anything else happen?” Dabi asked, suspiciously.

“I…” Fuck. Dabi and Shigaraki apparently had some sort of twisted relationship. Dabi was probably going to hate him for letting Shigaraki fuck him like that. He didn’t know how to explain it. “I’m sorry.” Shouto dropped his voice to a whisper, covering up his mouth with his hand. “I didn’t know how to say no.”

“He fucking raped you?” Dabi screamed, forgetting that Shouto wasn’t alone. Shouto cringed, praying that it hadn’t been so loud that his friends would hear.

“What the fuck?” Bakugou spun around in his seat.

“What is he talking about?” Momo said, the car swerving slightly.

“No.” Shouto replied. He didn’t really want to have sex with Shigaraki. But it had been a means to an end. A way to get on Shigaraki’s good side. Sure, he felt gross now. But that could all be washed away with a good shower. And it was so much better than being kidnapped or killed by that fucking nomu. “I will call you and explain later, ok.”

He hung up, setting his phone on his lap. Fuck.

“What in the fuck was that guy talking about,” Bakugou asked, accusingly. “Wait. Is that fucking blood on your shirt?” Shouto looked down. Shit. The light from his phone was glowing on him. He quickly turned it over, hiding the stains again in the dark.

Momo pulled over. Turning on the light in the car and turning around. Shouto tried to hide the stains, but Bakugou batted his hands away.

“It was that guy, wasn’t it?” She asked, a horrified expression on her face.

“No, it wasn’t Kai.” Shouto repeated. “I’m fine. This isn’t even my blood!” He lied. “I just got in a fight. All I need is a good shower.”

“Who the fuck is Kai?” Bakugou asked, the irritation in his voice growing quickly.

Momo got out of the car, throwing open Shouto’s door and climbing in practically on top of him. He struggled against her attempts to unbutton his shirt, but the more he struggled, the more everything hurt. It didn’t take her long to get the shirt undone enough to uncover one of Toga’s knife wounds.

“What in the hell happened?” She exclaimed. The cut was dripping blood again thanks to his struggling, definitely making it look worse than it actually was. Well, probably. “It looks like somebody sliced you open with a knife! This is deep! You might need stitches!”

Bakugou was craning his neck to see everything around Momo’s shoulder.

“Why the fuck didn’t you mention that when you first got into the car?” Bakugou scowled, “We should take you in to the emergency care.”

“No!” Shouto replied, much to loudly. Taking a breath, he lowered his voice. “No hospitals.”

“But somebody needs to look at these!” Momo protested, gasping as she pulled his shirt open further and saw the decayed flesh on his shoulder. “This is really bad!”

Shouto grabbed the shirt, pulling it back over his chest.

“I can’t go to the hospital.” He replied. Fuck. Maybe if he just told them part of the truth. “I was really stupid. I went to a party tonight and I did cocaine. Ok?! If I go to the hospital and they do any blood tests, it will show up. I will lose my spot at UA if the university finds out.”

“Oh my fucking god,” Bakugou groaned. “You are so fucking stupid, Todoroki!”

Momo stared out him, sighing loudly.

“Ok.” She finally agreed. “No hospitals.” Shouto could have cried with relief. Thank you, Momo.

“What?!” Bakugou argued. “Those cuts need fucking stitches!”

“We can’t go back to your house, though.” She replied, ignoring Bakugou. “Endeavor is looking for you. If he sees you like this, things will get even worse. I will call him and make up an excuse about you getting really sick and needing to spend the night at Bakugou’s. We take you back there, and I can create anything we need for stitches. There has to be instructions online.”

“My house?!” Bakugou replies. “Oh no. We are not taking this shit back to my house! You can drop me off at home and take all this to your house.”

“Bakugou,” Momo chided, climbing off Shouto’s lap and making her way back around to the front seat. “The first thing my family will do if they see Shouto is call Endeavor. Same problem. But your parents aren’t even home tonight. Please. It’s already 4 in the morning. Let us just stay a few hours and get Shouto cleaned up and then we will leave you alone.”

Shouto absolutely didn’t want to go back to Bakugou’s. After everything that had happened earlier. After admitting to the blonde that he did cocaine. If they found out about the sex. God, if it was possible for Bakugou to have a worse opinion of him than he already does, this was certainly the perfect disaster to make it happen.

But, Momo was right. They didn’t really have a lot of other options.

“Fucking fine!” Bakugou agreed, slumping back down in his seat.

Shouto shivered. It was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

The car ride back felt like it was never going to end. Momo made him a blanket. Bakugou found a good radio station to help distract them. No one spoke, not even a word. There was a tension in the car that was so thick, Shouto could have almost choked on it. He tried to close his eyes, to sleep. Anything to distract him from his constant shivering, or the faint buzzing of his phone, or the images of the party that kept flashing through his thoughts.

It was strange. So much of the night was a blur in his mind, and yet there were brief flashes that were crystal clear that he could not get out of his head.

The nomu in the kitchen.

Shigaraki’s arm around his shoulder.

Magne’s smile.

The twin sitting on Dabi’s lap, kissing his neck.

The burning in his nose as he sniffed the first line of cocaine.

That cute little heart shape cut into Toga’s pubic hair.

The feeling of Shigaraki biting into his neck.

The sticky, wet feeling of cum sliding out of his ass.

It was a loop. Each one playing again and again in his head. He pulled the blanket up against his chin, desperate to feel warm. God, how could he have been so stupid? So naive?

His phone buzzed again. It was probably Dabi. His brother kept calling and calling. So eventually he turned his phone to silent and stuck it back in his pocket.. At least the ride was quiet after that, with only the alternating beats of pop music playing from the radio.

He just wanted to go home. He wanted to sleep.

When they finally got to Bakugou's, he could barely get out of the car. He felt weak; and the more the cocaine wore off, the worse his pain got. It was hard to walk. Shigaraki had hurt him more than he realized, fucking him with no prep and no lube. Shit. He didn’t know things could hurt this badly after sex.

“What the fuck, Todoroki,” Bakugou grumbled, coming around the car and helping to support him so he could hobble inside. “You weren’t even this bad off after I kicked your ass at the fucking sports festival.”

“That’s ‘cause you hit like a bitch.” Todoroki replied, grateful that the blonde was all but carrying him inside.

“Still hit harder than you,” Bakugou mumbled.

“Really guys?” Momo replied, trying to fish the keys out of Bakugou’s pocket so that she could open the door. “Can’t you hold off on the foreplay until after we get Shouto stitched up?”

“Foreplay?” Bakugou choked, “You fuckin’ told her?”

“Oh,” Momo laughed, winking at him as she pushed open the door. “He tells me everything.”

“Of fucking course he does,” Bakugou grumbled as he pulled Shouto inside. “Fucking asshole.”

The light was blinding when Momo flipped it on. Shouto flinched, pathetically trying to put the hand not clinging on to Bakugou over his eyes. Why the fuck did people ever do cocaine? He felt like complete shit.

“Can you at least try to fucking help me?” Bakugou grunted as Shouto shifted even more of his weight against the blonde.

“Sorry.” Shouto replied. God, Bakugou smelled really good.

“Fat fuck,” Bakugou muttered.

Bakugou finally managed to get Shouto into the kitchen, and get him situated on a chair by the table. Momo sat down, pulling out her phone to start googling the supplies for stitches as Bakugou disappeared upstairs. He reappeared a few minutes later with a small first aid kit and a bottle of pain killer in his hands.

“I don’t even know if you are supposed to fucking take this shit if you’re on drugs,” He grumbled, digging into the cupboard for a glass. Momo started to create the materials she needed, setting them carefully on the table as Bakugou all but slammed two aspirin and a glass of water next to him. “You better not fucking die from this shit. You were the bitch that refused to go to the fucking hospital.”

“Thanks,” Shouto replied. He could have cried with happiness at the appearance of the pain-killers. Especially considering that Momo had already created a needle and thread, and just seemed to be sitting there pursing her lips in concentration as she scrolled through something on her phone. They couldn’t possibly need much more for stitches. She would probably be ready soon.

"Alright Icy-hot," Bakugou grumbled after Shouto downed the aspirin and set the glass of water back down. "Shirt off. Let's see what the fuck we are actually dealing with here."

Shouto nodded reluctantly. He really didn't want them to see him like this. Just looking down at the dress shirt, there was fresh stains, so there must still be blood leaking out of the wounds in some spots. They probably really did need some medical attention. But still, the thought of his friends seeing them made him cringe.

Taking a deep breath, he reached up and started to unbutton the dress shirt. Once the final button was undone, he pulled it off, dropping the shirt on the floor beside them.

Momo gasped as he did. Even Bakugou made a face. When Shouto looked down, he was surprised by the amount of blood smeared all over his stomach and chest. I mean, it made sense. Toga had been pressed up against him the whole time he and Shigaraki were fucking her. She had blood smeared all over her tits and stomach, even on her legs by the time they were finished. Even Shigaraki had managed to get blood on his pale skin. All of it had to have come from Shouto.

Not to mention that he had dried blood scabbing up over some of the cuts, and fresh blood leaking out from where he struggled with Momo in the car. And his shoulder. Shit. His shoulder looked awful.

Yep. Kai was definitely going to be angry when he saw that.

God, why did his stomach twist so much at the thought of Kai. Shouldn’t he feel relieved that he didn’t have to deal with the golden-eyed man tonight? The disappointment he felt was most likely just him coming down from the cocaine. Shigaraki was probably right. If Overhaul knew that Shouto was there alone, why did he take so long? Long enough for Shigaraki to…

He closed his eyes. Images flashing in his mind again. That cute little heart shape cut into Toga’s pubic hair. The feeling of Shigaraki biting into his neck. The sticky, wet feeling of cum sliding out of his ass.

Shit. Maybe Kai didn’t care that much about Shouto. He already had Dabi, after all. Dabi was fucking powerful, and sexy. And already a part of his organization. And they had already been fucking. Yeah, Kai didn’t need him. That was good, right?

Right?

A cool hand on his shoulder startled him. He blinked, looking over to see Momo leaning toward him. Bakugou was staring at the wound on his shoulder, a strange look on the aggressive teen’s face.

"Who did this to you, Shouto?" Momo demanded.

"He already said he didn’t want to talk about it, tits,” Bakugou replied for him, his eyes never leaving that wound.

“Bakugou, you are such an ass,” She retorted, punching the blonde in the shoulder.

“And we are wasting time.” Bakugou finally looked away from his shoulder. He reached over and grabbed the first aid kit off the counter, opening it and taking out a few small antiseptic wipes. “Are you ready?”

“We are going to need to disinfect the cuts with more than that,” she replied, examining the wipes with dissatisfaction.

Shouto watched the two of them arguing about what to use for him; Bakugou kept leaving and coming back with various solutions that he and Momo would debate. He cared about both of them, and now he was putting them through all of this for his own selfish reasons. If he had just agreed to go to the hospital, they would both be in bed sleeping by now and he would be the only one that had to deal with the consequences of tonight.

He slouched his shoulders, feeling guilty. A good friend wouldn’t have put them through this.

They finally seemed to agree on something, and Bakugou started to carefully clean up the cuts on his chest with a rag and some kind of alcohol they had found in Bakugou’s parent’s bedroom. He glued his eyes to the collar of Bakugou’s shirt, trying to distract himself by watching the muscles in Bakugou’s neck as he moved. Just cleaning the cuts hurt.

“Are you ready for me to do this?” Momo asked gently, pulling his head up so that he had to look at her. God, there was so much pain in her eyes when she looked into his. He shouldn’t have put her through this. But it was too late now. She had already seen the cuts, and there was no way in hell that she was going to back out now. That was one of the things he admired most about her, once she had her mind set to something, she made it happen.

Without thinking, he quickly pulled her into a hug.

“Yeah,” he replied against the soft blue fabric of her shirt, inhaling the scent of her perfume. It helped, a little. “Thank you.”

“Fuck Icy-hot,” Bakugou grumbled, gently pulling him away. “I just got those cuts fucking disinfected!” Bakugou grabbed the rag again, glaring at him as he started to go over each cut with the alcohol one more time. “I swear you have some fucking death wish tonight, you fucking half-and-half asshole.”

But the second round of disinfecting went quickly. And before he knew it, Bakugou was shining the light from his cell-phone over his chest to give Momo better light, and she was pushing the needle into his skin. And it hurt like a bitch. Shouto had gotten stitches plenty of times before, but never without the skin being numbed first. His eyes watered, and he closed them tight so that it wouldn’t look like he was crying. He clenched his jaw, and dug his fingers into his thighs to distract him from the pain of the needle.

He tried not to wriggle or complain, although occasionally a small noise would escape him if Momo pulled a bit to hard on the string or pushed the needle through a particularly sensitive bit of his skin. But no one said anything. There was almost complete silence aside from his occasional gasps and the sound of concentrated breathing.

Finally, the three knife cuts were done. Definitely not the neatest stitches he had ever had, but all things considered, he was really impressed by how well Momo had done.

“I don’t think stitches will help this one,” She finally said, touching the wound near his shoulder, frowning. “It’s too big, too wide. We can clean it up, and wrap it. But Shou, you need to go in and see Recovery Girl on Monday. This one is going to get infected if you don’t get help. Please…”

Shouto nodded. He was afraid of that. Toga’s cuts had been precise, neat, clean. Shigaraki’s had been the opposite. The wound was much deeper there, and there was a bunch of half-decayed flesh where each of his fingers had touched Shouto.

“Bakugou, will you help him up to the bathroom while I clean up? He needs to shower before we dress that wound. So we can get the rest of the blood off of him.” Shouto couldn’t even look at her, the sadness in her eyes. He was going to have to tell her, sooner rather than later. After tonight, she deserved an explanation.

“Yeah, whatever,” Bakugou grumbled, but the blonde picked up Shouto’s right arm and wrapped it over his shoulder, helping support Shouto up the stairs. Shouto couldn’t help but remember last night as they walked down the same hallway, and into the same bathroom. Before Shouto had fucked everything up by going to that party. Before he had told the other teen about his engagement. Bakugou had actually wanted him. Had kissed him. Had touched him.

It felt like day’s ago, instead of hours. And Shouto hated that he had somehow ended up back in that bathroom.

Bakugou’s movements were stiff, and Shouto was certain the blonde was probably thinking about last night too. But luckily he didn’t say anything, helping Shouto to lean up against the sink and closing the door behind them. Without a word, Bakugou shrugged out of his jacket, and started to kick off his shoes.

"What are you doing?" Shouto asked, watching Bakugou suspiciously as the blonde undressed.

"Helping you get that fucking blood off your skin."

"I think I can manage to take a shower." Shouto replied self-consciously. He didn't want the blonde to see him naked. He hadn't been able to clean up at all after Shigaraki. It was bad enough that the other teen had overheard Dabi on the phone and knew that Shouto had had sex with someone else. If he saw... "I'm not that hurt."

"You can barely walk." Bakugou grumbled, as he started to unbuckle his pants.

Shouto raised his eyes as Bakugou pulled off his pants and boxers, completely exposing himself. He felt stupid. He had seen Bakugou's junk a couple times now, but that had always been in the heat of the moment. This felt so… different.

Bakugou didn't seem to notice, stepping away from Shouto to turn on the shower.

"Are you going to get undressed, Icy-hot," he asked over the sound of the running water. "Or do you need help with that too?"

"Look, I know you're pissed at me. You didn't even want me over here," Shouto replied, wrapping his arms self-consciously over his stomach. "You don't have to help me."

"Shut the fuck up and take off your clothes." Bakugou snapped irritably. "I wouldn't fucking be in here with you if I didn't want to be."

Fuck. Shouto closed his eyes.

After everything else that had happened tonight, did this really matter? After all, the blonde knew he had sex. And after the debacle between them before the party, his chances for any sort of relationship with Bakugou were shot. Bakugou probably just pitied him. He might be an asshole, but he was training to be a hero. He probably felt obligated to try and help.

So Shouto pushed off his shoes. He unbuckled his pants and slid them down his thighs, keeping his eyes glued to the floor. He didn't want to know if Bakugou was watching him.

Limping over, he stepped into the shower. He cringed when Bakugou made a repulsed grunt, before stepping in to the shower behind him. He could only imagine how disgusted Bakugou must feel by seeing the cum dried all over his ass.

God, he felt pathetic.

The water was hot, and Shouto flinched as it hit his skin, running down over the wounds on his chest. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the shuffling of the other behind him and focus instead on enjoying the warmth.

He flinched at a sudden touch on his stomach, then relaxed as Bakugou started to carefully run his hands over Shouto’s abs, washing the dried blood off his stomach. After everything, it felt so good to have the blonde run his hands so gently across his skin.

"You remember when we got high at Mina's, and I told you about the fucking League trying to convince me to join them?" Bakugou asked. Shouto stiffened involuntarily at the mention of the League. He immediately tried to relax, hoping that Bakugou didn't notice. Why was he mentioning the League?

It… it had to be coincidence. Things were awkward between them after last night. This was just Bakugou attempting to make small talk. Right?

"Yeah," he replied warily, trying to keep his voice level.

He definitely didn’t want to talk about the League right now. He didn’t want to remember the feeling of Shigaraki biting into his neck.

"Those fuckers spent most of the time yapping at me. But they got pretty angry when I didn’t buy in to their fucking bullshit. At one point Shigaraki got really angry. Straight up fucking pissed. He grabbed my arm for just a second, but in that second his fucking quirk decayed some of my skin."

Shouto opened his eyes. Bakugou wasn't looking at his face. His eyes were trained on Shouto's stomach; he had managed to clean off most of the dried blood.

"I—," Shouto replied, suppressing a shudder as he remembered the pain of Shigaraki decaying the mark on his shoulder. "I didn't know."

"Of course you didn’t fucking know. I didn't tell anyone," Bakugou replied, briefly meeting his eyes. "Aizawa knew about it. Some of the other professors, and my parents, of course. But I didn't think any fucking extras needed to know. Recovery Girl was able to heal it completely because it wasn't too bad."

Shouto flinched as Bakugou very carefully touched near the decayed skin on his shoulder.

"It wasn't as bad as this." Bakugou said quietly.

Shouto's stomach flipped. No, no. Bakugou couldn't know...

"What do you mean?" Shouto asked quietly.

"I'm not a fucking idiot, Icy-hot." Bakugou said flatly. "I thought you smelled like them when you first got in the car. But I ignored it. Figured it was just my own pathetic ass imagining things. Sometimes I remember things about that night..." Bakugou closed his eyes for a second and took a breath. Shouto wanted to vomit. Fuck. No one was supposed to find out... "Then I saw this fucking mark on your shoulder. A knife doesn’t do that shit. That had to be Shigaraki... and these" He gently touched one of the cuts on his stomach, "had to be Toga."

Bakugou's red eyes finally looked up, bored into his. They stood there for a moment, the hot water running over them. Shouto didn't know what to say. How to even begin. The blonde had figured it out. And after being kidnapped by the League, surely he deserved the truth. But if Bakugou breathed even one word to the wrong person…

After a moment, Shouto nodded.

"That's what I fucking thought." Bakugou said. Shouto closed his eyes. He could feel the shame burning in his gut. A moment later he felt Bakugou's hand on the back of his upper thigh.

He jumped, trying to turn around to stop the blonde.

"No." He choked. The thought of Bakugou washing him there… it was too much.

"Fuck, Todoroki," he replied, and their was a sharp anger in his voice. "Let me help you. There’s fucking blood... Fuck. No wonder you can barely walk."

Shouto stiffened, finally letting Bakugou turn him back around and start to wash the remnants of Shigaraki’s sex off of him. He closed his eyes. He wanted to curl up and die as he felt Bakugou's fingers on him, imagining what must be running through the blonde’s mind as he washed another man’s cum off of Shouto. He was so ashamed, he wanted to cry. He could already feel the tears burning at the edges of his eyes.

The blonde accidentally pressed too hard against his ass. Shouto flinched, groaning at the sharp pain. Fuck, even being gentle, Bakugou was hurting him. The blonde must have realized it, because he pulled his hand away.

"Who the fuck did this?" Bakugou snarled. This time there was open rage.

Shouto shook his head. He couldn't say it out loud. He could feel the tears starting to fall from his eyes. God he really was pathetic.

"Was it fucking Twice? Or that fucking asshole Dabi?" He growled. He gently turned Shouto around to face him. But Shouto kept his head down. He couldn’t look the blonde in the eyes.

He had to tell him. He couldn't let the blonde think Dabi would do this.

"It was..." He choked. God. He was never going to be able to look at Bakugou again. Shouto let himself fall down to his knees. He needed to hide the tears that were streaming down his face. He wrapped his arms around the blondes waist and buried his face in Bakugou's stomach. "It was Shigaraki,” he mumbled against the blonde’s abs.

It was the cocaine. He was coming down. He wasn't this pathetic.

But he couldn't stop crying.

He felt Bakugou's hands on the back of his head. They stayed like that for a few minutes, surely. The hot water running over them. Shouto on his knees, clinging on to Bakugou and sobbing. The other didn’t say anything until finally Shouto’s shoulders stopped shaking, and the sound of his crying started to fade.

"How? How the fuck did this happen, Todoroki?" He asked. But he didn't try to move Shouto. "Where the fuck did you go after you left my house?"

"You can't tell anyone." Shouto replied, ignoring the actual question. He looked up at Bakugou. He probably looked awful. Red eyes from crying, kneeling down pathetically. Shit. Bakugou would probably never see him as an equal again, let alone a rival.

“We need to fucking tell someone,” Bakugou argued. “They’ve kidnapped two of us now. They… He fucking raped you! Who knows what they will do next? The heroes need to know.”

“They…” Shouto let go of Bakugou. He sat down on the ceramic tile, and leaned his back against the wall of the shower, pulling up his legs and wrapping his arms around them to hide as much of himself from the blonde as he could. Fuck. What would happen if he gave in, and told Bakugou everything. Let it all out. Admitted what a fuck-up he was. The blonde would definitely go to the heroes. They would eventually question him, and he would have to admit everything. Maybe some good would come out of it. Maybe they would even catch some of the League.

But he would also be kicked out of UA. His future as a hero would be over. And eventually Shigaraki would catch up to him. If Overhaul didn’t get to him first.

“They will kill me, Bakugou.” He said quietly. “You don’t understand. I fucked up. They didn’t kidnap me. When I left… I knew where I was going. I willingly walked in to that place tonight. I took the drugs they gave me. I…” Fuck, he could not admit that he gave up the information about Izuku. He could barely remember doing it, but he had. And he hadn’t even thought twice when he did. No amount of shame could make up for that. “I was afraid he was going to kill me, so I let him fuck me. I didn’t fight back. I even…” This was it. This was the end of his relationship with Bakugou. The blonde was going to be disgusted with him. “I even came. It’s all on video. If I say anything, then the entire city will get to see what a whore I really am. And Shigaraki will kill me.”

He dropped his head down onto his knees, waiting for the blonde to explode.

The water turned off.

Suddenly he felt Bakugou’s skin against him, and the blonde wrapped his arms around Shouto, pulling him away from the shower wall and up against his chest.

“He probably would have killed you Icy-hot.” Bakugou said into his hair. “Fear isn’t the same thing as consent. That bastard needs to pay for what he fucking did to you.”

“Why do you even care, Bakugou?” Todoroki asked, letting his weight rest against the other’s chest. God. It felt so good to be pressed up against him. He could hear the faint beating of the blonde’s heart. Why? Of all the people who could have ended up here with him tonight, why did it have to be Bakugou?

“God. You can be such a dense asshole sometimes, Todoroki,” Bakugou mumbled into his hair. “This conversation isn’t fucking over, just so you know. But we need to get out of this fucking shower and get dressed. It’s fucking cold in here, and I don’t want to end up shivering as much as your tweaking ass.”

Todoroki nodded. But a part of him didn’t want to move. He just wanted to stay there all night, with Bakugou’s arms wrapped around him.

But he didn’t have much time to dwell on that before Bakugou got up and helped him out of the shower. The pain was slowly starting to subside, and Shouto was able to dry himself off. Bakugou helped get the wound on his shoulder wrapped, grumbling the entire time about Momo having the nerve to fall asleep and leave the hard shit to him.

But the blonde didn’t seem as upset as earlier. And he even dug out a pair of pajamas for Shouto to borrow. He gratefully accepted them, an old pair of blue sweatpants with a large ‘UA’ symbol on the pocket and a white T-shirt. They definitely weren’t a great fit, but they felt a hundred times better than his clothes. Between the blood and the cum and the horrible stench of cigarettes, he didn’t ever want to see his other clothes again.

Bakugou had disappeared while he was getting dressed. Something about getting blankets.

When he was finally dressed, had combed his hair, and managed to find some mouthwash, (a fucking godsend, honestly), he hobbled out into the hall. Their was a single light on in Bakugou’s bedroom, the rest of the house was already dark. He awkwardly stepped into the doorway, surprised that most of the mess from the video games earlier had already been cleaned up.

Bakugou was just pulling a white T-shirt on when Todoroki stopped in the doorway.

“If you have a blanket, I can sleep on the couch,” he said quietly, casting his eyes to the floor when Bakugou looked up at him. After everything the blonde had heard that night, he was embarrassed to even look him in the eye.

“Momo is already on the couch,” Bakugou replied. “Get the fuck in here and close the door. You can sleep by me.”

Shouto looked up, startled. Bakugou wanted to share his bed? The blonde was already climbing in, scooting over to the side by the wall. That was impossible. After everything that happened last night. And then knowing what happened with Shigaraki… seeing the remnants of it on him. And the blonde was still willing to share his bed.

Shouto nodded. He could feel the tiniest flicker of hope in his chest as he closed the door, and slowly hobbled over to the bed. Climbing in, he pulled the blanket up and laid his head down on Bakugou’s pillow. The bed was tiny, and the two barely fit in it together, but Bakugou didn’t seem to care.

“You better not be a fucking blanket hog, Icy-hot,” he grumbled, laying his arm carefully across Shouto’s lower stomach.

Bakugou fell asleep quickly. The sound of his breathing, and the weight of his arm was soothing to Shouto. He felt… safe. After everything that had happened that night, he finally felt like he could relax. He waited until he was certain the other teen was fast asleep, and then he scooted over to press himself up against the blonde’s body; close enough that he could feel Bakugou’s warm breath on his neck.

He focused on that feeling, trying to drive away all the other thoughts and memories from that night. And he finally drifted off to sleep.

* * * * * *

He didn’t even notice his phone ringing at first. Not until Bakugou started to shake his shoulder.

“Wake the fuck up and answer your phone,” The blonde muttered.

Wait, that was his phone. Fuck. Didn’t he put that on silent earlier?

Looking around, he could see the light flashing on Bakugou’s nightstand. Momo must have put it there for him, and turned the volume back up. He groaned, really wishing she hadn’t. He just wanted to sleep.

“Hurry the fuck up and answer, Icy-hot. I’m trying to fucking sleep.” Bakugou grumbled.

“I’m getting it,” he replied. The stitches on his chest and stomach stung as he moved, but he managed to roll over and push himself up onto his elbow. The light was too bright as he squinted his eyes into tiny slits to see who it was without being blinded. A bunch of unknown numbers blurred across the screen.

Dabi. Fuck. He wasn’t really surprised. His brother was probably worried about him.

He answered the phone, cupping his hand around his mouth and receiver, and whispering so as not to disturb Bakugou more than necessary.

“Hello?”

“Shouto.”

Shit. It wasn’t Dabi. He immediately recognized the sultry voice on the other line. An image of golden eyes flashed through his mind, and a rush of relief washed over him at the sound of his name. Wait, he should not feel relieved. Fuck. Why the fuck would he feel that way?

“Kai.”

Chapter Text

Overhaul POV

“I would be careful using a word like faggot,” Kai suggested, keeping his voice low and flat. “You might offend the wrong person.” He glared at the pompous hero, sickened by such backwards thinking. Prejudiced assholes like Endeavor were a disease on society. And to think that he had access to whisper such filth into Shouto’s ear. He turned to look at the teen. Shouto was clearly flustered, meeting Kai’s eyes nervously. Kai frowned. He couldn’t even admit to his own father that he enjoyed the company of men. For someone with such power, Shouto hadn’t learned to speak up for himself. But he was young, and he would need to be shown the way. Starting tonight. He leaned down toward the handsome young hero, and whispered in his ear. “I will see you later tonight, little fox.”

Shouto’s eyes widened slightly.

He stepped away from Shouto and his father, noticing that damn photographer snapping pictures of them. The Paparazzi. He hated those vultures. They were filth. Swine. And this one had been buzzing around Shouto and his fiance all night. That alone had been irritating to watch, but now he had pictures of Kai too.

That simply wouldn’t do.

The photographer was circling back around to the Todoroki table. Kai picked up his pace, catching up to the dark-haired photographer and side-stepping into him. The photographer stumbled, then whirled around in wide-eyed surprise.

“Watch it, man! I am trying to work here…” the man exclaimed, but his voice caught in his throat when he met Kai’s eyes.

Kai looked the man up and down, noticing his pleated pants and worn loafers. The photographer was clearly out of his element tonight. He was younger, probably newer in the field, hoping to make it big with this scoop at the charity dinner. Kai wondered if the man even knew who the Yakuza were; perhaps the pictures were simply of Shouto. He was, after all, the number one heroes successor. Either way, Kai couldn't afford to be linked to the Todoroki’s, not at this point at least. Which meant those pictures could not make it to print.

The photographer straightened, trying to regain his poise, not wanting to appear weak beside the man he had collided with. Something about Kai was disarming. There was a predatory sensation he just could not shake.

“Hard at work I see” Kai began, noting the name on the man’s ID tag dangling from a blue lanyard around his neck. “Few people realize how hard it is to capture these moments for the masses… eh?” Kai continued after the man didn't respond, trying to sound empathetic.

The photographer swallowed, and stammered. After a moment of looking Kai up and down he managed a nervous smile.

“…right," the man finally replied, "I mean, few people know what it takes to make these events and the people who attend them look as good as we can. But we do our best. For the people, ya know?"

Kai’s narrowed his eyes and turned his frame away from the photographer, sizing up the man’s resolve.

“Although the money doesn’t hurt either, I'm sure," Kai smirked sidelong as he stepped away, leaving the photographer staring after him, confused. This Mr. Sadow was likely just like all his other vulturous kin. Something Kai was very familiar with. Just like the heroes. At the end of the day, it all came down to money and fame. But people like that were weak of conviction. With the right kind of pressure, you could shock them back into reality. You could make them do anything.

Honsou Sadow, the nametag had read. Kai pulled out his phone, sending a quick message to Chronostasis to find Mr. Sadow's address. They would be paying the photographer a visit later.

He made his way back to the table. His boss, Okimoto, was just walking away from the table, on the phone. He sat down, meeting eyes with Goya and frowning. Okimoto considered Goya his equal as leader for one of other arms of the Yakuza, but he disgusted Kai. He was fat, always sweaty and disgusting. He had a powerful quirk, one that allowed him to emit a noxious gas, but that was his greatest asset. He was weak-willed, and all he cared about was kissing Okimoto’s ass and fucking the prostitutes in the red light district.

“I’m heading out early,” Kai said, making it a point to meet the man’s squinty green eyes.

“The boss won’t be happy,” Goya replied, his voice drawl and bored like usual.

“Something came up with the League that I need to take care of,” Kai shrugged. “Let him know that I will call him in the morning.”

Goya grunted, returning his attention back to something on his phone. Kai disliked him, but he trusted that the message would get delivered to Okimoto, eventually.

Kai pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to his driver, Xiao Fe, to pull around to the front.

Kai glanced up at the table that Shouto had been sitting at. His fiance was seated and waiting, smiling at something on her phone. No surprise, her and Shouto had been glued to their phones most of the evening. Shouto’s seat was still empty. On her other side were who Kai assumed were her parents; a Yaoyorozu. How interesting.

He stood up to leave, when he caught sight of Endeavor yanking Shouto harshly back towards the table. He frowned. The man’s hand was wrapped in a vice-like grip around Shouto’s arm. Kai remembered too well what THAT felt like. His father had also been stern. Shouto would certainly need to find the resolve to break that cycle if he was ever going to be of use to him.

His phone pinged. Chronostasis had sent a link to Mr. Sadow’s address. It wasn’t too far from here. Very convenient. He told his right hand to gather up any of the Bullets currently at base, and meet him there in forty-five minutes.

He pulled his eyes away from Shouto, heading toward the front of the building. He had to be patient. He was going to see the heterochromatic teen tonight. He just needed to take care of that pesky photographer first, and then he could focus on Shouto. It wouldn’t do to get distracted.

The car was parked directly out front, waiting. He stalked over, climbing in to the backseat.

“Where to?” Xiao Fe asked, the older man glancing at him through the rear-view mirror.

“I’m logging the location into the GPS,” Kai replied. “We are meeting the Bullets there in forty-five.”

Now he just needed to call Shigaraki and inform him of the change in plans. His lip curled slightly at the thought of dealing with the LoV’s unpleasant leader.

"Speak," Shigaraki's dry voice rattled on the other side of the phone.

Kai’s lip sneered as the petulant leader’s voice barked out on the line. With every breath, Shigaraki tried to reinforce his dominance, and the act only disgusted Kai with its desperation.

"There has been a change of plans," Kai replied, "If you are still interested in the package, then we need to meet up tonight instead of tomorrow." He had trained himself to speak in code since he began running deals for the Yakuza, and it would not do for Kai to incriminate himself if Shigaraki was infiltrated or decided to turn on him. Something he was almost certain the LoV leader would try the second it benefited him.

"What?! You can’t just change plans because you feel like it," Shigaraki hissed. "We agreed on tomorrow over a week ago."

"And tomorrow doesn't work for me." Kai replied. Shigaraki needed to remember this was a partnership, not a service.

"Well tonight doesn't work for us."

"I don't care if it works for you," Kai replied. "This is going to be the best product on the market. Okimoto is already irritated that you are insisting on trying it. So we either meet up and you decide tonight. Or I take it to someone else. It's all the same to me. Your boss, however, might feel differently."

Kai had no doubt that he would submit. The drugs that they pushed for the Yakuza was The Leagues primary source of income, and Shigaraki wouldn't miss out on the chance to push a brand new product. Shigaraki might be a conceited ass, but he wasn't a complete fool.

"Fine," Shigaraki hissed, and Kai smiled at the fury in his voice. He truly disliked Shigaraki. The man thought too small. He was a man with a grudge. One that he seemed determined to direct at Japan’s roster of heroes. He was vile and dangerous. The League was ultimately destined for failure. But until they consumed themselves chasing after Shigaraki’s vendetta, Kai would keep them placated. They would eventually serve their purpose.

He clicked off the phone. Opening up his messages and quickly sending one to Dabi: Party changed to tonight. Make sure Shouto is there.

Closing the phone, he tucked it into his pocket, and glanced out the window.

He closed his eyes, letting his mind drift back to Shouto. To the first time he had seen the other in Dabi's living room. He smiled. Shouto had been a mess; a wildly embarrassed, frightened, turned on, handsome mess. His body was exquisitely sculpted, just like his brother's. But his dual-nature fascinated Kai. Two quirks, both powerful. Red and white hair, split perfectly down the middle. Heterochromatic eyes. But then, as if to spit on the very image of perfection, he had that scar over his left eye. It was clear that he hated it, but for Kai, that scar made Shouto even sexier. The damage spoke volumes for the depths of his character, a character that Kai both related and was attracted to.

Outside of that scar, Shouto’s skin was so pale, an almost creamy white. It was smooth too. Kai could still feel it underneath his fingertips. Shouto’s muscles had tensed underneath that lovely skin with each spot that Kai ran his hands over, all but trembling under Kai’s touch. The boy may be lithe, but he was powerful. If his brother was any indication, he would only become more so with age. And the way he had looked at Kai, eyes wide and dilated with both fear and arousal. Kai couldn’t forget that look. He had thought about it often over the last few weeks.

And tonight, when he held Shouto in his arms as they danced… he had been so enticing tonight. His suit had brought out his hair and eyes and even his scar so well. The outfit had fit him like a glove, and left little to the imagination, probably on purpose to boost the popularity of the pictures. But it had made watching Shouto, even watching him flirt with that pretty Yaoyorozu girl, drive Kai mad with want. Then when they had danced, and he had felt Shouto’s warm body pressed up against him… His mouth watered at the thought of how Shouto would react once Kai laid him down and touched him the way he wanted to.

It had been a long time since Kai had truly desired someone. Lust he was used too, and his thoughts of late were consumed by it every time the red and white haired teen crossed his mind. And he intended to sate that lust. Tonight, if everything went according to plan. But true desire had been a rare luxury in his life. And he felt that as well for Todoroki Shouto.

Xiao Fe pulled up to a tall apartment building and circled once. He had been driving for the Yakuza for almost twenty years, and needed no direction. He pulled the vehicle to a more discreet location, and parked in the shadows away from the streetlights. Kai stepped out of the vehicle, walking around to pull his mask out of it’s compartment in the trunk as several motorbikes pulled up with their lights out, parking nearby. Xiao Fe busied himself with pulling a dark tarp out of the vehicles trunk compartment and pulling it over the car. He then changed his coat to something more rundown and stood quietly near the street, pulling out a cigarette and awaiting further instruction. Chronostasis, Rappa, and Mimic all approached, already decked out in gear. Kai nodded at the trio, motioning toward the apartments. Kai fastened his ornate face-mask into place and led the others into the building.

* * * * * *

Kai finally heard the click of the lock, the door pushing open. There was a shuffling as Mr. Sadow stepped inside and re-locked the door behind him. He was carrying a shoulder bag and had let it slip to the wooden floor when he noticed the silhouette in his armchair.

"Kaori?" Sadow's voice asked tentatively. Kai assumed that must be the lovely woman currently fast asleep down the apartments short hallway in the adjoining room.

Sadow took a few slow, nervous steps forward. He reached out toward the light, when Rappa flipped it on for him. The photographer jumped. His eyes went wide at the sight of the burly red-headed man. Rappa towered over Sadow, his charcoal bird-like mask, simple and unadorned, soullessly staring down at the photographer. The Steel gauntlets covering his fists glistened in the lamplight. Sadow all but jumped at the sight of him, and stepped away in trepidation.

"Welcome home, Mr. Sadow," Kai greeted him, his voice deepened by his mask, watching the man's eyes flick nervously around the room. Chronostasis was standing in the corner of the room. Mimic stepped in from the kitchen. Each of the men with him wore versions of the bird-like mask Overhaul was wearing, however each of theirs were full masks, while Kai had always preferred that his prey be able to look into his eyes. Finally, Sadow’s gaze landed on Kai.

"Who?" The man's voice shook slightly. Rappa took a step in toward him, flexing the huge muscles in his arm. The man flinched visibly. "Who are you?"

"Shhh… Keep your voice down, Mr. Sadow." Kai said. "If you cooperate with us, there is no need to involve your pretty wife. After all, she seems to be sleeping so soundly." Sadow shifted uneasily and tried to watch each of the intruders carefully.

He nodded.

"What…” Sadow swallowed hard and tried to sound confident. “What do you want?" he asked, his voice much quieter, but the strain in his tone was obvious.

"You took some pictures tonight that I cannot allow to be printed. I'm here to ensure they are not."

Kai watched as a look of confusion crossed the man's face. Rappa took another step toward him and cracked the knuckles of his left hand. Sadow held his ground, but was leaning strongly away from the large man.

"I work for ‘Musutafu Daily’. I was at the dinner tonight specifically to take pictures of Todoroki Shouto and Yaoyorozu Momo. That's all I did, I swear!" His voice raised in fear, even though he tried to keep it a whisper.

Kai stood up, and shushed the man, inwardly sighing. He hated people who played games. He didn't have time for this tonight.

"You wouldn't lie to me, would you?" He asked. Sadow squeaked, his eyes widening as Chronostasis and Mimic moved in closer.

"You were the man dancing with Todoroki Shouto," Sadow finally said, recognizing the suit Overhaul was wearing, and the fierce golden eyes now that he was closer.

"You do remember me," Kai smiled beneath his mask. "Now tell me, what kind of article could you possibly need those pictures for?"

"Todo… Todoroki Enji and Yaoyorozu Isao are announcing the engagement of their successors. It's going to be on the front page! That's why I took the pictures, I swear!" The man squeaked as Rappa reached out and took his right arm.

An engagement announcement. It made sense now why Shouto had seemed so bitter earlier when he mentioned his engagement. No, no. That wasn't going to do at all.

Still, canceling that article might be the perfect opportunity to show Shouto what kind of power he could gain by Kai's side.

And this man was going to make doing that very easy.

"And you decided that pictures of him dancing with an older man were appropriate for such an article? I'm not sure your editor would agree."

"I wasn't going to use those ones!" Sadow squeaked.

God, how Kai hated liars.

"Rappa, the bag." Kai instructed, ignoring the photographer. Rappa scooped up the bag from the floor in one feral movement, wrenching the photographers arm as he did, and tossed it over to Overhaul.

"Be careful!" Sadow pleaded, "those cameras are my life!" Kai looked at him, handing the bag to Chronostasis to hold. He unzipped it, peaking inside. It was no wonder Sadow was concerned. For an up-and-coming photographer, this equipment was top notch. Replacing this would take him years.

Kai fished into the bag, pulling out one of the two cameras tucked inside. Sadow's eyes widened.

"Not that one!"

"I thought I made myself clear earlier, Sadow. I don't like liars." He activated his quirk, holding the camera out so that Sadow could see it melting itself into an unrecognizable mess that Kai dropped on the floor. It made a dull spluck.

Sadow cringed inwardly, silent tears in the corners of his eyes.

Kai opened the bag once more, taking out the second camera.

"Ok!" Sadow pleaded, "When I saw him dance with you, there was such… such chemistry between you. I knew that pictures like that would be worth money as a counter article in the right hands. I was going to… to sell the pictures to ‘Hero’s Weekly’. They pay photographers top dollar for undesirable pictures of heroes. They could have run a article on him being gay or something… as a counter article. Between the engagement, and the fact that Todoroki Enji is notoriously anti-gay rights, the article would likely have been a hit. They would have paid me good money... It had nothing to do with you personally! I swear it!"

Kai sneered. This man had no honor. Disgusting. He melted the second camera, dropping it next to the first.

Sadow all but broke down into tears at the sight. His weight fell forward, and Rappa’s grip on him was the only thing stopping him from falling to the floor and cradling the melted mess of his cameras.

"I wonder how your boss would feel about that?"

"Please!" Sadow was hysterical. "I will be sacked if he finds out! The pictures are gone! All of them! Isn't that enough?"

"I need that article canceled. You help me get that done and there is no need for that information to be released. Granted that you are, of course, willing to help me in the future if I need it.

"That…” Sadow choked. “That’s not going to be easy," he stammered. "There is a contract. Todoroki Enji has already paid for six articles… around that engagement over the next two years. This, this was only the beginning."

"That is why I need your help," Kai replied, "I want you to get the editor-in-chief on the phone. Tell him there is an issue with the pictures. Arrange to meet up with him. I will take care of the rest."

"I'm not sure if he will do it." He sobbed in a panic.

"For your sake, I hope you can be convincing." He replied. "Rappa, Mimic, stay with Mr. Sadow and make sure that he arranges the meeting. If he tries anything funny, snap his neck. Then, you can do as you please with his wife. Chronostasis, I need to speak to you alone."

Sadow’s face lost all color at the threat, and he slumped to the floor as Rappa released him.

His masked companion nodded, tossing the empty camera bag into the chair Overhaul had been using earlier and followed Kai into the kitchen.

"I am going to make sure this article gets canceled, but I promised Shigaraki his package tonight. I need you to take it to him." Chronostasis hated dealing with the League as much as he did, but he knew that the man wouldn't question him. “When you give it to him, let him know that I will be there in a few hours, and I expect his answer tonight.” Kai said. Then as an after-thought, he added “Do you know of Todoroki Shouto? Would you be able to recognize him?”

The hooded man nodded.

“He is supposed to be with the League tonight. It would be useful to my plans if he were. Find out, and let me know.” Kai hoped that Shouto was smart enough to come to him when summoned. He intended to see him. Tonight.

If Chronostasis was surprised by the request, he didn’t say anything.

Once the other man left, Kai turned his attention back to the photographer. It didn’t take much to convince the editor-in-chief to agree to come in. Endeavor must have paid a decent sum of money, it would be critical that everything went according to plan. Within just a few minutes, they were back at the car. Xiao Fe had the tarp back in the trunk and they were on the way to the newspaper building. Rappa had stayed back at Sadow’s place to ensure the photographer cooperated and did not intend to tip his employer off.

Getting the article canceled was an inconvenience, to be sure. But a necessary one. He needed to show Shouto what they could accomplish together.

Up until he met Shouto, he had planned to ultimately have Dabi by his side, his second-in-command. Chronostasis would do, for now, but if Kai hoped to achieve his goals, he needed more. Dabi was extremely powerful, charismatic, clever, ambitious, and was in many ways even more vicious than Kai. He would be perfect, if only he didn’t have those damn ties to Shigaraki. Kai would break those ties eventually, but now he was beginning to wonder if Shouto was not an even better choice. Under Kai’s guidance, he could become one of the most powerful and influential members of the Yakuza. Kai would help him escape his father’s strangle hold, and in turn Shouto would help Kai do the same with his own boss.

Yes, Kai would have Shouto by his side; body, mind, and soul.

"Take... Take a right at that light." The photographer said, interrupting Kai’s train of thought. He was pointing shakily to a turn up ahead. "We have to go around back. The only entrance open this time of night is the service entrance."

Xiao Fe slowed down, turning the car. They pulled up into the photographer’s personal parking stall. They needed to be discreet so he and the photographer would go in alone. But Mimic would infiltrate the walls as backup. The newspaper was running a skeleton crew right now, so the risk was small.

"Is your editor here?" Kai asked. This should be fairly easy. Okimoto had dealt with this paper in the past. The Yakuza had intervened with their choice of articles before. Unless the editor-in-chief was new to the position, he would probably figure out who Kai worked for fairly quickly.

"Yes," Sadow answered, "Yoneda is there. When he found out about the issue, he agreed to come in right away. I think that Mr. Todoroki has paid a sizable amount for this story. He needs to personally make sure that this goes smoothly."

"Perfect," Kai answered. Motioning for mimic to go in first. The man had already taken a dose of trigger to boost his powers. He would infiltrate the walls to ensure an uninterrupted path to the editor-in-chief, and most importantly taking out every camera that might reveal their presence tonight.

This was a straight-forward mission, but there was no need to take unnecessary risk. It wasn’t long before the corner of the building bulged, indicating that mimic was successfully in place. Kai straightened his suit and stepped out of the car. Kai watched as Sadow all but stumbled from the vehicle and nervously adjusted his outfit.

“You are going to lead me inside, Sadow, straight to your editor. Once inside, you will remain silent until I am ready to leave. No funny business. If you attempt to run away, or get help, I will kill you. And Rappa will have a party with your wife she will NOT enjoy. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” he nodded, solemnly.

“Good, now lets move quickly. I have other places to be tonight.”

Kai followed the nervous photographer inside the building. It didn’t take them long to locate the editor-in-chief, who was in his office smoking a cigar and looking at his computer. Sadow stepped in, Kai right behind him. The moment they were inside, Mimic moved to transform the doorway into a flat wall.

“Sit down, Sadow,” The man snapped, not bothering to look up. “This is the biggest contract of the year, and you fucked up the pictures. Endeavor is going to have your head once he finds out about this.” The editor-in chief was a squat pudgy man with blue skin and a single long antennae running from his forehead to the back of his waist, following his hairline. What a fairly useless mutation. Kai could not imagine much use for that quirk, but not all within the 80% developed a particularly useful quirk. Some were destined to lives as ordinary as the quirk-less.

Sadow sat down in the chair, glancing apprehensively up at Kai.

“Good evening, Mr. Yoneda,” Kai began, taking the seat next to Sadow.

The blue man looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. His mouth dropped open, Kai met his gaze directly.

“Who the fuck are you?” Yoneda questioned, his face twisting in anger as he glared at Sadow.

“Who I am isn’t important,” Kai replied. “I am here on behalf of the organization I work for. I am afraid that we need to stop production on the engagement article for Todoroki Shouto and Yaoyorozu Momo.”

“You can’t just come in here making demands!” Yoneda replied, “That would be impossible. That article is part of a contract with the Endeavor agency. It’s worth too much for this paper. Now get the fuck out of my office.”

Kai’s mouth tightened at the tenacity, not that the man would see it beneath his mask. He hated assholes like this.

Kai leaned forward, setting his hand on the desk and activating his quirk enough that vine-like tendrils emerged from the wood to wrap itself around the mans arms, locking them to the desk. The man dropped his cigar, looking up incredulously at Kai.

“I wasn’t asking, Mr. Yoneda. You see, you work for this newspaper. My boss practically owns this paper. And it has come to our attention that this contract you have is a conflict of our interests. So I am here to make sure that this article doesn’t get published… one way or another.” Kai said. The vines started to sprout small thorns, sinking into the editor’s skin, blood seeping out around them.

“Who… who do you work for?” The man gasped, struggling and writhing in pain.

Kai left the vines in place on the mans arm, standing up and walking around behind the man and setting his hands on Yoneda’s shoulders. He leaned down to as if to whisper in his ear. Instead Yoneda cried out in pain as his skin began to swell, causing the thorns to sink in deeper.

“Okimoto sent you!” Yoneda managed in a strangled cry. Kai cringed inwardly as the name passed the man’s lips. One day he wouldn’t have to rely on his connections with the Yakuza. One day it would be his own name they cried out.

Kai activated his quirk again, touching the chair and causing the same vines to emerge, wrapping itself around the man’s chest and throat. He let the small thorns protrude out from the vine across his chest. The man screamed in pain. Slowly a more prominent tendril of thorned wood began to form and arc before Yoneda’s face, it hovered directly in front of the editor, the end curling into a vicious pointed barb.

“Now the way I see it,” Kai spoke softly against his ear, “you can cancel production on this contract, and I can remove those vines from your skin. Or you can refuse, and I will feed you this vine, tearing you apart from the inside. And then we will leave you here, hoping that somebody finds you before your organs fail and you bleed out.”

The blue man’s eyes bulged out of his head, his mouth opening and closing wordlessly as Kai moved the vine ever so slightly closer toward Yoneda’s face.

“Ok! Ok!” Yoneda finally managed, his voice cracking as it stuck in his throat. “Let me go and I will make sure the article doesn’t go to print. Just… get that thing out of my face.”

“And the rest of the contract,” Kai asked, moving the barb closer.

“Canceled! Consider it all canceled!” He squeaked, flinching as far back in his chair as he could.

“Very good,” Kai replied. He withdrew the barbed vine, most of the way, letting the vines on the mans arm retreat, leaving long scratches from the thorns. “Now why don’t we all get comfortable while you start making the necessary calls.”

Kai left the vine around his chest secure, pushing his chair forward so the man could reach his computer and phone. Then he walked around, sinking down into the chair next to Sadow. It wouldn’t be much longer now, and he could finally go see Shouto.

* * * * * *

Mimic and Rappa decided to join Kai for the gathering with the League. Apparently the night had been too tame for the pair, and they were looking for a bit more action before calling it a night. Kai didn’t complain. Even Rappa provided better conversation than most of the the League of Villains.

The building was suspiciously dark when they arrived. There was no answer to their knock, which left Kai feeling decidedly unsettled. Luckily, Mimic was able to meld into the lock and get the door opened with very little hassle. For the fact that there was supposed to be a party tonight, the place was quiet.

He walked down the short hall, entering the main room and flipping on the light. There was an overwhelming stench in the living room, a horrid combination of alcohol, stale cigarettes, copper, and sex. It put him on edge. Rappa and Mimic followed him as he stepped into the room, surveying the mess. There was broken glass shattered all over the floor beneath one of the walls. There was a large, pink bag on the coffee table with a bloody knife next to it, small splotches of dark blood stains on the couch.

“Where in the fuck is everyone?” He asked no one in particular. The uneasy tension in his shoulders was growing quickly. “Rappa. Check the other rooms. I want answers.”

Rappa grunted, heading down the hall toward the bedrooms.

Kai pulled out his phone, dialing Dabi's number.

"There you are," Dabi replied, a thinly veiled tone of irritation in his voice. "I called you hours ago."

"I told you something came up." Kai said. "I'm here now. But no one else is." Kai tried to hide the irritation in his voice.

"No one is there?" Dabi sounded incredulous.

Kai didn’t bother to respond. Such a frivolous question.

"Did you check any of my messages?” Dabi asked after a few moments. “I told you that Shigaraki sent me out on a delivery. I left hours ago."

"And Shouto?" Kai asked. He could feel his jaw tighten in irritation.

"He was at the party."

"You left him alone?" Kai was growing more agitated by the moment.

"I didn't have a choice," Dabi said.

"How long ago?"

"Three hours. Give or take. I tried to call you. I don't like it. Shigaraki had something planned. He wanted me out of the way."

"Find out where they are," Kai snapped as a large crash sounded from one of the bedrooms. He closed the phone and took a breath. He did not trust Shigaraki. He had Shouto alone for hours. If something happened…

A few moments later, Rappa re-emerged, shoving a very angry Magne in front of him. She looked pissed off at the treatment, and glared at him with deep brown eyes.

“What the fuck is this about Overhaul?” She snapped, glaring at him as Rappa prodded her directly in front of Kai and stood behind her “You have no right to come in here like this. The League is not yours to command. Now let me go.”

“I will,” Kai replied, “I just need you to answer a few questions for me. Then we will be on our way.”

“I don’t answer to you bird-boy” she growled.

“I was invited to this little party of Shigaraki’s, I need to know where everyone went.” He asked. He could hear a movement in the kitchen. That meant that somebody else was still here too.

“Fuck if I know!” She replied. “Dabi and Twice are out for a delivery. Dabi brought Shigaraki some fucking hero that pissed him off just as things were getting good, and Shigaraki kicked most of us out. Muscular and Spinner left. A couple hours later, Shigaraki and Toga left too. That’s all I know.”

“And the hero?”

“I don’t care.” She snapped. “I stopped paying attention after Toga started fucking him on the couch. The next thing I know, Shigaraki is chucking alcohol bottles at the wall and screaming about Dabi, and then he kicks us all out! Besides Toga and the hero, anyway. Where ever he is now, my guess is that he is regretting pissing off Shigaraki.”

Toga was fucking Shouto. Toga was fucking his Shouto!

Kai took a breath. His hands clenched into fists, his jaw clenched.

Suddenly his phone started ringing once more.

“Keep her there,” he snapped at Rappa, pulling out his phone. It was Dabi.

“You can’t just…” Magne began, but Kai simply turned away from her and answered the call.

“Where are they?” he answered, his voice clenched.

“I don’t know,” Dabi admitted. “I couldn’t get a hold of any of The League. The only person that answered was Shouto.”

A slight feeling of relief washed over him. At least Shouto was alive. If Magne’s story held any truth, than it would seem that Shigaraki found out something about Dabi that angered him. And the only thing Kai knew that Dabi was keeping hidden from his boss was the fact that he and Kai had been fucking. Knowing that walking corpse, he could have easily killed Shouto just to spite Dabi.

“And?”

“And something fucking happened. I don’t know what. It sounded like Shouto was coming down from his high. I couldn’t get much out of him. He hung up on me. But I think…” Dabi hesitated for a moment. “I think Shigaraki hurt him. I think he might have raped him.”

Shigaraki. Fucked. Shouto.

Shigaraki defiled him.

Kai’s vision went red. He was seething inside. He wanted to scream and lash out, but that would have to wait. He clenched the phone tightly in one hand, his other curled into a fist.

“Where is he?” Kai asked. Shigaraki didn't care about sex. His disgusting, decaying body made it hard for him to exert that much energy. He defiled Shouto to send a fucking message!

"He is with some friends. I don't know where, but one of them at least I trust to get him help if he needs it." Dabi said. "I will call him back in a bit to see if he answers. He still seemed pretty messed up from the drugs."

"I will call him. Send me his number." Kai snapped. He needed to hear Shouto’s voice himself. To know that he was alright.

"I don't know if—" Dabi began.

"Send me. His number." Kai replied, more firmly. Dabi should know better than to deny him.

"Fine." Dabi replied, and the phone clicked off.

Kai ended the call, tucking the phone back into his pocket. He glanced at the couch, certain now that the blood and the smell of sex had come from Shouto. Shouto and Toga and that vile scum. Shigaraki was crucial to his plans. But he had overstepped himself. He needed a reminder of how low on the totem pole he sat.

He turned around, smiling coldly at Magne.

"You let me go Kai," she snarled, "You know I can make things ugly in here very quickly."

A threat. How quaint. How stupid.

He was angry; and it took a lot to make him truly angry.

"Rappa." he replied. The brute grunted, but backed off.

"I need you to give Shigaraki a message for me." He said, turning to face Magne.

"Fine," she growled, glaring at Rappa. "What?"

Normally Kai liked to kill people quickly. But tonight… tonight he had a message for Shigaraki. He knew the leader had cameras in here, he would see every minute of her pain.

Kai stepped forward, reaching out and grabbing her arm before she could react. His quirk was ready and he started to boil her skin. An ear-splitting scream ripped from her chest, and Kai felt a weak push away from him, but the pain was too much for her to utilize her quirk. He watched as large blisters and boils started to form and pop over her as her skin and muscles started to melt.

A moment later, a large nomu burst through the door.

Pathetic.

A nomu was no match for his rage. He intensified the heat coursing through Magne. Her eyes had burst, and she was clawing desperately at his hand. Entire pieces of her skin were started to drip off her, exposing large chunks of bone. Her screams were gurgling and fading. He turned toward the nomu. Rappa had intercepted it gladly, but Kai wasn't finished yet.

"I know you will hear this, Shigaraki," Kai yelled, "So listen well! You are not untouchable! No matter who your boss is. You are alive because it is a convenience for me! But you need to learn your place. Touch my property again, and I will hunt you down and make you a pay a hundred-fold for every mark you left on him!"

He turned toward the nomu. By now, Magne was virtually a skeleton held together by bloody ribbons of still-melting tissue, and had all but completely collapsed to the floor. Kai held her arm aloft, and with a quick yank, he tore the arm and the melting flesh from it’s socket with a wet pop. Using his quirk, he melded the meat and bone with his own arm, shaping and extending it from himself like a bloody tentacle of meat and wet flesh. With a snap, he whipped the ghastly appendage at the nomu and coiled it around the creature’s thick neck. He yanked the creature away from Rappa, letting his quirk flow through the tentacle to begin re-writing the skeleton of the nomu from within. The creature clutched its brain-exposed skull and sank to its knees in agony as twisting spears of bone began to erupt like spines from all around its body, blood spurting out and landing on Kai in warm drops. The spines speared the nomu’s hands to its face, and in an ear-splitting wail the creature’s skeletal system gave way, most of it’s bone now protruding out of it’s body. The muscled mass sank in upon itself like quicksand and slumped into a lifeless mass of broken flesh and spikes.

Kai released Magne’s transformed arm, separating it from his own flesh and letting it fall to the floor with an ugly thud. He was still so angry. He wanted blood for what had happened tonight. Somehow these two minions were simply not enough.

But for now he would have to settle for making sure that Shigaraki heard his message loud and clear.

"Rappa, Mimic," he said. “We’re leaving.”

He sneered at the disgusting remains on the floor in front of him.

"I won't forget this, Shigaraki," he said, stepping carefully around the remains. He knew Shigaraki wouldn't forget this either. The leader’s message tonight had cost him dearly.

He sat down in the car, feeling tired. He usually used the Bullets for this kind of unpleasant business, so it had been a long time since he had used so much of his quirk in one night.

He would need to rest soon, get cleaned up. He wanted to see Shouto now, but the boy wasn't ready for this side of him yet, especially not if he was still coming down from his high. He only hoped that Dabi was right about him being in good hands. He would give Shouto a few hours, then call him to set up a time to see him.

Shouto needed to be cleansed of Shigaraki's vile filth.

* * * * * *
Shouto POV

“Hello?”

“Shouto.”

Shit. It wasn’t Dabi. He immediately recognized the sultry voice on the other line. An image of golden eyes flashed through his mind, and a rush of relief washed over him at the sound of his name. Wait, he should not feel relieved. Fuck. Why the fuck would he feel that way?

“Kai.”

"Are you hurt?" Kai asked, a strange tension in his voice. Shouto's stomach churned. He already knew what happened? How much did he know? Fuck, he was going to be so angry!

"I'm... I'm ok. My friends helped me," he mumbled, not sure exactly how much the golden-eyed man knew. The longer he could go without Kai finding out about Shigaraki decaying the mark on his shoulder, the better.

"So he did hurt you," Kai replied, his voice cold. He was definitely, definitely angry.

"I'm sorry..." Shouto didn't know what to say. "I didn't want anything to happen. I didn't know how to say no." The same words he had said to his brother. He didn't know how else to describe last night. Everything had gone so badly.

"Don't apologize, Shouto," Kai replied. "By now, Shigaraki will realize that he made a mistake. I want to see you. Tonight."

What? Shigaraki will realize he made a mistake. It sounded so cold, so certain. Shouto wasn't sure if he wanted to know what the man meant.

I want to see you tonight. It wasn't a question. Fuck. Shouto was still hurting a lot. If Kai wanted to sleep with him... He didn't think he could. But after last night, he did need to try and improve his relationship with Overhaul. If he said no, it would probably make Kai even more angry. If he saw him, maybe he would be able to smooth things over a bit. But if Kai wanted more… Shouto swallowed. Hopefully Kai wouldn't push for sex.

"Ok," he replied, disappointed in himself that as much as he dreaded the idea of Kai seeing him like this, the thought of spending time with the golden-eye was also intriguing. "When?"

He glanced over at Bakugou, sleeping soundly beside him. A twinge of guilt churned in his stomach.

"I will send someone to pick you up tonight at 6:30." Kai replied.

"I will be ready." He agreed, nervously.

"I will see you tonight, Shouto." The phone clicked off. He set it down on the nightstand.

He turned to lay back down, the stitches in his stomach hurt at the motion. He groaned. He was definitely not in good shape to go anywhere. Maybe he should go see Recovery Girl. He would have to eventually. He would need to be tested, again. The more sober he was, the worse the memory of Shigaraki fucking him was. And there had been no protection with Shigaraki or Toga. But going in risked the university finding out. And getting tested so soon would definitely show the cocaine in his system.

Fuck.

He shifted a little, trying to get comfortable. He didn't know what to do.

"Oi," Bakugou's sleepy voice said, "you wiggly fucker, relax." The blonde pulled Shouto back over to him, curling up against Shouto's left side and almost immediately falling back to sleep.

He would have to decide what to do later. It was only 6:00 A.M. He had barely gotten any sleep at all. A few hours of rest might clear up his head a bit. Then he could figure this out. He could decide what to do about Overhaul.

Chapter Text

A loud banging noise roused Shouto from his sleep. He groaned quietly as he opened his eyes. The pain pills had definitely, 100% worn off. But he was warm and comfortable and not ready to be awake yet. Glancing over, he smiled sleepily at Bakugou. The blonde was still fast asleep too, one leg over Shouto’s, his arm draped over Shouto’s stomach (dangerously close to Shouto’s stitches, although he didn’t want to move it and risk waking the blonde), and his face nuzzled into Shouto’s neck. It felt… good. Momo was the only person that Shouto had ever woken up next to, and he was enjoying the calm serenity of sleeping next to the normally volatile guy.

Shouto closed his eyes. After last night, he deserved to sleep in a bit…

But only a few moments later, he heard a loud banging in the hallway.

“Please, Mr. Todoroki, let me get him for you!” Momo’s voice was pleading. Shouto’s eyes shot open. Mr. Todoroki? Enji was here?

Shit.

He struggled to push Bakugou’s limbs off him, but to no avail. The door burst open a moment later, Enji’s huge figure taking up the doorway. His father’s eyes widened as he took in the scene before him. There would be no denying that he was sleeping in the same bed with Bakugou. The sleepy blonde was stirring, but they were still half-entwined as Shouto tried to wriggle away. Endeavor’s face darkened into a thunderous rage.

“SHOUTO!” his father roared, stalking forward. He grabbed Shouto’s arm and yanked him out of the bed, throwing him onto the floor. Shouto barely had time to put out his hands, managing to catch himself right before he face-planted into the hard-wood, just before the wounds on his stomach hit the floor. He gasped, the jarring motion of catching himself sent a shock through his entire body that hurt every single wound him, so intense that the shocks made it hard to breathe. He felt like he was going to puke, instinctively beginning to curl up. He whimpered, trying to catch his breath, when Endeavor reached down and pulled him back up to his feet by his arm.

Shouto cried out as the movement sent even more shocks of pain up and down his body.

Everything. Fucking. Hurt.

“What in the fuck,” Bakugou yelled, fully awake now.

Shouto struggled against his father’s grasp, managing to wriggle out of it and take a painful step back. Enji responded by striking him across the cheek, hard. Shouto stumbled backward, almost collapsing against the nightstand, tipping over Bakugou’s lamp and falling onto the bed.

“Please,” Momo begged, grabbing Endeavor’s arm, “Don’t hurt him!”

“I can’t believe he convinced you to lie for him,” he yelled, pushing her away. “I came over to see what the fuck you two had done to that article, and I find you in bed with another man like some disgusting whore! This is the last straw! This behavior ends now, Shouto!” Endeavor clutched Shouto by the nape of his neck roughly and pushed Shouto forward, shoving him through the doorway and out into the hall. Shouto stumbled, catching himself against the wall. The decayed mark on his shoulder throbbed and burned; the skin around it was so hot that it felt like he was burnt. He could feel the stitches pulling in his stomach; tiny drops of blood started to leak out of it. The sharp ache in his lower back and ass, spiking with each step. He hurt more than he could have imagined; as badly as when he had ended up in the hospital after fighting Stain. Maybe even worse. “Get in the car!”

Shouto struggled to get down the stairs, willing away the pain and the nausea, suppressing every tiny whimper that begged to fall from his lips. Endeavor was right behind him, prodding him forward with each step. The front door was already wide open, and Endeavor forced Shouto through and down the driveway to the car. He yanked the door open, shoving Shouto inside and moving to his own side. Momo and Bakugou came running out behind him. Momo opened his door, pushing his phone into his hands.

“Please, Shou,” She whispered. She had tears running down her cheeks, her voice choked and desperate. “Tell him you are already hurt.”

The entire car rocked as Endeavor sat down, glaring at Momo. She gave Shouto a quick kiss on the cheek, closing the door and stepping away from the car. Endeavor pulled away, his hands gripping the steering wheel so hard that Shouto could see faint hints of smoke wafting up around them as he suppressed his fire. He was furious.

Shouto hunched over, cradling his arms across his stomach, trying to hide the small stains of blood that had leaked through the white T-shirt. Every tiny jostle of the car made him cringe with pain.

And he thought his father had been angry to find him dancing with another man…

“How did you find me?” Shouto asked, his voice shaky as he spoke through gritted teeth. He was embarrassed. Both Momo and Bakugou knew his father was abusive, but neither of them had ever seen it. Now they got to witness first hand how weak Shouto really was.

Endeavor’s jaw tightened. His fingers dug harder into the steering wheel. Shouto could smell the rubber starting to melt underneath his fathers hand’s as the wheel heated up. He didn’t respond immediately. Finally he glared at Shouto.

“I don’t even know where to begin.” Endeavor hissed. “How the fuck did this happen again?! You disgust me, Shouto. I don’t know where this vile inclination to fuck men came from, but it ends now! No son of mine is going to be a god damn homosexual!”

Shouto slouched further, cringing as the motion pulled the stitches in his stomach, the thread stinging as it pulled at his raw skin.

They crept driving, the car moving in harsh, jerky shifts as Enji fumed.

“How did you do it?” Endeavor demanded after a few minutes, his voice low and dangerous.

“Do what?” Shouto asked, trying to focus his attention on the scenery outside the window. He had no idea what Enji was going off about now. He didn’t even want to know. He was tired. He hurt. He could barely even focus. He just wanted to get home and crawl into his bed.

“Don’t play stupid, Shouto. It’s unbecoming.” He snapped. “Who helped you cancel the fucking article?”

That caught Shouto’s attention.

Cancel the article? No. No way…

Shouto picked up his phone, opening it up and searching for ‘Musutafu Daily’. He scrolled through the main articles, but there was nothing. No article. No announcement. No pictures. Not even a single mention of his name. He smiled, despite himself. He felt so relieved. After everything else, he finally had a bit of good luck. He wasn’t going to have to go to class on Monday and explain to all of his friends that he was being forced into an arranged marriage.

“I…” He began, “No one. I didn’t do anything.”

“STOP LYING!!” Endeavor screamed, fuming. “I have had this contract set up for weeks. Weeks! I paid a fortune for that publicity! And then I open up my paper this morning, and… nothing! I spent hours on the fucking phone with the paper being run in circles. Finally, the editor-in-chief himself gets on and tells me that the article is a conflict of interest! Weeks of preparation, and the article is suddenly a FUCKING CONFLICT OF INTEREST?!”

“Sucks…” Shouto mumbled. He wasn’t sure what to say, but he was certain that whatever he said was, in fact, just going to piss his father off even more. But he honestly, truly had no idea what happened.

“NO! It doesn’t suck, Shouto! It doesn’t happen!” Endeavor fumed, “Not to me! It would have taken someone powerful to stop that article. Someone with a lot of fucking money. Who was it?!”

Shouto didn’t know. The only people he told about the article were Bakugou and Izuku. It couldn’t have been them. He didn’t even know anyone with that much—

Overhaul.

Overhaul was a part of the Yakuza. They definitely had that kind of money. But that wasn’t possible. They had barely talked about his engagement. And yeah, parts of last night were a blur… but he was certain that he had not mentioned anything about it being publicly announced. The golden-eyed man would have had no way of knowing the article was even set to be published.

“Just tell me who it was, or things are going to get a lot worse, Shouto.” He growled. “Was it the editor-in-chief? Did you suck his fucking cock? Or maybe it was some rich fucking business man that you let fuck you in exchange for a favor. You fucking whore!”

“No!” Shouto replied angrily. “I didn’t do anything! I don’t know what happened to the stupid article!”

“SHUT UP!” Endeavor yelled, the car jerking angrily at a turn. “JUST SHUT UP! I cannot stand hearing you lie to me!”

Shouto shut his mouth. He turned his body angrily away from his father, flinching at the movement. One bit of fucking good luck, and it was still a mess.

His phone pinged.

Momo: Are you alright?

Shouto: Yeah, just driving. He’s calming down.

God, he hated lying to her. But there was no need to worry her even more.

Shouto: You know Endeavor… his bark is worse than his bite.

If only that were true.

Shouto: Do you know anything about the article getting canceled?

Momo: The article got canceled?

Shouto: Yeah. Its why he’s so pissed.

Momo: What happened?

Shouto: I don’t know.

Momo: Just be careful… If he hits you again, tell him you are hurt! He won’t hit you if he knows you have stitches.

Shouto: Ok

He had no plan of telling Endeavor about the stitches; he couldn’t. Best case scenario: his father would be pissed that he was so weak that someone could do that to him. Worst case: he ended up in the hospital, and everything else comes to light. He didn’t even want to think about it… the very idea made him even more nauseous than he already was. But there was no way of explaining that to Momo without having to explain everything else to her. He just wasn’t ready to do that yet. It was bad enough that Bakugou had figured some of it out.

Momo: Bakugou is pissed

Shouto: Bakugou is always pissed. At least now he has a good reason to be.

Momo: He wanted to call the police.

Shouto: You know that wouldn’t do any good. You really think they will take our word over the #1 hero. It would be a waste of time.

Momo: I know.

Momo: I hate when he hurts you, though.

Shouto: I’m fine.

Momo: Please text me if anything happens!

Shouto: Ok.

He closed his phone as they pulled up into the driveway. Endeavor parked the car, but didn’t let go of the steering wheel. Shouto chanced a look at him. His father had closed his eyes. The anger was rolling off of him in waves. Shouto hurried to climb out and get to the house. It hurt like hell; but he had a feeling the pain would be a lot worse if Enji caught up to him. He shuffled over to the side door… doing his best not to limp in case Enji was watching… opened the door and headed straight for the stairs. But his father was right behind him, and grabbed his arm as he got to the bottom step.

Shouto turned around, meeting his father’s livid gaze.

“Who canceled that article?” Endeavor asked.

“I don’t know,” he repeated. Fuck! How many times did they have to go through this?

His father retaliated with a backhanded blow, striking Shouto across the cheek, just like he had at Bakugou’s. It was a warning hit. Shouto knew his father had held back his full strength. It still hurt though, his body tensing in response and Shouto flinched, taking a step backward and reaching up to rub his cheek. He was in no condition to fight.

“Who canceled the article?” he repeated, his voice deadly low.

“Fuck you,” Shouto growled, knowing that his father wouldn’t believe him, even if he told the truth. He braced himself for the next hit.

His father screamed, striking him in the gut with full power. Pain exploded across his torso as Shouto stumbled backward; he could feel the stitches popping out. The lacerations throbbed, worse than they had hurt even yesterday. Before he could recover, his father struck him again, sending him reeling backward to fall against the stairs. The sharp edges dug into his back painfully as he fell. Before he could catch his breath, his father stomped down on his stomach. Pain lanced through his core, and for a moment he was sure he would pass out from lack of breath. Endeavor loomed over him, putting his full weight on that leg, keeping Shouto pinned to the stairs.

“Stop lying,” Endeavor hissed.

Shouto reached out, putting up his right arm and started to form a shield of ice between them. The pain was so sharp that he couldn’t see; tears springing to his eyes and blurring his vision. He couldn’t breath, his father’s foot digging painfully into his stomach, the wooden stairs digging into his back. He couldn’t think.

He could barely even react.

Endeavor laughed as his body lit up with flames.

“You think your pathetic ice can stop me?” he growled, grabbing the edges of Shouto’s shield and melting the ice away. Endeavor reached down, grabbing the collar of Shouto’s shirt and yanking him forward until they were face to face, the heat from Endeavor’s fire blazing against his skin. The movement forced his father’s boot even deeper into his stomach, and sharp pains kept shooting through him, the weight and movement aggravating the cuts and the stitches there.

His father’s phone started to ring. He sneered, shoving Shouto back against the stairs. He finally took his foot off Shouto’s stomach, and Shouto gasped to catch his breath as his father stepped away, his fire dwindling as he answered the phone. Shouto forced himself to sit up, his body protesting, the pain almost over-whelming. His head spun. The small stains of blood on Bakugou’s shirt were getting worse. He clutched his arms over his stomach, trying to hide the stains, as he rested his head against the railing of the stairs and prayed that this would be over soon. His thoughts went to his room, but running from Endeavor now would only fuel his father’s rage, and Enji would burn through the door to get at him. Fleeing would be an act of cowardice, and his father would tolerate no such behavior from his heir. No, Shouto would have to stay and see this through if he wanted to minimize the damage.

A few minutes later, Endeavor stalked back over.

“You are lucky I had prior obligations,” He growled, “But this conversation isn’t over. I suggest you have the answer to my question ready when I get home. Then we can talk about your classmate. You probably let him fuck you like a bitch, didn’t you? Just like you did in the sports festival. You disgust me, Shouto.”

Shouto sat on the stairs for a moment, head against the rail, watching Enji stalk off toward the kitchen. His skull was pounding. His shoulder felt like he had a knife lodged into it. The cuts on his stomach were burning with pain. There was no way that his father didn’t pop open some of the stitches.

Finally, when he felt like he could breath again, Shouto pushed himself up, wincing in pain as he started to crawl up the stairs toward his room.

Fuck. Everything fucking hurt.

He stumbled into the bathroom, flipping on the light.

He was still wearing Bakugou's ill-fitted clothes, wrinkled from sleep, and stained now with blood on his stomach. He peeled the shirt up, flinching as he pulled it off. The wound on his shoulder and the cut on his chest were alright, even though they still throbbed. And the skin around the decay wound was so warm that he was certain it was infected. The two cuts on his stomach had re-opened, almost every stitch popped out. Blood was oozing from both, starting to dry on his lower stomach.

He looked pathetic.

Shit. Day after day. Week after week. Everything just kept getting worse!

"Fuck!" He screamed at himself, punching the mirror, leaving a small crack in the middle. It hurt the knuckles on his hand, the impact causing his muscles to tense, pain shooting out from his wounds. One tiny crack seemed so…weak. He reached out with his right hand, laying it flat against the mirror and freezing the glass until large cracks spider-webbed out from his fingers.

That was better.

It was satisfying and sickening all at the same time. Useless destruction, and all because he was disgusted with himself.

He really was pathetic.

He stepped back, looking at himself through the cracks, and then at the cracks themselves. And he laughed. This was going to piss his father off even more, as if he wasn't angry enough with him. And Shouto didn't even care.

He was hurt, and tired. And he just didn't care. He rummaged through his medicine cabinet, digging out some pain pills and taking the highest recommended dose. He glanced at his stomach again. He should probably call Momo. But he just didn't have the energy.

So instead he set the alarm on his phone, and crawled into bed. He reveled in how soft and warm and welcoming his bed felt. He embraced his exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.

* * * * * *
A knock on the door startled Shouto awake.

“You have company,” Uchi said, as she poked her head in to the room. Company?

Wait… Kai was sending someone to pick him up. Shit! How long had he slept? He struggled to grab his phone, his heart racing. He was absolutely not ready to head over to see the golden-eyed man!

1:00pm.

Oh thank god. He took a deep breath, calming himself down. But if it wasn’t Kai, who else would be here? Momo would have just come up to his room, and he seriously doubted that Bakugou would have come over.

“Ok,” he replied, “let them know I will be down in a few minutes.”

Uchi nodded, closing the door.

Shouto sat up, groaning at the pain. Every movement was difficult. His entire body hurt. He had dried blood all over his stomach, and it had even gotten on the sheets. The left side of his head throbbed. Fuck. He forced himself to stand up, stumbling back to the bathroom and looking at himself in the ruined mirror. Yup. The left side of his face was definitely bruised and swollen. If possible, he looked even worse than he had before he went to sleep.

He went in to his closet, pulling a black T-shirt on. Then adding his blue hoodie over that for good measure. The wounds had mostly stopped bleeding for now, but hopefully if they started again, it wouldn’t bleed through both layers before the visitor left and he could try to get them cleaned up properly. He sighed as he looked at his face again. He would have to play it off as a rough day of training.

Turning off the light, he limped downstairs. When Shouto got to the bottom, he was surprised to see Hawks standing in their main room. The blonde hero had his red wings tucked up against his back, and was looking at a large painting that hung above the fireplace. It was an old portrait that Endeavor had commissioned a few weeks before Shouto’s mother had burned his face. Before she had been admitted to the hospital. Shouto hated that portrait. Especially now that he was the only one in the house. It was like a glimpse into the life that they all may have had… if Shouto hadn’t gone into the kitchen late that night while his mother was making tea.

“Hawks,” Shouto greeted the winged hero, pushing away the bitter memory. Honestly, he wasn’t really sure what the other man might need.

“Hey,” Hawks said, turning away from the portrait quickly, running a hand sheepishly over the back of his neck. “I was just coming to—” the words died on his lips as Shouto walked closer. He knew the marks on his face were obvious. He could see the heroe’s eyes tracing over the bruises and the swelling along the left side of his face.

“My father isn’t here right now,” Shouto told him. It was really the only reason he could imagine for the winged hero to be here. Hawks had interned at Endeavor’s agency during his last year at UA, and had continued to work there until he opened his own agency. The two agencies still worked together on their bigger cases.

“I’m actually…” Hawks began, his face settling into a deep frown. “I came to see you, Shouto.”

Shouto didn’t like seeing the frown on Hawk’s face. It wasn’t him. Hawks and Touya had been really good friends in school, and he used to come over all the time. He was always smiling and laughing and joking around. It’s part of why he ranked so high now as a hero. Although it didn’t hurt that he was also quite handsome, and incredibly popular as the most desirable bachelor hero in the city.

“Oh… ok,” Shouto replied. He honestly couldn’t think of a single reason that Hawks would want to see him specifically. “Do you want some tea, or something?” He offered.

“No. No, I actually don’t have that long. But, um…” Hawks murmured, still frowning, “Is there somewhere private that we can talk?”

“Um, yeah,” he said, motioning for Hawks to follow him upstairs. His bedroom was the only place he could think of that the cleaners wouldn’t just barge in and out of at will. Shouto walked as quickly as he could without limping. It was definitely important that the winged hero not realize how hurt he actually was. There was no way he wouldn’t take Shouto in to the hospital, and then everything he had gone through to avoid that outcome last night would be for nothing.

He opened the door, shuffling inside quickly to hurry and pull the blankets up over the blood spots on the sheets. Luckily the rest of the room was relatively clean, outside of the mess in the bathroom.

“You moved into Touya’s room,” Hawks said, a strange look on his face as he walked inside and looked around.

“Yeah,” Shouto replied, motioning to his chair by the desk. The room had sat almost completely empty for a year. Finally, Shouto had decided to move into it. It was further away from his father’s room, it helped Shouto feel a bit closer to his brother, and it had it’s own bathroom. A definite plus.

Hawks flexed his wings around to sit in the chair. He sat on the very edge of it, clearly anxious about being here. Shouto sat gently on the edge of the bed across from him.

“I probably shouldn’t be here,” Hawks began quietly, looking down at his hands. “I told myself that I didn’t need to come. You were fine. I thought that maybe… maybe Endeavor had changed. That he wouldn’t hit you, ya know. You are his successor, after all. But I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something had happened…” Hawks looked up at him, that same unhappy frown on his face. “and I was right.”

“I don’t understand,” Shouto said, confused. How did Hawks know something even happened?

“Look, I wasn’t going to say anything,” Hawks continued. “But seeing you like this… Shit. I know your dad did that to you. He beat you, didn’t he?”

Shouto felt his mouth tighten. He tried to keep his face passive. He could hear the sympathy in Hawks voice, and he hated it. He didn’t need another person to see how weak he was.

“Look, I have something I need to tell you,” he finally said when it was clear that Shouto wasn’t going to reply. “Because… because Touya isn’t here to tell you.”

“What are you talking about Hawks?” Shouto asked, “Touya isn’t here to tell me what?”

Hawks re-adjusted his wings, scooting back just a little into the chair.

“I… shit, I don’t really know where to begin,” He admitted, looking up at the ceiling and back down, everywhere but at Shouto directly. “I loved your brother.” He paused, taking a breath. “Not like a friend, or a classmate. I really loved him… was in love with him.”

Shouto’s mouth dropped open. He knew the two had been close at UA, and he had suspected there was something more between them. Especially after Touya disappeared. When Hawks would tell Shouto stories about Touya, he always had this way of smiling at his name. But Shouto had always assumed it wasn’t really anything… After all, he had never seen them act romantically toward each other as a child. Then again, he also hadn’t really cared about that stuff at that age. But love?

“We dated for a few years in highschool, and when we first started at UA,” Hawks continued. “Touya made us keep it a secret. He always said your father would flip his lid if he found out we were together. But we spent every free moment we could together. I don’t know if you remember how often I came over… you were still young, I guess. Anyway, we never actually said that we loved each other. Everything just felt right when we were together. Your brother made me feel free, ya know? One night, we were over here. In this room, actually.” Hawks admitted, blushing slightly and averting his eyes, “Endeavor was working late, and you were already in bed for the night. We started fooling around. We didn’t hear your father come home, and when he came into the room… well, there was no mistaking what we were doing.”

“Endeavor pulled Touya off of me, and started to hit him, again and again. I tried to stop him, and he hit me too. He was furious, and he started to scream at us. He screamed things that I will never forget. Things that one person should never say to another, especially not a father to his son. We disgusted him.” Hawks stopped again, squeezing his eyes closed for a moment before continuing, “And I remember standing there, naked and shamed in front of the #2 hero, and your brother was lying on the floor, clutching his face. And your father told us that we were never going to amount to anything. That if we truly wanted to be heroes, that we had to stop our depraved behavior. That Musutafu would never allow for an openly gay hero in their city. And then he… he spit on his own son.”

“And I…” Hawks took a deep breath, “I didn’t know what to do. I grabbed my pants, and I ran. I ran out of this house, and I left your brother lying on the floor. I felt so sick. When I got home, I could hardly breath. And the worst part was, I couldn’t get your father’s words out of my head. So I started to research, hero after hero. And it was true. There were no openly gay heroes in the city.”

Hawks finally looked up at Shouto, his eyes tracing once more over the bruises on his cheek.

“That’s why I had to come over today. I needed to see if you were alright.”

“How? How did you even know something happened?” Shouto asked, quietly.

“There was a meeting today, with a few agencies. Endeavor was there, and I could tell something was wrong right away. He was late to the meeting, and he didn’t even come dressed in hero attire. He kept glaring at me, in a way that he hasn’t done in years. He was ill-tempered, even for him. And he snapped at every comment I made. After the meeting, I followed him, and asked him what the hell his problem with me today was. He said that you had disobeyed him, and that when he went to confront you… he found you in bed with a male classmate. He said that he had no choice but to correct such disgusting behavior, and that I… I should remember better than most how unpleasant such corrections can be.”

“I do remember…” He said, his voice shaking slightly “And I couldn’t stop worrying that he had hurt you. The way he hurt Touya. And I was right.”

Shouto nodded. There was no point in denying it now. Hawks story was so eerily reminiscent to this morning that there was no way he wouldn’t already know where the bruises on Shouto’s face had come from.

“I thought so,” he finally said, a bitter smile on his face. “And that’s why I feel like I need to tell you the rest of the story. So you don’t make the same mistake that I made.”

Shouto wasn’t really sure he wanted to hear the rest. He knew his father was an ass. And he knew that his father disapproved of his sexuality, but it was hard to hear how much Endeavor hated that part of him. That he truly didn’t care about his children’s happiness, or what they wanted. Endeavor just wanted them to fall into line. Be who he expected them to be. But… this was obviously a difficult story for Hawks to share. And he doubted that the winged hero had shared it with many others. That meant that he must feel it is important.

Shouto nodded again.

“Ok,” Hawks said, his shoulders and wings relaxing ever so slightly, as if he was worried that Shouto might say no. “The next day, when we got to school, and I saw your brother… I hated myself for leaving him. The entire side of his face was bruised up just like yours. His left eye was so swollen that he couldn’t even open it. And it scared me. Your father’s words were still in my head, and all of those articles. All of those heroes. And I just knew that if Touya and I kept going, that it would ruin our futures. And so, I broke up with him.” Hawks laughed bitterly. “I thought… I thought it was the right thing, ya know? Touya broke down. He begged me not to end it. He… for the first time ever, and the only time, Touya told me that he loved me. That he didn’t care about what his father thought, that he wanted to be with me. When I told him about all of my research… He said it didn’t matter. That we could be the first. That we would be such badass heroes that nobody would care who we loved. Touya was willing to risk everything to love me. And I… I couldn’t let go of my fear. I walked away.” Hawks eye’s were shining. His voice starting to get gravelly. “That’s the kind of man that Touya was. He didn’t even care if Endeavor beat him. He was willing to endure the abuse, for me. And I failed him.”

Hawks stopped, wiping at his face quickly and taking a few breaths. Shouto felt for him, it was clear that this was a painful memory. But he stayed quiet, waiting for winged hero to continue.

“We… we tried to stay friends after that. But it was hard. Touya was obviously hurting. And it was hard for me to spend time with him, but not actually be with him, ya know. So I started to pull away, more and more. And then one day, about seven months later, we were sitting in the cafeteria at lunch-time, and he was texting someone on his phone. And he was smiling. It was the smile he used to give me, just me. Only, now it wasn’t for me. And I hated it. It made me feel horrible… jealous. So one day, I followed him after school. I followed him down to the shitty side of town and watched as he entered a ghetto, ramshackle apartment. I stuck around, not really sure what I expected to happen. But eventually, I saw him walk out onto the balcony of one of the apartments. He… he was with another guy. Some blue-haired guy, about our age. I had never seen him before, but they had obviously been seeing each other for a while.”

Shouto tensed up. Blue-haired guy? Shigaraki’s face flashed, unbidden, in his mind. No… No way that Touya had known him that long…

“I sat and watched as they talked, and smoked cigarettes, and held hands. Out in the open, like it didn’t matter who saw. And it made my stomach twist into knots. But I couldn’t look away. Then the blue-haired guy leaned over and kissed Touya. And Touya… Touya reached up and cupped this other man’s jaw, and kissed him back. And it tore me up inside. Knowing that it was my rejection of your brother that drove him into that other guy’s arms. It was also the moment that I realized that I loved Touya. Truly loved him. I decided that I was going to tell him. And I tried to… a dozen times. But for the first time since I had broken his heart, your brother actually seemed happy again. And I just could never find the right time.”

Hawks stopped, rubbing his hands over his face.

“And then… then that night came.” Hawks said. Shouto didn’t have to ask him which night he meant. It was the night immortalized in the false police report. The night that he and Dabi talked about in the club. The night that Endeavor almost killed his two youngest children. “I… I tried to go visit Touya in the hospital. But Endeavor wouldn’t even let me near his room. He told me that Touya was on drugs and dangerous… that he had already tried to hurt you. I… shit, I don’t know what happened that night. I read the police report, but I just couldn’t imagine that Touya had done all of that. Especially hurting you. You were… you meant a lot to him. But that’s all the information I had. So I decided to wait until he was released so I could ask him about that night myself.”

“A week later… he was gone. Ran away in the middle of the night. And I don’t really blame him. He… he really fucked up his chances of becoming a hero. But it still hurt. It hurt that he would just disappear without saying a word. And I… I knew where he must have gone. So the next night, I went back to that apartment. And I flew up to the balcony. I was determined to talk to him. To tell him how I felt and convince him to return with me. But when I saw him…” Hawks jaw tensed up, his fingers clenching together as he spoke. “All the reports had said he suffered minor burns. That he was healing. But when I saw him… his entire upper body was covered in wraps. That other guy, he was sitting on the bed with him, and he was changing the wrap on his arm. And the skin underneath… it was disgusting. Red and blistered and completely missing in parts. It was obvious that Touya’s injuries were much worse than reported. Burns like that… they don’t ever heal the same, even with healing quirks. The damage was too severe. And it made me sick. Seeing the man that I loved like that, knowing that he would never look like Touya again.”

“I couldn’t look away. I watched as that guy tended to your brother. But when he unwrapped the bandages around your brother’s face. And… Shouto, the person underneath…” Hawks paused, “it looked nothing like your brother. Nothing like Touya. The skin on his neck and lower jaw had been grafted on, and he had horrible ugly stitches keeping it in place. His lower lip was almost completely burned off, and his beautiful red hair was gone. The worst part, though, was his eyes. They were dull, lifeless. Touya looked like an empty shell, like he had lost everything that truly mattered. And that guy didn’t care. He leaned over, and he gently kissed your brother’s mangled lips. I could barely stand to look at the man I loved, and this other man was still treating him as if he was the most beautiful person in the world. And I… I was ashamed. What could I offer him compared to that? So I left.”

“Over the next week, everything reminded me of your brother. I couldn’t stop thinking about him. And I realized that if I kept waiting, it might be too late. That the perfect moment I had been waiting for wasn’t going to happen. So I went back. But when I got to that apartment, it was empty. Everything was gone. Your brother, the other guy, even the furniture. I was devastated. So I signed up to help with the search efforts, and I was informed that Endeavor had closed the missing person’s case. A week later, I was offered Touya’s internship spot at your father’s agency.”

Hawks shook his head, looking back up at Shouto. There was so much pain in his eyes, and Shouto wondered how long it had been since he had to recall these memories. A part of him wanted to tell Hawks it was ok. That Touya was still in the city. That it wasn’t too late. Maybe Hawks would be able to help Shouto get his brother away from the League. But if Hawks had really broken his heart… well, he didn’t know how Dabi would react to seeing the winged hero again. So he kept his mouth shut.

“I keep hoping that one day he will come back,” Hawks continued after a moment, “But even if he does… Shouto, I love being a hero. But I have never been as happy as I was when I was with your brother. And I lost it all because I refused to embrace who I am. I lost my chance to stand by your brother because I was too scared to admit that I liked men. I was…” Hawks stopped, squeezing his eyes shut. “I still am a coward. And my life has been less because of it. And I can’t let you make the same mistake. You can’t let your father shame you. You have to stand up to him. I don’t know if you love this boy, but it doesn’t matter. You can’t let your father stop you from finding out. You are stronger than you realize, Shouto. Don’t let your father change who you are.”

Hawks met his eyes again. “And I know Touya would tell you the same thing if he was still here today.”

The winged hero stood up, suddenly. Shouto stared at him. Hawks held out a hand to him.

“Let me help you. Let me take you in to the doctor and have them check to make sure you are ok. Endeavor will be out on assignment for most the day. I can have you there and back without your father even realizing you are gone.” Hawks offered.

Shouto shook his head, pushing himself to stand up without wincing.

“I’m ok. It’s not that bad,” he mumbled, glancing down at his hoodie to make sure that no blood had started to seep through the fabric. Nothing. The cuts must finally be scabbing up again. “This isn’t any worse than a bad day of training.”

Hawks didn’t look convinced.

“Really, I’m alright,” he repeated, smiling at him. “I already had someone look over me. I’m ok.” He lied, holding up his hands and shaking them as if to demonstrate how Ok he was. But the movement actually hurt, and it took everything he had not to flinch. “Besides, I have plans with a friend tonight, I need time to take a quick shower and get ready.”

“Oh,” Hawks replied, his face still dubious as he watched Shouto. But finally, he seemed to relent. “Ok. I have to get back anyway. But here…” The winged hero turned the chair around, picking up a pen and scrawling something on Shouto’s notepad. “This is my cell number. Put it in your phone, and if you ever need anything, call me.”

“Ok,” Shouto replied. He looked down at the carpet. “Thank you, Hawks. For your number. For the advice. For caring enough to come over. I know… I know that wasn’t an easy story for you to tell me.” He was really grateful. He didn’t have a lot of people in his life. And with everything that had happened over the last few weeks, it felt good to have someone reach out to him so unexpectedly.

The handsome hero smiled. And although it still wasn’t quite his real smile, it felt more natural.

“Anytime, Shouto,” he said, turning around and reaching for the door.

“I can walk you out.” Shouto offered.

“It’s alright,” Hawks shook his head. “I still remember my way around this house pretty well. I can see myself out.” He opened Shouto’s bedroom door. Shouto was relieved. Going up and down the stairs again, pretending to be ok. It sounded horrible. “But Shouto…”

“Yeah”

“I hope you remember what I said. Don’t let Endeavor change you. Embrace who you are.”

Shouto watched as Hawks left, the door closing softly behind the him. Shouto stared at the door for a few minutes, Hawks’ story playing over again in his head. There had been so much pain there. Pain that the winged hero probably tried to put behind him. And he still drudged up every memory in order to try to help Shouto.

“You are stronger than you realize,” Shouto whispered, echoing Hawks’ words.

But he didn’t feel it. His life had always been planned out. He had a set path. He had never gotten to have a say in what he wanted. He had a strong quirk, and he was training to make it stronger every day. But he had never learned how to stand up for himself. He didn’t know if he could.

“You must stay true to yourself. Your are not a prisoner of your lineage, Shouto.” His mother’s words, spoken so long ago that he barely remembered them.

“It’s your power, not his!” Izuku this time, during the Sport’s festival.

“You are stronger than your father.” Kai’s words at the charity dinner.

So many times that people had tried to step in and tell him to be stronger. He had always thought they meant his quirk. But he needed more than a powerful quirk. He needed to learn how to be strong of conviction. To take charge of his life and his future. To be himself.

He just didn’t know how.

But he did know someone who could help him. A man who knew how to get exactly what he wanted from life. A man who had already offered to teach Shouto how to do the same.

Kai Chisaki.

Chapter Text

Shouto stared at his reflection in the broken mirror.

Less than 24 hours ago, he had been dancing with Kai at the charity dinner, and the man had freely offered the help he wanted. And he turned it down. He had told him that he had other plans. More important plans.

And then Shigaraki happened. And Kai knew, but Shouto had no idea how much. Kai had clearly wanted him when they danced. And he would be lying if he didn't admit that having his body pressed up against the handsome man hadn't done things to him too. But did Kai still want him? After knowing about Shigaraki? Maybe… but if he saw Shouto like this, then surely not. Between last night and today, Shouto looked... rough.

But Kai had insisted on seeing him today, which meant there might still be a chance to gain his trust. He needed to achieve today what he had hoped to achieve last night at the party. He needed Kai to like him, so that he could repay his debt, and learn how to be stronger while doing so. He needed to look desirable. But not so desirable that Kai wanted to fuck him. Shigaraki had hurt him too much for sex. If Kai wanted that… Shouto wasn’t really sure what to do. It was important that Kai not see the mark on his shoulder. Even the cuts might disgust him... If he thought Shouto was weak, the gang leader might lose interest.

So after a quick shower and a ridiculous number of butterfly bandaids to hold the cuts on his stomach closed, he began to cover up with the concealer he used for travel to Dabi's. The bruising spread over the left side of his face, so he had no choice but to completely cover his scar with the concealer too. But that was ok. Shouto hated it anyway... Kai would probably find him more attractive without it. He took the concealer all the way down his neck, covering the ugly bite mark Shigaraki had left.

A bit of eye-liner covered up how red his eyes were (although his left eye was slightly bloodshot, there wasn't much he could do about that). And finally he styled his hair to cover over most of the swelling on his cheek and eye. It wasn't perfect, but hopefully Kai wouldn't notice. He wore a pair of tight, gray jeans; not tight enough to be obscene, buy definitely enough to help draw some of the attention away from his face, and a black t-shirt with a short-sleeved black button-up over it. Hopefully the dark color would help hide any blood that might start to seep through if the butterfly bandages didn't hold. All things considered, he actually looked pretty damn good.

Finally, after another full dose of pain-killer and a muscle relaxer, he was ready. About as ready as he could be, at least.

He waited out in the front room, taking a selfie for Momo to show her that he was alright. She had only texted him a half-dozen times during his nap.

He was nervous. This was a dangerous path. Although he was indebted to Kai regardless, his original goal was to get out of that debt. Now he needed to get closer to Kai, so he could also learn from him. Then, once he was finally out of Kai's debt, he would be strong enough to forge his own path as a hero.

Solid plan.

The worst problem was that he was attracted to the golden-eyed man. Insanely attracted to him. He had been trying to deny it, since the man scared the hell out of him. But last night he had wished more than once that Kai had been there with him. And even after Shigaraki, he still wanted Kai to want him. It was probably stupid, but the man made him feel… Shit, it was hard to describe. He was alluring and sexy and powerful and Shouto wanted to fuck him. He was used to wanting to fuck. God, he loved fucking Momo. And those two girls at the club. He definitely wanted to fuck Bakugou again. But this was different. Maybe it was how powerful Kai was. Maybe it was seeing him with Dabi. But Shouto wanted Kai. To let Kai have full control to have him however he pleased. He wanted to give himself to Kai and have Kai touch him the way he touched Dabi. He wanted to run his hands over every inch of skin on that man's body. He really wanted to fuck him.

Which meant that getting into Kai's good graces came with a real danger of getting pulled in too deep by Overhaul and the Yakuza.

But once he managed it, than he would be free of the Yakuza and stronger for it. Two birds with one stone.

So why was he so nervous? When Kai’s driver arrived, at 6:30 on the dot, Shouto dragged his feet going out and getting into the car. The driver was an older Chinese man who didn’t say much, even when Shouto asked him how long the drive was. After a few minutes, Shouto decided he couldn’t just sit there, he was too anxious. So he decided to finally call Dabi back. He still wasn’t sure how his brother felt about everything that happened last night. And after hanging up on him and ignoring numerous calls after, he wouldn't be surprised if Dabi was a bit peeved with him.

Shouto dialed his number. It rang and rang, and Shouto was about to give up when Dabi finally picked up.

"You're alive," Dabi greeted him, a clear note of sarcasm in his voice. "I wasn't sure."

"I'm sorry... I was going to call you back earlier, but there has been a lot going on today. I didn't get a chance." Shouto said. It was the truth. After everything with Endeavor, which would piss Dabi off even more to hear about, he had mostly slept. And then talking to Hawks, it wasn’t exactly something he wanted to share with Dabi. He felt bad for him, knowing that the winged hero had broken his heart.

"Are you alright?" his brother asked, concerned. Shouto didn't blame him. He didn't remember much of their phone call last night, but he didn’t think it had gone super well. "Did Shigaraki hurt you last night?"

"Yeah,” Shouto paused, not really sure if he should say much more. “But... umm, I'm ok now. Momo and Bakugou helped me. In a couple days I’ll be good as new."

"Fuck!The fucking asshole,” Dabi sounded so frustrated. “I'm sorry. I had a feeling Shigaraki had something planned. I really thought Kai would be there earlier. I... Fuck. I knew the party might go badly, but I didn't think..."

"It's ok, Dabi," Shouto said, interrupting him. "I'm alright. I'm actually on my way to see Kai. That was the whole point of yesterday. So I guess everything worked out ok."

"You are going to see Kai? Tonight?" He asked, a strange tone in his voice.

"Yeah," Shouto replied, "I'm on my way now."

"Just... Just be careful, Shouto. Kai knows that Shigaraki hurt you and he is angry. I don't think he's angry at you, but... He might be dangerous right now."

"Dangerous?"

"Just... Trust me." Dabi replied. "I'm back in the city... Things are rough today with the League, but if you need help, call me. I will be there."

"Ok," Shouto agreed.

Shouto could hear somebody yelling in the background. He was fairly certain it was Shigaraki. He suppressed a shudder, images of the man touching him flashing in his mind.

"Look, I gotta go." Dabi said after a moment. "I will talk to you later."

"Alright… talk to you later," Shouto said.

He looked out the window. They were driving downtown, large buildings and neon signs starting to line the streets. It was a nicer part of town, in the heart of the city. There were hundreds of people walking along in front of the buildings, the signs flashing brightly to catch their attention. He set his head against the window, watching the lights pass by for a few minutes when his phone pinged. Momo had finally replied to his picture.

Momo: Damn, Shou! That pic… mmmhmmm!

Momo: One more? Just bite your lip that way I like so much… I will put it to good use ;)

Shouto: ?

Shouto’s eyebrows shot up as she sent a picture of her pulling up her skirt, a tiny hint of lacy red underwear barely showing. Fuck, that was his favorite pair of her underwear and she knew it. Damn her! He could already feel his pants getting tight as his cock tried to get hard. She had definitely mistaken the purpose of his picture. Not that he was one to complain…

Momo: your turn

Shouto: Can’t… going out tonight. In the car.

Momo: WTF?!

Momo: Going out? Shou, really? You have 24 stitches! No.

Momo: Just no!

Shouto: I'm already out.

Momo: With Bakugou? I will kill him if he pops your stitches being all horny.

Momo: I’ll text him.

Momo: New rule: If you have stitches, you both keep your dicks in your pants.

Shouto: Don't text him!

Shouto: Not with Bakugou....

Momo: ????

Shouto hesitated. He wasn't sure if he should admit he was going to spend time with Kai.

Momo: Don't hold out on me! 24 stitches! You owe me…

Shouto: Fine.

Shouto: Going to dinner with Kai

Momo: What? You whore!

Momo: No! Go back home! I saw him looking at u last night… No way u will follow the stitches rule.

Momo: Abort mission!

Shouto: I'm sorry... You sound staticky… having a hard time hearing you…

Momo: Oh no!

Momo: Don’t you dare…

Shouto: Yeah, its a really bad connection…

Momo: Shou… OMG!

Shouto: I’m losing you…

Momo: KEEP YOUR DICK IN YOUR PANTS!

Shouto smiled.

Momo: But if u risk giving that gorgeous man blue-balls, text me… happy to tag-team him…

Shouto: Wouldn’t you like that?

Momo: Yes

Momo: *sighs dramatically*

Momo: Yes, I would…

Momo: Seriously though, be careful. You really are 2 hurt to be messing around.

Shouto: I’ll be careful…

Shouto: Thanks, mom!

Momo: You are insufferable! Better not call me to fix those stitches tonight…

Shouto closed his phone, tucking it into his pocket. She would be so mad if she knew that Endeavor had already broken open two of the cuts. But hopefully the copious amount of butterfly band-aids would be enough to tide him over until he could see Recovery Girl on Monday.

Shouto felt the car slowing down, and looked up to see them pulling into a large apartment complex. It was gated, and it definitely looked like one of the nicer complexes in the city. He wasn’t sure where he had been expecting Kai to live, but not here. This seemed so… normal. Especially after seeing Dabi’s tiny apartment and the run-down house the league was staying in. After the driver parked, Shouto stepped out and let the old man lead him inside. There was security at the door, which made him feel even more nervous. The driver nodded at the security guard, leading Shouto to the elevator and scanning a card to open the door.

“23rd floor. Apartment B.” The man said as Shouto stepped inside. He nodded, selecting the button for that floor. He tapped his foot anxiously as the elevator ascended. As he stepped out onto the 23rd floor, there were only two apartment doors that he could see. He walked slowly, as slowly as he could, until he finally stood in front of Kai’s door, hesitating to knock.

Shit. There really wasn’t any going back. Lifting his hand, he knocked lightly on the dark wood.

A few moments later, Kai opened the door. Fuck. The man looked so good it was almost sinful. He was dressed in tight black slacks, a white long-sleeve button-up that had the sleeves pushed up to his elbows and a tight, dark gray vest. The entire outfit hugged his body perfectly. His skin looked flawless, and he also had a touch of black liner on his eyes that made them absolutely smolder in the dim light of the hallway. His brown hair was mussed up, but perfectly styled in a way that made Shouto want to push him straight to the bedroom and jump his bones.

He didn’t realize he was standing there, staring, with his mouth open, until Kai reached out and gently touched his cheek, where his scar normally was. The other man had a strange look on his face.

Shouto clamped his mouth shut, and pulled away from the touch. He shuffled his feet self-consciously.

“Come in,” Kai finally offered, stepping out of the doorway and motioning for Shouto to enter.

He nodded, stepping in to the small hallway. Kai’s apartment smelled absolutely amazing; it made his stomach grumble hungrily and his mouth water. He hadn’t eaten… well, anything really today. And he didn’t realize how hungry he was until the scent of dinner bombarded his senses. Kai put his hand on Shouto’s lower back, and the slight pressure of the man’s touch shot straight to his groin.

Shit. As the door closed and he realized that he was completely alone with the older man… it was like every dream he had about Kai, every inch of the man’s body he had glimpsed in Dabi’s apartment, the way his body had felt against him at the dance… everything came rushing back at once. Thank god for concealer, because Shouto was certain that he had turned a very unappealing shade of pink under all the make-up, and… was it too hot in this apartment? Maybe that was just him.

And Momo had been worried about him leaving Kai unsatisfied. He couldn’t even have sex! If he didn’t stop thinking like this, he was the one who was going to end up unhappy and sexually frustrated.

He let Kai lead him inside. He caught a glimpse of a small kitchen before Kai led him into the dining room.

"Sit down, Shouto," Kai said, motioning to a spot at the table. His dining room was a compelling mixture of Japanese and American minimalism. It was a smaller room with soft gray walls and a dark wood floor. One wall was almost entirely covered with a huge lotus painting, touches of red and yellow in the flowers were the only color in the entire room. He had a small round table in the center with only two chairs. There were two place settings, large black napkins folded over the plates and three thick candles burning in the center to add to the dim lighting.

Shouto was secretly glad for the lighting. It would help to conceal the swelling on his face.

He sat down gently as Kai disappeared into the other room, trying to find a position that was the most comfortable for the myriad of cuts and first-aid on his body. Shouto discreetly adjusted himself, taking a moment to regain his composure. Tonight was about gaining the Yakuza leader’s trust. Not fucking him. That wasn’t even an option, and he needed to stay focused. After Kai was gone for a few minutes, Shouto nervously played with his hair, using the selfie mode on his phone to make sure he still looked alright. He quickly dropped the phone as Kai re-appeared, embarrassed to be caught. Kai just raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything as he brought over two glasses of wine, disappearing once more.

Shouto took a large drink of wine, making a slight face. It was more bitter than he was used to. But, it would take the edge off, so he took another. And a moment later, a third. For good measure.

Kai finally came back with dinner. He set a white, squared plate in front of Shouto, and Shouto’s mouth watered even more at the sight. There was a large steak, sauteed vegetables, and a ball of steamed rice. He was ravenous.

Kai picked up Shouto’s half-empty wine glass, making an amused noise deep in his throat.

“Thirsty?” he commented.

Shouto glanced down nervously. Maybe he should have paced himself just a bit…

“Um, yeah,” he muttered. Kai didn’t reply. He disappeared into the kitchen and re-appeared with the bottle, topping Shouto off.

Then the man finally sat down across from him. The light from the candles glowed on his skin, shimmering off of his already golden eyes.

“This smells amazing… thank you,” Shouto began, picking up his steak knife.

“I hope you enjoy it,” Kai replied, picking up his own utensils. Shouto didn’t hesitate. He was so hungry, and eating helped to ease the slight tension between them. Plus, the food was amazing. The hibachi-style steak was juicy and seared to perfection, and the sides were exquisite. The soy-ginger sauce on the steak had spread out over the plate and added a pop of flavor to the entire meal. He had all but devoured his food when he looked up and noticed that Kai was watching him, and the other man had barely touched his food. Shouto could feel himself blushing. Kai made dinner for him, and instead of giving the man any attention, he had scarfed down an entire dinner in record time.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, self-consciously setting down his chop-sticks. “I guess I was really hungry.” And he still was. Honestly, he could probably eat an entire second steak if Kai offered it to him.

“Don’t apologize,” Kai replied. “You apologize too often.”

“I’m sorry,” Shouto replied automatically, then laughed as he realized what he did. “I guess you’re right.”

“Tell me about yourself, Shouto,” Kai said, changing the subject as he took a sip of wine.

"About myself?" Shouto echoed. He laughed nervously. He wasn't even good at talking to people his own age. What do you say to a wealthy, powerful gang leader? One that you just happen to be indebted to, and that you may or may not want to fuck. Ok, that you definitely want to fuck but know that you most definitely should not fuck.

"Of course, why else would I invite you to my house but to get to know you better. Surely you have interests."

"Yeah, well... I, I guess. Um. I'm a capricorn," he began lamely, looking up at the handsome man. "I spend most of my time training. I’m part of the heroics course at UA University. But I hang out with friends, sometimes. I'm the youngest child in my family. I like watching movies.... Um, yeah." He finished awkwardly.

Kai looked at him for a moment, swirling his wine around ever so slightly in his cup as he did.

“You talk about yourself as if you barely know who you are.” Kai replied. “As part of the Shie Hassaikai, it’s important that I know everything about you, and your quirk. Most of that I already know from doing a basic search. Your family is well-known, and information about you isn’t lacking.”

Shouto stomach dropped just a little. A part of the Shie Hassaikai. He wasn’t just with Kai, he was with Overhaul.

He swallowed nervously.

“If you are going to be spending time in my bed,” Kai continued, “than I want to know more. I want you to tell me about Shouto Todoroki, not future number one hero Shouto.” Shouto’s mouth went dry. Spending time in my bed. The words sent an array of sinful images of the other man’s body to his mind. Knowing that Kai was thinking about him that way too…

Shit. Stay focused…

“Ok,” He said, unable to meet Kai’s eyes. “Well, I really do like watching movies. Especially old Kung Fu movies; the cheesier, the better.” He laughed. He and Touya used to watch them together in the evenings, and his brother would always try to sneak a treat out of the kitchen for them when they did. Especially if it was a hard day of training. “I used to watch them with my brother when I was little, but I still love them today. I don’t have a ton of friends. Momo is my best friend, and honestly we usually just hang out. She likes to read gossip magazines and listen to pop music. I prefer rock, but I like making her happy too.” And we fuck sometimes, but he didn’t really think Kai needed to know that. “My favorite food is cold soba, and for desert I really like vanilla ice-cream with caramel sauce. I like caramel anything, really. And if I’m stressed, I like to go on walks when its late at night and everything is dark and quiet. It’s really… calming.”

He got quiet, finally looking up. Kai was still watching him intently.

“Why did you cover your scar tonight, Shouto?” Kai asked.

Shouto blushed, caught off guard by the change of topic.

“I… I just thought you would find me more attractive this way.” He said. It wasn’t a complete lie. He did look better without it, and he also looked much, much better without a bunch of obvious bruising and swelling. Looking like you just left a meeting at fight club wasn’t exactly attractive.

Kai didn’t respond. He picked up his napkin from his lap, getting down on his knees in front of Shouto. He took Shouto’s face in one hand, turning it slowly to meet his gaze.

“I don’t want you to ever hide yourself from me,” he said, a commanding edge to his voice. Angry even. “Is that clear?”

Shouto nodded. He didn’t understand the man’s anger, but he didn’t want to make it any worse.

Kai set the napkin gently against Shouto’s skin and wiped away a strip of the concealer. Shouto flinched at the pressure against the bruising on his face, watching Kai’s face as his hand stilled. His mouth tightened, his eyes narrowing as he wiped away another strip.

“Did Shigaraki do this to you?” The anger in his voice was unmistakable.

Shouto almost wished that he could say yes. It would be less embarrassing than what actually happened. He averted his eyes as Kai continued to wipe away the concealer, revealing more of the bruising and swelling underneath.

He shook his head.

Kai didn’t say anything, continuing his work until Shouto’s face was completely clean. Fuck, he knew he looked awful. Kai sat back on his heels, but Shouto couldn’t bring himself to look back up at him.

“Just because he is your father, doesn’t mean you have to let him hit you.” Kai said, setting the makeup streaked napkin on the table.

Shouto laughed bitterly. After seeing Endeavor with him at the dinner, it probably wasn’t hard to figure out what happened.

“I know,” Shouto replied, blushing more as he looked up.

“Then why don’t you stop him? A man like that deserves to be set straight.”

“I don’t know… He. He wasn’t so bad for awhile. After Touya disappeared he got—” Shouto clamped his mouth shut. Shit. He hadn’t meant to bring up his brother. “Better.” He finished lamely. It was alright. Kai thought Dabi was his half-brother. He wouldn’t know who Touya was.

“I suppose that has to do with the fact that you and Dabi both ended up in the hospital.” Kai replied.

Shouto’s head shot up, his mouth open. What? How did he know?

Kai actually laughed lowly.

“Don’t look so surprised. It’s important to know who you are working with. The Yakuza will not tolerate weakness in it’s members. So, once I found out you two were brother’s, it didn’t take much research to find out who he really was. His eyes, like yours, are quite… unique.” He said.

“Does Dabi know that you know?” Shouto asked, unable to help himself.

“I suspect he must.” he replied, “He knows me well enough to know of my penchant for knowledge. Although I am disappointed in him for thinking he could lie to me in the first place. But that’s a conversation he and I will have to have later.”

Kai stood up, picking up his wine glass and finishing it off. Then he offered Shouto his hand.

Hesitantly, Shouto accepted it, trying not to flinch as the older man pulled him up and led him out of the room. They passed a large sitting room with a gray couch and a huge window that was opened to over-look the city. Shouto began to get nervous as they turned down a hallway. Shit. Was Kai leading him to the bedroom? What was Shouto going to do if he wanted sex?

He was trying to decide, when Kai turned away from the bedroom and led him instead to a large bathroom with a huge jacuzzi tub in the corner. Kai stood him on a rug near the sink, and went over to the bath, starting the water running. When Kai returned, he reached out and began to unbutton Shouto’s shirt. Shouto jumped backward, then groaned as the movement sent a jolt of pain through his stomach.

“Shit,” he tried to recover, “what are you doing?”

Kai frowned.

“I already know that Shigaraki fucked you, Shouto.” He said, his mouth twisting as he spoke. “Dabi said he might have harmed you. Since you arrived, you have been slouching more than normal, and every time you move too quickly, you flinch just slightly. You have also touched your stomach more than a dozen times since we sat down together. Don’t try to deny that you’re hurt. The only thing I don’t know is how badly.”

Had he done those things? He didn’t remember touching his stomach that much. Only once or twice, just to make sure the band-aids were holding.

Kai stepped forward, continuing to unbutton his shirt. Shouto stood there, feeling helpless as he listened to the water run behind them. The room was beginning to get warm, and he could see steam rising from the bath as Kai pulled off the button-up. Kai laid his hands on Shouto’s side, running his hands upward to gently push Shouto’s arms into the air. It felt so good to feel Kai’s hands running along his skin, even if it hurt to put his arms above his head. He tried not to flinch, allowing the other man to pull the black T-shirt over his head.

He heard Kai hiss. He opened his eyes and brought his hands down to try and vainly cover the marks on his stomach. Kai’s face was livid as his eyes traced over the patchwork first-aid that covered his torso. It came to rest on the dressing on his shoulder.

“I doubt your father did this,” he remarked disdainfully. Shouto shuddered at the tone of his voice. It was completely cold, emotionless. Kai stepped away for a moment as Shouto stood there, trying to cover up his shame. He knew the man was going to be angry with him, especially once he saw the damage Shigaraki had done to the mark. He heard the water turn off.

“No… these were Shigaraki. Shigaraki and Toga,” he replied quietly, a part of him hoping that Kai wouldn’t hear him. He closed his eyes. A moment later, he felt Kai touch his shoulder, beginning to peel up the edge of the wrap on his shoulder. Kai made a strangled noise as he pulled it away. Shouto glanced down, his mouth dropping open as he took in the wound. It was way worse than last night. More of the skin had decayed away, and it was oozing an ugly yellow pus. Shouto gagged at the sight.

“Shigaraki.” Kai growled. “His disgusting quirk. You should have told me about this when I called you. Shigaraki’s decay doesn’t heal. It will continue to spread over your body slowly unless you can find someone with a healing quirk. If this had gone much longer, you may have lost your arm. Although I suppose I could have fixed that as well.”

Shouto stared at him as he talked, his mouth dropping open more with each word.

“What else?” the older man asked, looking at Shouto expectantly. Shouto nervously wiped a bit of the concealer away from the mark on his neck. Kai's eyes narrowed distastefully. But he didn’t seem surprised.

“Also…” Shouto began, but stopped, his face burning as he looked down at his feet. He didn’t know if he should tell Kai about the damage from Shigaraki raping him. It was humiliating. But if he didn’t, and Kai found out later, surely he would be even more angry.

“Also?” Kai repeated, turning Shouto’s face back upward to force him to meet his gaze.

“When he…” Shouto began, his voice quiet. “Um. When he fucked me…” he couldn’t finish.

Kai’s grip on his face tightened, his eyes flashing with anger.

“He hurt you?” Kai’s voice was like ice.

Shouto nodded slightly against the man’s grip.

“I should have killed him,” Kai hissed, so quiet that Shouto wasn’t sure if he even heard it correctly. Kai let go of his face, placing his hand directly against Shouto’s chest. Shouto flinched. “You remember the last time I healed you, don’t you?” Kai asked. Shouto nodded. He remembered, clearly. It was… painful, to say the least.

“Yes,” he replied, looking up to stare at the skin just above Kai’s collar.

“Take a deep breath,” Kai said. Shouto followed his advice, closing his eyes and inhaling. A deep pain started to spread through his chest, sharp pulses blazing through his shoulders and chest, and moving all the way down to his thighs. He gasped, reaching out instinctively and grabbing onto Kai’s arms, almost collapsing against the man’s chest, trying not to go down to his knee’s like he did before. It burned like he remembered his face burning after his mother poured scalding water on him. Like when Endeavor pushed his ice too far and frostbite started to burn and split his skin. Then pain erupted in his shoulder, and he couldn’t handle it, sinking down to his knees and clenching his teeth, trying not to cry out. The pain spread up his neck to his face as he clung onto Kai’s vest, a faint tingling left behind as Kai finally took his hand away from Shouto’s chest.

Kai gently removed Shouto’s hands from his vest, and Shouto dropped down to all fours as the man stepped away, struggling to catch his breath from the pain. Slowly, it subsided. Once he felt like he could finally breath again, he sat up, running his hands over his stomach. The cuts were completely gone. He started to pull off the bandaids. There wasn’t even a scratch to indicate that the cuts had ever existed. The stitches were gone as well, the strings had fallen uselessly to the bathroom tile. He ran his hands up his body, amazed at Kai’s ability to heal. Then he looked at the wound on his shoulder, Kai’s mark once again clear as day against his shoulder, as if Shigaraki had never touched it in the first place.

Shouto’s stomach clenched. Despite what happened, he was still a part of the Yakuza. Overhaul was not going to let him forget.

Suddenly, Kai’s hand on his arm caught his attention. The man began to pull him up. Shouto turned toward him, getting ready to stand when he realized that Kai was completely naked. Shouto’s mouth dropped open as his gaze traveled up the mans strong thighs to his cock. Although Kai wasn’t hard yet, he was still long and thick, and his cock was the same sexy tan as the rest of his body. Shouto quickly averted his gaze, fairly certain that his entire body was turning red, and his cock was valiantly trying to get hard. He closed his eyes, trying to push the image out of his mind as Kai helped him stand, barely able to register that the other man was unzipping his pants and sliding them off.

Kai took his hand, leading him toward the bath.

“I want you to step into the bath, but remain standing. Can you do that for me, Shouto?” Shouto nodded self-consciously.

Shouto stepped into the water, almost pulling his foot back out as the hot water burned against his skin. But he doubted Kai was going to give him another option, so he gritted his teeth and forced himself to step into the bath, cringing as the heat crawled up his legs. He watched from the corner of his eye as Kai stepped in as well, with no reaction to the temperature, dropping to his knees next to Shouto. Shouto turned his head to focus on the tap, insanely aware of every movement Kai made, every time the man so much as brushed his skin. Just knowing that they were both naked, those brief glimpses of Kai’s body. His cock was still trying to get hard. He took deep breaths to calm himself down. He didn’t want the man to know how eager he was to be touched. At least, not yet. He listened as a package crinkled, and suddenly, Kai’s hand was on his leg. He tensed involuntarily.

“Relax,” Kai said. “I cannot stand the idea of that disgusting filth touching you. His touch is like a disease, and I can almost smell it on your skin. We need to clean it off of you. Purge his vile sex off of your body.” Shouto closed his eyes. The thought of Shigaraki tainting his body like some filthy oil on his skin made him sick. As if the memory of being fucked by him wasn’t bad enough. He took a deep breath.

He was with Kai now. He was ok.

Kai started cleaning his right leg. He used a musky soap; a rough body scrubber in one hand, pushing hard, almost painfully against his skin, but following it up with a gentle massaging of his other hand. Combined with the constant swirling of the hot water against his skin, it actually felt pretty good. Shouto closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of the other man slowly working his hands up his legs. Kai didn’t rush, slowly cleaning every inch of skin on first his right leg, and then his left, stopping just short of his upper thighs. The higher Kai got, the harder it was to ignore his desire to be touched by the man.

Then Kai’s touch disappeared entirely. Shouto opened his eyes, disappointed at the loss.

“You may sit down now,” Kai said as Shouto glanced down at him. He was laying back against the ceramic bath, the pumiced scrubber in one hand, hot water steaming up around his golden skin, leaving a sheen of glistening water on him. Shouto couldn’t stop his eyes from traveling down, the water barely distorting Kai’s body. Shouto’s mouth went dry as his gaze traveled down to Kai’s cock. It was obvious now that the other man was also turned on. Shouto’s eyes wandered up Kai’s perfect abs and… fuck. He quickly turned back around, sitting down in the hot water with his back to him. The too hot water provided a temporary reprieve to his desire, almost burning him as it lapped against his skin. But it didn’t last long. Although it was a large bath, he could feel Kai’s naked thighs rubbing against him under the water.

“Relax your shoulders. You’re safe with me.” Kai murmured, and a moment later, Kai resumed his cleansing across the back of Shouto’s shoulders. Shouto stayed leaned forward slightly, acutely aware of every touch of Kai’s hand against his skin as the golden-eyed man scrubbed his shoulders and all the way down his back.

Kai’s hands wrapped around Shouto’s waist, gently pulling him backward until Shouto’s body was pressed directly against his. Shouto could feel the other man’s arousal against his lower back. Fuck… Kai’s cock against his skin was enough to make Shouto hard.

“Lay back against me,” Kai whispered, and Shouto nodded, letting himself be guided to relax against the man’s exquisite chest as Kai took first one arm and then the other and repeated the cleaning process. Then he moved on to Shouto’s neck and to his chest. Kai pushed him forward slightly, beginning to kiss his shoulders as he moved slowly down to clean Shouto’s stomach. It was almost too much… the lingering effects of the bitter wine, the strong scent of the soap, the heat of the water, the steam, and the feeling of Kai’s body, of his lips against Shouto’s skin… Shouto felt almost light-headed. It was hard to think straight.

Kai continued working his way down Shouto’s lower stomach, and Shouto tensed as he got closer and closer to his arousal. He was almost desperate for Kai to touch him there, but Kai very carefully cleaned him to avoid even the slightest touch. Shouto’s mind was completely clouded with desire, and every time the man moved, his cock gently shifted against Shouto’s back, and Shouto thought he was going to go insane if Kai didn’t touch him soon.

“Please, Kai,” Shouto moaned, laying his head back against the mans collarbone as Kai washed his thighs. Kai didn’t respond, but growled deeply in his throat.

Finally, Kai set down the scrubber. The older man intertwined his legs around Shouto’s under the water, pushing Shouto’s calves against the side of the tub so that Shouto’s legs were spread as far open as they could be, trapped in place so they couldn’t move. Kai trailed a hand down Shouto’s stomach, stopping just above his cock. Fuck, he wanted Kai so bad it almost hurt.

“Tell me what you want, Shouto,” Kai asked, a husky tone in his voice.

“I want you to touch me,” Shouto replied without hesitation. Kai growled again, and Shouto could feel Kai’s cock twitch with desire against his back.

“I have wanted to touch you since that first night I laid eyes on you in the club,” Kai whispered, his long fingers finally wrapping around Shouto’s length. Fuck just that touch felt amazing, and Shouto moaned lowly. Kai began to slowly stroke his hand up and down his shaft, twisting his wrist ever so slightly as he did, and it felt so fucking good that Shouto wanted to cry out. Shouto was insanely turned on… he wasn’t going to last long if Kai kept touching him like that. He started to reach behind him, wanting to touch Kai back, but the older man stopped him. His other hand stilling on his cock.

“Not yet, little fox,” he said, kissing the side of Shouto’s neck. “I must finish cleaning you first. If you touched me now, I don’t think I could control myself.” His breath felt cool against Shouto’s skin, especially compared to the heat from the water. Shouto shuddered as Kai began stroking him again. Kai’s other hand reached down, massaging and cleaning Shouto’s balls, working his way lower until a single finger pressed up against his entrance. Shouto tensed, trying to relax. After last night, even after being healed by Kai, he was nervous. Kai gently slid his finger up and down against his ass, his other hand still on his cock. “Don’t resist. I don’t want to hurt you the way he did. Surrender your body willingly, give yourself to me.”

Shouto nodded, his head swimming with heat and desire. He would give anything to continue being touched by the other man.

“Close your eyes.” Kai whispered, his voice growing hoarse with his own desire. Shouto closed his eyes, focusing on the feeling of Kai’s touch as the man began to gently push his finger up inside of Shouto, moving it slowly. Between that gentle push, and the hot water around it, Shouto moaned with desire, his hips moving on their own as he tried to control his desire. “That’s right, Shouto. Don’t hold back. See how good I feel inside of you.” Kai’s finger was almost completely inside Shouto now, and Shouto could feel himself getting closer as Kai’s finger began to slowly pump in and out of him. The man’s strokes on his cock were getting faster too. He threw his head back, moaning loudly.

“Fuck…” Shouto cried out as Kai finally hit his prostrate with the tip of his finger.

Being touched like this, the hot water swirling around him with every thrust and movement. He couldn’t think. He could barely breathe. It was ecstasy, and the only thing that mattered was how good Kai’s fingers felt.

“Cum for me, Shouto,” Kai growled, biting down into the soft flesh of Shouto’s neck as he pushed his finger as deep into Shouto as he could, once again hitting the perfect spot inside of him to push him over the edge. Shouto’s orgasm crashed over him, he cried out as wave after wave of pleasure rocked over him. Kai was still stroking him gently as the sensation washed over him.

He didn’t know how long they lay like that, the steam from the water rising up around them as Kai gently touched his body. He felt so good.

“God you are sexy,” Kai said. He was laying against the older man, his entire body relaxed in the hot water, thrumming with pleasure. He could lay like this forever. He closed his eyes, enjoying the weight of Kai’s arms against his body. “You belong here, by my side.”

Shouto listened to each word, his muscles pulsing as Kai began to run his hands up and down Shouto’s stomach. He did belong here, laying against Kai, the hot water lulling him. As his orgasm faded, he could feel himself getting tired. So much had happened these past two days, and in this moment he finally felt like all of that stress was melting away. If Kai could make him feel like this…

“Kai,” he suddenly remembered that the man hadn’t gotten off yet. He tried to push himself to sit up, but his muscles felt heavy in the warm water. He had drank quite a bit of wine during dinner, and the muscle relaxer earlier… still, he wanted to make Kai feel as good as he felt.

“Just relax,” Kai replied, running his hands up into Shouto’s hair and pulling his head back down to lay against his shoulder. Shouto let him. Kai’s touch felt so good. Shouto relaxed as Kai continued to touch his body in the hot water. “You need to rest, little fox.”

“But you haven’t…” he whispered as Kai slid his body down, submerging Shouto under the hot water up to his neck.

“It’s alright.” Kai murmured into his hair as Shouto felt his mind drifting deeper and deeper into unconsciousness. He was vaguely aware of the feeling of Kai’s hands running over his stomach and chest, the slight movement stirring up the warmth of the water against his muscles. He felt so good. “There will be time for that later, Shouto. You belong to me.”

* * * * * *

When Shouto woke up, he was lying in a large bed, partially covered with a soft gray comforter. The bed was almost too comfortable and the pillows smelled like Kai. He buried his face in them, inhaling deeply as memories of the bath came back to him. Kai’s lips on his skin. His cock gently pressed against his back. His fingers wrapped around Shouto. Just the memory was enough to re-kindle his desire for the golden-eyed man. But when he glanced to either side of him, he realized that Kai wasn’t in the bed with him. He pushed himself to sit up, looking around. The room was really dark, so it was hard to make much out. Like the rest of the house, it seemed to be fairly minimally decorated. But there was no sign of Kai. Shouto pushed the blanket off and got out of bed. He was wearing a pair of silky black pajama pants and nothing else. And he felt better than he had in days. The cuts on his stomach were gone, the wound on his shoulder was healed, the bruising from Endeavor was gone, and the pain from Shigaraki touching him too.

Shouto padded over to the door, peeking out into the hallway. The apartment was completely silent, but there was a faint, flickering light coming from the sitting room.

Shouto made his way down the hall, trying to step as quietly as possibly. He stopped at the end of the hall, looking out into the large room. The curtains on Kai’s window had been pulled open. Kai was standing before it, staring out at the city below him, lost in thought. The man was silhouetted with hundreds of white lights stretching out over the city, as far as the eye could see. He was wearing nothing but a pair of dark pants, and the dim lights from the city played off the muscles on his naked torso, emphasizing the perfect curves and dips of his body.

Shouto could feel his mouth going dry as his eyes raked over Kai’s body. He stepped quietly into the room, and around the couch. As he got closer, he could see the older man’s reflection in the window. He was watching Shouto. Shouto stopped, hesitant. Kai met his eyes through his reflection, and without turning his body at all, the man held out his left hand, offering it to him.

Shouto swallowed nervously. Kai’s words from earlier replaying in his mind… Give yourself to me.

This was what Shouto wanted. He wanted to get closer to this man, to gain his trust. He stared at the offered hand. His body begged him to reach out and take it, but he couldn’t help but feel like that hand was like the Monkshood flower; beautiful and tempting, but deadly to touch. If he took that hand, he was surrendering himself to the golden-eyed man. And there would be no turning back.

Hesitantly, he reached forward, setting his hand into Kai’s. The man smiled, almost imperceptibly, pulling Shouto gently forward to stand next to him.

Kai turned his head to look at Shouto, but Shouto hesitated to meet his eyes. Kai twisted toward him, reaching up with his other hand to gently take Shouto’s chin and force his gaze upward. His golden eyes almost glowed in the dim light from the window as Shouto looked up. He licked his lips. When Kai looked at him, everything else fell away.

“How are you feeling?” Kai asked softly. Shouto watched the man’s mouth as he spoke, shivering as he remembered the feeling of those lips on his skin.

“I feel much better,” Shouto replied, knowing that Kai was talking about more than just a few hours of sleep. There was so much unsaid in that question… every cut on his body, every bruise left from his father’s hand, every vile reminder of Shigaraki’s touch. Shouto felt as if Kai had taken a weight off of Shouto’s chest… although he couldn’t take away the memory of suffocating, the man had freed him to breathe deeply once more.

“That’s good,” the words sounded like honey on the older man’s tongue. Kai pulled Shouto forward, turning him around gently to face the window. The Kai’s fingers wrapped around his upper arms, Kai’s cheek pressing up against the side of his head. He could feel Kai’s toned chest pressed up against his back. The city spread out below them, the dark outlines of buildings flowing outward in the sea of lights. He had never seen the city at night like this. He could see the city center, the serenity of the white lights broken up by a myriad of neon signs calling out to the night owls still wandering the streets. There were dozens of tiny movements as cars and buses traversed the roads. Way off in the distance the city faded away to a dark abyss that Shouto knew must be the ocean.

“The city is beautiful,” he whispered, looking up to meet Kai’s gaze through the reflection, only to realize that Kai had been watching his reflection the whole time. Kai slowly lowered his hands, his fingers trailing over Shouto’s arms and continuing down to slip into the waistband of Shouto’s pajamas pants. He pulled Shouto firmly back against him, his fingers pressed possessively into the skin on his hips. Shouto could feel the man’s cock pressing against his ass.

“The Yakuza have run this city for generations,” Kai whispered against his hair. “They are the backbone of this city. We instill order where chaos would normally reign. Every time a hero steps in to stop a crime, they leave a hole in the underbelly of the city. One after another, doing their hero work.” Kai whispered this word with almost utter disdain. “Hero’s believe they are making a difference, but without us they would be creating a vacuum for hundreds of criminals, people who would tear this city apart in their attempt to stand out among the rest of the scum. That’s where the Yakuza step in, ensuring that there is still a system of checks and balances, a system of rules and regulations for criminals. We protect the people of this city from violent crimes, inflicting true punishment on only those who do not obey. The heroes are nothing more than a bandaid over a gaping wound that they refuse to acknowledge. The Yakuza are left to stitch things back together to keep the city from rotting away. Without us, you would see hundreds more organizations like the League, petty criminals whose sole purpose is vengeance and power. Every building that you see… it belongs to us. It belongs to me. And it could belong to you as well, Shouto. If you choose to stand by my side.”

Shouto stared out, Kai’s words slowly sinking in. Heroes are nothing more than a bandaid. The idea flew in the face of everything that he had ever been taught.

He swallowed. The very thought that Kai’s words may hold even some truth made him feel sick.

“I… I’m not sure…” He didn’t know what to say.

“That’s because you have never been allowed to think for yourself. You have always been told what to do. Where to go. What to think. Your father has paraded you around since the day you were born like a piece of jewelry, something that exists with the sole purpose of making him look good. And your professors are no better. They praise you for your quirks, than suppress them with bureaucracy and red-tape, telling you what you must achieve. Plastering your quirks all over day-time TV in order to pat themselves on the back. Leaving you vulnerable to every criminal in the city to analyze those quirks so that they know how to take you down.”

Fuck. Shouto thought back to the attack on the training camp. Shigaraki had known their quirks, and although he wasn’t completely successful, he had used that information against them.

“You don’t have to let them control you, Shouto.” Kai continued passionately. “You have been conditioned to believe you will be the number 1 hero. I am here to offer you so much more than that. If you want to make a real difference in this city, then join me. You could stand by my side in the Shie Hassaikai. Together, we could accomplish more than even the Yakuza believes is possible.”

Kai slid his hands out of the waist of his pants, turning Shouto around to face him. He took Shouto’s face in his hands, and Shouto met his eyes. The thought of how much power Kai had in those hands. The golden-eyed man was a god, with the power to take away and give back life as he saw fit with a single touch. And when he put them on Shouto's body, Shouto could practically feel that power tingling against his skin…

“Your body already belongs to me, Shouto,” Kai said, his gaze predatory and intense. “But if you give yourself to me completely, I will give you more power than you have ever imagined. Instead of living in the shadow of your father, you will shine with the the intensity of a burning sun. Your life will have a purpose, and you will have a bigger impact on this city than any hero ever could. I will accept all of you, not just the parts that benefit me like your father does. And unlike your mentors, I would show you how to be the man you were born to be, not just another painted cog in the machine of a broken society.”

Shouto’s heart raced. He couldn’t look away from those golden eyes. Every word made him feel… he wasn’t even sure. Confused. Sick. Hopeful.

Kai’s words were like echoes of his own thoughts. He was going to become the number one hero, that had always been his future. He wanted the strength and the freedom to be able to make his own choices. He had wanted to learn from Kai… but to join him completely? The idea both terrified and excited him. The Yakuza were criminals. But if they were as powerful as Kai said. If he could have that influence…

Shouto wasn’t sure when he decided, but he nodded his head as if his heart had made the decision for him.

Kai's arms wrapped around his waist, the man’s body pushing him backward to trap him against the glass. Kai pressed every inch of his body against Shouto, growling possessively as he captured Shouto's mouth with his own. Kai’s lips moved against his with an intensity that almost took Shouto’s breath away. He tasted like wine, his teeth gently nipping Shouto’s lower lip. The feeling of Kai’s chest moving against his made his cock throb, and he rutted gently against the older man, opening his mouth as Kai's tongue slid inside; tasting, exploring, owning. Kai groaned into his mouth, his fingers digging into Shouto’s sides.

Then as suddenly as it began, Kai pulled away, running his hand up the back of Shouto’s neck and wrapping it into Shouto’s hair. The pull forced Shouto to look up into Kai’s eyes. Kai’s other hand locked on his waist as the man pushed his body against the cold glass.

“But first, Shouto. You must stand up to your father.” Kai whispered, a ferocity in his voice and eyes that made Shouto shudder under his touch. “He is not allowed to strike you again. If you do not stop him, I will be forced to step in to correct him. And Shouto… I will kill him.”

Shouto nodded. Shouto had no doubt that he was absolutely serious.

“You do not belong to him. You do not belong to Shigaraki. You belong to me. Do you understand?” Kai said, leaning in so close that Shouto could feel the breath of each word against his lips. He shivered with anticipation as Kai claimed his mouth once more. He nodded into the kiss, and Kai’s hold in his hair tightened, almost painfully as he explored Shouto’s mouth with his tongue.

Kai’s hand on his waist started to push Shouto’s pants down until they fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. Kai moved to undo his own zipper, pushing his pants down as well. Shouto groaned with desire as the other man’s cock rubbed against his as Kai ground his hips against Shouto’s.

“Touch me,” Kai commanded as he took Shouto’s hand, arranging his fingers to wrap around both of their shafts. Shouto could feel every inch of the other man… the heat of his cock pressed against his own.

“Fuck,” Shouto moaned as Kai wrapped his hand around Shouto’s fingers, guiding him to slowly stroke them together. The feeling sent pulses of desire through Shouto. He was so fucking aroused that all he could think about was the feeling of their hands around him. He could feel each stroke getting slippery as precum started to drip down his shaft. That thought that some of it might belong to Kai made him desperate with want. He rolled his hips forward, fucking up into their hands.

"Please, Kai," Shouto groaned, “I want you.”

Kai growled, breaking their kiss and pushing Shouto’s hand away from their cocks. He pushed Shouto against the glass, and pushed his hands above his head, gently nipping Shouto’s neck and chest.

"Don't move," Kai whispered huskily, kissing Shouto long and deep, before stepping back and leaving the room. Shouto watched Kai walk away, admiring the perfect curve of the man's ass. He stayed there, afraid to even lower his hands for fear of upsetting the other man. The glass was cool against his back, and he was grateful it was the middle of the night. His body was on full display in the large window for anyone to see. Kai returned just a moment later, a small bottle in his hand. Kai’s gaze roved over Shouto hungrily as the man slotted one leg between his, pushing Shouto’s legs apart. Kai opened the bottle and coated three fingers with lube.

The golden-eyed man got down on his knees in front of Shouto. He lifted one of Shouto’s legs up and hooked it over his shoulder, laying gentle kisses on the bottom of Shouto’s cock as he did. Shouto keened as he felt the mans fingers slide up between his ass, slipping back and forth over his entrance with the tip of one finger, just like he had done in the bath, barely pushing it inside of Shouto. The faint brushing of Kai’s lips on his cock, his finger teasing his ass. It was so good, and yet it was not enough. Shouto was panting desperately, he needed more.

"Please," Shouto begged. He wanted to feel those fingers inside of him again. The memory of it, the thought of more…. “I need to feel you, Kai.”

Kai took his hand off Shouto’s thigh, wrapping it around his cock and beginning to stroke him as he slowly, agonizingly slowly, slid one finger in.

"Overhaul," the golden-eyed man corrected him. The sound of that name on his lips shot straight to Shouto's groin.

"Overhaul," Shouto repeated. Kai growled, sliding a second finger inside of Shouto. It was too much, too soon, and yet Shouto’s body writhed in pleasure as Kai stroked him with one hand, scissoring and stretching him open with the other. Kai added a third finger, the movements euphoric and demanding as the other man prepped Shouto to be used for his pleasure. The idea sent jolts of desire to Shouto’s cock. He was so turned on, and as Kai’s fingers sank deeper, teasing his prostrate, Shouto could feel himself getting close. He began fucking back against Kai’s hand, desperate.

Kai pulled his fingers out of Shouto, his movements stilling on Shouto’s cock.

"Not yet Shouto," Kai growled as he took Shouto’s leg off his shoulder, wrapped his arms under and around both of Shouto’s thighs, and stood up, picking Shouto up and bracing him against the glass. The man was incredibly strong, and the feeling of being arranged to Kai’s liking made his cock twitch in desperation. Kai grunted as he adjusted Shouto to line himself up, the tip of his cock pressed enticingly up against Shouto’s ass.

"Who do you belong to, Shouto?" He asked, his golden eyes smoldering in the dim light as he demanded Shouto's full surrender.

And Shouto wanted to surrender. He wanted to give himself completely to the other man.

"You…" He whispered, meeting Kai's gaze. "I belong to you, Overhaul."

"Fuck" Kai groaned, and he finally, finally started to push up into Shouto. Shouto's breath caught, and he gasped as the man's cock filled him. Kai was so big that even after being prepped, it stretched him almost unbearably. It hurt, and it felt amazing… finally having Kai inside of him made him want to cry out. He closed his eyes, pushing his shoulders and head up against the cool glass, his finger’s digging into his shoulders as Kai sheathed himself completely inside of Shouto. Shouto could feel the muscles in Kai’s thighs shivering with desire as he stopped, his breathing ragged as he gave Shouto a moment to adjust to him.

Shouto didn’t care. He was going to go crazy if Kai didn’t start moving.

"Fuck me, Overhaul," Shouto begged wantonly, “Please… your cock… ngh! Fuck! I need you!” Kai leaned forward, biting into Shouto’s neck as he began to move, his teeth sinking almost painfully into the soft skin as Kai pulled his cock almost completely out and then pushed it back in. Shouto was so fucking full that he could barely breath. It hurt at first, but quickly began to feel good as Kai’s thrusts started to pick up speed. Shouto could feel every movement vibrating in the glass as Kai fucked him against it. If someone saw… if it broke… nothing mattered. Shouto’s mind cried out in pleasure as Kai continued to kiss and bite his neck, at the feeling of the other man inside of him. He could feel every inch of Kai’s cock as he took Shouto. He was so long and thick that he pushed up against Shouto's prostrate with every thrust. The constant pressure on those nerves made Shouto’s thighs tense up with pleasure, desire rolling across him in waves. He had been so close earlier, that his body was desperate for release.

Kai shifted Shouto’s body against the window, changing the angle just enough to make Shouto scream. His vision went white as he came all over his and Kai’s chest. His body was so sensitive from his earlier orgasm that this one crashed over him with an intense ecstasy as Kai fucked him through it. His cock pulsed, the last pulses of his orgasm spilling out to drip down his cock.

"Fuck… fuck!" Kai groaned as he increased his rhythm. The pressure against his prostrate was overwhelming right after his orgasm. But he could feel Kai's thrusting getting more erratic. The other man was close. And the idea that Kai… that Overhaul was going to cum inside of him drove him mad with want. He pushed his hips back against Kai, letting Kai fuck him as deeply as he could until Kai’s entire body tensed with pleasure as he came. Kai continued to slowly fuck up into him as he orgasmed, groaning huskily, and finally settling as deeply into Shouto as he could, resting his head against Shouto's chest as his orgasm faded.

Shouto could feel Kai’s hold on him getting shaky, the man sliding out of him, and lowering him down to stand. Shouto’s legs felt weak, and he let himself lean heavily against the glass.

“Shouto,” Kai whispered, kissing him once more. Shouto felt so good that he didn’t want to move, his entire body still tingling from his orgasm. But he let himself be moved as Kai brought in a warm cloth and cleaned them both off. The man led him over to the couch, sitting back against the arm and pulling Shouto in between his thighs and up against his chest. There was still a thin layer of sweat on both of them, but he didn't care. Kai didn't say anything, just wrapped his arms around Shouto’s chest. They sat there with the lights from the window twinkling before them. Shouto closed his eyes, listening to Kai's heart beat until he slowly drifted back to sleep.

Chapter Text

Shouto woke early the next morning, the sun peeking in through a smaller window above them. He was back in the bedroom, tucked into the soft blankets. He was lying on his left side, and his heart started to race as he realized that Kai was behind him, spooning up against him, his left arm over Shouto’s waist. They were both naked still, and he could feel the slight heat of Kai’s breath on his neck as the other man slept, his toned chest pressed up against his back. He could feel the firm length of Kai’s morning wood against his ass, one of Kai’s calves entwined with his own.

Shouto closed his eyes, letting the memory of last night wash over him. His body still thrummed with satisfaction. He had never had sex like last night, slow and sensual. He usually just had quickies. Foreplay wasn’t something that he was accustomed to. But last night; the way Kai had touched his body in the bathtub, and the amazing build-up of his desire. He had wanted Kai to touch him so badly. Nothing else had mattered. Every thought had been consumed by his lust for the other man. Now, waking up, knowing that he had finally slept with the golden-eyed man, it felt surreal.

"Every building you see… it could belong to you as well, Shouto."

Lying in this bed.

"You don’t have to let them control you."

Being touched by a god.

"I am here to offer you so much more."

After surrendering his body

"You could stand by my side in the Shie Hassaikai."

To sign a deal with the devil.

"You belong to me."

It felt like Kai had cast a spell over him, one that transcended all logic. He had taken Kai’s hand. The older man’s sultry voice warred in his mind with every lesson he had ever been taught about being a hero. And Shouto hadn’t even questioned him. A true hero would have hesitated, would have said no.

And the worst part was that now, in the light of day, with Kai’s arm over him and the older man’s body pressed against him, he wasn’t sure if his answer would change.

The thought was both terrifying and empowering.

And confusing.

Suddenly Kai shifted behind him, and Shouto opened his eyes as the man tightened his hold around Shouto’s waist, his head lowering to press a single kiss into the top of Shouto’s shoulder.

"Good morning," Kai whispered against his skin. His hand started to trace lazy lines back and forth over Shouto’s stomach, a funny tickling feeling coursing through Shouto that seemed to shoot straight to his groin. Shouto could feel his arousal already starting to build, as if Kai’s very touch had complete control over his body.

“Morning,” he replied, leaning backwards slightly, pressing into Kai’s body as he enjoyed the feeling of Kai’s fingers touching him.

Kai’s fingers dipped lower, and he started to trace a single line up and down the bottom of Shouto’s shaft. Shouto groaned at the touch. He could feel Kai’s cock getting fully hard as the other man started to grind against him. Kai started to kiss his shoulder and neck, his fingers wrapping around Shouto’s length and stroking it slowly.

Shouto moaned, and rolled his hips back to meet Kai’s.

Kai’s hand left Shouto’s cock, and he pushed two fingers gently against Shouto’s lips. Shouto opened his mouth, Kai’s fingers sliding inside.

“Get them wet for me,” Kai ordered. Shouto closed his mouth around them, sliding his tongue up and down, treating them as if it were Kai’s cock in his mouth instead, desperate to make the other man feel good. Kai moved his fingers slowly in and out while Shouto ran his tongue around them. “Fuck,” Kai growled.

Finally Kai pulled his fingers out, and pushed one of Shouto’s legs up, sliding his fingers between his thighs and pushing both up inside of Shouto. Shouto was still mildly sore from being stretched on Kai’s cock the night before, but he didn’t care. He wanted to feel Kai inside of him again. So he shifted his hips slightly to give Kai better access as he scissored his fingers deep inside of Shouto.

"I'm ready," Shouto groaned as Kai prepped him. Kai smiled, pulling away and rolling over to the nightstand. Shouto heard the familiar click of the bottle of lube. A moment later, Kai pushed Shouto to his stomach, pulled his hips into the air, and slid his cock into Shouto. He gasped at the intrusion, at the almost painful stretch of Kai’s cock inside of him.

“God, Shouto,” Kai whispered into his hair, “You feel so good... Fuck.”

Kai started moving, slowly at first, so Shouto could adjust to him. Shouto keened as the older man pulled almost completely out, then pushed in, sending waves of pleasure through Shouto’s body with each thrust. Kai pulled Shouto up onto his knees, increasing his speed as he fucked him, finally reaching around Shouto to start stroking his cock. Shouto cried out at the touch, pushing his hips back and up so that Kai filled him as fully as possible.

Shouto dug his fingers into the blanket, lowering his head as he panted with desire. Kai was kissing his spine as he fucked him, alternating between stroking him off until he was close, than squeezing the base of his shaft to keep him from orgasming too quickly.

“Fuck,” Shouto moaned, rolling his hips backward. “Fuck. Fuck. Please, Overhaul, I want to cum for you.”

“Do you want that, little fox?” Kai groaned, wrapping his other hand around Shouto’s neck, pressing just hard enough that Shouto struggled to breath. “Do you want to cum for me?” He was increasing his speed even more, stroking Shouto again. Shouto’s body was starting to tremble with pleasure.

“Ngh! Yes… Fuck yes! Please!” Shouto cried, gasping for breath as Kai fucked him. His cock was coated in precum as Kai stroked him... edging him, bringing him just a little closer each time before cutting him off. Now, with Kai’s fingers around his throat, and Kai’s thrusting starting to get more erratic, Shouto was pleading desperately. Until finally, Kai increased the speed of his stroking just a bit, and Shouto’s entire body tensed with pleasure as he came all over Kai’s hand and the sheets below them, clenching around the othe man until Kai finally came deep inside of Shouto, the grip on his neck tightening as he came. After a moment, Kai let go, and Shouto gasped for air as Kai rocked their bodies slowly back and forth. Shouto could feel the small pulses of Kai’s cock inside of him as they came down together.

Finally, Kai pulled out, his cum spilling down onto Shouto’s thighs as he did. Shouto groaned, pushing himself up to avoid the mess all over the blankets. His legs were still trembling, a deep sense of satisfaction washing over him. He felt so good. He sat back against his calves, ignoring the sticky feeling of cum dripping down onto them. He just wanted to enjoy this feeling for a few minutes.

When he opened his eyes, Kai was laying on his back, watching him.

“You look sexy when you cum, Shouto. It makes me want to fuck you again.” He observed playfully.

“I’m game if you are,” Shouto replied, definitely more than half serious. Fucking Kai felt so good. And this morning, being with him like this. When he didn’t have to worry about anything else. He would be content to stay all morning and see how many ways he could make the older man feel good.

“A tempting offer,” Kai replied, reaching over and running his fingers up and down Shouto’s thigh. “Unfortunately I have a few things that I have to take care of today. But I think we could both use a good shower, if you would like to join me.”

Shouto nodded. He was sweaty and had cum all over his legs. A shower sounded nice.

Kai helped him up, and Shouto followed him to the bathroom. Shouto hadn’t even noticed the shower tucked in the corner behind the bath last night, but he had had a lot on his mind. Kai pulled out two towels and started the water. Just like the bath, Kai liked the water hot. A little too hot for Shouto’s comfort, but it wasn’t his house, so he didn’t say anything. Kai grabbed the same musky soap as yesterday, the smell that was all over his blankets and pillows, and started to lather up Shouto first.

Suddenly, Shouto remembered the article. Kai was the only person he could think of who might have canceled it.

“I expected to see you at the party with the League,” he commented, enjoying the feeling of the older man touching him. He wasn’t really sure where to begin. After all, the thought that Kai might have something to do with the canceled article seemed a bit far-fetched, but he was the only person with both the money and will to stand up to Endeavor’s wishes.

“I had something come up. It took… longer than expected,” Kai answered after a moment, a dissatisfied tone to his voice at the mention of the party.

“Oh,” Shouto replied, grasping for straws. The answer hadn’t left a lot of room for follow-up questions. Finally, he decided to just ask. “Do you know anything about the article for my engagement being canceled?”

“I may have made a suggestion to the paper that it wouldn’t be in their best interest to publish the article.” He replied, his hands spreading the soap down onto Shouto’s legs and thighs, before starting to lather himself.

“Why? I mean… how did you even know?” Shouto asked. He was certain he had not mentioned the article to him.

“Why? I guess you could say that I have my reasons,” Kai said. “And I told you last night, being a part of the Yakuza has its benefits. There is not much that happens in this city that we don’t know about. You are not engaged, Shouto. Your father doesn’t control you anymore. That article would have created unnecessary complications for you. You will have many things changing in the coming months, that article is one less thing for you to worry about.”

Shouto’s stomach flip-flopped at the words. The idea of being free of that engagement, for him and Momo. It was a blessing. But it came with being a part of the Yakuza…

“So what happens now?” Shouto asked, not sure if he really wanted to know the answer. He had already been indebted to Kai and the Yakuza, last night had not changed anything that wasn’t already set in motion. But things felt so real now. He was still so torn at the very thought… But was it even possible to turn back now? He didn’t think so. And that scared him.

“What do you mean?” Kai pulled him against his body under the hot water, starting to wash the soap from his skin.

“Now that I am a part of…” Shouto swallowed. He felt like he had a huge frog in his throat. “a part of the Shie Hassaikai. What happens now?”

“Not a lot. Not yet, at least.” Kai replied. “You are such a well-known figure that it would be unwise to make any drastic changes right away. If you were to disappear completely, or drop out of the heroics course at UA; it would attract unwanted attention. Besides, their physical training of your quirk still holds some use for you. So you will continue to attend your classes at the university, for now. You will spend time here, with me, and will occasionally help the Shie Hassaikai when needed. Once you are ready, then the bullets and I will work to train you to use your quirk without the normal rules and limitations that your professors expect. Eventually you will be ready to stand by my side.”

Shouto didn’t respond. He could hear every word Kai said, but the thought that that was his future…

“You are scared.” Kai observed.

“Yes,” Shouto admitted. He was terrified. He was anxious. And he was definitely going to be sick. Kai was asking him to live a double life, as if the last few weeks of doing so hadn’t all but torn him apart. And suddenly, suddenly he wasn’t so sure if he could balance it out and still achieve his goal of becoming a hero. But at this point, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to. He thought he did, but….

Fuck. He felt so lost.

“Do not be scared of change, Shouto.” Kai replied, wrapping his arms around Shouto as the hot water continued to wash over them. “Change scares all men. The difference between great men and lesser men is that some are willing to step past their fears. Even the gods themselves fear change. You remember the tale of Amaterasu, don’t you?”

Shouto had heard it many times, Amaterasu, the sun goddess, was a favorite tale among many. But he didn’t see the connection. He shrugged.

“Before the age of man,” Kai continued, “Amaterasu fought many battles with her brother, Susano-o. After one particularly hard battle, she retreated and hid in a cave for many, many years. This was the time of the great darkness, when evil spirits roamed the earth. And Amaterasu, whose light could cast them out, was too scared to leave her cave. Until one day, the other god’s sent Ame-No-Uzume, the goddess of merriment to dress herself in flowers and dance for the other goddess. And as Ame-No-Uzume danced, and flowers fell from her body, she reminded the other goddess that even in darkness, there could still be joy and beauty. And Amaterasu faced her fear, and left the cave, shining light once more over the world. Just like the gods, it takes just one man, willing to step beyond his fear, to change the lives of a thousand others who are too afraid to do so.”

Shouto nodded hesitantly, laying his head against the other man’s shoulder.

“Let me help you through the first few steps.” Kai said, “Once you know how good it feels to think for yourself, you won’t be scared of walking through the unknown to stand by my side.”

Shouto squeezed his eyes shut. He hoped so.

“What about Shigaraki?”

“I already took care of him,” Kai replied coldly. “If he even tries to touch you again, he won’t live long enough to regret it.” There was so much certainty, confidence in Kai’s voice. Shouto burned with curiosity to find out what he meant, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask. He didn’t think that he really wanted to know.

“He…” Shouto spoke quietly, a little nervous to tell Kai that Shigaraki had blackmail over him. “He has a video of me. Doing cocaine, telling them things about one of my classmates, fucking me…” Kai’s grip around him was starting to tighten. “If he asks me to do something, and I, um… I don’t. Then he is going to release it to the public.”

Kai didn’t respond for a few minutes.

“Don’t worry about that video, Shouto. Dabi will help me get rid of it. He owes me a favor.” Kai replied, finally shutting the water off. He opened the door, grabbing the two towels off their bar and handing one to Shouto. He shivered as the cold air from the apartment rushed in, wrapping the large towel around himself, and shaking his hair out to dry it. Kai stepped out of the shower and started to towel off on the rug.

Shouto watched him, letting his eyes wander over the muscles in his thighs and stomach as he moved. The man’s body was enticing, and Shouto stepped out, dropping his towel on the floor and walking over to touch his chest. Kai stopped moving, watching Shouto trace his fingers over his chest and stomach.

“Are you sure you can’t stay here with me today.” He asked. The idea of spending the afternoon in bed with Kai was much better than going home to face Endeavor.

Kai dropped his towel, wrapping an arm around Shouto’s waist and pulling him forward to kiss him deeply. The older man embraced him tightly, their bodies flush together as he slid his tongue into Shouto’s mouth, tasting him. Shouto moaned against him as his body responded. Just like last night, Kai’s mouth felt so good on his, and he let himself get lost in the kiss.

After a few minutes, Kai finally pulled away.

“I cannot,” he replied, “as tempting as you are.”

Kai took his hand, leading him back down to the bedroom. Shouto dressed, reluctantly, and wandered down to the kitchen to make tea as Kai stripped the bedding and began to get ready for the day. The kitchen was immaculate. Clean and stocked, with lots of room to move around. The opposite of his brother’s tiny kitchen. After a few minutes of digging through cupboards, Shouto found a teapot and set water on to boil. He wasn’t really used to the whole ‘morning after’ thing, and he wasn’t really sure what to do. He went to the dining room to gather the dishes from last night, but apparently Kai had taken care of them sometime after Shouto fell asleep. He did, however, find his phone on the table. Flipping it open, he had missed quite a few calls and messages.

He ignored the ones from his father. Endeavor was going to be furious with him. Shouto hadn’t given him his answer, had left the house without telling him, and had turned off his GPS to avoid a repeat of the morning before. Probably a blessing, to be honest. He didn’t think Kai would have responded well to Endeavor barging in and ripping him out of bed.

He also had a few messages from Momo and Bakugou.

11:00 pm
Momo: You still with Kai? Your dad’s looking 4 you. Are you ok?

Momo: I hope you were careful!

11:23 pm
Momo: Please text me. I’m worried!

11:37 pm
Bakugou: WTF Icy-hot. Endeavor is at my house AGAIN… where the fuck r u?

7:00 am
Momo: Text me when you wake up. Want to know your alive!

He typed out a quick message to both of them, letting them know he was fine and would talk to them tomorrow at school. The teapot started to whistle just as Kai made his way out of the bedroom, and damn... He was dressed in black slacks and a well-fitted long-sleeve gray shirt. His hair was spiked up like usual, and he looked good.

Shouto poured two cups of jasmine tea, handing one to Kai as he grabbed the fruit and headed to the table.

“I’m not really a cook,” he apologized, a bit embarrassed. He should probably have tried to make an actual breakfast, but Uchi always took care of that at his house. He could hardly cook toast, honestly.

“I actually don’t have time to stay, anyway,” Kai said, setting the tea down at the table. He took the tea and fruit from Shouto and set it down as well. Then he took Shouto and wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed him deeply once more. “But you should eat. You are going to need your strength. I will send Xaio Fe up to take you home once you are ready. I will send for you again in a few days, alright?”

Shouto nodded.

Kai kissed him one last, short kiss before letting him go and heading toward the door.

“And Shouto, don’t forget what I said about your father. I will know if he strikes you again.” Kai added as he grabbed his coat off the hook and stepped out of the apartment.

Shouto listened as the door clicked shut behind him. He sat down at the table, stirring his tea and staring at the lotus picture on the wall.

He wasn’t ready to return home yet.

* * * * * *

Shouto unlocked the front door and opened it slowly, stepping inside and sliding off his shoes by the door. He could hear his father on the phone in the sitting room. Shouto took a deep breath. He could already feel his hands starting to shake. The thought of standing up to his father made him physically ill, but he had no choice. If Kai could stand up to him and have that article canceled, with nothing to gain, than Shouto could stand up to him. He had no doubt that Kai had meant every word last night. While Shouto couldn’t lie and say that it didn’t feel good to have someone who cared enough about him to step in to protect him from Endeavor, he didn’t believe that his father deserved to die for his actions. Shouto hated him. After everything that happened, even with the occasional good times, Shouto had never really loved his father. Just as he doubted his father had ever really loved him, not really. But Endeavor was the #1 hero. If he was killed so soon after taking the role, with the city still reeling from the retirement of All Might… he wasn’t sure what that would do to the city.

Although if what Kai said was true, maybe being a hero didn’t amount to as much as he thought.

He shook his head. Stay focused. That was a rabbit hole, and those were thoughts that would have to be addressed another day. For now he needed to find a way to reason with one of the most unreasonable men that he knew.

His father was sitting on the couch across from the fireplace, and his eyes darted over to Shouto as soon as he stepped into the room. They widened slightly, before his eyebrows drew down in anger. Shouto could almost see his father’s shoulders tense, his grip tighten on the phone as he spoke. Yes, he was definitely angry with Shouto.

“I am going to have to call you back,” Enji calmly said to the person on the phone, before hanging up and setting his phone on the table next to the couch. Shouto walked in front of the fireplace, trying to stand as straight as possible as he faced his father. He took a deep breath as Enji stood up and took two steps toward him.

“Father,” Shouto greeted him, bowing his head as a sign of respect. Best to start off on as good a note as possible. His father had two moods for these types of conversations. Disagreeable but willing to listen, or disagreeable and ready to swing. It would seem that Shouto caught him in the first mood, and it would be better for everyone if he could keep him placated.

“Shouto,” he replied, a disapproving tone in his voice. “I am glad to see you well. After the mess of blood and glass I had cleaned up out of your bathroom last night, I wasn’t sure what shape I should expect you to return in. It would seem you must have made a visit to the university. I didn’t think to check there. I should hope you didn’t say anything that might draw unwanted attention to the Todoroki name.”

Of course that would be his father’s first concern. He took a deep breath. Just be civil. You can do this.

“I did not visit Recovery Girl or UA yesterday. Or a hospital, or the news. So you don’t have to worry about someone finding out that you left those bruises on me. I got help from a friend, if you care.” Shouto said.

“Of course I care,” Endeavor replied. “You are my son. Your health and well being is important to me. As is your reputation as both a Todoroki and a future hero. And right now you are on the verge of throwing away years worth of hard work. This teenage rebellion has to end. So lets be reasonable about this. Man to man. Tell me who helped you to cancel that article.

“Oh, now you want to be reasonable?” Shouto said, his temper rising. Endeavor didn’t care about Shouto’s reputation, but about his own. Everything that man did was for his own benefit. “That would make sense since you probably spent the entire day wondering if I had gone to the news. The only thing you care about is your own reputation.”

“Don’t push your luck, Shouto” His father said, his voice raising. His father’s hands had fisted up, and he could tell that Enji’s temper was starting to flare as well, his mood on the brink of shifting. “You will tell me that name, one way or another. I have my entire day cleared out. You get 100% of my time. A bit of father and son bonding, with no one to interrupt us. So you get to decide whether this conversation is going to be easy or hard. Then we can talk about your classmate.”

Shouto’s hands were shaking so hard that he mimicked his father and clenched them into fists, gritting his teeth. Shouto had tried to be reasonable, but if his father was going to threaten him, then he clearly did not intend to do the same. Shouto just needed to be firm, show Endeavor that he wasn’t a little boy anymore. His father didn’t get to make these decisions for him.

“You’re still hung up on the fact that I’m fucking, Bakugou?” Shouto asked, and he hoped that his father couldn’t hear the slight shaking in his voice. Enji’s mouth tightened distastefully. “You’re pathetic… that’s none of your business! And you know what? He’s not even the only man that I am fucking! And your opinion about the whole thing isn’t going to change that. Yes, I had help canceling the article! It doesn’t matter who helped me! In fact… you should be grateful! I am not going to marry Momo. No engagement is better publicity than me breaking our engagement in a year by getting caught on camera kissing another person.”

Shit. He said it. And it felt… it felt good.

“You damn fool,” Endeavor hissed. Shouto took a step back at his darkening expression, but stopped himself. He needed to stay confident. He set his feet, meeting his father’s eyes. “You think you can deny everything that we have worked toward? Just because you are a horny fucking teenager? You are acting like an ungrateful child. I name you my successor, and this is how you repay me? What you want has nothing to do with it. You are a Todoroki. You will take my place. You will marry Momo. And you are going to do all of it with a smile on your damn face. Now tell me who canceled the article! We can talk about your disgusting perversions later.”

“No.” Shouto shouted, surprised at himself. His hands were still shaking, and his voice was an octave higher than normal, but he could do this. “I am not asking your permission, Enji. I am telling you what is going to happen. I am not going to talk about that fucking article. I am not going to marry Momo. I will continue to date whoever I want… woman or man. And if you want me to even consider being your successor, you are going to have to accept all of it! Because if you don’t…” Shit. He hadn’t thought this far ahead. Um…. “I will…” Think. Think. Think! “I will reject my heritage and give up the Todoroki name. I would rather be a nobody then keep pretending to be somebody that I am not.”

The mood was definitely switching now. He could see a tell-tale smoke starting around his father.

“You insolent child!” Endeavor roared, stepping forward. “You don’t get to come in MY HOUSE and make demands. You have no idea how much I have sacrificed to provide for this family over the years. Your life has been easy! You think your life is hard because I have raised my hand to you? You have no idea what it means to suffer. To go without. And you have me to thank for that, my hard work!”

“Your hard work? Don’t you mean ojichan’s money? The lies you feed to the public! The people you pay off to make you look good!” Shouto screamed. Enji liked to pretend like he was a self-made man, but everything he had came from his parents. If Shouto had anyone to thank for his life, it was them.

“I would have to lie to a lot less people if you would just stop this childish act. You are going to take my place as the #1 hero, Shouto! You need to start acting like it!” Endeavor’s shoulders were starting to flame, smoke rising up from his hair. Shouto took a fighting stance, putting his right arm out, just like he did in training. A part of him was screaming to back down, but now that he was there, and finally saying the things that had been festering inside of him, he couldn’t stop himself.

“You aren’t even the #1 hero!” he screamed at Endeavor, “The only reason people call you that is because All Might was forced to retire. But you are nothing compared to him. No matter how many people you save, you will never measure up to him. You aren’t even half the man he is. You will never be the type of hero he was! You will never be this city’s symbol of peace!”

Shouto expected the burst of heat that followed as Endeavor’s quirk fully activated, his father screaming with rage, the room lighting up all around him. Shouto dropped and rolled as a rush of flame came toward him. As he rolled back to his knees, he put out his right arm, creating a wide pillar of ice in front of him to block Endeavor’s follow up burst of flame. The ice shot upward to lodge itself into the ceiling, a large crack splintering out from it, the house shaking slightly. The ice went two feet on either side of him, but Shouto could still feel the heat coming from around it. He glanced at the floor, where water was already starting to puddle as the flames melted his ice.

“You say you are a hero, but your first instinct is to attack! Even someone that you claim to care about!” Shouto screamed over the crackling of Endeavor’s flames.

The flames let up for a second, and Shouto stepped around, sending a wave of ice toward his father. He didn’t want to hurt Endeavor, but he wasn’t about to back down. If he backed down, or ran away, then his father would never respect him. The only thing Endeavor respected was power, and if Shouto was going to stand up for himself, he needed to prove to Endeavor that he wasn’t afraid to use his. He pushed the attack as his father was forced back toward the wall, capturing his father’s legs in ice to hold him in place.

Endeavor screamed, blazing his fire to free himself.

“The only thing I have ever cared about is my family! And over the years, they only spit in my face! Your mother! Touya! Now you!” Shouto held out his hand, ready to throw up another wall if needed. His father was raising the temperature of his flames, the ice was melting faster than usual. His father was going to be free in moments. Shouto let a shield of ice form over his right arm, ready for the next attack.

“You don’t deserve to talk about either of them!” Shouto yelled, “They didn’t spit in your face! You destroyed them! I am not going to let you do the same thing to me!”

“You have no idea what you are talking about!” Endeavor screamed, finally stepping out of the ice. Just as Shouto suspected, his father shot a blast of flames toward him. He held up the shield to block his face and torso, the fire singing his pants and all the furniture around them. “You have no idea how long I put with that woman. She tried to kill you! It was the last straw!”

Shouto’s ice shield was quickly melting away. He rolled backward and crouched to escape his father’s blast. He formed another wall on instinct, this one slightly wider, digging into one of the walls and breaking out a window. The room groaned and a large chunk of the ceiling fell down into the middle of the room from the impact.

“She burned me because of you!” Shouto screamed. “Everything that was wrong with her was your fault!”

Endeavor appeared around the side of his wall, shooting a burst of flame over Shouto as he barely got up a wall to deflect the blast. He could feel his right arm starting to burn slightly. He was using too much of his quirk too quickly, and he could see a thin layer of frost and ice starting to form over the right side of his body. He activated his left side just enough to heat himself up. He refused to use his fire against that bastard, but the heat would keep the frostbite at bay for at least a few more attacks.

“Wrong again, Shouto!” Endeavor replied, as he stepped around the second wall, and grabbed Shouto by the neck before he could get up another wall. “She is alive because of me! You have no idea how many times I stepped in to stop her from killing herself. She would have been dead before you were even born if it wasn’t for me!”

Shit. He could feel Endeavor’s hands heating up around his neck as his father pulled him up. Shouto could feel his air cutting off. But he could also feel the adrenaline surging through his body. He could do this. He could stand up to his father. He put his right hand down toward the floor.

“And every time she did was because of you!” He cried, as he blasted ice into the floor under his father’s feet. His father’s grip loosened around Shouto’s neck as he struggled to maintain his footing, and Shouto screamed as he crouched and poured his ice into a pillar that shot his father straight upward and through the ceiling to the floor above, ripping a huge hole into the ceiling, chunks of debris raining down around Shouto.

Shouto ran for the stairs, taking them two at a time to get up to the next floor. His father was strong, and that blow was not going to slow him down for long. Shouto needed to be ready. He made it to the hallway just as his father was pushing himself up. He reached down, freezing the floor solid all the way down the hall to keep his father from standing up.

Endeavor was raging, and he sent a blast of fire back toward Shouto that was too hot for even Shouto’s body to handle. He responded with a wave of ice to encounter it, and the two quirks collided with a huge whoosh of steam blasting through the hallway. Even the steam was so hot it almost burned, and Shouto threw up his left hand to cover his eyes as the moisture dampened his clothes. But he was already preparing his next blast. He was ready, and the moment the steam faded enough to see Endeavor, he sent a wave of ice that pushed his father through a wall into the next room.

Shouto panted. His arm was really starting to burn now, and he could feel the little icicles that formed on his skin any time he used his ice for an extended period of time.

“SHOUTO!” His father screamed from the other room, and a moment later he reappeared in the hallway. It was clear that Endeavor was hurt, but not enough to slow him down. His father rushed him, and he rolled to dodge, ducking into one of the spare bedrooms. Endeavors fire came first, filling the room, setting the bed and curtains aflame as the backdraft threw Shouto into the wall, the heat melting his ice almost as fast as he could create it to shield himself. The effort was draining his quirk quickly.

He wasn’t going to be able to last against his father, not like this. If things didn’t turn around quickly, his ice would be tapped out. And even if he was willing to use his fire against his father, he didn’t have the training to match his father’s flames with his own. But he couldn’t let his father win. Endeavor was raging, and he clearly wasn’t going to give up. Which meant that it was up to Shouto to end this and get out of the house. Things had gone downhill so quickly, that staying wasn’t an option. After this, Shouto wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to come back. After all, Enji had left Dabi practically for dead when his brother stood up to him. Shouto shuddered to think what he would do to Shouto once this was all over.

Shouto kept forming ice as his father poured fire into the room. Finally, the flames stopped. Shouto jumped up as Endeavor stalked inside, the walls burning up around him. As soon as Enji reached the middle of the room, Shouto sent a wave of ice to catch him. He lowered the temperature of his body as much as he could so that Endeavor couldn’t burn right through it, making his ice as cold as possible. His father was frozen in the middle of the room, and Shouto poured everything he had left to capture his father in that ice, adding layer after layer until he had frozen up more than half the room, going down to his knees as pain bubbled in his right arm. He could feel ice starting to grow over the entire right side of his body. Finally, when he physically couldn’t create anymore, he dropped his arm, ice frosting off of him in drifts. He looked down, his right arm was practically purple, his skin had taken a sickly bluish pallor, even splitting open in some spots to reveal angry red flesh beneath. Then he looked back up to where he had trapped his father. That much ice would cause hypothermia within minutes, and such a trap would likely kill most people. But he knew his father would be able to escape with minimal harm.

But it gave him ten, maybe even fifteen minutes to get out of the house.

He activated his left side once more, trying to raise his core body temperature enough to move. The ice and frost started to melt, soaking his clothes as he pushed himself up with his left hand and made for the door. He squeezed through the ice, it had torn apart the doorframe and coated part of the hallway. Looking around, their fight had destroyed a huge section of the mansion. He could hear Uchi downstairs. It sounded like she was on the phone, and she was giving out their address. She was probably calling the police.

Shit. He definitely needed to get out of here. He ran up to the third floor, rushing to his room. A huge chunk of his ice had broken up through his bedroom floor, and he had to force the door open to even get inside. He pulled out a duffel bag, cramming clothes inside with very little care to what he was packing. He could barely move his right arm, so he had to do almost everything single-handedly, slowing him down. Finally, he pulled on his jacket to cover his frost-bitten arm and a pair of slip-on shoes. He caught a glimpse of himself in his closet mirror. He looked like shit, but there was nothing to do for that now. He pulled the hood up to cover his hair and disguise himself as well as possible, all things considered. Then he grabbed the duffel and his backpack and ran out of the house. He could hear Uchi and Lars both in the room with Endeavor as he passed near the hall. They were arguing, and he knew that Endeavor wasn’t quite free yet. The adrenaline was starting to wear off, but he pushed himself to move faster.

His father was going to be out any minute, and he needed to get out of here before that happened. He ran all the way to the bus station, his legs threatening to give out on him by the time he hunkered down in one of the seats. He pulled his hood forward to cover most of his face, leaning down into his duffel so that he would just look like any other person. He was panting to catch his breath. His entire body felt sore from the fight, especially after being thrown into the wall. And his right arm was in agony, at this point. The adrenaline from the fight was completely gone, and the sleeve of his jacket rubbed against it roughly. He would have to go see Recovery Girl tomorrow.

But he had done it! None of the physical pain even mattered. He wanted to laugh with joy, shout with happiness. He wanted to stand up and scream out to the world. Shouto Todoroki had finally stood up to his father.

* * * * * *

The next hour was a blur. Shouto had gone to the bank to withdraw his savings (turns out he could only withdraw a portion without Enji there, but he took as much as he could), and then headed straight to Dabi’s. He wasn’t sure where else to go. He needed somewhere he could stay for a while; days, maybe even weeks. Which meant that his friends houses were out of the question. Kai would probably allow Shouto to stay with him, but that didn’t feel right. Everything with the golden-eyed man was still too new. He wanted somewhere that he could feel at home. And Dabi’s little tiny, smoky apartment was his best option.

When Shouto got to the door and knocked, he prayed that Dabi would be home. He had tried calling twice on the way over, but his brother hadn’t answered either call. He wasn’t sure where he would go if he couldn’t stay there. His next option was to try to get a room at a sleezy motel. They didn’t usually care too much about a person’s age.

He was relieved when he heard a noise inside the apartment, a moment later Dabi cracked open the door, looking out.

“Shouto?” His brother said, surprised. Although Shouto couldn’t see much of him, and despite the fact that it was barely after 8pm, Dabi looked like he had just rolled out of bed. He didn’t have his usual make-up on, and his hair was sticking out wildly in all directions. “I didn’t know you were coming over…”

“Yeah, I—” Shouto began, when he was cut off by a squeal as Toga appeared in the doorframe, pushing Dabi out of the way.

“Shouto!” Toga wriggled out of the crack in the doorway and threw her arms around Shouto, forcing him to drop his duffel bag and wince as pain lanced up his arm at the contact. Shit. He shuddered at the feeling, a quick flash of her cuddled up next to Shigaraki, covered in his blood, flashed through his mind. The little heart that she had shaved into her pubic hair. The way that she had whispered to him how good he was doing while Shigaraki fucked him. He used his left hand to push her back. Of all the people to be there, the only one that could have been worse was Shigaraki himself.

“Ok, ok,” Dabi warned, opening up the door and pulling on Toga’s arm. “Both of you get inside, come on.”

Shouto hesitantly followed them in. Toga grabbed his duffel off the floor for him, all but skipping in ahead of him. It was pretty obvious what he had interrupted. The room smelled strongly of sex. His brother was wearing a tight pair of gray boxer briefs, his erection obvious against the thin material. He was trying to quickly gather up clothes that had been strewn over the living room. He had little bite marks all over his chest, a few of them deep enough to bleed. Toga was wearing one of Dabi’s black T-shirts like a dress. Like Dabi’s, her hair was a mess, and she had smears of blood on her hands and cheek. But something else was off. Toga’s lips were swollen, her eyes puffy and rimmed with red. She looked as if she had been crying all day, despite the smile on her face now as she plopped his duffel on the coffee table and waved him over.

“Come sit by me, Shouto!” She beamed, “I missed you so much!”

“You look like shit.” Dabi noted, looking Shouto over as he pulled on a pair of jeans.

“Yeah,” Shouto replied, carefully shrugging off his backpack and setting it on the counter, hesitating nervously to get any closer to Toga. “Enji and I got into an argument today, and I… uh,” Shit, just thinking about the fight made him feel shaky again. But he did it. He actually did it. “I stood up for myself. I didn’t let him push me around. And when he tried to use his flames, I used my ice to protect myself.”

“You fought back?” Dabi asked, almost incredulously.

“Yeah.” He replied, blushing as he finally started toward the couch. He wearily sat down on the far side from Toga, carefully cradling his right arm as she proceeded to crawl over the cushions and wrap her arms around him, nuzzling into his left arm. She smelled like Dabi and marijuana. “It wasn’t good. We destroyed a bunch of the mansion. I trapped him in ice and left. I didn’t hurt him, besides his pride. I can’t go back there, Dabi. I just can’t. I didn’t know where else to go.”

“He can stay with us!” Toga squealed, squeezing him tighter.

“With us?” Shouto echoed, shooting Dabi a questioning look over the top of Toga’s head. His brother walked around, sitting on the other side of the couch.

“Toga is staying here for a couple days.” Dabi replied, grabbing a pack of cigarettes off the table and pulling one out to light up. He took a few quick puffs. “She does that from time to time, when Shigaraki gets into one of his moods. He and I had a disagreement yesterday.”

Shouto could probably guess what that was about. He felt bad that he had caused problems for his brother.

Suddenly he noticed Toga sniffling into the sleeve of his jacket.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

“She’s dead!” She cried, the words muffled into his jacket. “Shiggy and Dabi are fighting, and everyone’s mad, and Magne’s dead and Shiggy just had her body taken away! Like she didn’t matter!” She was crying harder now, trying to snuggle up under his left arm, her tiny hands clinging to his jacket as she sobbed.

“Magne is dead?” Shouto asked. He awkwardly patted Toga’s back. It was definitely strange to try to comfort someone who had literally harvested his blood less than 48 hours ago. Especially when he didn’t feel anything at the news. He had barely met the woman, and he was certain that Magne did not like him, even a little bit. But she had been close to Dabi and Toga, so he tried to look somber.

“Overhaul killed her!” Toga sobbed.

What?! Overhaul killed Magne? Surely that couldn’t be right? I mean… yeah he was a gang member. But to kill someone for no reason?

“You didn’t know?” Dabi asked, watching the surprise on his face.

Toga was still sobbing and she pushed herself up into Shouto’s lap, shoving her shoulder directly into Shouto’s right arm, making him yelp before he could stop himself. He tried to cover up the slip by clearing his throat, but Dabi noticed.

“You’re hurt,” his brother observed, snuffing out the cigarette in the ashtray, and standing up. Dabi leaned over, carefully scooping Toga into his arms and lifting her off of Shouto. “Come on, honey” Dabi whispered to her. “You haven’t slept in two days. Why don’t you lay down while I get Shouto settled?” She sniffled as Dabi disappeared into the bedroom with the pig-tailed villain, and Shouto could hear him whispering to her as he tucked her into the bed.

A few minutes later, he closed the bedroom door and came back around the couch.

“I thought you two weren’t lovers?” Shouto said, hoping to distract his brother from his injury. He hadn’t planned to show Dabi his arm. He would go to Recovery Girl tomorrow. No need to worry anybody else.

“Being lovers and fucking are two different things,” Dabi replied dryly. “You should know something about that. Now let’s see your arm.”

“I’m fine. I will go in to UA early tomorrow and see Recovery Girl.” Shouto insisted.

“Shut up and take off your jacket, Shouto.” He ordered, disappearing into the hallway for a few minutes. Shouto sighed. It was clearly a lost cause. Now that Dabi had his mind set, he doubted he could convince his brother otherwise. So he peeled off the jacket, and his singed black button-up, and set them on the arm of the couch. His arm looked worse than before. It was horribly discolored still, and the skin was peeling up even worse, the wounds starting to weep an ugly yellow pus.

When Dabi finally returned with a first-aid kit and a handful of supplies, he hesitated at the sight.

“Shit,” Dabi commented, “I forgot how bad the frostbite gets when you overuse your quirk. You sure you don’t want to go in tonight?”

“I’m fine,” Shouto replied. “I just need something for the pain.”

“Well, I can definitely help with that. Now scoot over so I can actually get that thing cleaned up.”

Shouto did as he said while Dabi set down the supplies and disappeared again. When he returned, he was juggling a large bowl of water with a clean cloth, two joints, a bottle of pain-killers, and a glass of water. He set down the bowl and joints next to the medical supplies, and opened the bottle. Shouto gratefully accepted the pills as Dabi sat down next to him.

Shouto laid back against the couch, closing his eyes as Dabi ripped the sleeve of his T-shirt to get it out of the way, and began to clean his arm with the cloth. It was warm, and the water stung as Dabi gently dabbed at the skin, trying to wash away as much of the infection as possible. It took Dabi quite a while, back forth to get clean water, before his brother was satisfied that the wounds were clean. Finally, he started to apply a thick salve to the areas with open wounds. It was cool, and provided an almost instant relief.

“Why didn’t we start with that?” Shouto joked. Dabi didn’t reply, just kept working. Once he had coated the peeling skin, he pulled out a large wrap. Just as he started the wrap, Shouto’s phone started to ring. He glanced at it hesitantly, expecting his father. But it was Momo.

“Hey,” Shouto greeted her, answering the call.

“Are you ok?” she asked, a distinct note of worry in her voice. “I saw the news! I’ve been so worried about you!”

“The news?” He didn’t think he liked the sound of that. Surely Endeavor would have stopped anything from going to the news. But Uchi did call the police…

“Yeah. Your house is all over the news. Endeavor is making a public statement that there was an accident during your training. What happened?”

“Wait, Momo,” he said, putting her on speaker and minimizing the call. He pulled up the news. “Give me just a second.” He opened it up to the local news, and sure enough there was a video that posted about 45 minutes before. “Quirk Training Accident Destroys Part of Todoroki Mansion”. There was a thumbnail with Endeavor standing out in front of the house, and you could see a large shard of ice broken out of their main window.

“Are you looking it up, Shou?” She exclaimed. “You were there!”

“I just want to see how he spun it,” Shouto replied, scanning through the article attached. Endeavor was claiming that they had been completing a typical training exercise, when he unlocked a new level of his quirk, and ice broke through the training room and destroyed part of the house. The house was too unstable for reporters to enter (of course, otherwise they might see the plethora of scorchmarks next to his ice), and no Shouto was not available to interview because he was too tired. A ‘new level of his quirk’? What was that even supposed to mean? Psh. The reporters must have shown up fast, before his father
had time to think of something more realistic.

“Look. I told you yesterday that you should be home with those stitches. Instead you spend the night at that man’s house that you barely know doing god knows what. And now fighting with your dad? What is going on with you today?” She scolded him.

Dabi’s eyebrows went up as her voice came through the phone. ‘Stitches?’ he mouthed.

‘I will explain later.’ Shouto mouthed back.

“I’m fine.” Shouto replied to Momo. “It’s a long story, but I finally stood up to my dad. I will tell you tomorrow, ok. I just… I gotta go.”

“You have to go?” She replied incredulously. “I saw the damage in the pictures! You can’t tell me you aren’t hurt. Where are you?”

“I’m at a friends,” he said. “And I really am alright.”

“Are you at Kai’s house again?” she yelled. She was in full ‘mom’ mode now. There was going to be no reasoning with her. Dabi had a smug smile on his face as he finished tying off the wrap and sat back to double-check his work. Shouto’s arm still hurt like hell, but getting the air off his skin definitely helped it to feel a little better. “This is crazy. He could be a really dangerous guy for all you know! If this is a sex thing, just call Bakugou. He’s got it bad for you, Shou!”

‘Bakugou?’ Dabi mouthed, eyebrow back up in the air.

‘Shut up!’ he mouthed back, a guilty knot in his stomach. He had been trying to avoid thinking about Bakugou. He still really, really liked the blonde. But he also really liked Kai. Him and Kai hadn’t talked about what their relationship was, but it definitely didn’t seem very casual last night or this morning. And once Bakugou found out that he was tied to the Yakuza, it was all going to be over anyway.

“I’m not at his house. I really am just at a friends,” he retorted. “Look, I really gotta go. I will talk to you tomorrow at school. Ok?”

“Fine,” she replied, irritated.

“Bye Momo,” he said awkwardly. It was clear that she was not ready to be done talking.

“Be careful… please,” she replied, and the phone clicked off. He put it down next to him on the couch.

“So…” Dabi said, setting the extra first aid supplies on the coffee table. “Bakugou, huh?”

Dabi grabbed the two joints off the table, leaning back and lighting them both up before handing one over to Shouto. He accepted it, ready for something a little stronger to help numb the pain.

“Can we not talk about that?” Shouto asked, taking a hit. He held it for a moment before slowly exhaling.

“No. I think we definitely need to talk about this,” Dabi replied, his voice more than a bit amused. “I mean… Bakugou? Don’t get me wrong. The guys not half bad to look at, but he basically has the attitude of a wild boar with a hornet up its ass. Didn’t you just get into a fist fi… Ya know. Now that I say that out loud, it kind-of makes sense actually.”

“He’s not that bad,” Shouto replied. Although Dabi wasn’t that far off. So far they had: high sex, hate sex, and drunk sex. Not exactly the foundations of a healthy relationship. But after everything with Shigaraki. They way that Bakugou had helped him. He knew there was a lot more to the blonde than the other let most people see.

“Does he at least have a big dick?” Dabi asked.

Shouto grabbed the pillow out from behind him and hurled it at Dabi, who juggled to deflect the throw and not drop his joint.

“You are as bad as Momo,” Shouto replied.

“Fair enough,” Dabi replied, stealing the pillow and using it to better prop himself up. “But I had to put up with that guy’s whining for almost two days. Can’t blame me for being curious. Now what about the stitches on your stomach? Do we need to look at those too?”

“No.” Shouto said, a bit quieter. “Kai actually helped me with those last night.” He felt a bit strange talking about the Yakuza leader. He couldn’t get Toga’s words out of his head. And it made him feel strange. He knew Kai was dangerous, but he didn’t expect to be faced with the reality so quickly.

“Did Kai actually kill her?”

“Yeah, he did.” Dabi replied, his mood sombering up with the question.

Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, just sat and smoked.

“Why?” Shouto finally asked, although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

“For you.” Dabi shrugged, “After he found out what happened, he just… lashed out. It was a warning to Shigaraki.”

Shouto got quiet again, a strange feeling washing over him. ‘I already took care of him.’ That’s what Kai had said this morning. He had sounded so cold. Shouto hadn’t wanted to know what he meant then. A part of him wished that he didn’t know now. The idea that the man was willing to kill for him. Had already killed for him. It made him feel a little sick to his stomach.

“I’m sorry,” Shouto said quietly. “About Magne. And everything with Shigaraki. I’m sorry if it caused problems with him. I know you guys are a… a thing.”

Dabi leaned forward, pulling his chin up to look at him in a way that felt eerily similar to Kai.

“Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything. I saw the video, Shouto. He and I… its complicated. Shigaraki did that to get back at me. I should be the one apologizing to you.”

He saw the video. God. It was bad enough that it happened. Bad enough that people knew. But Dabi saw it? He pulled his face out of Dabi’s hand, nodding his head reluctantly. Then he leaned over and put the last bit of his joint out in the ashtray. He was definitely going to be sick.

“I’m serious, Shouto,” Dabi continued. “Shigaraki is a fucking asshole. He always has been. I just didn’t think he would stoop this low.”

“Why do you stay with him?” Shouto asked, genuinely curious. He had heard Hawks story. But surely just helping him heal… that couldn’t be all of it.

“That’s a fucking story,” Dabi said, taking an especially long inhale of his joint. After exhaling it, he stood up and left the room. Shouto watched him creep quietly into his bedroom, Toga’s still form silhouetted underneath the blankets. He disappeared from view for a few minutes before coming back out and closing the door quietly once more. He sat back down, next to Shouto this time, and handing him a few pictures.

“He would kill me if he knew I even had these pictures,” he said, laughing sadly. “I used to have a bunch more, but he destroyed them awhile ago. He hates reminders of the past. This was our first date,” Dabi said. The first picture was of Touya, and it made Shouto feel so nostalgic that it almost hurt. His red hair spiked out in all directions, his blue eyes sparkling and a big smile on his face. No tattoos or piercings at all. Next to him was Shigaraki, but he looked so different. Like Dabi, he was obviously younger in this picture, and although he was still lanky, he was actually pretty handsome. His body and muscles were filled out. His skin was still pale, but it didn’t look brittle and paper-thin. His hair had more of a blue-tint in it. It was buzzed on the sides, and spiked on the top. And his face… His eyebrows were thicker, his eyes were full of life and not sunken in, and he had actual, full lips. And he was smiling. It was clearly Shigaraki, but it wasn’t Shigaraki.

“When I met Tomura, I had gotten out of a pretty serious relationship a couple months before. I was hurt, lost. And I was depressed. So I had a friend of a friend offer to sell me some joints. It was stupid, but I took him up on it. He wouldn’t bring them to school, so I had to go downtown to this run-down apartment building to pick them up. When I got to the building, he and Toga were sitting out front, smoking a cigarette. I figured they were a couple, and I didn’t say anything to them. But I ended up going back in a week, and he was out there alone. He was kinda handsome, and I thought I saw him checking me out, so I stopped on the way in and asked to bum a cig. He agreed, and I sat down next to him and we talked. And the next time I went over, we talked again and exchanged numbers. A week later, he asked me out. This was that date. We went to the movies, if you can imagine that.”

He pulled that picture away and set it on the coffee table. The next picture was obviously after Dabi got burned. He had really short red hair, and was wearing a black mask that covered most of his lower face, but his entire neck looked red and raw. He was standing in a park somewhere, and Shigaraki had his head on Dabi’s shoulder. Although you couldn’t see much of him, Shigaraki looked much the same as that first picture, alive and well, and not some desiccated walking corpse.

“After dad burned me, it was Shigaraki and Toga who nursed me back to health. And I fell in love with him. He was harsh, yes, but he made me feel alive again. He gave me purpose. I hated myself after everything. I was disgusting, a monster. And he loved me anyway. He even paid for my tattoos. They were a gift for my 20th birthday, to help me forget the past.”

“What about the League?” Shouto asked.

“I knew he was into some shady stuff when I first met him, especially when he was around Toga. She has never been… stable. She would say things sometimes that were, off. But I liked him, so I ignored it. And he knew I was training to be a hero, so he wasn’t exactly forthright about what he did either. After the accident, he started being a little more open. He told me that he was part of a group of vigilantes who were looking to stand up to the corruption in society. That was what he called them, vigilantes. Of course I joined up. I had lost everything else. Eventually I figured out on my own that they leaned to the criminal side, but by that point I was in. I had Shigaraki, and we had a purpose. And honestly, there’s a reason I am still here. I belong in the League, Shouto.”

He took the second picture and set it beside the first. The last picture was the most recent, and it was of just Shigaraki. He was outside, leaned up against a black car, smoking. He had on the same long trenchcoat that he had been wearing during the attack at USJ, and it was like all of the youth from the first two pictures had been stripped away. Although he was not quite as withered as he had been at the party, he looked sickly. He was extremely thin, and his skin was starting to take on that brittle quality. His lips were dry and chapped, and his eyes had begun to sunk in. His hair was almost as long as it was now, and had taken on that silver hue.

“What happened to him?” There surely could only be a year or two tops between these pictures. He couldn’t imagine what could have happened.

“His quirk,” Dabi replied, setting the last picture down and laying against the back of the couch. “The League was pretty small when I first met him, and he almost never used his quirk. But as we grew, and he started to use his decay more, we realized that it was affecting his body as well. Each time he used it, it was slowly decaying his body from the inside out. He couldn’t stop losing weight and his skin became frail and brittle. His hair lost its color, and there were some days that he barely had the energy to move. As his body started to rot, he changed. He got bitter, than angry. He was angry at everything and everyone. Eventually, our boss found a treatment, a half-dozen shots every month. It stops the decay from getting worse, but it doesn’t reverse it. The boss finally created a better cure, but he wouldn’t give it to Shigaraki until we were able to secure for him the one thing he desired. And then, he ended up in the fight with All Might, and now he is trapped in that godforsaken cell that you can’t get within ten miles of. And Shigaraki is just stuck.”

All-for-one. The fight that came from them stepping in to rescue Bakugou. All-Might had faced off against the most dangerous villain in the city. The true power behind the League of Villains. At least, until he had gone to prison.

“I’m sorry,” Shouto finally said. He honestly, had no idea how to respond to Dabi’s story. It was obvious that his brother still had feelings for the LoV leader, but they were complicated. And after what Shigaraki had done to him, he had a hard time feeling any sympathy for the withered man.

“About what?” Dabi asked, giving him a strange look and then laughing. The weed must finally be hitting his brother.

“I don’t know.” Shouto replied, “about all of it, I guess. It really sucks.” God, it sucks? That was all he could manage to say? “What about Toga?” he added, hoping to change the subject.

“Toga is just… Toga,” Dabi replied, sighing. “She honestly doesn’t understand the difference between right and wrong. Endeavor was an asshole. And he was abusive. But it will never compare to what Toga went through with her parents. They abused her in every way possible when she was little, and when she started acting out, they told her that she had to be normal. So she pushed everything deep inside and became the perfect daughter, and the perfect student. And each time they touched her, or hurt her, or screamed at her, she just pushed it inside. But one day, it all came back out. She killed a boy at her school, and then her parents. And she didn’t even realize they were dead. The cops responded to a call about the smell a few days later, found her, 14 years old, having a tea party with their bodies. She was able to pass a psychological evaluation, because she knew how to ‘be normal’, and went to a group home. That’s where she met Tomura. But she… she’s not the same as the rest of us. She loves people more genuinely than anyone I know, but she just doesn’t see the line between love and pain.”

“Well, shit,” Shouto replied slowly. He knew the weed was finally starting to affect him too. He lifted his hand, watching as it seemed to take minutes to move upward. Dabi laughed at him, swatting his hand away. “Is that why you fuck her?”

“Something like that,” he replied, leaning down (god, even Dabi was moving slowly) and grabbing the last of Shouto’s joint out of the ashtray and re-lighting it. “She loves Shigaraki too, and when he gets like this, she can’t be around him. Plus, with Magne dead, she is grieving. It took us hours to convince her Magne was even dead, and now she can’t seem to forget about it. Shigaraki couldn’t deal with her, so I brought her here. The sex was just a distraction, mostly.”

“I get it,” Shouto said. Sex was a perfect distraction. A way to relieve stress, to feel good. Even if just for a little while.

Suddenly Shouto’s phone pinged. He picked it up. It was a text from an unknown number.

‘Good job, little fox. I knew you had the strength to stand up to him.’ Kai. It had to be. He must have seen the news as well. He read the text over a few times, a feeling of contentment washing over him at the praise.

Then he saw the time, almost 11:00. Shit. He had school in the morning, and if he was going to visit Recovery Girl before classes started, than he would have to leave pretty early. He needed to get at least a few hours of sleep.

“I need to get to bed,” he said, looking up at his brother.

Dabi nodded. He started to stand up, but changed his mind, turning back around. He grabbed the back of Shouto’s head gently, and pulled him forward, pressing their foreheads together.

“I am so proud of you, Shouto.” He said. Shouto nodded. Dabi kissed Shouto’s forehead, then stood up and headed toward his bedroom.

Shouto smiled. He was proud of himself, too.

He spent the next few minutes stumbling around; grabbing the spare blanket from the closet, setting his alarm, and wrapping himself up on the couch. He was exhausted, and was asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes.

When he turned over a little while later, a weight on his leg woke him. His thoughts were still bleary from the joint, and it took him a moment to remember where he was as he looked around the tiny apartment. As he glanced down at himself, Toga was there with him. She was sitting on the floor next to the couch, and was leaned against it, her head resting against his thigh like a pillow. Despite the seemingly uncomfortable angle, she was sleeping soundly, a peaceful look on her face.

Shouto sighed. He couldn’t forget the night of the party, but after talking to Dabi, it was hard to stay angry. He felt sad for her.

Shit.

He pushed himself up, and shook her gently. She woke with a start, smiling sleepily when she saw him.

“Come on,” he said, helping to pull her up on the couch next to him. Even with her tiny frame, the couch was not quite big enough, and she ended up sprawled over his left side, snuggling up against him. Her skin was cold against him as he pulled the blanket over them, and he heated up his left side just a bit to warm her up.

She cooed happily, nuzzling her face into his shoulder.

“Goodnight, Toga,” he whispered, closing his eyes.

“G’night, Shou,” She whispered back. “I love you.”

Chapter Text

When Shouto’s alarm went off, it felt way too early to even consider waking up. It was still dark outside, and he felt bleary and gross. Toga was sprawled on top of him, snoring gently. He tried to move carefully, but between the movement and the noise, she started to fidget and wiggle. After a bit of juggling and effort, he finally managed to grab the phone, and slide the alarm over to dismiss, setting it back on the table. Toga yawned widely, and stretched, her entire tiny body trembling slightly with the effort.

Then she nuzzled right back against his chest, pulling the blanket up onto her shoulder.

“Mmmm…. Shou,” she purred sleepily, “you are so warm. You feel so good to sleep next to.”

He sighed. His arm was throbbing, and his back was tensed and sore. After slamming into the wall during his fight with Endeavor, sleeping on the couch with another person on top of him was probably not the best plan. But it actually felt pretty good to have her there, almost comforting. She was warm herself, now, and her curves fit against his body perfectly as she lay on him. She had tucked her left arm up inside of his T-shirt at some point, and her make-shift dress had ridden up so that his hand rested against her naked ass.

“I have to get up, Toga,” he whispered. He really didn’t want to. But classes started at 8:20, and the university opened at 7. He needed to get in and see Recovery Girl early so that he could still make it to class on time. He had just barely made it back into the top half of the class academically, and he couldn’t afford to miss a single period. He also didn’t feel like explaining the wrap on his arm to any one else if possible. After that news article yesterday, today was probably going to be a nightmare of questions.

“What?!” She exclaimed, pushing herself up to look at him, “but I thought you were staying here with me and Dabi?”

“I still have to go to school,” he replied, trying to gently push himself up. Not an easy feat with his right arm screaming in protest, and his left arm trying to juggle her tiny frame so he didn’t dump her onto the floor next to the couch. “I will be back later tonight.”

She wriggled around as he moved, scooting down to sit between his legs as he managed to finally sit up. She pouted for moment, before noticing the bulge of morning wood in his pants. Smiling, she reached over and ran her hand up between his legs, palming him through his jeans.

“Toga!” he jumped, pushing her hand away as his treasonous cock responded to her.

“What?” she replied, frowning. “I just wanted to touch it. It’s really pretty.”

“Look,” he pulled his leg out from behind her, trying to stand up. “Why don’t you lay back down while I get ready, the couch is yours.”

She stared at him quizzically for a moment, looking him over. Her eyes lit up as she took in the bandage on his arm.

“What happened? Can I see?” She leaned forward, reaching for the wrap. He stumbled backward, out of her reach and shook his head.

“It’s fine. Dabi already took care of it.” He replied, grabbing his phone and duffel off the coffee table. “Just go back to sleep Toga,” he said, heading toward the bathroom. He set the duffel down next to the sink, and turned around to close the door. Toga popped up in the doorway, smiling widely, and scaring Shouto half to death. Shouto jumped backward, almost tripping over his bag, his heart racing. How the fuck did she get in here so fast?

“Shit,” he said, trying to regain his composure, and calm down his racing heart. “You scared me.”

“I’m here to help you get ready!” She smiled, closing the door and scooting in around him, unzipping his duffel.

“I can get ready on my own.” He insisted, opening the door and motioning for her to go out.

“You’re hurt, silly,” she giggled as she started to pull out every single article of clothing and throw them in a pile behind her. He glanced down the hall, briefly considering going to wake up Dabi for help. But he felt guilty waking his brother up. Especially after Dabi had helped him with his arm last night. Turning back around, he sighed as she held up a pair of black boxers, inspecting them thoroughly. He would just get ready quickly and get to the school earlier than planned.

“Fine,” he agreed reluctantly, not seeing another option. “You can stay in here while I brush my teeth and do my hair, but after that you have to leave.”

She nodded her head happily, clutching the boxers in her hand and perching on top of the lid of the toilet, watching him intently. Just like the first time he stayed at this apartment, Dabi had a toothbrush and toothpaste left out for him. He started brushing his teeth, awkwardly aware of Toga staring at him as he did. When he glanced over, she flashed a particularly big smile.

He covered his mouth with his hand and spat, rinsing it with that horrendous water from the apartment. He closed his eyes, leaning down to splash water over his face. When he stood back up, she was standing next to him.

“Time to shower.” She said matter-of-factly, breaking her serious tone by giggling at the end, before grabbing his shirt and yanking it over his head. He struggled to stop her, but between her determination and his bad arm, he ended up shirtless. She threw it across the bathroom, pulling her own T-shirt off and tossing it next to his.

He stared for a moment, taking in the fact that she was completely naked underneath. Fuck. Her cute little tits were swaying as she bounced around happily, his cock starting to harden at the sight. He turned away, determinedly looking at the door instead.

“I don’t need to shower,” he insisted. “Please, put your shirt back on.”

“Oh you are so silly,” She giggled, then wrapped her arms around his waist to start undoing his pants. He could feel her boobs pressed up against his back. “You smell like weed. Of course you need to shower!” Shit. She did actually have a fucking point.

“I think I can handle a shower on my own. Thank you, but really…” he complained, as she managed to undo the zipper, grabbing onto his pants and yanking them down. He cupped his hands over his cock, the best he could with it valiantly trying to get her attention. She disappeared for a second, the shower turning on behind him.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind,” She said, yanking on his arm to pull him over. “I help Dabi shower all the time!” Her voice lowered, and she pulled him down to conspiratorially whisper into his ear. “Sometimes we fuck in the shower.”

“How?” he muttered under his breath. Shouto eyed the shower. Dabi’s shower, like most of his apartment, was the tiniest god-damn shower Shouto had ever used. When he had stayed at the apartment during his suspension, he had barely fit in it alone. He honestly wasn’t even sure that two people could fit in their together, let alone have sex. She took advantage of his distraction, reaching down to touch his erection.

“I will show you!” she beamed.

“No. No, no,” he said, batting her hand away and stepping into the shower, holding his right arm up out of the water to keep the wrap from getting wet.

She jumped in after him, all but squishing him against the cold tile of the shower wall. He needed to hurry and get this over with quickly. She immediately pressed her wet body against his back, wrapping her arms around his waist to hug him. He sighed, trying to ignore the feeling of her tits sliding so smoothly against his back, as she rubbed her hands up and down his body.

He grabbed Dabi’s body wash, trying to one-handedly open it and get some on his palm.

“I can do that,” She exclaimed, noticing him struggle. She grabbed the bottle out of his hand. He held out his palm for her to squirt some in, but she ignored it, squirting a bunch into her hands, and lathering them together. Then she started to wash him, rubbing her hands all over him, soaping up his ass and then his cock until he had to literally force her to stop. As if her naked body wasn’t bad enough, her little soaped-up fingers all over him was really starting to turn him on. The last thing he needed was to go in to school with fucking blue-balls. She giggled, trying to keep going.

“Stop, Toga,” he muttered, using his one hand to try to push her fingers away from his shaft. His other arm was starting to get tired from being held in the air. “I can’t do that right now.”

“I will be really fast,” she cooed, pouting up at him. Soap from his body had rubbed off onto her, and was running down her body. Shit. She still had the fucking heart shaved into her pubic hair. He closed his eyes, pushing away the flood of images that came with that fucking heart.

“No.” He said firmly, determined to take control. “I need help washing my hair.”

She squealed; apparently very happy for him to actually ask for help, and she started shimmying around to get the shampoo.

By the time they were finally getting out of that tiny shower, they had managed to splash water over half the bathroom, dampening a good chunk of his clothes. He still had little bubbles of soap clinging to him. He had stopped her from trying to peek underneath the wrap on his arm a half-dozen times, and his cock was literally begging him to let her finish getting him off. But he gritted his teeth and ignored it. She, of course, was happy as a clam, hopping out and getting them towels. He patted dry as quickly as possible, determined to get his underwear and pants on before she was finished drying.

And he almost made it.

By the time ‘they’ managed to get his school pants on (which were definitely damp), an undershirt (completely soaked), and his school shirt on (dry - thank god), he brushed his hair in record time and all but burst out of the bathroom. Toga had exchanged Dabi’s T-shirt for his blue hoodie and black boxers, and strutted out happily after him.

He was ready to grab his backpack and leave, when the delicious aroma of fresh coffee wafted over him. He walked out to find Dabi in the kitchenette, making coffee for all of them. His brother had on a pair of gray jogging pants and a black tank.

“Oh Dabi!” Toga squealed, “Thank you!”

“What are you doing up?” Shouto asked, exceedingly grateful for the pick-me-up as he took one of the cups.

Dabi smiled. His hair was still messy from sleep, and he looked as tired as Shouto felt.

“You do realize that my bedroom is literally right next to the bathroom. I don’t think you could have been louder if you had actually been having sex in there.” He replied, handing the second cup to Toga. She accepted hers happily, gave Shouto a quick kiss on the cheek, and made her way to the couch, snuggling into the blanket and turning on the TV.

Shouto was blushing. He should have remembered how thin the walls were in this place.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, sipping on his coffee. It was very strong, but he didn’t care.

“It’s fine.” Dabi replied, sipping his own coffee as they watched Toga select some cheesy reality show that Shouto thought looked awful. “Do you want a ride to UA. It’s probably better if you aren’t seen taking the bus out of this neighborhood after the news last night, especially with that wrap on your arm.”
He nodded.

“Thanks,” Shouto mumbled through his coffee. It felt good to have someone there looking out for him.

“I’ll be ready in five,” Dabi replied, disappearing into his bedroom with his coffee. He re-appeared a few minutes later with a black face mask and a black jacket that covered up most of his tattoos.

Shouto followed him out to a tiny back parking area that he hadn’t known existed, and honestly looked like walking through it alone was likely to get you mugged. It was down an alley that led between their apartment building and the next. There was piles of trash all along the alley, and a bum that Shouto hoped was sleeping, tucked up behind a rusted up truck that looked like it hadn’t been driven in years. Shouto followed his brother to the black car that had taken him to the party.

Shouto was nervous about going to class. So much had happened over the break that he wasn’t really ready to go back. Especially everything with Kai. The golden-eyed man had said to be normal, but he wasn’t sure if that was possible. He already felt like he was second-guessing everything. How much of what Kai said was true? How much of what he was being taught at UA was true? Where did he even begin trying to figure out which was which?

And then there was Bakugou. He was an entirely different issue. The way the blonde had helped him after the party, and then sleeping next to each other. His crush on the angry blonde was as strong as ever. And if what Momo said on the phone was any indication, than it was possible that Bakugou was starting to feel the same. But now, he had slept with Kai. And fuck, had he slept with Kai. Sex with the man was absolutely amazing. Just thinking about it made Shouto hard (definitely not helped by all of the extra attention to his cock by a certain pig-tailed temptress). But he had absolutely no idea what their relationship was. Kai had said that Shouto ‘belonged’ to him. But the other man was also fucking Dabi. Or had been, at least. Would Dabi and Kai still fuck now that Kai was sleeping with him? If so, did that mean it was ok if Shouto slept with Bakugou?

He knew it was wrong, but he really liked both of them. He didn’t want to stop seeing either one.

Maybe Dabi would be able to help him figure it out.

“So,” he muttered, hesitating. How do you admit to your brother that you are fucking the same person that he is fucking, after having seen them fucking each other not even a few weeks ago.

“So…” Dabi encouraged him, his eyes focused on the road.

“I spent the night with Kai yesterday,” he mumbled. “We… we, um, slept together.”

“That’s good,” Dabi replied, as if Shouto had just told him it was supposed to rain later or something. “I mean, you probably needed it, after everything with Shigaraki. A really good, forget about everything for a little while, screw. Kai’s a good choice for that. He’s a great fuck.”

Shouto sat there for a minute, not sure how to respond. Dabi was, of course, right. But it wasn’t the reaction he expected.

“You aren’t mad?” he asked, tentatively.

“Mad?” Dabi laughed. “Of course not.”

“But you were already sleeping with him.”

“Yeah, so? Kai and I use each other to blow off steam. It’s just sex. Sex is, ya know… sex.” Dabi shrugged, glancing over at him. “I mean, if it bothers you, than I will stop sleeping with him.”

“Well, how do I know if it’s just sex?” Shouto asked quietly. “I mean, I slept with him. But I was sleeping with Bakugou too. Kai doesn’t know about Bakugou, and I don’t know if he will be mad about it. If I don’t… stop. You know?”

"Why are you asking me this? You should ask Kai." Dabi replied..

"Well you have had sex with him too." Shouto defended himself.

"Sex for me is different, Shouto. I'm not like most people. It's not an emotional thing." Dabi said.

"What do you mean?"

"For most people, sex has an emotional component. Even a one night stand. I used to have that, but after everything with Tak…” he stopped for a second, swallowing. “With my past boyfriends, and now with Tomura. Sex just kind of changed for me. Now it’s like smoking a joint. It's a drug. It's an experience. It's just two people finding physical pleasure in one another. It's amazing, and it makes us feel alive, and then it's done. Yes, Kai and I have sex. And it is fucking great sex. But that's it. Once he leaves my bed, or I leave his, then we are colleagues again. Nothing more.

“That’s it? You don’t have feelings for him?” Shouto asked, not sure if Dabi was telling him the truth, or just trying to make him feel better.

"I'm not kidding,” Dabi continued, “That’s just how I am. It doesn’t matter who I’m with. Hell, you could come home tonight and tell me you wanted to fuck. If I was in the mood, I would take you to my bedroom, strip off your clothes and start kissing you. Once you were in my bed, you wouldn’t be my brother. We would just be two people, finding absolute bliss for a few hours in each other's bodies. It wouldn't matter what we did. I could touch your body… run my hands, my mouth over every inch of it. I could toss you around a bit, take you into my mouth, stroke you off, bury myself inside of you. Make you scream, pull your hair, it wouldn't matter. It's just sex. It's just a physical feeling. Once we were done, and we got dressed and walked back out to the kitchen, you would be my little brother again. As if nothing changed."

Shouto stared out the window, his mind torn between trying to comprehend what his brother was saying and trying not to envision it. Flashes of seeing his brother naked with Kai. Fuck. He shifted, trying to discreetly adjust himself.

This was the last morning that Toga was going to help him get ready.

“Look,” Dabi said after a moment, “it’s not like I go out and fuck just anyone. I am actually pretty damn particular about who I take to bed. I just, once I decide to fuck someone, I don’t let emotions get in the way. Emotions are messy. It’s… it’s how I deal with a lot of shit in my life. Most people aren't like that. That's why I can't answer your question. My answer would be to enjoy the moment. If you want to fuck Kai, then fuck Kai. Fuck Bakugou. Fuck Momo. Invite 'em all over tonight and we can have a fucking orgy. But I know that's not the way most people function.” He stopped, as if thinking for a second. “You’ve only spent one night together. I don't know what is between you and Kai. But if you think there is something real between you two, and you want to keep fucking around with other people, that's a conversation that you and he will have to have. No one else is going to be able to give you an answer.”

Shouto nodded. Dabi was right. He was going to have to talk to Kai. And Bakugou, honestly. The idea was… daunting.

“I guess,” he finally replied.

“Don’t stress it right now. You will have time to figure everything out.” Dabi said. “For now, just focus on getting your arm healed and figuring things out with Enji. You are his successor, Shouto. This isn’t like when he disowned me. He doesn’t have a replacement for you. He isn’t just going to let you go. Hold on to how you felt after standing up to him last night. Because you are going to have to again. And next time fighting him might not be an option.”

Shouto dropped his head against the headrest. Dabi could be right. He had assumed that his father would react like he did with Dabi, but Shouto was his last child. Sure, Endeavor could give his money to Natsuo or Fuyumi, but if he wanted a legacy to take his place as a hero, than Shouto was his last chance.

Shit.

Shouto was even more stressed about going to class by the time they finally pulled up to the building. He got out quickly so Dabi wouldn’t have to worry about being seen. Even with his disguise, if someone were to recognize him, it would be trouble for Dabi.

It wasn’t quite seven yet, but there was already a number of cars in the parking lot. And luckily, the door was unlocked. He stepped inside, glancing around. The university was dark, and there wasn’t anyone that he could see. Shouto hurried down the hall toward Recovery Girl’s office. It felt strange. Most of the lights were still off, so the halls were dim, and there wasn’t a soul around. There was an almost unsettling quiet in the halls, and every step he took echoed slightly off the lockers.

When he finally arrived at her office, he was relieved to to see that she was already there. He stepped in. She was organizing some papers at her desk, and looked up at the sound of the door.

“Young Todoroki,” she greeted him, smiling and hopping down off her chair. She began to walk over, examining the wrap on his arm. “I saw the news last night. I wondered if I might not see you in here this morning. I didn’t expect it to be so early.”

“Good morning, Miss Shuzenji,” he said with a quick bow. “I was hoping that if I came in early, you could have me ready to get to class on time. I’m still a little behind from my suspension, and I can’t really afford to miss anything.”

“Well, that depends on the state of that arm,” she replied, handing him a gown to change into. “You know as well as anyone that my quirk won’t just heal you. It simply speeds up your bodies ability to heal itself. And that takes time and energy. During which you will be here, sleeping. No matter how long it takes.”

He took the gown, inwardly sighing. A gown seemed a bit extreme for treating one arm. But there was no use arguing, so he walked to the bed she pointed to and closed the curtain. He was actually pretty relieved to get out of the wet undershirt. Hopefully it would be dry by the time he woke up. He slid the gown over his boxers, and pushed open the curtain.

“I’m ready,” he said, climbing on to the bed. Recovery girl sat down on the chair next to the bed, giving him a few moments to get comfortable before she started to undo the wrap. She didn’t say anything as she worked, her lips tightening from time to time as she uncovered some of the larger patches of raw skin. It didn’t look better, but at least Dabi’s treatment had kept it from looking worse.

“Frostbite?” she inquired.

“Yeah.” He nodded. It had already ached before, but having the air back on the wounds made it hurt even worse.

“Any other injuries?”

“No. This is it.” He replied. Thanks to Kai, at least. He couldn’t imagine how he would have explained the cuts and decay from Shigaraki and Toga.

“This is the most severe frostbite I have seen on you since you started at UA,” she said as she threw the wrap away and turned his arm in one direction and then another to get a better look.

He didn’t reply. It still wasn’t the worst he had ever had.

“This is going to take a few hours to heal.” She murmured, as she hopped down from her seat and started gathering up a few supplies and setting them on the medical tray next to the bed. “I will inform Aizawa that you will not be in class until later today. Your health is more important than a few class periods.”

He nodded. He wasn’t 100% sure that Aizawa would agree with her. But if he was in here for the morning, than maybe he could avoid most of the questions about the news article. She finished gathering up supplies, before finally sitting down. She motioned for him to lay down, and after he did so, she finally kissed his forehead. Afterward, she sat down and busied herself re-cleaning and wrapping his arm. He had already been tired this morning and it didn’t take long before he fell asleep.

* * * * * *

When Shouto finally woke up, it really was hours later. He had practically missed the entire day; there was only about a period and a half of class left. He hurried to eat the lunch on the table next to him before getting dressed. Recovery girl gave him a cream for his arm, and instructed him to keep it wrapped for the next few days and there was to be zero use of his ice until his skin was fully healed. Then she gave him a large envelope and asked him to deliver it to Aizawa, along with a note about the limits on his quirk use.

Great. He still had to wear the wrap. This one was even bulkier than what Dabi had done. He would have to have Dabi redo it later tonight.

He headed to class. Only stopping briefly at the bathroom to attempt to make his hair look a little better, but quickly gave up and decided it didn’t matter. When he pushed open the door, the class all looked up at him. Momo looked relieved to finally see him, but Bakugou gave him a strange look, almost frowning. Quite a few other students started to squirm a bit, watching him.

“Stay quiet, everyone.” Aizawa instructed, as he stood up and walked over to Shouto. “You only have ten minutes to finish your quiz. No one is getting extended time simply because a classmate distracted you.” Shouto handed his professor the envelope, watching him scan over the note. Aizawa frowned, then finally looked up, speaking quietly. “You can make up the quiz another day. For now, take a seat and keep quiet.”

“Yes, sir,” Shouto replied, turning toward his desk.

“And Todoroki, I need to speak to you after class. Please plan on staying behind for a few minutes after the bell rings.” Aizawa said, heading back to his desk.

“Yes, sir,” Shouto repeated. Shit. Dammit. The last thing he needed was to be lectured by Aizawa. The professor had been watching him like a hawk ever since his suspension. If Aizawa picked up on even a tenth of what happened over the break, Shouto was going to be in trouble. No need to panic, though. He probably just wanted to talk about the missed classes. Maybe the news article. He had no way of knowing anything about what happened with The League or with Kai.

Shouto made his way to his desk, sitting down and tucking his legs underneath the tiny frame. He watched Aizawa open the envelope, the professor’s eyebrows drawing down, his frown deepening. He wondered what Recovery Girl had sent him, the inkling of a bad feeling grew in his stomach. He really hoped that it wasn’t anything about him. If she had seen the mark on his collarbone…

No, that was silly. The mark was on the other side of his body from his frostbite. She would have had to almost completely undress him to see it. But still, when Aizawa looked up and met his eyes, he couldn’t help but feel that the disappointment on his professor’s face was directed at him. He hurried to cast his eyes downward, pretending to dig into his backpack for… something. Anything to look busy. He grabbed his notebook and pencil. And when he peeked up again, the envelope was tucked out of sight, and Aizawa was walking over to start writing something on the board.

“Five minutes,” the professor said over his shoulder. There was a series of groans from around the room. Bakugou stood up to turn his quiz in. Shouto watched the blonde, the anxiety in his stomach getting even worse. He felt so confused about everything with Bakugou and Kai, and he didn’t even know how to begin to sort through his feelings for the two. Bakugou turned to head back to his desk, and Shouto quickly looked around the room so the blonde wouldn’t realize he had been staring.

That’s when he noticed Kaminari, furiously scribbling answers on his quiz. The electric teen was wearing Shouto’s black suit jacket instead of his school jacket. Shouto laughed. The other teen must have taken it home with him. Whatever.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Grateful for the distraction, he looked up to make sure Aizawa’s back was still turned before pulling out his phone and checking the message.

Momo: Need to talk. You. Me. Bakugou. After school.

Shouto glanced up. Aizawa was still busy writing on the chalkboard. He glanced at Momo, who was trying not to look at him, but he could see her phone hidden under her quiz papers.

Shouto: Have to see Aizawa after class.

Momo peeked at her phone, shooting him a quick glance before typing a quick response.

Momo: After. Will wait.

He looked up and nodded at her, quickly stashing his phone in his pocket as Aizawa turned around.

“Times up,” Aizawa said, looking around. “Pencil’s down, and please bring your quizzes to the front of the classroom.”

More groans as the rest of the class shuffled up and added their quizzes to the pile. Aizawa waited until the last person sat down, and then started right on the lecture for the last period. Shouto usually really enjoyed last period, quirk history. It intrigued him, especially the silver and golden age of heroes. Back before everything became so convoluted and corrupt. Aizawa started to go into details for costume development during the golden age. This age saw the use of ‘support’ items becoming a norm within hero society. It was interesting, but Shouto just couldn’t stay focused. The words just kind of blurred together, and before he knew it, the bell was ringing.

Within seconds, his desk was surrounded by pretty much everyone but Momo and Bakugou.

“We saw the news bro, you shredded your house with ice!” Kirishima said excitedly.

“What happened to your arm?” Jirou was asking, inspecting the wrap.

“Did you really discover a new part of your quirk?”

“Your dad must be pissed that you damaged your house!”

The questions quickly started to blend together. Shouto kind-of wished that he could just disappear.

“It was just an accident guys,” he started to say, when Iida started forcing his way through, chopping his arms up and down to make people step back.

“Everybody stand back!” he lectured. “Todoroki needs space. Can you not see that he is injured?”

“He is right everyone,” Aizawa finally spoke up. “There will be time for questions tomorrow. If everyone will please head home.”

The questions died down, and most of the students reluctantly started to shuffle out. Except Izuku.

“Hey Shouto,” he said, clutching a notebook to his chest. “Are you ok? I- I have been worried about you.”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Shouto replied. “Thanks Izuku.”

“Midorya,” Aizawa said firmly.

“Oh… ok sensei,” Izuku stammered, before smiling at Shouto. “Hey, can we talk sometime? I saw the news article about your quirk, and I wondered if I could ask you some questions about it?”

Shouto sighed inwardly.

“Sure,” he replied. There definitely wasn’t enough time to try and explain Endeavor’s lie right now.

“Thanks Shouto!” he said, smiling again. “We’ll see you tomorrow!”

Once Izuku left, Aizawa grabbed his coffee off the desk and headed over, sitting down in the desk next to Shouto.

"I am sure you know why I asked you to stay after class, Todoroki,"

"I am sorry for missing class today, Aizawa-sensei, I was with Recovery Girl. She was supposed to let you know." Shouto replied.

"She did. And the missed classes, although a concern, are not my biggest concern. Shouto, there are a few issues I have been asked to discuss with you. I have seen the news. And Nezu and I ended up in a meeting with your father and the hero commissioner this morning. We were informed of your arrival in Recovery Girl’s office, and while you were sleeping during recovery, your father requested a blood test. Aside from Shuzenji, I am the only one who has seen the results from this test. Results that could lead to your immediate expulsion from this institution. So I expect clear and direct answers to my questions, so that I may decide whether or not to take these results to President Nezu. Do you understand?"

What?! His father asked for them to draw his blood without his consent, and they did?! What in the hell. He should never have gone to Recovery Girl. Fuck. The marijuana. The blood test would show the marijuana from last night. Possibly even the cocaine. He had no idea how long that shit stayed in your system.

"Yes, Sensei."

"Let's begin with yesterday. I want you to explain to me what happened between you and your father." The dark-haired man said, leaning back in the chair and taking a sip of coffee.

"Look, my father and I got into an argument. Things got a little out of hand." Shouto answered reluctantly. He finally stood up to that asshole. No one was willing to acknowledge the abuse, so it's not like they would believe Shouto if he actually explained it. Not really.

"Out of hand?" Aizawa repeated. "Shouto, you destroyed part of your own house using your quirk in a manner that is currently illegal. You are an unlicensed student with a powerful, and potentially lethal quirk. You were warned after the incident with Stain about what would happen if you used your quirk illegally again. The only reason that charges haven't been filed against you, and that the commissioner isn't the one asking you these questions, is that you were on your families private property and your father has declined to press charges. You and I both know that yesterday wasn't just a training accident."

"No, it wasn't a training accident," Shouto snapped.

“So tell me what happened.” Aizawa urged him.

“Why are we even bothering to go through the motions? Even if I tell you what happened, its not going to make a difference. I know you have heard the rumors, everybody has. I know you have figured it out. When you’ve asked me about bruises on my face and arms, and I told you it was from training. You chose to believe me. Because that is easier than acknowledging that Enji Todoroki, one of the wealthiest men and #1 hero is abusive.” Shouto couldn’t believe that he was having to spell it out like this. “I suppose its alright because he isn’t really abusive. Just a little abusive, right? He isn’t controlling. He just wants what is best for his son. So what if Shouto comes in a bit roughed up, he can handle it. He is training to be a hero after all.”

“Todoroki, if your father is abusing you—” Aizawa said, leaning forward.

“If. If?” Shouto could have laughed. Kai was right. There were so many people who didn’t really see Shouto. They just saw the privileged, pampered version of him that Endeavor wanted them to see. “I just told you that he was abusive, and you still don’t want to believe it.”

“If it’s true,” Aizawa said, “then I can help you.”

“Can you? Because every single teacher in this building is a hero. And every one of them has heard the same rumors, and has seen the same bruises that you have. And not one of you has done anything. So I did something. I finally stood up to him, and fought back instead of letting him use me as a punching bag because he is disappointed in me. I hurt myself standing up to him, and I went to Recovery Girl for help. But that was a mistake. Now, because I smoked one joint after confronting my father, to help calm my nerves and dull the pain in my arm, I risk expulsion.”

“You can’t just take justice into your own hands,” Aizawa replied. “That isn’t what being a hero means. But if you let me, maybe I can help you. Your father is on his way to the university now to pick you up. If you would be willing to repeat this for President Nezu, then maybe—”

“My father is coming to pick me up?” Shouto asked, interrupting him.

“Yes,” Aizawa said, “Enji informed us that you withdrew a large amount from your savings. And that you have not been sleeping at your house for the past few nights. But your father is still your legal guardian. You can’t just run away from that.”

Shouto stood up. He was done.

“I am not going back to that house. The last time you suspended me, he broke my collarbone. If you want me to stay and wait for him, then you will have to physically restrain me. Otherwise, this conversation is over. You can choose to expel me or not. I don’t regret what I did yesterday.” Shouto stood up, grabbing his backpack and meeting Aizawa’s eyes. His teacher stared at him for a moment.

“You’re excused,” Aizawa said, a strange tone in his voice. “But I expect to see you early tomorrow to make up the missed work from today.”

“I will see you in class tomorrow, Aizawa-sensei” Shouto said, shouldering his backpack and walking out. He could feel Aizawa’s eyes following him, but he ignored it. If Endeavor was really on his way here, then Shouto wanted to get as far away as possible before he arrived. When he got out in the hall, Momo and Bakugou were sitting on the floor in the hallway. Bakugou was busy playing some weird game, but Momo jumped up the moment he appeared. She took one look at his face, then threw her arms around him.

“Are you ok?” She asked quietly. He took a deep breath, letting the smell of her perfume wash over him for a second before pushing her gently away.

“Yeah,” he replied as Bakugou stood up. “Let’s go. Did you drive today?”

Momo nodded, and the three headed to the car.

Shouto was incredibly frustrated. The idea that the school would draw his blood while he was unconscious bothered him. Did his rights mean nothing to them? He wanted to trust his professors, but this left him feeling… let down.

The ride to Bakugou’s was quiet, pop music playing from the stereo as they drove.

Finally, they made it to Bakugou’s house.

“Look, my parents are back and my mom works from home. So we gotta be quiet and shit when we go in.” Bakugou grumbled as he opened the door. Shouto and Momo both nodded, stepping quietly inside and slipping off their shoes. They followed Bakugou up to his room. Like last time, the room was spotless. Momo quickly claimed the chair by his desk, and Shouto and Bakugou sat on the bed. Shouto sat close to him, leaning up against the wall, but not close enough to actually touch him. He could almost feel a strange tension between them. Just like with Kai, he and Bakugou had never really talked about what was between them.

“How are you feeling, Shou?” Momo began, but before he could answer, Bakugou interrupted him.

“Cut the small talk,” he said grumpily. “What the fuck is going on, Icy-hot?

Shouto closed his eyes, sighing. This is what he had been afraid of.

“For fucks sake,” Bakugou continued when he didn’t answer. “You may not remember everything you told me after the party, but we know that you are involved with the fucking League of Villains. And today, we came to check on you. Tits was worried about your fucking stitches. We get in there. No sign of Recovery Girl. So we checked the stitches, and they were gone. 100%, completely gone. That isn’t even fucking possible. And what the hell is that mark on your shoulder?”

Shit. He couldn’t remember everything he told Bakugou after the party, but he had been hoping that the blonde would chalk it up to the cocaine. Apparently not. And now they had seen the mark on his shoulder.

Shit!

He was going to have to tell them what was going on, at least some things.

“Fine,” Shouto agreed. “I will tell you some of what is going on, but you have to swear that you won’t tell anyone. It could literally be a matter of life and death. Not just for me, but for you too. If the wrong person finds out I told you, they could come after you guys. I’m just trying to get my head above water. It’s not too late for you guys to just drop this. What you want to know can hurt you.”

“Shou, you are scaring me.” Momo replied, her shoulders tense.

“Fuck no, halfie,” Bakugou scoffed. “You’re going to tell us what the fuck is going on. You owe us an explanation.”

Shouto sighed. Shit. They already knew enough. Too much. If he didn’t tell them, who knew what they would do to try to figure it out.

“I found my brother. A few weeks ago, after the attack at the training camp.” Shouto started.

“You found Touya!” Momo looked up, a smile crossing her face. “Shouto that’s amazing! You have been looking for him for years. How… wait. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“I couldn’t tell you. I’m still not supposed to. It’s a long story, but he… he didn’t run away. My father made him leave. He was hurt, and he had nowhere to go. He ended up going to a friend. And then once he was better, he joined a group of what he thought was vigilantes. And now…” He stopped for a second. Bakugou and Momo were both watching him. “He’s a member of the League of Villains.”

Chapter Text

“What in the fuck?” Bakugou whipped his head around to stare at Shouto.

“No,” Momo shook her head. “There is no way! Touya is… was… going to be a hero.”

“I… um,” Shouto continued, his voice dropping slightly. He could feel the tension practically radiating off of Bakugou. “I thought I recognized him during the attack at the training camp. I started searching everything I could about The League online, and he eventually contacted me. The night I went to the club, it was to meet him. He tried to warn me that night… he told me to forget about him. And I was going to. I was getting ready to head home when I ran into those two girls who gave me the ecstasy—”

“Ecstasy? I thought you said you smoked a fucking joint!” Bakugou exclaimed. Shouto ignored him, trying to just press forward with the story.

“Yeah, and um. I was too far gone to get home safely. He found me and took me to his apartment. He gave me the choice to have him in my life or not, and I couldn’t say no. It was selfish, but I just wanted to have my brother back. Even if he was a villain.”

“Who the fuck is your fucking brother?” Bakugou snapped.

“Does it matter?” Shouto asked.

“Yeah, it fucking matters.” Bakugou snapped. “I spent two days with those assholes, and I met every damn one of them. I have a hard time believing that you are related to any of those fuckers.”

Shit. Like it mattered at this point. If Bakugou or Momo went to their professor, it wouldn’t take the heroes long to make the connection. Just like Kai said, Dabi’s eyes were so distinct. And if they looked at other similarities, he shared more physical characteristics with Dabi than any other member of the league. They would figure it out. He just had to pray that Bakugou and Momo wouldn’t betray his confidence. Surely, there had to be some people that he could trust.

“Dabi,” he said. “Touya’s name in the League of Villains is Dabi.”

“Fucking Dabi?” Bakugou spat. “That tattooed asshole is your fucking brother? He was the dick that kidnapped me in the first place! He’s Shigaraki’s fucking right hand man!”

“The villain with the blue fire?” Momo gasped. “But you said that he almost killed Midorya! I… I can’t believe that Touya would do that.”

“He did almost kill Midorya. And yeah, he kidnapped you,” Shouto repeated. He knew how it must sound, him deciding to pursue having Dabi in his life. Crazy. Absolutely crazy. “And he has hurt lots of other people. That’s why I couldn’t tell anyone. I didn’t think that anyone would understand. You don’t know what happened when he left. No one does. He lost everything, including himself. He told me the first day I met him that Touya was dead. But I didn’t believe it. I couldn’t give up on him.”

“Are you fucking stupid?!” Bakugou gasped. “That’s how you got involved with the fucking League? How you ended up at that fucking party. Your own brother let them do that to you?”

“No!” Shouto replied quickly. “He didn’t even want me involved with The League. But I messed up, and—”

“Oh so you messed up and he was forced to introduce you to those bastards!”

“Bakugou, please!” Momo interrupted. “Let him tell us what happened.”

“… fine.” Bakugou replied, sitting back grumpily against the wall. “I can’t believe that fucking asshole is your brother.”

Shouto glared at him, but it didn’t even phase the blonde.

“Anyway,” Shouto continued, “After I got suspended, I went to Mina’s party because I didn’t want to deal with my father. When I got home that night, Endeavor was waiting for me. We got into an argument and he ended up breaking my collarbone on accident.”

“What?!” Momo exclaimed. “He broke your collarbone!”

“Tch… fucking accident.” Bakugou grumbled. “I doubt that.”

“I couldn’t stand the thought of being alone in that house with him for seven days. So I went to Dabi’s.”

“I went to Dabi’s… excuse me, I just decided to go hang with my fucking villain-ass brother while I was suspended.” Bakugou grumbled under his breath. He knew Bakugou was going to be pissed. He didn’t blame the blonde, but it definitely was not making this easier.

He sighed, continuing the story as if Bakugou hadn’t said anything.

“Dabi wasn’t home. I told him I was going to leave on Monday, and then I didn’t. I wasn’t ready to come home. On Wednesday night, he came home unexpectedly in the middle of the night, with company. They were distracted and didn’t see me at first. They were pretty focused on each other, so I decided to wait for them to go to the bedroom and close the door. They didn’t, and I ended up over-hearing some things that I wasn’t supposed to hear. The guy Dabi brought home was with the Yakuza, and was trying to get Dabi to join. Before I could leave, he saw me.”

“Great. First the League, and now the fucking Yakuza. Your brother sounds like a real fucking role model.”

“Shou, the Yakuza are even more dangerous than the League.” Momo said. She sounded horrified.

“Yeah, well… the guy recognized me. He was fucking pissed, and I think he might have killed me. But Dabi admitted that I was his brother. Then the guy came over and…” Shit. Shouto didn’t want to name him as Kai or Overhaul. Momo knew who Kai was, and knew that Shouto was sleeping with Kai. She would flip her lid if she figured out that he had knowingly had sex with a Yakuza gang member. But if they told someone, and mentioned Overhaul, Kai would be livid. Shouto wasn’t entirely certain Kai might not hurt him if he felt like Shouto had betrayed him. “Well, he had a really strange quirk. He ended up healing my collarbone, but when he did, he left this mark behind. As a reminder that he could have killed me, and that I was in his debt.” Shouto pulled the neck of his T-shirt down to reveal the mark once more. He covered it back up almost right away. He didn’t really want them looking too closely at it.

Momo stared at him as if she couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth.

“So you’re a member of the fucking Yakuza?” Bakugou almost seemed beside himself. “And in all of this, you didn’t think to tell a single person that any of this was happening?”

“I’m still not supposed to tell a single person.” Shouto snapped, irritated with Bakugou. It was clear the blonde was angry, but he was the one who demanded the truth. “Do you think this has been easy, Bakugou? Do you think I didn’t want to tell anyone? You don’t get it. The League. The Yakuza. They don’t mess around. If they think you are a threat to their secrecy, they kill you. It’s as simple as that. When I say that I’m serious about you not telling anyone else about tonight, I really am serious. If they find out I told you, they will kill me. And they may likely kill you. And anyone you tell. No one would even know because it would look like an accident. You have no idea how dangerous these people are.

Everything went quiet. Even Bakugou shut up. Shouto took a deep breath.

After a minute, he continued.

“After that, I started to get really stressed about the mark. I was worried that someone would see it, and recognize it. So I asked Dabi to arrange something so that I could see the guy again. I was going to try and get on his good side so that he would take the mark away, I guess. And there was this get together that they were having with the League of Villains. He was going to be there. So I agreed to go. I knew it was a risk, but I thought I would be fine because Dabi was going to be there.”

“Wait…” Momo said, quietly. “Was that the night you called us to come and get you?”

“Yeah,” Shouto replied. “It didn’t exactly go according to plan. They made me wear a quirk-suppressing bracelet, and when I got to there, they had a nomu. Shigaraki told me that if I didn’t do everything he said, that I wouldn’t be leaving the party. Then he sent Dabi away on a delivery. I was a little worried, but I figured the other guy would be there soon, and I didn’t think he would let Shigaraki touch me. But he ended up not being able to come. Shigaraki made me do cocaine, and then Toga was starting to take off my clothes. Shigaraki saw the mark on my shoulder, and he got really angry. He decayed it, and then he had Toga cut me up, and then they…”

“Fuck, you don’t have to say it,” Bakugou growled, interrupting him.

Momo started crying.

“I didn’t know that it was the League that did that to you.” She ran over and climbed onto the bed with them, putting her head into Shouto’s shoulder, and wrapping her arms around him. “I’m so sorry. You must have been so scared.”

“It’s ok,” he murmured softly, pulling her up against his chest. “I’m alright now.”

“That still doesn’t explain the fucking stitches.” Bakugou said.

“Oh, yeah,” Shouto realized the blonde was right. “Well, umm… after Endeavor came and got me the next morning.” Shit. Momo already knew he had spent that night with Kai. She was going to figure it out. But there was no other way to explain how all of the stitches were gone, and the mark was back. “Well, the other guy invited me to his place—”

“WHAT?!” Momo sat straight up, wiping at her cheeks, mouth hanging open. “Kai?! Kai is a member of the Yakuza, and you…?”

“I went over to his house and he healed me, again.” Shouto blurted out quickly, just trying to finish the story.

“And then you didn’t fucking go home.” Bakugou sneered. “I know because your father came looking for you that night. So you go over to this guy’s place, that you barely fucking know, and he heals you and re-brands you like you are his fucking property. Then what? You have a fucking tea party and sleep on his couch? Tch. I fucking doubt that. I can’t fucking believe it.” Bakugou climbed off the bed, and started pacing, glaring at him.

“I’m sorry, alright,” Shouto replied, “I didn’t mean to sleep with him. It just happened.”

“Oh yeah,” Bakugou snapped, “You were minding your own business and his dick just accidentally ended up in your ass. You are fucking unbelievable! First you’re engaged. Then you tell me that you like me. And then you ‘accidentally’ fuck someone else. FUCK!”

“Bakugou, calm down,” Momo tried to step in, climbing down off the bed and taking a step toward the angry blonde.

“No. Stay out of this, tits. You aren’t involved with this.” Bakugou replied.

“Excuse me, Bakugou?” Momo retorted, “I have been supporting Shou since we were kids, including the last few weeks that he has been mooning over the biggest asshole in our entire class. You stick your dick in him a couple times, and you think that makes you more qualified than me? You are pissed that he slept with someone else. I’m pissed that my best friend’s life might be in danger.”

She stopped for a second, glancing back and forth between them.

“Still, its obvious that you two need to talk about a few things,” She finally said. “So I am going to go home.”

“Momo, please don’t tell anyone,” Shouto begged, a jolt of panic shooting through him. He wasn’t sure if she understood how truly important it was that she stay quiet. “Please!”

“I trust you, Shou. So I won’t say anything,” she said as Bakugou kept pacing back and forth. “But I’m worried about you. Please, call me when you get home, ok? Wait… where are you staying? You’re not staying with Kai, are you?”

Bakugou growled angrily.

“No,” Shouto hurried to stop that train of thought. “No. I am… um, staying with my brother.”

“Fucking wonderful,” Bakugou scoffed. Momo gave Shouto an unreadable look, than nodded slowly.

“Fine. Call me when you get back to his apartment, k?”

“Ok” he replied, as Momo gathered up her backpack and bag, quietly slipping out the door.

“You are such a fucking asshole, Icy-hot.” Bakugou grumbled as the door closed behind her, and Shouto watched Bakugou continue to pace back and forth. He didn’t blame the blonde for being upset. But it wasn’t like they were dating. It’s not like Shouto had cheated on him. Hell, when Shouto told Bakugou that he liked him, Bakugou had forcibly pushed him out of the house. After the party, it had felt so good, so comforting the night he slept next to Bakugou. But that could have just been pity. Shouto had just been raped after all. It’s not like the blonde had returned his confession.

He lay down on the bed, resting on his hand. Bakugou glared at him, and finally stopped, turning to stare at him.

“Did you actually have sex with him? Like sex, sex? Or was it like with me in the locker room, like…” Bakugou trailed off, refusing to meet his eyes.

Shouto leaned over, and took Bakugou’s hand, pulling him down on the bed next to him. The blonde moved stiffly, but he let Shouto guide him. God, the guy smelled good, faintly like burnt sugar. It reminded him of that night at Mina’s house, the first night he had gone down on the blonde.

“Like hate sex?” Shouto asked, with a hint of amusement. There really was no other way to describe what had happened that day. “Like when you and I had amazing hate sex in the locker room? You felt so fucking good inside of me that you made me cum all over the locker room floor.”

“Fuck,” Bakugou groaned, closing his eyes and pushing his head back into the pillows. “Yeah. Like that.”

“Does it matter? Do you really want to know?” Shouto asked. His conversation with Dabi kept running through his mind. If you feel like there is something between you, then you should talk about it. Was there actually something between him and Bakugou? He thought so. But he honestly wasn’t sure. But talking about being with the other blonde. Having him lying here, next to Shouto. The fucking smell of burnt sugar filling up his senses. Shouto really, really wanted to fuck him again.

“No,” Bakugou grumbled.

Shouto wrapped his arm around Bakugou’s waist, and leaned in to kiss the side of his neck.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Bakugou jumped, trying to sit up. Shouto pulled the other back toward him and pushed him down on the bed. He leaned over Bakugou, kissing him deeply, and dipping his tongue inside of the blonde’s hot mouth when he tried to complain. After enjoying the taste of the blonde for quite a few moments, he pulled away and looked down at him.

“What do you think I am doing?” Shouto replied, leaning back down to kiss him again.

“You are literally the most conceited ass I have ever met.” Bakugou glowered, pushing Shouto off of him and against the wall. Bakugou sat up, glaring at Shouto once more. “We are arguing about you fucking another guy and you decide that right now is the perfect moment to fucking seduce me? You arrogant mother-fucking… God you drive me crazy!”

“Don’t you want me to seduce you?” Shouto asked, running a single finger down Bakugou’s arm. “That’s why you are so angry with me. You wanted to be the one fucking me this weekend. Well, here I am. And I want you, Bakugou.”

“Fuck you.”

Shouto moved quickly, climbing into Bakugou’s lap, straddling him, and cupping Bakugou’s jaw in both of his hands, tilting the teen’s red eyes up to meet his blue and gray. Bakugou’s pupils were blown wide with lust, and he could feel the blonde’s erection against him through the stiff fabric of their jeans.

“I want you. I want to feel you inside of me.” He whispered, his mouth inches from Bakugou’s.

The blonde growled angrily as his hands wrapped around Shouto’s waist and pulled him forward to capture his mouth. Bakugou’s kiss was fervent and angry. His finger’s dug into his sides as Bakugou bit down on Shouto’s lower lip, not enough to draw blood, but enough to send a pang of desire straight to Shouto’s groin. He opened his mouth, letting the blonde slide his tongue inside, exploring his mouth. Shouto reached down, grabbing onto the bottom of Bakugou’s shirt and pulling it up and over his head. They broke the kiss enough to get the unwanted garment off, before Shouto shoved Bakugou back into the pillows.

Then he took off his school jacket, tossing it next to the bed and his T-shirt. He could feel Bakugou’s dick pulse against his ass as the blonde’s gaze raked over his chest. But then he saw the mark on Shouto’s shoulder, and his eyes narrowed. Shouto could almost feel his lust turning to anger as Bakugou started to push himself up.

“Fuck this,” he snapped. But Shouto wasn’t about to lose. Before Bakugou could push him away, he grabbed both of Bakugou’s wrists in his hands and pushed the blonde’s arms over his head, trapping his hands against the mattress with his own. Using his weight to hold the other down, he leaned down to kiss Bakugou once more. He loved the slightly rough feeling of Bakugou’s mouth on his, although it took a moment for Bakugou to relax enough to start kissing him back. He moved his hips down slightly so that his erection was pressed up against Bakugou’s, grinding them together. Bakugou moaned into his mouth.

“Do you have lube?” Shouto asked, breathless and panting from their kiss.

“I can’t fucking believe…” Bakugou struggled to pull his hands free, and Shouto had to use his full strength to keep the blonde in place. Shouto pushed his crotch down harder against the other, moving his hips slowly up and down. After a few moments, Bakugou gave up, glaring at him. “In the back of the fucking nightstand. But we have to hurry this shit up, my mom’s going to be coming up to get us for dinner soon.”

Shouto gave him a quick kiss, and then used his right side to freeze Bakugou’s hand to the bed frame. He knew Recovery Girl would disapprove, but he didn’t care, he wanted the blonde to stay right where he left him.

“What the fuck,” Bakugou complained as Shouto leaned over and pulled the drawer open. For such an organized guy, this drawer was a mess. There were all sorts of papers and random odds and ends, a box of condoms, and… a smut magazine? He grinned, pulling it out so that it fell open to reveal an almost completely nude male model with dark hair and large tribal tattoos running down the guys arms.

“More than lube, I see,” he teased the blonde.

“Tch. It’s a fucking gag gift from shitty hair,” Bakugou defended himself, glaring at the seemingly offensive magazine.

“Sure,” Shouto smirked at him, setting the magazine on the desk and digging back into the drawer for the lube. He finally found the bottle, pulling it out triumphantly. He climbed off the blonde just long enough to pull both his and Bakugou’s pants off, before straddling him again.

“Can you hurry the fuck up, princess? I’m losing feeling in my fingertips.” Bakugou grumbled.

Shouto hurried to coat two fingers with lube, reaching behind himself and slipping both into his ass, scissoring them outward to prep himself for the blonde. Shouto wasn’t used to fingering himself, but he pushed them in as far as he could. After a minute, he lubed up Bakugou’s cock and mounted him, pushing himself down onto the blonde. He hadn’t prepped himself quite enough, and he had to go slowly as he stretched himself on the blonde’s cock.

“Fuck,” Bakugou groaned as Shouto finally sat back, the blonde’s entire shaft seated deeply up inside of him.

Shouto leaned forward, giving himself time to adjust, and heated up his left hand to melt the ice and warm up Bakugou’s fingers. The blonde pulled his arms down, grabbing onto Shouto’s sides, and grinding upward, pushing his cock slightly deeper inside of him.

Shouto groaned, slowly grinding his hips back and forth to ride the blonde, the stretch starting to fade into pleasure.

“Shit… you feel so fucking good,” Bakugou moaned lowly, reaching over and wrapping his hand around Shouto’s cock. Shouto gasped, the sensation of finally being touched was almost overwhelming. Shouto sped up his rhythm, enjoying the feeling of Bakugou’s cock occasionally rubbing against his prostate as their bodies moved together.

Shouto closed his eyes, focusing on moving his hips just right to get the other to gasp and moan. He knew they needed to be fast, but he loved the feeling of Bakugou’s muscles tensing and un-tensing with pleasure against his skin. The little noises that the blonde made as he was trying to stifle his groans. He wanted to make Bakugou forget about everything else for a little while and get lost in the feeling of Shouto around him.

“I’m…” Bakugou growled, his hips thrusting up to meet Shouto’s movements. His thighs taut as he fucked up into Shouto, and he was certain the blonde was getting close. “Fuck…”

Shouto sped up his rhythm. Bakugou’s strokes on his cock were getting sloppy, the blonde was losing focus. Suddenly, he grabbed onto Shouto’s hips, and thrust up deeply, moaning as he came. Shouto was so turned on, he didn’t want to lose the feeling of Bakugou inside of him before he got off, so he hurried to start stroking himself, enjoying the soft pulses of Bakugou’s cock as the blonde slowly came down from his orgasm. A few minutes later, just as Bakugou was starting to soften enough to slide out of him, Shouto came, painting the blonde’s abs with his cum.

“God, you fucking got it all over,” Bakugou complained, as Shouto closed his eyes, continuing to stroke himself until the last little bit of his orgasm had dripped out onto the other teen. Shouto panted, finally opening his eyes and meeting Bakugou’s red ones.

“Yeah,” Shouto managed between breaths, “and you fucking liked it.”

“Tch.” Bakugou scoffed, and started to push Shouto off.

Suddenly the door swung open, and Bakugou’s mom, Mitsuki, popped her head in.

“Are you brats ready for—” her words died in her mouth as she took in the scene before her. Shouto could only imagine what they looked like. Stark fucking naked with Shouto straddling her son, Bakugou’s cock still half-inside of him, Bakugou’s stomach glistening with cum. Shouto quickly covered his cock, his entire body flushing under the older woman’s gaze.

“Agh!” Bakugou shrieked, pulling the blanket over them, and managing to smear it all over the cum on his stomach. “Get the fuck out!”

She stared, open-mouthed, as if she was frozen in place.

“NOW!” Bakugou screamed, seeming to pull her out of her reverie. She quickly shook her head, and ducked out. Bakugou pushed Shouto off of him, the blonde’s cum dripping down Shouto’s thighs and making an even bigger mess.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed. We can talk about this…” Mitsuki’s voice came through the door. Just like her son, she was loud and abrasive, but at least she was trying to be understanding.

“Seriously, hag, go the fuck away!” Bakugou yelled, getting up and stalking over to his dirty laundry basket, grabbing a towel and throwing it at Shouto.

“Don’t talk to your mother like that, you brat!” She yelled, Bakugou groaned with embarrassment as he used a T-shirt to wipe Shouto’s cum off his stomach. “Dinner’s ready. Your… friend is welcome to stay too.”

Shouto chuckled. He picked up the towel, smelling it suspiciously before resignedly cleaning himself off with it. Bakugou glared at him.

“You going to invite me to dinner?” Shouto asked. It was a half-hopeful joke. It would be awkward as hell, yes, but he hadn’t eaten anything besides the noodles in recovery girls office all day. He was mentally and emotionally exhausted. Between that and the sex, he was starving. And if his brother’s apartment was anything like normal, the kitchen was probably pretty minimally stocked. Dabi wasn’t exactly the happy home-maker type.

“Fuck no, you asshole,” Bakugou growled, pulling on a pair of black underwear and stalking around stiffly. He was definitely pissed about the sex. Shit.

“Look, I—” Shouto began, trying to diffuse some of tension, but Bakugou whirled around, and interrupted him.

“Just… shut up, Icy-hot.” Bakugou snapped, “You don’t fucking get it. All of this is some fucking game to you.”

“That’s not true,” Shouto replied, his own temper flaring. Shouto cared about the blonde. He had liked Bakugou for months. How dare that fucking asshole say that. Just because shit was fucking complicated.

“My parent’s don’t… didn’t even know I was fucking gay,” he said, stepping up into Shouto’s face. “I’m their only fucking child. And my mom is always asking when I’m gonna get a girlfriend, and talking about once she has grandkids and shit. I’m not like you. I don’t get to choose whether I’m in the mood for pussy or fucking dick. I’m gay. I don’t want to be with a woman. My mom is going to be… Fuck. I wasn’t ready to fucking tell them.”

“There is nothing wrong with being gay,” Shouto replied. He wanted to touch Bakugou, to comfort him. He knew exactly how it felt to worry about whether your parents would be willing to accept you. He knew what it felt like when they didn’t. Surely the Bakugou’s would be more accepting than his father. Shouto decided to risk it, he stepped forward, putting his hand on the blonde’s cheek and tilting his head upward just slightly. “They don’t get to choose. They will accept it or they won’t. But not having to hide is worth taking that risk. Trust me.”

“Yeah, and how did that fucking turn out for you?” Bakugou sneered, pulling his head away. Shouto dropped his hand. “Now put your fucking clothes on and get the fuck out.”

“I could stay,” Shouto offered as he started to get dressed, ignoring the blonde’s jibe.

“Pft. So what? I could introduce you as my fuck buddy? That has a nice ring to it. I think it’s really going to make the hag feel better about all this. Especially after seeing us… you think she wants to make small talk with you when she is going to see you sitting naked on my cock with your fucking cum all over my stomach every fucking time she looks at you. I’m sure that’s going to add a nice touch to the whole “I like men” conversation.”

Bakugou’s hands were started to spark. Shouto could tell he was getting riled up.

“What do you want from me then?” Shouto asked, he was frustrated too. It wasn’t his fault that Bakugou’s mom had walked in at the wrong moment. He just wanted to help the stubborn blonde. Dammit!

“I fucking want YOU, Shouto!” He yelled, then clamped his mouth shut. His eyes going wide as he realized what he had just said.

Shouto stared at him. His mind reeled as he tried to take in the meaning behind those words. The blonde wanted him. Not Icy-hot, or halfie, or princess. He wanted Shouto.

“What?” Shouto managed, not sure how to reply. Not sure if there was even a right way to reply.

“Shit,” Bakugou cursed. “You are so fucking stupid. I fucking like you too, okay? That makes everything worse. I want to be with you.”

Shouto’s heart started to race.

“Then be with me.” Shouto replied. “Just like today. There is nothing stopping us.”

Bakugou stalked back over, jabbing his finger into Shouto’s collarbone. Although he already had his shirt on, he knew it was almost exactly where Kai’s mark was.

“He is stopping us. Your brother is stopping us. The drugs. The fucking League of Villains. The Yakuza. Your life is a fucking mess right now, whether you are willing to acknowledge it or not. I’m not going to tell anyone whats going on. Not yet, at least. You need to get this shit figured out, before you end up in a fucking ditch somewhere. But I am not as fucking stupid as you are. I don’t want to get caught up in that shit. Even if I did. Even if I was willing to deal with everything else! I am not gonna lie in bed at night wondering if you are out fucking that guy. So if you want to be with me, than you have to be with me. Just me.”

“I…” Shouto struggled. He did want to be with Bakugou. But he also wanted to be with Kai, and he had to be with Kai. The golden-eyed man had made it very clear that he intended them to be intimate, maybe even have an actual relationship. Just being here with Bakugou was a risk. He didn’t know how Kai would react if he found out that Shouto was fooling around with other people. He couldn’t give Bakugou what he wanted. “It’s complicated, Bakugou.”

Bakugou turned away, his shoulders sagging.

“It’s not fucking complicated, princess. Either you are with me, or you are with him.”

Shouto’s heart ached, his stomach churning.

“I…” there was nothing Shouto could say to make things better. The blonde saw things in black and white. “I should go.”

“Yeah. You fucking should.” Bakugou replied, hollowly.

Shouto picked up his backpack, glancing over at the blonde, whose back was still turned to him. Shouto felt… crushed. He couldn’t even blame the blonde. How could he? Shouto’s life really was a mess. And he hated that it had hurt the blonde. But Bakugou would never, could never understand. Even after everything that Shouto had told him, he would never understand the decisions that had led him to this moment.

He walked to the door, opening it up.

“I’m sorry, Katsuki,” he murmured, stepping out and closing the door behind him. He could feel tears prickling at the corners of his eye, and he hurried to wipe them away. He had expected this. He shouldn’t even be surprised. Of course the blonde wasn’t going to want anything to do with him now that he was tied up with both the League and the Yakuza. He sent a quick text to Dabi, asking for a ride home. Then he walked, as quietly as possible, down the stairs and toward the entryway. He could hear two people arguing from another room. One of them was definitely Mitsuki, and Shouto guessed the other one was Bakugou’s father, Masaru. They were arguing about Bakugou having sex. It was to be expected. Still, Shouto hoped that they would be accepting once Bakugou sat down and told them how he felt.

He slipped on his shoes and quietly stepped out the front door. Dabi wasn’t going to get there for a bit, the apartment was a good drive away from this neighborhood. So Shouto started walking in the general direction of the apartment. His thoughts were racing through his mind about a million miles an hour, and he couldn’t stand still.

He had only made it a few blocks when he heard someone running behind him. He turned around, surprised to see Bakugou jogging after him. The teen had on his school pants and a black T-shirt, inside out. Shouto stopped, waiting for the other teen to catch up. When he finally did, the blonde pulled him into an embrace and kissed him on the lips. He was breathing hard, so it only lasted a second before Bakugou had to pull back to catch his breath.

“Figure this mess out… Get your fucking shit together, Shouto. You can still choose me.” Bakugou spoke quietly, but he looked directly into Shouto’s eyes as he spoke, an almost challenging glint in his. He didn’t give Shouto a chance to reply, turning around and walking back toward the house. Shouto watched him, all the way until the blonde’s tiny form disappeared into his house. He didn’t look back once.

Fuck!

Dabi was right. Emotions are messy.

* * * * * *

The next few days passed in a strange haze. Living with Dabi and Toga was so different from anything he had ever known. Dabi was gone a lot, although Shouto loved it when he was home. His brother would bring home take-out in the evenings and they would watch an old movie or hang out and smoke. Toga was always there, at first. And she clung to Shouto like a lost puppy when he was at the apartment. No matter what he did, she was right there. Until Wednesday rolled around, and Shigaraki called and asked her to come back to the base. And she was happy as can be about that too, going on and on about how excited she was to see ‘her Shiggy’ again until Shouto almost wanted to throw up. He hated hearing her gush about the decaying leader. It had been almost a week, and he still couldn’t forget being touched by the man.

By the time she left, Shouto was relieved. Things were quiet, and the apartment felt a little more like home.

UA, on the other hand, was a completely different situation. Although Aizawa didn’t treat him differently than any other student, he kept looking up to catch the professor looking at him. They would meet eyes for a moment and the dark-haired man would look away. Shouto felt like he was under observation and he didn’t like it. With everything else, it was hard to stay focused during class time. And even during his physical training, which Kai had urged him to embrace, all Aizawa let him do was run laps until Recovery Girl approved him for full quirk usage.

Luckily the questions about his arm and the incident at his house died down pretty quickly. But it was still hard to sit around and talk with his friends. The school had just announced that training was to begin for their Provisional Licensing Exam, and it was all anyone wanted talk about. For the students, especially the students in the heroics course, it was the first official step to becoming a hero. Whenever he thought about the exam, Shouto just felt… confused. Empty. And it left him feeling even more disconnected from his peers. Especially since Momo seemed much quieter than usual. They hadn’t found a chance to talk again since that night at Bakugou’s. Although she still texted him every day, even her texts felt more reserved. Her fun, sexy, playful nature was subdued. And he hated it.

Then there was Bakugou, who literally avoided Shouto like the plague. The blonde refused to speak to him, to look at him, to acknowledge that he existed. Even their normal rivalry was absent in the wake of Bakugou pretending that he wasn’t there. Apparently the talk with his parents had gone alright. Because the blonde finally came out to his closer friends early that week. Of course, that included Mina, so the news spread pretty quickly. Shouto heard about it on Thursday at lunchtime from Ochako. She just kept asking everyone if they could even believe it. Then she kept elbowing Izuku and winking at him. Izuku turned a bright red, and wouldn’t even look at Shouto. The whole thing made Shouto feel sick to his stomach, so he finally excused himself and spent the rest of the lunch period in the upstairs bathroom.

On Friday morning, after Present Mike took over for language arts, Aizawa pulled Shouto from class to accompany him to the office. An immediate dread filled him as he remembered the blood test results, and he had a feeling he knew exactly what was about to happen. He gathered up his backpack, ignoring the snide jokes that Mineta was making about him being in trouble, and followed his professor.

Aizawa seemed especially quiet as they walked, which made Shouto certain that his suspicions were correct.

But when they got to the office, Aizawa did not take him to President Nezu like he expected. Instead, he led Shouto into an empty office that looked like it was mostly used for storage. He motioned for Shouto to take a seat, and pulled out a large stack of papers, setting them on the desk and sitting across from him.

“After our talk the other day, I took the liberty of beginning the process to file a domestic violence charge against your father.” Aizawa began, staring tiredly at Shouto as he spoke. “I was able to use my own testimony of hearing that he broke your collar bone, as well as a written statement from Miss Yaoyorozu that she has witnessed him strike you in person.”

Shouto stared, mouth hanging open. He had sat down expecting to be expelled, not… not this. Aizawa actually believed him? Not only that, but the already exhausted professor had taken the time to try and help him. Shouto was, honestly, speechless.

“I am going to be honest,” Aizawa continued, “and tell you that the charges are shaky. I have been involved in more of these types of cases then I care to remember, and I know what the courts will look for. Because you haven’t sought medical help after any of these incidents, there is no physical evidence to support your case. Second-hand testimony is not going to be enough. Your father, although known for his temper, has an almost impeccable record. You, on the other hand, already have multiple marks against you for various reasons. This isn’t going to be an easy case, and I am going to need your direct involvement with both the paperwork and testimony if there is to be even a chance of your father being found guilty of domestic violence.”

“Is it even worth it?” Shouto asked. It didn’t sound like there was a lot of hope for success.

“That’s what you have to decide.” Aizawa replied. “I can tell you, however, what it would do. It would give you three weeks with a temporary restraining order against your father, even if the charges are dropped. Your father is angry. He wants you back under his roof. This paperwork being filed is the only reason that he has not forcibly taken you from UA premises already. If we drop this case, you will be back at the Todoroki mansion.”

Shouto stared at the papers between them. He couldn’t live with Endeavor again. He didn’t want to leave Dabi’s apartment. The lack of privacy; his almost non-existent wardrobe; his brothers insanely unhealthy diet of coffee, cigarettes, and take-out; even the days with Toga following him around like a second shadow. It was still better than living in that cold mansion with his father, wondering what mood Endeavor would be in when he got home that night. He finally had some semblance of freedom. The thought of being forced to return to the mansion, it made him feel physically ill.

He could always ask Kai to step in and help him instead. If the Yakuza were really as powerful as Kai said, then surely they could do something. But what would that look like? Kai had already killed for him, and he had told Shouto that he would kill Endeavor if the man touched him again. How far would the man go if Shouto asked for his help?

So far, his new life as part of the Shie Hassaikai hadn’t changed anything, just like Kai said. In fact, he hadn’t spoken to the golden-eyed man since that single text after he confronted his father. He wanted to. Especially after everything with Bakugou. He craved Kai’s attention, the intensity that Kai had when he looked at Shouto, his passion when he spoke, the feeling of his hands on Shouto’s skin. But he also knew that eventually Kai would expect his help with Yakuza business. And the more attention he drew to himself, the faster that was likely to happen. He didn’t know what that would mean, but he kept remembering the night he saw Kai and Dabi together. They had just returned from a Yakuza mission, and Dabi had killed for the golden-eyed man, and burnt down an entire facility. Shouto knew he wasn’t ready for that.

So maybe this was his best option. A guaranteed few weeks of freedom, at least. If the case ended up being dropped, he could always ask for Kai’s help later. But maybe… just maybe they could win. He could win. He could expose Endeavor for his abuse, and the man may actually have to answer for his actions.

“Alright,” he agreed, looking back up to meet Aizawa’s dark eyes. “We will file the case. What do I need to do?”

Chapter Text

Finishing the paperwork for the case was a nightmare. There was page after page of information needed. And after the first dozen pages, every one after was just an annoying request for repeated information. Aizawa stayed with him for the first hour, sipping on coffee and telling Shouto that this was better hero training than his classmates would get that day. 90% of hero work was the paperwork that came with it. Shouto thought he was serious, but the man had a pretty dry sense of humor so it was hard to say for sure. Aizawa slept for the next hour while Shouto had to list, in detail, each ‘incident’ of abuse, including dates.

That part was a literal nightmare, as Shouto tried to recall as many as possible. Memories that he had tried so hard to forget. Although Enji had always been a strict father, the abuse started after his mother had gone to the hospital. He only listed the times he could remember clearly. His hand shook as he wrote, and he hated how tiny and cowed he felt remembering each incident, ashamed that he had been so afraid and weak. Tears stung the corners of his eyes, and by the time he finished the statement, he felt disgusting and sick to his stomach. He didn’t even want to go back to class, he just wanted to call Dabi and go back to his couch and fall asleep.

It turned out that neither were an option. The paperwork was only half the process, and just after lunch a pair of police officers showed up to help finalize the case. Aizawa had to leave shortly after to get ready for the afternoon classes, and Shouto was stuck reviewing, page by page, the paperwork and charges with one officer, a Mr. Eguchi, while the other, Mr. Arata, waited outside the office. It was quickly apparent that Eguchi was not only a tedious pencil pusher with a penchant for detailed paperwork, but a citizen with a very high level of respect for the current #1 hero. He was short and thin and had a nasally voice, and honestly made Shouto want to change his mind about filing the charges in the first place. But the idea of having to return to live at Endeavor’s seemed even worse. So, as if just having to remember the incidents hadn’t been bad enough, Shouto pushed through as they recapped every incident, one at a time, with Eguchi looking for as much detail as possible.

“So this next one,” the officer continued, speaking through his nose, “occured in the beginning of March of last year. Do you have the exact date of this incident?”

God. He asked this for every incident. Outside of the past few months, the dates were blurry. I mean, did they really expect that he would have memorized the dates of the abuse, like he was some kind of Rain Man for domestic violence.

“No.” He repeated. “I wrote down the dates that I could remember. The other times, I wrote it to the best of my memory.”

“I see,” the officer said, making yet another note on the report. “And on this occasion, once again during a routine training exercise, you claim that your father, Todoroki Enji, struck you multiple times in the face and chest causing an approximately 2 inch laceration on your right cheek and multiple bruised ribs, possibly broken? He did this, and I quote, ‘because you would not use your fire’? Is this correct?”

“Yes.”

“And the entirety of this incident took place in a designated training room, during a designated training period?”

“Yes.” Shouto replied.

“And was there any witnesses to this incident?”

“Not directly, but I did show the cut and bruises to my friend Yaoyorozu Momo that same evening.”

“So, no direct witnesses?”

“No.” He answered hollowly.

“And did you seek medical treatment for these injuries?” Eguchi asked, looking up from the paperwork.

“No.”

God. So many of the incidents were like this. Of course his father wasn’t abusive with other people around, not usually, at least. Some of the older incidents had his brother present, but Touya was still legally nothing more than a ‘missing person.’ If Dabi were to step forward to testify, he would not only lose his privacy and new identity, but took a huge risk of being identified as a member of the League of Villains and spend the rest of his life in prison.

Luckily a few of the newer incidents seemed a bit smoother, and he was able to list both Momo and Bakugou as direct witnesses for the incident at Bakugou’s house. Eguchi requested that both Momo and Bakugou be held after classes if possible to provide eye witness accounts of the incident. After three horrendous hours, they were finally done. The officer escorted Shouto out. Officer Arata was in the waiting area with Momo and Bakugou. Shouto was directed to take a seat while they were called back individually to provide their accounts. But they weren’t allowed to speak or use their phones to ensure that Shouto did not sway their recollection of the incident.

Aizawa was there as well and had brought Shouto a small lunch. But he was so sick to his stomach that even the thought of eating made him want to throw up. So he thanked his professor, but declined to eat. Instead, he settled down to wait, hoping that this would end soon and he could finally go back to the apartment. Momo went in first, leaving Shouto hyper aware of Bakugou sitting two chairs down, glaring determinedly at his shoes. Twice, though, the blonde actually looked at him, though he looked away as soon as he realized that Shouto had noticed. There was a definite tension between them, and Shouto wished that the blonde wasn’t so damn stubborn.

Eventually, he lay his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, thinking back on the interview with the officer. A resigned disappointment settled in his chest. It was clear that Officer Eguchi didn’t really believe him. Aizawa had warned him of this. With so little physical evidence or witness testimonial, he doubted the courts would believe him either. His father would get a slap on the wrist, if anything. But at least that gave him a few weeks to figure things out. One way or another, he was not going to return to the Todoroki mansion.

Momo finally came out, and Shouto’s heart dropped as he saw her tear-streaked face. She knew more about the abuse than anyone else, and she had usually been the person to comfort or help him afterward, especially after Touya’s disappearance. She looked at him sadly, but she smiled, and he knew how proud she was that he had finally spoken up. She had encouraged him to do so more times than he could remember. She sat down on the chair next to him as Bakugou went in, laying her head gently on Shouto’s shoulder. He lay his head on top of hers, closed his eyes, and just breathed. For a few minutes, everything felt normal between them again.

No matter what happened, Momo was always there for him.

Finally Bakugou came out. All that was left was the final signatures from himself and Aizawa. It was after 5pm by the time he finally sent a text to Dabi to pick him up, and Bakugou had left before he was done with the paperwork. He hated how disappointing that was. But he was relieved that at least Momo had waited for him. He smiled and walked over to her, turning around to face Aizawa and the officers and bowing respectfully.

“Thank you, Aizawa-sensei. Thank you, officers.”

“Your Welcome, Mr. Todoroki,” Officer Arata replied, as Officer Eguchi gave the merest nod of acknowledgment.

“I will see you both in class tomorrow morning,” Aizawa replied, nodding.

Momo took his hand and led him out into the hall, toward the front doors.

“Do you need a ride, Shou?” she asked, her fingers inter-locked with his.

“My brother is on the way to get me,” he replied quietly, glancing around to make sure no one was in the hall with them.

“Oh. Well, do you want someone to keep you company while you wait?” she asked.

He smiled, nodding. After the week he had, and this afternoon’s harrowing paperwork, he was mentally exhausted. The idea of spending a little while with Momo made him feel better than he had all day. They got out to the front of the university, and sat down in the grass. Shouto took full advantage of the little bit of time he had with his best friend, and laid down perpendicular from her, resting his head in her lap, his nose nuzzled up into her stomach.

“Dabi doesn’t know that you know who he is.” He spoke into her blouse, not caring that the garment was slightly stifling. It smelled like Momo and he could feel the slight heat between her thighs under his head, and he honestly could stay there all day. “So when he pulls up, don’t wave or anything. It’s better that he doesn’t know.”

“Alright,” she replied, starting to run her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, her fingers massaging his head before pulling gently outward, the occasional tug of tangled hair as she did. Combined with the sun shining on them, and the heavenly scent of her, the feeling of her underneath his head, he almost fell asleep. But her voice pulled him out of his lulled state.

“Do you remember when we were really little, and your sister was getting married? She had that huge, tiered wedding cake that was brought to the ceremony early.” She asked quietly. “Everybody was so busy getting everything ready that your mom told us to go play in the corner and stay out from underfoot.”

“Yeah,” he replied, a smile coming to his face at the memory. “You were bored and you made me play truth-or-dare.”

“Except you wouldn’t ever choose dare,” she laughed, playfully pushing on his shoulder. “You were afraid of getting in trouble.”

“And you called me a cowardly chicken-butt, if I remember correctly.”

“Well you were being a cowardly chicken-butt, in my defense,” she teased. “But on the next turn you finally chose dare. And I dared you to steal the bride and groom figures off the top of the cake. Do you remember?”

“How could I forget?” he replied, “I had to prove that I wasn’t a coward, even though I was actually terrified. We pulled the chair up to the table with the cake, and I climbed up onto it. That thing had so many tiers, and I could barely reach the top. So I stood up on my tippy-toes and grabbed the bride. But when I went for the groom, I lost my balance, and grabbed onto the cake to catch myself, and managed to tip over the top three tiers of that cake all over myself.”

“You caused such a commotion! People came running from everywhere! Your dad started screaming at you, and your mom was crying, and the wedding host almost had a seizure. But then Touya came over and started laughing hysterically, like seeing you completely covered in wedding cake was the funniest thing he had ever seen in his life. Enji started yelling at him, and Touya scooped up a big hunk of wedding cake off your shoulder, and smeared it straight down your dad’s face, shoving a big chunk into his mouth. Enji was so surprised, that he just froze, and then he started eating the cake. Your mom began laughing, and then some of the other guests started laughing and taking pictures. By the time your dad wiped the frosting out of his eyes and finished eating the cake, he was laughing too. I remember, because it was the first time I had ever seen your dad laugh.”

“It was such a mess,” Shouto added. “We were staying at that hotel in the mountains and they had to postpone the wedding by two hours so that the caterer could ‘fix’ the cake. But my dad told that story to every guest that arrived, and he made me take pictures with Fuyumi and her fiance while I was still covered in wedding cake. Which I hated because it was sticky and I kept getting in trouble for trying to lick the frosting off my hands.” He would never forget that. Whenever someone brought up Fuyumi’s wedding, that was one of the first memories his family would talk about.

“I miss Touya, too,” Momo said, her voice quiet and nostalgic. “You remember how he nicknamed me ‘Mini Mo’ because I was shorter than you?And if I ever tried to give him a high five, he would grab my hand and kiss the back of it. Then he would wink at me and smile.”

“Yeah, and you used to pretend to hate it, but you had a crush on him and everybody knew it.” Shouto teased.

“I did not!” She defended herself.

“Oh please. I remember the way you used to look at him. Like he was sooooo dreamy.”

“He was dreamy compared to you.” Momo replied, “He used to walk around the house shirtless and kiss my hand. You used to say I had germs and rubbed dirt in my face anytime we played outside together.”

Shouto laughed.

“After my mom went to the hospital,” Shouto reminisced, “I missed her so much that I snuck into my parent’s bedroom after my dad went to work one day. I started looking at things on my parent’s dresser, and I accidentally broke a picture of my Ojichan. I tried to hide it, but Enji found pieces of broken glass and made me confess in front of everyone. Fuyumi told me that my Ojichan’s ghost was going to haunt me for breaking his picture, and I was so scared that I didn’t want to sleep in my room alone. Touya offered to let me sleep in his room, but my dad told him no. That I needed to face my fears. After my dad went to bed, though, Touya came to my room so that I wouldn’t have to be alone. He slept in my room every night for almost a week. Then one night I woke up and I swear that I saw that ghost in the corner. I woke Touya up crying, and he got an old shoe box out of my closet and caught the ghost inside. We taped it shut and buried it in the back of my mom’s rose garden in the middle of the night.”

“You never told me that story,” Momo said, laughing. “I had no idea you were scared of ghosts.”

“Was scared of ghosts,” he replied.

“Sure,” Momo laid down in the grass, and Shouto rearranged himself to lie next to her so they were both looking up at the sky. She grabbed his hand again, and held it tightly.

They lay there like that for a few minutes before Momo rolled onto her side, and looked over at him.

“I know it must feel good to have him back in your life.” She said, her voice quiet so that anyone passing by wouldn’t overhear. “And right now, he is helping you, and I think that’s a really good thing. But don’t let your memory of who he was make you forget who he is now. He is a very dangerous man. And if staying with him stops being a good thing for you, promise me that you will leave. You have been, well… different ever since that night at the club. If that’s the night that you met him…” She paused for a moment. “I just don’t want him to change who you are.”

“I will be careful.” Shouto murmured.

“And with Kai, too?”

“Yeah,” Shouto nodded. “I will be careful with Kai, too.”

She nodded, scooting over so that her body was pressed against his side, and lay her head on his shoulder. Shouto closed his eyes, and enjoyed the feeling of the sun on him and the warmth of Momo next to him. And he pretended for a few minutes that he could actually give Momo what she wanted. That nothing was going to change in the next few months. That they could continue on just as they were, but happier. Now that he was out of his father’s house, and they were both free to date who they wished. That the constant looming threat of the League and the Yakuza would just be gone, and he could be excited about getting his provisional hero license like everyone else.

Then a series of honking interrupted his thoughts, and he opened his eyes and looked around. Sure enough, Dabi was there. He had pulled forward pretty far so that if Momo looked at the car, she would only see the back of his head. Not that you could see much of his brother anyway. Shouto had termed Dabi’s driving attire his ‘Eskimo outfit’ (in his mind, at least; he didn’t think Dabi would appreciate the term) since he was always super bundled up and covered so that all you could see was a tuft of dark hair under his hood and his sparkling blue eyes.

“That’s my ride,” he said, as they both sat up.

She nodded, and he reached over to fix her hair. Lying on his shoulder had pulled a bunch of tiny strands out of her ponytail, so he tucked them behind her ears. He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips.

“Thanks for being there for me, Momo. You will always be my first love.”

* * * * * *

Shouto’s phone started ringing in the middle of the night. He was groggy and exhausted as he rolled over and grabbed it off the coffee table. It was just after one in the morning. He sighed, trying to focus enough to see who was calling, when he realized that it was Kai.

He swallowed nervously. What could Kai possibly need in the middle of the night?

“Hello?” he answered, flinching at the horrible, grainy sound of his voice. It was pretty obvious that he had just woken up.

“I want you, little fox,” his voice was even deeper than normal, sultry and filled with desire. “Memories of your body have been keeping me awake at night. I can’t stop thinking about the feeling of your skin against my fingers, your body underneath mine. How good it feels to be inside of you. I need you. I need to hear you moan.”

His words literally dripped sex. Shouto’s entire body responded to his voice, and his cock hardened more and more with every word.

“Fuck, I—” he started to say, but the older man cut him off.

“Shhh… don’t say anything, Shouto,” Kai replied. “I didn’t call to say hello. I called to hear you cry out my name, to hear you moan and whimper as you do exactly as I say. I want you to put your phone on speaker and set it on the coffee table next to you. Then you will put your blanket on the floor, and take off your clothes. Once you are completely naked for me and ready, I want you to say my name.”

The sound of Kai’s voice alone was enough to turn Shouto on. He peeked up over the couch to make sure Dabi’s door was closed. The idea of doing something like this, when he could get caught, was crazy. And insanely arousing. His hands shook slightly as he put the phone on speaker and set it on the table. He pushed the blanket to the floor, standing up long enough to undress. Once he was naked, he lay back down, leaning against the pillow. The air in the living room was cool against his skin, and he shivered with anticipation.

“Overhaul,” he said, quietly. His mouth almost tingled as the name passed his lips.

“Close your eyes. I want you to start running your hands up and down your stomach. Let your fingers touch your skin the way I would touch you. Enjoying every curve and line of your muscles from your chest all the way down to your lower stomach."

Shouto put his hands on his chest, imagining it was the golden-eyed man touching him.

"Imagine me lying next to you, my lips on your skin as I kiss your neck and your shoulders.”

Shouto moaned softly. He had never touched himself like this before, but Kai’s sultry voice surrounded him. He could imagine the soft feel of Kai’s mouth on his neck, the way the older man would nip softly into his skin as he kissed him, his teeth sending small flashes of pleasure through his body.

“I love the feeling of your skin… soft and smooth underneath my fingers. My hands are going to start trailing lower, down onto your thighs. Feel the way the tips of my fingers dig firmly into that tender skin on the inside of your thighs.”

Shouto’s hands dipped lower, tracing the muscles in his legs. He spread his legs open, letting his fingers trail down between his thighs. His cock was so hard, desperate for Kai to give him permission to touch it.

“P— please,” he moaned softly. He heard a soft catch in the older man’s breath.

“My teeth are going to bite into the soft skin on your neck, my touch getting firmer as it roams over your body. But not your cock. I will not touch that until it is dripping with desire. How bad do you want me, Shouto?”

Shouto let his hands wander up and down his body. The touches felt so good, especially tracing the muscles that led down his lower stomach. He was desperate to touch his shaft.

“Let me hear you, Shouto. Let me hear you moan”

Shouto let his mouth open slightly, an invitation for the older man to claim his mouth if he were there. He listened, allowing his fingers to move as Kai guided him to touch, squeeze, massage, and tease his body. He let each whimper and moan escape his lips until his mind screamed, his cock aching as pre-cum finally dripped down his shaft.

"Overhaul, please," he groaned.

Kai growled into the phone.

"Imagine my lips on yours, as my hand finally moves to slowly trail up between your legs until I can wrap my fingers around you."

Shouto whimpered as he finally touched himself, wrapping his fingers around his shaft just as he remembered Kai doing.

"Ngh!" He keened, his back arching slightly with pleasure.

"Start slowly, I want to enjoy every inch as I touch you.” Kai’s voice was thick, the last word trailing off. Shouto’s cock twitched with desire as he realized that the older man must also be touching himself. The image of the Kai’s cock flashing into his mind, the idea of the man’s perfect fingers wrapped around it, pleasing himself... Shouto could feel a pulse of pre-cum coat his head, dripping down to provide lube as he stroked himself.

He couldn’t stop himself from mewling and moaning with each touch.

“Don’t stop stroking yourself. Take your other hand, and slide two of your fingers into your mouth. Get them wet for me.”

Shouto followed the order obediently, swirling his tongue around his fingers as he listened to the older man’s breathing grow heavier. He could almost feel it on his neck, every warm exhale rushing over his neck as the older man’s mouth trailed hot kisses over his skin.

“You can feel… the speed of my strokes… increasing.” Kai’s voice was thick with lust, pausing between words to breath. Shouto’s fingers began to move faster as he stroked himself, the faint beginnings of absolute pleasure starting to build.

He groaned loudly, he wanted the older man to hear how good he felt.

“Take those… those two fingers,” Kai’s breath hitched with desire, “and… push them in… inside of… yourself. Fuck. Yes… as deeply as you… can.”

Shouto’s hand lowered as if by its own accord, he spread his legs open even wider, tilting his hips up and trailing his fingers down until they pressed enticingly at his entrance. He gasped as he pushed first one, then the second inside.

“God,” Kai’s voice groaned, “like that, Shouto. I want to… touch you… like that.”

“Yes,” Shouto whimpered, the pleasure building.

“Move them,” Kai demanded huskily. “Fuck yourself… that tight heat… God. I can feel… I can feel it.”

Shouto began to thrust his fingers in and out of himself, trying to go as deeply as he could, imagining that it was the older’s man demanding touch, scissoring him open to ready Shouto for his cock. His moans filled the room as he could feel his orgasm building.

“Yes,” Kai urged, “Cum… cum for me, little fox.”

Shouto cried out with pleasure as his orgasm crashed over him, cupping his hand around himself so that he covered his hand with a hot rush of cum, trying to keep the mess off the couch as his body writhed with pleasure. Kai’s groans filled the room, and Shouto continued to finger himself, imagining that the other man was inside of him as he came, the thought sending small pulses of desire through his cock.

Then for a moment, the only sound was their breathing.

“Xaoi Fe will… be there to,” Kai paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. “To pick you up… after class.” Another breath. “I have an… appointment with the League. I want you there.”

A familiar click told Shouto that the call had ended. Shouto didn’t move, panting, his body thrumming with pleasure. He took a deep breath, the scent of cigarette smoke flooding his senses. Cigarette smoke. He opened his eyes, looking up to see Dabi sitting, cross-legged, on top of the bar, smoking a cigarette and watching him. The room was dark, the moonlight from the window barely enough to illuminate his brother.

He pushed himself up slightly, pulling his fingers out of his ass and self-consciously trying to cover his cock, his other hand covered with his own cum. He watched the slight flash of fire as Dabi inhaled. Then his brother snubbed the cigarette out on the cold granite counter.

Shouto watched as his brother unfolded his legs, and got off the counter. He was shirtless, his tattoos spread over his chest like dark shadows on his skin. Dabi picked up a hand-towel off the counter and walked over to stand behind the couch. With the towel in one hand, he put his other hand out, waiting. Shouto looked up to meet his eyes, threads of blue catching in the faint moonlight.

With his one hand still feigning some semblance of decency between the two of them, Shouto lifted his other hand up. His cum started to drip slowly down toward his wrist as he moved. He watched the shadows play over his brother’s face as he waited for the towel to be set in his hand. But Dabi cupped his hand underneath Shouto’s, and pulled it upward. His brother leaned down, and licked from the top of Shouto’s palm to his wrist. Dabi moaned quietly, setting the towel over Shouto’s hand and standing up.

“Goodnight, Shouto,” he said as he turned and walked toward his room, his voice gravelly with desire. “I will see you in the morning.”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Dabi behaved as if the night before had never even happened. As usual, he woke up about 15 minutes before it was time to go, made them coffee (distractingly shirtless), and threw on his Eskimo outfit. Ready to get Shouto to class.

Shouto, on the other hand, had a range of mixed emotions. He had barely gotten a wink of sleep after the call last night. Between the sound of Kai’s voice, and the feeling of Dabi’s hot tongue on his skin, a part of him was desperate to be touched. Especially knowing that he was finally going to see Kai again today. But it wasn't like last time. It wasn’t just going to be him and Kai. This was the moment he had been dreading. The day that he would actually have to step up and go out on a mission for the Yakuza. They were going to see the League today.

He was going to have to walk back into that horrible place, and see Shigaraki for the first time since the night of the party. The very thought of it was enough to make Shouto feel sick. Physically sick. But this time, at least, he would be with Kai. Kai would not allow Shigaraki to touch him like that again.

Then, to make matters worse, Momo sent him a link to the ‘Musutafu Daily’ website on the way to school. Now that the paperwork for the case was officially filed, the charges had made it to the news. There was an older picture, taken of him and Endeavor together just before the Sport’s Festival. The accompanying article was surprisingly short, likely thanks to a great amount of yen from Endeavor. But the length made it no less disappointing as he scanned over the words.

"Domestic Violence Charges Filed Against Musutafu’s #1 Hero"

In an unexpected turn of events, domestic violence charges were filed late yesterday evening against our cities very own #1 hero, Endeavor. These charges were filed in regards to his son Todoroki Shouto. Details regarding the investigation for this case are limited at present, as the police have not officially released a statement in regards to the charges. We expect such a statement to be released this afternoon.

We were, however, able to reach out to the #1 hero himself, who provided us with this heart-breaking statement:

‘I am gravely disheartened by the charges being filed against me by my youngest son, and successor, Todoroki Shouto. I want it to be known that I have never struck my children in anger. These charges were delivered to my hands last night. Upon review, each charge is nothing more than an exaggeration of his rigorous training to become this cities future symbol of peace. I realize that much of the public is unaware of the trials that these young men and young women go through in order to become a hero, but doing so is no easy feat. I fear that publicly declaring my son as my successor at such a young age has laid an unnecessary and unfortunate weight upon his shoulders. As recent events in our household have shown, my son’s quirk is extremely powerful, and he is struggling to have full control of it. In that struggle, I believe he has turned to unsavory friends, and possibly even professors within UA University, that have planted these ideas of abuse in his mind. At this time, I am afraid for my son. This case has removed him from my household during the most formative period of both his life and his training as a hero. I am being denied both his location and the identity of the individuals with whom he is staying. But I fear the worst. As a lifelong citizen and hero for this city, I have full faith in our court system to see these charges for what they are, both a sham and an emotional attack against my family. As a parent, I implore the courts to move forward with this case with a sense of urgency, so that I may be re-united with Shouto to ensure his safety. To every other citizen of this beautiful city, I hope that I may have your support to help ensure the safety of my son and our future #1 hero. Shouto, if you see this article, I am sorry for any stress I have caused you. Please come home to me so that we can figure this out together.”

Follow us on-line for the most up-to-date information in regards to this case. We have reporter’s diligently working to help uncover the truth behind these charges, and fully support our cities #1 hero and his family.

“Shit,” Shouto mumbled, closing the article and shoving his phone into his backpack.

“Already in the papers, huh?” Dabi asked, his voice slightly muffled by his face-mask. They had discussed the case over dinner last night, and Dabi had the same thoughts as Aizawa. It wasn’t going to be an easy fight. But, like Momo, Dabi had been proud of Shouto for standing up to his father in a way that even Dabi himself was never able to do.

“Yeah. And he has a damn good statement already. Sometimes I wonder how much he pays his PR reps to be this good at their jobs,” Shouto grumbled.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” Dabi replied. “Endeavor has the police all but in his pocket. He was probably made aware of the case the moment that Aizawa began the process. He and his team have had days to prepare a public response. When news of the case went public, he knew the first thing the papers would do is call him for a statement.” Shouto groaned, laying his head against the window. He had not gotten enough sleep to deal with this shit. But Dabi was right. It was impossible to believe that Endeavor had truly only heard of the charges last night. If that were the case, Enji would have already tried to get Shouto back to the mansion, or what was left of it at least.

“You’re right,” Shouto murmured, watching the buildings pass by. They were almost to the university when Dabi cursed, and slowed down the car. Shouto looked around, and there were three different news vans parked out in front of the gate, groups of people hovering around them. Cementoss, Aizawa, and Present Mike were all crowded out front, trying to help guide students into the building. Shouto was fairly certain he knew exactly what the crews were there for.

“There’s no back entrance to that place. You wanna play hookie?” Dabi offered. “I could drop you back off at the apartment. I have deliveries today, but you could chill and watch movies. Or I could take you to Kai’s. I’m sure he would be more than happy to help take your mind off this mess.”

“No,” Shouto replied, although the idea of going to Kai’s early was enticing. It would ensure that he got to spend time with Kai, alone. Not just time with Overhaul and The League. But doing so wouldn’t help this case in the long run. “These guys are relentless. A day or two of being ignored will probably get the crews to leave me alone until this is all over. Besides, it will only strengthen Enji’s case if I start skipping school.”

“It’s your call, little brother.” Dabi shrugged.

“I’ll just get out here. I’ll give you a few minutes to drive away before I start walking the last few blocks.”

Dabi nodded, and Shouto climbed out. He stood against the fence until Dabi’s car disappeared from view. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and started walking. He had a feeling that today was going to be rough.

* * * * * *

By the time Shouto was released from school, he definitely regretted not taking Dabi up on the offer to skip. His classes were exhausting. Even after he managed to get inside (with no small thanks to the professors who had been outside to help him), the students were worse than the news reporters. Shouto had to all but push through other students asking him questions about the news article. His classmates were only mildly better; mainly because Momo sat on top of his desk until class started and glared at everyone who came nearby. Aizawa ended up running late as they closed off the gates to UA, and Iida took the stage to spend fifteen minutes lecturing the class about appropriate class conduct.

Shouto didn’t care, so he spaced the lecture out. He was distracted by Bakugou. The blonde had cut his hair a bit shorter than normal, and it looked really fucking good. But as he checked the other out, he noticed that Izuku and Bakugou were both texting under their desks. First one, than the other. They had to be texting each other. A surge of jealousy added to the already stressful day, and Shouto put his head into his hands. Surely Bakugou hadn’t moved on this fast. He had told Shouto that he still had time. Izuku and Bakugou had been friends for years. They texted. It was normal.

It didn’t stop the sick feeling in his stomach as he glanced up to see Izuku’s cheeks turn pink, the greenette hiding a smile with his hand.

Lunchtime was equally awful. Student’s that Shouto had never met came out of the woodwork to ask him questions. More than half of them clearly believed Endeavor’s statement. Numerous girls made a point to ask him if he needed someone to talk to. Chianko and Hurako came to see him again, and asked him to go out with them tonight to the club. Although ecstasy and another threesome with those two would certainly help to take his mind off things, it wasn’t really an option. He declined, admitting he already had plans that night, which earned him a sharp look from Momo, but she didn’t say anything.

After lunch, Aizawa sent him to Recovery Girl, who (although not happy that he took off the wrap early) did approve him for full quirk usage, but warned him to be careful and stop right away if he started to feel any pain or burning in his right arm. It was the best news all day, because he could finally participate in training. He was even more elated to be partnered against Kirishima, because it meant he wouldn’t have to hold much back against the red-head. He couldn’t give it his all (he had been lectured more than once about causing unnecessary damage to the training field), but it certainly felt good to get lost in the rush of a good fight. He let his frustration and stress from the day flow out of him. He had a clear advantage, as Kirishima had to cut through his ice after each attack, but by the time class was up, they were both panting and exhausted, and Shouto felt the best he had all day.

Finally, Aizawa sent him to the administrative office for the last class period, where they excused him about 30 minutes early in an attempt to by-pass the reporters that would likely come back. Luckily, he recognized Xaoi Fe across the street. He was exceedingly grateful to the Chinese man for being early, as there was already one news van out. The president helped him out by walking out just before him and distracting the crew with some small talk as they tried to focus on setting up equipment for the end of the day. Once the crew was focused on Nezu, he dodged out and hurried across the street. He nodded at Xaoi Fe, who opened his door. Within moments, they were headed to Kai’s.

Just like last time, Xaoi Fe escorted him to the elevator and sent him up alone. Shouto’s stomach twisted with nerves as he went up. The idea of going to see The League felt more and more daunting as it approached. Would they have to go right away? Kai had said he wanted Shouto there, but why? What did that mean?

Shouto focused on just breathing deeply as he knocked on the door. It opened just a few moments later. Kai was wearing dark jeans, his lean, toned chest and stomach on full display. He must have recently taken a shower because his hair was still damp, and the musky scent of his body wash filled Shouto’s senses. Shouto stepped inside, trying not to get distracted by how low Kai’s jeans hung on his hips.

The moment the door closed, Kai shoved him up against the wall in the entryway. Shouto didn’t even have time to process what was happening before Kai’s chiseled body was pressed up against his, his hands cupping Shouto’s face as the man’s mouth captured his. Kai’s kiss was almost ravenous as his mouth danced against Shouto’s, his fingers tightening, pushing firmly into Shouto’s skin as Shouto succumbed to the whirlwind of Kai’s passion, opening his mouth for the older man to take as he pleased. And Kai took. As if that single week without touching Shouto had left him starved and desperate. It was intoxicating. The feel of his lips, the possessive and covetous explorations of his tongue, and the gentle and not-so-gentle way that Kai would nibble on his lower lip between kisses. Fuck.

Shouto dropped his backpack on the floor, pushing it to the side with his foot. He ground back against Kai. He could already feel Kai’s arousal against him, and his body responded in turn. He reached out and touched Kai’s stomach, the man’s muscles tightening as he did. Kai growled into his mouth as Shouto let his fingers explore Kai’s body, just as Kai had instructed him last night. Kai pulled back, looking into Shouto’s eyes as they both caught their breath. Shouto met his gaze, but his body was already thrumming with desire. He leaned forward tremulously, moving his lips against Kai’s, and letting his tongue dip into the man’s mouth, tasting him.

Kai’s entire body responded to that kiss. He could feel Kai’s arousal pulsing against him as the other man dropped his hands, stepping back just enough to almost tear Shouto’s jacket and shirt off of him. Each movement was urgent and rough, passionate and hot. Kai’s hands worked at his own jeans next, and he started to kiss down Shouto’s throat as he took Shouto’s hand and slid it over his lower stomach and into his underwear. Kai’s shaft was enticingly hot against his fingers, and Shouto moaned throatily as he wrapped his fingers around it.

“Fuck,” Kai groaned as Shouto began to slowly stroke him the best he could. With his other hand, he started to push Kai’s clothing down, desperate to have better access to touch the man. “Fuck! I need you, little fox.”

Shouto’s cock throbbed at the name. He was desperate to give Kai exactly what he wanted. He knew how good Kai could make him feel, and this time he wanted to make Kai feel just as good. Shouto dropped down to his knees, pulling Kai’s pants and underwear down. Kai’s cock was fully hard and flushed and ready, and the head was already shining with pre-cum. The man’s cock was intimidating, the thought of trying to take it fully into his mouth made Shouto nervous, but the idea of finally getting to taste Kai made him so hard that his cock ached. He wetted his lips and wrapped them around just the head, licking every drop of pre-cum off, and moaning with desire as just that motion alone caused even more to leak from Kai’s cock. It was slightly bitter and salty against his tongue, and Shouto was desperate to have more.

Kai groaned, wrapping one hand into Shouto’s hair and using the other to steady himself against the wall.

“Yes. God, yes. Your mouth…” he pushed gently against the back of Shouto’s head, and Shouto opened his mouth wider, sliding his lips as far down onto Kai’s shaft as he could. He dug one hand into Kai’s thigh, reaching up with the other to stroke the base of the golden-eyed man’s shaft. But Kai’s grip on his hair tightened. “Go slowly. Relax. You can take it all, Shouto.” His voice was firm and commanding, and Shouto obediently lowered his hand. Kai’s grip softened, and Shouto started to move his head up and down on Kai’s cock, getting used to the feeling of Kai’s head pushing back into his throat. He could already feel his eyes watering as he focused on not gagging, trying to take slightly more with each movement.

Kai moaned and cursed softly as Shouto worked his lips and tongue over him, rewarded with the occasional taste of pre-cum dripping onto his tongue as he went. His jaw was already starting to ache slightly, but he was determined to make Kai feel good.

“You can take it, Shouto,” Kai urged, the muscles in his thighs trembling with pleasure underneath Shouto’s hands, his cock pulsing against Shouto’s tongue. Shouto breathed in deeply through his nose, grabbed Kai’s hips and held them in place as he took Kai’s cock deep into his throat. The man was so long, Shouto’s entire body fought against it as it cut off his ability to breath, but he closed his teary eyes and focused on swallowing around Kai’s head and licking the base of his shaft before finally pulling back off to catch his breath. Saliva strung out from Shouto’s mouth to Kai’s cock, dripping down Shouto’s chin. His own cock was straining painfully against his jeans, but he knew better than to touch it without the older man’s permission.

Shouto took a few deep breaths, and took Kai back into his mouth, moving back and forth slowly to deep-throat Kai the best he could. Shouto’s jaw ached; but the slight swelling of Kai’s cock in his mouth, the wanton moans that escaped the man’s lips, and the tensing of Kai’s muscles told Shouto that Kai must be getting close. He was almost desperate to taste Kai on his tongue.

Kai’s grip tightened in his hair once more, and Kai began to guide him to increase the speed of Shouto’s mouth sliding back and forth over his cock, pushing just slightly further back into his throat than Shouto could manage on his own. He dug his fingers into Kai’s thighs, relaxing his throat as he let Kai take over, the other man fucking his mouth, saliva and pre-cum dripping down his chin, every effort focused on not gagging as Kai used his mouth and throat to his pleasure, groaning and cursing with each thrust.

“Open your mouth… as wide… as you can… for me,” He demanded between breaths. Shouto mumbled a response around his cock, making the man gasp. Shouto stretched his mouth open, allowing Kai to thrust as deeply as he wanted. His throat was burning from the abuse and it made him so fucking hard that Shouto could feel his arousal building without even being touched. Then Kai pulled out, resting the head of his cock on Shouto’s swollen bottom lip and jerking himself a few times until he cried out and came all over Shouto’s tongue and lips. Shouto kept his mouth open wide, tilting his head back slightly as Kai continued to stroke himself, watching the last of his orgasm spill out into Shouto’s mouth.

Kai dropped down onto his knees, gently pushing Shouto’s mouth shut, and tracing his finger through the cum on Shouto’s lips as he swallowed. Shouto’s jaw and throat ached, but his cock was throbbing desperately. His entire body pulsed with desire to feel the golden-eyed man inside of him.

“Overhaul…” he whimpered.

Kai leaned forward, capturing his mouth once more. Arousal burned in Shouto’s groin, knowing that the man could taste himself on Shouto’s mouth. The kiss was deep and passionate and painful against Shouto’s bruised lips as Kai explored the taste of their sex with his tongue. Then finally Kai pulled back, and pushed Shouto roughly onto his hands and knees, moving around to kneel behind Shouto. Kai reached around Shouto, and undid his zipper, pulling his pants and boxers down. He pushed Shouto’s legs as far apart as he could, Shouto’s cock practically dripping with pre-cum as it begged for the other man’s touch. Kai ran his hands over Shouto’s ass, pulling his cheeks apart and running his tongue up over Shouto’s entrance.

Shouto cried out in pleasure as Kai dipped his head down and pushed his tongue inside of Shouto.

“Fuck!” Shouto gasped. The feeling of the man’s mouth on him, wet and hot as his tongue traced circles around the tight muscles inside of him, was like nothing he had ever experienced. None of his other partners had ever touched him so intimately before. His cock pulsed as Kai reached around and gripped the base of his cock firmly. If Kai started stroking him, Shouto would orgasm in moments, but the other man had no mercy. He wanted this to last.

After fucking Shouto with his tongue until Shouto was an absolute whimpering mess underneath him, pre-cum literally dripping on the floor below him. Kai finally started to stroke him, pulling his mouth away and pushing two fingers inside of Shouto. Shouto cried out as the man started to fuck him slowly with his fingers, going barely deep enough to tease that perfect spot inside of him. Shouto could feel his orgasm building quickly, and his thoughts were consumed entirely by the feeling of Kai’s hands on him. Kai added a third finger, starting to scissor him open as he worked his fingers in and out of Shouto. The stretch grew more demanding, the stroking of his cock getting faster as Shouto’s vision blanked and his orgasm ripped through his body. He cried loudly, cumming all over the wooden floor below them. Pleasure rolled over his body in waves, his legs and arms barely stable enough to support himself as Kai let go of his cock and slipped his fingers out of his ass.

Kai reached underneath Shouto, running his hand through the cum on the floor, and then spreading it over his cock like lube. And as Shouto panted to catch his breath, Kai seated his cock deeply into Shouto, groaning as Shouto’s ass tightened, convulsions pulsing through his body as Kai’s cock pushed into his prostate. Kai pulled Shouto’s body up against his chest, both on their knees as Kai slowly ground into him, giving him a moment to adjust. Shouto could feel his body sliding against Kai’s, both covered in a thin sheen of sweat. The man wrapped one arm around Shouto’s waist to hold him in place, the other wrapped around Shouto’s left shoulder, curling his hand into Shouto’s hair to guide his head as Kai wanted.

“Fuck, Shouto,” Kai growled into his ear as he started to move. Shouto whined as the motion overstimulated his prostate, but Kai’s grip around his waist only tightened. “I can’t… control myself around you.” The grip in his hair tightened, and Shouto could feel the strain in the older man’s thighs. Kai was fucking up into him slowly. The almost painful push inside of him made part of Shouto want to beg for the man to stop, but the idea of Kai using him as he wanted was so insanely arousing that the very thought of denying it was futile.

“Fuck me, Overhaul,” Shouto pleaded, reaching up over his head to wrap his hands into Kai’s damp hair. It gave the man complete and total access to his body. “Please… please, please fuck me.”

Kai growled, pulling Shouto’s head to the side and sinking his teeth into Shouto’s shoulder as he started to fuck harder into him. Shouto closed his eyes, losing himself in the feeling of Kai inside of him, the insane pleasure that rolled through his body. He cried out with each thrust, his arousal slowly returning as his cock began to harden once more. Kai was grunting with the effort of holding them up as they fucked. The hardwood floor dug into their knees, sweat building up between them, dripping down Shouto’s back and even starting to build along his hairline. He could feel the drops of sweat dripping down from the other man’s forehead onto his shoulder.

Kai let go of his hair, his hand dropping down to start stroking Shouto once more. Shouto’s entire body vibrated with pleasure. Kai finally pushed him back down onto his elbows, leaning over his back to continue stroking Shouto as he began to fuck into him with an almost punishing rhythm. The new angle abused Shouto’s prostate, and it didn’t take long before he cried out again, cumming for the second time, his already over-stimulated body threatening to give out as pleasure rolled over him in almost unbearable waves. Kai let go of his cock, grabbing onto Shouto’s hips with both hands to hold his body up as Kai continued fucking him. Shouto whimpered as Kai took him, until finally the man moaned, thrusting deeply into Shouto as he came. He lowered Shouto gently to the floor as his orgasm washed over him, all but collapsing on top of Shouto as he groaned, continuing to grind into him, his cock slowly starting to soften.

Shouto struggled to catch his breath, lying face down on the cold wooden floor, Kai’s weight pressing him down as the man was spread half on top of him. Pleasure ran through his body in almost electric currents, like Shouto had never felt before. His thoughts were hazy, lost in a lust-filled daze as his stomach lay smeared in the cum from the floor. He and Kai lay tangled together in a sweaty, satisfied, panting mess.

Kai rolled onto his side, pulling Shouto gently up against him. The floor was insanely uncomfortable, but neither seemed to care as Kai spooned him and they reveled in the pleasure that continued to pulse through their bodies. They could have been there for minutes or hours, as Shouto’s senses slowly returned to him.

“Fuck,” Shouto finally mumbled, his voice horribly raspy, his throat still sore from being fucked.

Kai kissed the back of his head, finally pushing himself away from Shouto and standing up. He held out his hand for Shouto, who accepted it gratefully. His legs were still wobbly, and the man had fucked him hard enough that it left behind a dull, satisfying pain as he walked. Kai was a mess. His hair was damp now with sweat, and wildly mussed from sex. He had a sheen of dried sweat over his entire body, and his cock was sticky with cum. Shouto guessed that if he saw himself in a mirror, he looked even worse.

“Let’s get cleaned up,” Kai said, starting to head in the direction of the bathroom. “We need to be ready for our appointment. Chrono will be here shortly to accompany us.”

Shouto followed him, the reminder of the true purpose of his visit coming rushing back. Fuck. He glanced at himself in the mirror while Kai started the shower. He had a large bite mark on his right shoulder and his lips were horribly swollen. That and his voice, there was very little hiding what they had been doing prior to the meeting.

He stepped into the shower behind Kai, ready this time for the scalding water.

“Are you sure you want me at this meeting,” Shouto asked, slightly ashamed at how timid the question sounded. “Surely one of your other associates would be of much better use. I don’t really know how all this stuff works.”

“And you will never know if I don’t teach you,” Kai replied as he pulled out the body wash. “Besides, you are afraid of Shigaraki. I can hear it in your voice when you speak of him. After what he did, it’s understandable.” Kai’s voice was starting to go cold, a response that Shouto noticed was common whenever the golden-eyed man was starting to get angry. “But you need to see that his manipulation of your body was a disgusting ruse of strength and power. His disintegrating corpse is almost pathetic in the light of day. Until you can see that, you will always be afraid of him.”

Shouto closed his eyes, letting Kai rub the wash over his body. He focused on the feeling, pushing away the churning in his stomach at the thought of seeing Shigaraki. He was beginning to enjoy these showers with Kai almost as much as the activities that led to them. The way Kai moved his hand when he washed Shouto almost felt… reverent. Knowing what those hands were capable of, it made Shouto feel more worthy than a simple compliment ever could.

“Fear is power, Shouto,” Kai explained after a moment, when Shouto didn’t respond. “As long as you are afraid of him, Shigaraki will have power over you. And men like him will feed off of fear like a leech, they will bleed you dry.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Shouto replied. It was similar to what Shouto had learned from Aizawa. As a hero, you have to balance emotions and action. You have to stay level-headed. Fear, anger, hate… powerful emotions can cause that balance to tip, and take away from a heroes ability to correctly analyze or react to a situation.

Kai’s hand trailed down to Shouto’s ass, distracting Shouto from his thoughts. The man began to tease Shouto’s entrance, pushing a single finger slowly inside of him. The idea was to help clean their sex out of him, but it felt so good that Shouto moaned softly before he could stop himself, and Kai’s breath hitched. Kai added a second finger, and Shouto’s cock was already trying to get hard again. He glanced down, realizing that Kai was also getting aroused. Shouto reached out and tentatively touched his cock.

“Fuck,” Kai hissed, closely his eyes as Shouto’s fingers wrapped around it. He turned Shouto toward the wall, starting to line himself up, when the doorbell rang. Kai growled angrily. “He’s early.” Kai took a deep breath. “We will have to finish this later.” He let his grip on Shouto’s waist go, kissing his shoulder instead.

“Is that a promise?” Shouto asked, smugly.

Kai didn’t reply, instead pulling Shouto in for a deep kiss. The doorbell rang again. Kai sighed.

“You finish getting washed up,” Kai said as he quickly rinsed the soap off his body. “There is a clean outfit for you on the bed. Hurry out. We will need to leave shortly.” Kai stepped out of the shower, drying off quickly and wrapping the towel around his waist. Shouto finished rinsing his own body, definitely not checking out the perfect definition of Kai’s shoulder and back, or wishing that whoever ‘Chrono’ was, that he hadn’t shown up quite so soon.

He washed his hair, and stepped out. He dried quickly, and hurried to style his hair the best he could. Just like Kai said, there was an outfit on the bed; black skinny jeans, with a white T-shirt and a tight black jacket. There were black boots, a pair of socks, and very form-fitting gray boxer-briefs next to that. Shouto picked up the clothes. They were nice quality, and as Shouto began to look at them, they were perfectly sized. At some point, Kai must have gotten his measurements, because each piece fit him like a glove. Shouto checked himself out, snapping a quick picture of himself to send to Momo.

Finally, he headed to the kitchen. Kai was dressed in fitted black slacks, a dark gray button-up shirt with a white tie, and his green jacket with the purple fringe. He was talking to a boyish-faced guy that was probably about Kai’s age, he had shoulder-like white hair that framed his face, the hair shaped into an arrow on each side of his neck. He had smooth skin and features, and was definitely very pretty. The man was wearing a long, white trench coat, and wait… Shouto had seen him before. He was the guy that had brought the drugs to the party with the League, Chronostasis. Chrono. He just looked very different without his mask.

“There you are, Shouto,” Kai said, his golden eyes raking up and down Shouto’s body as he walked in. “I would like you to meet my most dedicated bullet, Chronostasis. Chrono, this is Shouto. You can call him Todoroki, for now.”

Chronostasis shook Shouto’s hand, his eyes flitting from Shouto’s hair to his scar and finally stopping to meet his heterochromatic eyes.

“This is a dangerous move, Overhaul,” Chronostasis remarked. “You couldn’t have chosen someone less recognizable? His face was in the paper just this morning. We are going to need to get him outfitted more appropriately as soon as possible. And you must know that we cannot continue calling him Todoroki.”

“You know better than to question my judgment, Chrono,” Kai reprimanded him coldly. “The League is already well aware of who he is, making tonights meeting an ideal place to start his training. I have already made arrangements for his clothing, and as for his name, Shouto will be able to choose his own, just as you did, when he is ready. I will not repeat myself again. Do you understand?”

“Of course, Overhaul” Chronostasis bowed humbly in apology. “I shouldn’t have doubted you. You always think to the future.”

“Good,” Kai replied curtly. “We need to be on our way. I don’t want to waste one more minute in that disgusting place than absolutely necessary. Which of the bullets are going to be joining us?”

“Setsuno and Hojo are on their way to The League’s base as we speak. They are under strict orders not to enter the property until we arrive.”

Kai nodded, meeting the white-haired man’s eyes. Chronostasis turned and headed to the door. Kai turned to Shouto, holding out his hand. Shouto’s mind briefly flashed back to his first night in this apartment. When he had walked out and found Kai gazing out the window at the city of lights around them. Shouto had taken his hand then, and it had changed everything. But as he looked at Kai’s perfect fingers, there was no flicker of hesitation this time. No choice to be made. He met Kai’s golden eyes, reached out, and set his hand in Kai’s.

Kai smiled, his eyes shining with an almost fervent passion.

“Welcome to the Shie Hassaikai, little fox.”

Chapter Text

Shouto struggled to breathe on the car ride to The League’s base. He kept telling himself that this time was different. He sub-consciously rubbed his wrist, reminding himself that he did not have a quirk suppressing bracelet this time. Even without Kai, Shouto would not let Shigaraki touch him. He had his ice and his fire, and this was one of the few times he was mentally prepared to use both if need be. No matter what the LoV leader meant to Dabi, he would not let those dry mummified fingers touch him again. He would rather Shigaraki kill him than have to submit his body to that man again.

He looked over at Kai, who was typing out a message on his phone, then down at the mask sitting on his lap. He remembered Chronostasis being in a mask when he delivered the cocaine to the League. That plague doctor mask had covered his entire face, and had made him feel almost inhuman. Overhaul’s was different, smaller, only made to cover half his face, although it still curved into a beak that was eerily reminiscent of 1700’s London. It was red with gold trim and a metallic gold beak at the end, two almost gear-like buttons on each side that made it possible for him to breathe while wearing it. Shouto could already imagine the man wearing it, and it left him feeling apprehensive.

He glanced at the road up ahead, watching Chronostasis’ coat flapping in the wind as he led the way on his motorcycle. They were much further out than Shouto recognized, he had long since been blindfolded at this point the last time he made this drive. But Shouto wasn’t overly familiar with the country around Musutafu, so nothing felt familiar. The further they drove, the fewer houses they passed, long stretches of field between. Finally, Xaoi Fe turned down an old dirt road that led way back toward an older house in the distance. There were two more motorcycles parked just off-side the road when they turned, the riders revving the engines back to life and following Overhaul’s car.

Kai finally tucked his phone back in his pocket. Shouto watched him pick up the mask, and secure it around his head. It was a perfect fit, probably custom made, and secured with a large black strap that wrapped around the back of his head, pushing down some of his brown hair. It covered his entire chin, mouth, and nose, and gave him a sinister, bird-like appearance. It made Shouto feel strange. It was both ominous and appealing. That mask was the embodiment of Overhaul, Kai’s most powerful and dangerous side, leader of the Shie Hassaikai. And yet, watching Kai don that mask was like meeting a side of his new lover that he had only glimpsed before. It was the side of Kai that posed the biggest threat to everything Shouto believed, and yet it was the side that would, and already had, killed to protect Shouto. A thought that sickened him, and gave him a small thrill that sickened him even more.

The building they pulled up to looked like an old, abandoned Japanese farmhouse. It was built of red wood that rose high in the back, and had one longer room that protruded way out in front. Most of the windows had been boarded up, and one corner of the roof had collapsed in on itself. Weeds grew like an untamed garden everywhere, and there was a small set of rickety wooden stairs that led up to the front door. A large sign was posted on the door itself that said ‘Danger: Building Condemned. Keep Out.’ Aside from their car and motorcycles, there wasn’t a sign of life anywhere on the property.

“Are you ready?” Kai asked, distracting him from his analysis of the League’s base. Even his voice sounded slightly different with the mask. The answer was absolutely not. But he doubted Kai was going to let him wait in the car, so he nodded. Kai reached over and lay his hand on the side of Shouto’s jaw. The gold in his mask seemed to bring out the gold in his eyes as Shouto met his gaze. “Remember, fear is only as deep as the mind allows.”

It was an old proverb. Nobody even remembered where it came from. It was usually something parents told their children when they heard bumps in the night or just before that first time you had to speak in front of the school in elementary. Hearing Kai say it, knowing who he was about to face, Shouto felt as if he was hearing it for the first time. He could do this.

“I’m ready,” Shouto said, aloud this time. And Kai nodded. The older man’s hand dropped, and he got out of the car. Shouto did the same, looking over at their new companions. The two men were standing and talking to Chronostasis. One of them was a very tall, older bald man. He was broad-shouldered and muscular, wearing simple pants and a black dress shirt that was unbuttoned all the way down to his sternum, and he wore a simple white surgical mask that wrapped behind his ears. He had a hard edge about him, and held himself with the confidence of a man who knew how to defend himself if necessary. The other was much younger, maybe only a year or two older than Shouto, with golden-blonde hair that hung just down past his chin and large almond-shaped eyes. He was wearing a gray dress shirt with an orange tie, and had a black beak mask that, like Overhaul, only covered the bottom half of his face.

Overhaul headed towards the trio. Shouto followed, feeling a bit out of place with such a casual outfit and no mask. But, just like Kai had said, The League was already well aware of who he was. Even a full mask like Chronostasis wore wouldn’t cover his dual-colored hair.

“Hojo. Setsuno.” Kai greeted each in turn, both bowing their heads respectfully in acknowledgment. “This is Todoroki,” he introduced Shouto as both sets of eyes turned to look at him. The bald man just stared, but the blonde’s eyes widened considerably as he, like Chronostasis, took in the unique characteristics of Shouto’s appearance that left no doubt as to who he was. “Todoroki,” Kai continued, although Shouto didn’t think he liked hearing the golden-eyed man use his formal name, “this is Hojo.” Kai gestured to the taller, bald man, who nodded his head in greeting. “And this is Setsuno,” he gestured to the younger man with golden hair. Shouto bowed his head respectfully to each one.

“Now that introductions are made,” Kai began, a more commanding tone entering his voice, “let’s discuss business. Hojo and Setsuno, you two will be on guard duty outside of the meeting. The last time I was at this base, I left a very distinct message. A message that likely angered more of The League than just Shigaraki. Don’t let your guard down. Shigaraki doesn’t have full control of his mutts, and I don’t want to have to deal with anyone trying to put a knife in my back. Chronostasis and Todoroki, you two will accompany me to the meeting itself. I want you two on full guard as well. Chronostasis, at the first sign of a problem, I want you to focus on slowing Shigaraki. Shouto, you will focus on any other League members that Shigaraki chooses to have in the room. I want this meeting to be quick, and I want any sign of trouble squashed immediately. Do I make myself clear?”

Shouto watched as the other three bowed deeply at the instruction, hurrying to follow suit.

“Good.” Kai replied, motioning for them to stand. Kai turned, heading toward the farmhouse. Chronostasis walked just behind him, and Shouto walked alongside the other two. He glanced back at Xaoi Fe, who was busy covering the car with an old tarp, then back up at the house. Shouto kept his face completely blank, and yet he was filled with a whirlwind of emotions. He was trying to ignore his fear, or the beating of his heart that seemed so loud to him that he was certain the other two must be able to hear it. He felt like a… a traitor. Shame washed over him as he thought about what Momo or Bakugou or any of Class 1A would think if they saw him now. And yet, there was a rush of adrenaline that was starting to build inside of him. He felt the same surge of weary excitement that he had felt right before going head to head with Izuku at the Sport’s Festival.

Overall, it left him quite confused.

He followed the others up the stairs, which groaned and creaked dangerously at every step. Kai knocked, and a moment later the door flew open. Toga and Spinner were both standing in the doorway. Spinner, as usual, looked like he had just eaten a sour apple. And Toga glared at Overhaul and Chronostasis. After what happened with Magne, Shouto knew that most of The League had to be angry with the Yakuza leader. So why did Shigaraki invite him here for a meeting?

Then suddenly, Toga saw Shouto, and she shrieked happily as she pushed straight passed Overhaul and threw her arms around him.

“I told you Dabi said he was coming today!” she said happily. “I missed you so much, Shou! Dabi said you were going to be here, but Spinner said no way.” Spinner’s glower deepened as Toga bounced up and down happily, her body rubbing against Shouto as she still tried to maintain the hug.

Kai narrowed his eyes at her. Shouto hurried to pull her arms away from himself, and settled them against her sides.

“I missed you too,” Shouto replied quietly, keeping his voice as neutral as possible.

“Shiggy has been waiting. He is going to be so happy to see you!” She beamed.

Shouto didn’t want to know what Kai was thinking, but it was obvious that the golden-eyed man did not like seeing Toga dote on him. Shouto had mixed feelings about the pig-tailed villain, but he had, in some ways, forgiven her for what happened at the party. If Overhaul knew the role she played that night… well, Shouto wasn’t so sure he would be very forgiving.

“Looks like the new kid has been dipping his bit in over here if ya know what I’m saying,” Setsuno joked quietly beside him.

“Quiet,” Kai snapped. His voice was cold.

Setsuno stood up a little straighter, giving a quick bow of apology.

Kai stepped inside, barely acknowledging Spinner. They all followed, in turn. Toga stayed right next to Shouto. Spinner led the way down a hall that Shouto didn’t recognize. Granted, he had seen a pretty limited amount of the farmhouse the night of the party. About half-way down the hall, they all stopped to switch their shoes out for a customary pair of slippers, and then continued. They passed by the living room, Shouto getting a quick glimpse of the couch he had been raped on, suppressing a shudder as he pushed the memories of that night away. That room was exactly as he remembered it, and he was relieved that the meeting wasn’t being held in there.

Spinner stopped shortly after, opening a door and motioning for them to go inside. Kai led the way, than Chronostasis, and finally Shouto, accompanied by Toga who was walking so close to him that they were all but holding hands. Hojo and Setsuno stayed outside of the room, as did Spinner. The room looked like an old master bedroom, but it had been converted into an office of sorts. It was relatively large. The walls must have been white at some point, but now the paint had faded into an ugly yellow, peeling off in some spots. There were two windows, both completely boarded up. In the middle of the room there was a large desk with a single chair on each side. In front of each chair, three cups were arranged on a white tray, one large cup, one medium-sized cup, and one small cup. The entire thing was lit up with a harsh, uncovered light.

Shigaraki was waiting for them, standing behind the desk. Shouto recognized the man who stood next to him, wearing a formal white shirt and vest, a large silver collar around his neck. His face and hands were shrouded with black and purple smoke. He had been with Shigaraki during the attack at USJ, his quirk allowed him to warp both himself and others. Aside from Shigaraki himself, he was potentially one of the most dangerous villains in The League.

Shigaraki, on the other hand, looked even worse than he had at the party. He was wearing his long coat, white hands clinging all over it. His hair was almost completely silver today, with very little blue. Although most of his face was covered with a single, white hand, the bit of it that Shouto could see was even more withered than he remembered. And the bandages that wrapped around his hands were littered with bloodstains.

"Shigaraki," Kai greeted the horrible, dessicated man with a slight nod of his head. “Kurogiri,” he added, glancing at the other man.

"Overhaul," Shigaraki returned his greeting, motioning for Kai to take a seat across from him. Toga gave Shouto a quick kiss on the cheek as Kai was sitting down, all but skipping around the table to stand on the other side of Shigaraki. Once Kai was seated, Shigaraki sat down as well.

Shigaraki didn’t say anything at first, opening a drawer to his side and pulling out a bottle of Sake. Shigaraki put one hand on the bottom of the bottle, the other over the cap and slowly turned the bottle upside down and then, equally slowly, turning it back. With the bottle pointed slightly toward himself, Shigaraki tilted it almost to its side and partially unscrewed the lid. He stopped for a few moments as the gas from the fermentation escaped, before tilting the bottle up slightly and unscrewing the the lid the rest of the way. Meeting eyes with Kai, Shigaraki filled all six cups. Setting the bottle down on the desk, he put his right hand on his mask and nodded at Kai. Kai nodded back, lifting his right hand, and both men removed their masks, each setting them on the desk to their right. In unison, they each took three small sips from the large cup, three small sips from the medium-sized cup, and three small sips from the smallest cup.

Shouto watched the ceremony with fascination. It was very similar to the San-san-kudo ceremony. This was a ceremony that was generally done for bonding, but, as in this case, Shouto guessed it was meant as a means of setting aside their differences so that they may work together. The removal of their masks was a gesture of trust. After what Shigaraki had done to Shouto, and what Overhaul had done in response, this was Shigaraki asking for peace. And Overhaul accepted.

Once the third cup had been set down, Kurogiri removed the tray from in front of Shigaraki, and Chronostasis followed suit to remove Kai’s.

“Shall we begin?” Shigaraki asked. His voice was rough. Despite having just taken a drink, the withered man sounded like his throat had been parched for days, each word almost painful to speak. As Shouto looked closely, he could see that Shigaraki’s lips were stretched so tightly that they were cracked and bleeding.

Toga bounced in excitement, and Shouto could almost see her trembling with the attempt to stay quiet.

“What is it that you want from me, Shigaraki?” Kai replied, his voice almost emotionless as he spoke.

“Straight and to the point, as usual,” Shigaraki noted, as he opened another drawer and lifted out a small wooden box. He set it on the desk, and turned it toward Kai, pushing it near the middle of the desk and opening it up. There was a very small, strange looking metal device inside. Shouto had never seen anything like it before. “I need to have this delivered to my boss.”

All-for-one. Shouto almost choked.

“A communication device?” Kai questioned.

Shit. The League was trying to get in touch with All-for-one. He was locked up inside of Tartarus, the most secure prison in Japan, specifically to prevent something exactly like this from happening.

It was impossible. Shouto took deep breaths, keeping his face calm. Kai would have to tell him no because such a thing was impossible.

“What it is shouldn’t make a difference,” Shigaraki replied brusquely. “What I need to know is if you can make it happen.”

Kai looked at the device for a few moments, tapping his middle finger against the desk as he considered it.

“It is possible.” Kai finally replied. What?! It’s possible? Tartarus was on all but 24 hour lockdown. Nobody got in or out of that place without the security clearing to do so! For Kai to sound so certain meant that the Yakuza must have someone… No. Even they couldn’t have that much sway. “Possible, but extremely difficult. Tartarus’ security has been increased since they locked up your boss in there. The Shie Hassaikai alone can’t do it. Okimoto himself would have to be involved for their to be even a chance of success. That takes a lot more sway then simply getting you a new drug to push. I don’t think The League can afford it.”

“Perhaps not in yen alone,” Shigaraki countered, “but I think even Okimoto could be persuaded with what else we can offer.”

“And what is that?” Kai asked.

“Information.” Shigaraki replied, leaning back in his chair.

“What kind of information could The League possibly offer us, that the Yakuza doesn’t already have.”

“The formula and research for 5 quirk-altering drugs that my boss was working on at the time of his arrest. And a sample of each. They are in various stages of development, however, each one has great potential. I know that the Yakuza likes to dabble in such things. Okimoto knows that my boss didn’t waste time with useless experimentation. Who knows what might be possible if this research were able to be continued with the Yakuza’s money and influence to lead it.”

Kai nodded. He tapped his finger again.

“It’s not enough.” Kai answered, “Not for what would be required.”

Shigaraki’s lips tightened into a scowl. There was a tense silence, then Kurogiri stepped forward, leaning down to whisper something into Shigaraki’s ear. After a moment, Shigaraki nodded. But he didn’t seem happy.

“We can provide you with a single nomu, also for research, as well as three times our normal payment for the next six months. And for you personally, Overhaul, I can add 100,000 yen for facilitating the delivery. I will even throw in the last copy of the video of your little toy as a bonus. Unless you really thought I didn’t have a personal copy for my own use.”

Shouto’s stomach churned upon hearing that the LoV leader still had a copy of that video. Dabi had destroyed the other copies a few days ago, what he had believed were all the copies, a few days ago, much to Shouto’s relief. Apparently not. Kai didn’t seem to respond to the information at all. As if it was of no importance.

Still not enough,” he replied, his voice cold again. “This kind of a delivery is going to be quite costly, not only for the Yakuza, but for my boss specifically. All original conditions apply, except we get two nomu’s to research, and an additional 5,000,000 yen up front. Given your recent financial struggles, I’m sure you can understand that Okimoto might be less than convinced about your ability to follow through with your end of this bargain.”

“2,500,000 yen today, and the other 2,500,000 in three days time,” Shigaraki replied. “But I need this delivered by the end of the month.”

This may actually happen. Shouto shuddered at the thought. By the end of the month, only ten days from now, All-for-one might be in communication with The League.

Shit.

“I will take the 2,500,000 yen and my bonus, as a token of good faith to present to Okimoto. If he agrees, we will return in three days for the remaining 2,500,000, both nomus, and all five of the drugs and research. Your payments will triple for the next six months, to be collected on the 25th like always. No extensions.”

“And if he doesn’t agree?” Shigaraki sneered.

“Then we won’t return in three days.”

Kurogiri leaned down once more, whispering something into Shigaraki’s ear.

“You have a deal.” Shigaraki finally replied.

Shouto’s stomach dropped, but he kept his face completely passive. This was going to happen. Who knows what the long-term ramifications of this deal would be. If the League were able to communicate with all-for-one in Tartarus, what could they accomplish? Information? An attempt to break the super-villain out?

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Shouto took deep breaths, focused on keeping his face straight. This couldn’t be happening. The Yakuza was going to deliver a communication device for The League to the most dangerous villain in the city, one that nearly killed All Might to bring down. He needed to tell someone. Only, if he did then both Shigaraki and Kai would know it was him. Shigaraki would kill him, if Kai didn’t first…

Fuck!

Kai nodded.

“Kurogiri. Toga. If you two will remain here to keep Overhaul comfortable,” Shigaraki instructed. “I was hoping one of your men might help me retrieve the funds owed today. Chronostasis appears to have his hands full, but perhaps the hero would be willing to help. I wouldn’t keep him for long.”

“Shouto?” It was more of a question. Kai was giving him the opportunity to decide whether or not he was willing to. He could refuse, and every fucking muscle in his body wanted to refuse, but Kai had brought him here to overcome his fear of Shigaraki. He had his quirk. Kai would still be right there. He could do this.

“I’ll go,” Shouto replied, purposely mimicking Kai’s cold tone as he met Shigaraki’s red eyes. Shigaraki smiled.

“Ten minutes, Shigaraki.” Overhaul added, a hard edge in his voice.

Shigaraki stood up, motioning for Shouto to follow.

“Don’t worry, Overhaul.” Shigaraki said as he began to walk toward the door. “Your little toy is as safe as a kitten around me.”

Shouto pushed the churning in his stomach down, turning to follow Shigaraki. The dessicated man held the door for him, motioning for him to go through. Hojo, Setsuno, and Spinner were all waiting in the hallway. They watched him step out, and to the side so that Shigaraki could take the lead. But no one said anything as Shigaraki motioned for Shouto to follow him.

“I’m glad you were so willing to help, Shouto,” Shigaraki sneered as they began to walk down the hall. “I was hoping I might get a chance to speak to you today.”

“I have nothing to say to you.” Shouto replied, maintaining his cold tone as he followed.

"You don’t have to say anything. I would prefer, actually, if you didn’t. You see, I don't like you. I think you are a liar. I think you are weak. And I think that you are a danger to Dabi. Him burning that video is proof enough of that." Shigaraki stopped, unlocking a door and motioning for Shouto to go inside, following him in.

"I had nothing to do with that," Shouto replied. It was technically true. Although he hadn’t asked Kai not to have Dabi get the video when they talked about it. But it probably wouldn’t have changed anything.

"My point exactly,” Shigaraki retorted. “And if Dabi were any other man on my crew, he would likely be dead for such insolence. We didn't have such issues before you showed up, toy. You have caused nothing but trouble since you arrived at his door. Although I will say that you have a little more… fire in you this time, you are still pathetic. The only thing you have been remotely good for is a cock-sleeve. And if those swollen lips are anything to go by, I would say Overhaul hasn’t been shy in using you the same way."

“You only feel that way because I joined Overhaul instead of you. Which pisses you off because I have a powerful quirk that you know would be damn useful to you.” Shouto retorted. Talking back to the withered man was as difficult as standing up to his father had been. It made his heart race, afraid of how the other man would react. If Shigaraki managed to touch him, he could kill him. But Shouto couldn’t let the man continue to think Shouto was afraid of him. Even if he really was.

Shigaraki laughed. An awful, dry, rasping laugh.

“Feeling cheeky today, I see,” he said. Shigaraki crouched down next to the safe, leaning over it to input the code as he spoke. "You think you are untouchable now? Just because a powerful man enjoys fucking you. Overhaul and Dabi are the reason you aren't already dead. The problem is that their fondness for you makes them blind to the danger you pose to my organization. It was bad enough to have you at Dabi’s house. Now Kai is bringing you to meetings? A little wannabe hero on the loose. Talking to your friends and your professors. The free reign you have been given is absolutely disgusting and irresponsible."

Shouto swallowed. He had heard things today that could change the future of the city. Shigaraki must already know the internal debate he was struggling with. His instincts were begging him to tell someone.

Shouto watched as Shigaraki counted out the yen, placing it in bundles into a large black bag. It took a few minutes, but finally he closed the safe, zipped up the bag, and stood up. He walked over to Shouto, setting the bag on the desk. Shouto’s body tensed as Shigaraki walked over to stand next to him. Shigaraki blatantly looked him up and down, before reaching up towards Shouto’s face. Shouto stepped back, freezing Shigaraki’s hand in midair. A brief flash of surprise crossed Shigaraki’s face, but it was gone almost as quickly as it had come. Shouto’s ice disintegrated.

“That’s a cute party trick, isn’t it?” Shigaraki replied. “Don't look so worried. I got what I wanted from you, I don’t plan on touching you again. Even you aren’t pretty enough to risk messing up this delivery. But I’m not stupid, Shouto. I remember when Dabi first left UA, realized that he had to give up being a hero. It doesn’t happen overnight. And if it hadn’t been for his burns, it might not have happened at all. You have too many choices. And it is only a matter of time before you make the wrong choice, before your childish actions put my League at risk. And at that point, I shall have to step in to do what neither Overhaul nor Dabi will. I don’t need to touch you in order to clip your wings. So I would suggest that you make very careful decisions. And enjoy your freedom, Shouto, while you still have it." Shigaraki picked up the bag and shoved it harshly against Shouto’s chest.

Shouto nodded, trying to keep his face blank. His mind screamed for him to respond, but for the life of him he couldn’t speak a single word.

"Now let's get you back to your master before he comes to look for you." Shigaraki smiled dryly, walking over and opening the door. Shouto headed over, but Shigaraki put his hand on the bag right as Shouto got to the door, stopping him. “And Shouto, there is no need for Overhaul to hear about this little conversation. If I even suspect you have told him, I won’t take my anger out on you. But you have a few people in your life that wouldn’t be so lucky. And I would hate to see you end up without a place to live.”

Shouto swallowed. He felt numb as he stepped out into the hall. Kai said it was going to take small steps, but Shigaraki still scared the hell out of him. Despite Kai's assurance that Shigaraki was weak, the man never felt weak when Shouto was around him.

‘Enjoy your freedom, Shouto, while you still have it.’

The words ran through his mind again and again. He felt like he was going to throw up. He trained his face back to impassivity as they approached the other room, not meeting eyes with either Hojo or Setsuno. There was an obvious tension in the room as they stepped back inside, although Kai’s shoulders did seem to relax when he saw Shouto. Toga was bouncing up and down happily, waiting. Shouto adjusted the bag slightly, meeting Kai’s golden eyes and nodding briefly to assure the older man that nothing had happened.

“There you go. Your little hero is safe,” Shigaraki said, making his way back around the desk. “2,500,000 yen for Okimoto, and 100,000 for yourself. And,” Shigaraki opened the desk, pulling out a small thumb-drive and setting it on the desk. “The last copy of that video. You have my word.”

Kai didn’t reply. He stood up, picking up his mask and re-attaching it to his face. He picked up the thumb-drive, and melted it onto the desk. Shigaraki scowled, but Kai just nodded at him, before turning around and heading to the door. Toga took the tray from Chronostasis, smiling at Shouto.

“Bye Shou!” She said as he turned to follow Kai back out.

He smiled at her before stepping out of the door. He couldn’t reply if he wanted to. His mouth felt like it was stuffed full of cotton. He could barely breath as he followed Kai back down the hall and out the door.

‘Enjoy your freedom, Shouto, while you still have it.’

Chapter Text

After the meeting with the League, and with the complete media mess of the Domestic Violence charges, the next week passed by in a blur. After leaving The League’s base, Shouto went back to Kai’s, where he stayed until Monday morning, and let himself get completely lost in the other man’s sheets as many times as Kai would have him to help take his mind off of everything. His thoughts were a tangled mess of guilt and fear. Someone needed to alert the heroes about The League’s plan to contact All-for-one, but Shigaraki had made it very clear that he was watching Shouto carefully. If Shouto said something, and the LoV leader found out, he did not doubt that Shigaraki would follow through on his threat. And Dabi’s feelings for the withering man would make him an easy target. So Shouto had to push his guilt down, and hope that Okimoto, who was apparently Kai’s boss, declined the delivery.

Even after Dabi came home exhausted on Sunday night, and the newspapers reported a League attack on a small bank near the edge of the city on Monday. Just having the funds didn’t guarantee that Okimoto would approve the mission. But Kai didn’t take him to that meeting. He said Shouto wasn’t quite ready to meet Okimoto yet. And not knowing was almost worse than knowing that the delivery had been approved.

It didn’t help to have the media buzzing around the university like flies on a carcass. The official date for the court hearing had been set in two weeks time, and he felt like he was under constant watch, especially after Shigaraki’s threat. He refused to do any interviews at all, even though Aizawa did suggest that it might help his case. But the tiniest slip of information might trigger Shigaraki to decide he had too much freedom after all. And he did not want to find out what the man meant when he said he would be forced to clip Shouto’s wings.

His father, on the other hand, was more active in the media than he had been in months. He had a personal touch in every single article that came out in regards to the abuse. He did both radio interviews and a live TV interview, where Natsuo joined him to talk about life in the Todoroki household. A complete joke, in Shouto’s opinion, as Natsuo wasn’t in the house more than a year after his mother went to the hospital. He had no idea the abuse that had happened after. Even Fuyumi didn’t really know; in the beginning it wasn’t so obvious. Harsher punishments, stricter words. Especially during training. By the time it was truly abuse, it was only he and Touya in the house.

Aizawa had made it a rule not to discuss the case in class, but questions got so bad after the first few days that Shouto took to hiding in the upstairs bathroom during their lunch break so that other students wouldn’t bother him. And things with Bakugou got even worse. The blonde had finally started to speak to him during class on Monday. Even if it was a little strained, it was still better than not speaking at all. Then, on Tuesday, Kaminari saw a glimpse of a hickey on Shouto’s hip while he was changing in the locker room. The electric blonde had yanked up his shirt to reveal a few others before Shouto even realized what had happened. He had quickly pulled his shirt back down, but not before those angry ruby eyes had seen them. The other teen had almost blown Kaminari’s head off when he and Mineta wouldn’t stop begging Shouto for details about the ‘lucky lady’. And the look that Izuku had given Bakugou after that, a mixture of sympathy and intrigue, made Shouto feel sick for the rest of the day. Needless to say, Bakugou stopped talking to him again after that.

Shouto bugged Dabi for a few joints and started to smoke, just a few puffs in the morning before class, and a few more during break, which helped the last few days of the week go a little better. Until Momo caught him in the bathroom on Friday. She had a fit, and lectured him for the duration of their lunch break. But they took the edge off. By Friday night, things were slowly returning to normal, and the meeting from the previous week had started to fade in his mind just a bit. He had managed to convince himself that Kai not requesting him to help retrieve the rest of the payment from the League must mean that Okimoto had refused the delivery. And as for Shigaraki, Shouto just had to be careful. The LoV leader wouldn’t act unless Shouto gave him a reason too.

So when Kai asked for he and Dabi to help him collect a payment on Saturday night, Shouto was mostly alright with it. Although primarily because that would mean that he would get to see Kai again. And chances were very good that Shouto would get to spend the night with Kai again, and would get to finally work out some of the stress from the week. It was almost unnerving how excited Shouto was to see the golden-eyed man again. Not even just for the sex. Shouto wanted to talk to him, to fall asleep next to him, to enjoy the smell of him on the pillows. To look out the window at the lights of the city in the middle of the night. To shower with him. To just be, for a little while. When he was with Kai he felt important. Desirable. Wanted. And if that meant keeping Overhaul happy too, then it was worth it.

Kai picked them up at the apartment. Dabi wore his League attire, and they outfitted Shouto in a similar trench coat that Dabi had. Much to Kai’s dismay, they finally agreed to cover up Shouto’s scar and put up his hair similar to the night he first met Dabi at the club. One would have to look very closely to realize who he was. Kai brought him black dress pants and a dark grey dress shirt with a red tie to wear under the coat. Kai was wearing black plants with a black vest, white dress shirt, gray tie, and his signature green jacket. His hair was a bit more spiked up than normal, and the way that vest fit him made Shouto wish they didn’t have to leave at all.

They headed out around 10:00. Dabi didn’t live in a great part of the city, so they didn’t have to go far to reach their destination. Shouto had never been in this part of the city before. Although it was just a few blocks, it was still the peak center of night life for many of the cities less than scrupulous citizens. The buildings were all fronted with garish neon signs and large posters advertising a variety of sins decorated the windows. They eventually pulled up to a larger building, the sign out front for ‘Kiruchi’s Dancing Ladies’. The building looked like an old factory that had been revamped into a dance club, and had a foreboding look to it, but there were bright colored lights in every window advertising scantily clad dancers posed in front of a stripper’s pole.

“This club is run by a wealthy entrepreneur, Hironaka Kiruchi,” Kai explained. “It’s been in business just over a year, and they pay a nice sum to the Yakuza to help keep things running smoothly. He runs a clean front with plenty of eye candy to keep the average business man happy, but they have a second clientele with fully nude dancers in the back. That side of the business is not exactly square with the law, so we keep the police from shutting the club down. It’s pretty straightforward, and normally Chronostasis is able to take Rappa and collect the funds. But it has recently come to our attention that he has been providing a few additional services in the basement. The Yakuza are not going to continue to support his business unless he is willing to pay appropriately and follow the necessary rules for his new ventures. That’s why you two are here. Many of the bullets have dangerous quirks, but there is something to be said for a visually flashy quirk. Chrono will be there to guard the door and ensure we aren’t interrupted. I will do the talking. You two will just emphasize my points if necessary. Shouto, all you need to do is follow Dabi’s lead. Questions?”

Shouto shook his head. It seemed pretty straight-forward. Much less stressful than the meeting with the League. It was even vaguely similar to hero work. They were here to bring someone in line who had some illegal business deals happening. Heroes dealt with those kind of criminals all the time.

“Sounds easy enough,” Dabi replied.

Kai nodded, handing both of them a simple black surgical-style mask before securing his own mask in place and stepping out of the car. Shouto put his on, stretching it out to cover as much of his face as possible, and scooted out after Kai. Chronostasis stepped out of the shadows once Kai appeared, and met the trio by the entrance. The security guard took one look at Kai and motioned them in. The entryway was a long, ugly hallway that looked like it belonged in a condemned building. But once they reached the end there was a second door, and they stepped into a large room.

Shouto had never been in a strip club before, so he wasn’t really sure what he had expected, but this was certainly different than a normal club. It was one huge room, with four stages through-out, one large stage in the middle and three smaller ones around the room. There was a single pole on each stage, and very scantily clad women dancing on each. Chairs were set up around the stage, and a variety of tables after that. In the very back was a series of booths. And on each side was a long bar. Everything was very dimly light outside of a bright light over each stage that shimmered off of the dancer’s skin as they moved. Roaming back and forth between the clients were servers, carrying platters of drinks and dressed in almost as little as the dancers. Pop music played loudly overhead, and the room smelled faintly of Jasmine and old cigarettes.

Shouto’s attention was especially drawn by the dancer on the main stage. She was rotating in circles near the top of the pole, and she had long purple hair that swung around as she moved. She was wearing a dark purple thong to match with only small purple hearts over her nipples and a pair of three inch sparkley heels. She was small and lithe, and she moved around the pole as if she was born to it.

Dabi’s hand on his arm caught his attention, and he startled to realize that he had almost forgotten what they were doing as he watched the dancer. He blushed (luckily it was so dimly lit he didn’t think anyone would notice), and hurried to follow after the others. They headed over to the edge of the bar, and Chronostasis waved the bar-keep over. Shouto was surprised to see the man behind the bar looked young enough that Shouto wouldn’t be surprised to learn they were the same age. He had red eyes, startlingly like Bakugou’s, and short black hair spiked up on the top of his head, decorated with red kitty ears. He was very thin, and wearing a pair of tight red leather shorts and a black harness that crossed over his chest and stomach, his skin was glittering in the light from the bar. He caught Shouto staring, winking and giving him a large smile before making his way toward the white-haired man. Chronostasis leaned over and said something very quietly to him. The guy nodded, walking away and motioning for one of the serving girls. He whispered something to her, and she glanced over at them before disappearing.

When he returned, the bar-keep brought over four shots of honey-colored liquid.

“Courtesy of Hironaka,” he said, “While you wait. He is finishing up with a client, and will send for you shortly.” Kai, Dabi, and Chronostasis all accepted theirs, but the guy made a point to hand Shouto his. He pressed a small note into Shouto’s hand as he did. “I’m off at 1,” he said quietly, “And I’m a top.” Then he walked away, leaving Shouto staring, open-mouthed (thank god for the black mask), after him. He quickly hid the note in his pocket.

When he looked over, Kai was watching him. It made Shouto nervous, but with the mask on it was impossible to decide what the man was thinking. Shouto wanted desperately to take his shot, but when he looked, the other three shots sat, untouched, on the counter. He reluctantly put his down, keeping his eyes trained on the counter as they waited. After a little bit, a server came back over. She was cute; big eyes and long blonde hair pulled back in a pony-tail. She was wearing a white lacy bra and a pink mini-skirt with white fish-net tights underneath. Like the bar-keep, her skin was glittering in the light.

“Mr. Hironaka can see you now,” she said, motioning for them to follow. Kai took the lead, and Shouto trailed at the very end behind Dabi. They passed into the back side of the club, which had a very similar feel to the main room, though was much smaller with only a single stage, two completely naked twins dancing together near the front. There was a lot more space between the tables on the sides, most of them more private booths lining the side and back of the room. Shouto purposely kept his eyes away from the stage, trying to stay focused. Finally, they passed into a small hallway, and the server led them down to a door near the end of the hall. She bowed, before hurrying back in the direction of the club.

“No matter what you hear,” Kai said lowly, speaking to Chronostasis, “I don’t want you to leave this door unattended. I don’t want any surprises tonight.”

Chronostasis nodded. Satisfied, Kai opened the door and stepped inside. Dabi followed him in and Shouto came in last, closing the door behind him. Dabi had placed himself standing behind Kai’s right shoulder, so Shouto stepped in to mimic his brother stance on Kai’s left. Kai sat down at the desk, facing the club owner. Hironaka was probably in his early 40’s. He was tall, solidly built, and had a full head of salt-and-pepper colored hair. He was wearing a cheap black suit, and had a large mustache that curled up on the edges. He had no obvious physical quirk, but that didn’t mean he might not be dangerous. Shouto tried to be discreet, but he widened his stance slightly, readying himself for defense if needed.

“Overhaul,” Hironaka greeted him in a deep, almost jovial voice. “It has been quite some time since you have visited. May I inquire as to the special occasion?”

“I just wanted to see how the business was going,” Kai replied flatly. “Collect the remaining funds for this month. Nothing special, really.”

“Remaining funds?” Hironaka asked, his brows furrowing with confusion. “You must be mistaken. I paid my funds in full a week ago.”

“I’m aware of the payment for the strip club. I’m talking about the recent business ventures you have been hiding in your basement.”

The man’s jaw dropped open. A deep red settled in his cheeks as he stared at Kai.

“That has nothing to do with you,” Hironaka stammered angrily. “You tell Okimoto that he doesn’t need to worry about that. Those rooms are my business, and my business alone. I don’t owe you a single yen for that.”

Dabi took a step forward, blue flames rolling up his arms before extinguishing at his shoulders. Kai put up his right hand.

“I think you are the one who is mistaken, Hironaka,” Kai replied, his tone completely empty. “The only reason that your doors are still open is thanks to my boss. Covering up for you to have a few nude dancers, and sell a bit of marijuana on the side is one thing. Illegal prostitution. Heroine. Methamphetamines. Those are very different. You see, my organization either provides protection for a building or it doesn’t.”

“What are you implying?” Hironaka asked, glancing wearily between the three of them. “Is this supposed to be a threat?”

“Think of it more like a… negotiation.” Kai leaned forward, and Shouto noticed that Hironaka flinched, probably without even realizing it. “The way I see it, we have a few options. One: We talk about this new business venture. Set down a few ground rules to follow if you want our protection, as well as the amount of your new monthly funds. Two: I pull my organization’s support from this building, in which case you will likely be shut down by the end of the month. Three: Your monthly fund amount doesn’t change. I don’t pull my organization’s support. But I will have my associates relieve you of the parts of this building that you can’t seem to afford protecting.”

Dabi’s flames rolled up over his arms again, and this time he didn’t extinguish them right away. Shouto swallowed, letting his flames roll up his left arm, mimicking his brother. He hated using his left side at any time. Now here he was, using them as a threat. It left a bad taste in his mouth. He clung to the fact that this man was doing something illegal.

Hironaka’s face blanched. Shouto could see the reflections of their flames in his eyes; Dabi’s blue on one side, his red and orange on the other. Kai didn’t flinch at the sudden heat behind him, merely waited as the club owner seemed to weigh those options in his mind.

“And if I choose option one,” Hironaka asked cautiously. “What does that mean for my club?”

“Pretty straight-forward. My organization continues to ensure that the police turn a blind eye to this club. In return, your monthly funds double. Your current dealer is gone. From this point forward, my organization will provide you with the drugs to sell. You will buy them at cost of production and 20% of your profits. This is less than most dealers will charge you up front, which should help to cover those funds you are so worried about. As for the prostitution, Okimoto doesn’t care if people are coming in to get their rocks off, maybe dabble in a fetish or two, but there are a few things he isn’t willing to risk. All of your prostitutes need to be alive and sober while working. No one under the age of eighteen. No animals. No non-consensual violent fetishes will be indulged. And if one of your clients does maim or kill one of the workers, Okimoto will want to be informed immediately. Now, is there anything else happening in that basement that I should be aware of?”

“My fee’s will double?!” Hironaka gasped, sweat starting to trickle down his forehead. “The police don’t care about a handful of farm animals that we purchased legally. And surely Okimoto would be willing to indulge a few of our more prestigious clients that prefer a younger product. I can personally assure you none of our workers are younger than ten.”

Shouto’s stomach churned with disgust. Dabi growled, his flames growing around him, inches away from the ceiling. The room was quickly getting almost unbearably hot. Shouto let ice start to creep down his right arm, ready to use his right side if something accidentally caught flame. Hironaka flinched, putting his hand up to block some of the heat. Kai turned and looked at Dabi, and Dabi’s flames started to lower once more.

“I may not have been entirely clear,” Kai replied, turning back to look at Hironaka. “This part isn’t negotiable. Either you agree to these terms, or you can choose one of the other two options.”

Sweat was pouring down Hironaka’s forehead now, and the club owner was squirming uncomfortably in his seat. He couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of the flames behind Kai. Shouto could see Kai sweating too, although the golden-eyed man was surprisingly calm given the fact that the heat on his back must be almost overwhelming.

“Fine!” Hironaka agreed after a moment. “You have a deal! Now, please! You are going to burn this office down!”

Kai turned his head and gave a slight nod to Dabi, who finally let go of his flames. Shouto followed suit, letting both his flames and his ice go. Hironaka tried to wipe his head with his shirt. He was quite red-faced.

“I’m glad we could see eye-to-eye on this,” Kai replied. “The minors in your service will be turned over to foster care immediately. You have one week to get this new venture in order. At which time, we will have a new contract for you to sign and Mr. Okimoto will likely wish to inspect the new business and workers in person. You will also need to cut ties with your current dealer as of tonight. Okimoto will decide which drugs will be sold out of this establishment, and have them delivered to you in two days time. If we find out you are selling anything else, our contract will be void and more… direct measures will have to be taken. Do I make myself perfectly clear, Mr. Hironaka?”

“Yes. Yes, of course,” Hironaka stuttered. His voice had lost all it’s confidence from earlier. He was flustered, and it was evident in every word. “We are always honored to welcome Mr. Okimoto or any of your associates to our establishment.”

Kai nodded, standing up. Dabi opened the door, allowing Kai to leave first and then following him out. They didn’t linger at the club. Kai seemed eager to get away from the lights and the glitter and the slightly too loud pop music that filled the rooms.

Shouto was glad to escape the hot office. Hironaka made him sick. Ten years old. Ten years old and having to submit their body to the wills of men who are three, four, maybe five times their age. Maybe more. And even worse, the man didn’t even seem to care. How could anyone be so vile? It made Shouto so angry that he thought he wouldn’t even mind burning down those rooms if it meant freeing those children from that kind of abuse. And if the Yakuza hadn’t found out, if Kai hadn’t stepped in to stop him… Shouto shuddered to think how long such reprehensible behavior might have continued.

The car ride was quiet. Shouto could tell that Dabi was still upset about the man too. It was disorienting to see Dabi like that. Not his brother, but The League of Villains Dabi. The Dabi that had burned down the factory, and apparently helped to break into a bank just last weekend. The Dabi that he had faced off against that night at the training camp. Shouto let his head drop onto Kai’s shoulder, breathing in Kai’s cologne. He let it fill his senses, brief images of laying against Kai’s body, of falling asleep in those pillows that smelled just like him, of showering with him and having those long fingers lather that scent over his body. It helped to calm him a bit.

He knew it was weak to need to lean on the older man like this, and a part of him was embarrassed to have both Kai and Dabi there to see it. But Kai didn’t push him away, or admonish him. Instead, Kai put his left hand on Shouto’s thigh and squeezed gently. It was such a simple gesture, but that slight weight on his thigh was comforting.

The car slowed, and Shouto opened his eyes. He looked around, confused for a moment. Instead of returning them to Dabi’s apartment, they were at Kai’s. Xaoi Fe pulled up near the entrance so that they could get out, and he followed Kai. Dabi didn’t seem the least bit concerned as he trailed after them. The doorman greeted Kai with a deep bow. Kai returned a small nod, before walking them over and scanning his key card to open up the elevator. They rode the elevator in silence as well, and Shouto could feel a strange tension in the air around them.

When they finally got to Kai’s, he was ready to relax for a little while. He slipped off his shoes at the entryway, and shrugged out of Dabi’s trenchcoat. Although he had expected Dabi’s coat to be made for his quirk, Shouto was surprised to see just the slightest bit of singeing on the dress shirt, and none on the pants. Kai had these clothes made with a fire-resistant material, which was not cheap. It also meant that he had expected that Shouto would likely be using his fire. The thought was not exactly comforting.

He made his way into the living room, collapsing in the middle of the couch and staring out the window at the city around them. Dabi wasn’t far behind. He had taken off his coat as well, his black T-shirt stretching enticingly over his chest as he sat down next to him, draping his long legs over Shouto’s thighs and leaning back against the side of the couch to relax. Kai came in a few minutes later, juggling three shot glasses, each filled with a clear liquid.

He handed one to Dabi and one to Shouto before sitting down next to them.

“That guy was a real asshole,” Dabi grumbled as he took his shot, Kai also taking his.

Shouto tentatively took his, the tart flavor filling his mouth. He crumpled his nose, handing the shot glass to Kai, who was, in vain, trying not to smile at the face Shouto was making.

“I can’t believe he was allowed to do those things. Ten years old… how could he do that?” Shouto’s question echoed his earlier thoughts. He just couldn’t shake the horrible reality of what had been happening in that basement before tonight.

Dabi snarled angrily at the reminder.

“I told you, Shouto,” Kai replied, “The Yakuza are not just mindless criminals. We provide a sort of order in the city. An order that the heroes are not capable of providing. They could arrest a hundred prostitutes tomorrow, and it would not stop men from seeking out carnal pleasure. There is a demand for such services. What you heard tonight is the kind of behavior that would run rampant if we weren’t there. Instead, we provide a set of guidelines that meets the majority of the demands without catering to the vile diseased behavior that so many men are capable of if given the opportunity. Hironaka is no liar. If he said he had workers as young as ten, he meant it. We… you helped to ensure that those children will not have to continue suffering such abuse.”

“How do you know he won’t continue to do such things anyway, and hide it from you?” Shouto asked.

“I can’t guarantee he won’t try it. But he would be a fool if he did,” Kai said. “We will be watching him carefully for the next few months. If he doesn’t comply, we will find someone else to take over the business that will.”

Shouto nodded. He was actually glad that he had been there. As sickening as it was, he felt like he had actually accomplished something tonight.

“How about something to help take our mind off this evening?” Kai offered. “Dabi, did you bring anything that might help us to… relax?”

“I might have something,” Dabi murmured, shifting his leg as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small bag of five brightly colored pills.

“Perfect,” Kai replied, reaching over for the bag. Shouto eyed the bag suspiciously, trying to decide what it might be. Clearly it was a drug of some sort, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to take something blindly. Kai stood up, motioning for them to follow. Dabi pushed himself up off the couch; Shouto did as well, although definitely with a bit more hesitation. When they got into the kitchen, Kai was filling up three tall glasses with water.

“What is it?” Shouto asked as Kai opened the bag and poured three out into his palm.

“Ecstasy.” Kai replied, offering one to each of them. Shouto took his, staring at it in his palm; it was bright blue with a smiley face staring up at him. He remembered taking it the night at the club. He also remembered how fucking good he had felt that night. Every touch had been amplified, every pleasure felt a dozen times better than normal. He also remembered feeling like shit the next morning. He watched as Kai and Dabi both took theirs, each drinking the full glass of water in their hands. When Kai set his glass down, he noticed Shouto still eyeing his. “You don’t have to take it, Shouto.” Kai said quietly. “But you don’t have to worry about anything bad happening if you do. Dabi and I will take care of you.”

Shouto nodded. It would feel nice to take his mind off of everything for the night. And this wasn’t like last time at the club, or like the cocaine with Shigaraki. This was his choice. He popped the pill into his mouth, accepting the water from Kai and drinking deeply.

“I have one other thing that might help while that takes effect,” Kai added. “You two wait in the living room, I will be right in.”

Shouto went back and resumed his position on the couch. Dabi walked over to the window, looking out at the city. Shouto sighed as he let himself sink into the cushions. Just being here with Dabi and Kai was already helping him to relax.

When Kai returned, he had a single joint in his fingers. And he looked good. He had taken off his jacket, vest, and tie, and undone the top few buttons on his white dress shirt. He walked over to the window, standing next to Dabi and putting the joint in his lips. Shouto watched as Dabi lifted his hand and blue flames jumped from his fingertips. Kai leaned over, taking a few small puffs to get the joint burning. Once he was satisfied, he took one long drag, before holding it away from them. His other hand he put on the back of Dabi’s neck, pulling Dabi forward until their lips were almost touching. Dabi’s mouth dropped open, and Kai slowly exhaled the smoke directly into Dabi’s mouth.

Shouto couldn’t look away as the two stood intimately close, tendrils of smoke escaping their mouths and floating up around them. Images of the two of them together came rushing back to Shouto, and a wave of desire rushed over him. Dabi’s exhale sent a plume of smoke up around their faces as Kai closed the distance, and Shouto could feel his cock getting harder as they kissed, open-mouthed and passionate. He couldn’t look away, his eyes glued to their lips, watching them taste one another. When Kai finally stepped back, Shouto could already see the outline of the man’s desire straining against his pants.

Kai took one last, small drag of the joint before handing it to Dabi. The two men stared at one another for a moment as Dabi accepted the joint, words seeming to hover, unspoken, between them. After a moment, Dabi turned away from Kai and began to walk over to Shouto. Shouto could feel his heart starting to race as his brother stopped in front of him, kneeling down over Shouto’s lap, straddling his waist. Dabi reached up and ran a finger over Shouto’s bottom lip as he took a deep drag of the joint in his mouth. The smell of marijuana and Dabi’s cologne filled Shouto’s senses, and he let his mouth drop open slightly as Dabi pressed down on his lip. Shouto could barely breathe as Dabi leaned forward. His brother’s lips barely touched his as Dabi blew the smoke very slowly out into Shouto’s mouth. Shouto inhaled the smoke, tilting his mouth up so that his lips moved ever so slightly against Dabi’s, chills going up his spine at the feeling of Dabi’s snakebites moving against his lips. Dabi moaned lowly, leaned back, his eyes glued to Shouto’s mouth.

Shouto could feel his brother’s arousal starting to harden against his leg.

“Remember what I said, Shou,” Dabi said, his voice husky as he put his right hand on Shouto’s cheek and traced his thumb firmly over Shouto’s lips. “Emotions are messy. Just, enjoy the moment.” Dabi looked up to meet his eyes, his blue eyes dark with lust, searching. His brother’s desire was obvious, but he was giving Shouto a chance to say no. Shouto’s eyes dropped to his brother’s mouth, his piercings, the black roses tattooed across his lower jaw, on his neck, and disappearing into the neck of Dabi’s shirt.

He looked back up to those blue eyes. He didn’t want to say no.

Then Dabi was kissing him, his brothers lips on his, ardent and hungry. Dabi’s mouth felt unlike anyone he had ever kissed, his lips were warm and soft against Shouto’s, but his brother’s lip rings moved against his lips too, firm and rigid as they pressed into his tender bottom lip. Shouto opened his mouth for Dabi, letting his tongue dart out to tease the metal rings, and Dabi groaned. His tongue pushed into Shouto’s mouth, the single piercing in his tongue sending jolts of desire through Shouto as his brother traced it over the inside of Shouto’s lips.

Then, as quickly as it had begun, Dabi pulled away. Kai had come over to stand behind him, and took the joint out of Dabi’s hand. Dabi started to undo the buttons on Shouto’s shirt as Kai sat down next to Shouto, smoking and watching as Dabi pushed Shouto’s shirt open and began to run his hands over Shouto’s chest. Dabi’s fingers were warmer than Kai’s and it sent little chills over his skin as Dabi touched him. Shouto closed his eyes. He could feel his high starting to take effect, and his skin felt so sensitive, especially when Dabi began to tease his nipples, pinching them playfully and rolling them in between his thumb and finger. Shouto’s cock pulsed at the feeling.

“Fuck, Shou,” Dabi moaned. He moved off of Shouto’s lap, settling himself on the floor between Shouto’s knees. He leaned over, taking one of Shouto’s nipples into his mouth and rolling his tongue ring around it. Shouto cried out at the feeling, arching his back to push his chest forward. He could feel Dabi’s hands undoing his button and zipper, his brothers fingers sliding into the waistband of his jeans. Dabi sat back and began to pull Shouto’s pants off. Shouto lifted his hips slightly, watching his brother’s face as Dabi uncovered his cock and threw his pants to the side. Shouto was already hard, his cock flushed with desire. A desire that only grew as Shouto watched Dabi’s blue eyes trace it, his hands roving up and down Shouto’s thighs.

Kai stood up, and knelt down behind Dabi. Shouto met Kai’s golden eyes over Dabi’s shoulder, his mouth watering as he watching Kai slide Dabi’s shirt over his head and throw it down next to Shouto’s pants. Dabi’s body gleamed in the dim light, his tattoos on full display for his brother. Shouto reached out, running a finger over the roses on Dabi’s collarbone. The skin underneath them felt rougher than normal skin. Kai was nipping and kissing across the back of Dabi’s shoulders and neck. Shouto let his hand drop down to trace down into the paler skin of Dabi’s chest, tentatively touching one of Dabi’s pierced nipples. Dabi’s chest tensed at the touch, his breath hitched.

Kai was undoing Dabi’s pants, the movement catching Shouto’s attention. God he liked watching Kai’s long fingers touch his brother. His eyes were glued to those fingers as they undid the button, and the zipper. Kai slid the jeans down just slightly to expose the outline of Dabi’s cock against his black underwear. Dabi groaned as Kai started to touch him laying his head back on Kai’s shoulder. And Kai watched Shouto’s face as he teased Dabi’s cock through the thin black fabric. Dabi was well-hung, just like Shouto remembered, and Shouto felt hypnotized as he watched that fabric tease and stretch between Kai’s fingers, hinting at multiple piercings lining the bottom of Dabi’s cock, just like Shouto had suspected from that first night at the club.

Shouto could feel precum starting to leak from his cock at just the sight.

“Do you want to taste your little brother, Dabi?” Kai whispered into Dabi’s ear as he continued to tease his cock. “The forbidden fruit?

Dabi groaned, his eyes opening up, momentarily meeting Shouto’s before tracing down to Shouto’s mouth, his chest, and then settling on Shouto’s cock.

“Yes,” Dabi replied, and Shouto’s cock twitched with desire.

“Of course you do,” Kai replied, and Shouto could see the grip on Dabi’s cock getting firmer, a slight dark spot starting to form on Dabi’s underwear, sticking enticingly to the head of Dabi’s cock. Shouto spread his legs open, shifting his hips forward slightly as he watched Kai stroking Dabi’s shaft through the black fabric, Dabi’s hips moving as Kai began to grind against him. “And you do look so good with a mouth full of cock… let’s show Shouto how good you can be…”

Dabi met his eyes once more. Shouto’s breath caught in his throat. His brother’s eyes were almost black with desire as Dabi leaned down into Shouto’s lap, wrapped his hands around Shouto’s thighs, and took Shouto’s cock into his mouth. Shouto gasped at the heat of his brother’s mouth, his body trying to arch up. Dabi didn’t start slowly, but instead took the entirety of Shouto’s length into his mouth and throat, his lip rings pressed into the base of Shouto’s shaft, that fucking tongue ring tracing lines over Shouto’s cock. Shouto’s thoughts danced with pleasure as Dabi started to move, pulling almost completely off of Shouto’s cock so that the cool air tingled over Shouto’s shaft, and then sliding back down so that Shouto’s head pulsed against the back of Dabi’s throat. One of Shouto’s hands wrapped subconciously into Dabi’s hair, the other gripping the couch cushion.

Kai pushed Dabi’s underwear down. He leaned over Dabi’s back, pressing three fingers against Shouto’s lips. Shouto opened his eyes. Kai had taken off his shirt completely, and the sight of the older man’s body pressed up against Dabi’s naked ass made Shouto’s cock throb in Dabi’s mouth. Dabi groaned, pulling off enough to run his tongue ring in circles around the head of Shouto’s cock, one of his hands letting go of his thighs to gently massage Shouto’s balls as he went down on him.

“Get these wet for me, little fox,” Kai said, breathlessly. Shouto complied eagerly, taking all three fingers into his mouth and mimicking the feeling of his brother’s mouth on his cock. He moaned and whined as he sucked on Kai’s fingers. He could feel the desire building in his gut, raw arousal clouding his thoughts. He sucked and licked Kai’s fingers until the golden-eyed man pulled them away.

A moment later, a deep groan came from Dabi’s throat, the vibrations almost like electric shocks over Shouto’s cock. His hips thrust up, fucking into his brother’s throat. Shouto opened his eyes, watching as Kai worked three fingers in and out of Dabi’s ass. Fuck. He could feel himself getting close as Dabi’s throat constricted around his cock. Kai’s fingers were as demanding as ever as he fucked Dabi with them, and Shouto couldn’t take his eyes away as he watched Kai’s fingers disappear entirely into Dabi’s ass.

Dabi’s moans grew more constant, and the vibration in his throat was overwhelming. Shouto continued to thrust up slowly into Dabi’s mouth as Dabi’s tongue caressed up and down Shouto’s cock, that tongue ring leaving a searing line of pleasure that was building quickly. Fuck. He didn’t know if he had ever wanted to cum down someone’s throat so badly as he did in this moment. His entire body was singing with pleasure and the idea of cumming into Dabi while Kai’s long fingers were buried deep inside of him was so fucking sexy that nothing else mattered. His grip in Dabi’s hair tightened and he began to thrust faster into Dabi’s mouth until he cried out, his orgasm crashing over him, bursts of pleasure like fireworks pulsing over his entire body. And Dabi pushed his throat as deep onto Shouto’s cock as he could while Shouto came, swallowing Shouto’s orgasm, the motion tightening around Shouto’s head and prolonging the intense pleasure. Dabi stayed like that, hot rushes of air wafting over Shouto’s stomach as Dabi breathed through his nose, deep-throating him until Shouto’s cock started to go soft, even then starting to swirl his tongue around it gently as he licked up every drop of Shouto’s cum.

Then Dabi was kissing his thighs and his lower stomach, the heat of his mouth sending shocks over his skin. Dabi kissed every ab, nibbled the tender skin on Shouto’s sides, traced lines over Shouto’s chest with his tongue, and rolled his tongue ring over Shouto’s nipples. Shouto whimpered with pleasure at the heat of his brother’s mouth against his body as Dabi climbed back up into Shouto’s lap, straddling his waist once more, and claiming his mouth. Shouto could taste himself on Dabi’s lips and tongue as his brother kissed him deeply.

Dabi’s mouth dropped open and he gasped loudly against Shouto’s lips, his body shifting forward suddenly to push Dabi’s cock up against Shouto’s stomach. Kai moaned lowly as he pushed his cock up into Dabi’s heat. Shouto could feel the rigid piercings in Dabi’s shaft press up against his lower stomach as Kai started to move, forcing Dabi forward against Shouto. Shouto grabbed onto Dabi’s thighs as Dabi’s mouth starting to move once more, kissing him, impassioned and urgent as Kai’s thrusting continued to grind Dabi’s cock against his lower stomach.

Kai leaned forward even more, forcing Dabi’s chest against Shouto’s.

“Fuck you feel good, Dabi,” Kai murmured, the speed of his thrusts increasing. Dabi pulled away from kissing Shouto to throw his head back in pleasure, moaning wantonly at the feeling of Kai inside of him. Shouto could already feel his own cock trying to stir again as Dabi’s cock drizzled precum on Shouto’s abs as it rubbed against them. Shouto pulled Dabi into him, snaking his other hand in between them to start stroking Dabi’s cock as he started to kiss and nip along Dabi’s neck. Their bodies were too close to wrap his hand fully around Dabi’s cock, so he did his best to stroke up and down the base of Dabi’s shaft, his mind reeling at the feeling of his piercings rolling over Shouto’s fingers. Five barbells that trailed from just under the head of his cock all the way down to the base of his shaft, and Shouto’s cock twitched as he tried to imagine what that would feel like up inside of him.

“Oh…,” Dabi groaned, “Yes, Shou… touch me… like that…”

Kai growled, adjusting slightly as he fucked Dabi. Within moments, Shouto could feel the heat of Dabi’s orgasm spilling out onto his stomach and fingers as Dabi cried out. Dabi’s thighs tensed against Shouto’s, his hands digging into the back of the couch as he braced himself. Kai fucked into him ruthlessly, smearing Dabi’s cum all over Shouto’s stomach, until he too finally cried out as came, slowly fucking Dabi as his orgasm washed over him until he finally stopped, pulling out of Dabi and sitting back on his calves, panting. Shouto could feel Kai’s cum drip out of Dabi onto his leg. Dabi groaned as he pushed away from Shouto, also trying to catch his breath as he stood up, his legs wobbling slightly.

Shouto lifted his hand, covered in Dabi’s cum, and licked it off of his fingers. His brother tasted bitter and salty, but he didn’t care. He felt so fucking good. After having Dabi grinding against him, he wasn’t ready to stop. He wanted to keep touching and tasting and feeling the other two pressed against his body.

“Holy fuck,” Dabi muttered. He closed his eyes, swaying slightly. “I need a fucking cigarette.”

“Open up the window in the kitchen,” Kai replied, standing up as well. He seemed a little steadier on his feet, and he pulled Shouto up off the couch and into his arms as Dabi headed to the other room. Shouto felt amazing, the beginnings of his high settling over him as Kai pulled the dress shirt the rest of the way off of him. The golden-eyed man smiled as he tossed it next to the rest of their discarded clothes. And then Kai kissed him, his lips hot and full of desire as they moved against Shouto’s. Shouto got lost in the feeling of his mouth, closing his eyes, insanely aware of every touch of Kai’s skin against his. His hands spread out over Shouto’s back, pulling Shouto firmly against his chest. He could feel Kai’s nipples rubbing against his chest, the toned ridges of Kai’s muscles against his. The fronts of their thighs rubbing together as they kissed. Every single place their skin touched radiated with an almost electric energy. Shouto was already getting hard again, and the feeling of Kai’s cock brushing up against his sent shocks of desire through him.

Kai moaned lowly as he felt Shouto’s arousal against him. He pulled back, leaning his forehead against Shouto’s and breathing deeply. Then he stepped back, reaching up and running a thumb over Shouto’s cheek, as if just remembering they had covered his scar. He made a dissatisfied noise deep in his throat, taking Shouto’s hand and pulling him in to the kitchen.

Shouto could feel a cool air in the room, the faint smell of a cigarette as Dabi stood, completely naked against the window frame and smoked. The window was cracked open, and the faint sounds of the city washed in with the breeze. Shouto couldn’t help but stare at Dabi as he smoked, his eyes traveling up and down his brother’s body, Dabi’s stomach still shining with cum. Shouto’s was as well, but it didn’t matter. He felt too good to care. He let Kai stand him up against the counter near the sink as the golden-eyed man took a wash-cloth and began to wipe away the concealer on his face. Shouto closed his eyes, nuzzling his face into Kai’s hand, and enjoying the feeling of the man’s fingers on his skin.

Shouto heard the window click as it closed. A moment later, Dabi joined them by the sink, taking the bun out of Shouto’s hair and running his hands through it to let it fall into place around Shouto’s face.

“Are you ready, little fox?” Kai asked, his voice thick with desire.

Shouto nodded, his cock twitching at the thought of being touched again.

Kai took his hand, and Shouto followed him and Dabi in to Kai’s bedroom. The bed was neatly made, Kai’s thick pillows stacked up along the headboards. Shouto watched raptly as his brother crawled on all fours over the bed. Dabi’s work in the League kept him in great shape, and Shouto watched his muscles flex and roll across his back, down his ass, and across the back of his thighs. Kai watched him admire the sight, kissing the side of his neck and urging him to follow as Dabi arranged himself to sit back against the headboard. Shouto crawled over behind him, kneeling in between Dabi’s knees.

Dabi was stroking himself gently to get hard again, and Shouto couldn’t take his eyes away from his brothers fingers as they rolled over his piercings. Dabi had a small tuft of red hair at the base of his cock, and the entire shaft was shining from where it had rubbed over the cum on their bodies while Kai fucked Dabi.

He felt Kai kneel behind him, starting to run his fingers up Shouto’s arms. Shouto licked his lips.

“It’s alright, little fox.” Kai whispered against his ear. “You can taste it.”

Dabi moaned, his eyes watching Shouto’s mouth. Shouto’s body felt so alive as Kai’s chest pressed against his back, and he could feel Kai’s cock starting to harden against his ass. His mouth watered at the idea of tasting his brother. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the bed and tentatively licking slowly up the base of Dabi’s cock, his tongue bumping over each piercing as he tasted metal and skin, salty with his brother’s cum. When he reached the top, he pulled Dabi’s head into his mouth, sliding his tongue over the slit and sucking gently. Dabi groaned, and Shouto felt his cock pulse in his mouth.

It wasn’t enough, though. He could still feel Kai behind him, his cock pressed up against his ass, and he wanted more.

Shouto shifted his hips to give Kai access to touch him, pushing his ass back against him as he started to bob his head up and down on Dabi’s shaft, his tongue prodding and teasing Dabi’s piercings as he went. Kai disappeared for a moment as he got off the bed. He was back quickly, and pushed two slick fingers up into Shouto. Shouto hadn’t expected such a fast stretch, and he cried out in surprise around Dabi’s cock. It was almost to much, but as Kai gently rotated his fingers in a half-circle inside of him, his middle finger teasing Shouto’s prostate, the stretch slowly faded into pleasure.

“God, Shouto,” Dabi groaned as Shouto relaxed his throat, going further down onto Dabi’s cock. Dabi wasn’t quite as long as Kai, but he was long enough that his cock stretched all the way into Shouto’s throat, those piercings pressed into Shouto’s tongue from top to bottom.

As Shouto relaxed, Kai began to scissor his fingers outward. His touch was hungry and desperate as he prepped Shouto. Shouto’s cock was swaying stiffly between his legs, and Shouto whined around Dabi’s cock, ready to feel Kai inside of him. Kai pulled his fingers away. Shouto could hear the sound of the bottle of lube as Kai covered his cock, and lined himself up, pushing slowly up inside of Shouto. Shouto wasn’t prepped enough for Kai, and the stretch of his cock sent waves of both pain and pleasure through him. Kai was panting with desire as he sank further into him.

Shouto moaned and whimpered around his brother’s cock as Dabi’s hands curled into Shouto’s hair, pushing his mouth gently down on his cock. Shouto could barely breath as Kai finally pushed completely into him, his fingers digging into Shouto’s thighs as he gave him a moment to adjust. Between Kai’s long cock inside of his ass, and Dabi’s cock starting to push into the back of his throat, Shouto didn’t think he had ever felt so full before. His thoughts were filled with lust as he enjoyed the feeling of both of them inside of him.

Fuck.

Shouto worked his mouth up and down over Dabi, bracing his elbows into the bed as Kai began to move. The golden-eyed man started gently, Shouto still so tight around him that he swore softly as he thrust in and out.

“Fuck… you look good like this… Shou,” Dabi sighed, pulling Shouto’s hair out of his face so he could watch his cock disappear between Shouto’s lips. Shouto could feel the spit slowly drizzling out to coat his lips and chin, knowing that it made his lips shine as they worked over Dabi’s cock. He was fascinated with the way Dabi’s piercings felt as he rolled his tongue over them, enjoying the little noises Dabi made as he did.

Kai started to speed up as he fucked Shouto, the motion starting to rock Shouto’s body forward onto Dabi’s cock. Dabi swore as Shouto swallowed him completely, the head of his cock starting to press down into Shouto’s throat. Shouto tried to move with Kai, pulling up and then taking Dabi fully as Kai fucked into him, but as Kai’s thrusting increased, Shouto just focused on relaxing his throat and letting the golden-eyed man guide his mouth, trying not to gag. His body felt like it was on fire, his cock aching painfully between his legs as it dripped pre-cum onto the sheets below them. Dabi was moaning wantonly, Shouto’s name dripping from his lips in a sultry chant, as he pushed Shouto down onto his cock, cumming all over the back of Shouto’s tongue. Shouto moaned as the salty taste filled his mouth, swallowing around his brother as Dabi’s hips fucked slowly up into his mouth, his cock pulsing as his orgasm washed over him.

“Fuck, Shou… fuck… ngh! Fuck!” Dabi’s hands tangled into Shouto’s hair as Shouto continued to lick up and over Dabi’s shaft, enjoying the last little bits of Dabi’s orgasm as it dripped out onto his tongue.

Suddenly Kai pulled out of him, lifting him up off of Dabi’s cock and flipping him over. Shouto loved when the golden-eyed man arranged Shouto for his pleasure, the reminder of the other man’s strength made Shouto want to submit completely to his desire. Dabi wrapped his arms around Shouto’s shoulders and pulled him up to lay against Dabi’s chest, holding his arms tight so that his body was completely exposed and vulnerable to Kai. Kai pushed Shouto’s legs apart and wrapped his hands under Shouto’s thighs, lifting his legs and ass completely off the bed to push back inside of him.

“Shit, you are… tight… today,” Kai groaned as he began to fuck Shouto once more, hard and fast, pushing Shouto roughly up against Dabi’s chest with every thrust. Shouto let himself moan with pleasure. His thoughts were getting hazy, and all that mattered was the feeling of Kai inside of him, hard and demanding. Kai’s cock pushed up against Shouto’s prostate with every thrust, and there was a string of pre-cum between Shouto’s cock and his stomach as Kai fucked him.

“Please, please!” Shouto cried out desperately.

“Do you want me to touch you, Shou,” Dabi whispered, his mouth leaving hot kisses on his neck.

“Yes… Ah! Yes!” Shouto could feel his desire pooling in his gut, his cock begging to be touched as it bounced gently up and down as Kai fucked him.

Kai shifted, almost folding Shouto in half as he pushed Shouto into Dabi, his face inches away from them. The dull thud of the headboard rhythmically hitting the wall began to echo through the room.

“Beg for it, little fox,” Kai growled.

Shouto’s cock throbbed.

“Please Dabi,” Shouto cried. He felt so good. He didn’t remember ever wanting to cum so badly. His thoughts swam in a lusty high, and all he could think about was pleasing these two enough to finally touch him. “I want… shit! I want you to… I want you to… fuck… touch me… Dabi… Ah! Ah!…” He dug his head into Dabi’s shoulder. “Please, please…. Please… Dabi…” The words tumbled from his lips of their own accord. He didn’t care what he said. He just needed to feel his brother’s fingers around him.

“Good boy,” Dabi growled. His right arm let go of Shouto, snaking around to finally… Oh. My. God! Finally! He wrapped his hand around Shouto’s cock, pre-cum smearing over his fingers. Kai leaned forward, kissing Dabi deeply as Dabi began to stroke Shouto’s cock. Shouto cried out in pleasure as the sound of Kai and Dabi kissing filled the air, the headboard pounding harder and harder into the wall. Shouto’s body screamed as Kai pounded directly into the bundle of nerves inside of him, and he was so turned on that it only took a few moments before he was cumming. His mind was so lost in his high that his vision blanked out, and he screamed with pleasure, his entire body tensing up between the two men as his orgasm ravaged his body, every single nerve ending from the top of his head to his toes tingling with pleasure. He could feel the heat of his cum coating his stomach, dripping down over his abs just as Dabi’s had earlier.

Kai groaned with pleasure, his thrusts getting erratic as Shouto clenched around him until Kai finally seated his cock deep inside of Shouto, cumming. His entire body pulsed against Shouto and he groaned into Dabi’s mouth. He fucked slowly up into Shouto, soft pulses of his cock inside of Shouto’s ass sending waves of pleasure through Shouto’s body.

They stayed there for a moment, panting and sweaty as Kai and Shouto let the pleasure wash over their bodies before Kai pulled out. Kai kissed Shouto’s mouth, moving him gently to lay down on his back. Kai lay over him, his hand firmly gripping Shouto’s chin to move his head to the side, capturing Shouto’s already swollen lips in his, pushing his tongue between them to enjoy the heat of Shouto’s mouth. His mouth moved against Shouto’s, irreverent and possessive, his hand reached up to curl itself into Shouto’s hair. Passion and lust emanated from the golden-eyed man, and Shouto crumbled under his touch. He was lost in a whirlwind of ecstasy and passion, and he didn’t remember ever feeling so far gone and so alive all at the same time.

Dabi shifted beside them, the bed moving softly as he pushed Shouto slightly onto his side, lifting Shouto’s leg in the air and burying his face in between Shouto’s legs. Shouto cried out as Dabi’s hot tongue flitted out over his entrance, pushing demandingly up into his ass. His tongue moved in and out of Shouto with raw, carnal greed as he licked Kai’s sex out of Shouto, moaning and swallowing loudly. Kai reached down, and pulled Shouto’s leg further up, giving Dabi easier access to fuck Shouto with his tongue until Shouto’s vision was blurred and his body screamed and begged to let the two men continue to use him.

Dabi began to push up between Shouto’s thighs. He took Shouto’s cock into his mouth, licking it clean, and then turning to do the same for Kai. Kai began to trail kisses down onto Shouto’s neck, his mouth greedy as it sucked and bit the soft skin. Shouto wasn’t sure if minutes or hours passed. His body swayed with pleasure as Dabi took turns going down on each of them, his mouth and tongue patiently working to get them hard once more. The room circled slowly in Shouto’s vision as his brother traced his tongue ring over his shaft. His cock cold and begging for more each time Dabi turned to Kai, taking the other man’s cock deep into his mouth.

Dabi groaned in satisfaction as Kai’s cock finally started to harden once more in his mouth.

“Fuck Dabi,” Kai growled, and suddenly everything shifted as Kai pulled Dabi up. The movement forced Shouto onto his back as Dabi lay on top of him. Dabi gasped as Kai buried his cock into Dabi with one swift thrust. Shouto could feel Dabi’s cock, hard and erect, moving against his thigh as Kai began to fuck Dabi. Shouto craned his neck up, kissing Dabi desperately, pulling Dabi’s lower lip into his mouth to swirl his tongue around Dabi’s lip rings.

Kai pulled out, pushing Dabi in between Shouto’s legs, and pulling Shouto into position on his back, legs spread wide for Dabi’s pleasure. Dabi’s eyes drank in Shouto’s body, slick with cum, his cock flushed and erect as it lay against his stomach, his ass spread wide and exposed.

“Take it, Dabi,” Kai demanded.

Dabi nodded, his eyes almost black with lust as he lifted Shouto’s hips slightly off the bed, and pushed into Shouto. Shouto was already prepped, and between the spit from Dabi’s tongue and the last of Kai’s cum inside of him, it provided just enough lube for Dabi to push each barbell slowly up into him. Shouto whimpered at the strange feeling of the balls rolling against the inside of his body as Dabi entered him. Kai pushed back up into Dabi, and Shouto cried out as it pushed Dabi’s cock up into his prostate.

Dabi braced himself over Shouto as Kai set the rhythm. His movements guided Dabi’s cock to thrust deeply into Shouto. Shouto could see the faint shimmer of sweat on both of the other men’s skin, and the smell of sex was overwhelming as he lay trapped underneath them. He opened his legs as wide as he could, clutching into the sheets as he enjoyed the feeling of his brother inside of him. The barbell’s rolled over the tender skin inside of him as Dabi moved, sending little sparks of bliss out into his body. He dug his head back into the pillow, crying out with satisfaction.

Shouto’s thoughts got lost as he reveled in the passion of the moment. His thoughts soared. His entire body vibrated with an overwhelming sense of pleasure and desire, satisfaction and unbridled lust. The entire room seemed to pulse around them, and he could feel himself sinking as the high of ecstasy peaked in his body. Kai fucked Dabi, and Dabi fucked him, and that was everything. There was nothing else as he moaned and writhed underneath his brother.

“Yes! Fuck… Overhaul, like that!” Dabi groaned as Kai increased his speed, forcing Dabi to go faster, deeper into Shouto’s body. And suddenly Dabi was crying out in pleasure, the sound rolling over Shouto’s body as Dabi came inside of him. Dabi’s body tensed, and his arm collapsed, his chest sinking onto Shouto’s. Kai continued to fuck Dabi’s softening cock up into Shouto, until, just a moment later, Kai came into Dabi, his moans reverberating through the room. Shouto could feel the literal vibrations of their desire rolling over his skin, and he reached up to touch himself. His body was desperate to feel that same pleasure.

Dabi pushed his hand away. He kissed Shouto deeply as Kai pulled out of him and lay down beside them, panting with exertion.

“Are you ready, Shou?” Dabi asked. His entire body trembled with pleasure against Shouto.

“Please,” Shouto was ready. He was desperate. He needed Dabi to touch him.

Dabi pushed himself up on unsteady arms. He straddled Shouto’s waist one last time, and sank down onto Shouto’s cock. Dabi’s ass was sloppy and wet with Kai’s cum, and Shouto could feel it dripping down his shaft as his brother’s heat enveloped him. Shouto’s hips ground up into Dabi as his ass clenched around Shouto’s cock. Shouto had never been inside of another man before. The idea of having his brother, of cumming up inside of him, made Shouto’s body thrum with lust.

Than Dabi started moving. And Shouto cried out. He reached out and grabbed Kai’s hand, clenching into it as the golden-eyed man watched his cock disappear again and again into Dabi’s ass. He couldn’t believe how incredibly tight and hot his brother’s body was, each movement as intense as sinking into Dabi for the first time had been. Dabi moaned as he rode him, the sound dancing over Shouto’s skin.

Kai reached over with his other hand, gently pinching and playing with Shouto’s nipples. Each touch sent a jolt of electricity straight into Shouto’s cock. Dabi started to move faster, and Shouto could feel himself getting close.

“Fuck! Dabi!” He cried out. He was so, so close.

“Shou… Shou, yes…” his brother panted in response.

Then the world shattered around him as he orgasmed, his hips rocking up to push deep into Dabi’s ass as ripples of pure, impassioned bliss rolled over his body. For a moment the only thing that existed was the feeling of Dabi’s heat around his cock. And the cries that passed over his lips fell silent as his blood rushed almost deafeningly in his ears. He continued to fuck up into Dabi, his body trembling with small convulsions as his cock finally softened and fell out of Dabi. Shouto could feel the cum, a beautiful combination of he and Kai’s sex, dribbling out of Dabi’s body.

Kai’s hand trailed up Shouto’s chest to gently cradle his head as the room swam around him. Dabi pushed off of him, leaving behind a cool rush of air on his skin, and dropped heavily onto the bed beside him. Shouto’s mind was numb with euphoria, and he could barely open his eyes. He felt Dabi press up against his side, laying a heavy arm over Shouto’s stomach. Kai joined him on the other side, his arm over Shouto’s chest. Shouto let his eyes close once more, reveling in the weight of the other men around him. His could feel the hazy fog of bliss washing over him, and as he felt the two men’s breath against his arms, he began to lose sight of where he ended and the other two began.

He didn’t even realize when sleep overtook him as Shouto disappeared into a beautiful mess of sweat and the smell of sex.

Chapter Text

When Shouto finally woke up on Sunday morning, he felt rough. Not as horrible as he did the morning after meeting Dabi at the club, but definitely rough. His stomach was testy, his head was pounding, and his body just felt, overall, like crap. The room and blankets smelled like sex, and he felt sticky and gross. Dabi wasn’t in bed any longer, but Shouto was relieved to see Kai still sleeping soundly next to him. Shouto smiled at the sight; Kai’s hair was even more messy than usual, but he was curled up next to Shouto, his arm resting heavily on Shouto’s chest.

Shouto swallowed. His mouth was dry and his breath was, undoubtedly, awful. He scooted carefully out of bed, moving Kai’s arm gently off of him. He did not want the other man to see him like this. His body, especially his head, protested to stand and walk, but he forced himself to make his way to the bathroom. After brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower, he put on a clean pair of boxers and headed in to the kitchen to look for something to help soothe his head and stomach. When he got to the fridge, Dabi had left a note; a bottle of vodka, two shot glasses, and a bottle of aspirin sitting on top of it. He smiled as he picked up the note.

‘Had to head out early to deal with something for the League. You should really stock some tomato juice, Kai.’

Shouto uncapped the aspirin and took a full dose with a shot of vodka. He pulled some crackers out of the cupboard and headed into the living room to find his phone and relax on the couch until Kai finally woke up. The man didn’t usually get to sleep in, and Shouto hated to wake him up any earlier than he had to.

As he saw the mess of clothes strewn over the floor, memories of last night came flooding back. Everything had happened so quickly. They were just hanging out. Then seeing Kai and Dabi… The way Dabi’s lips had felt when they touched his. He had never expected it to actually happen… He had sex with his brother. He actually had sex with Dabi. It was wrong. People weren’t supposed to do that, but last night it hadn’t mattered. The way the two men had touched him… everything had just felt right.

But what would people think of him if they found out. Not only was he fucking a Yakuza leader every chance he got, as if he couldn’t get enough of the golden-eyed man’s touch, but now he had slept with Dabi. A member of the League of Villains. Not just once, either.

I mean… fuck.

Even feeling like crap, his cock was trying to get hard just remembering the way the two men had felt as they fucked him last night. How sexy it had been to watch Kai fuck his brother. The way Kai had fucked him while his mouth was full of Dabi’s cock… The way Dabi’s piercings had felt inside of him…

Shit… he was definitely hard now.

Shouto needed a distraction. His stomach was way to queasy for sex. Even if Kai could manage it, he was pretty sure he would vomit if he tried to fuck. He just needed to find something to take his mind off the memory of last night.

Sitting down on the edge of the couch, he dug through the clothes on the floor. His phone was in his pants pocket. He pulled it out and settled onto the couch. He tentatively nibbled on a cracker as he opened his phone to check out the latest news articles around the domestic violence charges. The papers were definitely milking this for all it was worth, and there would undoubtedly be a new article again today. And chances were good that the article would not be in his favor. They rarely were.

He was not wrong.

The bold headline glared at him from the tiny screen.

Todoroki Shouto Living with Secret Male Lover during Domestic Violence Case?

What in the hell?

He clicked on the link, and was rewarded with a colored photo of him getting out of Dabi’s car for class. Shouto’s heart jumped into his chest. Luckily it was taken from relatively far away. He zoomed in on Dabi, relieved to see that it was impossible to tell who it was. Dabi was looking down, so you couldn’t see his blue eyes. And his eskimo outfit covered up pretty much everything else. Honestly, it wasn’t even that easy to tell it was a guy in the picture, but the newspapers did love a controversy.

Shit.

A picture of Dabi in the paper was not going to go over well with Shigaraki.

Shouto’s stomach churned. He was going to be sick. He jumped up and ran into the bathroom, making it to the toilet just in time to not vomit all over Kai’s floor. Once he was certain that his stomach was empty, he flushed the toilet and staggered back over to the sink to wash out his mouth.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

* * * * * *

Shouto ended up taking the bus to UA the next day. He didn’t, however, wake up with enough time to put concealer over the marks and hickey’s that Kai and his brother had left on his neck. So he settled for a big gray and red scarf to wrap around his neck and tuck into his school jacket. He threw on Dabi’s eskimo jacket over that, and pulled up the hood to cover most of his face as he hid in the back of the bus. Even if Dabi had been willing to risk driving him again, he couldn’t. Shigaraki had sent him out on a multi-city delivery, so he wouldn’t be back until Friday. Normally he didn’t mind the solitude, but with everything else going on it would have been comforting to have his brother home last night to talk to. But he supposed this was part of the challenge of leaving Enji’s.

When he got to school, the first thing Aizawa did, as had become a habit of the sleep-deprived professor, was pull Shouto aside for an update on the case. Endeavor’s lawyers had submitted an official request to the university for Shouto’s health records, which the university was legally obligated to provide. His father’s lawyers had already over-turned most of the ‘training incidents’ as behavioral punishments that are within a parent’s right, even if strict. With no pictures or medical records to provide as proof of abuse, it was unlikely to have those incidents re-introduced as evidence. If Enji could successfully disprove the remaining evidence before the trial, than the case would be dismissed before going to trial at all. Shouto’s records showed multiple counts of illegal drug use. If his father could tie those records to any of the remaining incidents, they would be disqualified due to the primary witness not being in a ‘sober state of mind.’

Which, Shouto was certain, Enji had plenty of money to accomplish. That also meant that it was likely the case would be dismissed before the court date. If the case did get dismissed, he had even less time before he had to figure out a way to not end up back in his father’s mansion.

As if he didn’t have a dozen other things on his mind.

First the news article, and now this. He was going to be useless today if his mind dwelt on the bad news. And his grades couldn’t really afford to take that kind of a hit. So he focused instead on getting lost in his schoolwork. He read every word of every required chapter. He diligently copied notes word for word as the professor’s scrawled them across the chalkboard. He over-answered essay questions, and instead of turning in his quiz early he checked and re-checked his answers before finally turning it in at the very end. He was desperate for anything to distract him from his thoughts.

By the time their lunch break finally rolled around, he hurried outside. Momo had been checking the upstairs bathroom during breaks, so he had taken to walking out to the very back of the university grounds if he wanted a quick smoke to relax. And today, he definitely needed to relax.

By the time he wandered in to eat, most of the students from his class were already done and cleared out. Which was fine by him. He wasn’t exactly in the mood to be social. Bakugou and his crew were still eating, and if Mina’s over-zealous hand gestures were anything to go by, something had the group riled up. He only had a few minutes before lunch was over, so he sat in the corner and ate quickly. The ten minute bell rang. As he went to stand up though, Bakugou suddenly appeared beside him, scaring him and almost causing him to drop his lunch-tray all over the floor.

“Damn, Icy-hot. Jumpy today?” Bakugou remarked, not bothering with a greeting.

“Says the guy sneaking around behind people,” Shouto retorted.

“Yeah well…” Bakugou puffed out his cheeks, nervously scratching the side of his neck. “So, how’s it going?”

“Fine,” Shouto replied. He had so much that he wanted to say to the blonde, but standing there in front of him, he couldn’t think of a single thing. “How are you?” he managed.

“I’m fucking fine,” Bakugou grumbled, eyeing the scarf around his neck suspiciously. “Did you… I mean, are you—”

“Yo Bakubro!” Kirishima called out, interrupting him. “Check this shit out! Kami’s about to break the record man!”

Shouto and Bakugou both turned toward the redhead. He was pointing excitedly at Kaminari, who had his head tilted back with three spoons balancing flatly on his nose. Sero was standing beside him, ever so slowly lowering a fourth spoon onto the pile. Mina was taking pictures on her cell to commemorate the apparently momentous occasion.

Bakugou scowled and turned back to Shouto, who was trying to hide an amused grin.

“Look,” Bakugou said, “I have something—”

A loud crash sounded behind them. Kaminari, Sero, and Shoji were all sprawled across the floor, the spoons having scattered in every direction. Shouto could hear Shoji apologizing to them, trying to help gather up the spoons.

The five minute bell sounded.

Shouto started walking toward the garbage. Bakugou was acting strange, and he didn’t like it. It left a weird feeling in his stomach.

“Shit,” Bakugou cursed, following him. “I um…” He paused, as if trying to decide what to say.

“You…?” Shouto encouraged him, dumping the leftover food in the bin and setting the tray on top.

“I… I…” Bakugou chewed on his lip for a second before finally looking up to meet his eyes. “I overheard what Aizawa told you earlier in class. About the fucking case against your dad. It… it sucks.”

“Um… thanks,” Shouto replied, not really sure how else to respond.

“Yeah, well…” Bakugou glanced around nervously, before taking a few steps backward. “See you in class, I guess.”

Shouto watched him walk away, not entirely sure what had just happened. He definitely hadn’t smoked enough for whatever that was supposed to be. He took a deep breath before following Bakugou. He got to the classroom right as the bell rang, nodding quickly at Momo before hurrying to his seat.

Unlike usual, Aizawa was already awake and waiting at the front of the classroom.

“Alright students,” Aizawa called out for attention. “Lunch is officially over. It’s time to get back to work. We have exactly three weeks until the Provisional Licensing Exams. Which means that you have three weeks to be ready for them. Over the past month we have been focusing on honing your individual quirk usage. This week will be a little different. We are going to focus on combining our quirks to improve performance. This skill is critical not only for these exams, but also for your internships, and once you are officially heroes working in an agency. It is very common to do patrols and missions as a team, especially when working in a dangerous part of town. As this next week passes, I want you to think broadly. For example, today you might be looking at how your quirk combines with Iida’s speed. In the future, your agency may partner you with a hero whose quirk is a speed-type, and you will need to find a way to work with that individual. The faster you are able to do so, the faster you become a successful team.”

Aizawa stopped for a moment, walking over to his desk to get a quick drink from his thermos and grabbing a stack of papers.

“On this form,” Aizawa continued as he began to hand out the papers, “you will find the class divided out in five groups. You will be assigned a new group every day through Friday. This means that you will be grouped with each peer one time during this exercise. Saturday will be a full training day that will consist of numerous obstacles courses that will require combined quirk usage to complete. So it is crucial that you use your time wisely over these next few days. At the end of each day, each student will be required to turn in a list of how their quirks can be combined with each of their peers assigned for that day. Students will be allowed to work in either the classroom or the library, but it is up to you to monitor your time wisely to complete the assignment in full. If even one person does not turn in a completed assignment for the day, it will bring down your score as a group. All students will need to be back in class and prepared to turn in their assignment fifteen minutes prior to the final bell for the day. Any questions?”

Shouto took his paper, glancing down at his team for the day.

Team 4: Midorya, Todoroki, Kaminari, Bakugou

Shit. Of all the days, and all the groups he could have been partnered with. Shouto cared about Izuku. And he was desperate for a chance to talk to Bakugou, especially after that strange conversation at lunch. But the idea of having to talk to both of them at once left him unsettled. There had been one too many strange looks that Izuku had given the angry blonde over the last week. One too many winks from Ururaka every time Bakugou’s name came up. And one too many times that Shouto had walked into the classroom to see them huddled together watching something on Izuku’s phone. It didn’t matter how resigned Bakugou looked, Shouto knew that the guy didn’t do anything he didn’t want to do.

At least Kaminari would be there. And they had an assignment. This didn’t have to be personal. Just get the assignment done and go home.

“Oi! Icy-hot! Are you coming?” Bakugou’s voice interrupted his thoughts, he looked up to see that Bakugou, Izuku, and Kaminari were all waiting at the front of the class. “We’re headed to the library so these extras won’t bother us.”

He nodded, shoving his notebook into his backpack and standing up. He briefly wondered if maybe he could switch teams today. After the picture of Dabi and the news about the charges, spending the next three hours working in this group was just about the last thing he wanted to do. But one glance at Aizawa, already sleeping at his desk with his head on his arms, told him the chances of that were slim. Resigned, he made his way to the front of the class.

“Fucking finally,” Bakugou grumbled as he led the way out the door. Shouto self-consciously touched the scarf around his neck to make sure it was in place, purposely trailing behind the others.

“Oh, I wish I had brought my other notebooks today,” Izuku starting chattering excitedly as they made their way down the hall. “I have already analyzed how my quirk can partner with most of the class. I’ve analyzed some of your quirks, too… I hope I can remember what I have written down… Although I have never really thought about Shouto’s and Kaminari’s quirks being compatible… ice is a really terrible conductor for electricity… if Shouto used his fire then maybe—” Izuku’s voice started to drop as he began muttering to himself. As usual, it was hard to make out more than a word or two once he got into this mode.

“Shut up, nerd,” Bakugou growled, “Wait until we get to the fucking library so we can write this shit down.”

“Oh! Oh, of course,” Izuku stammered, blushing slightly. “I’m sorry, Kacchan. I just really love these kinds of assignments!”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Bakugou muttered as he pushed the door open to the library. He stomped over to an empty table near the back, pulling out a chair for Izuku before sitting down himself. Wait… Shouto did a double take. Bakugou just pulled out a chair for Izuku! What in the literal hell was going on?

“Thanks, Kacchan!” Izuku beamed, his blush deepening. Bakugou just huffed impatiently. Shouto frowned at Bakugou, taking the seat across the table. He was not liking this at all. Kaminari plopped down in the chair next to him, dropping his stack of notebooks lazily on the table with a loud thud.

“Let’s get this thing over with,” Kaminari sighed, grabbing one of his notebooks and opening it up to an empty page, pen ready. “Ok Midorya… and go!”

“Slow down, Pikachu.” Bakugou grumbled. “We don’t want to fucking miss anything just because you’re in a hurry. Deku has looked at this shit already, so we start by breaking down his quirk with ours. Then we go clock-wise until we’ve looked at every damn combination of our quirks. Good?”

The one good thing about being paired with Bakugou was that he was a damn good student. The assignments this week were worth a good chunk of points. If Shouto could do well, it would definitely be a boost for his grade.

“Good idea, Kacchan!” Izuku quipped happily. “Let’s start with mine and yours. I have my notes for that combination with me actually…” Izuku started digging into his backpack. “Somewhere here…”

Shouto sighed. Of course he would have those notes with him. This was going to be a long afternoon.

Shouto opened up his own notebook, pulling out his phone to check for any messages while they waited. Finally, Izuku resurfaced with a black notebook in his hand. It was neatly labeled ‘17’ on the top right corner. Setting it on the table, he began to flip through it.

“Aha!” Izuku exclaimed, excitedly pointing at what was apparently the correct page. “Now Kacchan, I was thinking that if you…”

Shouto spaced them out as he started doodling a picture of a fox on the side of his notebook. It wasn’t long before he noticed that Kaminari was leaning in closer and closer to him. He glanced over, giving the other a strange look.

“You smell like kush, bro,” Kaminari observed, only somewhat quietly.

Bakugou stopped talking mid-sentence, and Shouto glanced up to see him and Izuku staring at him. Bakugou looked pissed. Fuck. He had only had a few puffs at lunch, and he was outside! He couldn’t possibly smell that much like weed.

“I don’t smell like weed,” Shouto lied flatly, frowning at Kaminari.

“Whatever you say, Todoroki,” he replied with a wink. Izuku hesitantly started talking about some kind of Detroit Smash / Howitzer combination while Bakugou glared at Shouto. “Hey,” Kaminari continued, trying to drop his voice so as not to disturb the other two. “I meant to thank you for this jacket, man. It is a real lady killer, if you know what I mean! I’ve scored two dates since I started wearing this thing!” He smiled widely, sliding his hand down the front of the jacket to show it off, as if it hadn’t belonged to Shouto in the first place.

“You’re welcome,” Shouto replied. Not that he had had much of a choice. The electric blonde had practically stolen it.

“Don’t you want to know who?” Kaminari asked conspiratorially, leaning further toward him.

“Sure,” Shouto replied. He didn’t really care that much, but talking to Kaminari was 100 times better than listening to Izuku gush about Kacchan’s quirk.

“Jirou AND Kendo. You know, the girl from 1B! Total babes, am I right?” he whispered excitedly.

“Yeah,” Shouto agreed honestly. Both of those girls were really pretty. “Congrats man.”

“Where do you think I should take them?” he asked. Bakugou shushed them.

“What do you mean? You haven’t actually gone out with them yet?” Shouto asked, ignoring Bakugou.

“No, I want the dates to be perfect,” Kaminari replied. “I’m supposed to go out with Jirou on Wednesday, and Kendo on Saturday. I’ve never really dated before. I mean, in highschool I was sort-of dating this girl, but we mostly just hung out in her room eating pizza, smoking, and making out. I figured you could give me some pointers, ya know? I was going to ask you after school, but this is perfect!”

“Why are you asking me?” Shouto asked curiously. He didn’t exactly have a ton of experience with dates himself. He was socially awkward, and his romantic life consisted mostly of sexual tension and quick fucks. Kai was the only exception, and even then the closest thing they had that might be considered a date was the dinner he made for Shouto the night after The League’s party.

“Because,” Kaminari said, “You are the only guy in our class getting some on the regular, you know?”

“Are you fuckers going to contribute to this shitty assignment, or what?” Bakugou growled angrily, jabbing a finger at his notebook.

“Come on, man,” Kaminari whined. “You know this is important to me. I asked you for suggestions at lunch and you just gave me the finger! Midorya already has most of these notes, and I really need the help!”

“Yeah well, halfie here doesn’t really do romance. You would be better off talking to Mineta. Now shut the fuck up so we can get back to the assignment.” Bakugou snapped.

Shouto glared. The fucking asshole. Just because he hadn’t taken Bakugou on any dates, or anyone really, doesn’t mean he couldn’t try to help.

“Now, wait a minute—” Shouto began, but he was interrupted by Kaminari.

“No way. Todoroki has got it with the ladies. Check this shit out!” Kaminari said, triumphantly grabbing Shouto’s scarf and pulling it off. Shouto tried to grab it, but the blonde yanked it away before he could. “Dude, I knew it! That was a hickey scarf if I ever saw one!” Shouto’s neck looked rough, he knew that. Kai generally left marks in less visible locations, but with the ecstasy, and the addition of Dabi… well, he didn’t look much better than the night after the club.

Izuku turned bright red. Bakugou’s face twisted into a livid snarl. Shouto quickly grabbed the scarf back and clumsily wrapped it around his neck.

“First last week. Now this. I told you Todoroki was getting some,” Kaminari grinned. “Is it Yaoyorozu? I bet it’s Yaoyorozu! Man! I just knew she was a vixen. You are so lucky! She has such big… Wait! Have you seen her naked?” Kaminari stopped, hitting himself lightly on the head. “Duh, of course you have seen her naked!”

“Keep your voice down,” Shouto shushed him, glancing around quickly. He was glad to see that there was only one other group that had chosen the library and they were far enough away that they probably hadn’t heard anything. “These weren’t from Momo. Now can we please drop it. Just, take them to the movies or something. Let them pick the movie, and buy them whatever they want from the concessions.”

“Dude. Fucking genius.” Kaminari nodded. “No wonder you get the ladies.”

“Shut the fuck up, dunce face!” Bakugou growled, definitely pissed. “Those hickeys aren’t even from a fucking lady! Or maybe you didn’t see the article in the paper this morning?”

Shouto wanted to die. This assignment couldn’t have possibly gone any worse.

“What? That was real?” Kaminari asked, confused. Suddenly a look of comprehension lit up his face. “You mean… You’re into dudes? But that night at the club? And Yaoyorozu. I heard her tell Jirou that you were ‘talented’ in certain things.”

“I’m bi, Kaminari,” he said lowly. “Not that it matters,” he added, glaring at Bakugou.

“Well. It looks like you two may not be the only gay couple in class, after all!” Kaminari said happily to Izuku and Bakugou.

Wait… what?! Gay couple? Izuku and Bakugou? Shouto’s breath caught in his throat. He couldn’t have heard that right.

“We- We aren’t a- a couple!” Izuku stuttered nervously as he glanced at Shouto.

“Seriously, Pikachu?” Bakugou snarled.

“But you guys went to the movies last weekend,” Kaminari sounded confused. “You were just telling Kirishima that you guys kissed…”

Shouto was definitely going to throw up. He had been so very wrong. Now this assignment officially couldn’t have gone any worse.

“I’m going to fucking kill you, Pikachu,” Bakugou growled, lunging over the table at Kaminari. Izuku jumped up to grab him. The other table had definitely noticed now. Ojiro and Hagakure were staring at them, Iida and Ochako had started to run over to help Izuku. Shouto stood up quickly, taking a few steps back. He had been so fucking worried. And he was right. They had already kissed?!

“Shouto,” Izuku managed as he tried to wrestle Bakugou down, “It was an… an accident! We didn’t plan to… Kacchan! Stop!”

“What is going on here?!” Iida was yelling, waving his arms around frantically. Ochako grabbed onto Bakugou’s other arm, helping Izuku to pull him off of a very frightened Kaminari.

Shouto couldn’t do this. He could barely breath.

“Stop this, Bakugou!” Iida was chastising the angry blonde. “We are in a library! This behavior is very unbecoming of a future hero!”

“I… I need to use the restroom,” he said out loud, to no one in particular. He started backing up, finally turning and all but running out of the library and up to the 3rd floor bathroom. He pulled the rest of the joint out of his pocket, lighting it up with shaking hands and inhaling deeply.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Shouto’s thoughts were running a hundred miles an hour through his mind. He looked like an idiot running away like that. He should not be this upset about them going to the movies, or even kissing. After everything he had done with Kai, he didn’t have any right to be upset. And he definitely shouldn’t be jealous. He was seeing Kai and Bakugou. He really liked them both. Bakugou could see Izuku and still see him too. It wouldn’t matter that much if Bakugou and Izuku fooled around a little bit. Sex was just sex, after all. And maybe if Bakugou were seeing two people, he would be more understanding.

The problem was that he didn’t think Bakugou would see it that way. If he actually liked the greenette, Shouto didn’t think that Bakugou would be willing to continue seeing him too. Especially while he was involved with the Yakuza. Shouto’s life wasn’t any less complicated than it was a week ago. In fact, it was arguably more complicated than ever. Just dating Izuku would be so much easier for the blonde, and probably safer.

Maybe he should be glad? He cared about Bakugou. Really cared. He knew Bakugou was hurting, and maybe dating Izuku would be good for him.

But that might mean losing Bakugou.

And the idea of that made Shouto sick. He took a few short hits, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall, letting the smoke settle in his lungs to try and relax him.

What was wrong with him? It wasn’t normal to care this much about two different people. Or to date two different people.

Fuck.

His phone pinged, distracting him.

Bakugou: Where the fuck did u go?

Shouto: Needed water. Omw back now.

Shouto hit send and snubbed out the rest of the joint. He had to go back eventually. They just needed to finish this assignment. As horrendously awkward as it was going to be. And he needed to just talk to Bakugou. Or make Bakugou talk to him. Either way. The blonde had been avoiding him for nearly two weeks, and now he was dating other people. If Shouto didn’t do something, then things between him and the blonde were over for sure.

Shouto: We need to talk. Upstairs bathroom after school.

Shouto shoved his phone into his pocket. He splashed water on his face and ran his hands through his hair. He stopped by his locker on the way in, stashing his school jacket inside. It smelled more like weed than the rest of his clothes. Then he reluctantly made his way back to the library. The other table all hushed when he passed by, and he was fairly certain that they were trying not to stare. Izuku was furiously scribbling down notes while Bakugou glared at his notebook and Kaminari sat, looking sheepish as he jotted down notes as well. As he sat down, Izuku was muttering about how to combine his and Kaminari’s quirk, which mostly consisted of him transporting the electric blonde around for speed and Kaminari using smaller bolts of electricity for long-range attacks.

“Dude, were you just—” Kaminari started to ask when he sat down, sniffing the air apprehensively.

“No.” Shouto interrupted him. Kaminari had a nose for marijuana like a bloodhound. It didn’t mean they needed to announce it to the entire library.

He just nodded, turning back to his notes and sighing in boredom. Shouto started to draw out a table on his notebook for his part of the assignment, jotting down some ideas as Izuku and Kaminari finished discussing the compatibility of their quirks. Finally Izuku turned to Shouto.

“Shouto, I’m really sorry that we—”

“I could create slides, or even platforms for you,” Shouto interrupted him. He really didn’t have much patience left today. He just needed to get through this assignment.

“What?” Izuku scrunched his nose in confusion.

“Our quirks.” Shouto explained, “You utilize your speed and surroundings when you fight. I could create slides to increase your speed even more, or platforms for you to use while you are fighting. I can also create shields, or a wall if we needed. Our quirks would partner really well if we were out-manned in a fight. My ice could create distance between our opponents so that we didn’t have to fight them all together. The same would be true if I were to be fighting alongside any of you.”

“Oh,” Izuku replied, frowning a little as he glanced down at his notes. “I- I guess. Although Bakugou and I would have to be careful not to break the ice apart with the force of our attacks. You could also use your fire to help hold villains at bay.”

Diversion successful.

“I don’t want to include my fire on the analysis,” Shouto would put a stop to that before Izuku’s brain got attached to the idea. “Aizawa is going to expect us to use these analysis’ on Saturday during training. I don’t want to use my left side, and I don’t want to lose points if I don’t.”

“You should use your fucking fire,” Bakugou added, taking Izuku’s side. “Can you imagine how bad-ass my attacks could be if we added your fucking fire-power.”

Shouto sighed. He just needed to get through today.

* * * * * *

Bakugou took his sweet time making his way up to the bathroom after class. Shouto was just about to text him when the door finally opened. He walked in, dropping his backpack on the sink and leaning back against it. The blonde hunched over slightly, shoving his hands in his pocket and finally glancing up. Shouto met his red eyes. He really wasn’t sure where to start.

“So… You and Izuku,” Shouto said, his heart sinking slightly at the words.

“No… I mean, we fucking kissed,” he grumbled, shrugging. “I was going to tell you at lunch, but after Aizawa told you all that shit… I didn’t know how. It didn’t fucking mean anything.”

“I don’t know if Izuku would agree,” Shouto replied honestly. The greenette had seemed genuinely happy today, even if he did apologize to Shouto about everything.

“It’s—” Bakugou began.

“Complicated,” Shouto finished for him. “Trust me. I get it.” Shouto moved over to stand next to Bakugou, enjoying the feeling of the blonde’s arm pressed up against his. “I don’t care, you know.”

“What?” Bakugou snapped.

“I mean, I do care,” Shouto corrected himself before the blonde jumped to the wrong conclusion. “I hated hearing that you kissed Izuku. But it’s because I was afraid that if you have him, you wouldn’t want me.” Shouto grabbed the blonde’s hand, turning toward him. “I still really, really like you. And if that means that I have to share, well then I guess I’m alright if you mess around with him too. I just want you to also be with me.”

“Are you kidding me?!” Bakugou snarled, pulling his hand away and whirling around to face him. “Of fucking course you wouldn’t care! You are unbelievable! The only reason I went out with Deku in the first fucking place was to make you jealous!”

“What?” Shouto wasn’t sure if he heard that right.

“After I saw those ugly hickey’s on your fucking hip, I knew you were still sleeping with that asshole!” Bakugou replied heatedly. “I wanted to make you fucking jealous. So that you would want to choose me instead! Deku figured out something was wrong. He started bugging the shit out of me, and then he asked me to go to the fucking movies. I only agreed because I thought it would make you jealous. I didn’t even mean to kiss him! It really was a damn accident!”

“Oh,” Shouto replied. Well, it had made him jealous. For what it was worth.

“And you were probably out fucking that prick all weekend.” Bakugou continued angrily, his eyes shining. The blonde turned away from him, running a hand over his eyes. “You probably didn’t even think twice about me. I’m such a fucking idiot.”

“I like you!” Shouto retorted, a bit to loudly. He stepped forward, grabbing Bakugou’s shoulder to turn him around and trying to take both of Bakugou’s hands. But the blonde pulled away, stalking over to the other side of the room. “How many times do I have to tell you that I really want to be with you,” Shouto continued, desperate for the blonde to understand. “Look, I know its weird. But I like you. And I like Kai too. I can’t help it. It’s just how I feel.”

“Oh, and I guess that Kai is just all fucking hunky dory just like you, huh? Doesn’t give a fuck who else his boyfriend is sleeping with!”

“Well… not exactly.” Shouto replied hesitantly.

“What the fuck do you mean, not exactly?” Bakugou growled. “Does he even know that we’ve been sleeping together?”

“We haven’t really talked about it,” Shouto answered honestly. “We aren’t exclusive.” Despite Dabi’s advice, he had avoided the subject entirely. He was a bit nervous to tell Kai about Bakugou. The golden-eyed man did seem possessive. Though he had never specifically told Shouto that he couldn’t be with other people.

“So you didn’t tell your boyfriend, who is a member of the fucking Yakuza and has literally branded you as his, and continues to leave marks all over you every fucking time he gets a chance, about us?” Bakugou bit out each word, shaking his head. “Why would you? It’s not like he’s probably going to fucking kill me or some shit once he finds out I put my fucking dick in you!”

“Of course he isn’t going to kill you!” Shouto was almost certain. He couldn’t bring himself to believe that Kai would sink so low.

Bakugou growled loudly, turning around and punching the side of the restroom stall, three times. Then he lay his head against the stall, panting angrily and squeezing his eyes closed. Shouto walked over tentatively, taking Bakugou’s arm and pulling the other toward him. Bakugou let himself be guided hesitantly. Shouto wrapped one arm around his waist and put his other hand under Bakugou’s chin, lifting it toward him. Then he leaned down and kissed Bakugou, deeply. Bakugou kissed him back, his mouth warm and passionate as it moved against Shouto’s. But only for a moment, then he pushed Shouto away.

“I haven’t changed my mind,” he said quietly, not quite able to meet Shouto’s eyes. “I want to be with you dammit. But not if I have to share you with him. So tell me the fucking truth. If I go out and tell Deku that I want to be with you, are you going to end this toxic bullshit you have going with Kai?”

Shouto stared at him. He wanted to shake the blonde. To scream at him. Why was he being so belligerent? Why couldn’t he just be ok with everything just like it is? He frantically ran through a dozen responses in his head, but there was nothing.

“That’s what I fucking thought,” Bakugou scoffed after a moment “And that’s why you don’t get to have a fucking say in who I spend my time with.”

The blonde wiped at his eyes again. Shouto watched Bakugou gather up his backpack and leave the restroom, tears stinging at the corners of his own eyes. He tried to brush them away, but the more he did, the worse it got. Before he knew it, the tears were streaming down his cheeks. He let himself collapse down to the floor, leaning his head back against the stall and crying.

It was pathetic. They had never even dated, not really. Why did it hurt so fucking much to lose something that never actually belonged to him. The thought of him going to Izuku for comfort… Fuck! It just made him cry harder. He dropped his head onto his knees and cried until his head hurt and his throat was sore. And once he couldn’t stand crying anymore, he turned and mimicked Bakugou, punching the outside of the bathroom stall. Again and again. A metallic thud echoed with every hit until his fist was throbbing, and then a few times extra for good measure.

Then he finally pushed himself back up, cradling his hand. His middle knuckle was bleeding, and his hand was definitely going to be purple and swollen in about fifteen minutes. But he could deal with that once he got home. Even after washing his face, it was obvious he had been crying. He grabbed his backpack and headed out. He was grateful that classes had been over for a bit. The news reporters had given up for the day. He was able to pull up the hood of Dabi’s jacket and make it onto the bus and back to Dabi’s apartment without anyone noticing.

Shouto was mentally exhausted. He was looking forward to collapsing on the couch and passing out, being able to escape from his thoughts for a few hours and just sleep. But when he opened the door, he was surprised by the smell of food rushing out of the apartment and the sound of the TV. Had Dabi gotten home early? He closed the door, dropping his backpack in the entryway and stepping into the living room. As he did, Toga’s head popped up over the back of the couch, her eyes lighting up when she saw him.

“SHOUTO!” She shrieked. Within seconds she had jumped up, ran over, and flung herself into a bear hug, surprisingly strong for such a tiny woman. She was wearing her usual schoolgirl outfit and pig-tails, and she smelled faintly like cotton candy when she hugged him.

“Hi Toga,” he replied, trying not to sound as frustrated as he felt. He really, really did not want to deal with her today. She was just so… much. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to see you, silly.” She giggled happily, finally releasing him from the hug as she stepped back to smile widely at him. “I brought dinner!” She ran into the kitchen, starting to pull some to-go boxes out of a bag.

“Um… alright,” Shouto watched her apprehensively. God, the food smelled good though.

“Dabi told me you were really stressed,” She said, trying half-hazardly to balance more than she could carry as she made her way around toward the coffee table. Shouto took the drinks out of her arm, trying to help as he followed her. She set everything down, grabbing the remote to dull the volume on the reality show she had been watching. “I just couldn’t stand the idea of you over here all by yourself! So I decided to come visit. I got you soba!” She squirmed happily as he sat down next to her. “Dabi says it’s your favorite. And tea! This one is yours!” She motioned to one of the cups, grabbing the other and taking a large sip for herself. After she set it down, she put her hand on his thigh, touching his cock with the tips of her fingers. “Don’t you worry, Shou! I will make you feel all better!”

Then she giggled, and pulled her hand away to start dividing the food between them.

Shouto sighed. Please let her decide not to stay the night. He needed to be able to sleep without worrying about waking up to find her hand down his pants.

“Thanks, Toga,” he replied, picking up his cup. “Dinner is great… but you don’t need to worry about anything else.” He took a big drink, making a face as he swallowed. It was tea alright, but it had a strange after taste. It had probably just settled. He stirred it around with the straw as Toga finished opening everything up. It smelled delicious. He took another large drink. It was a little better, but not much. Still, he was super thirsty, and pretty much anything was better than the apartment’s horrendous water.

Setting the cup on the table, he scooped up his container of food and chopsticks, flinching slightly at the pain in his right hand as he tried to hold his chopsticks. His knuckles were definitely a nice purple now, swollen up from his assault on the bathroom stall. He sighed as he adjusted the chopsticks. Eating like this wasn’t going to be easy.

They ate together in silence for a few minutes. Toga seemed very invested in her show, some kind of dating show that made absolutely zero sense to Shouto. But she was delighted, and went back and forth between watching the TV and watching him struggle to use his chopsticks with his sore hand. But he finally managed to figure out a way to hold the things without spilling his noodles down the front of his shirt.

“How was class?” she asked when the show cut to a commercial. “Did you get to see Izuku?!”

Of course she would want to talk about Izuku. The greenette was a hot topic today, and the last person he wanted to talk about right now. He made a non-committed grunt as he took a big bite. Then he set down his food and took a drink, pulling off his scarf and setting it on the couch. Toga giggled as he started to shrug out of first Dabi’s jacket, and then his school jacket.

“Somebody has been a naughty boy,” she laughed, setting her food down and getting onto her knees on the couch beside him. She started to trace her fingers around the marks on his neck, leaning over to kiss one of them.

“Woah, Toga,” he jumped to the side. His head spun for a split second at the movement. He braced himself. He must be more tired than he thought. “Please, don’t do that.”

“Fine,” she pouted, leaning back against the couch and watching him pick up his food to start eating. His arms felt… off. Sort-of heavy as he tried to move them. He moved them up and down a little, the movements almost straining.

Something was wrong.

Shouto set the food back down on the table, stretching out his arms and flexing his fingers to try to figure out what was happening. It felt like his arms were moving underwater; his fingers felt thick and slow. He moved one of his legs back and forth, that same heavy feeling inhibiting each movement. This wasn’t normal. Toga must have put something in the food.

“Toga, what did you give me?” he asked. It even felt a little strange to talk, like his tongue wouldn’t quite move fast enough.

He had never had a drug make him feel like this before.

“It’s nothing, Shou,” She replied earnestly, smiling at him. “Just a few things I added to your tea to help you relax! You’ll see! It will make you feel great!”

The tea… She put something in the tea…

Shouto shook his head, trying to clear it. But the movement made him dizzy. A surge of panic rose up in his throat. This wasn’t good. This was very bad. He needed to do… something. Anything. If he could get to the bathroom… His body was feeling heavier by the moment, and he struggled to push himself up off the couch, but his legs wouldn’t support him. Toga jumped up to try to catch him as he stumbled, knocking his food over and falling down to his knees.

“Shouto!” Toga admonished him, wrapping her arms around his chest and struggling to pull him back onto the couch. “Stop this! Look at this mess! You are going to hurt yourself.” He struggled against her, but it took so much effort that it was quickly exhausting him. His head was swimming, and he put up his right hand and tried to create a shield of ice. The ice flowed out and covered part of the couch, pushing the furniture backwards with the force. His ice wasn’t working right. It’s like all of his training was just… gone.

Shit!

“Stop!” She grunted as she continued to struggle against him. After a moment, she stopped. He tried to crawl away, but his arms were getting too weak, and he collapsed on the floor. He rolled his head to the side as she crawled next to him, grabbing his arm. He tried to pull away, but within a moment she had something attached around his wrist. “See what you made me have to do, Shou!” She pouted.

He struggled to pull his arm closer to his face. She had a bracelet on him.

“What is…” Shouto took a deep breath. It was getting really hard to think clearly. “Are you doing?”

“Just relax.” She said, moving his body around to lay him flat on the floor. His body was so heavy that it was hard to resist, so he didn’t even try fight back. She adjusted and readjusted each limb like he was a doll. Satisfied, she finally crouched beside him, smiling widely. “See. I am going to take care of you! Oh! We are going to have so much fun! I have been waiting for you to come home all day!” She giggled, pulling off her white sweater. His eyes took in her pale, thin form. Her chest was red from the effort of struggling with him, the blush spreading down over the top of her perky breasts. Her nipples were already hard.

Then she started to undo his pants, cooing happily and palming his cock as she did.

“No, Toga…” Shouto tried to move his hips, but it felt as if they barely moved at all. It did feel good though… the way she touched him. His pants left a strange tingling sensation over his skin as she pulled them down.

“Oh, Shou!” She purred happily, “I just love your cock!” Then she slid her hot mouth over him, her tongue swirling up and down as she mewled happily in her work. A part of his mind tried to warn him to stop, but his thoughts were swimming. It was hard to think at all as she worked her mouth around him. It was the strangest feeling. He could feel warmth and heat and pleasure, but he wasn’t even sure if he was hard. His entire body just felt… light.

He closed his eyes, letting himself sink into the feeling.

A moment later, the blissful warmth was gone, and suddenly he felt a hand on his cheek.

“No, no baby boy!” She murmured, patting his cheek rapidly until he opened his eyes again. The pig-tailed villain smiled widely when she met his gaze. She was real… for a moment he had wondered if she was just a dream. “Don’t fall asleep on me… We haven’t gotten to the fun part yet!” She started peppering kisses over his mouth and chin, brief and enthusiastic.

He rolled his head to the other side, his thoughts swimming.

“Stay with me, Shou,” she giggled as she got something off the table. “I’m gonna take real good care of you...” He watched her movements, vaguely registering what she was doing as she pulled a small square packet off the table and ripped it open. She stroked his cock a few times, sliding something tight over it.

He liked it when she touched him.

He let his head roll around to look at the ceiling, his eyes trailing over the subtle bumps and variations. It felt so peaceful in here. He closed his eyes.

“We are almost there…” She cooed, shaking his shoulders. The movement was strange, as if entire waves were washing over his body. Then a sharp pain in his side interrupted the peace as she pinched him. He opened his eyes, remembering that Toga was still there.

He was so tired.

Shouto groaned, trying to say… He wasn’t really sure what he was trying to say.

“Good boy,” She smiled, straddling his waist. And then suddenly she was sliding herself down onto his cock, his mind and body swimming with pleasure at her softness and heat. “Don’t fall asleep… you are doing so good, baby! Shiggy says you can fall asleep once we are done.” She was tight around him, her body rocking back and forth. The movement made him slightly dizzy, but it didn’t matter. She felt so good. “Just let me take care of you, Shou.”

Time seemed to drag on forever as she cooed and moaned and praised him, her body sliding up and down over his cock. He could barely moan as the pleasure started to grow, pulsing through his body. He wasn’t even sure if it was real as he enjoyed the feeling of her around him. It was too much. Everything happened in flashes. She was smiling at him, her face inches away from his, her cheeks blushed red and her eyes hungry. The Ceiling was swirling, and the room seemed to rotate. Her pink nipples bouncing and spinning above him. The sudden rush of carnal bliss that finally rolled over him was like a tidal wave.. His body felt too numb to handle the thrumming that washed over him. His thoughts were scattered, his vision hazy and consumed by the gentle bumps in the ceiling.

He could hear Toga talking to him, but the words were blurred together. He felt so good.

He closed his eyes.

His body felt so good…

Chapter Text

There was a dog barking outside, loud and incessant, the noise slowly drawing Shouto out of a deep sleep. He groaned as he blinked his eyes a few times, the apartment pitch black around him. He gave up quickly, letting his eyes close once more. He felt heavy as he tried to wake himself up, his head was pounding. Shouto was laying on his side, and his body was sore, his muscles aching. His stomach was unsettled, and his mouth tasted like garbage, absolute horribly dry garbage. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to work some spit so that it didn’t feel quite so parched. In doing that, he could feel something sticky on his cheek. He forced himself to open his eyes, reaching up to rub the sleep from them. He crinkled his nose at the awful smell that flooded his senses at the movement. He pushed himself to sit up, his hand coming to rest in something slick and sticky on the couch. Vomit. Shouto was puking again before he could stop himself as realized that he had been laying in a puddle of his own vomit.

Once he started, he couldn’t stop. He threw up until he physically couldn’t any more, dry heaving for several moments after. Even then he was gagging at the smell, and the horrible cold feeling of it on his skin. It was all over his face and probably in his hair from sleeping, and now it was all over his hand and arm and shirt… and the couch! Fuck, it was all over the fucking couch.

He gagged again as he sat up and pulled his arm out of the vomit.

He needed a shower. Immediately

He pushed himself off the couch to his feet, his head swimming from the effort.

“Shit,” he muttered, trying to ignore the horrible feeling of the vomit sliding down his arm. What happened? He made his way into the bathroom, trying to get out of his pants one-handed. And the shirt, the shirt was a lost cause that went straight into the tiny garbage can next to the toilet. His head continued to throb as he turned on the water, stepping in the moment it started to get warm. He dry-heaved as the water started to wash the vomit off his skin. He needed to get this off himself. When he was finally able to get his gag reflex in check, he grabbed the soap and started to thoroughly lather up every inch of skin, twice. His hair too.

Even then, he still felt… disgusting.

His memories of last night were fuzzy. He remembered leaving UA upset about Bakugou and coming home to sleep it off. Wait…

Toga was here, wasn’t she?

Yeah. He was almost positive that she was there. She had brought him dinner, and they had eaten together. And then… his head ached as he continued to stand under the hot water, trying to recall last night. She had brought the tea, and it had tasted off. And then she had…

No. That part was a dream. He remembered it being a dream. He remembered lying on the floor, naked. She was on top of him, and she was riding him. That couldn’t be right. He had been fully dressed when he woke up. If they had sex, Toga would never have left afterward. Despite not wanting to know, Shouto had come to learn that the blonde villain loved cuddling after sex. She would have stayed with him. It had to have been a dream. He shuddered as the images washed over him with the hot water. It was a strangely disconcerting dream. It had seemed so real… then again, drugs could have that affect sometimes.

Maybe she hadn’t even been there at all…

He let the hot water run directly down his face, wondering what he had taken last night that could have affected him so badly. He didn’t remember taking anything, and that was the scariest part of all. Maybe Momo was right. Maybe he did need to cut back on the amount of weed he was smoking. The heat was rough on his muscles, which still felt like he was half-asleep, but it was a blessing for everything else. So he stood under the water until it started to run cold, and even then he got out of the shower reluctantly.

After drying off, he brushed his teeth twice and gargled with mouthwash. He was determined to get the awful taste out of his mouth. Finally, he ran a brush through his hair and headed into the living room to get his bag of clothes.

The smell alone was almost enough to start making him gag again. He hurried to turn on the light, crack open the window, and pull on a pair of clean boxers. He tied a T-shirt around his mouth and nose like a mask, and tackled the mess on the couch. It would have been a horrible job even if he had felt great. As it was, with his head hurting, and his body still so tired, and his stomach still trying to find something to puke up, and the make-shift mask not quite blocking the smell entirely; the job was a nightmare. It took three bath towels to clean up the mess (which he dumped in the garbage - no way he was going to try and wash that shit out, he could buy Dabi new towels later) and sprayed the couch down with some weird-smelling ‘lemon’ kitchen cleaner that was undoubtedly not meant for that type of a mess.

But finally, it was done. Sitting down on the other side of the couch, he pulled the ‘mask’ off and surveyed the room, trying to figure out what had actually happened last night. His school jacket, Dabi’s jacket, and the gray and red scarf were slung over the arm of the couch. He remembered taking them off and setting them there. Then Toga had starting to touch the marks on his neck.

Shit. He would swear that Toga had been there.

But there wasn’t a sign of the dinner she had supposedly brought on the table. What he did find was a half empty bottle of vodka and two shot-glasses. One was tipped on its side, the other had the butts of four joints in it, and one half-smoked joint sticking out of it. He squinted at it. He didn’t remember taking a single shot. He didn’t even have that many joints, did he? Surely he would have remembered…

Maybe Toga was there. Maybe they had smoked together. But that would mean the other images…

He had struggled against her…

No. There was no sign of a struggle. Everything was set up just as it should be.

Shit. He felt way too crappy to be trying to figure all of this out. He grabbed the bottle of vodka and shot-glass and headed to the kitchen. He really wished that Dabi was there. His brother would never have let him smoke so much. And if he had, Dabi would have taken care of him. Hell, there would probably be a note somewhere with some aspirin and a Bloody Mary in the fridge.

This time, he was going to have to take care of himself.

The clock on the oven said it was only 2:17; thank god. He still had a few hours to get himself in some kind of shape to go to school. Rummaging through the cupboards, he pulled out all of the crap for a Bloody Mary, and the aspirin. He started with a full dose of the pain-killer, praying that it would take effect quickly. Now, he just needed to find his phone to figure out how much of everything he needed for the drink.

Shouto headed back to the living room, checking over the coffee table. Then the couch cushions, and underneath the couch. Where the hell did he put it? He definitely did not feel well enough for this. He must have left it in his backpack. Once he got to the entryway, however, there was no sign of that either. He double-checked in the kitchen and even the bathroom. Shit. He swore that he remembered bringing it home last night and setting it down. Then again, it was pretty obvious that he didn’t have the best idea of what happened last night. He had smoked way too much to rely on his memory of the evening. But he always put his backpack in the entry, right next to his shoes. Unless…

Unless he left it on the bus. Fuck. He probably left his phone in the pocket too.

He sighed deeply, frustrated. Of course.

It’s fine. He could figure this out. Hopefully it would be the same bus this morning, and it would still be there in the very back. Or maybe the bus station has some kind-of a lost and found system. He didn’t have a lot of money, and it was going to really suck if he had to buy all new books and a new phone. Hell, it would take most of the money that he had from his savings. Not to mention all of the pictures and such that he had on there…

No. Who would steal a backpack full of text-books. It would still be there. It had to still be there.

Returning to the kitchen, Shouto quickly put together what he hoped was similar to a Bloody Mary. It couldn’t be that hard, could it? He drank it quickly. Honestly, it was awful. He had clearly missed some important ingredient. But hopefully it would help his stomach. He just needed a little bit more sleep, and he could figure everything else out in the morning.

He set the timer on the stove, making a mental note to buy a real alarm clock for times such as this. He made his way over to Dabi’s room, using his right side to fill the lock with ice, slowly expanding it until the lock broke. He would replace the lock on the door later, but there was no way his stomach could handle sleeping in the living room on the couch that reeked of artificial lemon and vomit.

He stepped inside, making his way in the dark toward Dabi’s bed. This was the one room in the apartment that he had never been in before. And in any other state, he probably would have turned on the light and looked around. He always felt like this room would help him learn a little more about Dabi, about who his brother had become since he left the mansion. But in this moment, the only thing he cared about was getting into that bed and falling asleep. Although he might have a bit of time to look around before he replaced the lock tomorrow.

Shouto crawled into the bed, snuggling up in the blankets. The pillows smelled like his brother, which was comforting. And, just like Kai’s apartment, the bed was crazy comfortable. Maybe that was a side-effect of sleeping on the couch almost every night. Sleeping in a real bed felt so good it was almost surreal. He closed his eyes. Maybe he would wait a few days before replacing that lock…

* * * * * *

The timer on the oven went off with a horrible loud beeping that seemed to echo through the entire apartment. Shouto cursed softly under his breath. He could have sworn he had just closed his eyes. Grumbling, he climbed out of the bed and went to silence the awful timer. If he didn’t find his phone today, he definitely needed a new alarm by tonight.

Surprisingly, though, he actually felt quite a bit better, despite the lingering scent of vomit. To be on the safe side, Shouto took a second dose of pain-killer before starting to get dressed.

A part of Shouto wanted to skip class. He felt awful. He had no phone, and no backpack. And he was going to have to see Bakugou. The idea of seeing the blonde today in class was almost too much. To go in and pretend that everything was alright, and try to stay focused on his class-work, when all he wanted to do was wrap his arms around the other and beg him to reconsider. To accept Shouto as he is, even with Kai.

He pulled on his school pants and a new T-shirt. Then he set to tackle his hair, which was a mess after having slept on it wet. He knew it was an insane idea, but he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if he introduced Bakugou to Kai. Bakugou was very different from Shouto. But he and Kai were a lot alike, actually. They were both stubborn, handsome, determined, possessive, passionate, driven. Of course, Kai was cool and composed, whereas Bakugou could be set off at the drop of a hat. But what if Kai didn’t mind Bakugou, if he allowed Shouto to continue to see the blonde. What if he even liked Bakugou…

The unbidden image of Kai and Bakugou entered his mind. Of the two touching one another, kissing…

His cock twitched with interest.

Shit. Something like that would never happen. He needed to push that thought out of his mind. Imagining such a thing would only make him wish it were real, would only make it worse when he had to see the blonde today and be reminded that such a thing wasn’t an option. Kai would never risk exposing his identity to another ‘hero’ teenager; Shouto still considered himself lucky that the golden-eyed man had been intrigued enough to keep him alive. And Bakugou would have zero interest in getting involved with the Yakuza.

So why did the idea of laying between them, Bakugou’s naked body pressed up against his back and Kai’s against his chest, turn him on so much. They were both such passionate lovers, the idea of having them share his body, the way that Dabi and Kai did… fuck. His dick was definitely begging him to imagine it.

He pushed the thought into the back of his mind, grabbing his concealer to cover up the hickey’s on his neck (which were looking, surprisingly, much better today… so were the bruises on the back of his knuckles; they looked almost too good, honestly). He didn’t have time to jerk off right now. Besides, thinking about the blonde like that really would make class so much harder.

Maybe today he would get a chance to talk to Momo about everything happening with Bakugou. He had been so actively avoiding everyone for the past few days that he really hadn’t gotten to spend much time with her outside of her lecture over the marijuana last week. After last night, he thought maybe he would go without the weed today, and would try to sit with her at lunch. If he was lucky he could even convince her to sit away from everyone else so that they could talk about everything privately.

He slipped on his school jacket, and Dabi’s black jacket over that. He pulled the hood over his head, grabbing the garbage bag to take to the dumpster on the way out. No way he wanted to come home to the apartment smelling like vomit again tonight.

He was relieved to see that this morning’s bus was the exact same bus as last night. And then immediately irritated when the driver said that there was no backpack turned in yesterday, and no sign of it when they cleaned out the busses last night.

He went to the back of the bus, double-checking. Nothing. Sighing, he plopped into the seat, pulling the hood of the jacket further over his face and leaning toward the window. He glumly watched the buildings pass by, without actually seeing them.

This was impossible. He was certain he had it on the bus. There was no way he left it at UA. Which meant that someone probably stole it. And that was going to be a big problem. Cost aside, he had a lot of personal files on that phone. Thank god he hadn’t saved either Dabi or Kai’s name into the phone, but he had quite a few nudes of both Momo and himself that would spell trouble if they got leaked to the public. He couldn’t imagine having to apologize to Momo if that happened. She struggled as it was to be taken seriously as a hero because of how beautiful she was. And she was no catfish. If anything, she looked better naked than one might think. Nudes of her on the internet would be disastrous.

He may also have a handful of other inappropriate pictures on there, including one picture of Kai that he had no business taking. But he couldn’t resist when he had woken up to the golden-eyed man sleeping next to him, the blanket only covering half his cock and that delicious chest of his on full display in the early morning light. It would have taken a will much stronger than his to not take that picture. Besides, no one else was ever supposed to see it…

Not to mention he had a number of strange text messages that, although not condemning in and of themselves, would definitely raise a few eyebrows.

Shit.

The worst part was that he had turned off every sort of GPS feature on his phone to ensure that Enji wouldn’t be able to track him down to Dabi’s house. The idea of Dabi opening his apartment door to their father was disastrous. He didn’t even want to think about how that reunion would go.

He scowled, glancing up to see what stop was next. But the thing that caught his attention was the date at the bottom right of the screen. Wednesday. It was Tuesday.

Shouto tapped gently on the man’s shoulder in the seat in front of him.

“Yes,” the man said gruffly, not bothering to turn around. He was scrolling through messages on his phone, and with his clean haircut and freshly ironed suit, Shouto guessed that he was a business man of some sort.

“What day of the week is it?” Shouto asked.

“It’s um…” the man paused for a moment, looking up from his phone. “It’s Wednesday.”

Shouto’s heart sunk. Wednesday?!

“Thanks,” he mumbled, sitting back against the seat. That was impossible. That meant he would have slept for over 24 hours. Even with the amount of weed he had smoked, he would have never slept that long. That also meant that he skipped school yesterday, without even calling.

Shit. What if he hadn’t been dreaming about Toga? If she had really given him something, and then…

No. No, no, no… He took a few deep breaths, suddenly struggling to get enough oxegyn. He was starting to feel sick again, and he could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest. It couldn’t have happened again. Toga wouldn’t have raped him. At least, he didn’t think so. Not after everything that had happened these past few weeks. Not after he had finally forgiven her.

It was a dream. It had to be a dream.

He got off the bus a few blocks away from UA, his thoughts a mess as he tried to sort through the possibilities in his head. He kept his hood up, pushing his hands into his pocket and starting the short walk. He honestly wished that the walk was twice as long, three times even. He needed the time to calm down. But when he got within eyesight of the university he was surprised, and extremely pleased, to see that there were no news vans outside of the gate. In fact, everything seemed fairly normal. A small surge of hope fluttered in his chest at the thought that maybe, finally, the newspapers had run out of things to post about the charges. Once he got into the gate, he finally pushed the hood of his jacket back.

He had arrived right alongside the normal rush of morning students. He caught sight of Momo, and was getting ready to call out to her when he noticed that students were being ushered inside by Aizawa, Toshinori, Nezu, Hawks, and three police officers. His heart dropped in his throat. Something must have happened… Was there another attack by the League? He hurried forward, hoping that everybody was alright.

He met Aizawa’s eyes about half-way down the sidewalk. He was looking for reassurance, but his professor’s frown deepened. He looked awful. As if he genuinely hadn’t slept in two days, and he looked unhappy. Very unhappy. Shouto watched him walk over to the police. They talked for just a moment, and then Aizawa pointed straight at him.

Suddenly, Hawks took off flying. The police officers started moving, pushing through the crowd of students, their eyes glued to Shouto. Hawks landed on the sidewalk a few feet behind him, and Shouto’s heart started racing in his chest.

The police were here for him?!

A dozen horrible possibilities started to race through his mind. They found out about the drugs. Or something had happened to his father, or maybe Enji had the charges overturned and they were there to escort him back to the mansion. Fuck, surely Hawks wouldn’t do that. Not knowing what his father was capable of. Maybe it was Dabi… He took an uncertain step back, noticing that the other students had stopped, and some were even trying to push back out of the doors to see what has happening.

Please, don’t let something have happened to Dabi.

“Todoroki Shouto,” the lead officer called out, pulling his gun from it’s holster and aiming it toward him. “Put your hands above your head and drop down to your knees. Do not attempt to run or use your quirk.”

Shouto couldn’t breathe. He could hear the student’s all around him talking. He looked around, certain this must be a mistake. There were so many students watching. It felt like the entire school must be on that lawn, every single person watching him. So many students from his class. Momo was watching from the stairs, and Bakugou. Fuck. Bakugou was on the lawn with Kirishima and Kaminari, and they were watching too.

Some of the students had their phones out, recording.

“We are going to ask you one more time. Put your hands above your head and drop down to your knees.” The police officer repeated. They were taking small, wary steps forward.

Shouto slowly pulled his hands out of his pockets, lifting them up to show the police that he didn’t have anything in them before placing them on the top of his head. He struggled to take a few deep breaths as he let himself fall down onto his knees. He could see Hawks’ shadow getting closer.

What was going on?

The lead cop walked forward.

“Todoroki Shouto,” he said, obviously trying to keep his voice from traveling too far into the crowd. Not that it would matter, he knew better than most people how fast gossip would spread. The officer had one hand on his gun, aimed directly for Shouto’s chest, and was using the other hand to unhook handcuffs from around his belt. “You are under arrest for the assault and rape of fellow classmate Midorya Izuku. You have the right to remain silent, and you have the right to have an attorney at your trial.”

Shouto’s mouth dropped open. His heart started to beat so fast that all he could hear after Izuku’s name was the sound of the blood rushing in his ears.This was a mistake. The assault and rape of Midorya Izuku. Izuku had been raped! Izuku had been raped! FUUUCK! Shouto could feel the tears starting to roll down his cheeks. He had seen the greenette on Monday. Izuku had been smiling and happy, and he had been angry with him. Jealous of him. Short with him. Izuku was his friend, and he had treated him terribly on Monday. And now he had… someone had…

And they thought that he had done it!

It felt like everything was happening in slow motion as the police officer cuffed one of his hands, moving them behind his back to cuff the other one.

“I didn’t do it,” He started to defend himself, his voice choking with the effort. He wouldn’t… he couldn’t ever do that to someone. After Shigaraki, the very thought of forcing himself on someone made him sick. The thought of that happening to anyone was almost more than he could handle.

“I would save your breath until you have an attorney present,” the police officer growled as he pulled Shouto to stand up.

He was openly crying now, tears streaming down his face.

The voices of the other students were a dull rumble around him. He could hear dozens of clicks as people took pictures. His stomach churned as he let the officer guide him. He was just arrested for raping Izuku in front of the entire university. For something that he didn’t do. But everyone… everyone would think that he did.

He looked up, his eyes seeking out Momo on the stairs. Although it was hard to tell, Shouto was certain that she too had tears running down her cheeks. Did she hear? Did she know what he was being arrested for? What was she going to think once she heard? Surely, if there was one person who would know that he was innocent…

The police forced him to turn, pulling his eyes away from Momo to guide him toward the gate. Shouto stared at the sidewalk. He could see Hawks feet and wings in the corner of his vision. He couldn’t bring himself to look up at the winged hero. All of these people… His classmates. The professors. After everything Aizawa had done for him, the first adult to ever try to help him, and now the professor would think he was capable of this. And Bakugou…

Fuck. He didn’t even want to know what Bakugou must think of him now.

He blinked his eyes, trying to stop himself from crying as he was led down to the car, more aware than ever of the phones pointed out toward him.

Suddenly, Present Mike’s voice rang out over the crowd.

“All students need to report to your classes, yo! Move those legs!”

A police car pulled up to the curb just outside the gate. One of the other officers went around to open up the door to the backseat. Shouto didn’t try to struggle as they pushed him in. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on breathing as the officers sat in the front.

“We have the perpetrator in custody. We are bringing him in now. Over.”

Shouto closed his eyes.

Izuku had been raped. Shouto had been unconscious for over 24 hours, and yet he was the primary suspect.

This couldn’t be an accident. Not so shortly after that picture of Dabi in the paper.

I don’t need to touch you in order to clip your wings… enjoy your freedom, Shouto, while you still have it.

Chapter Text

The ride to the police detention center felt surreal. As if he was caught up in a horrible nightmare, and he just needed to wake up to see that everything was normal. That everything was alright. Only… it wasn’t a nightmare. None of this was normal, none of it was alright. Shouto’s thoughts were scrambled and chaotic as he tried to make sense of how he ended up in this moment. Handcuffed, in the back of a police car. The last few months had been one long struggle for him. Not that there wasn’t a few good things, but this year felt like one long spiral downward. No matter how hard he tried to make the right decisions, and to keep his head above water, it felt like everything he did just made things worse.

Through all of it, he had worried that it might affect the people close to him. His family and his friends. But he had genuinely believed that if he was careful, than that would never happen.

He had been so naive.

It happened.

Izuku had been raped. And it was his fault.

Shouto wanted to cry. Really cry. He was sad and confused and angry. And he just wanted to let himself sob, to wallow in self-pity and despair. But what good would that do? Even as he choked back his emotions the best he could, the police officer in the passenger seat kept turning around to look at him. The tears that did fall down Shouto’s cheeks were met with disgust. The officer was older and overweight; he had short, dark hair and pudgy cheeks. And he sneered at Shouto from the other side of the cage that separated them. He saw a rapist. Someone who couldn’t possibly feel sorry for what they had done. Someone who didn’t deserve to feel sorry for what they had done.

So Shouto swallowed his emotions. He closed his eyes and trained his face to impassivity. But it didn’t stop the ache inside of his heart. He desperately wished he could find out how Izuku was. If he was alright. If he had gotten badly hurt in addition to being raped. Was he in the hospital? Or was he home with his mom taking care of him? Surely he had to know that it wasn’t Shouto, didn’t he?

When they finally arrived at the police detention center, his processing was a blur. Shouto had to provide information to a half-dozen people. All of his clothes were taken as evidence, and he was sent in for a full-body search. He had never felt more exposed than sitting, completely naked, in the cold exam room while multiple doctors poked and prodded at him, giving him orders like he was a dog and not a person. Turn this way. Turn that way. Bend over. Cough. And the way their cold, gloved hands touched his body made him feel sick. They took a half-dozen pictures of the mark on his collarbone (Thank god they didn’t ask questions. Although that was probably not their job. Shouto dreaded the moment that someone would get around to inquiring about it). They took his fingerprints, and made him provide a spit sample, urine sample, multiple blood samples, and a semen sample. After almost an hour, they eventually gave him a tan outfit that was slightly too short for him, and a quirk suppressing bracelet.

And they finally sat him down in an interrogation room, to wait for questioning.

It didn’t take long for Commissioner Tsuragamae to come in, Hawks walking in on his heel. Tsuragamae looked exactly like the last time that Shouto had seen him, his beagle-like head perfectly groomed above a starched, black suit. Hawks was dressed in his full hero costume, his goggles pushed back into his blonde hair, his wings held stiffly behind him. Neither of them looked happy.

Shouto cast his eyes down, staring at his hands, clenched together on top of the table. The quirk-suppressing bracelet was heavy. And he hated it. It made him feel weak. Like he had been at The League’s party when Shigaraki pushed him down into the couch and fucked him. Despite his best attempts to push that emotion away, he felt weak now too.

The two men sat down across the table from him. Tsuragamae set down a black box in the center of the table. Shouto glanced at it as Tsuragamae clicked it on. It was a recording device.

“This is Police Commissioner Tsuragamae Kenji, *woof* along with the primary investigative hero ‘Hawks’, given name Takami Keigo. We are conducting the initial interview for case #78A32JH917, regarding the assault and rape of the juvenile citizen Midorya Izuku. We are interviewing the accused perpetrator Todoroki Shouto. *woof* Todoroki, will you please say your full name to verify your identity for the recording.” Tsuragamae’s deep voice was flat and cold.

“My name is Todoroki Shouto.” Shouto replied, trying to keep his voice impassive.

“Are you aware of the charges being filed against you here today?” Tsuragamae asked.

“Yes,” Shouto replied, quickly adding, “I am being accused of the assault and rape of Midorya Izuku, but I didn’t do it.”

Hawks made a strange noise in the back of his throat, his wings tensing. But he didn’t actually say anything.

“Please, stick to the questions asked Todoroki,” Tsuragamae replied. “Now can you describe where you were on Monday evening from the time you got out of school until approximately midnight *woof*.

“After school, I met Bakugou in the upstairs bathroom of UA. I was there with him until about 4:30. I took the bus back to the apartment I have been living at. When I got there, I had a friend waiting with dinner, I think. And—”

“What do you mean, you think?” Hawks interrupted. He sounded genuinely angry, although Shouto could tell that he was trying to keep his voice calm.

“Well, um, I don’t exactly remember what happened,” Shouto replied honestly. “I was really upset, and I think that I, um…” Shouto glanced up nervously. He met eyes with Hawks, who had a carefully trained mask of cold indifference on his face, and Tsuragamae, whose canine brows were furrowed deeply together. He glanced back down. They were going to find out about the drugs anyway. Maybe it would help his case if he was honest from the beginning. But he couldn’t mention Toga. That would lead to a whole other line of questioning about how he was associated with any member of the League of Villains. And that would definitely put Dabi at further risk. Who knows what else Shigaraki was capable of to protect his League, especially if he did all of this because of one picture that no one would ever connect to Shouto’s brother. “I believe that I smoked quite a bit of marijuana to help calm my nerves. But I’m not actually sure, because I also remember having a friend at the apartment who I struggled with. Only, there was no sign of a struggle when I woke up this morning. They might have given me something, and then, I don’t know but I think they might have tried to have sex with me. I, um… I passed out and I didn’t wake up until last night around 2 in the morning.”

“2:00am this morning? Almost 34 hours later?” Hawks clarified.

“Yes.” Shouto nodded.

Neither Tsuragamae or Hawks replied immediately. Tsuragamae wrote a few things down on his notepad.

Shit. Maybe Shouto shouldn’t have told him that.

“Don’t I get to speak to a lawyer?” Shouto asked, tears threatening at the corners of his eyes.

“This isn’t America, Todoroki, “Tsuragamae answered as he wrote. “We have every right to begin our investigation before you speak to your lawyer *woof*. We do have a lawyer on his way in to help you understand your basic rights, but he won’t be here for a little while. Now can you tell me about the altercation in the library at UA on *woof* Monday that involved both you and Midorya Izuku.”

“Don’t I get to reach out and tell someone that I am here?” He changed his tactic, desperate to avoid the question. He didn’t rape Izuku. He didn’t want to answer questions that made it sound like he might have had a reason to hurt Midorya. He would never do something like this.

“Your father has already been contacted at the Endeavor Agency. That’s why I am here to personally complete this interview, as a favor to Enji. *woof*” Tsuragamae replied. “Please answer the question.”

Fuck. If he thought shit with Enji was bad before… he couldn’t imagine how his father was going to respond to this. With the temporary restraining order in place, he wasn’t even sure if his father could get involved. And if he could, would his father even want to try to help him?

Kai. Kai would help him. He needed to try to get a message out to the golden-eyed man.

“What about the friend I was staying with?” He tried one last time. “They will be worried about me. I need to have someone contact them to let them know where I am.”

“Thanks to your fellow students, your arrest is already trending on-line *woof*,” Tsuragamae answered. “And the papers have been given permission to start reporting on this case as of 12:00pm today. I am sure your friend will be able to put together where you are. Now, I need you to tell me about the altercation between you and your classmates on Monday afternoon in the library at UA.”

Shit.

“I was barely involved,” Shouto answered carefully. “I was assigned to work with Midorya, Bakugou, and Kaminari. We got distracted talking, and Kaminari mentioned that Midorya and Bakugou had gone out on a date, and that they had kissed. Bakugou got angry and lashed out at Kaminari. I left, and Midorya and some of the other students helped to stop Bakugou.”

“And why did you leave instead of staying to help? *woof*”

“I was upset that Bakugou and Midorya had kissed.” He replied glumly.

Tsuragamae stopped to take notes. Shouto clenched his hands together harder. Please, please let Kai figure out where he was. He knew the older man would eventually come see him. But he really, really needed to see a friendly face.

“Can you tell me why that would have made you upset?”

“Because Bakugou and I have been seeing each other, well… were seeing each other.” Shouto spoke lowly, staring at the bracelet on his wrist. “It made me feel bad to learn that they had gone out on a date.”

“For the record, I want to confirm that we are speaking about Bakugou Katsuki, *woof* one of your classmates at UA?” Tsuragamae confirmed.

“Yes.”

“And how long ago did you stop seeing Bakugou? *woof*”

“Is it really necessary that I answer that question?” Shouto asked, shifting uncomfortably in the seat.

“Todoroki,” Hawks replied before the commissioner could answer, standing up and leaning over the table. “We have an overwhelming amount of evidence that you did assault and rape Midorya on Monday evening around 8:00pm. You have now confirmed that you were under the influence of drugs on that same evening, and do not recall what happened, but that you believe you may have struggled with and than had sex with a friend. This happened on the same day that you found out that Midorya had kissed your previous boyfriend. This investigation isn’t to prove that you did this. We have more than enough evidence to prove that you did this. This will determine your sentence. At this point, full cooperation is in your best interest.”

What?! They had enough evidence to convict him without trial? That was impossible! He didn’t do it!

“Calm down, Hawks *woof*,” Tsuragame motioned for Hawks to sit. The hero flexed his wings irritably before adjusting them to sit back down. The commissioner gave him a moment before turning back to Shouto. “He is, however, correct. We were able to gather enough evidence over the last 24 hours that we do not plan to take this case to court. The better we can understand your motive for this attack, will allow us to determine the necessary course of actions. Your full cooperation will help you more than anyone else *woof*.”

“But I didn’t do it!” Shouto replied, taking a deep breath and trying to remember everything he had learned from Kai. He needed to be strong. Who knows how long it will be before his ‘appointed’ lawyer would show up. He needed to make these people understand that he was innocent. He looked up, meeting the commissioner’s eyes as he spoke. “Izuku is one of my best friends. I would never do that to him. I have been raped. And I would perform Seppuku before I would subject someone else to that kind of abuse. You cannot forgo my trial. I deserve the chance to prove my innocence.”

Surprise flitted across Hawks face, before he trained it back to impassivity. Tsuragamae sighed. He stood up and walked over to the door, opening it up and putting his head out. Shouto could hear him talking quietly to someone, before closing the door and returning to his seat. Nobody said anything as Tsuragamae annotated a few things. Shouto could feel his heart pounding. Finally, the door opened up, and the pudgy officer from earlier brought in a laptop.

“Thank you, officer Tsuda, *woof*” Tsuragamae accepted the laptop. He moved aside his notebook, and opened the computer. After a few minutes, the room completely silent except for the click-clack of the keys, he turned the computer around so that Shouto would have a clear view of the screen. There was a video pulled up. The camera was trained on a run-down building, and there was an alley with a large dumpster next to the building along the right side of the screen.

“I am going to play this video in half-speed, *woof*.” Tsuragamae said, reaching around to hit the play button.

It took a few moments for anything to happen. Shouto would have felt like he was staring at a picture if it hadn’t been for the time ticking away in small orange letters at the bottom of the screen. Eventually, two people walked in on the left side of the screen. Shouto’s mouth dropped open. It was him. He and Izuku were walking along the sidewalk in front of the building. Midorya was sipping on a drink, and Shouto watched himself, almost skipping as he walked next to the smaller teen. He had his backpack on, and was dressed for school. Shouto leaned in closer to the screen. Midorya was smiling widely. The drink in his hand looked familiar… No. No, no. It was from the same restaurant that he thought he remembered Toga bringing him on Monday. He hadn’t imagined it. Toga had been there, and she had put something in that drink…

And Toga… Toga could change herself into other people. He had seen it before, in the car when he first met her.

He couldn’t believe it. Toga looked exactly like him.

Shouto watched as Izuku suddenly stumbled in the video. ‘Shouto’ caught him, and they stopped in front of the building. Izuku put his hand on his head, shaking it slowly. The greenette flexed his fingers, a strange expression on his face. There was no sound to the video, but it looked like they started talking for a moment. Then they stopped and sat down on the stairs. ‘Shouto’ took the drink from Izuku, holding it up so that the greenette could take a drink. Shouto’s heart dropped as he watched himself animatedly urging Izuku to drink up.

They sat for a few moments, Izuku swaying on the stairs, and then eventually slumping against ‘Shouto’. ‘Shouto’ pulled something out of his backpack. Shouto felt sick as he watched himself stick a needle into the side of Izuku’s neck, injecting him with something. Izuku’s quirk flashed for a moment as the teen realized something was wrong and tried to fight back. But his responses were strange, slow. 'Shouto’ punched him directly in the nose, than stood up, crouching over Izuku and shaking him, knocking Izuku’s head back against the cement stairs until he stopped struggling. ‘Shouto’ stood up, hopping from one foot to the other, dancing happily for a moment before he leaned over to pick up Izuku’s almost lifeless body. Leaving the drink and backpack on the stairs, ‘Shouto’ carried Izuku back into the alley and laid him down only half-hidden behind the dumpster.

There was blood on the stairs underneath where Izuku’s head had been.

Shouto could feel the tears stinging at his eyes again. He quickly wiped them away.

This was his fault. This was entirely his fault.

Although the dumpster did provide some privacy, you could still see a relatively clear view of ‘Shouto’ laying down on top of Izuku. ‘Shouto’ started kissing Izuku’s still face, trailing quick, desperate kisses across his cheeks and lips. After a few moments, he rolled Izuku over. He shuffled for a few moments, and you could see ‘Shouto’ just enough to get the idea that he was sliding his pants down, and rolling a condom over himself. He spit onto his hand, smeared it over the condom, and lay back down on top of Izuku’s body.

Tears were openly rolling down Shouto’s cheeks as he watched himself grab roughly onto Midorya’s hair, their bodies rocking forward as ‘Shouto’ fucked Izuku. He could not stop himself from crying as Shouto watched himself rape his best friend in slow motion, for almost six minutes.

“Please! Can we turn it off?” he sobbed. He couldn’t take anymore.

“Keep watching, *woof*” Tsuragamae replied.

It wasn’t much longer before Hawks walked into the left side of the screen. He was in his full hero costume, probably on patrol. He noticed the backpack, and the blood on the stairs, hurrying over to look at it. Hawks looked around the street, his mouth opening as he called something out. ‘Shouto’ jumped up at the sound, and Shouto cringed as it clearly showed him with his pants down around his thighs, blood coating his right hand where it had been tangled in Izuku’s hair. He hurried to pull off the condom and pull up his pants. ‘Shouto’ disappeared behind the dumpster for just a second and then ran out of the alleyway. He stopped for a single moment, looking directly at the hero as Hawks started walking toward him, but then took off out of the camera view.

Hawks started to run after ‘Shouto’, but stopped after a quick glance in the alley. Izuku was still lying unconscious on the ground. The winged hero rushed in, and started to check Izuku carefully for injuries. You could see him radio something in, and then continue to try and revive Izuku. Shouto cried harder as he watched the hero carefully pull Izuku’s pants up enough to cover the greenette. The video stopped shortly after.

Shouto dropped his head to the table, burying his face in his arms as he cried.

This was his fault. He may not have done it himself, but he was the reason that Izuku was raped.

And Izuku… Izuku would think that he had done it.

He didn’t know how long he sat and cried, choked up, heart racing, blood rushing in his ears, before he realized that both Hawks and Tsuragamae were saying his name, trying to get his attention. He forced himself to sit up, taking deep breaths to try and stop his crying. He pulled up the bottom of his shirt, wiping at his face and eyes with the coarse fabric.

“In addition to this video, and the first-hand account of Hawks who witnessed you flee the incident, we have physical proof *woof*. We found your backpack at the scene of the crime, which contained textbooks and notebooks, your student ID, and had multiple hairs in the fabric that matched your DNA. The drink positively identified both your and Midorya Izuku’s fingerprints. And the police were able to locate the condom you tried to hide behind the dumpster, which was filled with semen. Although we will still need to test it against the sample you provided today, we are confident that it will be a match. *woof*”

“We have more than enough evidence to prove you did this.”

This was Shigaraki’s doing. It had to be. Everything was too perfectly set up. Too convenient. The villain had made sure to set up a case that they wouldn’t investigate. Shouto would likely end up behind bars, or in a juvenile detention center, and Shigaraki wouldn’t have to worry about him causing any further trouble for the League.

It was really… brilliant, actually. And absolutely, horrifically brutal.

But he couldn’t just give up. He knew what had happened. If he could just convince them to give him a fair trial, then maybe he could prove to everybody, to Izuku, that he hadn’t raped him. Even if the fault still lay at his feet.

“It wasn’t me.” He said, as confidently as he could. He looked up through blurry, tear-filled eyes, knowing that he must look like an awful mess. “I know what it looks like. But that wasn’t me. That was Toga Himiko from the League of Villains. I don’t know how, but her quirk lets her… change into people. The attack was arranged by their leader, Shigaraki Tomura. Please, you have to give me a fair trial to prove that I didn’t do this.”

Hawks mouth had dropped open. Tsuragamae was looking at him, scrutinizing.

“Every agency in the city is working to build a case against the League of Villains,” Hawks finally replied. “Toga Himiko is one of the few members that we have been able to find previous records for. All of her records have her listed as quirkless. Just because your class has been attacked by the League does not justify you being able to use our lack of information on their organization to get away with such a heinous assault on someone you claim to care about.”

Toga Himiko is quirkless? That isn’t possible. He saw her transform in front of his eyes.

“That… That’s impossible.” Shouto choked out.

“Hawks is correct,” Tsuragamae replied. “We have spent an extensive amount of time over the last few months trying to research information on the different known members of the League of Villains *woof*. Toga Himiko was registered as quirkless by her parent’s shortly before their death. And in no encounter involving that villain has she shown evidence of using a quirk of any kind. Her attacks seem to be based entirely on knives and support items. Even if such a quirk did exist *woof*, it’s unlikely to affect an individual at a DNA level. So unless the semen sample collected at the scene of the attack does not match yours, than that alone would disprove such a theory. Can you tell me that you believe the semen sample’s are not going to match?”

Shouto looked back and forth between the two. It was Toga. There was no other explanation. Registered quirkless or not, she had a damn quirk! But he didn’t know how it worked. What if it was a match? If he said no and it was, what would that mean for his attempt to get a trial?”

“I don’t know.” Shouto finally admitted.

“This is ridiculous,” Hawks snapped, slamming his hand down against the table in anger. “I saw you. And I know you saw me too. Just tell us what really happened!”

“It wasn’t me,” Shouto repeated firmly, not backing down from Hawks. If he had to say it until he was blue in the face, he would not… could not just let people think he was guilty of this.

Hawks ran his hand over his face in exasperation.

Tsuragamae nodded, making a few last notes in his notebook.

“We will leave you in here until your lawyer arrives *woof*,” Tsuragamae said, a note of finality in his voice. “Once he has finished going over your rights, than you will be provided lunch and set up in a detention room. You will not be allowed to make phone calls, however you are allowed supervised visitation between 4pm and 5pm daily. You will also be allowed to meet once daily with your lawyer if your father chooses to supply you with one. If not, you will have a court-appointed lawyer for your sentencing *woof*. You will likely remain in this center for 10-20 days before sentencing, which will determine what happens after this. You are expected to obey all personnel in this facility. You are not to attempt to escape, or tamper with your quirk-suppressing device. You will be given three meals a day *woof*, and the opportunity to shower in the mornings. Do you understand what will be required of you during this period?”

Shouto nodded, his heart sinking.

“Will you please confirm verbally for the record? *woof*” Tsuragamae asked.

“Yes, I understand what is going to be required of me.” Shouto followed the command, a feeling of hopelessness settling in his chest.

Tsuragamae reached over and clicked off the recorder. He gathered up the device and his notebook. Nodding at Hawks, the two men stood up and headed out. Right before he left, Shouto called out.

“Wait, Hawks. Please, tell me. Is Izuku alright?” He just had to know.

“For your own sake, Shouto,” the hero replied somberly, instead of answering Shouto’s question. “Own up to your mistake and accept the consequences of your actions. It’s the only honorable path.” He didn’t smile. He didn’t provide any comfort. The hero that had stood in front of him as a friend after his father had beaten him was gone. In his place was a hero that was putting a criminal behind bars. Someone who truly believed that Shouto was capable of something like that.

* * * * * *

The lawyer didn’t show up for over two hours. Two hours to sit alone and dwell on everything. His mind replaying the video over and over on a nightmarish loop. He could see the blood on the stairs so clearly that he might as well be standing in front of the building and looking at it. And the image of Izuku’s body, limply rocking forward while he…

How could Toga do that? What she did to him, he could swallow that. But Izuku…

He already knew the answer. He should never have forgiven her. Should never have trusted her. None of this would have happened if he hadn’t welcomed her back into his life after she helped Shigaraki rape him.

He was never going to be able to look Izuku in the face again.

What if Izuku wasn’t alright? Shouto had seen the greenette end up in a hospital bed. He could picture it as clear as day in his mind. Knowing that he was likely there again, at this exact moment, all because of Shouto… it was too much for him to handle.

And every single person in his life was going to believe that he had done this. Probably already did believe it. It was after noon, which meant that articles were already reaching the paper. People would go crazy. Because it turns out that Todoroki Shouto, after all of the scandal and publicity that he had received over the last few months, was a rapist. People would pay good money to read about that.

By the time the lawyer arrived, Shouto was a complete mess. He felt just as awful as he had this morning. He couldn’t concentrate, and honestly he didn’t care about his rights. It was all bullshit. He was innocent, and they didn’t even plan to give him a fair trial to prove it.

The lawyer was old. He had two sets of arms, and was dressed in a suit style that was popular ten years ago. He was tired, and he mumbled, and he didn’t give a shit if Shouto actually understood what he was saying. He was just there to cross his T’s and dot his I’s, and then he was probably going to go home and forget that Shouto even existed. And when he finally stood up and left, Shouto didn’t even have the energy to care that he hadn’t really understood much. He just wanted to sleep. At this point, that was all that mattered.

He lowered his head onto his hands as the lawyer stood up and walked out.

“Mr. Todoroki,” a voice said. A moment later he felt someone touch his arm. When he looked up, the pudgy officer who hated him, Mr. Tsuda, was standing beside him. “I have been asked to take you down to the cafeteria.”

He nodded, pushing himself up. After sitting down for hours, his legs felt wobbly and weak. But he tried to ignore the feeling and follow the officer. Right before they got to the door, the officer stopped and put hand-cuffs onto his wrists. It rested awkwardly against the quirk-suppressing bracelet, making his arm feel even heavier. The officer checked the cuffs twice before finally opening the door.

“I’m not really hungry,” Shouto said as they left the interrogation room, his voice heavy and dull. “Can I please just be taken to my room?”

“Doesn’t make a difference to me,” Tsuda replied dryly, glancing at the chart in his hand and motioning for Shouto to follow him down the hall. “But you better not complain later that we didn’t feed you.” Shouto followed behind him. He was too sick to his stomach to eat anyway. He would probably just end up puking again, and after this morning he did not want to mess with that. The detention center was much larger than he expected, and the walk felt like it took forever. He was mentally and emotionally drained, and he felt like a zombie. Every step was like wading through mud. Finally, Officer Tsuda stopped and starting unlocking a door.

“Looks like your roommate is still at lunch. That should give you some time to get acquainted with the place. Your bed is on the left.” Tsuda said. He waited until Shouto stepped inside, and then immediately closed the door and locked it.

The room was long and narrow. There were two low beds near the front with about six feet between them, a single blanket and pillow on each. After that, it stretched back to an open toilet and sink in the back, a single very small window on the back wall. There was a small shelf on one side, and a very small table underneath it. And that was it. The only sign of life in the entire room was a newspaper on his roommates bed, and a toothbrush next to the sink.

This was his life for the next 10-20 days.

Making his way to the back of the room, he splashed water on his face. There wasn’t a towel to dry it, so he used his shirt. And then he lay down on the horribly stiff bed. He didn’t even think it was possible to be down-graded from a couch, but here he was. He eventually gave up trying to fluff the pillow up, and just closed his eyes. Luckily he was so exhausted that it didn’t take long before he was able to finally, finally shut out the world for just a little while.

* * * * * *

A loud knocking on the door woke Shouto from his sleep. He opened his eyes, his mind fuzzy as he looked around. It took a few minutes to remember where he was, and once he did, he almost wished that he could just close his eyes and forget again. But the knocking sounded again, followed by the sound of the lock turning and then the door opening.

Shouto started to push himself up, trying to rub the sleep from his eyes. His eyes felt as raw and sore as he did, and he expected that he probably looked pretty rough.

“Todoroki Shouto,” a feminine voice called out, “You have a visitor.” Shouto turned over on the bed. A female officer was waiting in the doorway. She was really tall with blue skin, a long face and neck, and silvery-purple hair that was braided all the way down to her thighs. He nodded, glancing over at the other bed. His roommate, apparently, was sitting cross-legged and reading the paper. The guy was thin with brown hair and glasses, and looked like an American office worker, like the ones you see on TV. He was definitely much, much older than Shouto. He glanced up curiously at Shouto, giving a brief nod of his head.

Shouto nodded back.

“Do you know who it is?” He asked, curiously. He really hoped it was Kai. Surely the man had seen the news by now. But what if it was his father? Please, let it be Kai!

The officer just stared. That was either a ‘no’, or an ‘I don’t have to bother telling you’.

Sighing, Shouto stood up, self consciously running his hands through his hair and adjusting the unflattering tan outfit. He stepped toward the officer, who motioned for him to put up his hands. He held them in front of himself, letting her cuff him for the walk over.

He stepped out after the officer, waiting as she re-locked the door and then following her quietly.

The visitation rooms weren’t very far, and Shouto wanted to break down and cry when he saw Kai’s brown hair through the observation window. He shuffled his feet anxiously as the officer opened the door. Kai stood up as Shouto hurried inside and he practically ran over to the other man, collapsing against him and burying his face into Kai’s neck. It was awkward with his arms hand-cuffed between them, but he didn’t care. Kai’s arms wrapped around him.

“Thank you, Officer Hassu,” Kai said, pushing Shouto gently back. “The handcuffs?”

“Chisaki, you know that I’m not supposed to do that. I’m not even supposed to leave you alone in the room.” Officer Hassu replied. “I could lose my job over this.”

“Then we will just have to make sure that no one hears about it.” Kai replied flatly. “Either you can take them off, or I will.”

“Fine,” she gave in begrudgingly, glaring at the golden-eyed man and walking over. “But the bracelet stays on. And Okimoto will hear about it if you try anything funny. You know he isn’t going to like you risking my job for the sake of your little pet project.” Shouto let Kai turn him around, holding out his wrists for the officer to get rid of the handcuffs.

She knew who Kai was, and Okimoto. Was she a part of the Yakuza too? It was impossible, wasn’t it? She was a police officer…

“You have my word, Hassu,” Kai replied.

“I will be back in an hour,” Hassu said sternly, turning to head toward the door. “Exactly one hour.”

Shouto waited until the officer left, than he turned and threw his arms around Kai.

“I didn’t do it,” Shouto said, the words muffled and pathetic as he spoke into Kai’s vest. He didn’t care how he sounded. He just needed someone to know.

“I know, little fox,” Kai said, holding Shouto close to him.

Shouto didn’t move, just breathing in the scent of Kai. He didn’t want to pull away.

“It was Shigaraki. I know it was him.” Shouto continued, dropping his hands down to wrap around Kai’s waist.

“I know,” Kai replied, his breath warm against Shouto’s hair.

Shouto wasn’t sure how long they stood there, before he finally felt like he could relax against Kai’s body.

“Do you know if Izuku is alright?”

Kai pushed him back gently, sitting him down into one of the chairs. The other man ran didn’t answer right away. He checked over Shouto’s face and arms. He pushed back his hair, and rubbed his thumbs gently under Shouto’s eyes. He touched Shouto’s lips. Shouto watched his eyes as they traveled over him, checking to make sure that Shouto was physically alright.

He wanted to pull away. He hadn’t seen himself since he left the house this morning, and he knew that he probably didn’t look very good. But he also knew it would make Kai unhappy if he did. So he sat quietly, waiting until the man was satisfied.

“He is stable,” Kai finally replied, “but he is still unconscious. They have him at Musutafu General Hospital. I don’t know much else.”

Shouto nodded. He could feel the tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. That was Monday night, and Izuku still wasn’t awake. That wasn’t a good sign. He blinked his eyes, and took a few breaths, trying to calm himself down. He wasn’t going to cry in front of Kai.

“It’s probably all over the news now, huh?” Shouto sighed, already knowing the answer. “By now, the entire city will think that I am a rapist.”

“I know that you are not,” Kai replied firmly. “I knew it the moment I saw the article. And anyone who truly cares about you and knows who you are will not believe it either. These are the things that will show you who truly cares about you. Who truly deserves to be in your life.”

Shouto glanced up at Kai, briefly meeting his eyes. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to find out how many people had that much faith in him. He was scared of the answer.

“Can I see the article?” Shouto asked, wanting to change the subject.

“Are you sure?”

Shouto nodded hesitantly. He wasn’t actually sure. Right now he could almost pretend that maybe the rest of the world didn’t think he was a rapist and a criminal. That his friends and classmates weren’t gossiping about him. That his family wasn’t judging him in their minds, trying to decide if Shouto, their Shouto, was capable of such a thing. That maybe there weren’t any videos of him being watched by thousands of people, and articles about him being consumed by the masses. That Izuku’s mom wasn’t sitting in the hospital crying over the body of her unconscious son, wishing that he had never met Todoroki Shouto.

But wishing for such things was a waste of energy. Because all of that was happening. And surely it was better to know what was being said about him, than waiting blindly until the day of his sentencing.

Kai pulled out his phone, unlocking it with fingerprint identification, and pulled up the website for ‘Musutafu Daily’. The very first link, in extra large, bold font said:

Todoroki Shouto Apprehended for Raping Fellow Classmate Midorya Izuku.

Shouto’s hands shook as he clicked on the link.

In a shocking turn of events, the police have finally released an official statement regarding the previously reported assault and rape of first year UA student Midorya Izuku. The rapist has been positively identified as Midorya’s fellow classmate, Todoroki Shouto. Todoroki is the youngest son of our #1 hero Endeavor, and was being trained to succeed his father as this cities future #1 hero. Todoroki was arrested early this morning. Although the crime is still under active investigation, Police Commissioner Tsuragamae has already said that they have enough evidence to forgo a trial. Although an official date has not been set, the police hope to move forward with sentencing at the earliest possible date.

In this statement, Commissioner Tsuragamae did state that “The police, as well as the city of Musutafu, hope that a fast conviction and sentencing will provide a sense of peace and justice for the victim’s family, friends, and acquaintances. It is our hope that this trial will be resolved quickly so that it does not leave an unnecessary stain on our cities current heroes, or on any of the organizations involved with this tragic incident. The fault lays entirely on the perpetrator, and he will have to face the consequences of his actions.”

Although the details of the case have not yet been released, we do know that Todoroki drugged, assaulted, and raped the victim. Todoroki fled the scene of the crime upon the appearance of Hawks, who was able to call for an ambulance. Initial investigation of the case does indicate that Todoroki was likely under the influence of unknown substances, which could have played a large role in this tragedy, and UA has already released an official statement that it will be reevaluating its policies around drug use. It will also be implementing programs to better detect underage drug use in its students, in order to help prevent similar future tragedies.

Although Midorya Izuku is in stable condition, he is still unconscious. He has shown no visible signs of brain damage, however the doctors have already stated that we will not know the full extent of the damage until he awakens. Our hearts go out to the Midorya family.

Follow us throughout the day for the most up-to-date information about this tragic crime.

Breaking Update: See how this crime is affecting UA’s other future heroes in this exclusive interview - click here!

Shouto felt strangely empty as he read the article. It hurt. Every word was a blow. But it also made him… angry. How could the police blatantly ignore every word that Shouto said? How could the papers publish this without question? Shouto didn’t do this! He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. The article didn’t say anything new. It didn’t say anything unexpected. But just knowing that it was available for the entire city was just too much.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes and clicked on the interview link.

Before Shouto could press play, Kai set his hand on top of the phone. Confused, Shouto looked over at him.

“You need to be sure about this, Shouto,” Kai said seriously. “Once you have read these articles, and watched these videos, you are never going to be able to forget the things that they said about you. Even if we prove that you are innocent. Even if these people apologize a hundred times, you will always remember what they said about you while you were at your very lowest. Sometimes its better not to know.”

“I need to see it,” Shouto replied somberly. And he did, even if it hurt. He needed to know who they interviewed. What if it was Momo? Bakugou? He was desperate for some kind of hint that maybe, just maybe somebody else out there believed in him.

Kai nodded. He moved his hand away from the phone.

Shouto pressed play, turning the phone to its side so that they could watch the interview. The reporter was a very short, petite woman in her early twenties with long, black hair. She was quite pretty, wearing a red sweater with black jeans, and was situated near the brick wall that ran along the perimeter of UA.

“This is Ichigo Toi reporting live from just outside the gates of UA University. Just this morning, Todoroki Shouto, son of #1 Pro Hero Endeavor, was arrested for raping his fellow classmate Midorya Izuku. You may be familiar with these two from the Annual UA Sports Festival. Bando, can we get a short clip from the festival?”

The screen split in two. Ichigo on the right, a male reporter, Bando, on the left. He was much older, with pale white skin and two short horns sticking off the top of his buzzed white hair.

“Sure thing, Ichigo!” Bando replied enthusiastically. The right side of the screen started playing some of the news footage from Shouto and Midorya’s battle at the Sport’s Festival. It was only about 30 seconds, and showed a brief glimpse of Midorya yelling out to him, and ended with Shouto’s left side going up in flames.

After the clip, Ichigo went back to full screen.

“So what happened between these two?” The reporter continued. “Well for those of you just joining this story, here is what we know so far. On Monday evening, UA students Todoroki and Midorya were out walking. According to the initial statements from the police, Todoroki drugged and beat Midorya until the teen was unconscious. Todoroki than carried his classmate into a nearby alley and raped him. Todoroki was caught red-handed by Pro Hero Hawks, but was able to escape as Hawks went to Midorya’s aid. Todoroki was then unseen for over 24 hours until the police were able to arrest him on his way in to class early this morning. Midorya is currently at Musufatu General Hospital where he is stable, but still unconscious. The teen had a high level of Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid in his system, as well as high levels of DMHP. In the attack, Midorya sustained numerous injuries to the back of his skull. Doctors are hopeful that he will make a full recovery, but are uncertain at this point if there will be any lasting brain damage.”

“The official police statement has revealed that Todoroki Shouto has surprisingly claimed that he is not guilty of committing this crime. However, due to the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the city has been assured that the police are planning to move forward with the conviction and sentencing as quickly as possibly once they are able to wrap up the final pieces of their investigation. Until then, the public has a lot of questions about this tragic incident. So we have been stationed outside of UA University all afternoon, and we were lucky enough to get an exclusive interview with some of Todoroki and Midorya’s fellow Class 1A students.”

Shouto watched as the camera zoomed out. Standing next to the reporter, all looking a bit out-of-sorts, were Kaminari, Kirishima, and Mina. Most of Mina’s make-up looked like it had been wiped off, and her eyes were slightly red. Shouto’s hurt sunk even more. She had definitely been crying. And in the background, leaning up against the brick wall was Bakugou. Although most of him was blocked by Kaminari, he was slumped over, his hands shoved into his pocket’s and his face tilted away from the camera. But Shouto definitely thought that it looked like the blonde had been crying too.

“Welcome to the show,” the reporter greeted them jovially. “Can you guys introduce yourselves for our audience?”

“Of course,” Mina replied with a forced smile. “I’m Ashido Mina.”

“My name’s Kirishima Eijiro.”

“Kaminari Denki” Kaminari looked less than thrilled to be on the screen. And he definitely had a small bruise underneath his right eye. Bakugou must have gotten a few good hits in at the library Monday.

“And you are all classmates to both Midorya and Todoroki, right?” Ichigo asked.

“That’s right,” Kirishima answered, “Class 1A!”

“What are your initial thoughts on what happened to your classmate, Midorya?”

“I just can’t believe it, man,” Kaminari said, frowning.

“We are heartbroken,” Mina added. “Just like everyone else at UA. Midorya is literally the sweetest guy you will ever meet. He is always smiling… he’s like a ray of sunshine! He believes in everybody. He believed in Todoroki too. Knowing what happened to him…” Mina was already starting to tear up, her voice cracking slightly. Shouto could feel his hands starting to shake as he held the phone. He didn’t know if he could do this. “Midorya never deserved something like this. We… we’re headed to the hospital to see him now, actually.”

Ichigo was shaking her head sympathetically.

“And how do you feel about your other classmate, Todoroki? He says he isn’t guilty, but video evidence shows otherwise.” the reporter asked.

“Totally unmanly,” Kirishima almost growled, and Todoroki was surprised by the flash of anger on the redhead’s normally smiling face, the controlled rage in his voice. “I’m so angry… if I saw Todoroki now, I would kick his ass. Midorya was one of his best bro’s! I can hardly believe that he did it.”

“Me either,” Kaminari piped up as Mina nodded. “It’s crazy man. I was in a group project with both of them the same day. Never in a hundred years would I have thought the Todoroki could do something like this.”

“Everyone is angry with him,” Mina picked up. “When he first got arrested this morning, we were shocked! Everyone saw it. They arrested him in front of the entire university! At first we felt bad for him. But than we found out what had happened. Just thinking about it makes me… it makes me want to punch Todoroki in the face! Everybody knows that he has been struggling lately. But no one expected this. I’m glad they arrested him.”

Kai took the phone out of Shouto’s hands, holding it still for them to continue watching. Shouto hadn’t even realized how much it had been shaking. He clasped his hands together, grateful that at least he wasn’t alone when he saw this. It was just as bad as he thought. Everyone really did believe he was capable of doing this. Even knowing he told the police that he wasn’t guilty.

“What do you mean, he has been struggling?” Ichigo pressed, obviously intrigued.

“Well, with everything he has been going through with his dad,” Mina replied. “And everyone knows that he started doing drugs a couple months ago. He hasn’t really been the same since. It’s really sad. His quirk is so cool. He could have been such a good hero.”

“Yeah man,” Kaminari added, “he kinda turned into a pothead.”

“Did UA know that Todoroki was taking drugs?” Ichigo’s eyebrows shot up.

“He got suspended for it awhile ago,” Mina said, “And I think the professors thought he had stopped. But all the students knew that he was still smoking. There were some rumors that he was doing more, but I never believed them. Although I never thought he could do something like this either. It’s like we didn’t even know the real him.”

“Rumors, huh?” Ichigo prompted.

“Yeah,” Mina answered, both Kirishima and Kaminari nodding in agreement. “They started after those pictures in the paper. They were real, ya know. All those pictures that showed him with the hickeys on his neck and the leather clothing. The news article that said he was doing a mission for UA was a lie. Todoroki told us later that he went to the club and got high.”

Fuck. Shouto’s fingers clenched together almost painfully tightly.

“Oh yeah man!” Kirishima agreed enthusiastically. “He said he bribed the bouncer to get in and everything! Ended up sleeping with some chick.”

Double fuck. He definitely felt Kai’s arm tense against his at the mention of him sleeping with somebody else.

“And you heard this from Todoroki Shouto himself?” Ichigo confirmed.

“Yeah. I guess maybe its not that surprising that he could do something like this after all.” Mina replied, sadly.

“Why do you think he did it?” The reporter asked.

“He was jealous of Midorya, man!” Kaminari jumped in. “There was a big fight in the library Monday afternoon. I was there. It broke out just after Todoroki found out that Midorya had kissed Ba—” Mina punched Kaminari in the shoulder. “One of our classmates. Look, I even got punched in the face!” Kaminari pointed to his black eye. Shouto sighed. The electric blonde made it sound like Shouto was actively involved in the fight, like he might have even been the person to give Kaminari that black eye. Of course!

“We just feel so bad for Midorya, ya know.” Mina added. “He and Todoroki were such good friends. Midorya trusted him. It doesn’t matter why he did it, Todoroki deserves to be in jail. I hope they keep him there for a long time.”

“Yeah,” Kirishima agreed, “I hope Midorya gets some justice.”

Ichigo nods, turning back toward the camera.

“There you have it, everyone.” She said to the audience. “There is definitely a lot more to this story than the police have told us so far. Is this tragedy the result of a lover’s quarrel? Is Todoroki actually a drug addict and a party boy? Did the papers really lie to us all those months ago? Will Midorya make a full recovery, or did his classmate take away the victim’s dream of becoming a hero! Tune in daily at 8:30, noon, and 4:30 for breaking updates on this tragic case. This has been Ichigo Toi, reporting live from UA. Back to you Bando!”

The video stopped. Kai turned off the phone and set it flat on the table.

Shouto sighed deeply, letting himself slouch over and lean against Kai.

Shouto knew that he shouldn’t blame his classmates. They didn’t know any better. Everyone saw him get arrested, and then the news came out about why. But how could they just accept it?

His classmates really thought that he was capable of raping Midorya. Why? Because he smoked pot? Kaminari smoked fucking circles around Shouto, and they all still thought he was good to be a hero. Shouto could feel the anger starting to build inside of him. How could they say those things about him? As if things didn’t look bad enough already! They totally made him out to look like an addict and a party boy. Oh, and Endeavor was going to shit himself once he saw that interview. In one interview, those three undid hundreds of thousands of yens worth of damage control that Enji had done for Shouto since those pictures first made it into the paper.

And Bakugou… Bakugou had stood there and listened to the entire interview. And he didn’t once try to step in and defend Shouto, or stop them from telling the entire city about his drug use. He didn’t get angry and start screaming… even when Kaminari almost told the entire city that he was the person the Midorya had kissed. He didn’t do… anything. Not one fucking thing.

Did he believe it? Even after hearing that Shouto claimed innocence. Did Bakugou really believe that Shouto was capable of doing this?

These are the things that will show you who truly cares about you.

Shouto clenched his eyes shut. Hot, angry tears ran down his cheeks. Maybe Kai was right. He had never felt so hurt… so betrayed. Maybe it really was better not to know.

Suddenly, Kai shifted, drawing Shouto’s attention back to him. The golden eyed man sat him back upright in his seat, putting his hand under Shouto’s chin to lift his gaze, and using his thumb to wipe at the tears.

“There are two things you need to always remember when you see the news, Shouto,” Kai said, his voice quiet but firm. “And it will do you well to remember them, always. The first is that people are sheep. They will believe almost anything that is presented to them by the authority. And if their perception doesn’t fit what they are told, they will usually change their perception so that the new information is something they can process. There are very few people who will stop to question the new information instead. Which means that your friends are currently piecing together every negative quality you have in order to believe that you are capable of committing such a crime. The second thing you need to remember is that the public loves a scandal. The media is going to dig into every single possible nook and cranny of this story if they think it will put a few more dollars in their pocket. The news is going to get much worse before this is all over.”

“I can’t do this, Kai,” Shouto spoke through clenched teeth. “Everyone already thinks I am guilty. They aren’t even planning on giving me a real trial. I think they would convict and sentence me tomorrow if they could. Why bother trying to stay and fight? Can’t you just get me out of here? I could disappear, just like Dabi did.”

“I could. It wouldn’t be easy, but I could. But there has already been too much press to make this problem disappear too. Doing that would be no different than you signing a confession saying that you were guilty. If you run away from this, than every single person you have ever known will believe that you raped your friend. Every single citizen in Musutafu, and most of Japan, will believe that you raped your friend. You will be convicted for a crime you didn’t commit. And you will lose everything, including your pride and your honor. Is that really what you want, Shouto?”

Shouto shook his head. He didn’t want that. He didn’t want any of this.

“I promise you, little fox,” Kai said, “that we will get you a fair trial. Our organization has strong lawyers, and I have already selected one of the best to begin looking over the initial paperwork. We will have time to prove that you are innocent. And then, instead of hiding away, you and I will be able to enjoy everything that this city has to offer and more.”

Shouto nodded.

Kai leaned forward, kissing him gently on the lips. It was warm and firm and full of the promise of more to come. When he pulled back, Shouto could see the desire on his face.

He needed more.

Shouto pushed the table back, standing up and climbing into Kai’s lap. Surprise flitted over the other man’s face as Shouto kissed him again. Hard, desperate. He moaned as Kai’s lips starting to move once more against his own. He wrapped his arms around Kai’s shoulders as the man gripped his waist. This was everything. When everything else was slowly falling down around him, Shouto had this. And he needed it. Like a man dying of thirst needed water. He needed Kai. He needed to know that, no matter what else happened, Kai still wanted him.

So he deepened the kiss, digging his fingers into Kai’s shoulders. Kai’s mouth responded to his, passionate and carnal as Shouto began to roll his body against him. Kai growled into the kiss, and Shouto could feel the man starting to get hard underneath him. And it only made Shouto more desperate.

Kai grabbed Shouto’s arms, pushing him back. Kai’s eyes were closed as he tried to catch his breath.

“Shouto.” Kai said, lust dripping from the name. It was a warning and a promise.

And it only made Shouto want Kai even more.

“Overhaul,” Shouto replied, the name so quiet it was almost a whisper.

Kai moved before Shouto even realized what was happening. He stood up, kicking the chair back and laying Shouto down roughly on the cold, wooden table. Every movement was rushed, almost violent. Kai didn’t waste a moment to get Shouto’s pants off, pushing Shouto’s shirt up to expose most of his body to those dark, golden eyes. A thrill shot through Shouto. He was already hard.

Kai spit on his hand, quickly spreading it over two fingers before pushing them inside of Shouto. Shouto cried out. Kai stopped for just a moment, pulling his fingers out and leaning over Shouto. He took the T-shirt bunched up on Shouto’s chest and pushed it into Shouto’s mouth.

“Listen to me, little fox,” he said, sliding his fingers back into Shouto, rushing to scissor him open. “We don’t have a lot of time, and I need you to be quiet. Can you do that for me?” Shouto nodded desperately, holding back his whines at the almost painful stretch as Kai hurried to add a third finger.

Shouto wrapped his hands around the back of his thighs, holding them up to give Kai full access to his body. He keened quietly into the shirt as Kai’s fingers teased his prostrate. But it only lasted a few minutes before Kai pulled them away and quickly undid his pants, pushing them down just enough to pull out his beautiful, thick cock. The golden-eyed man spit on his hand one more time, rubbing it all over his cock. He pulled Shouto forward until Shouto’s ass was pulled just off the edge of the table. Then he lined himself up and started to push in.

Shouto’s breath caught in his throat, a small cry escaping past the fabric at the initial stretch. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the table as Kai’s cock threatened to split him apart as the man continued to push inside of him. Shouto didn’t even care about the pain today. He welcomed it, even. It was the best he had felt all day.

Kai pushed Shouto’s legs back, almost folding Shouto in half against the table, setting a hard pace right from the beginning. Shouto whimpered through the initial pain, finally reveling in the pleasure as Kai’s cock pushed into his prostate with every thrust. After a minute, Kai let go of one of Shouto’s legs, reached down and starting to stroke Shouto. Kai increased his pace, chasing a fast release. Shouto bit down on the stiff fabric in his mouth, welcoming the desire that was beginning to pool in his stomach.

Kai’s thrusts were already getting erratic, and within minutes he had pushed himself deep into Shouto, his body shuddering as he came. Kai continued to stroke him through it, and even after. Shouto didn’t take long. The passion of the moment. The intense need to feel something. The warmth of Kai’s cum as he could feel bits of it starting to drip out of him. Shouto’s entire body arched up as he came all over his stomach and chest.

Shouto didn’t think they had even lasted ten minutes. And it didn’t matter. Shouto felt good. Even as Kai’s grip on his legs loosened, and the man pulled out, he could still feel Kai’s cum inside of him.

He belonged to Kai.

He pushed himself up, watching as Kai took off his vest. The other man used his quirk, the vest reforming into a towel in his hands. And then he carefully wiped the cum off of Shouto’s stomach and chest, his cock, and even what had leaked out of him. Then Kai cleaned himself off. Shouto sat up, pushing his shirt down before climbing off the table, and grabbing his pants.

They had just barely gotten dressed when the door pushed open, and Officer Hassu stepped in.

“Time’s up,” Hassu said, stopping to take in the state of the room. The table was crooked, the chairs pushed back. They were both sweaty, and Kai, at least, was slightly flushed. Shouto guessed that he probably was too. Hassu sniffed the air, then crinkled her nose with disgust. “For hell’s sake, Chisaki. I told you no funny business! You had better hope they don’t take him in for anymore testing tonight.”

“Relax, Hassu,” Kai replied. “You know that isn’t likely. Nobody will find out what happened.”

“I hope you’re right,” the officer replied. “Now come on. You heard me. Time’s up.”

Kai nodded, turning back to Shouto.

“Trust me Shouto, All is not lost. We will get you out of this.”

Shouto nodded. Kai leaned over and gave him one chaste kiss on the forehead before turning to leave. Hassu came over to Shouto, motioning for him to put his hands up for the handcuffs. He didn’t resist.

“Of all the damn people I had to be assigned to tonight,” She muttered as she put the cuffs on him and the door closed behind Kai. “It just had to be you, didn’t it? I have a feeling that you and I are going to be seeing a lot of each other these next few days. I hope you aren’t going to cause this much trouble the whole time.”

“No ma’am,” Shouto replied.

“Ma’am,” she snorted. “I’m no ma’am. You can call me Hassu. Officer Hassu, if there is anyone else around. Chisaki has asked me to make sure you are taken care of. And I will. But don’t think that means you can go breaking the rules. I am not paid enough to baby-sit. And I don’t want to be involved with whatever is going on between you and Chisaki. So you behave, and you do what I ask you to do, and we might just get along.”

Shouto nodded.

“Good,” Hassu said decisively. “Now come along. We got to get you something to eat and then back to your room.”

Shouto followed. He focused on the slight pain as he walked, using it to keep his thoughts focused on Kai.

Kai still cared about him.

“I’m glad they arrested him.”

Kai believed in him.

“I guess maybe its not that surprising that he could do something like this after all.”

Kai was going to help him.

“Todoroki deserves to be in jail. I hope they keep him there for a long time…”

Chapter Text

Shouto POV

Shouto’s cellmate was named Peter Olversten, and he was, in fact, an American. Although not an office worker like Shouto had originally suspected. He was, however, gratingly talkative and fascinated to be roomed with a Japanese ‘celebrity’. Over the first night, Shouto learned that Olversten was 37. He was, self-described, an ‘Average Joe’. He was not particularly tall, but definitely thin. He had short brown hair, and about a weeks worth of stubble on his chin, and black horn-rimmed glasses. He had spent the last ten years living in Vegas with his wife and two kids, working in a casino. Last year, she left him for another man. In an attempt to start a new life, he booked a ‘last minute’ trip to Japan. He ended up staying and snagging a job at a gas station. About a month ago, his passport expired. A routine check found him in the city, and they detained him last week. So, he is stuck in here until his lawyer can finalize the paperwork to have his passport renewed.

His quirk allows him to create small bursts of air from his fingertips. They aren’t very powerful, and they don’t last for very long. He called it a ‘dusting quirk’, as that was all that his wife used to say it was good for.

He loved Japanese food.

He was constantly emphasizing words by putting up his hands and making finger quotes as he spoke.

He was a self-proclaimed ‘socialite’, and Shouto eventually feigned tiredness as a chance to finally escape the guys questions. He was nice enough, but after nearly a week with no one to talk to, Olversten went a little overboard. He didn’t stay on topic, and jumped back and forth between asking Shouto about himself, and telling long, rambling stories that popped into his head at the slightest provocation. And the silence was almost a relief when he lay down on his side, staring at the wall and pretending to sleep.

Until Olversten also went to sleep. And to Shouto’s horror, he snored. Loudly.

So Shouto got a very, very sketchy few hours of sleep that night. Breakfast was nothing special. Being in the cafeteria was a lot like eating at UA, except with armed police officers walking around to help keep the peace. Otherwise, the food was so-so, and everyone split up into cliques to eat. Which meant that Shouto ended up eating lunch with a bunch of American’s; Olversten proudly introducing his new cellmate as if he had anything to do with the fact that he was roomed with Shouto. Luckily Enji had forced him to learn the basics of English, so he was able to track most of the conversation. And after successfully subduing their questions, he was able to eat in a semblance of peace; and the dull background noise of some droll political debate that the American’s were having.

Kai showed up with his lawyer at 11:00. Shouto was definitely glad for the chance to see Kai hours earlier than he had expected. Even if this hour was supposed to be for legal counsel, just having the other man here was comforting for Shouto.

“Shouto, I would like you to meet Hagiwara Goto,” Kai motioned to the gentleman already seated at the table, a laptop open to one side of him and a folder on the other side. Hagiwara stood up at the introduction, coming around and offering Shouto his hand. He was probably in his late fifties, with gray hair and a smile that deepened dozens of laugh lines across his face. He had small, wire-framed glasses and was wearing a very expensive and impeccably fitted gray suit with black leather shoes. Shouto reached out and shook his hand. Despite his age, he still had a very firm grip. “He is one of the best lawyers in Japan, and has an almost perfect record for winning his cases. He and I have already reviewed the available information about your case, and he has agreed to help us secure you a trial, and to represent you during that trial.”

“It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Todoroki,” Hagiwara said as he grasped Shouto’s hand and bowed slightly.

“It’s nice to meet you, as well, Mr. Hagiwara,” Shouto replied, returning a deeper bow.

“Shall we get started?” Hagiwara asked, adjusting his glasses and returning to his seat. “We have a very limited time today, and I have just a few questions I need to review with you.”

“Of course,” Shouto nodded, taking the seat next to the lawyer. Kai sat next to him, and Shouto scooted, hopefully discreetly, slightly closer to the golden-eyed man.

“I have already secured a copy of the initial police reports, as well as a copy of the video evidence they are leveraging against you,” Hagiwara said, his glasses settled on the tip of his nose as he looked at the information on his laptop from over the top of them. “Although I was not able to secure a recording of your initial questioning, I do have a report going over the basic information disclosed during that questioning. It is very good that you maintained innocence, as that will be critical in our attempt to gain you an actual trial. We don’t need to review everything, however, we do need a detailed account of everything that you remember from Monday until the time of your arrest on Wednesday morning. Let’s start with the ‘altercation’ in the library at UA that was discussed in your initial interview. The more details, the better.”

“Alright,” Shouto replied, glancing nervously at Kai. Kai still didn’t know anything about Bakugou, and he had a bad feeling that he was about to find out. This was not the ideal situation. “I was assigned a project with a few of my classmates, Midorya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki, and Kaminari Denki. While the others were talking, Kaminari starting asking me for advice about dating. Bakugou got upset that we were goofing off and told Kaminari that I was a terrible person to ask for advice. Kaminari argued and pointed out some, um, hickeys that I had on my neck. He called me a ladies man. Bakugou argued that those hickeys weren’t even from a woman, and once Kaminari realized what he meant, he made a comment about how Midorya and Bakugou might not be the only gay couple in class. Bakugou started getting upset, and both of them denied they were a couple. Kaminari mentioned that they had kissed over the weekend, and Bakugou jumped over the table and started punching Kaminari. Midorya jumped up to help him, but I left and went to the restroom. By the time I returned, everything was under control and we finished our assignment.”

“And in the interview, you mentioned that hearing that your classmates had kissed upset you because you used to date Bakugou Katsuki, is this correct?” Hagiwara replied, typing the details into his laptop as Shouto talked.

Dammit. This was exactly what Shouto had been worried about. Although Kai didn’t outwardly respond to the question, that didn’t mean anything. Kai was unnervingly good at keeping a calm facade no matter what he was hearing.

“We weren’t really dating,” Shouto said honestly, trying to watch Kai out of the corner of his vision without being too obvious about it. “We have been rivals at UA since the beginning of the year. A few months ago we ended up fooling around a little bit at a friends party. Since then, we have had sex a few times. He… um, helped me after I had something bad happen. That’s it. We have never been exclusive, or even been out on a real date.” He hated how much it hurt to admit that. Somehow, his relationship with Bakugou felt like so much more.

“How many times is a few times, and when was the last time you two were intimate?” Hagiwara asked without skipping a beat.

Shit.

“We have had sex four times,” Shouto replied, hesitating a moment before adding. “I don’t remember the exact date of the last time, but it was a little over two weeks ago.” This time Kai definitely tensed up a little. “We weren’t planning on seeing each other anymore after that. He… he knew that I was seeing someone else.”

“Mmhmm,” Hagiwara hummed, typing away into his keyboard. “The interview mentioned that you spoke to Bakugou Katsuki at length after class on Monday. What was the nature of that conversation?”

“Yeah,” Shouto answered. “I told him that I didn’t care if he kept seeing Midorya.” It wasn’t a complete lie. But he didn’t think it was necessary to mention that he had all but begged for Bakugou to continue seeing him. “He… he told me that he wasn’t interested in dating Midorya, and had only gone out with him to make me jealous. He told me that he cared about me, and asked me to stop seeing anyone else and just be with him. I told him that I couldn’t do that. And that was it. After that he…” Shouto took a quick breath, focusing on keeping his voice even. It still upset him to remember the conversation. “He told me that I didn’t get to have a say in who he spent his time with. And he left.”

“And what happened after that?” Hagiwara continued.

“Things get a little fuzzy after that, but I…” Shouto closed his eyes, taking a deeper breath this time. With everything else going on, he had been avoiding thinking about Monday night. He hurried and moved his hands under the table, gripping his thighs. He didn’t want Kai to see his hands shaking. “I think I remember most of what happened.”

Kai must have noticed the movement of his hands, because a moment later Shouto felt one of Kai’s hands on top of his own. He looked over. Kai met his gaze. His face betrayed nothing of what he felt about Bakugou. No matter what he was thinking, he was still there for Shouto.

Shouto could do this.

“I took the bus home. I remember taking my phone and backpack inside...” Shouto paused, realizing that to be truthfully honest he was going to have to say Toga’s name. He didn’t want to do that. “Is this statement going to be made public?” He asked quietly.

Hagiwara looked up, as if surprised by the question.

“This information is going to be used to build a case for your defense,” the lawyer answered. “We will use it to create a statement for your alibi. I have worked for Kai’s organization for many years. I understand that some of the information may be… questionable. I can assure you that any information used will be approved before being submitted to the police. The rest of this information will remain strictly confidential.”

Kai squeezed his hand gently.

“Alright,” Shouto nodded, still a bit hesitant. “I was supposed to be home alone, but when I got to the apartment, it smelled like food. I set my backpack down, and when I got in to the living room, Toga Himiko, from the League of Villains was watching TV. She jumped up and gave me a hug, and I remember that it seemed really weird that she was there.”

Fuck. He hadn’t told anybody yet that Toga had… Kai was going to be so angry. He killed Magne after the first time Shouto was raped. He shuddered to think about how Kai was going to react to this. And how would he feel knowing that Shouto was, once again, too weak to stop himself from being used like that. Just admitting what happened to himself made Shouto feel… pathetic. Like everything that Shigaraki had said about him just being a toy was right. Like he wasn’t strong enough to be anything else.

“She told me that Dabi had mentioned that I was stressed, and that she decided to bring me dinner. So we started eating, and watched TV. Soba and tea, that’s what she brought. I noticed that the tea tasted odd, but I drank it anyway. After about ten minutes, I started to feel a little strange. Like my limbs were heavy and hard to move.” Kai’s fingers tightened around Shouto’s hand. “I realized that something was wrong, and I tried to stand up and get away from Toga, but my legs didn’t work. I ended up falling down next to the couch. She was unhappy, and told me to just relax. But I…” He took a deep breath. He could do this. Everything was so hazy after this point. He just… he had to try to remember. Even if he didn’t want to. “It started to be really hard to think clearly. I… Dammit! Things are really hazy after I fell down. I think I tried to get away, but eventually I just couldn’t really move anymore. And I remember her taking off my clothes.” Shouto’s throat felt thick. How could he have been so fucking weak? “I… she….” He closed his eyes, shaking his head. Fuck! Why was this so hard?!

“Shhh, little fox,” Kai soothed him, but his voice was like ice. “I think that is sufficient for Mr. Hagiwara’s report.”

“Yes, yes.” Hagiwara agreed, his fingers flying across the keyboard, surprisingly dexterous for his age, as he attempted to get the full report. “When you are ready, tell us the next thing that you remember after Toga left.”

Shouto nodded. He intertwined his fingers with Kai’s, squeezing them. He kept his eyes closed tight for a few moments, willing away the tears that threatened to begin as he recalled what happened. Finally, he felt ready. At least, as ready as he was going to be.

“The next thing I remember was waking up in the middle of the night,” Shouto continued, trying to control the shakiness in his voice. “I didn’t feel good, and I was lying on my side. I had thrown up while unconscious, and I was…” God. Just remembering it disgusted him. “I was laying in it. I managed to get in the shower and get everything sort of cleaned up. But it was weird. I was completely dressed when I woke up. The dinner was gone, and there was alcohol and marijuana on the coffee table. I thought… I thought I was going crazy. Like Toga had been a dream, and I had just gotten high and passed out. I couldn’t find my phone, and I remember thinking that it was early Tuesday morning. So I went back to sleep for a few hours. When I woke up for school, I couldn’t find my backpack either. I thought maybe I had left my phone in my backpack, and my backpack on the bus. But it wasn’t on the bus. Everything felt surreal, and than I found out it wasn’t even Tuesday. It was actually Wednesday. I had slept through an entire day! I was so confused. And… and when I finally got to school, they arrested me.”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Shouto. A tiny shred of hope.

“Toga drugged me,” He said, looking at Hagiwara hopefully. “She must have used the same drugs that she gave to Midorya. The police took blood samples during processing. If they could find the same drugs in my system, then that… that would be proof, right? I mean, I wouldn’t drug myself.”

Hagiwara finished typing something, pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose as he looked over at Shouto.

“If we could find those drugs in your system, it would give us plausible evidence to push for a trial. However, the two drugs that were discovered in Midorya Izuku’s system both have a very short half-life, which means they aren’t detectable in a person’s system for long periods of time. GHA, which you have probably heard of as the ‘date-rape drug’, is only detectable in a person for up to twelve hours. The other drug, however, could be promising. DMHP is a type of cannibinoid, which are generally detectable for 48-72 hours. The police report released last night cites only the presence of Heroin in your system, but they may not have analyzed it closely enough. I will request a copy of the full test results. If they show DMHP, even a small amount, it may be enough evidence to justify asking for a trial.”

“Heroin?” Shouto’s mouth dropped open. He had heroin in his system?

“Yes. The test results did show heroin in your system.” Hagiwara replied. He had closed his laptop, and was starting to load everything up into a briefcase.

Shouto sagged. No wonder he had felt so awful when he had woken up.

“Is there anything else you need before I head out to begin my report, Mr. Chisaki?” Hagiwara asked as he stood up, straightening his suit jacket.

“That’s everything for now,” Kai replied, standing up as well. “I will contact you later for an update.”

“Then I will take my leave,” the lawyer replied. “Mr. Chisaki,” he said, bowing deeply to Kai. “Mr. Todoroki,” he said, bowing to Todoroki. Picking up his briefcase, Hagiwara left them alone.

There was a strange tension in the air. Kai walked over to the window, looking out at the forest behind the Detention Center. Shouto could practically feel the anger rolling off of Kai’s body. Whether it was about Bakugou, or Toga, or both… Shouto had no idea.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about Bakugou,” Shouto said, standing up and walking over to stand next to him. He followed Kai’s gaze, looking out at the tree-line. He wasn’t really sure where to start.

“I already knew about your classmate,” Kai replied, his voice was cold.

What?! Kai already knew! Had he known this entire time? Why hadn’t he said anything?

“And are you… are you angry with me?” Shouto asked, his voice shaking nervously.

Kai didn’t reply for a moment. Shouto looked over at him, watching his jaw clench and unclench as he stared out the window. Kai’s fingers were gripping so hard into the window sill that they had turned white.

Suddenly, Kai moved. Shouto barely had time to register what was happening before Kai had him pushed up against the wall, his hands gripped tight around Shouto’s arms, his waist pressed firmly against Shouto’s, trapping Shouto. Shouto could feel the planes of Kai’s chest against his. His golden eye’s burned into Shouto, his breath hot as it rushed out over Shouto’s face.

“The idea of another person, another man, touching your body…” Kai reached up with his right hand, running it up the side of Shouto’s face and into his hair. His fingers curled, pulling Shouto’s head back just enough that Shouto was forced to look up directly into his gaze. “I had to know that I could truly trust that you belonged to me. You had other options, and you still decided to stand by my side.”

Shouto’s breath was ragged. His heart was beating loudly. He could feel every inch of Kai’s body pressed against his, the pressure of Kai’s fingers digging into his arm, the pain as he pulled his hair.

“Now that you are mine, little fox,” Kai continued, his mouth just barely hovering over Shouto’s as he whispered the words. “You are not going to be able to continue sharing your body freely. I will give you everything, Shouto. I can make you feel more alive than you ever imagined.” Kai slotted one of his legs between Shouto’s, grinding his hip directly against Shouto’s cock. Shouto groaned, the movement sending a shiver of desire up his spine. “Once you are free, you will live like a god beside me. But,” he paused again, his grip on Shouto’s hair tightening. “I do not give these things freely. You are mine, Shouto. Your body is mine. If you desire something, you need to come to me. I will not be so understanding if we have to have this conversation again.”

Shouto swallowed. A strange surge of emotions washing over him. It was hard to think clearly with Kai pressed against him like this. The words slowly washing over him. Exhilarating. Terrifying. He loved belonging to the other man. Kai was so powerful. The way he controlled Shouto during sex was beyond arousing, it made Shouto want to completely surrender his body to the other man. And knowing that Kai was Overhaul, and what Overhaul was capable of… Shouto felt like a moth drawn to a flame. Kai was, undoubtedly, the most dangerous person that Shouto had ever met. Likely more dangerous than even Shigaraki. And yet, the idea of not being in Kai’s life was… it wasn’t an option. Not anymore. He wanted to be with Kai. He needed to be with Kai. He was beginning to feel things for the golden-eyed man that he had never felt before. Things that scared him more than anything else.

But there was no gray area anymore. There was no possibility that Kai would be alright with Shouto continuing to see Bakugou. When… well, if he got out of all of this, his life was never going to be the same.

He nodded. And Kai’s grip relaxed, ever so slightly.

Then Kai’s mouth was against his. Kai kissed him deeply, running his tongue gently over Shouto’s lips and then into Shouto’s mouth. His lips, as usual, were warm and soft against Shouto’s. And Shouto could smell the blissful scent of Kai’s body wash as Kai kissed him. Shouto wanted to get lost in that touch. He tentatively reached out, wrapping his hands around Kai’s waist and pulling the older man against him. Kai growled against his lips, his mouth fierce and possessive against Shouto’s.

There was a knock on the door, and it opened a moment later. Hassu stepped in.

“Fucking… Kai?! Every time?” She sighed, and Kai pulled his lips away from Shouto’s. And then, slowly, his body.

Shouto mourned the loss immediately. His heart sank. Shouto’s allotted time for legal guidance was over. The last hour had brought up so much that Shouto felt like he could drown in his emotions. He and Kai hadn’t even had a chance to talk about everything that happened with Toga. He wasn’t ready to be alone. Or worse, spend the afternoon having to answer a hundred mundane questions from his roommate. He just wanted to be with Kai, at least for a little while longer.

“Will I see you later, for visitation?” Shouto asked, not caring that his voice was thick with lust, or that he was probably visibly hard through the thin pants. Not caring that the implication in his question was probably obvious.

“I have some unexpected… business that has come up this afternoon,” he replied, and Shouto had to physically stop himself from drooping with disappointment. Kai still, somehow, seemed to notice. “It’s alright, little fox. I will be back tomorrow.”

* * * * * *

Overhaul POV

Kai was not happy. In fact, he was almost livid at Shouto’s recollection of what Toga had done to him. Sure, having to talk about Shouto’s little flings had gotten under his skin. Especially knowing that Shouto had been sleeping with that petulant, angry blonde, Bakugou, as little as two weeks ago. If he thought he could, he would simply make that blonde problem disappear. But Shouto clearly still had feelings for him. Dabi had told him about the other boy, and about Shouto’s friend Momo, that he had met at the charity dinner. Shouto was definitely more promiscuous than he had originally appeared when Kai had seen him, almost naked and trembling the first time he visited Dabi’s apartment. Kai didn’t care so much about that. In his bed, Shouto was sexy and pliant and submissive just like Kai desired for him to be. But he was going to have to learn what it meant to truly give himself to Kai. One way or another.

No. That conversation had just been an annoyance. Learning about Toga, who certainly acted on Shigaraki’s orders, was something else entirely. Kai stalked down the hall of the detention center. He still had one more errand here, as irritating as it now felt to have to delay his other plans for the day. By the time he made it to the records department, Kai was practically foaming at the mouth. Not that anyone would know if they looked at him. Although he was struggling to maintain his normal, neutral composure. All he could think about was that crazy whore drugging Shouto. Waiting until he was too weak to fight her, than peeling off his clothes and touching him. Sliding his cock inside of herself and using Shouto like a fucking sex toy.

If he could just get a hold of her, he wouldn’t need his quirk to kill her. He would strangle her with his bare hands, slowly and methodically so that he could enjoy watching every inkling of life drain out of her blue face.

And the worst part. The part that made Kai so angry that he could barely concentrate on the task at hand, was that he couldn’t kill her. Not yet. No matter how much he wanted to see her scream in pain, he had to keep her alive long enough to get Shouto out of this place. And Shigaraki… Fuck! Shigaraki’s recent mission for the Yakuza had peaked Okimoto’s interest in the League of Villains. Shigaraki, for once, had more than kept his end of the bargain, and the formula’s that he had given the Yakuza had more potential than even Kai had imagined. Okimoto was keen to find out what else the League might have to offer. Which meant that killing Shigaraki was also off-limits… for now.

Kai impatiently dinged the little bell on the counter, waiting for Doi to make his way out of the backroom. It took far too long for Kai’s limited patience before the door finally pushed open and Doi wobbled into view. Doi Shintani was, by far, one of the most important under-cover members of the Yakuza in the city. And he looked the exact opposite of what anyone expected a member of the Yakuza to look like, which made him ideal for his current role. He stood barely over four feet, and he was almost as large around the middle as he was tall. In his late forties, he was balding and had lost three of the fingers on his left hand in a car accident when he was young. The same accident that had stunted his growth. But he was also a genius. His quirk gave him a photographic memory, enough that he could recite, almost word for word, case files that had crossed his path twenty years ago. It was why the police treasured him as the records-keeper for the largest detention center in Japan, outside of Tokyo, of course. It was also what made him ideal to the Yakuza. He had only been working in records for a year when Okimoto approached him, and having access to this kind of a database is part of what allowed the Yakuza to gain so much power in the city.

And today, Kai had a relatively easy task for him.

“Chisaki,” the man called out, his voice surprisingly deep for his height. “I wondered how long it would be before I saw you in here. I noticed your name pop up on the visitation log yesterday. I’m guessing there must be a case of great interest to merit your attention.” Kai watched as Doi climbed up onto his step-stool, huffing slightly as he talked.

“I’m currently invested in a case that Mr. Hagiwara is working on,” Kai replied.

“Ah, yes,” Doi said, nodding his head, unsurprised. “I had a few requests for records come over from his office early this morning. I wondered about them. It’s not the type of case he usually works.”

“No, I suspect not,” Kai agreed. “But this case is one of personal importance to me. If you could ensure that you oversee all records requests for the next few days, and that any and all requests for information from Hagiwara on this case are prioritized, I will make it well worth your time.” Kai knew that the man would do exactly as he asked. Although Doi ran an efficient records department, he generally waited until those requests were printed and submitted to him in paper. Which meant that occasionally requests might take a few extra days to process, an especially common occurrence if that delay were to somehow benefit the police. And if Tsuragamae was really trying to avoid a trial for this case, than it wouldn’t surprise Kai to see Shouto’s case suffer such inconvenient delays.

“I think that can be arranged,” Doi said. “Is that all?” Straight and to the point. No surprise there.

“There is one more thing,” Kai replied. “In that same case, there are some pictures that would be inconvenient if they were to fall into the wrong hands.” Hagiwara had mentioned that the initial reports mentioned pictures of the mark on Shouto’s collarbone. Although nothing would prevent the police from noticing the mark a second time, at least it would keep the pictures from going into his permanent record.

Doi nodded. He saw all of the records. He had probably already seen the pictures. It would explain why he wasn’t that surprised to see Kai in today. Kai very rarely came down to the detention center personally.

“Consider it done,” the squat man replied.

Kai nodded, then headed back out the door. He definitely wasn’t in the mood for small talk today. He sent a quick message to Xiao Fe to meet him out front. The driver was ready and waiting by the time he exited the building.

“Back to the apartment?” Xiao Fe asked as he climbed in.

“Change of plans,” Kai replied irritably. “Take me to the League’s base. I need to talk to Shigaraki.”

* * * * * *

Shouto POV

When 4:00 came around, Shouto was fairly despondent that Kai wasn’t going to be there. But he knew the man was busy. He couldn’t expect Kai to be there everyday. After everything came out about Bakugou and Toga, it was maybe for the best that Kai have a day to cool down. He had definitely been upset when he left this morning.

So when Hassu came to get him around 4:10 for visitation, he was genuinely surprised. And then worried.

But when they got to the room, his heart nearly melted in relief and happiness when he saw Momo sitting at the table. She stood up as soon as the door opened, rushing over and throwing her arms around him and hugging him so hard that it was almost hard to breath, especially as it shoved his handcuffed arms into his stomach. Shouto didn’t care, though. He relaxed against her, resting his head against her hair and enjoying the scent of rose perfume that lingered faintly around her, the way her arms felt around him, the way the curves of her chest pressed so softly against him. But it didn’t take long before her shoulders were starting to tremble against Shouto, and he realized that she was crying into the coarse fabric on his shoulder.

“Momo, its alright,” He said soothingly into her hair, gently nudging her further into the room at an impatient look from Hassu. This time the officer did not leave him alone, closing the door, and standing in the corner. She also did not remove his handcuffs. And although he desperately wanted to wrap his arms around Momo and just hold her, he didn’t want to push his luck.

Finally, she let go, stepping back and quickly wiping at the tears on her cheeks, as if she was embarrassed to be the person crying. Shouto’s heart surged with happiness at the sight. At knowing how much she truly cared about him. He nodded toward the table, nudging her with his shoulder as he went and sat down. She followed, taking the chair next to him.

“Shou, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what to do when I saw them arresting you yesterday,” She apologized, a few tears still trickling down her cheeks. “I just stood there and watched. And then I tried to come and see you yesterday, but you already had a visitor. It must be so hard for you to be in here.”

“You don’t…” Shouto took a deep breath, not sure if he actually wanted to ask this question. Not sure if he wanted to know the answer. “You don’t think that I… did it?” He was looking down at his hands, tapping one of his feet nervously. The truth was that Momo would probably try to help and support him even if she thought he was guilty. But he didn’t want that. He didn’t want her support. He wanted her to believe the truth, to have someone besides Kai who didn’t think that he was capable of doing that.

“Do I think you hurt Midorya?” She asked, sadly. He nodded, still unable to look her in the eyes. She put her hands on top of his, her soft fingers entwining with his. “He is one of your best friends. Even if you were upset with him, I don’t think you would ever hurt him. I don’t… I don’t know what happened. The university won’t tell us anything. All I know is that the police report said you told them you didn’t do it, even though the newspapers keep saying that you’re guilty. You and I both know how much bullshit that the newspapers publish. I know you didn’t do it. But, not everyone understands. Everyone at UA is so hurt, and upset, and angry. It’s… it’s a mess.”

Shouto looked up to meet her eyes, waves of relief washing over him when he saw the sincerity in them. He almost wanted to cry. She believed him. She actually believed him! He gripped her hands in his, leaning over and nuzzling his forehead against their intertwined fingers. He crinkled his nose slightly as his chin brushed against the cold metal of the handcuffs. He felt her head nuzzle gently into his hair. A part of him wished that they could stay there, awkwardly enjoying each other’s presence for the rest of the day.

But he only got to be with her for a little while, and he still had so many questions she might be able to answer. Pulling away from her, he sat back up, preparing himself to ask the second question that he wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer to.

“Is Izuku… I mean, has he woken up?” Shouto asked tentatively. “I haven’t gotten to see the news today.”

“Not yet,” she replied solemnly. “But Aizawa told us earlier that his brain scans are starting to show more activity, which is supposed to be a good sign. Everyone is hoping that he’ll wake up soon.” Momo fiddled with his fingers, and pursed her lips in that way she does when she is thinking really hard. He could almost feel the curiosity emanating from her as one finger traced down to touch the bracelet on his wrist. She wanted to ask him a question. And he was fairly certain he already knew what it was.

“I was set-up,” he told her quietly, and she looked up, her eyes wide with surprise. She clearly hadn’t expected him to come out and say it. “I don’t know exactly how, but I was framed for this crime.” He paused, hyper-aware of Hassu standing near the doorway, listening to every word of their conversation. He desperately wished he could have the same privacy that he and Kai had. But he had to work with what he was given. So, he silently, and exaggeratedly, mouthed ‘Shi-ga-ra-ki’. “I have a lawyer now,” he continued, ignoring the strange look she gave him. She must not have caught the name. “And he is going to try to get me an actual trial to prove that I’m innocent.” And then he mouthed, again, ‘Shi-ga-ra-ki. Shigaraki’.

A look of comprehension, then disbelief, and then horror slowly played out over her features. She definitely understood that time.

“Oh,” she replied, her eyes darting over his face as she tried to settle on a reply. “That’s really good that you have a lawyer. I, um, I wasn’t sure if your father was going to help you.”

“Enji didn’t get the lawyer for me,” Shouto replied quietly. “I actually haven’t spoken to him since I got arrested.” He mouthed the word ‘Kai’, not sure if Hassu was a part of the Yakuza or not. If she was, he definitely didn’t want her reporting back to anyone that he was talking about his relationship with Kai. He wasn’t really sure what the rules were.

She seemed to get the meaning, nodding. He could see a brief glimpse of apprehension on her face. And he couldn’t exactly blame her. If Kai was a part of the Yakuza, and Kai had secured him a lawyer, that meant Shouto was actively accepting help from the Yakuza. Which also meant that he would be expected, at some point, to repay their generosity. He wasn’t sure how much of that Momo would realize, but he knew she would piece together at least some of those implications.

“Ah, I’m sorry about that.” Momo replied. “What are they going to do about the domestic violence charges?”

“They closed the case as of this morning,” Shouto sighed at the reminder. The police had told him after lunch, and he had almost managed to forget the bad news. “Enji managed to get enough of the ‘incidents’ discounted that the police said there wasn’t grounds for a trial. They advised me to take the matter up with a smaller family court. As if that’s going to be so easy to do while I’m locked up for this. Honestly, it was just a way to appease me. They fully expect me to drop the issue completely. And I probably will. Without Aizawa’s support, I don’t think its worth trying.” Shouto had known, deep down, that the case wasn’t going to go anywhere. He had known that he was only doing it to achieve the temporary restraining order. And yet, somehow along the way he had started to hope that maybe there was actually a chance of the case doing… something. He hated how disappointed he still felt, even knowing this was the likely outcome all along.

“I’m sorry, Shou,” She murmured.

“How is everything at UA?” Shouto asked, knowing this time that it probably wasn’t good news.

She shrugged, averting her eyes. Finally, almost reluctantly, she pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened it up.

“There was an interview that a few of our classmates did that… um,” Momo began as she started to look up something online.

“You mean Kirishima, Kaminari, and Mina?” Shouto interrupted her bitterly. “The interview where they told everyone they were glad I was in jail. And that the article about those pictures was a cover-up. Yeah, I saw that.”

“Yeah, that one,” she nodded, her voice full of sympathy. Shouto took a deep breath. He didn’t want to be angry at her. She was here supporting him, and she must know how much it had hurt to hear those things said. “That interview caused a lot of trouble. Both the paper and UA issued public apologies about the cover-up early this morning. This article was in the papers today.”

She handed him the phone, which he held awkwardly, unsure if he really wanted to read it or not. Especially after yesterday. But curiosity won.

Musutafu Daily, UA Apologize after Hero Cover-up Revealed to the Public

After reaching out to all parties involved, this paper is disappointed to find that an article published in late February contained numerous false claims in regards to the behavior of Todoroki Shouto. The article stated that Todoroki, who had been captured in some scandalous photos shortly before, was actually involved in an undercover investigation gone wrong. Unbeknownst to this paper, that account was untrue. We here at Musutafu daily had believed the information to be accurate due to the reliability and reputation of it's sources, The Endeavor Agency and UA University.

We wish to apologize for the publication of misinformation. As this cities primary news source for over 50 years, we strive to provide only the most accurate and up-to-date information possible. To see Musutafu Daily’s full apology, please click here.

UA University has also issued a public apology for their involvement in the cover-up. In the apology, they cited a wish to protect and help a troubled student as reason for their involvement. They now believe, however, that this cover-up may have contributed to the recent tragedy that put one student in the hospital and one awaiting trial in the Musutafu Police Detention Center.

As a means of apology, UA has promised to donate 100,000 yen to the Musutafu Center for Troubled Youth. Every year the MCTY helps hundreds of teens and young adults struggling with homelessness and drugs in our city.

The school has also announced the immediate expulsion of Todoroki Shouto, a first year student in their heroics course and son of the #1 hero Endeavor. Todoroki had already been at risk of expulsion for drug use. The university will not condone the continued use of those drugs, nor will it condone the violent behavior recently displayed by Todoroki. They say that this decision is in the best interest of the safety of it's other students. To see UA’s full apology click here.

Although the Endeavor agency has not yet issued an apology for their involvement in this cover-up, it is likely that one will be issued within the next 24 hours.

Todoroki has been convicted for the assault and rape of his classmate, Midorya, and is currently awaiting sentencing. Limited information has been released so far in regards to the case. Don't forget to sign up for our app, or stay tuned on-line for the most up-to-date information.

Shouto leaned back in his chair, laughing bitterly. He was officially expelled. He didn't really know what he expected. The university had already warned him that further drug use would lead to expulsion. Add assault and rape on top of that, and he should have expected this.

That didn't stop the sting that it left. No matter the outcome of the trial, if he even got one, he would not be able to return to UA. He turned in his seat, thrusting her phone back into her hands, barely containing his disgust at the whole thing.

"Shou, I'm—" Momo started to reassure him.

"Does everyone else think that I'm guilty? Does everyone think I deserve to be in jail?" He asked. It was the question that had been on his mind since seeing the interview yesterday.

"Try not to blame them, Shou," Momo answered instead. "They don't know you like I do. When both the university and the papers say you’re guilty..." she let the implication of the words hang in the air between them.

Shouto nodded, and closed his eyes.

"And Bakugou?" He asked quietly. He could so clearly see the blonde in the background of the interview, slouched over with his hands shoved into his pockets. Out of everyone, Bakugou had to know that he wouldn’t do this. After helping Shouto the night that Shigaraki raped him, Bakugou had to know. Didn’t he?

“Bakugou is… struggling.” She replied, and Shouto could tell she was trying to choose her words carefully. It left a bad taste in his mouth. The answer should be a simple yes or no. “He spent most of Monday in the administrative offices with the counselor, and he didn’t come to class at all today. I haven’t really been able to talk to him. Deep down, I think he knows that you aren’t capable of this. But Midorya is his oldest friend... You know how Bakugou is… he’s smart, but sometimes he gets distracted by the smallest thing and he just can’t get past it. The university mentioned that drugs played a large factor in what happened...” She paused for a moment. Shouto wanted to stop her. Each word hurt. Each excuse for why Bakugou might think that he could do this. “After your father dragged you out of Bakugou’s house a few weeks ago, I stuck around and we talked for a little while. He was so angry… I just wanted to help calm him down. We talked about you. About how hard it was the night before, seeing you all drugged up. He told me that it was like seeing a completely different person. Like you were there, but you weren’t really there. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t think Bakugou would ever believe that sober you could do something like this. But I’m not sure that he is as confident about what you are capable of when you’re high.”

He nodded, forcing his face to remain cool and composed. But the truth was that he could hardly breath. The idea that Bakugou believed any part of Shouto might be capable of this physically hurt, made it hard to breath, to think. His heart ached with each beat. He felt sick to his stomach, and every tiny shred of happiness that Momo had given to him… it was all overshadowed by that one answer.

He just needed to push the feelings away. It’s not like he and Bakugou were a thing. And after his conversation earlier with Kai, Shouto needed to accept that he was going to have to put his feelings for Bakugou behind him. But he wasn’t quite ready too, not yet.

Fuck. Fuck, Fuck, Fuck!

“He just needs time, Shou,” Momo continued, clearly noticing the awkward silence that had fallen between them.

“Sure,” he replied, aware that his voice sounded fairly dead. This was all just… too much.

He needed a joint. Not that that was likely to happen in here.

Then he laughed bitterly as he realized how ironic that was… maybe he was more of an addict than he thought.

“It probably really hurts,” She said, changing her tactic. She genuinely hated it when Shouto got super quiet and clammy around her. He could behave how he wanted with everyone else, but Momo prided herself on being one of the few people that Shouto could open up to. And normally he would, but there was no good place to start. Trying to even begin explaining his feelings on all of this would take hours, and he definitely couldn’t do it with Hassu there, listening to every word. “I can’t imagine being stuck in a place like this, listening to people you care about say horrible things about you. Oh, Shou!”

Shouto felt bad as she started to cry again. He hadn’t meant to make her cry.

“Momo, don’t cry. Please.” He said softly. “It is hard. But having you come visit me has made it a little better.” It was the truth. A part of him wished that he hadn’t asked about the blonde. Not that the rest of the visit had been particularly uplifting, but even his expulsion was easier to digest than knowing that even a small part of Bakugou wondered if Shouto really was guilty.

She sniffled, wiping at her cheeks and trying to stop herself from crying.

“5 minutes,” Hassu said from behind them.

“Do you have everything you need? Are they treating you ok?” Momo asked, her voice still a little shaky.

“I’m in a Police Detention Center,” Shouto said, trying to lighten the mood a little before she left. He already knew that he was going to dwell on this conversation for the rest of the night, so he wasn’t exactly feeling jovial. But there was no reason to send her home knowing that he was struggling. “It’s practically the next best thing to a 5-star resort. The food is… on time. The beds have blankets. And my roommate provides a lovely white noise in the form of snoring.”

“You have a roommate?” She gasped, at least distracted, if not quite happy yet.

“Yeah. American and everything,” Shouto continued. “He has already introduced me to his American friends. The cafeteria here is just like at UA, down to the cliques and everything. So, for the next who knows how many days I am here, I get to practically be an American.”

She laughed, and it was the best sound that Shouto had heard all day.

“You are already too cocky for your own good,” she teased. “I don’t know if the world is ready for an American Todoroki.”

“Well you better hope that my lawyer gets me out of here quickly,” Shouto teased back. “Otherwise you will have to learn to adapt to the new and improved Todoroki Shouto.”

“I will adapt to whatever Shouto I need to if it means I get to see you out of this place,” She said genuinely. Shouto smiled. Genuinely smiled. Then he leaned forward and rested his head against her shoulder for the minute or two they had left. And he just breathed in the scent of her, the way he always did when he really needed to relax. No matter what, he would always have Momo.

* * * * * *

Overhaul POV

The League’s base was out in the middle of fucking nowhere, surrounded by farms and fields and way too much empty space for Kai’s taste. Which meant that he had had plenty of time to make the calls that were on his list for the afternoon. And as the phone rang for his eighth, and last, call, he found himself tapping his foot impatiently. These men were all so predictable it was disgusting. Almost too easy, really. It’s nearly impossible to gain wealth without getting at least some dirt on your hands. So the Yakuza had something on most of the wealthy elite in the city, whether that was through their direct involvement with Kai’s organization, or blackmail.

“Hello?” a tired voice answered. “Who is this?”

Mayeda Muto was old money. Really old money. He was greedy and crass, and despite nearing his seventieth birthday, he had yet to allow one of his sons to take over his banking business. He is one of the eight primary, and very wealthy benefactors for the Endeavor Agency. Their generous yearly contributions are a large part of how Todoroki Enji is able to run one of the top hero agencies in the city.

Mayeda is also quite fond of cocaine.

“I am, simply, a concerned citizen,” Kai replied, keeping his voice cool and neutral. “It has come to my attention that your family donates millions of yen every year to the Endeavor Agency, an agency whose reputation has been tarnished by the violent crimes committed by Todoroki Enji’s son. We believe this agency is allowing Endeavor’s personal connection to this crime prevent them from taking a firm enough stand on the matter. The citizens of this city were hoping that, as one of the Endeavor Agencies primary benefactors, you might be able to help make a difference in their response to this gross injustice.”

“Are you the person who sent me the pictures this morning?” Mayeda’s scratchy voice accused.

Kai smiled. Bingo. Almost too easy.

He had six pictures personally delivered to Mayeda. Each one showing the man himself using cocaine. And Kai had been careful to personally select pictures which left no doubt about what was happening. If those six pictures happened to be made public… well, it would definitely spell trouble for the man.

“I’m sure we can agree that their is no need for anyone else to see those pictures,” Kai replied instead of directly answering Mayeda’s question.

The line went quiet for nearly a full minute.

“What do you want from me?” Mayeda finally replied coldly.

“I want what every good citizen wants. Justice,” Kai responded, the lie rolling smoothly off his tongue. “Which means that when I hang up this phone, I need you to call the Endeavor Agency. I want you to speak to Endeavor personally. And I want you to make it very clear that you will not continue to fund an Agency who is supporting a rapist. It’s very important that you are convincing. I would hate for those pictures to make it into the wrong hands.”

Another full minute of silence followed.

“Consider it done,” Mayeda replied, his voice strained with anger.

“The citizens of Musutafu thank you,” Kai finished, hanging up the phone.

At least one part of his day had gone easier than expected. Even if only half of those fools followed through and threatened to pull funding from the Endeavor Agency, it would be enough to incite the kind of drastic action that Kai was hoping for. He had tried to let Shouto take care of the issues with his father on his own. However, with Shouto locked up in that detention center, and the domestic violence case being dropped, Kai was tired of waiting. He had never been a particularly patient man, and he wanted the #1 hero out of the picture.

Normally, Kai went for a much more hands-on approach in his work. But he also knew how to read his enemies. Endeavor was the type of man who, when challenged, was more likely to dig in his heels and fight harder instead of buckling under the pressure of a physical threat. As the #1 hero, he had enough resources to cause trouble for the Yakuza if he decided it was worth his time. But money was his weakness. And the threat of money lost might just be enough to finally convince the man to relinquish his hold on Shouto. As much as this whole trial was going to cost Kai, it was the perfect opportunity to get Shouto away from his father, for good.

As the car pulled off the main road, onto the filthy dirt road that would lead them to the League’s ramshackle base, Kai began to secure his mask in place. His hands itched for vengeance. He wanted to see Toga suffer. He wanted to see Shigaraki suffer even more. He didn’t need to kill in order to make them regret touching his property.

But he would have to restrain himself. Okimoto would not be pleased if this visit were to cost the Yakuza their alliance with the League, even if Kai left those two alive.

He barely waited for the car to stop before he was stepping out, taking long strides toward the disgusting building. He sneered as Muscular stepped out of the doorway. The over-sized brute nearly matched Rappa in mass, wearing a pair of loose black pants and a red tank, his robotic eye shining in the sunlight as he stepped out onto the stairs.

“The boss has been expecting you,” the man said casually, crossing his arms in front of his chest as Kai came to stand in front of him.

Kai’s jaw tensed underneath his mask. He despised the man’s smug tone, the arrogant look on his face. If it wasn’t for his loyalty to Okimoto, the man would already be dead. Kai could feel his quirk radiating through his arms, primed to lash out. No amount of muscle could stop Kai if he could lay even a single finger on Muscular’s body.

But, as much as Kai wanted to rid himself of the League, once and for all, it wasn’t an option. For Okimoto, for the Yakuza, Kai would keep his temper in check. For now.

“Then why are we wasting time out here?” Kai replied, arching one eyebrow at the larger man.

Muscular grunted, apparently not prepared for that question. Had he expected Kai to be intimidated? To tremble in his over-sized shadow. The fool. Muscular posed exactly zero threat to Kai. Hell, the majority of the League, even working together, posed very little threat to Kai.

Muscular turned, motioning with his head for Kai to follow.

Kai fell into stride behind him, stalking Muscular as they made their way through the house, passing the room that Shigaraki normally met him in, and straight down to the leader’s office. Kai kept an eye out for Toga, exceedingly disappointed when he didn’t see her, or a single other member of the League of Villains.

The door was open, and Kai stepped around muscular into the room. Shigaraki was seated behind his cluttered desk, reading over a document in front of him. He looked up, meeting Kai’s gaze with his red eyes and smiling. As usual, he looked vile, sick, weak. The skin on his face was dry and taut over his skull, his lips cracked in a dozen thin lines, and large scratch marks trailing from his cheek all the way down to disappear underneath his black T-shirt. And without his usual coat, the bandages wrapped around his arms went clear up over his elbows, bloodied and dirty.

Kai sat down in the wobbly, wooden chair that sat in front of Shigaraki’s desk, waiting. There was no need for unnecessary greetings. Shigaraki knew exactly why Kai was there.

Shigaraki pushed the document he had been reading to the side, his full attention on Kai as he leaned forward on his desk.

“I expected to see you yesterday, Overhaul.” Shigaraki began.

“You can imagine how sorry I am to disappoint you,” Kai replied dryly. But he wasn’t really in the mood to play games, especially not with the man he was currently sitting across from. In reality, he would be much more satisfied to overhaul the desk that Shigaraki was leaning against. Shoot out spikes to impale Shigaraki so that Kai could watch him bleed out. If his deteriorating condition was anything to go by, Kai might even be doing him a favor. “What in the fuck were you thinking going after Shouto like that? I thought I made myself very clear that he was mine.”

“Contrary to what you might believe,” Shigaraki answered coolly, “what I did has nothing to do with you. You see, your little toy and I, we had an agreement. And he broke his part of that agreement. Now, he has to deal with the consequences.”

Kai gripped his hands around the armrests of the chair. He could feel his anger slowly bubbling up. The urge to end all of this bullshit and cover this office with Shigaraki’s blood. But killing the vile man now might undo years worth of hard work building up Okimoto’s trust. No. He had to stay calm. Okimoto won’t need The League forever. And Kai will be ready for that day when it comes.

“And what agreement was that?” Kai asked through gritted teeth.

“It was very simple, really,” Shigaraki replied, his words slow and breathy, as if he enjoyed drawing out this particular conversation. “Your pet was not to put the identity of my League in danger. And in less than a week, he drew so much attention to himself that he utterly failed to keep Dabi’s face out of the newspaper.” Shigaraki sat back again, picking up a pack of cigarettes off the table and pulling one out. He didn’t offer one to Kai, not that he would have taken it, but the lack of respect bristled under Kai’s skin as he watched him light up.

“You’re a fool, Shigaraki,” Kai replied, refusing to let even a hint of true anger show in his voice. “You seem to forget that your actions will also have consequences. You want to play this pissing game with me? You will lose. You are out of your league.”

“A fool?” Shigaraki retorted, without missing a beat. “You underestimate me. A mistake that will cost you dearly, in the end.” He took a long drag of his cigarette, blowing the smoke out toward Kai. “Honestly, I don’t even know why you are so upset. So what if Toga warmed up his little cock without your permission. The outcome is arguably more beneficial for you than it is for me. You should really be thanking me.”

“You have an awful high opinion of yourself for someone who relies so heavily on my organization,” Kai snarled, the image of Toga on top of Shouto once more flooding through his thoughts, re-igniting the anger in his veins.

“You can play dumb if you want, Overhaul,” Shigaraki replied. “But I know you have already realized how advantageous this whole thing is for you. Your poor little pet has been on the fence for weeks, trying to stay loyal to you but not quite willing to give up his dream of becoming a hero. He was a risk to both of us. By the time you get him out of there, he will be, undeniably, yours. To decorate your apartment, play housewife, warm up your cock when you get bored. Whatever menial plans you have for him.”

Kai flexed his fingers, trying to contain the urge to forcibly shut Shigaraki up. Even if the withered man was not exactly wrong. Having Shouto in the detention center, getting to be the pillar that Shouto clung to through all of this, was quite convenient to Kai. As much as it is going to cost Kai, in time and resources, to get Shouto out of this, it was the perfect means to an end. Shouto’s connection to the hero world would be severed, and Kai barely had to lift a finger to make it happen. The heroes, the boys family and friends, the police… they were doing all the heavy lifting for Kai. As hard as it was to watch Shouto’s life be torn apart, he would have the distinct advantage of getting to help guide Shouto as he stitched his life back together once this was all over.

Still, Shigaraki had over-stepped. Shigaraki had blatantly disregarded Kai’s previous warning. Had disrespected Kai. No amount of convenience was going to stop Kai from eventually punishing the other man for this. Kai just had to bide his time.

“Beneficial?” Kai argued, unwilling to give Shigaraki the satisfaction of being right. “You seem to forget how much it is going to cost me to get Shouto out of this situation. If I can.”

“I have faith that you will figure something out,” Shigaraki replied, flicking the ash from his cigarette out into a dull gray ashtray sitting on his desk. “If not… well, what better introduction to a life of crime than spending a few years in jail. Although trying to keep other inmates from touching your pretty little cock-sleeve might be a challenge, even for you.”

“Pat yourself on the back while you can, Shigaraki,” Kai growled. “I suspect that you aren’t going to be nearly so satisfied with yourself once this is all over.” Kai stood up. Despite his best efforts to control it, his anger was slowly taking over. If he stayed much longer, he couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t give in to the vice, and cost himself dearly in the long run. “I would suggest you keep a close eye on Toga. If I find her, I will make sure she regrets ever laying a hand on Shouto.”

Kai turned and left, unwilling to give Shigaraki the chance to reply.

He stalked out of the base, his fingers curling into fists at his side as he resisted the urge to reach out and drag his hands along the wall, leaving pure destruction in his wake. By the time he made it back out to he car, he practically ripped his mask from his face, his hands starting to shake with anger. Pulling out his phone, he dialed the number, waiting impatiently as it rang.

“Yeah,” Dabi’s voice came through the line. Kai had already talked to him twice that morning, so the man was aware of everything happening with Shouto. He was still out making some important delivery for The League, but Kai needed him back in the city. As soon as possible.

“Do you know what Toga did to him?” He replied, not stopping the anger that filled his voice. He was certain that Dabi had been in contact with The League since Kai spoke to him last. But he had no idea how much Shigaraki had deemed to share with him. Normally, Dabi knew almost everything that was going on in The League. But with it involving his brother, Shigaraki might have decided to keep certain details to himself.

“I know she was the one to rape the Midorya boy,” he replied, a cautious tone to his voice. He knew Kai well enough to know that if he could hear the anger in Kai’s voice, it meant that Kai was dangerously livid.

“Not just the other boy,” Kai hissed, watching the broken down fence pass by as they drove away from the League’s base. “She raped Shouto too. She drugged him, undressed him, and forced her disgusting cunt onto him in the middle of your fucking apartment.”

“Is she still alive?” Dabi asked, hesitantly.

“I want proof of her quirk, Dabi,” Kai replied, desperately wishing that the answer to Dabi’s question was no. He would be a lot happier if his hands were currently covered in her blood. “I want physical, indisputable evidence of her quirk. Evidence that I can use in Shouto’s trial. Can you make that happen?” It sounded like a question. Kai worded it like a question. But it wasn’t actually a question. And Kai knew that Dabi would realize that.

Dabi was quiet for a moment.

“I can,” Dabi agreed, his voice calculated and neutral. Kai knew this was a struggle for Dabi. Shouto was his brother; The League was his life. But there was no one closer to Toga to get the evidence Shouto needed. A journal, an old recording of her abilities, anything physical would do. Kai was going to clear Shouto’s name.

After that, it would only be a matter of time before he got the chance to carve Toga’s sin out of her flesh.

* * * * * *

Shouto POV

When Kai visited him on Friday, their only hour together was filled with bittersweet news. In the early hours of the morning, Izuku had finally woken up! Shouto was so relieved that it took every ounce of willpower that he had not to break down and cry out of sheer happiness. Not only was Izuku finally awake, but initial testing had shown no signs of major brain damage. Shouto had been struggling with an almost crippling fear that Izuku might die, and Shouto would have to live his entire life knowing that he had cost the greenette everything. That his mistakes had permanently snuffed out one of the brightest up-and-coming heroes in the entire city. And Shouto honestly didn’t know if he would have been able to live like that.

But on the other hand, now that Izuku was awake, what did he remember? What were the doctors, and his mom, and their friends going to tell him? Would he remember realizing that Shouto was a threat? Would he be haunted with visions of Shouto standing over him and slamming his head repeatedly into the cement stairs under him? And when they eventually told Izuku that Shouto had raped him… Fuck. The greenette was going to hate him.

But he forced those thoughts into the very back of his mind. He would have time later, when he was alone in his room, to dwell. To let those thoughts consume him. For now, he had a limited amount of time with Kai, and he still had to try to make the best of it.

In other good news, and to Shouto’s great relief, his lawyer had managed to secure an actual trial for Shouto. Just like they had hoped, Shouto’s blood work did show a tiny, almost negligible amount of DMHP in his system. But it had apparently been enough, along with a signed alibi that he had been drugged that night, for them to legitimately push for a trial. Shouto would be able to present his case in court exactly a week from today. That meant they had seven days to prove that Toga had been the person to rape Midorya, and that Shigaraki was the mastermind that had organized the crime.

Kai assured Shouto that it wasn’t going to be a problem. That they would somehow find the evidence that they needed. Shouto wished that he felt as confident about everything as the other man did. Outside of dragging Toga in to the police to admit everything, he had no idea where to even begin trying to prove that Toga was able to transform and had been the person actually in the video. But there would be time to worry about that later. For now, Shouto was just relieved to finally have the chance to try. Even if they couldn’t find the evidence. Even if Shouto was convicted for this crime. He wanted the opportunity to look Izuku in the eye and tell him that he was not the person who assaulted him.

Even if Izuku didn’t believe him.

Though he really, truly hoped that they would figure something out. Some way to prove Shouto’s innocence.

Then there was the bad news, of course. And it came, unsurprisingly, in the form of news articles. Shouto was truly beginning to dread the ‘Musutafu Daily’ website. Today had not one, but two articles about the case. The first one was par for the course, one that his lawyer had warned him to expect. The police had finally released details about Shouto’s toxicology report, which showed that Shouto had heroin in his system at the time of his arrest. It quickly devolved into an article about the dangers of illegal drug use.

The second article, however, was the one that got his blood boiling.

Endeavor Agency Issues Apology for Hero Cover-up, #1 Hero Disinherits Criminal Son Todoroki Shouto

As expected, the Endeavor Agency released a public apology early this morning in regards to their involvement with the ‘cover-up’ story published in response to a scandalous article involving Endeavor’s youngest son, Todoroki Shouto. The agency has taken full responsibility for the article. The apology was released in conjunction with a press release, during which our #1 hero opened up about his son’s recent struggles and the difficult decision that he has been forced to make.

To see a live video feed of that press release click here.

Shouto clicked the link without even finishing the article. His hands shook. The words almost seemed to blur together. Enji hadn’t even tried to visit him once since his arrest, even after the domestic violence charges were dropped and the restraining order was no longer in effect. And now, without a single word to Shouto, his father was publicly disinheriting him.

Shouto could barely breathe as he pressed play.

The video started out with Endeavor standing front and center in the press release. He was in the lobby of the Endeavor Agency’s main building, Enji’s PR representatives standing on either side of him. They had set up a microphone, and you could see the back of the heads of the first row of journalists waiting for the Press Release to begin.

After a moment, Endeavor cleared his throat.

“To the citizens of Musutafu, I, and the entire Endeavor Agency, wish to apologize for our involvement in covering-up the true nature of multiple photographs published of my son, Todoroki Shouto. These photographs of Shouto were scandalous in nature, and would have resulted in irreparable damage to his reputation as both a hero and the heir to the Todoroki fortune. For this reason, our agency knowingly published false information to dispel this damage and secure Shouto’s spot as the successor for this agency.”

Shouto was genuinely surprised that Endeavor flatly owned his participation in the cover-up. Of course, given the pressure from the other two public apologies, he may not have had any other choice.

“This decision was a mistake,” Endeavor continued. His father’s voice was flat. “We understand that this decision has also caused a ripple of distrust in our organization, and we are determined to work harder than ever to regain that trust and keep Musutafu and it’s citizens safe. To support this initiative, this agency, as well as myself, have made some difficult decisions to ensure that we are on the right side of the cities justice system.” Endeavor paused for a moment as his voice grew thick. He took a few deep breaths, before glancing down at a paper in his hands.

“First, this agency has revoked its standing offer of employment, and the eventual succession of this agency, from Todoroki Shouto. This agency will never allow for an individual with a criminal record to serve this city. The citizens of Musutafu deserve better, and from this point on, the Endeavor Agency promises only the best to the citizens of Musutafu. Second, the Endeavor Agency is going to lend our aid and resources, free of charge, to the Hawks Agency and police as they work to bring justice to the Midorya family. Third, we have extended an offer to Midorya Izuku that, upon the time of his graduation, he will have an open offer of employment at the Endeavor Agency, the largest hero agency in the city. And finally, with a heavy heart, as both a hero and a father…” Endeavor paused for a moment, swallowing. “My son’s unjustifiable behavior has left me with no choice but to disinherit Todoroki Shouto as both my heir and personal successor. The paperwork for this disinheritance will be finalized by this time tomorrow, at which time Shouto will no longer be connected with the Todoroki family.”

Shouto’s throat was dry. He set the phone on the table, letting it continue to play in the background, unable to see his father so calmly strip Shouto of his entire inheritance. Sure, Shouto had always imagined the day when he would be free of his father. It wasn’t even all that long ago that he had threatened to reject his heritage in order to force Enji to listen to him. But that had been his choice. He had never expected to have it all ripped away like this.

He collapsed against Kai’s chest, closing his eyes as Kai gently pulled Shouto’s chair closer to his. Kai wrapped his arm around Shouto’s waist, a comforting presence as the world seemed to fall apart around him. Shouto felt numb.

“We hope that these acts of good faith will help to restore some of this cities trust that our agency still has the citizens best interests at heart.” Endeavor’s voice continued to flow through the static of Shouto’s thoughts. “Now, we will open up the next fifteen minutes of this press release to those very citizens for questions.”

“Endeavor,” One reporter called from the crowd. “How did you feel upon hearing of your son’s arrest?”

“Absolutely devastated,” Endeavor replied without hesitation. “As any father would. As I have expressed in previous statements, I was gravely concerned for the physical and mental safety of my youngest son. He has been struggling for numerous months, and my attempts to correct these early signs of criminal behavior were exaggerated and used to file false domestic violence charges against me. Those charges, which were dropped as of yesterday morning, prevented me from being able to see my son. In that time, my worst fears were brought to life. My son was exposed to heroin, and his resulting actions harmed another and brought great shame to the Todoroki name.

“Who is going to replace Todoroki Shouto as your heir?” another reporter called out.

“The inheritance of the Todoroki fortune is in the process of being transferred to my eldest son, Todoroki Natsuo.” Endeavor replied simply.

“What about the succession of your agency?”

“That is a question that my family is leaving to the grace of Amaterasu.” Endeavor replied. “In the wake of this tragedy, my wife and I have become closer than ever. During visitations with her, I have been able to find a sense of peace and solace in her arms once more. It is our families hope that this solace will be blessed by the gods, and bear forth a new successor to one day stand as this cities #1 hero.”

Shouto’s body went stiff. Endeavor was visiting his mother in the hospital?! Shouto could count the number of times he remembered his father visiting her since she was admitted to that place on one hand. And in the few times Shouto had gone to see her, he got the sincere idea that she considered this a blessing. His parent’s marriage held no love, it never had. And now, because of Shouto, Endeavor was forcing himself once more, emotionally and physically onto his mother. Using her like a fucking broodmare to attempt to create another child worthy of being his successor. A child that would have to grow up, alone, in that horrible mansion. The idea made him sick. Physically ill.

“Isn’t this the second child that you have disinherited?” Another journalist called out.

Shouto opened his eyes, leaning forward and shakily picking up the phone. He exited out of the video before Endeavor could answer. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t listen to another word come out of his fath— out of Enji’s mouth. He let the phone drop to the table. Falling back against Kai’s chest, he stared up at the ceiling.

Kai’s hand tightened around his arm, and Shouto reached up to absently lay his hand over Kai’s. The man didn’t say anything. Shouto was grateful for that. He didn’t have to pretend to be strong. He didn’t have to pretend that the news hadn’t affected him as much as it did. He could just try to absorb, letting the jumbled mess of emotions attempt to form some semblance of acceptance in his mind.

One by one, this trial was peeling away everything that Shouto had ever believed his future held. And yet, he felt surprisingly desensitized about the entire thing. One part of him wanted to cry, to mourn the loss of so many things that he had once cherished. The other part felt strangely… relieved? Resigned? Apathetic? He couldn’t really place his finger on the emotion.

Shigaraki was truly a man of his word. He had stripped Shouto of his options. He had successfully clipped Shouto’s wings.

Chapter Text

Overhaul POV

Xiao Fe pulled into the Yakuza headquarters early Saturday evening. Kai hadn’t been planning on the visit. He was supposed to be meeting up with Chrono for their weekly review, but he had been forced to re-direct the white-haired man to meet him here instead of at his apartment. Okimoto had specifically asked for Kai to stop by, and Okimoto was a not a man that anyone said no to.

Kai climbed out of the car, heading in to the over-sized office building. The offices weren’t a complete front. The Yakuza had enough ties into the political world of Japan that they did actually need some of them. Most of the rooms, however, were just for show. The true purpose of the building was hidden in the basement, a huge laboratory that the Yakuza used for a variety of purposes, but primarily in the development of new drugs. Although they did make some contributions to the pharmaceutical industry in order to boost their income, most of their formulas were for less reputable purposes.

As Kai walked inside, their secretary Miss Tashiro, a shorter woman with thick thighs and long bleached-blonde hair, waved at him as he passed by.

“Mr. Okimoto is in the lab… sector B, I believe. I will let him know that you’re here!” She called out as he nodded in return.

Kai headed to the service elevator. The primary elevator didn’t go down to the laboratory, only to the offices above. He scanned his identification, and then verified it with a fingerprint scan, pressing the ‘call for help’ button that would actually take him down to the lab. The city inspectors generally showed up unannounced, and occasionally even a bolder hero wound up here for an investigation. So they had no choice but to build in a number of security measures to protect the most important areas of the building. And the basement was the most critical area. There had to be no risk of someone ending up in their laboratory that didn’t belong. Kai tapped his foot impatiently during the ride. When the doors opened, he took the right hallway, heading toward Sector B. He hoped that Tashiro was right about Okimoto’s location. This place was a maze if you were trying to blindly track someone down. He didn’t have the time or patience to deal with that right now.

Scanning his identification again at the door, he walked in. The room was huge, a half-dozen stations set up in the middle. It seemed quiet today, however. There were only two scientists working. He didn’t recognize them.

“Is Okimoto here?” Kai asked, not looking at either in particular.

“He’s down in the observation room,” one of them answered, looking at Kai curiously through her over-sized goggles. The scientist looked suspiciously like a frog. Kai didn’t bother with an explanation, heading down the hall to the observation room. He wasn’t surprised that this was where Okimoto chose to bring him. He had a feeling that he knew exactly what his boss wanted to talk to him about. It was a conversation he had been avoiding until the right time. This was certainly not the right time, but it would appear that he wasn’t going to have a choice.

He pushed open the door, stepping inside the small room. It had one large desk set up on the side, a few cushioned chairs arranged in front of a large glass window. Okimoto was sitting in one of the chairs, barely glancing over his shoulder at Kai’s entrance. His attention was focused on the room displayed before them, an especially large nomu standing near the side wall. It was nearly eight feet tall, and had an eerily humanoid face underneath it’s exposed brain. It was not nearly as muscular in appearance as most of the other nomus that Kai had seen, more skeletal in frame with long arms and legs, but their preliminary testing had shown that it was insanely strong and fast. And it was almost alarmingly regenerative when injured. Although its mouth was closed as it stared absently at the wall, Kai had already seen the maw full of canine teeth that it possessed. It’s arms were forcibly folded over its chest in a type of metal straight jacket, and it had a large chain connected to an over-sized metal cuff around each ankle that made it difficult for the beast to walk any faster than a shuffle.

Okimoto had spent an almost obsessive amount of time down here observing the brute since they had acquired it in their deal with the League.

“Okimoto,” Kai greeted, bowing deeply to his boss before sitting down in the chair next to him, watching as the nomu took two heavy steps forward.

“Chisaki,” Okimoto replied. Okimoto was a stern man. He was tall, with a broad chest and shoulders. Despite his age, he was still handsome in his way. He had sharp features, a strong jaw, and thick head of graying hair. As usual, he was dressed in the traditional haori and hakama, rather than a modern suit. “Thank you for stopping by. There is a matter that has been brought to my attention. I wish to discuss it with you.”

Kai didn’t let his face change. This was exactly what Kai had suspected Okimoto wanted.

“And what matter is that,” Kai replied neutrally.

“The Todoroki boy. Endeavor’s youngest son.” Okimoto replied, not taking his gaze off of the nomu. “Word is that he is to be your next bullet; that you, as well as numerous other Yakuza resources, are involved with his trial.”

“That is correct,” Kai answered as simply and honestly as he could.

“This is a risky situation that you find yourself in,” Okimoto nodded. He had already known the answer to his first question. Like Kai, he was always careful to ensure he had the correct information before addressing a potential problem. “A risky situation that you are putting my organization in. I am not sure I believe that he is worth the risk, or the resources.”

“Todoroki Shouto would, undoubtedly, add to the strength of my bullets,” Kai replied, keeping each word firm and confident. Okimoto would pick up on even the slightest amount of hesitation. “He is dual-quirked, and extremely intelligent. He has already received training in physical combat, and he is still young enough to need guidance, which means that he can be molded into the perfect second-in-command for the Shie Hassaikai. Once he is out of the police’s hands, and fully trained, he will prove his value time and again to the Yakuza.”

Okimoto nodded, filtering Kai’s words through the information he had undoubtedly already heard in regards to Shouto.

“You already have Chronostasis as your second-in-command,” he remarked, his eyes widening in fascination as the nomu turned its head, opening and closing it’s mouth a few times, its sharp teeth glinting in the light.

“Yes,” Kai agreed. “And until now Chrono has been more than sufficient for the task. But I find myself needing more. I believe that Todoroki Shouto is the ideal choice.”

“Are you sure that this is the truth?” Okimoto asked, his eyes following the nomu as its head turned back to stare at the wall. “Or is it possible that you are biased by the sexual nature of your relationship with him.”

Kai bristled slightly, irritated by exactly how much Okimoto already knew. It must have come through in one of Hassu’s reports.

“I will not deny that I have been sleeping with him,” Kai replied, keeping his voice calm. “But I chose him as my next bullet long before I first took him to my bed. I am confident that he is worth the risk and the resources. It is why I chose to pay for his lawyer personally. This ensures that the majority of the financial risk does not lie with the Yakuza.”

Okimoto nodded, finally turning to look at Kai head-on.

“I am also aware that this case involves The League? Is that right?” Okimoto asked.

“That is correct,” Kai affirmed. “Toga Himiko was the true criminal in Todoroki Shouto’s trial. Although we will have to prove that she was at fault, we will not relay her location or any unnecessary information in regards to The League. Although it will have some impact on The League, it should not put our relationship with them at risk. Especially not once we deliver on our end of our other recent agreements.”

“And you are confident that he is worth that risk? The League has supplied us with numerous valuable resources over the past few weeks. I would hate to lose the opportunity for similar future payments.”

“He is worth it,” Kai replied.

“I trust you, Chisaki. You have my blessing to continue with this trial,” Okimoto replied.

“Thank you,” Kai bowed, standing up to leave before Okimoto could continue questioning him.

Okimoto nodded, returning his attention back to the nomu.

Just as Kai took a step back, though, Okimoto looked at him one more time.

“And Chisaki,” he added, an afterthought. “Once this trial is over, I will need to be fully assured of the boy’s loyalty. Once he is out of the Detention Center, I expect a proper introduction to Todoroki Shouto.”

Kai bowed deeply one last time.

“Of course,” he replied. He turned to the door, stepping out, glad to hear it shut behind him. He had expected as much. Okimoto had met with each of the bullets before Kai was able to initiate them. He had been putting off the introduction because of Shouto’s indecisiveness. Hopefully Shouto would be ready to fully commit to the Yakuza by the time this was over. He was already so close.

Kai opened his phone, dialing in Chrono’s number.

“Overhaul,” the white-haired man answered, just as he always did.

“Are you here?”

“Third floor, room 322,” Chrono replied.

Kai hung up, heading up toward the offices above. The office door was open when he arrived, and Kai went in, closing it securely behind him. Chrono was sprawled out, attention focused on his phone, feet resting on the desk as he waited. It was one of the empty office rooms, a thin layer of dust settled over the desk and chairs. Chrono quickly pulled his feet off the desk and sat up straight at Kai’s appearance.

Kai sat down in the chair opposite him, looking disapprovingly at the marks that Chrono’s shoes had left behind on the desk.

“How did collections go this week?” Kai asked, ignoring the desire to chastise the man for such disgusting behavior. He wanted to get this meeting over with and go home. Because their clients all paid their funds on different days, they had to meet up weekly to ensure Kai stayed up-to-date on which clients were able to fulfill their obligations, and which were not.

“No issues, for the most part,” Chrono answered. “Only one delinquent.” Kai nodded. Delinquents were the clients who were not able to pay their funds in full. Obviously a problem if they still expected the Yakuza to keep up with their end of a contract.

“Who?” Kai asked, irritated.

“Tsuchiya,” Chrono replied bluntly. “He only paid half. Said business has been slow so he didn’t have the rest.”

Tsuchiya Hannu. Younger guy. Ran a motorcycle repair shop near Dabi’s place. One that also built custom bikes with illegal modifications for street racing. This was the second month in a row that Tsuchiya hadn’t paid in full. It was inexcusable. The Yakuza wasn’t a charity.

“Send Rappa tomorrow to deliver a message.” Kai directed. What made these people think they were special? That they could ask for extensions, favors? It was disgusting. Kai huffed. “I want the rest of that payment ready in three days. Tell Rappa to make sure that Tsuchiya understands the consequences if he isn’t able to deliver.”

Chronostasis nodded.

“Is that all?” Kai asked.

“There is one more thing,” Chrono added. “Although this isn’t a collections problem. I’ve had multiple reports come in that Hironaka is still offering some more discreet services at his club. Very young, discreet services.”

Kai sighed. Hironaka really was too ambitious for his own good. To blatantly disregard their new agreement… the man obviously needed a bit of encouragement to fulfill his obligations.

“Get in touch with Dabi,” Kai ordered the white-haired man. “I want the two of you to make a personal visit to Mr. Hironaka’s home tonight. Wait until he leaves for work, and then tell Dabi what he has been doing. Dabi will take care of the rest. Perhaps losing his home will be enough to persuade Mr. Hironaka that we are serious. Considering his greed, I doubt he will risk seeing the same inferno engulf his business.”

Chrono nodded, pulling out his phone.

“Anything else?” Kai asked, a tad impatiently.

“That’s everything,” Chrono replied, invested in whatever message he was likely sending to Dabi.

Kai nodded. He left Chrono in the dusty office, and made his way to the main elevator this time. He nodded briefly at Tashiro on his way back out to the car. He directed Xiao Fe to take him back to the apartment as he climbed in. Picking up his phone, he typed out a quick message of his own to Dabi. “Do you have the evidence?”

He was tired of waiting. He wanted to be certain that they would be successful. He wanted Shouto out of that place, and safely in his apartment as soon as possible.

* * * * * *

Shouto POV

On Monday morning, Shouto was taken back in for questioning directly after breakfast. It didn’t surprise him, especially now that Kai and his lawyer had managed to secure Shouto an actual trial in lieu of his sentencing, the police were going to work hard to try and make sure they had the evidence to convict him. Which meant that they would likely ask him the same question about a dozen different ways to see if his story changed. It wouldn’t.

But knowing that he was probably going to have to spend the next hour listening to an officer try to convince him to just admit he was guilty, it didn’t exactly put Shouto in the best mood. Especially not after trying to sleep through his roommates snoring, a luke-warm shower, and a breakfast that was almost certainly last night’s left-over rice with watered-down milk. The entire morning was less than satisfactory, to say the very least. And then they still made him wait, handcuffed this time, in the interrogation room for almost an hour. Not that his room offered much more, but at least there he could have attempted to sleep.

Finally, Hawks walked in. And the hero looked, honestly, like shit. He was wearing a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt, his tan jacket half-buttoned over it. His blond hair was flat and un-styled, and he had dark bags under his eyes as if he hadn’t slept the night before. Even his wings seemed stiffer than normal. He set a large cup of coffee on the table, sitting down on the other side and looking at Shouto tiredly.

“Hawks,” Shouto replied flatly. He wanted the word to bite. He wanted the winged hero to know how angry and disappointed he was. But he also refused to give Hawks the benefit of knowing that he had gotten under Shouto’s skin.

“Tell me where he is.” Hawks said, without even bothering with an acknowledgment or a greeting. Shouto stared at him. Who was he talking about? Was this supposed to be some weird tactic to try to catch Shouto off guard in hopes that he will say something incriminating. So Shouto didn’t respond, just stared. “Please. Please tell me where he is.” The hero added after a few moments.

“Who?” Shouto replied.

“Touya.” Hawks said, a strange, almost needy tone in his voice.

Shouto’s mouth fell open for a second before he hurried to snap it shut. Out of everyone that Hawks could have been asking about, he had not expected it to be his brother. It was completely out of the blue. This was definitely some sort of game. And Shouto wasn’t in the mood to play.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Shouto replied, keeping his voice neutral. “Touya has been gone for four years.”

Hawks sighed.

“Look Todoroki,” Hawks said. “I’m not here for part of my investigation. I shouldn’t even be here at all. This conversation is off the record. No one else will know if you tell me where to find him. I need to see him.”

Shouto couldn’t believe it. What fucking nerve! As if Shouto didn’t have enough to deal with right now. Hawks brought him down here, made him sit in this cold room, handcuffed and alone for over an hour. The same Hawks that he has always respected and looked up to. The same Hawks that won’t even give Shouto the benefit of the doubt that he might have been set up. And now he gets the idea that Shouto knows where his brother is, and thinks that Shouto will actually tell him? Even if the circumstances were different, and Hawks hadn’t betrayed him, it wasn’t Shouto’s choice to tell the hero about his brother. If Dabi wanted Hawks to know where he was, he would have already contacted the winged hero himself.

“And what makes you think that I know where my brother is?” Shouto retorted.

Hawks reached into his pocket, taking out a small bag. He put it on the table and slid it over to Shouto. Shouto leaned down. Inside was about 20 black hairs, relatively short.

“After you mentioned staying at a friends apartment, we decided to find out where you were staying so that we could bring in your friend for questioning. The police interviewed every student in Class 1A, and even some of your friends from highschool. But we had no luck figuring out where you were staying. So, we finally turned to the clothes you were wearing. The black jacket you had on smelled like cigarettes, normal cigarettes. None of your blood work showed signs of smoking. So we looked at it closer, and found these black hairs interwoven in the fabric. After the rumors of you staying with a lover, we took a risk that this was a borrowed jacket and the true owner was your roommate. So imagine my surprise when we ran a DNA test, and it matched with Touya.” Hawks was talking faster and faster, as if time itself was the most precious commodity.

Shouto kept his face smooth. But inwardly, he was cursing. He had completely forgotten about the black jacket. Shit.

“That’s an old jacket. I pulled it out of Touya’s clothes after he left. It’s not the first time I have worn his old clothes, or maybe you didn’t recognize the leather pants that I’m wearing in those tabloid pictures. Maybe Touya bought those to impress a different boyfriend after you broke his heart.” It was a low blow. Shouto even felt a little guilty saying it. But he needed to divert Hawks line of thought. And anger made a great diversion.

Hawks tensed up, his brows furrowing and his lips growing tight. His wings shifted irritably. Shouto had definitely struck a chord in the man.

But, to Shouto’s dismay, he didn’t take the bait.

“Touya’s hair was red,” Hawks replied coldly. “And it was red until the day it got burnt off. These hairs have been chemically dyed black. This is not an old jacket. You have been living with your brother. Here. In the city.”

Fuck.

“Even if I did know where Touya was, why do you think I would tell you?” Shouto retorted, avoiding a direct answer. “If he was in the city, and he wanted to see you, don’t you think he would have contacted you himself?”

Hawks closed his eyes for a moment. When he re-opened them, they were shining as they met Shouto’s. The hero was on the verge of tears. And Shouto hated the surge of sympathy he felt for the man sitting in front of him. He was so angry with Hawks. He wanted Hawks to be hurting. But he recognized the look on the heroes face. It was the same look that Shouto had seen in the mirror so many times over the past few months. The look of a man in an impossible situation, trying desperately to make the right decision.

“I hurt Touya. Unforgivably,” Hawks admitted, his wings drooping slightly as he did so. “I wouldn’t blame him if he never wanted to see me again. But I need the chance to tell him that I’m sorry. For everything. Even if he doesn’t accept the apology. I have been waiting for four years to look into his blue eyes again.” Shouto watched as Hawks took a deep breath. “Please…” The last word was almost a whisper. A plea from a desperate man.

“That’s not my choice, Hawks. I’m sorry.” Shouto answered, his chest a mixture of emotions.

“But he is… he is in the city?” Hawks asked tentatively.

“You should forget about Touya, Hawks.” Shouto said honestly. Hawks thought that he wanted to see Touya again. He thought he wanted the opportunity to apologize, maybe even beg for forgiveness. Shouto remembered the pain in Hawks voice when he talked about hoping that Touya would come back to the city. He probably hoped, in his heart, that maybe they could try again. But Hawks wanted to see Touya. Shouto didn’t think that the winged hero would ever accept Dabi. “He isn’t exactly the same person anymore. Everything that he went through, it… changed him.”

“I don’t care,” Hawks said. “I need the chance to tell him that I’m sorry.”

“Well I do care,” Shouto replied, surprised by the truth of it. Hawks had no right to come in here and demand this of Shouto, not after everything else. “You come in here after arresting me for something that I didn’t do. When I tell you the truth, you call me a liar. You made me sit in this chair and watch one of my best friends get raped. And now you expect me to forget about all of that and tell you where to find my brother. You have no idea what you did when you left him that night. You would never accept who Touya is now. And I will not be the reason that my brother gets his hopes up, or his heart broken… again. You think you are ready to apologize. You still aren’t brave enough to come out publicly as gay. Do you think that Touya wants to listen to you apologize after four years of watching you prance around the city with all of your pretty little arm candy? My brother deserves better than someone who is ashamed to admit who he is.”

Hawks looked like Shouto had slapped him. He stared at Shouto, and Shouto met his eyes directly, a pang of sympathy going through him as he watched a single tear slide down Hawks cheek. But he didn’t regret a single word. Dabi did deserve better.

“You don’t understand what it’s like to be a Hero, Todoroki,” Hawks finally replied bitterly. “Heroes don’t get the benefit of allowing their emotions to affect their work. Do you think that I wanted to arrest you? Do you think that it doesn’t hurt to know what you did? You are practically like a brother to me. But you broke the law and you hurt someone during my patrol. It is my duty to the citizens of this city to bring you to justice. What kind of a hero would I be if I turned a blind eye to a criminal, no matter how much I care for him.”

“How about the kind of hero that listens to people and tries to find out the actual truth!” Shouto retorted.

“Here is your chance, Todoroki,” Hawks said, without blinking an eye. “Give me one thing that I could investigate to try and prove that you are innocent. One piece of verifiable evidence that would support what you are claiming.”

Shouto took a breath. He hadn’t expected the hero to ask such a question. Shouto searched his mind for something, anything that he could tell Hawks that wouldn’t incriminate himself with being associated to the League of Villains. If he told the hero that he had seen her transform himself, well that would lead to an entire line of questioning. And it definitely wasn’t verifiable. He couldn’t even admit to knowing the villain. And even if he admitted that, he didn’t remember the address of The League’s hideout to give him. And now that Hawks had figured out that he was living with Dabi, he absolutely could not bring up anything about having spent time with her at the apartment. Anything about that would incriminate both he and Dabi.

But if he didn’t say anything at all, it would only strengthen Hawks’ view on what he believed happened.

Fuck.

After almost five minutes of silence, Hawks nodded.

“Your blood samples tested positive for heroin, and reflected a higher dose than most regular, adult heroin users would have in their blood after almost two days. Heroin is only active in the blood for roughly 48 hours. Which means that you must have injected an alarming amount into your body on Monday night, or shot up even more on Tuesday as well. Heroin can cause you to perceive events differently than how they actually happened. You said you remember having dinner with a friend and then possibly having sex with them. What if Midorya was that friend? And you guys went out to eat, and the sex you remember was, well… you know.”

Shouto could feel his frustration rising. It was always about the drugs! Lots of people did drugs, and it didn’t make them criminals.

“I didn’t rape Midorya. I didn’t nearly kill one of my best friends and then ‘re-imagine’ it as some beautiful thing at my apartment because of drugs. I have seen the reports. Midorya had multiple types of drugs in his body. Do you really think that I got high and bought those drugs at the market and decided to use them on my friend? And then dosed myself? In case you didn’t see that I also had DMHP in my system.”

“No,” Hawks replied, not phased. “The presence of those drugs in Midorya’s body means that this attack was planned, for more than just a day. And after learning from Bakugou that he actively started trying to make you jealous by spending time with Midorya almost two weeks prior, you would have had the time to locate those drugs. This means that the attack was likely premeditated. After speaking to your classmates, your father, and looking at your university records, the police have theorized that the attack may be the result of a dissociative disorder

“A dissociative disorder?” Shouto asked. This was fucking unbelievable. “What in the fuck is a dissociative disorder?”

“Dissociation is something that happens when a person disconnects from their thoughts and feelings. It can affect their memories, or sometimes even their sense of self. I suppose you could say that its similar to an ‘out of body’ experience, one that you are not even fully aware of while its happening. There are numerous types of dissociative disorders, and the cause of them varies. But many of them can develop after a traumatic incident in a person’s life, such as abuse or… rape.”

Hawks looked at him then. Looked at him as if he was really trying to see who Shouto was.

This was a game. This couldn’t be off the record. He had used Touya to get Shouto’s emotions boiling, and now he was trying to use all of these fancy terms and theories to try to throw Shouto off. To try to get him to say something, anything that might incriminate him in this crime. He didn’t have a… dissociative disorder. He knew exactly what happened.

“No. That’s not… ugh,” Shouto stammered, his mind racing and his blood starting to boil. “That’s not what this is.”

“Shouto,” Hawks said in what Shouto presumed was an attempt to sound calming. But hearing his given name on the heroes lips made him even more frustrated. “There is no shame in having a dissociative disorder. Thousands of people across the world struggle with them, but there is help. There are treatments. If this started because of something that happened to you…” He stopped for a moment, looking around as if trying to find the right words. “When Tsuragamae and I did your initial questioning, you mentioned that you were raped…”

“Stop! You are trying to trick me into saying that I might have ‘unknowingly’ raped Midorya,” Shouto huffed angrily. “It won’t work. I have never, not in any way, ever had sex with Midorya. And I absolutely did not rape him. It doesn’t matter how many ‘theories’ you throw at me, or how cleverly you try to word your questions. I won’t give you the answer you are looking for because I did not rape Midorya!”

“I am not trying to trick you,” Hawks replied firmly. “I am trying to help you. In whatever way that I can. But you have to help me do that.”

Shouto was fuming. He hadn’t been this angry in a while. He could literally feel hot tears stinging at the corners of his eyes. His fists were shaking, almost vibrating the handcuffs against the table. Who in the hell did Hawks think that he was? That he could ignore everything that Shouto said and accuse him of rape in one breath, and then turn around and claim to want to try to help him in the next.

It was bullshit.

“So what, you want to hear about me getting raped so that you can feel better at night… so that you can feel justified giving me some fucking pills and then convicting me of a crime that I didn’t commit,” Shouto lashed out. “Do you want to hear about the first time, or how about the second? Because then you could really have something convincing to write in your report about how unstable I fucking am. Because that is the only reason I can think that hearing about something that happened to me would help with any of this.” Fuck! If only Hawks could understand that the trauma of those experiences are exactly why he could not… would not rape Midorya. He was still trying to recover from the aftershocks of that abuse himself. “Yes, I had fucking heroin in my system. And I have been smoking marijuan. I can make mistakes and still have a fucking soul, Hawks.”

“Look, I know that between the media articles and the interviews with your other classmates… well, a lot of surprising details have come out about your life in the last five days,” Hawks fumbled for the right words. “And two of your classmates mentioned that something had happened to you, but neither would go into detail. Even with what happened, there can still be some justice for you. If you just tell me what happened and who it was, we can have an official report filed. They would have to stand trial for it, just as you are.”

“Oh the media would have a field day with that, wouldn’t they?!” Shouto laughed bitterly. “You really want to know so bad? Here it is… off the damn record, of course! I went to a party I had no business being at. There was an older man there who threatened me, and eventually gave me cocaine. And then, later that night, they stripped off my clothes, and, well, long story short, eventually he pushed me face down into the couch and raped me while a friend sat next to me and told me what a good boy I fucking was. There! Will that help you sleep better at night?”

“Todoroki—” Hawks began, but Shouto interrupted him. He wasn’t done yet.

“But you know,” Shouto continued, venom in every word. “By your logic, I was on cocaine. So I might have just… made it all up. Imagined it. And later that night, when Bakugou helped me wash that man’s cum out of my ass, I probably imagined that too. Or the pain that I felt. Did you know that that happened the night before you came to see me? My father beat the shit out of me the day after I maybe, might have gotten raped! Who knows?! You probably shouldn’t trust my word about the whole thing, because… you know… COCAINE! Or maybe I had an out of body experience, and just dreamed the whole thing.” Shouto hands were definitely shaking now, that damn bracelet rattling against his arm. A few angry tears had started to slide down his cheeks. And he was so angry that he couldn’t think straight. He probably sounded crazy, and he didn’t care. He just wanted to hurt the hero sitting across from him. Any way that he could. “And the second time. You will definitely not believe the second time because it happened on the night that I supposedly raped Midorya. How could I possibly be drugged and raped if I was somehow out drugging and raping another person! Oh wait. You, in all of your fucking wisdom, already know. I apparently have a disorder that makes me act without even realizing it, and then internalizing all of it to victimize myself. So there you have it, Hawks! Case fucking closed. You can have the doctors give me some fucking pills that way you don’t have to feel bad when I spend the next five or more years locked up while the person who really did this gets to walk free and do it to someone else!”

Shouto’s breath came in ragged bursts. He wanted to scream. He wanted to cry. And he really just wanted to break something. Anything!

“Todoroki, stop!” Hawks yelled, standing up, his wings flexing out defensively. He quickly tucked them back in and started to pace back and forth. The door creaked open a moment later, an officer peaking their head in.

“Is everything alright, Hawks?” the man asked.

“Everything is under control, thank you,” Hawks replied, his voice stiff with a forced calm. The door closed.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” He finally asked, quietly. “The day I came to see you, why didn’t you tell me what happened?”

“Of course you believe that,” Shouto groaned, awkwardly wiping the tears off his cheek with his cuffed hands. “Is it really that easy to pick and choose when you think I might be telling the truth? I’m either a man of my word, or I’m not. It wouldn’t have made a difference if I had told you that day. And it’s not going to make a difference today. I will not be filing a police report for the incident. What happened to me is done. You are just pretending to care about this because you want me to feel like you are somehow on my side, that way I will tell you where my brother is. Well you can stop. Because I wouldn’t tell you where to find Touya if you promised that you would drop all charges and I could walk out of this building today as a free man.”

Hawks kept pacing for a few minutes before finally turning back to Shouto. He looked… defeated.

“I am going to suggest that the police have a psychiatrist talk to you,” he finally said, sadly. “I understand that you are angry with me. And perhaps it was wrong of me to ask about your brother. But don’t let your anger with me stop you from accepting their help. Be honest with them. Don’t lie or makeup answers or get angry. Let them help you.”

“Fuck you, Hawks.” Shouto spat right before the hero walked out. Hawks wings stiffened, but he didn’t stop to try and reply. It was childish, he knew. It almost made him smile to think that it made him sound like Bakugou. He was just still so angry at all of these theories. Kai was absolutely right. Everyone was trying to change how they perceived Shouto so that they could believe he was capable of this. Even the people he had told the truth. And as the door opened, an officer coming in to escort him back to his room, he just hoped that Kai was right about the rest. He hoped that there really was a chance that they could prove his innocence.

* * * * * *

Overhaul POV

Kai could tell that Shouto was distressed the moment that he walked in the door of the visitation room. He could always tell when Shouto was upset because his skin was paler than normal, and the old scar on his face seemed to stand out more than usual. His lips were pressed together in an attempt to suppress his emotions, and his eyes were slightly rimmed with red.

Kai stood up, watching Hassu take the hand-cuffs off of Shouto’s wrists. She secured them around her belt, shooting Kai a warning look right before she headed out the door.

“One hour, Chisaki,” She reminded him as she shut the door. Hassu had very little patience for all of this, and he was certain that she was the one who had finally reported the whole thing to Okimoto. It irritated him, but he would let it slide for Shouto’s sake. Kai needed her still. And she was the only person in this entire facility that he could guarantee would continue to give them private visitation time. She was, for now, a necessity.

The moment the door closed, Shouto rushed over, throwing his arms around Kai’s waist and kissing him desperately, hungrily. A spark of desire shot through Kai, one that always seemed more intense when he had Shouto pressed against his body. No matter how much he cared about Shouto, the moment he was in his arms, pliant and willing… Kai lost himself in a blind, almost carnal desire to take any and everything that Shouto would to give him. He wanted to hear the noises that Shouto couldn’t hold back when Kai touched him. He wanted Shouto to feel so aroused that he begged to feel Kai inside of him. He wanted to tease Shouto to the edge of ecstasy, and then hold him there until Shouto’s mind was clouded over with nothing but thoughts of Kai. So the boy would never want another man to touch him again.

Kai carefully sat down, pulling Shouto into his lap. Shouto let himself be easily guided, wrapping his long legs around the chair to grind himself against Kai. He growled as he felt Shouto’s arousal pressing up against him, his cock starting to harden uncomfortably in his pants. Kai dug his fingers harshly into Shouto’s sides, enjoying the small whines that got lost in their kiss. Shouto’s mouth was enticingly warm and soft, and Kai couldn’t resist exploring that heat with his tongue, the idea of having Shouto’s mouth on his cock starting to pervade his thoughts.

Suddenly Shouto leaned back, yanking his shirt over his head so that Kai would have full access to his chest and stomach. Kai pulled Shouto back against him, biting into creamy smooth skin just over the Shie Hassaikai mark on Shouto’s collarbone. Shouto groaned, tilting his head away to give Kai better access to mark up his neck and shoulder, something that Kai very much intended to take advantage of as Shouto ground down onto his cock.

“Eager today?” Kai murmured as he kissed Shouto’s neck, his hands kneading into Shouto’s ass as it moved against him.

“Please,” Shouto moaned, squeezing his hands between them to pull off Kai’s tie and start unbuttoning his shirt. “I need you. I need to feel you inside of me. I…” He stopped, groaning loudly as Kai bit down into the soft skin next at the base of his neck, biting down to the point of nearly drawing blood as Shouto’s words went straight to his cock. “I even got myself ready for you…” Shouto trailed off into a desperate whine, his intentions of undressing Kai forgotten as his hands clenched around fistfuls of Kai’s shirt. Kai had reached down to palm Shouto through his pants. He was so aroused that there was already a small wet spot starting to leak through the coarse tan pants. That, paired with Shouto’s words, was too much, Kai’s erection was starting to ache as it strained against his pants.

Shouto had come here today with every intention to submit to Kai. Fuck! If that didn’t do things to his body… He could see Shouto, trying to discreetly finger himself, scissoring and stretching himself open with those long fingers… thinking about Kai fucking him.

“Fuck, Shouto,” Kai groaned, sliding his hand down into the front of Shouto’s underwear, smearing his fingers into the mess Shouto’s cock had already leaked all over the teen’s stomach, coating it down over Shouto’s cock as he stroked him. “Tell me about it…” Kai settled his other hand at the small of Shouto’s back to hold him place as Shouto started to thrust, almost without realizing it, up into Kai’s hand, desperately chasing the pleasure.

Shouto’s mouth had dropped open with pleasure, his eyes dark with lust as he watched Kai’s face. Kai drug his fingers slowly up Shouto’s cock, his index finger gently tracing the slit at the very top, loving every tiny little moan and whine that fell from Shouto’s lips as he did.

“Tell me how it felt to fuck yourself open for me,” Kai insisted, his cock twitching at the words.

Shouto’s head fell back, his hair falling into his eyes as he desperately tried to fuck into Kai’s hand. Fuck. Kai loved seeing how easily Shouto fell apart in his hands. Kai slowed down his strokes, not wanting Shouto to get off too quickly. He didn’t want Shouto to cum until every inch of his cock was buried inside of Shouto’s perfect body.

“I… I couldn’t stop thinking about you,” Shouto moaned softly, every word fervent and dripping with lust. “About seeing you today. I, ngh, yes… yes… I was so… so hard. So I pretended to… take a… a nap.” Shouto’s words broke off as Kai twisted his wrist ever so slightly, satisfied with the slick, hot pre-cum that leaked out onto his hand. Kai closed his eyes, his breathing ragged as his cock begged for more than just the slight graze of Shouto’s writhing. He could already imagine what it was going to feel like to push into the incredibly tight heat of Shouto’s ass.

“Than what,” Kai whispered, his voice low.

“I started to… touch myself. Ah… slowly,” Shouto whispered, his hands finally letting go of Kai’s shirt, snaking underneath the fabric to run them over Kai’s stomach. His fingers were warm and needy as they explored his skin. “It wasn’t enough… So, I… I pushed one finger… inside… myself.” Shouto’s voice was getting breathy, his words almost punched out of him as he tried to concentrate enough to speak. He had started to fuck harder up into Kai’s hand, rebelling against the slower pace. Kai could feel it in the trembling of Shouto’s body against him, see it in the beautiful way his face scrunched up… Shouto was getting close.

Kai stopped his movement, pulling his hand out of Shouto’s pants, even as Shouto whined in response.

“Do you want me, little fox?” Kai whispered as Shouto pouted. Kai grabbed onto Shouto’s wrists as the teen tried to start touching himself. He was blissed out and desperately chasing a release. He had definitely worked himself up before this. He had probably been in a half-drunk lust before he even entered the room. He was wrecked.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Shouto chanted. “I want you. Please, Overhaul.” He cried, his eyes struggling to focus as he looked at Kai. “Please, fuck me.”

Kai’s cock throbbed every time Shouto said that name. He was way past painfully hard, and he couldn’t wait any longer. He couldn’t think of anything except sliding up into Shouto, watching the other’s body stretch out almost obscenely around his cock.

“Stand up, turn around, and brace yourself against the table,” Kai ordered, hurrying to unbutton the rest of his shirt as Shouto nodded eagerly, not bothering to care that he was smearing Shouto’s pre-cum on the front of one of his favorite dress shirts.

Shouto was eager to obey, and Kai watched the perfect way that the muscles in Shouto’s lean body rippled as he unwrapped his legs from around the chair and stood up. He stumbled a little as he turned around, leaning over to brace his elbows against the table, one hand gripped around the edge for support.

“What did you do after you slid a finger inside yourself?” Kai asked, his voice husky. He pulled off his shirt, dropping it on the floor next to his tie before standing up and undoing his pants. He pushed his pants and underwear down to his thighs.

“I tried to remember the way you touch me,” he spoke softly, his voice catching ever so slightly as Kai pulled Shouto’s pants down as well. He pushed Shouto’s legs a bit further apart, his chest closer down to the table, spreading Shouto open so that he had full access to run a finger around Shouto’s stretched and loosened entrance. “Ngh… fuck.” Shouto cried out, desperately pushing back against Kai’s hand to force the tip of Kai’s finger inside of him. “I rolled it around in… shit… around in circles, slowly pushing it in and… out.”

Kai leaned down, spitting directly into Shouto’s ass then using his finger to push it up inside of Shouto. He added a second finger, and then a third. It couldn’t have been long since Shouto had done this, he was loose enough already. Kai’s cock throbbed as he curled his fingers up, teasing Shouto’s prostate and enjoying the resulting moans that filled the room.

“I… added a second… ngh… finger,” Shouto cried, struggling to follow Kai’s orders. Kai pulled his fingers out. He spit on his hand, reaching down to coat his cock, frustrated that he hadn’t thought to bring lube. His entire body thrummed with relief as he finally touched himself, his cock drooling pre-cum that he spread over the head.

Kai stepped forward, grasping onto Shouto’s waist with one hand and guiding his cock to push inside of Shouto. Pleasure radiated up through him as he pushed into Shouto’s tight heat, groaning as Shouto’s ass clenched around the head of his cock. Fuck! No matter how many times he fucked Shouto, the teen always felt so fucking good. So tight that Kai knew the stretch was almost too much for Shouto’s lithe frame to take; which always made Kai want to dominate Shouto’s body so much more. This time was no exception. Shouto’s breath caught raggedly, his body tensing and trembling as Kai slowly pushed his cock further in. Tiny little keens that bordered between pain and pleasure spilled from Shouto’s lips, his knuckles white where he gripped the table.

Shouto’s words devolved into almost incoherent, desperate plea’s. He rocked back, desperate to have Kai fully inside of him. Kai hissed as he thrust forward, the last inch fully seated inside of Shouto. Kai leaned over Shouto’s back, wrapping one hand around the other’s throat, the other still digging into Shouto’s thigh. He would probably have bruises later, bruises that would remind him of exactly how good Kai felt inside of him.

Kai went slow for the first few thrusts, barely able to breath each time he sunk fully into Shouto’s body. The teen was so warm and pliant below him, crying out loud enough that Kai was certain Hassu would hear them. But he didn’t care, angling his hips and speeding up so that he could fuck into the bundle of nerves that would send Shouto over the edge

“Did it feel like this?” Kai growled as he fucked Shouto, tightening his grip ever so slightly around the his neck.

“No…” Shouto gasped, his hips pathetically trying to rock back into Kai. “You always… fill… me… so… fucking good!” Shouto managed through ragged breaths.

Kai could feel the sweat starting to gather at his hairline, and the base of his neck. He could smell the sweet musk of sex in the air around them. Shouto’s ass was clenching so tightly around him that Kai could feel his own orgasm quickly approaching. Shouto’s legs were trembling on either side of him, the pleasure making it hard for the other to hold himself up, especially as Kai’s thrusts pushed Shouto into the table, and forced the table forward inch by inch.

Kai let go of Shouto’s neck, reaching around Shouto’s waist to wrap his hand around Shouto’s cock. It was practically dripping pre-cum onto the floor below them. Kai stroked him purposefully. He wanted Shouto to cum at the same time he did. He wanted to know that Shouto’s body was writhing in the pure ecstasy of his orgasm while Kai came, coating every inch of Shouto’s insanely tight body with his orgasm. Kai was already so close… he tilted his hips just a bit more, waiting for that first sign that Shouto was almost there…

He felt it a split second before Shouto cried out, the slight pulse of Shouto’s cock in his hand, the way his ass clamped down so hard around Kai that he struggled to pull away. He let himself go, burying his cock to the hilt inside of his body and stroking Shouto through their orgasm. Blind pleasure rolled through Kai as he came, his hips grinding against Shouto’s ass, desperate to be just a little deeper before he started to get soft. He relaxed the hand on Shouto’s hip, wiping the sweat away from his forehead. He was struggling to breath. It was always so good with Shouto. It was always so fucking good with his Shouto.

He couldn’t remember ever having someone that he enjoyed fucking quite so much.

He felt Shouto’s legs give out, struggling to catch the teen and slowly lower the two of them to the ground. Shouto moaned quietly as Kai fell out of him. They collapsed into a mess on the floor, their pants awkwardly tangled around their legs, trying to avoid the mess of Shouto’s cum all over the floor.

Shouto collapsed back against his chest. Kai shifted his legs, cradling Shouto. It was obvious that Shouto was distressed. The look on his face when Kai first saw him. How desperately he had thrown himself against Kai. Kai reached up, running a hand through Shouto’s hair. He was so close to where Kai needed him to be. He still didn’t quite realize his own strength. He would, eventually. Kai remembered being where Shouto was; the drowning pain of having the world turn it’s back on you. But Okimoto was his strength until he found his own. And he was determined to be Shouto’s.

“Don’t let these people drag you down, Shouto,” Kai murmured. “Their opinion doesn’t define your worth. You are strong. Hold your head up high, and don’t let a single person make you feel shame. In a few days, we will prove your innocence, and every single person who doubted you will have face the consequences of that doubt.”

He felt Shouto relax against him. Kai kissed the top of his head.

Yes. One day Shouto would know exactly how strong he was.

* * * * * *

Shouto POV

Shouto’s psychological evaluation happened on Wednesday. It took almost three hours of testing and questions, digging into every single aspect of Shouto’s personal life. He wasn’t completely honest about every little detail, but enough that the psychologist was able to eventually reach the same conclusion that Shouto already knew. He didn’t have a mental disorder.

Of course, that didn’t stop her from writing down the possibility of a ‘drug-induced dissociative episode’ on his paperwork. Which pissed Shouto off, because he was certain that the only reason she had done it was to appease the police. They had already decided how they were going to try to play this off to the public, and they needed some type of proof to back them up. So they called in a psychologist, and told her what to look for. So of course her analysis would be biased.

But he just had to bide his time. Kai assured him every day not to worry, that they would get the evidence they needed to prove Shouto innocent. He just had to trust the older man, and hope that everything turned out alright. It didn’t matter what that woman put on the paper… if they could prove that Toga and Shigaraki were responsible for what happened to Izuku.

When his daily visitation finally rolled around, he was beyond relieved. Olversten had finally been released, new passport in hand, yesterday afternoon. And although it had been nice to get a full, quiet night of sleep, Shouto was actually feeling a bit lonely. He was looking forward to having someone to talk to. Someone who wasn’t trying to pry into the workings of his mind.

He eagerly followed Hassu down to the visitation room, surprised to find it empty when they arrived.

“Where’s Kai?” he asked as Hassu took off his handcuffs.

“He had a few things he needed to take care of down in the records department,” she answered unenthusiastically. “He said he would be here a little late. You have a second visitor, though. Do you want me to bring her in now, or would you rather try to convince Kai to leave early?”

Her. Momo.

“Go ahead and bring her in now,” he agreed quickly, excited to see her. It would definitely help to offset the rough afternoon.

Hassu nodded, motioning for him to sit down as she pulled her walkie off her belt.

“This is Officer Hassu, with suspect Todoroki Shouto. He is ready for his visitor, room 109.” She radioed.

It was only a few minutes before a there was a knock on the door. Shouto stood up eagerly as Hassu opened the door. But he was shocked when, instead of Momo, Fuyumi walked in. She was one of the last people that he had expected to have visit him. Especially after his father’s very public disinheritance. Shouto hadn’t seen his sister in almost two years. And she looked… beautiful. Her stark white hair was longer than ever, her natural cherry red highlights more obvious than he remembered. She still wore the same black-framed glasses though. She was dressed simply, with blue jeans and a white T-shirt stretched obviously over a small baby bump, the likely cause of her glowing, rosy skin.

She looked almost as shocked to see him.

“You’re pregnant!” Shouto exclaimed, at the exact same time that Fuyumi said, “You look so grown-up!”

Then they both laughed. She smiled nervously, walking over and hugging him gently. He pulled away, hesitant about putting too much pressure on her belly. He could feel himself grinning widely. He was going to be an uncle! He reached out to touch her baby bump, before realizing that Fuyumi might not appreciate that, his hand hovering awkwardly just a few inches from her belly.

She laughed.

“It’s alright, Shouto,” she encouraged him, pulling his hand down to the middle of her rounded belly. “You can feel it.”

“I didn’t know you were going to have a baby,” he said, still feeling slightly giddy at the news. She had been trying to have a baby since she got married. Years and years ago. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

“It’s a little girl,” she replied, smiling at his enthusiasm. “I thought dad told you… I’m sorry you didn’t know.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to be an uncle,” he mused, finally pulling his hand away from her belly and leading her over to a chair. He wasn’t at all surprised that Enji hadn’t bothered to tell him the good news. It’s not like they had much father-son bonding going on.

“Well you better get used to the idea,” she replied as she sat down, leaning back and setting her hands on her belly. “The last time I talked to Natsuo, he and Satsuna are trying to have a baby too.”

Shouto smiled at the thought. Then, out of the blue, he remembered that Endeavor was also trying to have a baby.

“An uncle, and apparently a big brother,” he said bitterly. “Although I won’t technically be their brother since I’m not a real Todoroki anymore.”

Fuyumi’s smile dropped.

“Shouto, you will always be our brother,” Fuyumi comforted him, reaching over to take his hand. “Dad doesn’t speak for everyone. I want you to be a part of this babies life. I want you to be a part of my life. And I know Natsuo feels the same. We love you, Shouto.”

He didn’t get a chance to respond before there was a short second knock. Hassu opened the door, and Kai walked in. He was dressed almost casually today, wearing very tight jeans with a black button-up and his green and purple jacket. And he looked really fucking good.

“I’m sorry that I’m—” Kai’s words cut off when he saw Fuyumi sitting next to Shouto. She was staring at Kai, her eyes wide. “I apologize. I didn’t realize that Shouto wasn’t alone. My name is Chisaki Kai.” He extended his hand to her. Fuyumi’s mouth opened and closed for a moment as she stared at him, and then at his hand. After a moment, she reached up and set her hand in his. Just like he had done the first time he met Momo, he leaned down and gently kissed the back of her hand.

“Komatsu Fuyumi,” she replied quietly, a hesitant, almost protective tone to her voice. “I’m Shouto’s older sister. And how exactly do you know my brother, Mr. Chisaki?”

“He’s my boyfriend,” Shouto answered for him, watching Kai’s face and hoping that he wouldn’t be upset with the title. One of his eyebrows arched up questioningly as he glanced at Shouto, but he didn’t correct him. Shouto kept eye contact, a small, happy feeling blooming in his chest. He didn’t even know why he had said that. He couldn’t exactly explain the whole Yakuza bond to Fuyumi, and he didn’t want her to think that it was just a sex thing. What he and Kai had was more than that. Boyfriend just felt like the closest thing to the truth. The fact that Kai went along with it… well, it made him hope that it was close to the actual truth.

“Boyfriend?” Fuyumi asked, standing up suddenly to put herself in between Kai and Shouto. Shouto stood up as well, trying to put a comforting hand on her arm. She was clearly angry. She glanced briefly at Shouto before turning back to Kai. “I heard the rumors, but I didn’t think… Who do you think you are? Were you the one who convinced my little brother to file those charges against my father? To run away from home? Were you the one who gave him heroin?” Her voice was rising quickly. “How old are you, even? He’s only eighteen, for gods sake! What kind of a horrible man gives heroin to a teenager?”

Shouto definitely noticed the way Kai’s lips tightened slightly at the accusations. Thankfully, Kai was remarkably good at keeping his temper in check.

“I was, unfortunately, not the person who helped Shouto file those charges,” Kai said, keeping his voice even. “Although I regret not helping them make it to court so that your excuse of a father would have to pay for laying his hands on Shouto. I was also not the person who gave Shouto heroin.”

Fuyumi stared at him suspiciously, her face twisted between anger and disbelief. Kai was definitely not happy.

“He’s telling the truth,” Shouto said, gently pulling her around to face him instead. She was obviously quite upset, angry tears glistening in her eyes. “He didn’t do either of those things.”

Fuyumi scanned his face. She seemed to relax for a moment, until her eyes narrowed at his neck. She reached over, pulling at the edge of his collar to reveal what Shouto guessed had to be a faint hickey on his neck.

“But I’m sure he did this,” She replied, turning to glare at Kai quickly before Shouto pulled her back around. Kai was, thankfully, letting Shouto take the lead. “What else is he pressuring you to do, Shouto? You are too young for this!”

“It’s alright, Fuyumi,” he tried to comfort her. “I’m eighteen. I’m not a child. Kai hasn’t made me do anything that I didn’t want to do. He’s been helping me. He’s one of the only people who has been helping me with all of this. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have lawyer, or even a trial.”

She stared at Shouto for a moment, trying to process the information.

Finally, she turned back to Kai.

“Why are you doing this for Shouto?” She asked, the hesitation still not completely out of her voice.

“I care about him.” Kai replied simply.

She nodded, sitting back down. Shouto took a relieved breath, giving Kai an apologetic look. Kai’s expression was unreadable, but he pulled one of the extra chairs out of the corner of the room, sitting down across the table from Shouto and Fuyumi. No one said anything for a few minutes. Shouto shifted anxiously, not really sure how to breach the obvious poor first impressions these two had of each other.

“I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner,” Fuyumi finally said, sounding nervous again. “I might have been able to help. Or Natsuo. He’s flying in Thursday night for the trial. He’s been out of the country.”

“It’s alright,” Shouto replied.

“What is your defense for the trial?” She asked. “I heard about the heroin. Is your lawyer planning on using those test results? I know that’s what caused this whole thing.” She took his hand, obviously trying to sound reassuring. “I don’t know where you got it. Or what you have been going through that you felt like you had to do drugs. But I know you would never have done something like this if it hadn’t been for the heroin. If the judge can see how sorry you are, surely they will take it easy on you.”

Shouto froze up, pulling his hand quickly away from Fuyumi. Her eyes widened as she watched his reaction. He felt all the emotion slide from his face as he stared at her, not sure what to say. Fuyumi thought he was guilty. She thought that he had raped Midorya. She had traveled all this way to support him, but she still thought that he was capable of assaulting and raping another person. She was his sister! How could she believe…

Did that mean that Natsuo thought he was guilty as well?

“Shouto is innocent,” Kai replied for him, obviously sensing his distress. “And we have every intention of proving that at the trial on Friday.”

“How can you get his hopes up like this?” Fuyumi turned to Kai, immediately back to mamma bear mode. “I have already spoken to my father at length about the trial. They have video footage. They found a… a condom at the scene that matches his DNA. A hero witnessed him running away. You can’t just pretend that none of that evidence exists! Shouto made a mistake! A mistake because some asshole gave him heroin! He needs to protect himself. The best way he can do that is by owning up to his mistake and hoping that the judge won’t push for a maximum sentence.”

Shouto pushed his chair back a little. He could feel his temper rising. It was the same thing that everyone was saying. Why did it keep surprising him that people believed all of it. Why did he keep getting his hopes up that people would truly know him. It had been two years since he had seen Fuyumi. Of course she didn’t believe him.

“Unless he was set-up, and is actually innocent,” Kai replied, dryly.

“There is physical evidence,” she repeated, as if that alone should wipe away every possible doubt.

“Did you ask your brother if he is innocent?” Kai asked.

She stared at Kai for a moment, as if dumb-founded that they were even having this conversation. Finally, she turned back toward Shouto.

“Please tell me what happened. Natsuo and I can help you,” She replied, blatantly ignoring what Kai just said.

Shouto clenched his hands into fists, glaring at her.

“Why did you even come here if you thought that I was guilty?” He asked, his voice cold. “Why did you tell me that I was going to be an uncle if you thought I was going to be locked up for the next few years?”

“Dad told me that you were refusing to confess,” she defended herself, taken aback by the sudden change in his mood. “He was going to let you face the consequences alone. I came because I wanted you to see what was waiting for you when you got out. So that you would plead guilty, help the judge understand that it was the heroin that caused you to do that.”

“Than I wish you wouldn’t have come at all,” Shouto said honestly. “If you really think that I could rape somebody, than I don’t even want you at the trial.” Shouto stood up, stalking past Fuyumi and heading over to Hassu. He couldn’t do this. He held out his hands for the handcuffs.

“Shouto,” she replied meekly, “I… I am here to help. You need help. Why are you pushing me away?”

“I have Kai to help me. And Momo. And D—” Shouto caught himself just before he slipped. He knew he was angry, but he couldn’t afford to make stupid mistakes. Hassu started to pull the cuffs off her belt. Kai had stood up, walking over and laying a hand on his arm. He looked up, meeting Kai’s golden eyes and taking a deep breath, trying to ground himself.

Finally, just before Hassu could lead him back to his room, he turned back to his sister. Fuyumi looked small and uncertain as she looked back at him.

“I’m not guilty, Fuyumi.” Shouto said confidently, grateful for Kai’s hand on his arm. A reminder that he just had to stay strong. “If you want to see me confess to a crime that I didn’t commit, than you should go home now.”

He turned to Kai, staring up at him for a moment. He hoped that Kai could read how much Shouto cared about him on his face, how much the other man’s continued support meant to him. Kai moved his hand up to cup Shouto’s cheek. He leaned forward, his lips barely touching Shouto’s in a chaste kiss.

“Be strong, little fox.” He said quietly.

Finally, Kai let go and stepped back. Hassu opened the door, and Shouto followed her out, headed back to his room. He sighed tiredly once they were out of earshot of the visitation room. He was glad he didn’t have to stick around to see what Kai would say to Fuyumi. He didn’t want to think about any of this. He just had a few days left before the trial. He just had to be strong for a few more days.

* * * * * *

Overhaul POV

It was way too early on Thursday morning when Dabi slid into the car, nodding tiredly at Kai as he settled into the seat. Dabi was dressed up to the point that he was barely recognizable He had on an over-sized gray hoodie that was pulled up to cover his hair. He also had a black mask covering most of his lower face, so you could barely see a glimpse of the tattoos on his neck. The other man hadn’t bothered to line his eyes like usual, and deep circles betrayed how tired he must be. Dabi set a large envelope on the seat between them, sighing quietly as he slouched down and lay his head back against the seat.

“Do you have everything ready?” Kai asked, motioning to Xiao Fe to head out. They were on a pretty tight schedule this morning, and it was crucial that everything happened according to plan.

Dabi nodded, not bothering to open his eyes.

“And for the movers?” Kai pressed.

“Everything is ready on my end,” the other man finally responded, his voice gravelly. It was pretty obvious that he hadn’t gotten much sleep. “Boxes are all set up. I marked the one with Shouto’s stuff. And this…” Dabi tapped the envelope between them, “should be exactly what the doctor ordered.”

Kai nodded, glancing out the window at the passing buildings. He was glad that it was still dark, the street-lights and signs only illuminated brief flashes of apartments and offices, laundromats and markets as they passed. He hated this part of the city. There wasn’t a lot of money to go around, so most of it was run-down and aged. The sidewalks and roads weren’t nearly as clean and maintained as they were in the city center, and it wasn’t uncommon to find homeless people living in the backs of the many, many alleys. Honestly, Dabi was definitely getting an upgrade in his living conditions. The apartment that he and Shouto had been sharing left a lot to be desired. Kai had chosen something with a bit more to offer, especially knowing that Dabi would need to lie low for a little while.

Dabi was giving up a lot by turning over this evidence. Risking a lot. All of them were, at this point. But it was a necessary risk if they wanted to guarantee Shouto’s trial went in his favor.

Kai glanced at his phone. 4:35 am. They were still on track, and the early hours meant they were unlikely to get caught up in traffic. They were only about fifteen minutes out from the detention center. From midnight until 7am provided the best opportunity for minimal staffing and security at the center. And most of the workers were basic guards. None of the higher-ups would be in for a few hours, so it was unlikely they would be stopped for questioning. And it was even less likely that anyone would recognize the name Todoroki Touya. This entire plan hinged on them being able to submit this evidence as quietly as possible.

“Is Shouto still holding up alright?” Dabi asked, distracting Kai from his thoughts.

“He is holding up about as well as can be expected, all things considered.” Kai replied, glancing back over at Dabi. The other man had finally opened his eyes, seemingly giving up on trying to take a short nap on the drive. His hands were lazily resting on his stomach, and he was staring up at the ceiling of the car. “Probably better than you at the moment,” Kai added. “I take it you didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“You could say that,” Dabi mused, a somber, relegated tone to his voice. “I figured it probably comes with the territory of betraying someone that you care about. Shigaraki put a lot of effort into keeping Toga’s quirk under wraps. Normally I would just pop a few pills, or smoke a couple blunts. But I figured this whole plan would work out better if I was sober this morning.”

“I will drop you off at the new place after this,” Kai answered. “It’s already furnished. The rest of your stuff will be delivered this afternoon. Then you are free to get as high as you want. I could probably even send over some company to help you relax. Man or woman, your choice.”

“Not really into the whole ‘pay for play’ scene,” Dabi replied, and even though Kai couldn’t see his face, he could hear the smirk in the other man’s voice. “Even if its on your dime. Although I might change my mind in a week or two. If that happens, you’ll be the first to know. And I would be perfectly satisfied with one of each. I like to keep my options open.”

“If this all goes according to plan, I could arrange something along those line. A token of thanks.”

“Well, if you put it that way…” Dabi replied, sitting up and turning to look at Kai, his blue eyes slowly raking over him. “I think I would prefer a much more personal thank you. I’m sure that you and Shou could figure out a few ways to really show your appreciation…”

Kai growled lowly. The words sent a pulse of interest to his cock. He wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of sharing Shouto with anyone. But he could still so clearly picture the two brothers naked underneath him, and the idea of having that again was enticing. It was different with Dabi. Perhaps because they were brothers, or because Kai thoroughly enjoyed fucking both of them, or maybe because Dabi knew Kai too well. The tattooed man understood that Shouto still belonged to Kai, no matter what he allowed Dabi to do to him in the bedroom.

“If that’s what you want, you better hope this evidence is as bulletproof as you claim.” Kai murmured, shifting in the seat to take some of the pressure off of his cock. Neither of them could afford to be distracted.

“You worry too much,” Dabi replied, taking the hint and settling his head back down against the seat. “As long as this evidence makes it to the trial, than your lawyer should have no problem clearing Shouto’s name.”

The car was slowing as Xiao Fe pulled into the detention center. Dabi retrieved the envelope as the car stopped in front of the main entrance, and they climbed out. The sun was barely starting to peek up into the sky, casting a faint light on the tall, stark building in front of them. Kai led the way, Dabi following as they went and checked in with the main guard. Just as he hoped, the man was a bit disgruntled at the early hour, complaining loudly about how unconventional it was to submit evidence at such an early hour. But he didn’t recognize Touya’s name, and he didn’t try to stop them. And for now, that would be enough.

Kai sincerely hoped that Doi and Hassu had made all of the necessary arrangements as he led Dabi down the hall toward the offices. Hassu’s office was the only one with a light on inside. Mildly relieved, he knocked twice on the door. It opened, Doi’s squat form ushering them inside. Both Hassu and Doi seemed tired as well, which wasn’t entirely unexpected. Their normal shifts didn’t start for hours, here now only to take advantage of the early hour.

Hassu, who had clearly been lounging back in her chair as she waited, sat up tall as he and Dabi took the chairs on the other side of the desk.

“You seem to be alive and well for someone who has been in the missing person database for over four years,” she noted, looking at Dabi curiously. Not that she could see much with his current outfit. A handful of the rose tattoos on his neck, his blue eyes and the one eyebrow piercing, a couple strands of dark hair peeking out from under his hood. But it definitely seemed to pique her interest.

Dabi set the envelope down on the table, sliding it toward her. It bulged out slightly against the contents inside.

“What information do you need for us to get this evidence submitted? I would like to go back to being a missing person as quickly as possible if its all the same to you.” Dabi replied tiredly, but Kai could definitely hear the hint of irritation in his voice. Dabi really was in a particularly sour mood this morning.

“You enjoy that for the next day or so,” she replied, turning to her computer to open up the report. “I pulled your file after Kai told me who was coming in, and it looks like your case is being reviewed for re-opening by the Hawks Agency. You’re lucky the request hasn’t gone through yet. Not only could I get in trouble for not reporting you, but its possible the police could have attempted to subvert this evidence to that case instead. As it is, we will want to move quickly.”

“The Hawks Agency?” Dabi repeated skeptically. “That’s impossible. They can’t just re-open a closed case without evidence.”

Hassu shrugged.

“Full name and date of birth,” She began, her attention focused on the screen.

“The request cited a jacket as evidence,” Doi answered at the same time that Dabi started to say his name. He clamped his mouth shut the moment Doi spoke, though, attention acutely focused on the short man. “Apparently the jacket was processed during the Todoroki Shouto case, and contained numerous hairs that were DNA tested. The application stated that re-opening your case would allow them better chance to locate you for questioning in regards to the Todoroki Shouto case. The request was submitted on Tuesday, actually, but their attempts have been blocked by the Endeavor Agency.”

Kai watched Dabi’s eyebrows furrow slightly as he processed the information. Finally Dabi sighed deeply, rubbing his eyes before turning back to Hassu, apparently putting the new information aside. Kai was glad that they were moving Dabi so quickly. They planned to submit his old address on the report, and if the Hawks Agency was actively trying to locate Dabi, Hawks might not wait for approval before investigating. He was a very ambitious hero.

Kai pulled out his phone as Dabi began to answer the questions necessary to submit the evidence for Shouto’s trial. He typed out a quick message for Chrono to send the movers to pick up Dabi’s belongings as early as possible. He wasn’t going to take any chances on an over-eager hero messing up his plans.

It took about thirty minutes to submit the report, and another fifteen to get a medical aid in to collect a spit sample from a very reluctant Dabi for proof of identity. Although Dabi, surprisingly, had his old UA student ID and his Provisional Hero License, but apparently neither were enough since they had expired a few years ago (even though she still made copies of them). Not surprisingly, Dabi didn’t have much else in the way of identification.

“Alright Doi,” Kai pulled aside the man as Hassu was finishing up with Dabi, “Its imperative that this evidence is processed and submitted to Hagiwara immediately. He will take care of the rest. Shouto’s trial is tomorrow afternoon, so Hagiwara must receive a copy of this evidence today.”

Doi nodded.

“Don’t worry,” the man replied, “I will make sure they are sent over first thing. You will have your evidence.”

* * * * * *

Shouto POV

Kai’s visit was rushed the day before the trial. He arrived almost forty minutes late, obviously irritated with whatever had delayed him. But the moment he saw Shouto, he pushed it to the side. Shouto was a bundle of nerves. By this time tomorrow, it would all be over. He would either be a free man once again, or he would be moved to another facility, getting ready to spend the next few years locked up.

Shit. The closer he got, the harder it was to accept the idea that he might not be successful. That they might not be able to prove his innocence. That it wouldn’t matter if he got the chance to look in Izuku’s eyes and say that he wasn’t guilty. That Izuku might not believe him.

So he almost cried with relief as he let Kai cradle him, rocking him slowly as he ran his hand through Shouto’s hair. Shouto buried his nose in Kai’s neck, breathing deeply and focusing on the memories that flooded him at the musky smell.

“We have the evidence, Shouto,” Kai soothed him, the words washing over Shouto in his numbed state. He felt like a child having to be coddled. “Everything is going to be alright. By this time tomorrow, you will be out of this place for good.”

Shouto pulled back, looking into Kai’s eyes.

“No matter what happens tomorrow,” Kai continued. “No matter what evidence they present. No matter how many people say that you are guilty. Just stay confident in the truth. Stick to your story. Dabi and I have everything taken care of.”

“Dabi?” Shouto’s eyes furrowed in confusion. His brother couldn’t have anything to do with this. Hawks was already suspicious. If Dabi tried to sneak into the trial, and something went wrong. The only thing that could possibly be worse than Shouto ending up in jail is if both of them ended up in jail. And they would lock Dabi up for a lot longer than a few years. Kai must have seen his hesitation.

“Don’t worry about your brother,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. “He asked me to give you this.”

Shouto took the folded paper from Kai, opening it up. He immediately recognized Dabi’s hand-writing.

‘Hold your head up high, Shouto. I won’t see you for a little while, but I am there for you. -T’

Chapter Text

Shouto was on edge as he stood waiting to be led into the courtroom. The handcuffs and quirk suppressing bracelet on his wrists felt heavier than usual. He had been wearing the handcuffs for hours already today. His awful tan clothes scratched uncomfortably at his skin. And although he had gotten a shower this morning, and about fifteen extra minutes in the bathroom (supervised, of course) with a mirror to get ready, he looked gaunt. Sleep had been fitful the night before; he couldn’t stay asleep for more than 15 or 20 minutes at a time, and he doubted he even got a full two hours total. Which meant that his skin looked paler than normal, he had bags under his eyes, and he was exhausted.

He had already been at the court building for a few hours. They brought him over after breakfast, which for Shouto had been three cups of black coffee and a few nibbles of steamed rice. The officers encouraged him to eat more for the trial, but the thought of food made his stomach churn.

He was grateful when it was Hassu that was sent to accompany him to the courthouse. He knew it wasn’t an accident. Kai had certainly arranged for it to be her. But he was grateful nonetheless. Although he was fairly certain that she would be relieved after today, when Shouto was either released or moved to a more permanent facility, Hassu had become a comforting presence for him. Or at least the closest thing he had to a comforting presence in a place like this.

Before the trial, he was taken in for a final counsel with Hagiwara. Honestly, Hagiwara and Kai hadn’t told him much about the defense case they were building for him. So he had no idea what to expect when they reached the trial this afternoon. Hagiwara had assured him they had received multiple pieces of evidence that allowed them to build a solid case that should exonerate Shouto of all charges. Hagiwara had told him that no matter what happened during the trial, it was important Shouto try to remain as calm as possible during the prosecution. If he is called to the stand, he is to answer all questions honestly. Once they get to the defense, Hagiwara told him that it was alright to react emotionally as long as he didn’t cause a scene. It was important that the judges and spectators see Shouto as a second victim in this trial. So they planned to present some very compelling evidence to link not only Toga to the trial, but Shigaraki as well.

When Shouto asked about the evidence, Hagiwara had told him not to worry. That everything was taken care of.

It left Shouto with a strange sense of helplessness. This trial was going to impact the rest of his life, and not only did he have no idea what was even happening, he had no control over any of it. He had tried to mentally prepare himself as he had waited to be taken in to the courtroom, tried to recall every lesson he had learned from Kai. He needed to be strong. He needed to be confident. He needed to be courageous. And he needed to trust that he was going to walk out of the courtroom today as a free man.

But, those things were much harder to remember once the door to the courtroom opened. The accused didn’t get to enter through the same door as the public. He had to wait until he was called for. Like an animal on display; wearing the ugly tan clothes from the detention center, hands cuffed together in front of him, led by an armed police officer just like the criminal he supposedly was.

The worst part was seeing Izuku. He was the first person that caught Shouto’s eyes as he walked in to the room. The greenette looked small, insecure and closed off. He was wearing an over-sized maroon suit with black pinstripes that clashed horribly with his bright green hair. Hair that was mostly covered by a large bandage he had wrapped around his head. Izuku’s green eyes met his for just a second, widening slightly before the greenette looked down and determinedly stared at his hands. There was another bandage peaking out from underneath the sleeve of his right arm. He had already been obviously crying, the lines of tears still visible on his face. Toshinori was seated next to him, the retired heroes suit much too big and hanging, almost comically, off of his skeletal form. The retired symbol of peace set a hand on top of Izuku’s, looking at Shouto sadly before turning to try to comfort the other.

He couldn’t imagine what his friend must feel. What he even remembered. Even if it was hazy, Shouto remembered bits and pieces of what happened after he drank the tea. Was it the same for Izuku? Or had Izuku been completely unconscious after having his head beaten against the cement stairs? Surely people had told him what happened. Had they shown him the video too? Fuck, Shouto really hoped that they hadn’t shown him the video. Either way, Izuku was scared to even look at him. And it broke Shouto’s heart.

“Todoroki,” Hassu whispered beside him, pulling on his arm. “We have to keep walking.”

Shouto was surprised. He hadn’t realized that he had stopped walking. He nodded his head, taking a deep breath and forcing his eyes away from Izuku to see who else was here. The section for spectators was small, like usual, but every bench was full. Shouto’s heart sank a little as he looked out at friends, family and people that Shouto cared about, all watching him, almost all of them so certain that he was guilty of this crime. His eyes scanned the rows, most everyone glancing away as he looked at them. Izuku’s mother, Inko was sitting near the front, her tear-streaked face glaring. She had always been so kind to Shouto when he spent time at Izuku’s, had always complimented and praised him in a way that his own parents had never done, and now she stared directly at him, her eyes filled with nothing but contempt for the person who had hurt her son.

Next to her was Aizawa, who looked both exhausted and extremely disappointed as he met Shouto’s eyes. President Nezu and Recovery Girl were sitting next to him. Even the fucking psychologist from the detention center was there. Endeavor was in the next row back, his huge arms crossed over his chest, a deep frown on his face that was tinted with silent indignation. Shouto almost choked when he saw the man. He hadn’t expected Enji to show up, but the fact that he sat on the far side from where Shouto’s defense was enough to prove that he wasn’t there to support Shouto. One of his PR reps was there too, talking quietly to him. But it didn’t look like Enji was even listening to the man as he sat and glared at Shouto. Natsuo and Fuyumi were sitting next to their father, and it would have filled his heart to see his older siblings if it wasn’t so bittersweet. Like Fuyumi, Natsuo looked just like Shouto remembered, with his stark white hair and large gray eyes. Though he definitely looked older, especially today with bags under his eyes nearly as dark as Shouto’s and a deep frown on his face. Fuyumi looked much more tired today than she had when she visited him at the detention center. She gave a small wave when he looked at her, but quickly lowered her hand like she wasn’t sure if it was appropriate.

Honestly, Shouto didn’t really know either.

Momo was seated next to Fuyumi, her father beside her on the end of their row. Like Inko, Momo’s father was glaring daggers at Shouto, as if he couldn’t believe he had nearly married his daughter off to such a disgusting criminal. Momo, on the other hand, was one of the few people in the audience who looked at Shouto with sympathy. She smiled at him, and it helped, even if it was just a little. Like a tiny band-aid over a huge gaping wound. But at least she was there, and she knew that Shouto would never do anything to hurt Midorya. Shouto was relieved to see that most of class 1A hadn’t been allowed in. But it was still discouraging to see who had. Bakugou was sitting on the third row back. Like Midorya, the blonde was staring at his lap, his parents on one side of him, and Kirishima on the other. Kirishima was looking directly at Shouto, an angry frown on his normally happy face, one hand laid comfortingly on Bakugou’s shoulder. Next to Kirishima were Ochako and Tenya; Ururaka and Iida now, he supposed. After the months it took to finally open up to new friends, it somehow didn’t feel right to use their given names anymore. They probably wouldn’t even want him too.

Shouto’s heart felt like lead as he looked out at all of the judgmental faces. Finally, he sought out the golden eyes that he knew would keep him grounded. Kai was sitting in the front, on the opposite side of Mrs. Midorya and his teachers, right behind where Shouto was going to be seated. He looked confident and handsome as he met Shouto’s eyes. He nodded once he knew that Shouto’s attention was on him. Shouto wanted to run to him, to wrap his arms around Kai’s strong waist and bury his face into the other man’s neck. To forget about where they were for just a few minutes. He wanted it to be Kai there next to him instead of Hassu. Instead, he gave Kai the one thing he could in that moment, a smile. It was barely there, the subtlest curve to his lips, but it was the most that he could manage in the circumstances. It would have to be enough. Shouto kept his focus on Kai until he was forced to turn and sit down at a table near the front of the courtroom.

Shouto’s table mirrored Midorya’s, both set up in front of the spectators, just on the other side of a small wooden barrier. He sat down in his chair, grateful that Kai was just a few feet away behind him. Their representation was seated at tables that were perpendicular to both the spectators and the judges, with a short, wooden stand in the center of the floor between them. The prosecution, Hawks, Commissioner Tsuragamae, and a tall, brown-haired man that Shouto assumed was Midorya’s lawyer, were all seated on the table in front of Midorya and All Might. Hagiwara and one of his associates was seated at the table in front of Shouto. And at the very back of the room was a long desk waiting for the arrival of the judges.

A police officer, the bailiff Shouto presumed, walked to the middle of the room, standing in front of the judges bench and looking out at the spectators. He was a smaller, stern looking man with brown hair and a large scar running down the side of his face.

“This court is now in session,” the man called out. “All rise for our honorable judges Shimabukuro Aki, Miyamoto Asunei, and Fujii Toiku.”

Shouto stood up alongside everyone else in the courtroom. It didn’t take long for the judges to walk in. The primary judge, Mr. Shimabukuro, was a tall, older man with white hair and thick glasses. His face was lined with wrinkles, but his eyes were still sharp and focused as he looked around the courtroom before taking a seat in the middle of the desk. The two secondary judges sat on either side of him, one was a younger woman, Mrs. Miyamoto, whose dark hair was constricted in a severe bun at the back of her head. She was probably in her late forties, with sharp features and large green eyes. The other, Mr. Fujii, was a very large, burly individual who looked more like a panther than a man. Although his features weren’t entirely feline, most of his exposed skin was covered in short, dark fur. He had small cat-like ears near the top of his head, and full yellow eyes, even if his face was the most distinctly human part of him.

Once the judges were all seated, the bailiff continued.

“You may be seated.” He called out. Shouto followed Hassu’s lead and sat back down. “This court session is to determine the outcome of the Midorya Izuku vs. Todoroki Shouto investigation. This trial will contain graphic accounts of violence and sexual assault. This trial may contain photographic or video evidence of violence and sexual assault. If any spectators do not wish to hear or see this evidence, the court asks that you step out now.” Shouto didn’t turn around to see, but it didn’t sound like anyone left. “We are now closing the doors, and we ask that any spectators refrain from leaving the room prior to the doors re-opening unless in the case of an emergency.”

The doors closed, echoing softly in the room as the officer walked back to stand next to the judges bench.

“Todoroki Shouto please rise,” Judge Shimabukuro said, his voice surprisingly deep. Shouto took a deep breath, standing up, his hands still handcuffed together in front of him. This was it. The trial was starting. The judge waited until Shouto was looking at him. “Todoroki Shouto, you are being charged with the assault and battery of Midorya Izuku, as well as the sexual assault of Midorya Izuku. On the charge of the assault and battery of Midorya Izuku, how do you plead?”

“Not guilty,” Shouto said, forcing himself to speak up loudly enough that the entire courtroom would hear him. Even if he had to endure a series of harsh whispers that broke out behind him at the words.

“On the charge of the sexual assault of Midorya Izuku, how do you plead?”

“Not guilty,” Shouto repeated just as loudly, trying to drown out those damn whispers.

The judge just nodded as they looked down and made a few notes on a paper in front of them.

“Mr. Todoroki, you may be seated.” The judge said after a moment, looking back up. He glanced between the tables of Izuku’s legal counsel and Shouto’s legal counsel. “Does the prosecution have an opening statement prepared?”

“Yes,” said the brown-haired man that Shouto was now certain was Izuku’s lawyer.

“Thank you. Does the defense have an opening statement prepared?”

“Yes,” Mr. Hagiwara replied.

“Prosecution, you may present your opening statement to the court.” Judge Shimabukuro said.

The brown-haired man nodded, standing up and walking around to the stand in front of the judges bench. He had a single flashcard in his hand, but he set it on the stand and barely glanced at it as he began.

“My name is Shoji Uyeno and I will be representing Midorya Izuku in this trial. On Monday March 30, Midorya was drugged, assaulted, and sexually assaulted by Todoroki Shouto, a vile crime which we aim to prove was the result of jealousy and spite. Midorya Izuku is an extremely talented and dedicated up-and-coming hero in our city. To many, he is described as a ray of sunshine and a loyal friend. He was a true friend even to Todoroki Shouto, and he did nothing to deserve what happened. Todoroki Shouto is a troubled youth. For the past few months, he has been partaking of drugs, reckless behavior, and promiscuous relations with numerous individuals. One of those individuals, fellow classmate Bakugou Katsuki, eventually broke things off with Todoroki and began to show interest in my client, Midorya Izuku. The very day that Todoroki Shouto learned that Bakugou and Midorya had kissed, he later invited Midorya Izuku on a walk. During that walk, Shouto offered a drink to Midorya that was laced with multiple drugs. He assaulted my client, beating him into unconsciousness, and then, while he was defenseless, raped him. The drugs involved indicate that this was a pre-meditated crime. Psychological evaluation shows that Todoroki’s drug use and lifestyle choices may have contributed to a dissociative episode that triggered Todoroki Shouto to commit this crime. Regardless, it is our intent to prove that Todoroki Shouto did commit this crime. We will provide evidence in the form of video proof, DNA evidence collected at the scene, a hero witness, character witnesses, and blood test results. The defense is going to claim that this crime was committed by a villain organization and that Todoroki was unconscious during this crime. But the police already have proof that the individual identified by the defense is quirkless and therefore unable to be the true perpetrator. What this case boils down to is that Todoroki Shouto raped my client during what was likely a dissociative episode, and he should have to face the consequences of his actions. There is nothing that Todoroki Shouto can do to alleviate the trauma this crime has caused for Midorya Izuku, whose life will forever be changed by this brutal and horrific attack. This prosecution would like to urge the court to consider the maximum sentence for this crime. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Mr. Shoji,” the judge replied as Midorya’s lawyer picked up his flashcard and returned to his seat. “Defense, you may present your opening statement to the court.”

Mr. Hagiwara stood up, moving around to the stand.

“Thank you, your honor,” Mr. Hagiwara began. “My name is Hagiwara Goto, and I am here to represent Todoroki Shouto. While it is true that on March 30 Midorya Izuku was drugged, assaulted, and raped, it is the intent of this defense to prove that my client, Todoroki Shouto, was not the responsible party for this attack. This attack was committed by a known villain, Toga Himiko, from the League of Villains. It was committed at the instruction of a second known villain, Shigaraki Tomura, leader of the League of Villains. This crime was committed to target and frame Todoroki Shouto, and included not only the assault and rape of Midorya Izuku, but the rape of Todoroki Shouto as well. This is the second time that this organization has targeted Todoroki Shouto, and should be held accountable for their actions against both Todoroki Shouto and Midorya Izuku. We will provide evidence in the form of video proof, witness interviews, and personal accounts. The defense would like to have both charges against Todoroki Shouto be re-directed toward Toga Himiko and Shigaraki Tomura. We would also like to see additional charges filed for Toga Himiko and Shigaraki Tomura for two accounts of sexual assault against my client Todoroki Shouto. Thank you.”

What?! Shouto’s mouth went dry as he watched his lawyer walk back around to the defense table. He could hear the whispering starting up again, like nails on a chalkboard. Hagiwara was not just trying to clear Shouto’s name, but to have Shigaraki held accountable for… for everything. That was impossible. They had no physical proof of the first time that Shigaraki and Toga had raped him. Unless… No. No, no. Dabi had told Shouto that he had destroyed every copy. Dabi had promised him…

Shouto could feel his heart sinking down into his stomach. He could feel a slight shaking in his hands, his attention so much more aware of the quirk-suppressing bracelet on his wrist. He suddenly didn’t want to be here. He didn’t want to see the evidence that Kai and Dabi had put together. He just wanted to be cleared of the charges. He didn’t want to be seen as a victim. He didn’t want to be seen as weak.

“Thank you, Mr. Hagiwara. The prosecution may begin.” Judge Shimabukuro said, leaning back in his chairs, eyes on Midorya’s legal counsel.

Midorya’s lawyer, Mr. Shoji stood up, making his way back around to the stand.

“Thank you, your honors.” Mr. Shoji said, bowing deeply to each judge. He cleared his throat loudly. “In the past, Todoroki Shouto has been a highly respected member of our community. As the son of our #1 hero, he was, until recently, expected to be Endeavor’s successor and the heir to the Todoroki fortune. He was one of only two students admitted to the UA Heroics course on recommendation, and was, until recently, at the top of his class. Unfortunately, a few short months ago, Todoroki Shouto began to make some questionable decisions in his personal life. We believe this began around the middle of February, shortly before numerous scandalous pictures of Todoroki Shouto were published in the magazine ‘Hero’s Weekly’. These pictures, published on Friday February 29, depicted a questionably dressed teenager with large purple bruising on his neck that we believe to be erythermas, more commonly known as hickeys. This incident was originally covered-up, however there is physical evidence that Todoroki Shouto did partake in both drugs and elicit sexual activities on this evening.”

Mr. Shoji left the stand, walking over to pick up a few papers from the prosecution’s table. He walked them over and handed the papers to Judge Shimabukuro before returning to the stand.

“What I have presented to you is the results from a sexually-transmitted disease test that Todoroki Shouto requested from the UA nurse on February 24, the Monday before those pictures were published. The results of those tests show very clearly that, at the time of the test, Todoroki Shouto had both Marijuana and Methylenedioxymethamphetamine, more commonly known as MDMA or ecstasy, in his system. I have also included a copy of the report filed by the university after they confronted Todoroki Shouto about the test results. In that report, it states that Todoroki Shouto admitted to smoking marijuana and having un-protected sexual contact with at least two partners, although he did deny that he had knowledge of the ecstasy in his system. He stated that the purpose of his activities that evening were to to help him relax. This single incident alone, I believe, is a clear indication that Todoroki Shouto was struggling with moral decisions long before his attack on Midorya Izuku. For my first character witness, I would like to call Todoroki Shouto to the stand.”

Shouto’s mouth dropped open. He was the first person being called to the stand? Fuck!

He didn’t move as he watched Mr. Shoji walk around to the opposite side of the stand. The lawyer didn’t smile, but he definitely looked smug as he waited for Shouto to move. Suddenly, Shouto felt Hassu’s hand on his arm, and he stood up, allowing her to guide him over to the stand. The bailiff came over and stood directly in front of Shouto.

“Todoroki Shouto, do you swear to answer all questions presented during this testimony truthfully and to the best of your knowledge?” The man asked loudly. He wasn’t looking directly at Shouto, but instead staring at the scar around Shouto’s left eye.

“I do,” Shouto answered, wishing that he could refuse and return to his seat. But that wasn’t exactly an option. The man didn’t respond, just turned and walked back over to his post. Mr. Shoji stepped forward, standing directly in front of Shouto.

“Mr. Todoroki, can you please confirm if the facts presented to this court are accurate. Did you knowingly partake in illegal drugs and illicit sexual behavior with multiple partners sometime in the days prior to that test?” Mr. Shoji asked.

“Yes and no,” Shouto replied glumly. “Those facts are accurate. I knowingly smoked marijuana and had a threesome. I did not knowingly take ecstasy.” Shouto could hear the whispers again. He clenched his hands into fists. Fuck this. None of the people in this room understood what really happened that night. What he learned. What he saw.

“Can you explain to the court how your choices that night might have led to having ecstasy in your system?”

Hagiwara had said to tell the truth to any questions presented to him during the trial.

“Yes, although, for the record, I do not believe this should have any impact on this case,” he answered bitterly, giving Mr. Shoji a disapproving stare. He wanted the lawyer to have no doubt he was unhappy about this. “I bribed my way into a club that Friday night. At the club, I learned some very distressing news that my father, this cities beloved #1 hero, had lied to me in regards to the disappearance of my brother Todoroki Touya four years ago. I knowingly smoked marijuana as a way to cope. I was preparing to leave the club when I was pulled onto the dance floor by two young women. They were touching me, and I was high, and so we found a private room. As they started to take off my clothes, one of them slipped a pill into my mouth as we were kissing. I swallowed it before I really registered that I didn’t know what it was. I wasn’t sober, so I didn’t think about the pill again until the next day.”

All of these people were going to believe that Shouto was a whore. Fat chance of them seeing him as a victim now. As if the entire world didn’t have a low enough opinion of him as it was. Why not go all out? Just strip himself bare and reveal every mistake he has ever made so that people can really hate him? Fuck this stupid, clever lawyer. At least most of his mistakes were made with good intentions. There were a lot of people in this room with much darker skeletons in their closet.

“And did you know these two women you had sex with?”

“No.” Shouto answered curtly.

“Do you often have sex with partners that you don’t know?” Mr. Shoji said.

“No. That was the first time I have ever done something like that.” Shouto answered honestly. Not that he always knew his other partners really well, but at least he knew them.

“But that wasn’t the first time you had sex, was it?”

“Objection.” Mr. Hagiwara stood up. “My client’s sex life prior to the incident at the club is not pertinent and does not qualify as evidence for Mr. Shoji’s case.” Shouto felt a flood of relief, grateful for his lawyers interference.

Judge Shimabukuro turned and looked at each of the other judges. After a moment, he turned back toward Mr. Shoji, who had tilted his body just enough to wait for the judges decision.

“Objection sustained. Do you have any other questions for the witness?”

“No,” Mr. Shoji replied, a frown flashing over his features, there and gone so quickly that Shouto wondered if he had just imagined it.

“Todoroki Shouto, you may return to your seat,” Judge Shimabukuro said. Todoroki nodded and allowed Hassu to guide him back. He made the mistake of looking briefly at the audience. So many cold, judgmental faces returned his stare. Sighing, he fell back into his seat, the damn handcuffs biting into his wrist as he dropped his hands heavily onto the table.

“The incident at the club was not the only time that Todoroki Shouto made questionable decisions. For my next character witness, I would like to call Bakugou Katsuki to the stand.” Mr. Shoji continued.

Shouto’s heart sank. It sank even more as Bakugou walked past him to the trial stand. The blonde was so close that Shouto could smell the body spray he used. So close that he could see the way that the blonde’s hands were clenched into fists at his side. So close that Todoroki could have reached out and touched him.

The bailiff was back, standing in front of Bakugou.

“Bakugou Katsuki, do you swear to answer all questions presented during this testimony truthfully and to the best of your knowledge?”

“I do,” Bakugou replied. His voice sounded hoarse.

Mr. Shoji handed a few more papers to the judge as the bailiff walked back to his post.

“This is a dictation of the interview that Bakugou Katsuki did with the police shortly after the arrest of Todoroki Shouto,” Mr. Shoji explained. “I will be referring to this interview during the questioning of this witness.”

The Judge looked over the top paper for a moment before setting it on the desk.

“Proceed,” Judge Shimabukuro said.

“Bakugou Katsuki, is it true that you were in a relationship with Todoroki Shouto?” Mr. Shoji began.

“Sort-of,” Bakugou replied. “We weren’t like, dating or anything. But we fucked a few times.”

Shouto smiled bitterly as the whispering started again. He hated the answer, even though it was true.

“Do you mean that you had sexual intercourse with Todoroki Shouto on multiple occasions?” Mr. Shoji clarified.

“Yeah, we had sexual intercourse.” Bakugou repeated, a slightly sarcastic tone in his voice that the lawyer ignored.

“And in your interview, you stated that you were aware that Todoroki Shouto was doing drugs and had witnessed it on multiple occasions. Can you tell us about the first time that you witnessed Todoroki Shouto using drugs?”

“Yeah,” Bakugou said. “We were at a party at a friends house with a bunch of our classmates. Everyone started playing some shitty drinking game except for fucking Icy-hot, I mean, Todoroki. He had disappeared, so I went to find him. He was in an upstairs bedroom smoking weed.”

“And what happened after you found him? Did he pressure you to smoke as well?”

“He offered to share it with me, and I took him up on the fucking offer—”

“Bakugou Katsuki, please mind your language,” Judge Shimabukuro chided him.

“Alright,” Bakugou agreed unhappily. “He offered to share. He didn’t pressure me, though.”

Shouto released a breathe he hadn’t realized that he had been holding. There was bound to be some repercussions for what the blonde just said, and he said it anyway. To try to help Shouto.

“Did Todoroki Shouto offer you drugs often?” Mr. Shoji continued.

“No.” Bakugou said bluntly.

“In the interview, you mentioned that you and Todoroki Shouto were rivals. That the sex between you two was usually aggressive. Did Todoroki Shouto ever force you to do something that you were uncomfortable with?”

“No.” Bakugou retorted.

Mr. Shoji picked up a paper from the defense’s table and laid it on the stand in front of Bakugou.

“This is a copy of the interview you had with the police. During the interview, the police asked you to recount the nature of the last sexual encounter you had with Todoroki Shouto. Would you please read your answer? It is the section high-lighted in yellow.”

“Tch,” Bakugou grunted, picking up the paper. “The last time we had sex was just after that asshole told me he was fucking another guy. I was pissed at him, and wanted to argue, but he was horny and started kissing me. I told him to fuck off, but he pushed me down on the bed and kept kissing me. So we had sex. He took so fucking long to get off that my mom walked in on us. My parents didn’t know I was gay, so Todoroki and I got into a big argument and I told him that I wouldn’t date him if he was seeing someone else. That he had to choose him or me. Then he left.”

FUCK. Shouto’s mind raced. That account of the incident wasn’t exactly wrong. Bakugou had said no at first. But it certainly made it sound a lot less consensual than Shouto remembered it being. Bakugou was always kind of difficult at first.

“So let me get this straight,” Mr. Shoji said. “Todoroki Shouto began to touch you sexually during an argument. And even after you withdrew consent, he physically forced you onto the bed and continued to force sexual attention on you? Has it occurred to you, Bakugou, that this incident would legally classify as sexual assault?”

Shouto’s mouth dropped open. FFFUUUUCCCCKKK! No! This couldn’t be happening!

“No?” Bakugou replied, the same confusion in his voice that Shouto was feeling. “It wasn’t like that. I was pissed. I did want—”

“No more questions.” Mr. Shoji said, that same smug look on his face.

“Bakugou Katsuki, you may return to your seat,” Judge Shimaburuko said.

Bakugou turned around stiffly. Shouto met the blonde’s gaze as he did, searching those red eyes. Did Bakugou feel like Shouto had taken advantage of him? Is that why he was able to think that Shouto might be capable of raping Midorya? Bakugou’s looked back sadly. They stared at each other for a moment, and Shouto couldn’t even fathom what the blonde was thinking. What he was feeling. He wished desperately that they were alone. Bakugou broke eye contact first, sighing as he walked back out to the benches.

Shouto felt his shoulders slouch. He closed his eyes, biting on the inside of his lips nervously.

“For my next character witness, I would like to call Midorya Izuku to the stand,” Mr. Shoji said.

Izuku?! Wasn’t he having to go through enough just being here? He watched through the corner of his eye as Izuku got up from his seat. Shouto could hear someone in the audience crying as Izuku shuffled up to the stand, a slight limp in his step. He was fairly certain it must be Midorya Inko. Both her and her son were known to break out into tears at the slightest provocation.

“Midorya Izuku, do you swear to answer all questions presented during this testimony truthfully and to the best of your knowledge?” The words rang out from where the bailiff had made his way to stand in front of Izuku. Shouto stared at his friend, it was hard to pull his eyes away from the bandage wrapped around the back of his head. He may not have raped Izuku, but he wasn’t going to let himself forget that it was his fault the greenette was here. If he got out of all this, he still owed his friend an apology.

“I do,” Izuku answered, his head bobbing up and down. The bailiff nodded, returning to his post.

“Midorya Izuku, is it true that you and Todoroki Shouto used to be close friends?” Mr. Shoji began.

“Yes, that’s true,” Izuku replied, his voice quivering slightly. Shouto cringed. He could tell that Izuku was already on the verge of tears, and the lawyer hadn’t even asked about the attack. He hoped his friend could make it through this.

“At any time during this friendship, did Todoroki Shouto make any inappropriate sexual comments or touch you inappropriately?”

“N-no. Never. Shouto was a, a good friend. There was a rumor once that we had, um, sex, but i-it, um wasn’t true.” Izuku answered, stuttering even more than usual.

“And were you aware that Todoroki Shouto was struggling with his personal life?” Mr. Shoji continued.

“Um… I mean, yes. N-not with drugs, I guess. I knew he went to the, um, the club,” Izuku stammered. “And I found out that he and Kacchan… Um, I mean Bakugou. He and Bakugou were, um… well that they were… um… having sex a little while later. I was at a game n-night at Bakugou’s house and Shouto came over and, um, joined us. They d-disappeared for a bit and I went down and, um, I made some popcorn. When I came back up, upstairs I saw them at the top fighting. They were, um, both partially undressed and Bakugou was yelling and trying to make Shouto l-leave. Shouto said he was alright, but I could tell that he was, um, that he wasn’t alright. When I went outside, I offered to let him come over to my, to my house. But he said he already had plans, and then he got picked up by, um, by these really strange people. I didn’t think that he was safe, I guess. But I couldn’t stop him, and then, um, his dad kept calling later that night because nobody could, um find him. After that, he got really quiet in class. He’s always been quiet, I guess. But even more… even more reserved. Like he couldn’t be himself. And then everything happened with his dad. Sometimes you could smell the, um, the weed on him. And then a few weeks ago, I found out that he was, um, cheating I guess, on Bakugou. He kept coming to class with all these marks on him. So, um, yeah, I guess I did know that he was struggling.”

Izuku had started to rush a little at the end. But he was clearly trying not to mumble, despite his nerves and the very obvious desire to cry. Although Shouto couldn’t see his face, he wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t tears streaking down his face. The greenette’s words made Shouto feel conflicted. So much had happened these past few months. Of course he was struggling. The drugs, the sex, the stand-offish behavior. None of that meant he was capable of hurting his friends.

“And is it true that on Monday March 30, Todoroki Shouto got upset upon learning that you and Bakugou Katsuki had gone on a date. That you had kissed?” Mr. Shoji asked.

“Yeah, he got upset. But not, not violent. He just, like, r-ran out of the library.” Izuku recalled. “When he came back, I, um, tried to explain. But he didn’t want to… to, um, talk about it. I know that Bakugou stayed after class was over to, to talk to him. And Bakugou was really, really upset after. But, um, I don’t know what happened.”

“And was Todoroki behaving strangely when he invited you to go on a walk later?”

“Not, not when he texted me. But, um, once I saw him in… in person, than yeah,” Izuku stuttered. His voice was getting higher, strained. The closer they got to talking about the incident, the harder it was for the greenette. Shouto understood. He felt for the greenette. He wanted to run up and throw his arms around Izuku and tell his friend that it wasn’t him! He wanted to beg Izuku to believe that he could never do that. “He had a drink for me, and he, um, he acted super friendly. Like he didn’t remember earlier. He kept calling me Zuzu, which he has never, um… he has never called me that before. He was super energetic, and I thought that maybe he had been, um, smoking, ya know. Bakugou told me that he does… that he smokes weed when he gets really upset. And then, when I started feeling strange, he tried to, um… well I thought he was trying to help at first…” Izuku’s words trailed off. His shoulders were starting to shake, and Shouto could hear the beginnings of quiet sobs that he could tell Izuku was desperately trying to stop.

“What happened after that?”

Izuku started sobbing. And then Inko started sobbing louder. Shouto couldn’t stand hearing it. Izuku cried over everything. He cried when he was happy and sad, when he was proud, or emotional, or overwhelmed. He cried during movies and while he read his comics. He cried more often than anyone else Shouto knew. But this cry was… it was different. It was filled with sorrow and pain and betrayal. And Shouto could feel it with every fiber of his being, and he hated it. He was never going to be able to forget hearing that sound, even if Hagiwara proved that he was innocent.

“I tried to… to… to fight Shouto,” Izuku managed between sobs. He was hard to understand, and his words were thick and strained as he struggled to cry and speak and breath all at once. “He stuck a… needle… in my neck… and then he…. He…” Izuku’s cries were getting louder as he lifted his hand and pointed at his neck, right where Shouto knew the needle had gone in. His body was beginning to rock back and forth.

“That’s alright, Midorya. That’s enough,” Mr. Shoji tried to comfort him. “No more questions.”

“Midorya Izuku, you may be seated,” Judge Shimabukuro said.

Izuku didn’t respond right away. Not until Mr. Shoji gently touched his shoulder, and helped him turn around. For the briefest moment, Izuku met Shouto’s eyes, and cried harder, as if the sobs were being ripped from his chest. Izuku hurried to sit back down next to Toshinori, scrubbing at his face as he tried to get his crying under control.

“As you can clearly see, the crime committed against Midorya Izuku has left him with severe trauma,” Mr. Shoji said, returning to his original spot behind the stand. “Even if his physical wounds heal, my client will never be the same. He will carry this trauma with him for the rest of his life. As you have heard over the last twenty minutes, Todoroki Shouto was struggling. Not only with drugs, but he had also already made dangerous and irrational decisions around sex, displayed possessive and sexually violent behavior, and reacted negatively upon learning of my clients relationship with a previous lover. These brief glimpses into the lives of these students are almost enough proof alone that Todoroki Shouto was not only capable of committing these heinous crimes, but also had a motive to do so. These witnesses, however, are not the only evidence we have. They are not even the strongest evidence that we have. Mr. Tsurugamae, the video.”

No. Shit. They wouldn’t… There was no way that they would show the footage of Midorya being raped. The urge to vomit was back, stronger than before. Shouto could even taste the bile in the back of his throat as he watched Commissioner Tsuragamae walk around and hand a DVD to Judge Shimabukuro.

“This is video evidence,” Mr. Shoji explained, “that was recorded by a nearby street-cam, of the assault and rape of Midorya Izuku. At the request of my client, and to honor his privacy, we will not be playing the video in it’s entirety for the courtroom. Even so, it very clearly depicts what happened that night.”

The judge handed the video over to the bailiff, who accepted the video and walked it over to the side of the room. There was a large screen on the wall, the spectators turning in their seats to see better. Shouto didn’t turn. Even if it didn’t show the whole thing. He couldn’t see it again. He closed his eyes. After a few minutes he could hear a few gasps in the audience. They must be getting to the part where ‘Shouto’ begins to hurt Izuku. Shouto turned his head toward Hassu as Inko started crying again, and Shouto could hear the hushed voice of Aizawa trying to comfort her.

Everyone was seeing this. Every single person in this courtroom was watching Shouto attack Izuku. Watching him beat the greenette’s head into the cement stairs. Watching him carry his friend into that alley. Watching him… shit, he didn’t even want to know what part they ended at. It didn’t matter. His family. His professors. His friends. Even if it wasn’t really Shouto. Even if they proved that Shouto was innocent… no one would be able to unsee that video. Izuku would never be able to unsee that video…

He could hear more than one person crying quietly in the audience now.

“As you have all just seen,” Mr. Shoji said once the video was apparently over. Shouto cautiously looked up, relieved to see the black screen once more on the side of the room. “this video leaves very little doubt that Todoroki Shouto did, in fact, drug, assault, and rape Midorya Izuku. For my next witness, I would like to call Takami Keigo to the stand.”

Hawks stood up, flexing his wings slightly as he walked up to the stand. Shouto stared hard at the table as the hero moved. After their last conversation, he didn’t want to see how Hawks would look at him. He didn’t want to know what the hero thought.

“Takami Keigo, do you swear to answer all questions presented during this testimony truthfully and to the best of your knowledge?”

“I do,” Hawks replied. The bailiff nodded, returning to his post.

“Mr. Takami, during your hero patrol on the night of March 30, did you come across Todoroki Shouto and Midorya Izuku during the act of this crime. If so, please describe what you saw.”

“Yes, I did.” Hawks began. His voice sounded tired, almost as tired as it had the last time Shouto saw him. “The first thing I noticed was a forgotten backpack sitting on the stairs, but as I got closer I realized there was blood on the stairs nearby. I knew that something must be wrong, and called out to see if I could get a response. A moment later, Todoroki Shouto came running out of an alley next to the building. He was disheveled. He looked at me for just a moment, and than began to run in the opposite direction. I started to pursue him, when I realized there was a second person lying face-down in the alley. He was only partially dressed, and appeared to be injured. It didn’t take long for me to see that it was Todoroki’s classmate, Midorya Izuku.”

“And what state was Midorya Izuku in when you found him?” Mr. Shoji asked, pressing for more information.

“He was in very bad shape,” Hawks replied. “It was very clear what had happened. Midorya’s pants had been shoved down to his thighs, and he had blood on his buttocks and thighs. He was unconscious, and bleeding profusely from the back of his head. He had a pulse, but it wasn’t strong. He required immediate medical attention.”

“And even before you saw the video footage, did you believe that Todoroki Shouto was responsible for this crime?”

“Yes,” Hawks replied simply, a distinctly sad undertone to his voice.

“No further questions,” Mr. Shoji finished.

“Takami Keigo, you may be seated,” Judge Shimabukuro said.

“In addition to the video footage,” Mr. Shoji continued, walking over to the defense table to gather a small stack of papers. He took it up and handed it to the judge before returning to the stand. “We were also able to located a condom at the scene of the crime. The condom was filled with seminal fluid that belonged to Todoroki Shouto. Those papers contain the DNA test results for both the semen collected from that condom, as well as a sample of semen collected from Todoroki Shouto shortly after his arrest, during his processing into the detention center. As you can see, they are a perfect match.”

“The third paper is a copy of the analysis of the blood sample that was also collected during his processing. Todoroki Shouto was not arrested until Wednesday April 1, over 36 hours after the crime was committed. As you can see, Todoroki had a very high level of heroin in his system. The presence of this drug would explain the odd behavior that Midorya Izuku witnessed just prior to the attack. Heroin is known to cause dramatic changes in behavior, and can affect an individual’s ability to make clear decisions. This drug was likely a large factor in the crime. However! And this brings me to the fourth paper I have presented to you, which is an analysis of the blood sample collected from Midorya Izuku upon his arrival at the hospital. Midorya Izuku’s blood contained traces of Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid and Dimethylheptylpyran. GHA especially, is a common drug used to commit sexual assault. And both of these drugs are very difficult to come by. So it is unlikely that Todoroki Shouto would have been able to secure these drugs in the few hours between learning of the relationship between Midorya Izuku and Bakugou Katsuki, and the time of the attack.”

“Further analysis of the interview conducted with Bakugou Katsuki after Todoroki Shouto’s arrest indicates that the defense may have been aware of this blooming relationship prior to that Monday. And I quote, ‘I wanted Icy-hot to be fucking jealous, alright? I like the damn idiot and I wanted him to choose me instead of that asshole he’s dating. So I started flirting with Deku. I thought he was noticing because he started acting even stranger than normal. But than he kept showing up with fucking hickeys and disgusting marks all over his body, and it pissed me off! So I agreed to go to the fucking movies with Deku. It wasn’t even a date. And we didn’t plan to kiss. I expected Todoroki to be upset, but I didn’t think that he would… I would never have thought he could fucking do something like this.’” Shoji paused a moment, giving the audience time to absorb his words.

Shouto could hear Izuku starting to cry again. Shit. What if Izuku actually liked Bakugou? Well, he knew that part of Izuku must like Bakugou. He practically worshiped the blonde. That was part of why Shouto really had been jealous of them. And now, hearing that Bakugou had been flirting with him to make Shouto jealous, and with everything else that Izuku had been through… he couldn’t even imagine how horrible the greenette must feel.

Well, he could imagine it a little. The quote was hard for Shouto to hear as well. Bakugou really did think that he was guilty. There was no more room for interpretation, no more uncertainty. The blonde believed everything that the news was saying. Even though he liked Shouto, and he knew what had happened with Shigaraki.

“If you consider this testimony to be accurate,” Mr. Shoji finally continued, “than it is likely that Todoroki was aware of the relationship between my client and Bakugou Katsuki well before the night of the attack. And given Todoroki Shouto’s possessive and immoral behavior in the past, it is not a stretch to imagine that he might have secured the drugs ahead of time, which would mean that this attack was, at least in part, pre-meditated. After learning that Bakugou and Midorya had kissed, Todoroki Shouto returned home and used heroin. Heroin can cause numerous behavioral issues, including psychotic and dissociative episodes. Realizing this, the police brought in a Psychologist to see Todoroki Shouto during his time at the detention center. Although, for confidentiality purposes, we are unable to present a full dictation of that session, the fifth paper that I have presented to you is the diagnosis provided by Psychologist Inouye Kimota. It states that Todoroki Shouto likely suffered from a drug-induced dissociative episode. For my last witness, I would like to call Inouye Kimota to the stand.”

Shouto growled lowly. He knew it! He knew they were going to twist her diagnosis up into this. He scowled as he watched Mrs. Inouye walk past him and up to the stand, the Bailiff making his way over to stand in front of her.

“Inouye Kimota, do you swear to answer all questions presented during this testimony truthfully and to the best of your knowledge?”

“I do,” she replied. Mr. Shoji waited until the bailiff returned to his post before beginning his questioning.

“Inouye Kimota, can you please describe to the court what dissociation means?”

“Dissociation occurs when an individual feels disconnected with themselves, their sensory experiences, or their memories,” Inouye spoke, almost robotically. “It can cause an individual to remember events differently than they actually occurred, or to forget about events completely.”

Mr. Shoji walked over to the defense table, picking up one last paper and taking it up to the judge.

“For my final piece of evidence,” he said, “I have included a dictation of the initial questioning of Todoroki Shouto after his processing to the detention center. In that interview, commissioner Tsuragamae asked Todoroki Shouto to tell him what happened on the night of the attack. Todoroki struggled to answer, finally saying, and I quote ‘Well, um, I don’t exactly remember what happened. I was really upset, and I think that I, um… I believe that I smoked quite a bit of marijuana to help calm my nerves. But I’m not actually sure, because I also remember having a friend at the apartment who I struggled with. Only, there was no sign of a struggle when I woke up this morning. They might have given me something, and then, I don’t know but I think they might have tried to have sex with me. I, um… I passed out and I didn’t wake up until last night around 2 in the morning.’ Mrs. Inouye, in your professional opinion, do you believe that this account of the incidents that occurred on March 30 could qualify as a dissociative episode.”

“Yes,” she replied. “This disconnect between what occurred on March 30 and what Todoroki Shouto remembers happening can be rationally explained as a clear example of dissociation. Even the fact that Todoroki has convinced himself that this crime was committed by another individual is a common symptom of a dissociative episode. This disconnect could have occurred during the incident itself, or it is possible that Todoroki Shouto dissociated with the crime after the assault in order to reconcile with his guilty conscience.”

“No further questions,” Mr. Shoji stated.

“Inouye Kimoto, you may be seated,” Judge Shimabukuro added.

“Regardless of the fact that this crime may have occurred during a dissociative episode, the prosecution believes that Todoroki Shouto should still be held accountable for this crime to fullest extent of the law. His past behavior is indicative of a moral code that is capable of such a violent and horrific act. Todoroki Shouto has already engaged in questionable sexual behavior that can be legally classified as sexual assault, despite the fact that his previous partner didn’t report this. He would have had to research and secure drugs that allowed a sexual assault of this nature to occur in the first place prior to the date of the attack, indicating pre-meditation. He also chose to use heroin as a coping mechanism, a drug which reduced his inhibitions and may have increased the potential for him to act on his violent and carnal needs. Todoroki Shouto is guilty of the charge for assault and battery against Midorya Izuku. Todoroki Shouto is guilty of the charge of sexual assault against Midorya Izuku. Thank you.”

Mr. Shoji bowed individually to each of the judges before returning to his seat.

Shouto’s lungs felt tight, like he couldn’t take a deep enough breath. His emotions were jumping from one to another faster than he could comprehend, faster than he could handle. He was hurt and upset and angry at everything. This lawyer had come in and cherry-picked the pieces of these last few months that fit his case. Then he had wrapped it all up nicely to frame Shouto as guilty and tied it off with a bow. And although it was built on lie after fucking lie, it sounded convincing. He hoped that Hagiwara’s evidence was as convincing as the lawyer believed it to be, because it was going to take a strong defense to secure Shouto’s freedom after that.

He watched, nervously, as the three judges talked amongst themselves for a few minutes. They were looking over the papers that Mr. Shoji had presented them with, and the primary judge was making a few notes as they spoke. Shouto could also hear the spectators buzzing behind him. If he focused, he was certain he could even make out individual conversations. But he didn’t think he really wanted to know what people were saying.

Turning around, he looked instead at Kai. The golden-eyed man was leaning forward in his chair, and he looked over when he noticed Shouto turn around. His lips were pressed together tightly, and Shouto could see that he was irritated, but he still smiled at Shouto. Shouto let his eyes linger for a few minutes. Kai wasn’t that far away from him, even if he was much further than Shouto wanted him to be. They were halfway through. They just had to get through the defense, and pray that the judges realized he was innocent, and then he could return…

He actually wasn’t sure where he would go if he was released tonight. Enji had disinherited him, so he knew he wouldn’t be forced to return to the mansion. But Dabi had said he wouldn’t see Shouto for awhile. If his brother wasn’t home, Shouto didn’t think he would want to be in the apartment alone. Not after everything that happened. Especially now that he realized Toga raping him hadn’t been a dream, that she had been there, in his safe place, the only safe place that he had, and she…

Fuck. Hopefully he could go to Kai’s. The other man’s apartment didn’t feel like home exactly, but at least he would be with Kai. And that would be enough.

Hassu nudged him, and Shouto realized that he had spaced out. He looked back up to Kai, giving him an embarrassed smile as he realized that the man had probably watched him get completely lost in his own thoughts. But he felt a little better seeing that the tension in Kai’s face had eased a little bit. He was probably just amused by the whole thing, but it made Shouto feel better knowing that he had accidentally made Kai feel a little better.

“They are preparing to start the defense,” Hassu hissed quietly. “Turn around and pay attention.”

Shouto quickly turned back around in his seat. His emotions were still a convoluted, horrible mess. But at least he felt a little more grounded.

“Is the defense ready to present their case?” Judge Shimabukuro said once the three of them were finally settled.

“Yes, your honor,” Hagiwara said, standing up and bowing.

“You may proceed,” Judge Shimabukuro acknowledged, motioning to the stand in the middle of the room.

Hagiwara stepped back from the table, walking around to the stand. He smiled at Shouto confidently. Shouto nodded. He wanted to believe that this was all going to work. But it was hard when he could still hear all the angry whispers behind him. Under the breath comments about how he should already be in jail, about why they were even holding a trial when the evidence clearly showed that he was guilty.

But the lawyer didn’t seem phased as Shouto sat there numbly. He made it up to the stand, setting a few paper’s down in front of him.

“I would like to begin with the simple truth. Todoroki Shouto is not guilty of the assault and rape of Midorya Izuku. He was framed for this crime, and was also a victim of the true perpetrators of this crime, Shigaraki Tomura and Toga Himiko. Although we will be presenting evidence to support this claim, I want it to be known to the judges and the spectators that Todoroki Shouto has told the truth in regards to this case since the first day of his arrest, despite being subjected to extreme pressure and manipulative tactics by the police, as well as numerous derogatory and defamatory articles and interviews circulated during this investigation.”

“Objection.” Mr. Shoji stood up. “There is no proof that high profile members of The League of Villains would have any reason to target the accused.”

“Mr. Hagiwara, are you prepared to present evidence to support the claim that these two individuals, Shigaraki Tomura and Toga Himiko would have reason to target your client?” Judge Shimabukuro asked.

“I am,” Hagiwara replied confidently.

The judge turned, briefly looking at each of the secondary judges. Finally he turned back and looked at Hagiwara.

“Objection over-ruled,” the judge replied. “Proceed.”

“This crime is not the first time that Shigaraki Tomura has targeted my client. Shigaraki was introduced to my client on Friday March 13. Shigaraki was interested in securing Mr. Todoroki as a new member of the League of Villains. This should not come as a shock to this court, as it is not the first time that Shigaraki has attempted to recruit a student at UA University. In February, Shigaraki kidnapped and attempted to recruit Todoroki’s classmate, Bakugou Katsuki. As the city is aware, his attempt was unsuccessful. Thankfully, in large, to the collaboration of the Musutafu police and the valiant efforts of All Might.” Hagiwara turned to nod respectfully to the symbol of peace, who nodded back somberly. “Less than a month later, Shigaraki was able to bring Todoroki Shouto to the League of Villain’s new base, where he used the threat of physical harm, as well as a quirk-suppressing bracelet, to intimidate my client to take cocaine. Once my client was drugged, and Shigaraki realized that Mr. Todoroki had no intention of joining The League, he allowed for Mr. Todoroki to be raped by fellow League member Toga Himiko. Mrs. Himiko left several large incisions on Shouto’s torso. After this, Shigaraki proceeded to rape my client.”

Shit. No, no. This was exactly what he had been worried about after that opening statement. He wasn’t ready for everyone to find out about that. This entire trial was enough already. Trying to defend himself against the accusations. Shouto began to shift uncomfortably in his seat. No wonder they wouldn’t tell him what the evidence was. He would have never agreed to present this as part of his case. Shouto clenched his fists. It was too late, now. He couldn’t change anything. He had no control over any of this. He just had to hope that it was all going to be worth it in the end.

“Objection.” Mr. Shoji stood up again. “There is no evidence to support that Shigaraki Tomura raped, or was even associated with, Mr. Todoroki. If this information is based off of the verbal account of Mr. Todoroki, it should be dismissed. We have already provided sufficient evidence that Mr. Todoroki has been using drugs of his own accord for numerous months.”

“Do you have physical evidence to support that Todoroki Shouto was sexually assaulted by Shigaraki Tomura?” Judge Shimabukuro asked.

No. Please. Dabi said it was destroyed. He promised…

“I have video evidence of this incident, as well as evidence that the police were aware that Shouto was sexually assaulted and chose not to pursue this line of investigation for this trial. Their investigation was knowingly biased against my client.”

“Objection over-ruled. Please present your evidence.”

Shouto’s heart was racing in his chest. He could hear the whispers behind him. He could feel the accusing stares. He shot a panicked glance back at Kai, searching for… something. Anything that told him that this wasn’t real. He tried to regain his composure when he saw the steely gaze Kai sent him back. The golden-eyed man nodded knowingly to Shouto. Shouto took a deep breath. He trusted Kai. He had to trust that this must be for the best.

Mr. Hagiwara turned to his colleague. He stood up, a young man that had short, black hair and a boyish face, bringing around an envelope and handing it to the judge. The judge picked it up and took out a few papers and a DVD.

“This evidence was submitted to the police on Thursday April 9 by Mr. Todoroki Touya—”

“What?!” Endeavor’s voice roared from the spectators, at the same time that Hawks stood up from the prosecutor’s table and glanced at the crowd, as if hoping to see Touya in the room. Shouto was definitely going to throw up. First the video, and now… Shit. Everything was happening so quickly. Why did Dabi agree to this. He was giving up his anonymity! Everything they had been working to keep hidden. It was bad enough that Hawks had figured it out. “That’s impossible! Todoroki Touya has been missing for years!”

“Todoroki Enji,” Shimabukuro barked, a distinctly displeased tone to his voice. “Please be seated and do not disturb this trial or I will have you escorted from this courtroom.”

Shouto turned his head. Enji was standing up, his PR rep desperately tugging on his arm until the burly man reluctantly sat back down, glaring at Shouto as they met eyes. Shouto ignored the look, glancing at his siblings. Natsuo was almost white, he looked like he had seen a ghost. And Fuyumi’s mouth was open, her eyes wide.

“That packet contains the official police report filed when Mr. Todoroki Touya submitted the evidence,” Hagiwara continued calmly, as if Enji’s outburst hadn’t happened. Shouto turned back around. Dabi had gone to the police station?! “As well as the results of a DNA test performed on a saliva sample that Mr. Todoroki Touya provided during this process, and old forms of identification. The final page is a report showing that this video has been verified by Musutafu Police Detention Center Evidence Intake Center, stating that this video is unaltered. Although this video has been partially blurred for the privacy of my client, the defense wishes to warn the audience that this video contains a graphic depiction of sexual violence. Although we have only supplied a partial clip of the video, we are prepared with a copy of the full video if the judges deem it necessary.”

The three judges looked over the paper-work, talking quietly amongst themselves before handing the DVD over to the bailiff. He took it over, preparing the video.

Shouto turned toward the screen, watching the audience out of the corner of his eyes. His stomach churned with anxiety as he watched the bailiff. After the cocaine, he could barely remember that night, everything that he did remember was just horrible, blurry bits and pieces. A part of Shouto begged him to look away. He didn’t want to see it. He didn’t want to know.

But he didn’t look away. Everyone that he knew was going to see this. If he was going to have to look into anyone’s eyes after this, he needed to know what they had seen. A secret that he had hidden from so many people.

The video started out with Shouto screaming as Shigaraki decayed the mark on his shoulder. Shouto’s heart sank. He looked… pathetic. His hair was already mussy, and he was drugged out of his mind and flailing over onto the couch to get away from the pain. He was already naked, although his cock was blurred in the video, and he was dazedly looking down at the new wound as Shigaraki commented ‘That's much better. I wouldn't enjoy fucking you nearly as much with that thing on you.’

Shouto was definitely going to throw up as he watched Toga come in, the two of them arguing over the state of Shouto’s cock. Shigaraki walked behind the couch, trapping Shouto’s arms behind him. Shouto watched as his head kept swaying around, his eyes unfocused. He looked high as fuck. He remembered being that high, too. Toga chose a knife. Shouto started to rock back and forth as the video showed Toga getting undressed. Although her privates were also blurred, Shouto could see her so clearly in his mind. Her small, pink nipples. That heart shaved into her pubic hair. Fuck. He bit his lip. So hard that he could taste copper on his tongue. He wanted to cry, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

Instead, he watched dully as Toga went down on him and made him moan like a fucking whore. As Shigaraki started sucking on his neck and Toga climbed onto his lap. Even with everything blurred, it was obvious that she was straddling him. He couldn’t look away as Toga cut him, collecting and licking up his blood as she fucked him. He heard himself struggling, the most pathetic ‘stop’ spilling from his lips that he had ever heard.

Shouto could hear muffled crying from somewhere behind him. He could practically feel the anger rolling off of Kai in waves. Everyone in this room was going to see him in his weakest moment. Hagiwara’s words came back to him. ‘No matter what happens in here today, Mr. Todoroki, its important that you don’t interrupt. It’s crucial that this audience understands that you are a victim before they will be open to hearing the rest of your defense'.

After Shigaraki let go of his arms, he watched himself pathetically try to push Toga away. And suddenly Shigaraki was behind her. She stretched around, and even with the blurred pieces, there was so much blood. All over Shouto. All over Toga. He had forgotten how much blood there had been. He watched as Shigaraki pushed his cock up into Toga as well, the pig-tailed villain crying out in pleasure at the double penetration. Shouto was moaning too. He cried out, pleasure flashing over his features.

Shame washed over Shouto. How could he have cum while being raped?

‘You two made a mess. Clean me off, Shouto.’ Shigaraki’s demand echoed through the courtroom. Although most of his face was blurred, he watched as Shigaraki put his hand on the back of Shouto’s head and pushed it down until Shouto took the villain in his mouth. Shouto dropped his head to the desk, trying to swallow the bile rising up in his throat. Shigaraki was encouraging him to take more, and the room was filled with the grotesque sounds of Shouto gagging around the long cock and Shigaraki moaning as he fucked Shouto’s mouth.

‘Poor Shouto, let me show you how!’ Toga’s voice interrupted the lewd chorus. ‘It's ok, Toga. I want more than just his mouth.’ Shigaraki’s voice was husky with desire. ‘I knew he liked you!’ Toga’s voice washed over Shouto. He could almost remember it from that night. ‘He really likes you! He almost never fucks anyone besides me and Dabi!’

‘Yes Todoroki, I like you. Now be a good boy and turn around for me.’

A feminine, strangled sob from somewhere behind him finally caused Shouto to look back up at the video. He already looked wrecked on the screen, the blood still dripping obscenely down his chest as he turned around and leaned forward. And then Shigaraki pushed into him. Shouto cringed as his own scream filled the room, it sounded like a dying animal, pained and feral. He could see the pain as he watched his body tense up, his jaw clamp shut as he bit back another scream, his fingers clench into the cushion of the couch. Shouto could still remember how much it had hurt for the man to push in without any lube or prep. Then Shigaraki was fucking him, and Toga was praising him, and he could feel hot tears started to streak down his face as he watched the villain rape him. Eventually, Shigaraki cried out, his movements finally stilling as he pulled out of Shouto. And although the video blurred out Shouto’s ass, you could see the blood running down his thighs as the video finally ended.

Shouto could feel himself rocking again. He was crying quietly. He didn’t even care anymore. How could he pretend to be strong when everyone in the room now knew how weak he really was. He closed his eyes, trying to wipe away the tears with cuffed hands and force himself to regain control. He could hear people, more than one, crying in the room. He thought he even heard Izuku crying for him… for the boy that he thought had raped him. He didn’t want to see how people were looking at him. How… Fuck. How Kai was looking at him. Would he want Shouto again after seeing that? How could anyone that powerful want someone so weak? He could hear people talking, but he blocked out the words. He didn’t want the sympathy. Hagiwara’s technique had worked like a charm. The audience saw him as a victim. He hated it.

“For my first witness, I would like to call Todoroki Shouto back to the stand.” Hagiwara’s voice came over the room, quieting down the infernal talking from the spectators. The sniffling, and muffled cries as everyone tried to quiet down. Shouto groaned, shaking his head. No. Not after… that. He couldn’t do it.

“Come on, Todoroki,” Hassu whispered, so quiet that he was certain no one else could hear. “That is behind you. You are a member of a strong organization now, swallow your shame and prove that you belong. You are no good to anyone if you end up behind bars.”

Fuck. Shouto knew she was right. Even if he hated it. Even if that video made the quirk-suppressing bracelet on his wrist feel like it weighed one hundred pounds. He couldn’t keep letting the memory of that night engulf him. He had to push the emotions away, and just be logical. Stand up and answer a few questions, as if they were discussing somebody else. He just had to get through this trial.

“Todoroki Shouto?” Judge Shimabukuro repeated after a moment. “Are you capable of taking the stand?”

Shouto nodded, even if he wasn’t sure the answer was actually yes. Hassu took his arm, once more guiding him to stand up and walk around to the stand. He didn’t look down, but he closed his eyes. He didn’t want to see the way the spectators were looking at him now. He just had to make it to the stand. When they stopped, and he opened his eyes, the bailiff was already there, waiting.

“Todoroki Shouto, do you swear to continue to answer all questions presented during this testimony truthfully and to the best of your knowledge?”

“I do,” Shouto replied, trying to keep his voice even, despite it sounding hoarse and pathetic.

He watched the bailiff walk away, looking straight ahead as Hagiwara moved to stand in front of him.

“Todoroki Shouto, do you remember the events that occurred during the night of the video?” Hagiwara asked him.

“For the most part,” Shouto answered honestly. “Some parts are a little blurry because he… um, Shigaraki made me do two lines of a new type of cocaine. But I remember enough.”

“You said he made you do two lines of cocaine,” Hagiwara repeated. “How did he make you? Did he physically force you to take the drug?”

“Not physically,” Shouto replied. Just be logical. No emotion. “When I first got to the League’s base, Shigaraki took me into a room where they had a nomu.” Shouto could hear a few small gasps coming from the audience. “I remember this part clearly. He told me that he didn’t trust me, and that I needed to give him a reason to trust me. That if I didn’t do everything that he asked me to do, than he would have the nomu help him find a better use for me. I wasn’t really sure what he meant, but the creature was huge, and I already had a quirk-suppressing bracelet on. So I had no way to defend myself. And there were others there at first, other members of the League. Too many for me to fight even if I had access to my quirk. I had no choice but to do what he asked. Everything that he asked.”

“In the video, it showed Toga Himiko collecting your blood. Do you know what they wanted it for?” Hagiwara asked, changing the subject.

“No,” Shouto shook his head. “I know she likes the taste of blood. But I don’t know if there was any other reason.”

“Did Shigaraki say anything to you after what he did?”

“Yes,” Shouto said, “but it’s a little blurry. I was still really high at that point. I remember that he praised me and said that I should be glad that he did that. And he told me that he recorded everything. He threatened to release the video if I told anyone about The League.”

Shouto could still hear the whispering in the audience. He blocked it out, closing his eyes and turning his head to the side, hoping no one saw the shame in his face. Even trying to be strong, the flashbacks were still running through his mind. Stronger than ever now that he had seen the video.

“Why didn’t you go to the police, or to the hospital?” Hagiwara asked.

“You have to remember that I was still high, so my reasoning wasn’t at its best. But I had a few reasons, actually,” Shouto answered, his voice wavering slightly as he tried to pull himself away from the memory of that night. “If I went to the police or the hospital, they would have tested me for drugs. I was on a final warning for drug use at my university, and I was afraid they would expel me if they found out. If the police examined me, they would have found Shigaraki’s cum in my ass. If they did test it, and a report was filed then Shigaraki would have released the video. If they didn’t test it, than I was afraid of how my father would react. He is homophobic, and he would have never believed that I had been raped. He would have thought I was just sleeping around, and I was afraid of what he would do to me.” Shouto paused, taking a deep breath. “But the biggest reason is because I was scared. It’s hard to understand, but unless you have found yourself face-to-face with Shigaraki Tomura, you don’t know how far he will go to achieve his goals. Unless I agreed to join his league, I was nothing to him. A toy. Since I didn’t agree to join, having some blackmail on me was the closest thing he could get to ensuring that he had some control over me. He never told me that he would kill me, but I have no doubt in my mind that he would not hesitate to do so if he felt like I was a threat to him or The League. Even this testimony puts me and people that I care about in danger. Shigaraki wanted me to end up behind bars so that he didn’t have to worry about me for a few years. That’s the entire reason we are in this courtroom in the first place.”

Hagiwara smiled. Considering that Shouto was completely in the dark about the entire defense, he supposed the man was happy enough with his answers.

“No further questions,” Hagiwara said.

“Todoroki Shouto, you may be seated,” Judge Shimabukuro motioned to his table. Shouto let Hassu guide him around. He still felt so numb as he looked out at the crowd, the spectators all looking at him with clouded emotions. He thought back to Kai’s comment in the detention center about how people will try to change their perception in order to accept new information. He could almost see the process working as people tried to reconcile the fact that they had just watched him, a supposed rapist, get raped. He could see them struggling to decide how they felt about it.

Then he was being turned around, Hassu pulling his arm to sit him back down.

“As you clearly saw in that video,” Hagiwara said, “and heard in Todoroki Shouto’s own words, Shigaraki threatened, physically assaulted, and sexually assaulted my client. This should provide sufficient evidence that Shigaraki Tomura had already targeted Todoroki Shouto on at least one previous occasion. Fast forward to April 1, two days after the rape of Midorya Izuku and the day of Todoroki’s arrest. In his initial interview, Todoroki not only told the truth about what happened, but admitted to being raped. In the interest of time, the police ignored his testimony. They even attempted to forgo a fair trial for my client. During the investigation, police received more evidence that Todoroki had been raped, and still chose not to officially pursue that in their investigation. Despite one off-the-record attempt to convince my client that he had a mental disorder, Todoroki Shouto was not questioned once about this incident. An incident that could have turned the tide in this investigation.”

Hagiwara walked over and picked up a paper off the defense table.

“As evidence that the police blatantly disregarded my clients testimony, I would like to present a dictated copy of my clients initial questioning.” Hagiwara took the paper up to the judge, returning quickly to the podium. “From the very first question, my client truthfully proclaimed his innocence. At one point during the questioning, Todoroki Shouto said, ‘I am innocent. Izuku is one of my best friends. I would never do that to him. I have been raped. And I would perform Seppuku before I would subject someone else to that kind of abuse. You cannot forgo my trial. I deserve the chance to prove my innocence.’ After being blatantly ignored, and told that he would not receive a trial, my client was forced to watch, in slow motion, the video of his friend being assaulted and raped. And he still, knowing that he was putting his own life in danger, had the courage to speak the truth. In Todoroki Shouto’s own words, ‘It wasn’t me. I know what it looks like. But that wasn’t me. That was Toga Himiko from the League of Villains. I don’t know how, but her quirk lets her… change into people. The attack was arranged by their leader, Shigaraki Tomura. Please, you have to give me a fair trial to prove that I didn’t do this.’

Hagiwara went back and picked up two more papers from the defense table, then returned to the stand.

Shouto could feel his shoulders slumping, and he tried to sit up a little straighter. He was emotionally drained. But a tiny shred of hope had started to form in his chest as he listened to Hagiwara. His lawyer was good. He was just as good as Mr. Shoji. Maybe, just maybe, they really did have a chance to get him out of this. To make Shigaraki pay for what he did.

“During this investigation, the police interviewed all of class 1A. Two of those interviews reference that my client was raped, and still the police chose to ignore pursuing a line of questioning. For my next witness, I would like to call Yaoyorozu Momo to the stand.”

There was a shuffling in the audience, and then Momo was walking past him. She walked close to him, brushing her hand over his in a way that would have looked like an accident to anyone else, but Shouto knew it wasn’t. She was trying to comfort him. And he loved her for it.

The bailiff made his way over to stand in front of Momo.

“Yaoyorozu Momo, do you swear to answer all questions presented during this testimony truthfully and to the best of your knowledge?”

“I do,” Momo agreed. Her voice sounded rough, and Shouto could tell that she must have been one of the people crying behind him.

Hagiwara took up a small stack of papers to the judge, before walking over to set one on the stand in front of Momo.

“The papers I have just submitted to you is the official dictation of Yaoyorozu Momo’s interview with the police shortly after the arrest of Todoroki Shouto. I will be referencing it as I question the witness.” Hagiwara began. “Yaoyorozu Momo, when questioned about the crime, you told the police, that Shouto couldn’t do something like that. When they said they had evidence, you said they didn’t understand. And I quote ‘Shouto has had something like that happen to him.’ After that, the police asked you to elaborate. Will you please read your answer, its highlighted in yellow.

Momo nodded, clearing her throat and picking up the paper. After a moment she began.

“I don’t know exactly what happened,” Momo’s hoarse voice rang out, “but on the night of the ‘Preserve Japan’s Oceans’ charity dinner, Shouto asked me to come pick him up really late. I was already worried because his dad said he never came home, and so I was over at Bakugou Katsuki’s house looking for Shouto when I got the call. Bakugou and I drove out to the middle of nowhere, almost an hour away to get him. He was hurt. We didn’t notice it at first, but he was cut up and covered in blood. He refused to let us take him to the hospital, so we ended up helping him ourselves. I know there was more than the cuts, but I don’t know everything. Bakugou helped him shower. He knows more than I do.”

Shouto could barely remember them coming to pick him up. Hiding behind a dumpster like a filthy homeless person, covered in blood and Shigaraki’s cum. He had been so pathetic.

“In your answer, you said that you knew there was more than the cuts,” Hagiwara pressed. “How did you know?”

“He tried to hide that he was even hurt at first,” Momo answered, shuffling a little behind the stand. “It was really dark, and we didn’t realize. But as we were driving home, he got a phone call. I don’t know who he was talking too, but it was a really strange call. Then Bakugou and I heard the person on the other end scream ‘he raped you?’ And that’s when we realized that he was more hurt than we thought. We tried to get him to agree to go to the hospital, but he refused. So we ended up taking him back to Bakugou’s house to help him.”

“Did you know who it was that hurt Shouto that night?” Hagiwara asked.

“No,” she replied. “I tried to ask him a few times, but he wouldn’t tell us what happened. At least not me.”

“No further questions,” Hagiwara finished.

“Yaoyorozu Momo, you may be seated,” Judge Shimabukuro said.

Momo nodded, turning around. She looked straight at Shouto, searching his face to see if she thought he was alright. He imagined that he must look pretty awful. His afternoon had been a roller-coaster of emotions, and he couldn’t even manage a smile to try to reassure her. Especially as he looked at her red-rimmed eyes, and the smudged make-up from where she had been wiping at it. The slight streaks that decorated her cheeks from crying. She gave him a small, reassuring smile before returning to her seat.

“For my final witness, I would like to call Bakugou Katsuki back to the stand.”

Shouto tensed. Shit, they were going to make Bakugou testify again. The blonde was probably frustrated enough already. After a moment, though Bakugou stalked by. His walk was stiff, and Shouto could see how tense his shoulders were as he stood back in front of the stand.

“Bakugou Katsuki, do you swear to continue to answer all questions presented during this testimony truthfully and to the best of your knowledge?” The bailiff asked after he made his way up to the stand.

“I do,” Bakugou said. Shouto could hear how angry he was, even though the blond was trying to keep his voice calm.

As the bailiff returned to his post, Hagiwara gave the judges another small stack of papers. Than he set one paper in front of Bakugou.

“Those papers are the official dictation of the interview that Bakugou Katsuki had shortly after Todoroki Shouto’s arrest. I will be referring to that interview during my questioning,” Hagiwara said, repeating almost the same opening he had for Momo’s interview. “Bakugou Katsuki, during that interview, the police asked you about the incident that Momo had mentioned. Would you please read your reply? It’s highlighted on that page in yellow.”

Bakugou picked up the paper.

“Yeah, there was more than the fucking cuts,” Bakugou began to read. “He had been… Fuck. Why are you asking me about this? I helped him, ok? He wouldn’t go to the fucking hospital. So we had to stitch him up. He could barely stand and he was so messed up that I had to wash off all the blood, and all of the… ya know. Everything that was in him. I wanted to tell somebody, but he made me fucking promise that I wouldn’t. He said that he would get hurt if I told anyone. So I didn’t.”

“In that statement, you said that he was pretty messed up. What state was Todoroki Shouto in when you helped him?”

“He was a fucking mess,” Bakugou replied.

“Bakugou Katsuki, please watch your language,” Judge Shimabukuro chided him, again.

“I’m sorry,” Bakugou replied, running a hand up the back of his neck, exasperated. “He didn’t even want us to know he was hurt at first. He told us he had gotten into a fight. Once we finally figured out he was all cut up, he refused the hospital. He couldn’t get warm. And once we got to the house, he could barely stand. I had to practically carry him inside. His torso was completely covered in blood, and he had three pretty deep cuts on him, and a hideous open wound on his shoulder. He was still pretty doped up, which was good because he had to sit through all of the stitches without any actual anesthesia. Since he could barely fu—” Bakugou fumbled a bit, trying to stop himself from swearing. “Since he could barely stand, I helped him shower. After I cleaned off his chest and stomach, that’s when I noticed the rest. He had blood and cum all over his ass and thighs. I could tell that it really hurt when I helped him clean everything out. He just kept asking me not to tell anyone. He was still so high that he didn’t even realize he had actually been raped.”

“And did he tell you who raped him?” Hagiwara pressed.

“I figured it out,” Bakugou answered. “Or at least I figured out that it was someone in The League. I recognized the decay mark on his chest, and along with the cuts on him, I knew it had to be one of them. He finally told me that it was Shigaraki.”

“And why didn’t you tell anyone?” Hagiwara asked.

“Like I already said, he was scared,” Bakugou repeated himself irritably. “He was convinced that Shigaraki would kill him, and honestly I am not so sure that he wasn’t wrong. Shigaraki is dangerous. So I agreed not to tell, but he was still drugged up enough that we couldn’t really talk about it. He had lost a lot of blood, and he needed to sleep. The next day, his dad came barging into my house and practically ripped him out of my bed. He was yanking Todoroki around and screaming at him for being a whore. After that, it kept being one thing after another, and we never really got the chance to talk about it. So I kept my word, and I didn’t tell anyone.

“No more questions,” Hagiwara finished.

“Bakugou Katsuki, you may be seated,” Judge Shimabukuro said.

Bakugou turned around, but this time he didn’t meet Shouto’s eyes. Shouto watched him walk past, the blonde’s gaze focused on the floor.

“As you have heard all three witnesses state, Todoroki Shouto was afraid to come forward about this sexual assault,” Hagiwara continued on. “At the time of these interviews, the police were aware that the blood samples taken from Todoroki Shouto during his processing into the detention center contained traces of the drug DMHP, one of the same drugs detected in Midorya Izuku. Until my office had those results analyzed, the police failed to even acknowledge the presence of the drug. And even once they did acknowledge it, they did not piece together the clues that might have led them to the truth. As I stated earlier, had they further questioned even one of these students in regards to this crime, they would have realized that this case was a lot less straight-forward than it appeared to be.”

“Objection.” Mr. Shoji stood up again. “The defense’s current line of reasoning is redundant. Although the defense has built a solid argument that Shouto was targeted once by Shigaraki Tomura, they have yet to supply any solid evidence that Todoroki Shouto did not assault and sexually assault my client. This is a blatant attempt to incite emotion with no evidence to support their opening statement, especially in regards to this trial.”

“Mr. Hagiwara,” Judge Shimabukuro asked, “Does this defense have any evidence to support the claim that Shigaraki Tomura and Toga Himiko were behind the attack against Midorya Izuku?”

“Yes,” Mr. Hagiwara replied. “That is our next, and final piece of evidence to support the defense of Todoroki Shouto.”

Judge Shimabukuro glanced at the two secondary judges before answering.

“Objection over-ruled. Proceed.”

Shouto felt his breath catch. This was it. This must be the evidence they had found to prove that he was innocent. To prove that Toga really was able to shapeshift, and was the one who had actually assaulted Midorya.

Hagiwara nodded to his colleague, and the younger lawyer brought up a second envelope and handed it to the judges.

“Our final piece of evidence is a second video submitted by my client’s brother, Todoroki Touya. This video was submitted at the same time as the first video. Included is another copy of the police report, and a report from the Musutafu Police Detention Center Evidence Intake Center to validate this video is also unaltered.”

A video?! His mind raced as he tried to figure out what the second video could be. He had a bad feeling that he wasn’t going to like it either.

The judge didn’t even look at the paperwork this time, handing the DVD over to the bailiff. The man took it over to the screen, inserting the disk and pressing play.

The video started with Dabi sitting front and center of the camera. Shouto’s mouth fell open. Hawks made a strangled gasp somewhere to the side of him. This was more than just announcing that Touya was still living in the city, Dabi wasn’t trying to hide his identity at all! He was wearing a simple black, deep cut V-neck T-shirt, with no attempt to cover up his face or tattoos. You could see the roses from his jaw all the way down to where they faded into the pale skin of his chest. He had even done up his eyes and hair, all of his many piercings catching in the light of the camera. His bright blue eyes gleamed as he smiled at the camera.

“My name is Todoroki Touya,” Dabi began, “and for the last four years I have been an active member of The League of Villains. I was recently re-united with my younger brother, Shouto. The leader of my organization, Shigaraki Tomura, believed him to be a threat to my identity. On March 13, Shigaraki and Toga raped my brother. Shouto chose not to report them in order to protect my new identity, even though he didn’t agree with my choices. And I was too much of a coward to come forward for him. I thought I could protect him, but I was wrong. I will not stand back and see Shouto continue to be hurt at the hands of my leader. Todoroki Shouto was as much of a victim in this trial as Midorya Izuku. And I submit the following video as evidence that both Midorya and my brother were raped by Toga Himiko, under the orders of Shigaraki Tomura.”

If Shouto’s thoughts had been a tangled mess before, they were a complete wreck now. This trial had all but destroyed Shouto’s current life. Even if they prove that he was innocent, he had accepted that some parts of his life were never going to be the same. There was nothing that Shouto could do to change that. But this video meant that Dabi was, that he already had, also lost the life that he had spent the last four years building. Not only was he going to be identified as Dabi, and undoubtedly have a warrant of arrest issued for him within the day, but Shigaraki… Fuck. Dabi shuddered to think of how Shigaraki was going to react to this. He had arranged all of this to try to protect Dabi’s identity, only to unknowingly force Dabi’s hand into doing the very thing he was trying to prevent. Shigaraki was going to be pissed. Even the villains feelings for Dabi might not be enough to protect his brother if Shigaraki got his hands on him.

Fuck.

Dabi had decided to risk everything, even his life, in order to help Shouto.

The video cuts out for a moment, before flicking back to life. Dabi’s leg is on the far side of the screen, in a pair of gray jeans. Although no one else would know, Shouto can tell that his brother is sitting on the couch in his apartment, the rose painting on the wall in the background. Toga is there with him, sitting on the other side of the couch, her legs tucked up against her chest inside of a large T-shirt, with one arm wrapped around them. Shouto is almost sure that she is wearing one of his UA T-shirts and a pair of his boxers. She seems to be completely oblivious to Dabi, her eyes glued to the phone in her hands.

“Hey Toga,” his brother’s voice comes over the camera. “You wanna make a video for Shouto?”

Toga looks over at him, her face lighting up in a huge smile.

“Yes! That’s such a good idea, I miss him!” She squealed. “What kind of video do you think he’d like?” She paused thoughtfully for a second, suddenly throwing her phone on the table and jumping up next to the couch. “Oh! I got it… I can dance for him! He loves watching me dance!” She hopped back and forth excitedly. Yes, she was definitely wearing his T-shirt, although it was more of a dress on her tiny frame. Her chest bounced with each movement, her nipples outlined by the thin fabric.

“I was thinking we could just say hi… look I’m already recording.” Dabi suggested, the video shifting slightly as Shouto assumed he was pointing out his phone.

“Eeee!” She squealed, the video jerking as she pounced into Dabi’s lap, sticking her face up into the phone. “Hi Shou!!! It’s Himiko! I miss you so, so much! I can’t wait for you to come home again! Look… Dabi’s here too!” She grabbed the phone, flipping it around to Dabi. He was in the same outfit, leaning up against the back of the couch. He waved at the camera, before gently taking it out of her hand and turning it back around to face her. She was positively glowing with happiness.

“You know,” Dabi said, “Shouto told me that he doesn’t really remember what happened the other day. I thought maybe we could tell him about it. Like a story that he could listen to. He’s pretty bored up there.”

“He doesn’t remember having dinner with me? Does he remember how much fun we had after dinner?” She asked, pulling back from the camera a little, pouting.

“I don’t think so.” Dabi replied. “Why don’t you tell him, just in case.”

She squirmed on Dabi’s lap, visibly distressed by Shouto’s supposed forgetfulness. Finally she nodded, her smile already returning.

“Okay,” she beamed, sitting back onto the couch, her legs crossed underneath her. “How should I start it?” She tapped her lip, deep in thought. Suddenly she leaned forward. “Okay, Shou! Once upon a time, I decided to bring you dinner because Dabi was out on a drug run and I knew you were home alone. Also, because Shiggy told me too. You took forever coming home from school, and I could tell right away that you were so stressed. You did that serious thing with your face. Ya know,” Toga paused, squishing her face up to look grumpy, than collapsing back on the couch, laughing. “And you were all like ‘what are you doing here?’” she continued, in a very girlish Shouto impersonation as she sat back up on the couch, crawling forward to sit in between Dabi’s legs, closer to the camera. “And I was like, I brought you food silly! And you were so happy! I swear, you remind me so much of your brother. Dabi loves it when I bring him food too! It always makes him smile, even if him and Shiggy are fighting!”

“Stay focused on the story, Toga,” Dabi interrupted gently.

“Right!” She smiled. “Anyway, Shiggy and I picked up your favorite. Soba! And we got you tea, too! Shiggy added a few things to it, to help you relax. Do you remember? You made this face when you drank it, and you were all serious, like ‘Toga, what did you give me?’ You tried to get up, but you fell on the floor. You were a really naughty boy, ya know. You tried to crawl away, and tell me no. You even tried to use your ice on me! It was sooo silly! You froze half the couch instead! Anyway, the drugs finally kicked in enough that you finally relaxed.” She was getting really excited, the pitch of her voice rising slightly as she played with the bottom of Shouto’s T-shirt. “I really hope you remember the next part, because it was so much fun! Not as much fun as last time because Shiggy told me that we couldn’t play with my knives this time. Which made me sad because your blood tastes so sweet! And I remember licking it off your—”

“Stay focused,” Dabi repeated, the camera shifting as Dabi adjusted slightly.

“I’m focused!” She argued, pouting slightly at Dabi before looking at the camera again. “Once you were all relaxed, I got to take all your clothes off. I could tell the drugs were making you sleepy cause I kept having to wake you back up. But Shiggy said that you couldn’t sleep until we were done! So I hurried to put on the condom and than I climbed on top of you. I know I was making you feel good, because you felt so good inside of me! Even though you couldn’t really move, your cock still got so nice and hard, and oh… I miss your cock, Shouto! I hope I can see it again soon! Do you remember that?” She asked the camera, leaning in close. “Do you remember how good I made you cum for me? Do you think he remembers that Dabi?”

“Maybe,” Dabi replied, his voice neutral. “Why did you use a condom? That’s not like you.”

“I know,” She sighed. “But Shiggy said that we had to have a condom for later. I’m sorry, Shou! Next time I will let you cum in me!” She winked into the camera with a smile.

“What did you do later?” Dabi asked, as if he had no idea. “I don’t think I’ve heard that part of the story.”

She wriggled around excitedly.

“Shiggy didn’t tell you?” she asked, amazed.

“No, why don’t you tell me and Shouto about it.” Dabi replied.

“Well, do you remember how Shouto is friends with my ‘Zuzu?” She asked.

Shouto could hear a strangled gasp come from the other side of the room. He was certain it was Izuku.

“Izuku?” Dabi replied.

“Yeah. He and Shouto are like best friends!” She beamed. “After we had sex, Shouto fell asleep. And we got him all dressed and tucked into bed. Oh, he looked so cute! Then Shiggy took Shouto’s backpack and his phone and he texted ‘Zuzu. We made plans to meet up with him. That’s when Shiggy let me drink all the blood that we collected from Shouto at the party! God, I wish I had more. I just love the way Shou’s blood tastes! Anyway, I had to turn into Shouto so that I could meet up with ‘Zuzu! It was like a real date! I love Izuku so much! It was the best day of my life!” She threw her arms up and over her head gleefully. “Shiggy bought him a drink too! And we went on a glorious, romantic walk! We almost held hands! And finally I could tell when the drugs were starting to help him relax. So we sat down. He struggled too at first, but eventually I got him to settle down. Shiggy made me take him into the alley to have sex, but, then he called Hawks and I didn’t even get to finish inside my ‘Zuzu because he got there too fast.” She pouted at that, frowning and sitting back on the couch.

“Why did you change into Shouto?” Dabi asked.

“Oh, that’s easy. Shiggy said he was in trouble because he put you in danger!” She replied happily. “She said that he needed to go away for a little while. You know how smart Shiggy is, I just know he’s right. It all worked, too. Just like he said. We left the condom I had from fucking Shou earlier by the dumpster, and then when Hawks saw, everyone thought it was him. Just like Shiggy said. He even planned it out to have it be Hawks that found him, because he said you wouldn’t get involved if Hawks was! Doesn’t he think of everything? He misses you, ya know. Can’t we invite him over tonight?” She curled up into Dabi’s lap, Shouto’s T-shirt pushing up against the camera.

“I have another idea,” Dabi said, the camera shifting as he moved. “Why don’t we record one more thing for Shou?” Dabi’s hand appeared in the camera, holding up a vial of blood like one that was taken from a hospital. It very clearly had ‘Todoroki Shouto’ labeled on it. It was one of the vials they had taken during processing. How did Dabi get a hold of that? Kai must have helped him.

“Whose is that?” She asked, taking it curiously. “AH! It’s your brothers! Why do you have this?”

“I thought we could give Shouto a sneak peek of how good you look when you transform into him.” Dabi said, handing her the vial.

“Why do you want me to…” She cut off, looking at the vial, before glancing at Dabi with a huge grin. “You must really be feeling naughty tonight! I think I know who this is really for. It’s ok, Shiggy likes it when I transform into Shouto too!” She hurried and pulled off the cap, taking the blood like a shot, and then shaking the vial as if she wanted every single drop. Then she moaned lowly, almost sexually as she threw the vial on the couch. “Shou, you are really going to like what your brother has in mind,” She purred, face up in the camera, winking. Then she jumped up off the couch, running her hands seductively over her body. “Do you want him in his school clothes? Or do you want him to be naked?”

“Just transform wearing that. They’re his clothes anyway, right?”

Toga giggled, nodding happily. Then, right in front of the camera, Toga began to change, almost melting until suddenly it was himself standing in front of the camera. It was Todoroki Shouto, wearing the same huge, happy grin that Toga had worn. There were multiple gasps from around the courtroom as she danced, and rolled her hands over Shouto’s body, gyrating his hips in a slow, seductive dance for Dabi.

Shouto stared. Just like in the other video, she looked exactly like him.

“Do you like that Dabi?” She said, and it was eerie to hear his voice on the camera. She was pulling the T-shirt up to show off the muscles in Shouto’s lower stomach.

“Yeah. That’s good,” Dabi replied, a bit of a sad tone in his voice. “You did perfect, sweetie. Why don’t we say bye to Shouto now?”

“Already?!” Toga whined, the noise sounding funny coming out of her transformed body. “Fine. Bye Shou! I miss you so much, and I love you!”

The video clicked off.

The courtroom went really quiet for a few moments as Hagiwara waited, giving everyone time to absorb what they just saw.

Shouto felt numb. He had wanted so badly for Kai and Dabi to find evidence that would set him free, and absolve him of this crime. But he had never expected that evidence to take away everything from Dabi. Dabi paid for Shouto’s freedom by giving up his own.

“In conclusion, I believe that we have provided sufficient evidence to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Todoroki Shouto is not guilty of assaulting or sexually assaulting Midorya Izuku. Todoroki Shouto was cleverly framed for this attack by The League of Villains, specifically its leader Shigaraki Tomura. The physical attack itself was committed by Toga Himiko. The charges of assault and battery against Midorya Izuku, and of sexual assault against Midorya Izuku should be transferred to Shigaraki Tomura and Toga Himiko. Additionally, Shigaraki Tomura and Toga Himiko should also be charged with at least two additional counts of sexual assault against Todoroki Shouto. Thank you.”

Hagiwara mimicked Mr. Shoji, bowing to each individual judge before returning to his seat.

A chorus of hushed whispers broke out among the spectators as the judges began to review the evidence from the defense. Shouto could hear broken bits and pieces of conversations, the defense's argument had caught almost everyone off guard.

After a moment, the bailiff made his way to the front and center of the room.

"The judges wish to call for a 30 minute recess to allow them to review the evidence. Prosecution. Defense. You will be escorted to wait in individual counsel rooms during the recess."

What? They were going to make everyone wait an additional 30 minutes before they announced their decision? Shouto groaned softly as he watched his lawyers stand up. He was ready to be done.

Hassu stood up, and Shouto reluctantly followed her lead. A court assistant motioned for them to follow him. Shouto was led toward the same door he had entered through. He only glanced back once at the audience before he stepped out. Kai was no longer in his seat, but most of his attention was caught by Endeavor who was standing up and arguing with Natsuo and his PR rep.

Then the door was closing behind him, and he had no choice but to look ahead as the court assistant escorted them to the correct room.

Kai was already inside, talking with Hagiwara and the counsel when Shouto and Hassu arrived. The older man was tense, and Shouto could see he was absolutely livid as he talked to the lawyer. But the conversation dropped almost as soon as Shouto came into the room.

Shouto had expected this. Kai had known he had been raped by Shigaraki, had already lashed out against the villain. But Shouto didn't think that he had actually seen the video until today. Shouto wished he could take it back. He hated knowing that the people he cared about had seen him that way. Kai stood up, walking over and pulling Shouto into his arms. It was nothing like usual, awkward with Shouto’s arms handcuffed between them, and Kai’s grip around him was definitely tighter than normal. But it was everything Shouto needed as he breathed in the scent of Kai, letting himself relax slightly in the golden-eyed man’s arms. Things might not be normal between them after the video, but at least Kai hadn’t changed his mind.

“I thought that all of the copies had been destroyed,” Shouto finally said. Not that it really mattered. What was done, was done. He just had to say it. More than anything, he wanted to know why no one had warned him.

“They were supposed to be,” Kai answered, finally letting go and leading Shouto over to a chair. “As it turns out, Dabi decided to keep one copy. Apparently he was planning on sending it anonymously to the police once he felt like you were safe from Shigaraki. Although I am unhappy he didn’t discuss that decision with me first, it turns out that having a copy of the video was a huge advantage. Not just to help clear your name, but it was the perfect opportunity to bring his sins to light. His boss is not going to be happy with the unwanted attention.”

“But why didn’t anybody tell me that you were going to show it?” Shouto asked, frustrated. “I was so… I didn’t want anybody to see that, ever. It was disgusting. All of those people in the audience, I bet they won’t even look me in the eye anymore. And if they do, I will have to see the sympathy reflected in their eyes.”

“The majority of people in that courtroom were ready to throw you in jail before they saw that video,” Kai replied, his voice cold. “If they had any self-respect, they wouldn’t avoid your eyes because of sympathy, they would do it because they were ashamed of themselves. The majority of those people failed you, Shouto. Hagiwara’s defense wasn’t wrong. The police failed you because they wanted an open/shut case, and they chose to ignore pertinent information. Those people don’t deserve to look in your eyes.”

Shouto slouched. It was a harsh statement. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it. He was angry at so many of those people, at everyone who thought that he could do that. At everyone who judged him for having sex young, and doing drugs occasionally. None of them understood everything he had gone through over the last few months. Not just the first rape, or even the second. But all of it. Every decision that Shouto made to try to improve his situation, but ended up just digging himself deeper into a never-ending sinkhole. No wonder Kai and Dabi both rarely indulged their emotions. Maybe it really was better to seem cold than to be constantly disappointed.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Hassu opened it, and Shouto was surprised to see Judge Shimabukuro. The man walked in, taking a seat at the table across from Hagiwara. The lawyer didn’t question him, just waited quietly until the judge began.

“We believe that we have a decision in regards to this trial,” Shimabukuro began. “And we are leaning toward meeting all of your defense’s wishes. All charges against Todoroki Shouto would be dropped. Shigaraki Tomura would be charged with conspiring to organize the assault and sexual assualt of Midorya Izuku, and charged with 1 count of sexual assault against Todoroki Shouto and 1 charge of conspiring to organize the sexual assault of Todoroki Shouto. Toga Himiko would be charged with assault and battery of Midorya Izuku, as well as with the sexual assault of Midorya Izuku. She would also be charged with the assault and battery of Todoroki Shouto, and two counts of sexual assault of Todoroki Shouto. There is, however, one small problem with your case.”

“And what problem is that, your honor?” Hagiwara replied, unruffled.

Shouto stared at the judge. It worked. Holy shit, the defense worked. They were going to clear his name.

“Some of your evidence wasn’t submitted following the correct protocols. Although I understand that the identity of the supplier, Todoroki Touya, was very controversial, it doesn’t allow your case to forgo the correct mode of submission. The forms of identification were expired, and looked very little like the man in the second video. The DNA test isn’t enough to verify the identity of the supplier since it wasn’t officially submitted, and the evidence should have been viewed by an officer at the time of submission. Overall, the submission of the evidence was rather… shady.”

“Are you implying something, Judge Shimabukuro?” Hagiwara asked.

“Of course not,” the judge replied, leveling Hagiwara with a cool stare. “But we cannot accept this evidence without proper verification of the supplier’s identity. We would like to arrange a date within the next week to have Todoroki Touya return to this court in order to correct the issues with the submission process. If we can agree to that, than this court will follow through with all of my previously mentioned decisions.”

Shouto’s mouth dropped open. He felt the same dread from earlier returning. They wanted Dabi to come forward. But if he did… shit. They would arrest him for sure. And even though Shouto didn’t know the full extent of his crimes, he knew enough that he had no doubt that it would be difficult for his brother to get out of jail once the police put him there. He was a high-profile villain. They might even send him to prison in Tartarus.

Shouto shook his head, opening his mouth to speak. But he stopped as Kai laid a hand on his arm. He glanced over at the other man. Kai shook his head. Shouto wasn’t allowed to interfere.

“I have a feeling that, given the overwhelmingly strong evidence we provided, this court would be a lot less concerned about the suppliers identity if they had not just learned that he was also Dabi, a known member of The League of Villains.”

“We have no control over what Todoroki Touya has done in his past,” Shimabukuro replied. “And we cannot allow this type of a mistake on such a high profile case. He said very clearly in the second video that he was stepping forward to help his brother. If he was being truthful, than he should have no problem coming forward to fix these mistakes.”

Hagiwara pursed his lips. Shouto saw him glance briefly at Kai as he tapped his fingers on the table. Shouto clenched his hands together, waiting anxiously for the lawyers answer.

“I believe that this could be arranged,” Hagiwara said. Shouto thought his heart was going to stop. “However, Todoroki Touya is also a client of mine, and my firm would have to require that certain conditions were met in order to move forward with this request. It is my job to ensure the privacy of my clients. All of my clients. We could have a contract written up by the end of the day. There is not to be a warrant of arrest issued for Todoroki Touya until at least 24 hours after the scheduled appointment in this court. The appointment will not be announced, or made public. And there should be no attempt to detain or arrest Todoroki Touya either during this appointment, or in his travels both to and from this appointment. If you can agree to that, I should be able to arrange the appointment within the week.”

“This isn’t a negotiation, Hagiwara.” Judge Shimabukuro retorted. “You cannot make demands when it was your case that failed to follow the correct protocols for the submission of evidence.”

“Well, lets consider your other options,” Hagiwara replied. “You have exactly three other options. The first is that you choose to accept the evidence as is, and follow through with the adjustment of charges to the appropriate individuals. This is the easiest, and of course, the preferred route. The second option is that you can choose to drop the charges against Todoroki Shouto, but fail to draw the appropriate charges against Shigaraki Tomura and Toga Himiko. Not ideal, but it wouldn’t take much work to include this court in the misconduct lawsuit that my office is currently in the process of filing in regards to the treatment of Todoroki Shouto during this investigation. Or maybe I will include it in the defamation lawsuit that we are filing. Either way is more work on my end, however, it would provide some monetary compensation for my clients pain. The final option is that you refuse to utilize the evidence provided based off of the process of submission, which would leave you no choice but to rule in favor of Mr. Shoji’s case. This would likely end up with Todoroki Shouto behind bars for a crime that he did not commit. Given the numerous spectators in that courtroom, I imagine that this would cause quite a commotion in the media when information about this trial goes public. So you tell me which route you would prefer, Judge Shimabukuro.”

Shouto couldn’t believe that Hagiwara had the courage to so blatantly call out the Judge like that. He was basically threatening the courts. Surely the judge wasn’t going to allow it. He watched Shimabukuro purse his lips, his brows furrowing as he stared at Hagiwara.

“I should have known this case wasn’t going to be easy when I saw you in my courtroom,” the judge replied, his mouth curled distastefully. “I expect to have that contract on my desk by 5:00 tonight. I may not be able to see Todoroki Touya arrested this time, but you aren’t going to be able to protect your clients forever, Hagiwara. You are lucky that I empathize with this particular case.”

“I will personally draw up the contract,” Hagiwara said, bowing.

Judge Shimabukuro nodded, standing up and moving toward the door. He glanced at Shouto before stepping out.

“I do hope this is the last time I see you in my courtroom, Todoroki Shouto.” He said, and his gaze lingered on Kai for a moment before he turned around and walked out into the hall.

Shouto looked at Hagiwara, who was grinning. He could feel the hope blooming in his chest.

“So this means…” Shouto said, hesitant to voice the outcome that he desired, the outcome that it sounded like the judge had agreed upon. He didn’t want to risk jinxing his luck by saying the words out loud. But he was leaning forward, his attention riveted on the lawyer.

“This means that it isn’t going to be long before you are a free man,” Hagiwara confirmed, and Shouto could hardly believe the words. “Of course we still have to go through all of the formalities as they announce their verdict to the court. And there is, as always, going to be a fair amount of paperwork to get you officially discharged. But its only a matter of time before you will be out of those handcuffs.”

Shouto glanced down. It was only a matter of time before they would take off the quirk suppressing bracelet. Before he could change into his own clothes. Before he could really relax for the first time since all of this began.

It was almost hard to believe. He turned back toward Kai, who was watching him intently.

Suddenly the door opened, the court assistant popped his head back in.

“It’s time to go back in,” the man said. Hagiwara and Kai both stood up, Shouto following reluctantly. He really wished that all of this was over as he followed the others, Hassu back at his side. Eventually Kai turned down a different hall, stopping and laying a hand on Shouto’s arm just before he left them.

“It’s almost over, little fox,” He said quietly. He leaned over and gave Shouto a quick, chaste kiss on the lips before turning away. Shouto smiled slightly. He was still mentally exhausted, and absolutely dreading the idea of being led back through the door reserved for criminals, but slowly things were starting to improve. He could still feel Kai’s lips against his, and he focused on that feeling as he followed Hassu and the court assistant back.

Shouto kept his eyes downcast as they led him through the door, and back to his seat in the courtroom. The spectators had the last thirty minutes to gossip about the entire trial, and he didn’t want to see the opinions they had formed in that time. He just wanted the judges to come in and release him so that he could sign all of the damn paperwork and go back to Kai’s apartment, preferably with as little social interaction during that time as possible. He glanced up just long enough to make sure that Kai was in his seat, before turning around and sitting back down. He cringed as he immediately heard the hushed conversations from behind him.

It wasn’t long before the judges returned, the bailiff walking over toward the front of the courtroom.

“This court is back in session,” the man called out. The voices faded slightly, but there were still quiet conversations being finished as Judge Shimabukuro straightened up the papers in front of him, before finally looking up.

“Todoroki Shouto, please rise,” the judge said. He sounded resigned. As if he was trying to be professional, but Shouto could tell by the set of his mouth that he was still not very happy about the turn of the conversation in the counsel room. Shouto stood up quickly this time. It didn’t matter how the judge felt about everything, or what his personal opinions of the whole thing were. As long as he dropped the charges, and held true to his word that Dabi wouldn’t end up in jail over the whole thing.

“After hearing the arguments presented by both the prosecution and the defense, as well as reviewing all evidence provided, this court has finalized their decisions in regards to the trial Midorya Izuku vs. Todoroki Shouto. Todoroki Shouto, in regards to the charge of assault and battery against Midorya Izuku, this court finds you not guilty.” A wave of relief washed over Shouto. It was really happening. “Todorok Shouto, in regards to the charge of sexual assault against Midorya Izuku, this court finds you not guilty. These charges will officially be dropped as of 5:00pm tonight. Additionally, the charge of assault and battery against Midorya Izuku will be filed against Toga Himiko. The charge of sexual assault against Midorya Izuku will be filed against Toga Himiko. The charges of conspiring to arrange the assault and battery, as well as the sexual assault of Midorya Izuku will be filed against Shigaraki Tomura. One charge of assault and battery against Todoroki Shouto will be filed against Toga Himiko. Two charges of sexual assault against Todoroki Shouto will be filed against Toga Himiko. One charge of sexual assault against Todoroki Shouto will be filed against Shigaraki Tomura, and finally one charge of conspiring to arrange the sexual assault of Todoroki Shouto will be filed against Shigaraki Tomura. This court is dismissed. Thank you.”

The courtroom exploded with conversation. Shouto glanced over at the prosecutions table, Hawks had his hands buried in his hair and his head down on the table. Mr. Shoji stood up and walked over to Midorya Inko. He seemed frustrated, but not angry. Shouto didn’t feel bad for him. He didn’t feel bad for any of the prosecution, except for Izuku. They had the chance to listen to him, and they had failed. Then he glanced over at the table mirroring his own, and he met two large, watery green eyes.

His breath caught in his throat as he stared back. Toshinori had gone over to talk to the other professors, so there was nothing between Shouto and Izuku. And the greenette was actually looking at him. He had definitely been crying, was technically still crying, tears occasionally streaking down his cheeks. Izuku smiled at him, although it wasn’t his usual smile. It was toothless, broken. But it didn’t matter. After everything, Izuku was looking at him again. There was some sympathy there, but there was also… understanding. They had both suffered for this trial. Neither of their lives were going to be the same after today. But right now, in this moment, it was alright.

Izuku knew the truth.

Chapter Text

"Are you ready to get out of those handcuffs, Todoroki?" Hassu said. Izuku must have heard her as well. Must realize how much Shouto needed to finally be physically released from the horrible nightmare that has been the last ten days. The greenette gave the briefest nod, his meager smile falling away as he turned toward his mother and Shoji. Shouto watched him for a moment, hoping that they would get time to actually talk about all of this one day. Once Izuku was ready. Sighing, he turned around, realizing that Momo was also there waiting for him on the other side of the wooden barrier.

"You can have a minute, but than I need to get you over to be discharged. Kai is already headed that way," Hassu said as she took his hands, removing the cuffs.

“Ok,” Shouto replied quietly. The moment the handcuffs were off he turned toward Momo, leaning over the barrier and pulling her into an awkward hug. He didn’t care about the horrible half-wall digging into his thighs. He needed this. She smelled so good that he could just melt into the hug and stay there forever. Especially since he wasn't sure when he would get to see her again. He might be free, but he still didn't even know for sure where he was sleeping tonight, let alone what the next week would bring.

"Thank you, Momo," he said, the words muffled by the soft skin of her neck. "Thank you for believing me."

"Shou," she said, and he could hear the tremor in her voice. She was trying not to cry again. Her hold on him tightened, as much as possible with the barrier between their lower bodies. "I'm so sorry about... about everything. I knew... I knew it was bad, but..." Her voice broke, a small sob escaping her throat as her fingers clenched into his shirt.

"It’s ok. I chose not to tell you," Shouto replied, his voice soft. His eyes were squeezed close. He didn't know who else was around, and he didn't want a bunch of people overhearing. "I didn't want anyone to know. I was pathetic. I didn't even try to stop him."

"You aren't pathetic. I don't ever want you to think that." Momo whispered back, her voice breaking as she cried into his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. None of this has been your fault."

He squeezed her, his heart lifting slightly at the words. Even if they weren't entirely true. He decided to go to the club that night. He decided to go to Dabi's after Enji broke his collarbone. He had decided to go to that party. He had made dozens of decisions that had slowly led him here. Words couldn't change that, no matter how beautiful the intentions behind them were.

"Come on, Todoroki," Hassu said impatiently. "There will be time for all of this later. We have to get you to discharge."

He pulled away from the hug, lifting his hands up to wipe the tears off of Momo's cheeks with his thumbs.

"I have to go," he said.

"Wait," she stopped him, putting her hand on his arm as he started to turn away. "I was wondering if, after you are out... Well, the other students wanted me to ask if you would—"

Shouto shook his head. He could see where this was going.

"I don't have anything to say to them. I'm sorry." Shouto replied. He could hardly believe they even had the nerve to ask. Did they think he was going to just forget that they thought he was guilty? That they could say sorry and everything would just go back to normal?

They couldn't be more wrong.

"Please, Shouto." She said, distressed. "I don't blame you for being angry with them. Give them a chance to say sorry. Otherwise it's going to be so hard when you get back to UA. You are going to need more than just me."

"I'm not going back to UA," Shouto replied bitterly. "I got expelled."

"I overheard Nezu and Aizawa talking during the break,” She said, smiling as if it was the best news in the world. “They are going to offer you your spot back. Now that they know what happened, they are going to reverse the expulsion.”

"I have to go," Shouto said, turning and following Hassu out of the courtroom. The thought that Momo might be right really upset him. What if they really did offer him his spot back? Did he even want it? He only lasted as long as he did because his dad paid the university off not to expel him after the scandal. And they had certainly been fast enough to boot him out this time around. But now. Now he was ok? Because he was raped. And because he had been forced to do drugs. Because this story was about to make the front page, and what better publicity, better charity than offering Shouto back his place in their heroics course. A struggling student who was wrongfully expelled, given his chance to achieve his dreams once again. They aren’t offering it back to him because they believed in him, they had their own agenda. What heroes.

Fuck that.

Or they want him back because maybe, just maybe they could convince him to tell them more about The League of Villains. How convenient that they could offer him a spot to return right after finding out that he might be able to give them information about an enemy that they had been failing to apprehend for months.

Fuck that.

Shouto was emotionally drained. He had nothing left to give these people. Nothing that he wanted to give these people. Everyone who wanted to ask for forgiveness. Lie and tell him that deep down they knew he could never do something like that. Well, where was that fucking sentiment a week ago? Two days ago? Four hours ago?

How could he trust anything they said? He would never be able to tell if they were genuinely sorry, or if they were just easing their own guilt.

He sighed.

After the trial. After everything. He wasn’t in the right head space to deal with any of this. He just wanted to go back to Kai’s apartment, and climb into his bed, and fall asleep in those fluffy pillows that smelled like the man he—

Shouto swallowed. He really was tired. He wasn’t thinking straight.

Hassu finally stopped, opening a door and leading Shouto inside. It was a large, medically sterile, white room with a desk at one side and a table with a few seats around it at the other. There was an older, blonde-haired court assistant at the desk, who smiled up at him as they entered. Smiled. Did she have any idea what he had just gone through? He looked around the room, relief rushing through him as he saw Kai sitting at the table. The golden-eyed man smiled at him when they met eyes, standing up and walking over. He put his hand on the small of Shouto’s back as he stood next to him, looking Shouto over to make sure he was alright.

“We need to take this off,” Kai said, picking up Shouto’s hand, and touching the quirk-suppressing bracelet that was still hanging off his wrist. “Immediately,” he added, looking up when Hassu didn’t respond quickly enough.

“Alright,” She sighed, taking a specialty key off of the belt at her waist. Shouto eagerly put his hand up this time. He despised the quirk-suppressing bracelet. Even before seeing that atrocious video, and being reminded of exactly why he hated that thing. Being stuck with it on, day in and day out, was one of the worst parts of those days in the detention center. He was never going to let someone put one of those things on him again. She unlocked it, and Shouto quickly pulled his hand back, rubbing his wrist where it had sat. After ten days with that thing, it was a physical relief to have it gone.

“We shouldn’t be too long here,” The court assistant said, after he finally turned toward her. “Most of this is basic paperwork. Then I will collect your belongings, and you will be on your way.” She started to sort through a few papers, pulling out a small pile and handing them over to Shouto with a cheap, black pen.

Shouto took them reluctantly. He really hated redundant paperwork. But he didn’t bother to complain, retreating over to the table and starting to fill everything out. He would do anything to get out of this courthouse as quickly as possible. Just as he had suspected, they wanted a ton of stupid, repetitive information. Just like they had during processing. It took almost a half hour to finally get it all done. He admitted that he did cut corners, and his writing was probably barely legible. But after the day he had, nobody better dare say a word about it. He was not redoing that crap. He needed to go home.

He took the paperwork back over, handing it to the clerk. She scanned it quickly, frowning a bit. Probably at his handwriting, honestly, but she didn’t call him out on it.

“Alright. This should be everything. Only you didn’t fill out a phone number. We may need to contact you in case there’s something we missed.”

“I don’t have a phone right now,” Shouto admitted. He doubted that he was going to get his phone back from Shigaraki. He hoped that the villain had just tossed it after getting in touch with Izuku, but he wasn’t going to hold his breath. Instead, the disgusting man was going to have access to a whole slew of very personal pictures. He definitely needed to find a way to tell Momo that. He had more pictures in there of her than anyone else, and he hated the thought of her getting pulled in to all of this shit too.

“You can put down my number for now,” Kai offered, leaning down to start filling his number out on the form.

“Alright,” she replied, resigned. “But we do ask that you provide the correct number as soon as you have a phone again. If you will give me just a few minutes, I will go and get your personal belongings.” She pushed up from the desk and disappeared out into the hall.

After Kai finished the information, he stood up. Shouto shuffled forward and leaned against Kai. Kai put his arms around Shouto, pulling Shouto up against his body. It was warm and comforting, and for a very few brief moments, it helped Shouto feel a bit better.

Until there was a commotion in the hall.

“HE IS MY SON! I will see him!” Enji’s voice roared from the hallway. The man couldn’t have been far.

Shit. What in the hell was Enji doing here?

A moment later the door slammed open, Endeavor’s huge form filling the doorway.

“Actually sir, he’s not technically your—” Shouto could hear a small voice coming from the hall as his father stalked into the room. Endeavor scowled at the wiry gentleman who had been trailing behind him, until the man finally retreated back out into the hall.

Endeavor turned his heated glare toward Shouto. He was absolutely livid, and his eyes narrowed as he took in Kai’s arms around Shouto.

“I thought I recognized you in the courtroom,” Enji scowled at Kai. “I should have known that my son had crawled into some rich man’s bed in order to secure a lawyer that good. I hope you have gotten your moneys worth of his whorish behavior, because this ends now. He is coming with me.”

Shouto twisted around in Kai’s arms to face his father, but Kai didn’t let him go. Instead, the older man’s hands dropped down to wrap around his waist, tightening slightly as he pulled Shouto back against him. Endeavor’s mouth contorted with rage as Fuyumi and Natsuo managed to squeeze into the room around him. Fuyumi looked terrible. She had clearly been crying, and her make-up was smudged from her attempts to wipe tears away. Natsuo was pale, and stared at Shouto uncertainly, as if he hadn’t seen him before.

“You need to leave, Endeavor,” Kai said coldly, his fingers curling into Shouto’s side.

“You might be fucking him, but you have no right to speak for him,” Endeavor snarled.

Shouto scowled.

First his friends. Then the school. Now this.

"Shouto, get your stuff and lets go. I’m taking you home." Endeavor said irritably, ignoring Kai's warning. Shouto felt Kai's body tense up against him. This could turn very ugly, very quickly.

Shouto shifted forward, allowing Kai to keep his hands on his waist, but keeping himself directly between the two men.

"I am not going home with you, Enji," Shouto said firmly. He could hardly believe the nerve the man had to even ask. Everyone seemed to think they could just push Shouto around when it's convenient to them, and it was really starting to piss him off. "I am never stepping foot in that place again. I'm not your son anymore, remember?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Shouto," Enji snapped. "That was just a misunderstanding. My lawyer can take care of the paperwork. I've already spoken to Nezu, and they are going to nullify this expulsion. We have a meeting in the morning with my agencies PR. We will need to act quickly to start repairing your reputation after this mess. Luckily being raped by Shigaraki will garner you some sympathy with the press. And with the knowledge you have about The League, we already have a plan to get you back into the publics good graces."

Kai growled lowly in his throat, and Shouto physically dug his heels into the floor as Kai tried to step forward.

"Oh yeah, I feel really fucking lucky that I got raped. After the last few weeks you can’t imagine my relief to hear that you care about my reputation." Shouto scoffed, his mouth twisted into a sneer. He couldn’t believe how callous Enji was. Shouto didn’t know why he kept hoping that his father would care about him as a person. It was obvious that Shouto was just a chess piece to him. "I don’t give a damn about what people think about me. I'm not going back with you. You can go fuck yourself."

"Shouto!" Fuyumi cried. Natsuo stepped forward, trying to put himself between Shouto and Endeavor, recognizing the rising tension.

“He didn’t mean it like that, Shouto,” Natsuo tried to comfort him. Natsuo was a fool if he didn’t realize that Enji meant it exactly like that. “What happened to you was… it was horrible.” Fuyumi was nodding anxiously, tears starting to well up once more in the corners of her eyes. “But I think we are all just trying to cope with watching it happen. Right dad?”

“Don’t bother to defend him,” Shouto retorted angrily. “Seeing me like that was nothing to him. He is used to seeing someone get raped. He sees it every time he visits mom in the hospital. He probably gets off on it!”

"THAT’S ENOUGH!" Endeavor roared, his face red and the veins on the side of his forehead bulging. He tried to step forward and grab Shouto’s arm, but Kai was quick to intercept. The only thing preventing direct skin contact between the two men was a thin shirt, and Shouto knew that wasn’t enough to stop Overhaul from retaliating if he got too upset.

“Don’t touch him,” Kai growled.

“You’re disgusting, Shouto,” Enji scoffed, yanking his arm back out of Kai’s grip. “And between you and your brother, your trial disgraced our family. Now get your stuff, and come with me. We can talk about your boyfriend later." The word dripped with disgust as it fell from Enji's lips.

"Dad!” Natsuo exclaimed, staring open-mouthed at Enji. “You aren’t disgusting, Shouto.” He sounded desperate to try to fix the situation. Of course he was. Natsuo had been forced to step up to take care of his siblings at a young age. Endeavor was always busy, and Rei spent a lot of time in her room, even before she went to hospital. “You need help. And we can give you that. I don’t know what you have with this man,” he said with a nervous glance at Kai, “but the best chance you have to reclaim your future is if you come with us. You have been through a lot today. Let us help you."

"Help me?" Shouto spit. Was everybody serious? It was like no one was willing to even acknowledge what the last ten days had been like for him, let alone the last few months. "If I had relied on your help, I would be getting transported to jail right now. The only people who have helped me in this are Kai and Dabi."

"Please don't call him that," Fuyumi said, the distress in her voice was obvious.

"That villain is a liar!" Enji snarled. "He didn't help you. He's the reason you are in this mess in the first place!"

Shouto ignored Enji, turning toward Fuyumi and Natsuo. This could be the last time he saw them for a long time, and they deserved to know the truth about Dabi too. They deserved to know what really happened. Before newspaper articles started coming out and arrest warrants were issued, and the media started tearing apart Touya’s character.

"Touya is gone, Fuyumi." Shouto said. "He told me that the first day I saw him. And Enji is the reason why! Touya never put me in the hospital. Touya was trying to protect me. He put us both in the hospital! And then he paid off the hospital staff to make it look like Touya was on drugs." Shouto said, motioning at Endeavor.

"Shouto, I'm warning you," Enji hissed, stepping forward menacingly. Kai's hand moved up to Shouto's shoulder, and he could feel the tension in the air. He had to take control or Kai would. And he didn't want to think about what would happen if the older man did that. He wanted to believe that being in a courthouse would stop Kai from doing anything too drastic, but he honestly wasn’t sure if that was true.

"Or what?" Shouto said, stepping forward with determination, jabbing his pointer finger directly into Enji’s chest. He met Enji’s blue eyes directly. "You will shut me up the same way you always do? You will smack me around? Throw me against the wall? Burn me? I dare you! Show Natsuo and Fuyumi your true colors."

Fuyumi started to cry again.

"Is this true?" Natsuo said, putting a hand on both Shouto’s chest and Enji’s, trying to force some space between them. He searched Enji’s face. "You told me that Shouto was on drugs and lying about the abuse. You told me he was being manipulated into pressing charges. Are you really abusing him?"

Enji was shaking, his hands curled into fists. Shouto could smell the faint smoke starting to seep from his body, small orange flames licking up the sides of his neck. It was a warning about just how angry the large hero was getting. But he stayed silent.

“Answer me!” Natsuo yelled. “I went on public television and said that those allegations weren’t true. I deserve to know if you convinced me to lie just to save your reputation.” Natsuo’s face was red with anger.

"That isn't even the beginning of it," Shouto continued, confident that no matter how angry Enji was, he wouldn't resort to physical violence with so many witnesses. "Dabi didn't run away. Enji took him out of the hospital before he was even healed and threatened him not to ever show his face again. Dad pinned the entire incident on our brother, and Dabi almost died for it. You wonder why he joined The League? It's because Shigaraki is the only reason he's still alive."

"What?" Fuyumi squeaked, her voice small as she looked at Enji in horror.

"He was lying, Shouto!" Enji yelled, his voice livid. Flames had overtaken his arms now too, despite his attempts to control his quirk. "He doesn’t care about you. He wanted to use you to hurt me. To turn you against me. He's a villain! That group… Touya alone has killed hundreds of innocent people! Even you can’t be this naive. He doesn’t care about you. He is trying to sabotage you! Come with us, tomorrow we can go to the police and you can tell them where to find Dabi. We can correct your disgusting behavior and resume your studies to become my successor."

"I will never be your successor." Shouto hissed. And he wouldn’t. There was no force on this earth that could convince him to resume that path.

There was a knock at the door before the court attendant pushed it open. Her eyes went wide when she saw the full room, especially when she saw the number one hero, half engulfed in flames. Of course, the appearance of a citizen was enough to force the hero to quell his quirk completely, attempting to smooth out his shirt. But his face was still contorted, and Shouto knew that it wouldn’t take much to rile him up again.

After the flames had been extinguished for a few moments, the assistant seemed to regain her senses.

"I have your belongings," she said nervously, trying to edge around Endeavor to get back to her desk. The woman had Shouto’s UA uniform and Dabi's black jacket. Once she was safely behind her desk, she gave Shouto a shaky smile as she offered him the clothes.

Shouto took the jacket, sliding it on over the tan outfit. He didn't want anything to do with the uniform. If they thought they could use him at UA, they had another thing coming. He took a step away from the pile, ready to abandon the clothes, when he turned and grabbed them impulsively. The clothing weighed almost as much as the quirk suppressing bracelet had, much more than the few physical pounds in his hands. Holding the clothes away from his body, right in Enji's face, he activated his left side, creating a burst of fire large enough to ignite the entire outfit.

The court attendant squeaked. Fuyumi gasped softly. Shouto stared directly into Enji's eyes, satisfied by the way they widened ever so slightly in shock before turning back to sharp anger. Shouto didn't even wait for the flame to extinguish before he tossed the clothes at Enji's feet, the hero having to step back and use his foot to put out the flames.

Shouto didn't wait for anything else. Pushing past Enji, he stalked out of the open door. A part of him hated to walk away from Fuyumi and Natsuo, despite their lack of faith at the trial. But he refused to spend even another minute in the same room with Enji. Shouto didn’t have to look behind himself to know that Kai would follow him, and it didn’t take long before he felt Kai’s hand on his back, saw the golden-eyed man step in beside him as they walked down the hallway.

“This conversation isn’t over, Shouto!” Enji’s words echoed loudly after them.

Shouto didn’t bother to look back. He hoped that Enji was watching them as he lifted his hand up and flipped Enji off.

After a few moments of walking through the courthouse, Shouto tried to relax into the feeling of Kai’s hand on his lower back. And it was starting to work, until they neared the main doors and he saw his classmates waiting up ahead. He slowed down a little. He had almost forgotten that Momo had asked him to talk to them. Fuck. He was in no mood for this. But when he saw Momo, her face lined with hope, he knew he wasn’t going to have a choice. If it was anyone else pleading with him to give his old friends a chance, he could have said no. And gone to Kai’s, and finally had a chance to relax. But he couldn’t disappoint Momo.

Iida and Ururaka were talking to Momo, and Kirishima was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall and… Fuck! And Bakugou. The blonde-haired teen was almost completely hidden behind Kirishima’s body. He had on a dark hoodie that was pulled up over his head, his knees up against his chest with his arms wrapped around them and his face buried. Shouto stopped completely, Kai stopping a moment later, looking at the group in front of them.

“You don’t have to do this right now if you don’t want to, Shouto.” He said quietly, so no one else would hear.

“It’s ok,” Shouto replied, sighing internally as Momo looked up and caught his eye. She waved hesitantly. Iida and Ururaka turned toward him too. Anxiety radiated off the group. “I should just get it over with.” He added softly, his eyes trailing back over to Bakugou. Kirishima had pushed himself up to stand, but the blonde was still sitting with his face hidden against his knees.

“I will give you some time, then. I need to make a few calls anyway,” Kai replied. “I will be outside when you’re done.”

Shouto nodded. Kai leaned forward and kissed the side of Shouto’s head. Than he walked away. Shouto watched his friends watch Kai pass by as he started toward the group. He was honestly so emotionally fed up that he really wasn’t looking forward to dealing with this right now. But he would do his best.

Iida was the first to move, hurrying over and greeting Shouto with a series of deep bows. But Kirishima was right behind him, apparently having temporarily abandoned his post at Bakugou's side.

"Hey man," Kirishima was the first to speak. He sounded really anxious, and he couldn't quite meet Shouto's eyes. Not that Shouto hadn't expected it. They probably just saw Shigaraki's disgusting naked body on top of him when they looked at him. And Momo thought he could return to UA. It wouldn’t be long before the entire university knew what happened these last few months. He couldn't go back. Not that he wanted to at this point.

"Hey," he replied bluntly when sufficient time had passed to turn the pause into an awkward silence. Ururaka and Momo had come to stand beside the others, and Momo came over to stand near Shouto. Ururaka looked just as upset as Momo, eyes rimmed red, face puffy with most of her make-up wiped away.

"So, we know that you didn't really want to talk to us," Kirishima added, running a hand across the back of his neck nervously. In the background, Bakugou had uncurled himself and was standing up. He didn't try to come closer, he just seemed to be waiting. Watching. "And I don't blame you for being really mad at us. But we... We didn't..." The redhead floundered, briefly peeking up at Shouto's face and then quickly ducking his head back down. His face was flushed, and he seemed to give up with a sigh.

"No one thought it was true at first," Ururaka added in gently.

"And our class worked to keep the rumors from spreading," Iida jumped in as well. "But the professors at the university addressed the police report head-on."

"We didn't think the school would have announced it if they weren't absolutely certain that it was true." Ururaka hurried to add. "None of us wanted to believe it, but they said there was irrefutable evidence..."

Shouto closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. Irrefutable evidence. Fuck their irrefutable evidence. If the police had just listened to him that first day. And after the school's mistakes had already put them in danger more than once, his classmates didn't even bother to question it.

He felt Momo's hand in his. She squeezed his finger gently, and he opened his eyes to glance at her. Fuck, she looked so hopeful that he would just accept the apology and they could all move on. And that would be easiest. They could all just go back to thinking that everything was normal.

Except Shouto.

‘Even if these people apologize a hundred times, you will always remember what they said about you while you were at your very lowest.’

He couldn't forgive them. He wasn't ready to.

"Is that all?" He asked, looking over at the others.

"No," Ururaka added quickly. "We want to apologize to you. It was wrong to judge you so quickly. I'm sorry, Todoroki."

"I'm sorry," Kirishima quickly added.

"And I'm sorry as well," Iida jumped in. "We dishonored our friendship, and we hope that you can forgive us."

"I can't," Shouto replied honestly. "I know I should. But I just can't. Did you really think I was just going to forgive and forget? This entire apology was more for your benefit than it was for mine." Fuck it was hard to watch the looks on their faces. He knew it had been hard to get the courage to apologize, and their faces crumbled. But he was tired of lying in order to protect other people. At the end of the day, Momo was the only person here who had his back when he needed it most. And he wanted them to feel some slight bit of the pain that they had caused him.

Fuck. Sometimes he wondered who he even was anymore.

"You don't understand what it was like." Shouto continued, admittedly a bit spiteful. "I had spent a week having my domestic violence case pulled apart, being shown that my voice didn't matter. And the morning I was arrested, I woke up covered in vomit and trying to remember if I had actually been raped or if it was just some horrible nightmare. And they arrested me, and called me a liar to my fucking face, and made me watch one of my best friends get raped. And once I finally had a chance to breath, the first thing I saw was a damn interview where my classmates said they were glad I had been arrested." This he added with a glare at Kirishima, who at least had the decency to look ashamed. "And when Momo came to visit me, she couldn't tell me a single other person who gave me the benefit of the doubt, evidence be fucking damned." He turned his glare to Bakugou. God, now that he could see Bakugou's face, the blonde looked wrecked. He had probably seen more emotions from the other than most of his classmates, but he had never seen Bakugou look so... defeated.

Shouto clenched his fists. He hated how much he wanted to go over and console Bakugou. But Bakugou hadn't believed him either, and it hurt too much to forgive him easily. Although Bakugou hadn't given in and told the police about his relationship with The League and the Yakuza. It would have been so easy for him to do during his interview, especially if he thought that Shouto was guilty. But he didn't go back on his word.

Shouto needed to talk to him. But not here, not in front of everyone else. So as much as it hurt, he pulled his attention away from the blonde and back to the others.

Ururaka started crying, wiping at her eyes. Shouto avoided looking at Momo. He didn't want to see the disappointment there.

"I'm so... so sorry... Todoroki!" Ururaka managed between sobs. "After what he did... I'm sorry!" Iida put a hand comfortingly on her shoulder.

"We will do better by you," Iida declared. Kirishima nodded in agreement, even though he was biting his lip anxiously. "When you return to UA, we will earn your forgiveness!"

Shouto nodded. He hoped they took it for some sort of sign that he was agreeing with the sentiment. He just didn't want to deal with telling them that the chances of him returning to UA were practically zero. And the more people who mentioned it as if he had to, as if that was his only option... the less he wanted to go back. He was tired of others planning his life for him.

He looked toward the window. He could see Kai pacing back and forth on the sidewalk, on his phone. He knew the man had already sacrificed a huge amount of time over the past ten days to help Shouto. He didn't want to inconvenience him any more.

"Sure," Shouto said. "Look, I gotta go. I have someone waiting for me." He turned toward Momo, finally looking up. She had a neutral expression, and he knew that she wished he had accepted the apology. But just like always, she was trying to support him. "Once I get a phone, I will text you." He said, reaching up and touching her cheek before dropping his hands.

He started toward the doors, stopping right as he passed Bakugou. They met eyes, staring at one another for a moment. Bakugou looked like he felt almost as horrible as Shouto did when everything was said and done. But he didn’t look away.

“I’m sorry,” Shouto said to the blonde. “I’m just not ready yet.” Shouto didn’t wait to see his reaction before turning away. It hurt to walk away from the blonde, but he didn’t know what else to do. It wasn’t a complete lie. He needed time, and he needed some privacy for whenever that conversation was going to happen. Neither of which he could have right now.

By the time he made it outside and to the car, amidst a plethora of ‘no comments’ from Kai as the paparazzi buzzed around them, Shouto all but collapsed into the backseat. He scooted over to the middle so that he could sit closer to Kai.

"I wasn't sure if we would ever get away," Shouto said, a strange mixture of irritation and sadness churning in his stomach. A part of him wished he had been allowed to leave the courthouse in peace. That he didn’t have to deal with so many people so quickly. Didn't everybody realize what he had been through? He leaned his head on Kai’s shoulder as Xiao Fe started the car and pulled away from the courthouse. "Are we going back to your apartment?"

"Yes," Kai replied. "Dabi already sent over your stuff. Not that you had much. I took the liberty of picking up a few extra things for you."

"What about Dabi?" Shouto asked. He didn't want Dabi at his apartment alone. What if Shigaraki came after him? The LoV Leader was going to be furious when he realized what happened at the trial.

"Dabi is safe," Kai said, setting his hand on Shouto's leg. "I have moved him to a new apartment where Shigaraki won't find him."

"And when he has to go back to the courthouse? Do you think they will keep their word and not arrest him?"

Shouto couldn’t stand the idea that Dabi had to go back. It was stupid and risky. The thought that Dabi might end up behind bars for trying to help Shouto was just… infuriating. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Dabi had warned him that this wouldn’t end well, but he had tried so hard to avoid this outcome.

Shouto didn’t even care that his brother was a villain at this point. He still needed Dabi in his life…

"No," Kai answered, his voice stiff. "I absolutely expect them to try to arrest him. There is very little chance they will pass up the opportunity to get their hands on a known member of The League of Villains. Not if they think there is even a chance it could lead them to the rest of The League. I will be there with him, though. And so will Hagiwara. If he does end up arrested, we will make sure he isn't in jail for long."

“I want to be there too,” Shouto replied without hesitation. If there was even a chance that Dabi would get arrested, he wanted to be there to try and stop it.

“I know,” Kai replied, squeezing his leg gently. “But I need you to trust me instead. You are going to be very closely watched for the first little while. It’s important that we keep you out of the public eye for a few weeks. And we don’t want to associate you with Dabi. If the police believe that the two of you are still close, they are going to try to bring you in for questioning. And that could open up a whole new can of worms. You will be able to see him again. Just not right away.”

"This whole thing is a mess," Shouto grumbled unhappily. He hated the idea of having to sit around uselessly for a week or two just to quell the publics ridiculous pension for gossip. Hated purposely not doing everything that he could to try to help Dabi when it was his fault that his brother was at risk in the first place. He sighed deeply. They still had a day or two. Maybe he could change Kai’s mind about it later. "What about the rest of what Hagiwara told the judge? Are we really filing a counter lawsuit?" He asked, changing the subject.

"Of course."

"But why? Isn't that going to drag all of this out even longer? I just want it to be done."

"I know that you’re tired," Kai replied, “But Hagiwara’s case for your mistreatment wasn’t falsified. The police and the paper both mishandled this case. Besides, what happened after your trial today, it was just a taste of the next few weeks. You are going to have to build a new life. And to do that, you are going to need money. It will also allow you to pay back the Yakuza for the risk and resources they put into this trial, and a little extra. Okimoto will think very favorably of you if you start off with a generous donation to the organization as a thank you."

The Yakuza. Kai. Hassu. Hagiwara. The special guest privileges he had received. And who knew what else the organization had done to get him out of that place. Of course he was going to have to repay that somehow. It wasn’t like he hadn’t known that, he just hadn’t really thought about what exactly that would entail.

"Who is Okimoto again?" Shouto asked. The name sounded familiar.

"Relax, Shouto," Kai replied. "I know you must have a million questions. But today was difficult, and I know that you are stressed. There will be time for all of these questions later. We are almost home. Let me run you a bath and order dinner. Then you should probably sleep. Hassu told me that you haven't slept or eaten much in the last few days."

Shouto sighed again. Kai was probably right. The idea of finally getting a chance to relax was definitely appealing.

It wasn’t long before they were back at Kai’s apartment. And as Kai led him to the bedroom and showed him the drawers that had been sectioned off for him, already filled with clothes that Kai had purchased. The section of closet that belonged to him now. The small drawer of toiletries that belonged to him… it felt surreal.

He was actually moving in with Kai.

It made him feel happy… special, even.

He was going to be living with a gang leader.

It made him feel anxious.

He was going to spend night after night in bed with the golden-eyed man. The one who so easily made him fall apart with just the touch of his hands. The pillows and blankets that smelled like Kai, and always felt so soft against his skin. He would get to enjoy an unlimited amount of scalding baths and showers. He would be able to look at that huge window at the city anytime he wanted. He would get to call this little, modern apartment home.

It made him feel giddy.

He was going to have to work through his feelings for Bakugou.

Shit. He didn’t really know how that made him feel…

He did mean to take a bath that night. Kai left him alone in the room to go order them dinner. And he had started to dig through his drawers looking for some clean boxers. But when he opened the bottom drawer, his mouth dropped open as he saw everything inside. He reached in, his hands shaking as he picked up a piece of a costume…

Was this for him?

He shoved it back in the drawer, and hurried to close it.

Fuck.

He quickly dug through the other drawers, relieved to find a pair of tight, clean, black boxers. He pulled off the horrible tan outfit and threw it in the corner. He needed to relax. He climbed into the bed, curling up in the soft, gray blankets and wrapping his arms around Kai’s pillow. He breathed deeply, enjoying the smell of Kai on the fabric. He would shower in the morning. For now, he just needed time to forget about everything for a little while.

* * * * * *

Shouto woke up in the middle of the night. The room was dark, and he could feel the warmth of Kai's body pressed up against his side, the other mans breathing was quiet and steady, a relaxing white noise. After his time in the detention center, especially those days with Olversten snoring like a chainsaw all night, it felt blissful to wake up in Kai's bed.

He rolled over, admiring the dark shape of the man beside him. Reaching out, he very gently ran his hand over Kai’s torso, a small pulse of arousal washing through him as his fingers were met by the man's warm, naked skin. Like Shouto, he had come to bed in nothing but his boxers. Shouto let his hands slowly trace down Kai's abs.

He sighed as he remembered the night before. He really was pathetic. Kai had probably bought him dinner, and prepared to help him relax, and he had just fallen asleep. His first night moving in with Kai had been tainted by the stress of the trial. But now that he was rested, and swaddled up in the safety of Kai's blankets and the early hours. This was his first night living with the other man, and he wanted to enjoy it.

Kai shifted slightly as Shouto slipped his fingers down under the waistband of his boxers. Shouto went slowly, wanting to gently stroke Kai awake. He slid his fingers down and wrapped them around the other man's cock. His skin was warm and soft under Shouto's fingers, and it sent a thrill of excitement through Shouto to feel it begin to harden after a few slow pumps.

Kai groaned, shifting as Shouto continued to work his fingers over Kai.

"Fuck, Shouto... mmmm," he murmured, his voice groggy. His eyes were still closed, but his mouth had dropped open, and Shouto could feel his muscles tensing as Kai, still half asleep, slowly rocked his hips up into Shouto's hand.

Shouto pushed the blanket back, gently pushing Kai's underwear down. Kai was completely hard now, and Shouto crawled down between Kai's knees, licking a stripe up the bottom of Kai's length as it lay against his stomach. Shouto loved the way it pulsed against his tongue at the attention.

Just as he moved to take the head into his mouth, Kai cupped his cheek, pulling his attention up to the his face. It was too dark to really see much, but he looked anyway. The touch was a command, and Shouto knew better than to disobey Kai's instructions.

"If you start this, little fox, you need to be ready for more," his voice came through the darkness, more alert, but heavy with desire. "I haven't been able to fully enjoy you in too long. The next time I take you, I don’t want to hold back." Shouto paused for a moment. This was his chance to change his mind, to decide that the trial was too much and he just needed a little more time.

But he wanted this. Sex was his escape, and after the ordeal of this afternoon, he desperately wanted what Kai was offering. He was hard, and the idea of having Kai take control of his body was enough that he could already feel pre-cum starting to wet the front of his underwear.

"Please," Shouto begged, curling his fingers back around Kai and stroking him for emphasis.

Kai didn't respond verbally, but his other hand came down to wrap around the base of his cock, pushing it straight up for Shouto, the hand on his cheek trailing down to caress his lower lip before gently hooking into Shouto's mouth to pull it open. Kai added a second finger, slowly pushing them in and out for a moment, moaning softly as he enjoyed the wet heat. Shouto didn't hesitate to respond, trailing his tongue up and down as those fingers explored his mouth. He bobbed his head up and down, taking the fingers as deep as he could, treating them just like he so desperately wanted to treat Kai's cock.

He could see Kai stroking himself as he added a third finger, Shouto's mouth stretched wide.

"Beg for it, little fox," Kai whispered. Fuck! Shouto was so hard. He resisted the urge to start rutting against the mattress, he so badly wanted to relieve the growing ache in his cock. He curled his fingers into the blankets instead.

He wanted to cry out. He wanted to beg Kai... Overhaul to replace his fingers with his cock and let Shouto taste the pre-cum that was surely dripping down his shaft, mimicking the desperate need of Shouto’s desire. But all that came out were muffled moans and whines as Kai continued to abuse his mouth with those perfect, long fingers.

"That doesn't sound like you really want it," Kai murmured. His voice was husky, and Shouto knew the man had to be as desperate as he was.

He groaned louder, releasing his grip on the blankets, and curling his fingers into Kai's side. He couldn't beg around Kai's fingers fucking his mouth. So he scooted over and straddled one of Kai's thighs, rutting against it, a wanton moan escaping as he finally got some of the friction he was so desperate for. He let his quirk start to flow through him, his right hand going cold against one side and his left hand heating up Kai's other side.

"Shit," Kai groaned. His hips rolling underneath Shouto's hands. He pulled his fingers out of Shouto's mouth, snaking his hand around into Shouto's hair and pushing his head down. Shouto moaned as he finally wrapped his mouth around Kai's shaft, his tongue laving against his slit to lick up every drop of pre-cum seeping out of it.

Kai was so fucking hard under his tongue. And Shouto loved the firm tug on his hair as he slowly worked his mouth lower and lower over Kai's cock. The other man was so long, it was always a challenge to take his full cock. But the soft groans and the way Kai’s body moved underneath him... it flooded his mind with the the need to choke himself on his cock. He took his left hand and wrapped his fingers around the base, stroking every inch that he wasn’t yet able to fit in his mouth. He moved his right hand up to Kai’s chest, using his cold fingers to trace lines over Kai's torso as Shouto relaxed his throat and worked the head of Kai's cock down enough that he had to fight the urge to gag on the pressure and the pre-cum leaking out onto the back of his tongue.

Kai's other hand pressed up against his throat, gently rubbing lines up and down his neck.

"Relax your throat," he ordered, the command coming out as more of a moan. "I know you can take it all." His breath hitched as Shouto swallowed around it, trying desperately to breath through his nose and he worked Kai's cock down into his throat. "Fuck. Show me you wanted it."

Shouto pushed himself, forcing Kai's cock deeper into his throat until his nose was buried in the brown hair at the base of Kai's cock. He stayed there as long as he could, tears streaming down his face, sloppily running his tongue over the shaft as much as he could until he finally had to pull back up.

He gasped for breath, glad that it was dark so that Kai couldn't see how red-faced he was, trying to wipe away the spit that had dripped down his chin.

Kai didn’t give him much time to recover, reaching down and pulling Shouto up to lay against his chest. Kai crashed their lips together. Their was a raw, hungry desperation in Kai's kiss tonight, and the taste of it drove Shouto wild. He met each movement greedily, enjoying the feeling of Kai's tongue in his mouth, the way he pulled Shouto's lip between his teeth, biting just enough to straddle the line between pleasure and pain.

He could feel Kai's cock leaking as it pressed against him, and Shouto shifted his hips so that his own cock was pressed against it, grinding down against the older man.

Kai shuddered underneath his right hand as Shouto drug his cold fingers up his side. Suddenly Kai grabbed the hand, pulling it away from his body.

“Do you like to play with quirks?” Kai asked, lifting his other hand up and grabbing the headboard. Shouto could barely see in the darkness, but he could tell the headboard was warping, parts of it stretching out over their head. Kai dropped his right hand, and suddenly the blankets were being pulled away, a soft gray rope forming in the bed around them.

Shouto nodded his head. He knew his eyes were wide as Kai pushed him back to sit on his knees.

Kai shifted around to kneel in front of him.

“Put your hands in front of you, about one inch apart, wrists facing together,” the golden-eyed man commanded. Shouto could feel his heart rate speeding up. He had a feeling he knew where this was going, and he was nervous. He had never done anything like this before. Obediently, he did just as Kai asked, his hands shaking slightly as Kai draped the rope over them, circling it twice over his wrists. Shouto tried to see what was happening, but it was too dark. So he just had to wait as Kai tied some kind knot between his wrists, securing his hands together. The bonds were firm, too tight to easily escape, but not enough to cut off circulation. He tried to pull his wrists apart experimentally as Kai stood up on the bed, but there wasn’t a lot of give. A moment later, the bonds started to pull upward, and Shouto realized that Kai had looped the rope up over the extended bedframe, and he was using it as a pulley system to force Shouto up onto his knees. He continued to pull his wrists up until Shouto was vertically suspended, hands high above his head, knees balanced on the mattress as Kai secured the roped in place.

Then Kai was kneeling back down behind him, trailing his hands up and down Shouto’s sides, kissing the top of Shouto’s shoulder. Shouto was completely vulnerable in this position, and the knowledge sent a thrill through him. His cock continued to drip pre-cum, hard as it pointed up against his stomach, pulsing slightly as Kai’s hands started to roam around his waist and trace over his abs and down toward his thighs.

“Please,” Shouto begged, desperate for more.

Kai’s hands disappeared for a moment, and Shouto could hear the pop of a cap. A moment later, a single, slick finger started to trail down Shouto’s spine, making its way slowly lower until it dipped down in between Shouto’s ass and came to rest against his entrance. The finger moved ever so faintly, small pulses that made Shouto keen with desire as he desperately tried to push backward.

"Tell me what you want, Shouto," Kai murmured as his knee pushed Shouto's legs further apart. His weight was barely on his legs anymore. He wrapped his hands the best he could around the rope suspending him to the bedframe. It put an obvious strain on his wrists, bordering discomfort. But he trusted Kai, and he was more concerned with Kai's finger teasing him.

"I... I want to feel you inside of me," Shouto replied breathily, his attention hyper-focused on every tiny movement of Kai's finger against him. He gasped as the slick finger pushed in to the first knuckle. Shit. He was already so turned on. The slow circles that Kai was tracing around the ring of muscles just inside of him felt amazing.

He could feel the head of Kai's cock rubbing enticingly against the back of his thigh, smearing pre-cum onto Shouto's naked skin. He tried desperately to push back against Kai's hand, but it was almost impossible in his current position. A needy, desperate whine escaped his throat before he could stop it.

This just wasn't enough.

"Hmm... What was that little fox?" Kai whispered into the back of Shouto's neck, his warm breath caressing Shouto's skin.

"More..." Shouto whined. He didn't care how needy he sounded. His cock was aching against his stomach, and he was so turned on that he was certain he could cum untouched if he could just get Kai deep enough inside of him. The nerves in his body were already tingling with anticipation. "Please... I need more..."

"Greedy tonight," Kai replied lowly, but Shouto had felt the way Kai's cock had pulsed at his words. The man pressed a second finger in, scissoring them out to Shouto's moaning before slowly pushing them slightly further inside. "Do you like when I open you up for my cock?"

"Fuck!" Did Shouto like it? He needed it. He needed more than a few fingers. He wanted to feel every inch of Kai's cock buried up inside of him. "More..." He groaned, incapable of saying as much.

Kai's other hand came up to tease his nipple, and Shouto wriggled in his suspension, trying desperately to seek out more of Kai's touch wherever he could.

A third finger slid into Shouto, scissoring him open, but not quite deep enough to brush his prostate. It was agonizing, and Shouto's cock was quickly turning his lower stomach into a sloppy mess as he leaked. Just a bit deeper and he was certain he could cum...

"Please, Overhaul," he cried out.

"Please what?" Kai demanded, stretching his fingers out extra for emphasis. Shouto moaned at the brief pressure. Fuck.

"I’m ready..." Shouto panted, letting his head hang down. "Please... Fuck me!"

Kai pulled his fingers out, and Shouto whined at the loss, listening to the sounds of Kai slicking his cock with lube. He could hear the squelching noises as the older man stroked himself a few times, before slowly pressing the tip of his cock into Shouto's ass. Shouto moaned as Kai pushed into him. It felt so good to finally, finally have Kai stretching him out that he almost started crying.

Then Kai pulled back out just before his cock reached the bundle of nerves that Shouto was absolutely desperate to have touched. He could hear Kai panting behind him as the man started to fuck shallowly in and out of him.

"Is that what you wanted?" Kai whispered in his ear, his hands moving down to hold Shouto's hips into place as he fucked into him.

Shouto shook his head, dropping it down to his chest. He was a fucking mess and he didn't care. He just needed more. He was so, so, so close...

"Ngh... Please! Please!" Shouto moaned, wiggling his hips to try to get just a little more. "More... I need more... Overhaul... Overhaul... Please! Fuck!" The words didn't even make sense as they spilled over his lips.

"Fuck…" Kai growled, his fingers digging harshly into Shouto's hips as he finally thrust fully into Shouto.

Shouto cried out in relief as Kai's cock pumped in and out over his prostrate. His body was thrumming with anticipation and he knew that he wasn't going to last long, and none of that mattered because he just felt so good. His arms pulsed with an odd tingling sensation as they stretched over his head that added to the pleasure. It made his head swim as Kai continued to fuck deeply into him, slow hard thrusts that hit the perfect spot every time, Kai's breath ragged against his back.

Within minutes, Shouto’s vision blacked out completely as his orgasm crashed over him. He screamed with pleasure, not even caring that he was so loud the neighboring apartment could probably hear him. Every muscle in his body convulsed in pleasure as he came all over himself, writhing against his restraints.

"Fuck..." Kai panted as Shouto fell apart in front of him. "So sexy... when you cum on... my cock..." Shouto was moaning with each thrust as his cock dripped with the last few pulses of his orgasm. A moment later, Kai pulled out and reached up to touch the rope keeping Shouto suspended, and Shouto crumpled as it released it's grip, reverting into a blanket hanging on the hook above them.

He fell into Kai's arms. The older man rearranged him onto his back, crawling in between Shouto's legs and securing his hands on the back of Shouto’s thighs to push his knees up to his chest. His arms started to tingle intensely as the blood rushed back to them, pins and needles amidst the pleasure rolling through him. He whimpered needily as Kai pushed back into him. He felt so good, too good. It was overwhelming as Kai's cock continued to thrust in and out, Shouto was oversensitive.

"Kai..." He moaned lowly, knowing that the other man hadn't finished. He wanted the other man to feel good.

Kai leaned over him, his pace fast and hard as he gripped Shouto's chin roughly in his hand. He got close enough that he could see Kai's eyes in the dimly lit room.

"Say it again, little fox," Kai demanded, his voice thick.

It took Shouto a moment to realize that he had said the man's real name, and he... liked it. Wanted to hear it again.

Fuck, that did things to Shouto's body that he hadn't expected, a flood of euphoria passing through him. It turned him on, his cock pathetically trying to get hard again.

"Please, Kai," he moaned, the name sounding a hundred times more powerful on his tongue than any other single word he had ever uttered. "Kai... I want you..."

Kai's thrusts were getting more erratic, Shouto could tell he was close. Kai's mouth captured his once more, lustful and deep as he kissed Shouto. Even though Shouto's arms still felt sluggish, he wrapped them around Kai's back, digging his fingers into the sweat slicked skin as they kissed. Then Kai groaned into Shouto's mouth, as he came, continuing to slowly fuck into him as he orgasmed. Finally, Kai's body went still, he kissed Shouto one last time before slowly pulling out of Shouto and collapsing down next to him.

They were a sweaty, out-of-breath mess, but Shouto felt like he was on cloud nine. He remembered when Dabi had tried to call him Kai during sex, and the times he had... he had been quick to correct them.

"Have you ever..." Shouto panted, still trying to catch his breath, "let anyone... use your name... you know... like that?"

"No," Kai replied curtly.

"Why tonight?" Shouto couldn't stop himself. He just had to know.

"It was nothing," Kai said, instead of answering. “Let’s get cleaned up.” Kai sat up and climbed out of bed. He helped Shouto out of bed too.

Shouto didn't care that he had avoided the question. And he definitely wasn’t worried about it. The fact that it had happened made Shouto feel special. He knew it was probably stupid to get so attached to Kai. He was a dangerous gang leader. He was handsome and passionate and ambitious. And tonight was probably a fluke. He probably meant nothing more to Kai than his other partners.

But Shouto couldn't help it. He felt special. And as he climbed into the slightly too hot water, and had Kai pull him into his arms to let the water run over them, he sighed contentedly. And for just a little while, everything else fell away as he just enjoyed the feeling of Kai's hands on his skin.

* * * * * *

Two days later, Dabi was arrested. Kai was nearly arrested trying to stop it. And Shouto was a mess as he watched it all happen on a live news broadcast.

Just as Kai had expected, word of Dabi's appointment had spread and heroes from at least three separate agencies intercepted Dabi as he left the courthouse. The heroes surprisingly did not include Endeavor, although Shouto did recognize a few of the others from Enji's agency. They did, however, include Hawks.

And it crushed Shouto to see that it was the winged hero who had to actually arrest him. It didn’t surprise Shouto. Hawks had unknowingly put himself as the prime hero to execute the arrest when he re-opened Touya's missing person case. But knowing that their first interaction in over four years was for Hawks to put Dabi in handcuffs... Shit. It hurt to watch both of their grim faces on the news as Hawks led him to the police car.

And it was Shouto's fault, which distressed him to no end. Even expecting it, Kai was still pissed when he got back to the apartment, but he said that Dabi would only have to be in jail for a few days. If Hagiwara couldn't get him out within 48 hours, the Yakuza would break him out before the League could.

It didn't make Shouto feel much better. And it didn't make dinner that night less tense. Dabi had traded his own freedom for Shouto's, and Shouto hated it. Nor had he agreed to it, and he wouldn't have if he had been given a choice. But it was beyond him. All he could do was hope that Kai was right and they would be able to get Dabi out quickly. Before he had to endure too much questioning. Before he got moved to a maximum security prison, if he didn’t immediately go to one. Before Shigaraki got the news and decided to try and break him out first. And after everything with the trial, Shouto didn’t think that Shigaraki would break Dabi out to help him…

It was hard to think about, and hard not to think about.

So he did his best to distract himself instead.

He got a new phone, that had exactly two contacts so far: Momo and Kai. And though he had drafted about a dozen messages, he hadn't actually texted Momo yet.

UA had called Kai's phone to offer him his spot back. Every day until Shouto finally had the nerve to tell Nezu that he had no interest in the heroics course, and was going to finish his training with a private tutor. He also asked Nezu not to reach out again. He had no intention of stepping foot in UA University ever again. The president had been, satisfyingly, less than pleased. Maybe it was a bit childish to hang up on Nezu while he was asking Shouto to please come in for a meeting so they could discuss this in person. But it felt good. Really good.

His quirk training would be conducted by the Yakuza, and would start after he met with Okimoto. That was scheduled to happen on Saturday, and he would be lying to say he wasn't nervous.

And in between all of that, Hagiwara came over regularly to have him sign paperwork for his police misconduct lawsuit and defamation lawsuit. They were trying to push for the police and the paper to settle outside of court, and Shouto sincerely hoped they did because he wasn't sure if he ever wanted to walk inside of that courtroom again.

He started a fake social media account. It was stupid. He should just let things lie. But sometimes when he was bored, it was nice to scroll through. He had only tried to login to his old account once. It had been filled with hate and slander from before the trial, and he had endured about two minutes of their small-mindedness before deleting it completely.

And he really, really shouldn't have added any of his old friends, but he couldn't stop himself from adding Momo, Bakugou, and Izuku. They would never know it was him. He put the name of the fake account as P Olversten, and the picture as a tiny red cartoon fox. And when he woke up early on Friday morning, he found himself sitting on the couch scrolling through Bakugou’s profile. The blonde hadn’t posted anything in the last three weeks. Not that he usually did. Most of the posts on his profile were things that he was tagged in, usually by Mina or Izuku.

But Shouto still found himself scrolling through old photos. He felt so conflicted about Bakugou. Looking at the pictures didn’t really help. Especially whenever he came across a rare picture of Bakugou smiling, or just not looking like he was ready to blow up about something (or blow something up). He had gotten invested in a series of photos that Mina had taken of Class 1A at the beginning of the year. Shit, it felt like years ago and not months. Shouto felt like he barely recognized himself in the photo’s. He had been so awkward in the beginning (not that that had really changed…), so naive.

He hadn’t even realized that Kai had woken up, or that he was standing behind the sofa as he zoomed in on Bakugou’s face. Until the phone was lifted out of his hand. He jumped, spinning himself around so that he was on his knees on the couch, facing Kai. The man was looking at the picture, an indecipherable look on his face.

“I…” Shouto swallowed. Shit. He knew that Kai wasn’t going to be happy about this. “I’m sorry,” he murmured.

Kai stared at the photo for a long time, before finally tossing the phone back on the couch next to Shouto. He walked around and over to the window, staring out at the city. It was early dawn, and the city was just coming to life beneath them. Shouto knew this was something that Kai did when he was contemplating something.

Shouto stood up nervously. He walked over, stepping in to press his chest against Kai’s back and wrap his arms around Kai’s waist. Kai had pulled on a pair of dark jeans, but no shirt, and his warm skin felt wonderful under Shouto’s arms. He kissed the top of Kai’s shoulder. He didn’t want the man to be upset with him.

It was just a picture.

A picture that left Shouto with a dozen different emotions. None of which he knew how to begin processing. But still, just a picture.

“During the trial,” Kai began, his voice soft… cold. Shouto kissed his shoulder again, a silent plea for forgiveness. “Bakugou Katsuki said that he helped you after Shigaraki raped you. Is that true?”

“Yes,” Shouto answered hesitantly. It was not what he had expected him to say. He felt Kai take a deep breath, and he peeked over Kai’s shoulder to look at the city. It was muted, the sun barely peeking over the horizon enough to shed light on the buildings around them. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes.

“And you still have feelings for him?” Kai asked bluntly. Shouto flinched slightly at the words, than cursed inwardly because he was certain that Kai had noticed that. It was such a complicated question, but it had a simple answer.

“Yes,” Shouto answered, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry.”

This time it was Kai’s muscles that tensed, and Shouto felt it across his entire body where they were pressed together.

The minutes ticked by as they stared out the window. Shouto didn’t take his hands away from Kai. He was afraid of what the golden-eyed man would think. Yes, Shouto had feelings for Bakugou. But he had feelings for Kai too. He didn’t want to lose the other man from his life. So he tightened his hold, just slightly, burying his face into the crook of Kai’s neck.

Eventually, he felt Kai’s arms drop to rest on top of his own.

“I have a mission tonight with the Shie Hassaikai,” Kai said, although his voice was still stiff and dangerously neutral. “I will not be home until late. We have a very important dinner reservation with Okimoto tomorrow night. And it is important that you know where you stand before you meet him. You need to work things out with Bakugou.”

“What?” Shouto was confused. Was Kai encouraging him to go see the blonde? That didn’t seem possible. “What are you saying?”

“You should go see your friend.” Kai replied. “Whatever it is between you two. You need to figure it out tonight.” Kai turned around in Shouto’s arms, cupping Shouto’s face to look up into his eyes. His grip was harsh, almost painful. “Don’t get me wrong, Shouto. This is not how I would normally handle this type of a problem. The fact that he helped you after that night, when I wasn’t there for you… that’s the only reason I will allow this to happen at all. You have unresolved feelings for this boy, and you need to figure them out. Before tomorrow. Okimoto will not look kindly upon connections to your past. He prefers to look to the future. As do I.”

“You want me to go see him?” He repeated, still not sure he was getting the right idea. After their conversation in the detention center, Kai had made it very clear that he did not want Shouto to see other people.

“Want?” Kai asked, arching an eyebrow at him. “No. But I will allow it. This one time. And when you return to me, this thing between you and the blonde needs to be resolved. Do you understand?”

Shouto nodded his head, even though he wasn’t sure if he really did. But this might be the only chance he would get to try to work things through with Bakugou. He wasn’t sure if he was ready, but he supposed he would have to be.

Kai kissed him, his warms lips pressed against Shouto’s, his tongue darting out just enough to taste. Shouto let himself sink into the kiss, disappointed when Kai pulled away so quickly.

“But you will return to me, little fox.” Kai said, his golden eyes burning into Shouto’s. It wasn’t a question. It wasn’t an option. He had given himself to Kai.

He belonged to Kai.

* * * * * *

By the time that Shouto arrived at Bakugou's house, it was almost ten o’clock. He had spent the entire day nervously lounging around the apartment, waiting for it to get dark. He didn't want to risk the blonde’s parents seeing him. Even though he was proven innocent of raping Izuku, they might still remember what the lawyer had said about the last time he and Bakugou slept together. And it wasn't like that. At least, Shouto didn't think so.

Bakugou's room had a single dim light on, which was unusual for the other. Bakugou generally went to bed earlier than anyone else Shouto knew. Shouto wished that he had his old contacts so that he could text the blonde. But he would just have to improvise. Shouto created a small chunk of ice in his palm. Trying to aim carefully, he threw it up at the blonde’s window. It clinked lightly as it hit against the glass. Shouto waited for a moment before he threw a second, and then eventually a third.

Finally, Bakugou's spiky hair appeared in the window. His face was covered in shadows, so it was hard to see his expression. He didn't move for a few minutes, so Shouto gave a small, awkward wave.

Anxiety was eating its way through his stomach as he watched Bakugou’s head disappear. A part of him didn't want to see the blonde at all, scared that he would find out that Bakugou had really felt he was guilty up until the end. The other part of him was desperate to see the blonde, to have the other teen tell him that he knew Shouto was innocent all along. Even if Shouto would always wonder if that was the truth.

Maybe it was selfish of him to show up like this, unannounced. He hadn't talked to anyone in the week since he had been released, and he had absolutely no idea what the other was feeling. But, despite everything, he still had feelings for the blonde. And since he had moved in with Kai, he didn't know if he would get this chance again. So no matter how nervous he was that seeing Bakugou might end badly, he couldn't have resisted coming tonight if he wanted to. He needed...

He didn't even know what he needed.

He needed closure. But he was also terrified of it. He didn't know if it would be easier if Bakugou still wanted him, or if the blonde hated him.

The longer he waited, he started to wonder if Bakugou was even going to let him in. Maybe he was just going to let Shouto stand out there until he took the hint that Bakugou didn’t want to see him.

By the time the front door opened, and Bakugou peeked his head out, Shouto’s palms were sweating nervously. Relief flooded through him when he saw Bakugou motioning for him to come inside. He hurried to follow the directions, stepping inside and slipping off his shoes. He tried to move as quietly as possible in the dark entryway. He definitely didn't want to wake up Bakugou's parents now that he was inside.

It was too dark to see much, so he followed Bakugou up the stairs, slipping into the blonde’s room just behind him. The faint light of Bakugou's lamp lit up the room. Bakugou looked tired as Shouto as stepped in behind him, his hair was a mess as if he had been sleeping after all, and was wearing a pair of loose blue boxers and a white tank.

Shouto shut the door quietly behind him. His heart was beating nervously as he procrastinated turning around. Before he did, he felt Bakugou's hand on his arm. The blonde’s fingers were warm on his skin. When Shouto turned back to face him, Bakugou pushed him back against the door, and leaned forward, pressing his lips into Shouto's.

Shouto didn't respond for a moment. His body tensed up at the unexpected intimacy. He had imagined a dozen different scenarios of how this conversation might play out, but none of them started like this.

Bakugou's kiss was... different. It wasn't the needy, explorative kisses they shared in Mina's bedroom. Nor was it the desperate, rough kisses that usually came from the angry blonde. This one was full of both passion and regret. He moved his lips against Shouto's as if he was trying to memorize the curves of his mouth. As Bakugou's tongue tasted his bottom lip, Shouto finally relaxed, parting his lips for the blonde.

Bakugou's tongue was warm as it grazed his, and Shouto let his body go pliant against him as Bakugou reached up and cupped his face. Just as Shouto began to move his lips in response, his hands coming up to rest on the blonde’s hips, Bakugou pulled away. He was breathing heavily, his hand sliding down from Shouto's cheek to find purchase in the fabric of his shirt.

"You are such an asshole, Todoroki," Bakugou growled, although his voice didn't have it's usual bite. It was husky and low. "You disappeared. You were such a fucking mess after the trial. After everything you said, you just… walked out the door and left everyone to fucking worry about you. Not a single call or text or... or fucking anything!"

Shouto leaned his head back on the door. He couldn't even pinpoint the emotion those words roused. A sort of heavy, bitter happiness he supposed. The blonde was worried about him, which means that Bakugou didn't hate him. But that worry only came after Shouto was proven innocent, after Shouto didn't really need it anymore.

"Did you think that I was guilty?" Shouto asked, the question like bile in his throat. The answer that he didn't want, but desperately needed. "Before the trial began. Did you think that I could have raped Izuku?"

"No... and yes," Bakugou admitted, his shoulders slumped with defeat as he let go of Shouto's shirt.

The answer hurt. It hurt so much that Shouto might have preferred it if Bakugou had just punched him instead. It felt like a knife in his stomach, making it hard to breathe. Shouto desperately pushed the emotion away. He would rather feel nothing than deal with the betrayal that felt like it was burning its way through his bloodstream.

"How?" Shouto asked after a moment, when he could trust himself not to scream or cry or lash out and break something.

"I was a mess the day you got arrested," he replied, sitting down on the bed, his red eyes glued to the carpet. "Midorya was in the fucking hospital and you were in fucking jail, and I couldn't handle it. I ended up in Recovery Girl's office having a damn panic attack. She gave me a shot to help, but it just made me feel numb."

Shouto closed his eyes, listening. He had already known the answer. Everyone had thought Shouto was capable of being a monster.

"I didn't think you could do it. Not after..." Bakugou's words faltered.

"Not after I was raped." Shouto finished his thoughts, opening his eyes and looking over at the other teen. Bakugou's face was buried in his hands, and Shouto knew that he must be thinking about the video. Shouto hated it. He hated that anyone would look at him and see him getting raped by Shigaraki. He hated knowing that everyone, even the people that didn't see the video, would look at him and remember that damn night.

Bakugou shifted nervously on the bed, and it caused his boxers to bunch up over his thigh. Shouto’s eyes followed the movement, narrowing as he saw a thin line of red, a perfectly straight scab, marring the pale skin on Bakugou’s thigh. Shouto’s heart lurched.

That wasn’t an accident. Bakugou had cut himself.

Shouto’s mouth went dry as he stared at the cut.

Fuck. Why did everything have to get so fucked up?

"There was just so much evidence. Every day there was something new in the newspaper. And Midorya..." Bakugou's words were rushed, muffled behind his hands. "The doctors weren't sure if he was going to wake up. And I... Fuck. My instincts told me you weren't guilty. But logically..." Bakugou finally looked up, his eyes shining with unshed tears. It only took him a moment to realize that Shouto was staring at the cut on his thigh, and he hurried to push the fabric back over it. "I hate that I didn't trust my instincts. I'm surprised you're even here. I didn't think I would ever see you again. You probably fucking hate me."

Shouto stared. He was angry. He was frustrated. Hurt. Betrayed. And he wanted to hate Bakugou. To be as angry with him as he was with everybody else. It would be so much easier that way. He could just walk away and never look back. He could embrace his feelings for Kai, and the new life that was waiting for him.

But he didn't hate Bakugou.

Shouto slumped. He hated seeing the blonde like this. Once Bakugou found out that Shouto wasn't returning to school, that he had moved in with Kai. That he was going to be training with the Yakuza… He didn't know if he would ever see Bakugou again.

He walked over to the bed, kneeling down in front of Bakugou. He pushed away the feeling in the back of his mind that this was wrong. It wasn't fair to Bakugou. It wasn't fair to Kai. He just wanted closure. He wanted one night to actually be with the blonde. He wanted one night of sex that wasn't the result of sympathy or some kind of rivalry between them.

He didn't want Bakugou to think about sex with him and remember how pathetic he looked getting raped by Shigaraki. Or remember that damn lawyer telling Bakugou that the last time they had sex was technically assault.

All he needed was one word from Bakugou that he wanted Shouto too.

Shouto sunk down to his knees in front of the blonde. He carefully pushed the blue boxers up Bakugou's thighs. Bakugou tensed as a dozen tiny thin scabs were revealed in the dim light. Some were fresh, while a few had started to heal. Shouto gently ran his thumb over the marks on Bakugou's right thigh. Bakugou flinched slightly, his hands clenched into the fabric as if he was fighting the urge to push it back down. They were revolting and satisfying. And Shouto hated himself for that thought, but somehow, seeing those marks made it easier to forgive the blonde. Those marks were physical proof that Bakugou really did feel regret.

"When?" Shouto asked.

"The first time?" Bakugou mused bitterly. "On the night of the trial. And again last night after I found out that no one, not even Momo had spoken to you since. It's fucking pathetic, I know. I used to make fun of people for this kind of emo shit."

Pathetic.

Shouto knew that feeling well. He leaned down, replacing his thumb with his lips and gently kissing the marks. The thin scabs rubbed roughly on Shouto's lips as he continued to kiss his way over them.

"I fucked up.” Bakugou said, watching Shouto intently. “I kicked you out on the night of that party. If I hadn't done that, you wouldn't have gotten fucking raped. And then I didn't tell anyone about what The League did to you. If I had, then none of this crap would have happened. I made the same mistake when you told me about your damn brother. And then I didn't believe you. Fuck. Seeing him. Watching him kiss you. I hated it. I don’t fucking trust him."

Shouto ran his fingers up under Bakugou's shorts, caressing the smooth skin at the very top inside of his thigh.

"Do you really want to talk about Kai right now?" Shouto asked, looking up at Bakugou.

"Tch... No." Bakugou scowled.

"What do you want?" Shouto asked. He just needed to hear Bakugou say he wanted it too.

"You know what I fucking want," he grumbled, not quite willing to meet Shouto's eye. Shouto could tell that he was getting aroused. He was too, his skinny jeans were already uncomfortably tight against his cock.

"I want you to say it," Shouto urged him. "The last time we had sex—"

"You didn't fucking assault me." Bakugou snapped, his eyes wide as he looked up at Shouto. "I don't care what that shitty lawyer said. You annoyed the hell out of me, and you pissed me off. But I wanted you. I wanted to fuck you that day. And I want you now."

Bakugou lifted Shouto up off his knees. Shouto let the aggressive teen guide him. Things felt a little strained between them as Bakugou took off his shirt, and then Shouto’s, and pulled him down onto the bed. Shouto settled into the space between Bakugou and the wall, both of them lying on their side, facing each other. He traced his hand down Bakugou’s chest and stomach, enjoying the ripple in the blonde’s muscles as Shouto touched him. And then he slid his hand a little further down, palming Bakugou over the thin fabric of his boxers, enjoying the feeling of the blonde’s cock, already hard against his hand.

Bakugou groaned softly, and Shouto leaned forward to kiss him. It was soft at first, but Shouto deepened the kiss quickly. He opened his mouth, using his tongue to urge Bakugou to follow suit. It didn’t take long for Bakugou to take over, his natural passion bleeding into the kiss, hot and hungry as he pushed his tongue into Shouto’s mouth and began to grind against Shouto’s hand. Bakugou rolled on top of him, running his hands up and down Shouto’s body as they made out. And Shouto didn’t rush it. They kissed and touched like it was their first time, grinding their clothed cocks together like they were afraid they might get caught… again.

Shouto wasn't sure how long they stayed that way, Bakugou's slightly chapped skin on his mouth and his neck and his chest. They kissed until they were out of breath, desperately touching each other’s naked skin until they caught their breath and could start kissing once more.

"Fuck," Bakugou finally broke away, reaching down to start undoing the button on Shouto's jeans. Shouto lifted his hips so that Bakugou could slide his pants and underwear down, then worked his legs to kick the constraining jeans off of his calves so that he was completely naked for the blonde.

Bakugou's boxers were next, and Shouto loved the feeling of their bodies pressed together from head to toe. The heat between their legs radiated through his body as Bakugou ground their cocks together, and Shouto ran his hands up and down the blondes back. Shit. It felt good. Bakugou's body, his weight on top of Shouto. The way his calloused fingers felt on Shoutos skin. Shouto spread his legs wide apart, wrapping them around Bakugou's thighs.

Bakugou pulled away from him, opening his (ridiculously disorganized if Shouto remembered correctly) night stand and grabbing the lube. He sat back against Shouto's legs, popping the cap open and coating two fingers with the slick liquid.

Breathing heavily, the blonde reached down between Shouto's thighs, and slid one finger up inside of him. Shouto gasped at the contact, moaning as Bakugou pumped his finger in and out a few times before adding a second finger to scissor him open.

"Fuck you are tight," Bakugou groaned lowly as he continued to work Shouto open.

Shouto closed his eyes, trying to focus on the feeling of Bakugou's fingers inside of him. He wanted to remember tonight; remember how good it felt. It was so different from Kai whose touch was demanding and confident. Different even than the other times Bakugou prepped him. Thorough and deep instead of experimental and desperate.

"Bakugou, I'm ready," Shouto whined. He knew he wasn't quite ready, but he wanted to feel himself really stretch over the blonde’s cock.

Bakugou nodded, his pupils dilated with lust, almost black in the dim light. He pulled his fingers out, coating his cock sloppily with lube before lining himself up with Shouto and pushing in. It felt so good that Shouto moaned loudly, quickly clapping his hand over his mouth to muffle the noise.

"Yes... like that," Shouto whimpered around his fingers.

"Shit," Bakugou whispered as Shouto moved his legs up to wrap around the blonde’s waist, trying to get Bakugou as far inside of him as he could. Bakugou grabbed onto Shouto's hips, closing his eyes as he gave Shouto a moment to adjust.

"I'm good," Shouto keened at the touch on his hips, rolling his lower body against Bakugou's, making the blonde moan and dig his fingers into Shouto's skin. Shouto loved it. He repeated the motion, grinding his prostate down onto Bakugou's cock until the blonde started to move.

"Fuck... mmm... you feel good," Bakugou murmured as he fucked Shouto, leaning over to brace his arm next to Shouto's head, the other hand still on Shouto's hip.

"Harder," Shouto moaned, one hand still in his mouth, the other touching as much of Bakugou's skin as he could. He tilted his hips just slightly against Bakugou's, whimpering lewdly as the blonde’s cock hit the perfect spot inside of him, again and again. Shouto pushed his head back into the pillows, relishing the feeling of the desire slowly pooling inside of him. He felt so good as they fucked, Bakugou braced over him, his legs around the blonde’s slim waist.

He could feel his cock dripping onto his stomach. He was getting close, and if Bakugou's groaning was any indication, the blonde was too. Shouto reached down, wrapping his fingers around his shaft and trying to match the speed of Bakugou's thrusting as he stroked himself.

It didn't take long to push Shouto over the edge, and he bit down into his fingers to keep himself from crying out as he came all over his stomach. The pleasure shot through his body like electricity, and he felt Bakugou growl as he tightened around his cock. A few erratic thrusts, and he felt Bakugou spilling inside of him.

Bakugou lay down half on top of Shouto in the small bed. His cock pulled out, and Shouto could already feel the cum starting to drip out of him.

"That felt really good," Shouto panted.

"Yeah," Bakugou replied, but his voice was strained and quiet. He was staring at the symbol on Shouto’s chest.

The symbol of the Shie Hassaikai.

Kai’s symbol.

Shit.

"Are you okay?" Shouto asked, hoping that he hadn't crossed a line.

"Tch. Yeah," Bakugou replied, though he didn't exactly sound alright. "Of course it was fucking good. But what the fuck happens now?"

Chapter Text

Dabi POV

Talk about a fucking morning. The last few days, honestly, had been hell. Shouto’s trial, and then the news that the judges were requesting that he re-visit the court to verify his identity for the evidence. It had absolutely nothing to do with the evidence. They wanted an excuse to lure him out of hiding, and unfortunately Shouto was the one trump card they had to do it. After four years of building up walls to keep himself from becoming emotionally invested in anything other than being damn good at his job, Shouto had managed to come in and tear all of that down. Now here Dabi was, being seated in a cold interrogation room, stripped of all his piercings, clothed in a hideously ugly orange jumpsuit with an actual quirk-stopping bracelet around his arm (an item that no doubt cost a pretty penny… he was so honored). He had cuffs on his ankle that were attached by a cable to the floor, a second cable running from those to his handcuffs, ensuring that he could barely lift his arms without pulling at the cuffs around his legs. It was a common, but effective technique to keep him physically subdued.

Unlike his little brother, this was no detention center. The police had transported him directly to the Musutafu City Prison.

Luckily, he and Kai had almost two days to prepare for the likelihood that this would happen. There had been two possible destinations they had identified for him, and this place was definitely the better of the two. The other option was Tartarus, which was much harder to get him back out of, and had a lot less ‘connections’ for Dabi to utilize. This had also given him two days to study what he could about the ins and outs of both places, and Kai had given Dabi a pretty good idea of who was loyal to the Yakuza inside. Dabi himself knew of a few others who were associated with The League, although their support was a 50/50 chance depending on how much they knew about why Dabi had ended up here in the first place.

He wasn’t going to be stuck in here for long. Kai had promised to get him out quickly. If Shigaraki didn’t get to it first. Dabi did hope that it was the Yakuza that came for him. Eventually he would have to see Shigaraki again, to answer for having betrayed him and outing both himself and Toga to the public, but he was hoping to put a bit of time between now and then. If that’s how things ended up going down, though, he was already mentally preparing to deal with it.

Sighing, he leaned his head back and surveyed the sterile room.

There were two fully geared cops in the room with him. He knew that more people would come soon. Police officers and likely a hero or two would be in for questioning. Possibly Hawks again, although he hoped not. Sure he had seen plenty of pictures of Takami over the last few years, but seeing him in person was different. It had been so long, and things hadn’t even ended well between them. They had tried to stay friends after Hawks had broke things off, but it was hard. Their relationship had been strained at best. Hawks reacted stiffly anytime he flirted with their other friends, even though it was never serious. And Dabi had always resented the fact that Hawks had been so ashamed to come out publicly as gay that even Dabi's love hadn't been enough to keep the other hero from leaving him.

The fact that Hawks had somehow managed to put himself in the middle of his arrest really pissed Dabi off. As if this wasn't enough of a fucking inconvenience as it was. Now he would have to deal with his ex, his hero ex, as the police undoubtedly badgered him for information about The League.

Well, he had plenty to say about The League. But he would be damned if he planned to tell these pigs even one thing they wanted to hear. If they were going to waste his time, he was more than happy to return the favor.

It wasn't long before the door opened. Commissioner Tsuragamae, Hawks (he fucking knew it), Kamui Woods, and two more fully geared police officers made their way in. He smiled at them as the trio sat across from him. The two officers stood next to the door.

"All this fuss for little old me," Dabi greeted them dryly. "I feel so honored."

Tsuragamae ignored him as he set the recorder on the table and turned it on.

"This is Police Commissioner Tsuragamae Kenji, along with the primary investigative hero 'Hawks' *woof*, given name Takami Keigo, and secondary investigative hero 'Kamui Woods', given name Shinji Nishiya. We are conducting the initial interview for the known criminal 'Dabi', now identified as Japanese citizen Todoroki Touya. This is case #623DN9931W *woof*. Todoroki, will you please say your full name to verify your identity for the recording."

"Dabi," he replied.

Hawks flinched. Tsuragamae gave him a mildly irritated look.

"Todoroki Touya, will you please say your birth name to verify your identity for the recording."

"And if I refuse?" Dabi asked innocently.

Tsuragamae shook his head.

"The perpetrator is hostile *woof*" Tsuragamae continued, unaffected.

"If by hostile you mean that the perpetrator was forced to give himself up because you assholes not only failed at protecting my little brother but also dishonored yourselves by breaking the contract that my lawyer set with the courts... than yeah. I suppose you could say that I am hostile. Not to mention that your fucking goons in processing bruised up my dick trying to take my piercings out. The damn heathens should be properly trained. Eager to touch. No fucking consent. And you say I'm the criminal."

Kamui Woods' eyes widened, and he glanced over at the commissioner. Hawks at least had the decency to look ashamed, as he fucking well should if half of what Kai had told him about Shouto's case was true. But he was definitely blushing.

Good to know he still had some effect on his ex. Definitely needed to take advantage of that.

Oh yes. Dabi had every intention of wasting as much of these three mens time as possible.

"Todoroki, please stick to the questions asked." Tsuragamae replied bluntly as he opened his notebook and picked up a piece of paper. "Todoroki Touya, you are being charged with 7 counts of first degree murder, 4 counts of second degree murder, 18 counts of manslaughter, *woof* 16 counts of aggravated assault, 27 counts of grand arson, 17,500,000,000 yen of property damage, 3 counts of illegal drug distribution, 1 count of aiding and abetting in kidnapping, 5 counts of aiding and abetting in a conspiracy against a public institution, and 1 count of extortion. The number of allegations is expected to increase as our investigation continues. *Woof* Do you understand these charges which are being filed against you?"

"That's what you have? And here I thought your boys were good at their jobs..." Dabi smirked.

"Well, perhaps you would care to enlighten us on the rest of the crimes that we should be charging you with? *Woof*"

"I do have the utmost respect for this institution," Dabi lied. "So in the interest of complete solidarity and cooperation, I confess that I also stole a candy bar from the supermarket when I was thirteen. Two actually, but I gave one of them to Shouto, so I don’t think that counts."

"Todoroki, please," Hawks replied, his voice strained. "Try to be serious. Cooperation is in your best interest."

Dabi turned to look at him, arching an eyebrow inquisitively as he leaned forward. This time Hawks didn't avert his eyes.

"Is that the same lie you told Shouto?" Dabi asked. Although he didn't know everything about Shouto's time in the detention center, he had heard enough from Kai that he knew Hawks had been heavily involved with his questioning, and had not believed Shouto when he told the truth.

"We understand that you are probably very angry at how the case against your brother was handled, *woof*" Tsuragamae added. "But this is serious. You are facing multiple life sentences for your crimes."

"Oh my. What a surprise." Dabi quipped.

"We might be able to make things more comfortable for you in exchange for some information. *woof*" Tsuragamae continued, still doing his best to ignore Dabi's interruptions.

"You want to make me more comfortable?" Dabi asked, pitching his voice a bit lower. "Hmm... Now what could you possibly have to offer me?" Dabi allowed his eyes to drift over to Kamui Woods, very obviously checking the hero out. Than over to Hawks. He met Takami’s golden-brown eyes, and smiled. "I suppose you might have one or two things in my size you could tempt me with..."

Hawks met his gaze flatly, and Dabi smiled at him. Kamui Woods was glancing back and forth between them.

"We could arrange for you to have your own room once you are transferred to Tartarus, possibly even one with a bit of access to the media *woof*" Tsuragamae replied flatly. "Reduce some of the charges that you are going to face, or ensure you have some better options when it comes to jobs you will be assigned. We could possibly even arrange for additional weekly visitation time."

"How gracious," Dabi sneered. "And what information would I have to divulge for such privileges." Of course, Dabi had zero intention of telling them a damn thing they would consider important.

"We want to know about The League of Villains *woof*", Tsuragamae said. Of course they did. "Specifically information about Shigaraki himself, but the more you tell, the more comfortable the rest of your life might be."

Dabi smiled at him. They really thought he was going to spend the rest of his life in prison. How quaint.

"Sure," Dabi drawled. "You want to know about Shigaraki? I happen to know him very well. Let me see… Well, he is an Aries. I know, it surprised me too considering he has a dry ass sense of humor, but the more you know him, the more it all makes sense. He's packing about 10 inches below the belt, if you get my drift. And his favorite position is bareback, doggy style. Which I don't mind, cause he does this thing with his hips—"

"Stop!" Kamui Woods spoke up, his eyes narrowed angrily. "You know that isn't the information we are looking for. We need to know what Shigaraki has planned for The League of Villains. Aside from their attack against your brother and Midorya Izuku, they have been suspiciously inactive."

Hawks had gone a bit pale, his wings curled up stiffly against his shoulders. He was unusually quiet. Dabi wondered if the winged hero actually wanted to be here today, or if he hadn't had a choice. Either way, he was hoping to get a rise out of the other man.

"Just because we are villains doesn't mean we don't occasionally take time for ourselves." Dabi replied. Did they really think he was that easy to bribe? "We have just been living the good life. Me reconnecting with family. Shigaraki likes to collect vintage, hand-painted Japanese art. He's surprisingly into traditional Japanese Ukiyo-e. Toga's more of a reality TV kinda person—"

"Todoroki," it was Hawks that interrupted him this time. He had an almost pleading tone to his voice. "Please. Don't you want to make things better for yourself?"

"Well, I don't know Takami," Dabi replied. "Perhaps you can offer me a better privilege than Tsuragamae. If I remember correctly, you used to know exactly how to make me do whatever you wanted."

"This act isn't doing you any favors," Hawks replied stiffly, refusing to take the bait. "Shigaraki raped your little brother. He framed him and nearly put him in jail. Why are you still protecting him?"

"Because I love him. I will never forgive him for what he did to Shouto… but it didn't change how I feel. Even though he and I are never going to end up happily ever after, I am willing to make sacrifices for the people I care about." He stared directly at Hawks as he said it. Hawks flinched as if Dabi had burned him. And he should. Dabi would have done anything for the Hero when they had been together. But a lot had changed since then. After Hawks, and years of being with an emotionally unavailable Shigaraki, Dabi didn’t think about relationships the way most people did. He pushed away all emotional ties (the only real exception seemed to be Shouto). It was probably why he was able to stay with Shigaraki after everything the villain had done to his brother. But regarding Hawks, Dabi had buried the feelings between them so deep that he wasn’t even sure they existed anymore. Right now, all he cared about was reminding Hawks that he was a fucking coward.

"Enough games!" Kamui Woods growled in frustration. "Are you going to tell us anything of use, or are you just going to waste all of our time?"

"I'm playing games?" Dabi laughed. "You do realize that I am already in trouble with the League, don’t you? It's likely Shigaraki already wants me dead. You really think I'm going to continue to stick my hand in that fucking hornet's nest? The only reason I did it once was because you assholes suck at your job. If you want information about The League out of me, you're going to have to be more creative than bribery. I'm happy to give you some tips on torture, if you want to give that a shot."

"This is a waste of time Tsuragamae," Kamui Woods hissed.

Tsuragamae nodded, turning toward Dabi.

"The first time I met you was when you had just received your provisional license. You were so proud, Todoroki *woof*" Tsuragamae said. "You were determined to make your father proud. It may be too late for you to be a hero, but you can still make this city safer. Shigaraki will continue to hurt innocent people. You can stop that right here, right now. You just have to tell us where to find him. *woof*"

"That boy is gone," Dabi sneered. “Touya Todoroki is dead."

Tsuragamae nodded. Kamui Woods was still glaring at him. Hawks had kind of a hollow, sad look on his face.

"And did the prison security already go over the rules and expectations for your time here? *woof*" Tsuragamae asked.

"They sure did," Dabi replied. "You don't have to worry about me, commissioner. I will be sure to behave myself.”

Kamui Woods folded his arms and leveled a glare at Dabi.

Tsuragamae reached over and clicked off the recorder. He gathered up the device and notebooks and headed for the door.

"Commissioner," Hawks spoke up. "May I request a to stay behind to speak with the prisoner for a few minutes."

Why was he not surprised…

Kamui Woods looked at Hawks like he was crazy. Tsuragamae regarded him for a moment before nodding his head.

"Ten minutes, Hawks. And the guards stay. *woof*"

As the door closed behind the other two men, Hawks looked up at him. Dabi stared back. No way he was going to start this fucking conversation. If Hawks had something to say, he needed to man up and say it.

"I'm sorry, Touya," Hawks said. Straight and to the point.

"Dabi," he replied, before the hero could continue. "My name is Dabi… If you wanted to apologize to Touya, you should have done it a long time ago."

"I'm sorry, Dabi." He restarted, his mouth curling around the new name as if he hated the sound of it on his tongue. "I have been wanting to tell you that since you disappeared. It was wrong to leave you. I was a coward and I hurt you. Knowing who you went to after me... Fuck.” The winged hero took a deep breath, biting his lip anxiously. “Are you really with him?"

"Not exclusively…” Dabi replied, pitching his voice low and sultry as he spoke. Looking Hawks directly in the eye. “Not anymore, at least. Most of my physical needs are met by a variety of playmates that I pick up through the wonderful world of dealing drugs. Why? Are you still interested? You miss the feeling of my cock inside you? I’ve only gotten better with age. If you thought I could make you scream before…" Dabi knew he was being a bit of an ass. But he didn’t care. It was four years ago. What was done, was done. He didn’t want to be having this conversation, and he had literally no other choice. He was physically chained to the floor.

"That’s not why I apologized," Hawks said bitterly. "I am not looking for sex. We both know that nothing good would come of that."

Hawks was actually implying that he was gay, in front of four witnesses. Dabi wasn’t stupid. He knew that those four guards all had confidentiality contracts, but still. For a hero who had spent the last four years pretending to be straight to boost his ratings, Dabi was surprised he was willing to acknowledge his true self in front of any witnesses. Not that it changed the past.

Too little. Too late.

"Oh, I could think of at least one good thing that would come of it…” Dabi replied.

Hawks laughed sadly.

“You don’t want to forgive me,” the winged hero stated. “And that’s fine. I’m not going to try to pretend that I understand what the last four years must have been like for you. I don’t even think I want to know considering the list of charges that we are filing against you, but I really do regret how things ended between us.”

“Regret is useless, Takami,” Dabi replied coldly. “What happened, happened. At the end of the day, you’re still going to go home and pretend to like fucking whatever pretty little bitch you are currently dating, and I am going to pass out on a fucking shitty prison mattress like I probably deserve. Forgiveness is a moot point. I feel sorry for you. My life is a fucking shit-show and I’ve still probably had a better four years than you. Congrats for making it into the top five, by the way. Sure seems like all the sacrifices you made were worth it. Now, are we done here?”

“Yeah,” Hawks sighed, disappointment resonating in the word. “I guess we are. For now.” It was pretty obvious that this was not how the hero had imagined this conversation. How sad for him. But if he really felt that bad, he would have come looking for Dabi years ago. He wouldn’t have accepted the internship position at Endeavor’s Agency. He wouldn’t have tried to put his brother behind bars.

“For now?” Dabi scoffed. “You planning on coming to visit me again?”

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Hawks replied as he stood up. “This case is part of my job.”

“Oh,” Dabi smirked, unable to resist the temptation. “If you come see me, I am definitely letting it go to my head…”

Hawks scoffed again as he walked toward the door.

“You haven’t changed as much as you seem to think,” Hawks said as he stepped out. Dabi scowled. Fuck him for assuming he knew a damn thing about who Dabi was now. The two police officers that had entered with the heroes followed Hawks out. The other two came over and starting unhooking the cable that linked Dabi to the floor. The cuffs on his ankles, however, stayed on as he shuffled his way behind the officers down to the maximum security wing of the prison.

One of the guards kept his hand securely on Dabi’s arm as they guided him, stopping at the check-in station. The other went over and retrieved a clipboard from the guard’s station. He made soft clicking noises as he went over and scanned his badge ID to open the doors leading to max.

“Where to?” The guard holding Dabi’s arm asked.

“Second floor,” the other one replied. “He’s in with Takahashi.” Dabi allowed himself to be led, listening closely to the exchange. Takahashi was one of the people Kai had told him about. He was one of the main Yakuza prisoners in the facility. He had been in there for seven years, with no plans to try and get out. From what Kai had told him, the gang had purposely planted him in the prison.

“Isn’t Takahashi already roomed with Kaneko?” the first one asked.

“You didn’t hear? Kaneko over-dosed, drowned in his own vomit. They found him yesterday morning.”

“I was off yesterday,” the guard replied defensively.

Over-dosed, Dabi thought to himself. How convenient for him.

The other one shrugged as they started up the stairs to the second floor. Dabi looked around as they went. Things seemed pretty quiet right now, there was only one other prisoner in sight, mopping the floor nearby. They had pretty much stopped working in order to watch Dabi being led up the stairs.

“Doesn’t make sense,” the guard holding his arm added as they reached the top of the stairs. “Kaneko hasn’t used in over a year. He was set to move back into GenPop at the end of the month. Why now?”

“Who the fuck cares why these assholes do the shit they do,” the other guard hissed, stopping at an open doorway. “He’s dead, and Todoroki here gets his place.” Dabi cringed at the use of his name.

“Dabi,” he all but spat as they came to a stop.

“What was that inmate?” the guard hissed, getting up into his face.

“My name is fucking Dabi,” he replied, not even flinching. “Alright, Officer…” he glanced down at his badge, “Takao?”

The guy sneered.

“Welcome to your room Dabi. I’m sure your cellmate will be happy to give you the rundown on how things work around here,” Takao said, as the other guard crouched down to start unhooking the cuffs at his feet. “Lunchtime is in thirty. Anything else you want you will have to pick up from commissary, if you have any money in your account. Enjoy tonight, because you are scheduled for bathroom cleaning duty first thing in the morning.”

There was a clanking sound as the cuffs around his ankles fell away, and then the guard was standing up and unlocking the ones around his wrists. Dabi’s arms fell back to his sides as those cuffs were removed as well. He flexed his fingers, glad for the strain on his shoulders to finally be released. The two guards stepped away after Dabi went in to his room.

It was pretty much what he had been expecting. A small cement room with a bunkbed, a single toilet, and a very small, high window with a ledge. His cellmate, Takahashi looked exactly like the picture Kai had shown him. He was in his early forties, average height and build. His head covered with very short brown stubble; he had almond-shaped brown eyes, a broad nose, and a very long, thin mouth. He climbed out from his spot on the bottom bunk at Dabi’s appearance.

“You must be Dabi,” he said, his voice surprisingly baritone for a guy his size. He held out his hand. “I’m Takahashi.”

Dabi reached out and shook his hand. The man had a firm grip. He glanced at the doorway, neither of the guards were still in sight.

“We have a mutual friend who told me about you,” Dabi replied. “It’s an honor to meet you.”

“Yeah, well I think you will find we have numerous mutual friends in here,” Takahashi noted, turning to sit back down on his bed. “I will introduce you around, show you the ropes. But I have a feeling it won’t take you long to get settled in. You’ve caused quite a stir already here in max. I do hope that your reputation proceeds you, because not all of it has been good. But if you need anything, just ask. I can put you in touch with the person who can make it happen.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Dabi said, climbing up into the top bunk. He had thirty minutes. He had barely slept last night, and a short nap definitely seemed in order.

* * * * * *

Dabi saw the gang as soon as he entered the cafeteria. And it pissed him off to no end. He had really been hoping for at least a good nights sleep, or maybe a contraband cigarette, before he had to deal with any prison politics. But perhaps it was better to get these things over with today. There was five of them total. An insanely large guy that was at least 8 feet tall and had the face of a troll. Another muscular guy with a shaved head, tattoos up his neck, and a large scar running down the side of his face. He was smiling at Dabi with a mouthful of spiked, metal-plated, shark-like teeth. A tall lanky guy with short, white hair, glasses, and a horrendously crooked nose. A dwarf with dark, wild, curly hair and a perpetual frown. And a shorter hispanic, possibly cuban, man with dark hair and a greasy mustache.

The gang had been hanging out near the entrance to the cafeteria, and the moment he entered, they followed him toward the line. The hispanic guy and the lanky guy cut in front of him. Dabi sneered at them, sighing internally. He was pretty decent in hand-to-hand combat. But five against one, with the one guy bigger than a fucking bear. He didn’t think he could take them all. But he would be damned if he went down without a fight.

“Looks like the rumors are true, boys,” It was the guy with the shaved head and the tattoos. He was standing directly behind Dabi. He must be the leader. “Dabi, from The League of Villains. Tattooed prince to the fucking kingdom… whatcha do to get so famous? Eh?” The leader leaned in to ask the last bit, his breath reeked of cheap cigarettes. “You know, you don’t really look all that intimidating. In fact, you look like a push-over.”

This must be one of the prison’s hotshots. Every prison had them; inmates who had managed to amass some power over the others. They usually considered themselves a literal Alpha-dog, and this was certainly meant to be a display of dominance.

“Looks can be deceiving,” Dabi replied neutrally.

“You must think you’re pretty clever,” the guy hissed. “Some kind-of big shot. You may think that your connections are going to help you, but you’re wrong. I run this prison, and your ties to The League mean nothing here. You are no better than any of the other pathetic scum in this place.”

The asshole’s cronies snickered. Dabi could see some of the people further up in the line sneaking furtive glances back at the exchange.

The line shifted forward.

“If this is supposed to intimidate me, you are going to have to try harder than this.” Dabi replied, keeping that same disinterested attitude. “I’ve taken shits that are scarier than this.”

The guy grabbed onto his arm, pulling Dabi around to face him.

“Let me make myself clear,” The man huffed indignantly, flashing his metal teeth, his fingers digging into Dabi’s arm. “You’re old titles mean nothing. What I say in this prison, goes. And The League cost me dearly,” The guy motioned to the scar on his face as if that was supposed to mean something to Dabi. “I intend to start being repaid what I am owed.”

The line shifted forward.

“Oh, you have definitely made yourself clear,” Dabi smirked. “You got involved with The League, and you couldn’t hold your own. Shigaraki has no patience for losers, or failures, and so he left you behind. Which means that you have no one to blame for that hideous scar on your face but yourself. Which I am sure is an improvement to whatever shit-show of a face yer mother had to put up with for god knows how long. Now I suggest that you take your hand off my arm before you actually start to piss me off.”

They were attracting more and more attention. Inmates throughout the cafeteria were craning their necks to see what was going on. The progress of the line had definitely slowed down as people tried to get within hearing distance. Even one of the guards had tensed up, his hand resting on his nightstick.

The guy growled.

Dabi had to admit, that bear-trap of a grill certainly gave this fucker an edge over many of the “suppressed” inmates, and he was honestly mildly surprised the clown wasn’t muzzled.

The line shifted forward. They were just within reach of the cafeteria trays.

“You’re too cocky for your own good,” The guy hissed, his hold on Dabi’s arm tightening. “We know all about your little falling out with Shigaraki. You don’t have your boyfriend to protect you anymore. Which means that no one is going to step up and do a damn thing. I have waited long enough to collect this debt from The League. Either you can choose how to pay that debt, or I will have my friends hold you down so that I can take it out of your pussy. You’re probably loose as fuck, but I could use a pretty bitch like you a couple times a week to help me forget about my wife waiting for me on the outside.”

The guys hand let go of his arm, snaking down to grab Dabi’s ass.

Dabi head-butted the guy directly in the nose, ignoring the pain that lashed through his own skull and reaching out to grab a tray and bring it up to slam into the asshole’s throat. Shouts started to ring out in the cafeteria as the two men behind him latched onto his arms to hold him from behind, the tray clattering to the floor as they pushed it out of his hand. The guy’s nose was bleeding, and he had a disappointingly small cut on his neck as he glared at Dabi.

“I don’t need Shigaraki’s fucking protection,” Dabi spat.

“You… bitch,” the guy choked. He landed the first punch directly to Dabi’s mouth, and the next two into Dabi’s stomach. The fucker had a mean hook, and Dabi felt the force of it all the way to the back of his skull.

Than the guards were there, pulling everyone apart. The asshole threw his hands in the air in surrender, and was already beginning to kneel as they raced in. Dabi got pushed to his knees as well. The man was grinning through a bit of blood directly at Dabi.

“What the fuck is going on here?” One of the officers snapped, glaring around at the other inmates who had started to back up and shuffle back to whatever they were doing. “We have warned you about fighting, Sakai. Do you want to go back to solitary?”

“Just a friendly disagreement,” the guy, Sakai apparently, said calmly, his arms wrenched behind his back by one of the officers. “Isn’t that right, Dabi.”

“Yeah,” Dabi lied through his teeth, his blood boiling. He could taste blood, and he was fairly certain that Sakai had split his lip open. “Just a friendly disagreement.” If this guy thought he could threaten Dabi, he had another thing coming.

“It ends now,” the officer fumed. “I catch you fighting again, and you both go to solitary. Ameharo, take Sakai to the infirmary to check his fucking nose.” The officer holdiing Sakai’s arms behind his back nodded, standing up and pulling Sakai up beside him.

Sakai followed the man’s lead, leering at Dabi as he was finally allowed to stand back up.

“Don’t worry,” Sakai sneered, as he was being led away. “We can do things my way. That feisty spirit isn’t going to last forever.”

Dabi wiped the blood away from his mouth, watching flatly as Sakai’s gang dispersed throughout the cafeteria.

Dabi grabbed a new tray. The other inmates gave him a wide berth as he got his food. And by the time he was headed over toward Takahashi’s table, an idea had already started to formulate itself in his mind. No one said a word as he took a seat, his stomach twinging slightly at the motion. No one knew what to expect from him yet, they were trying to read his reaction before addressing the transgression. Takahashi just looked at him, one eyebrow raised questioningly.

“I need you to get me in touch with someone from linens,” Dabi said through nearly gritted teeth, meeting his gaze.

“Consider it done,” Takahashi replied.

* * * * * *

It was a few hours later when Dabi finally found himself waiting around the corner from the showers. The prison ‘favor’ system wasn’t too hard to figure out with Takahashi’s help. There was a surprising amount of Yakuza support throughout the prison. He had had to pull some pretty large strings to get things arranged so quickly. He was still riding on reputation and his connections to get things accomplished at this point, he hadn’t done anything of real merit yet. But that was going to change tonight.

He waited as a line of inmates passed by, grumbling a little about the showers closing early. Dabi leaned against the wall, further back so that the men passing by wouldn’t notice him. The very last person was the white-haired twink that followed Sakai around. Dabi gave it a moment before walking over and turning down the hall that led to the showers.

Their was a single guard, Ameharo, if he recalled correctly, standing just outside of the entrance to the showers. Dabi walked in as Ameharo pretended to look the other direction, the empty pillowcase in his hand. He could hear the shower running as he stopped by the sink. Just like he had been promised, there were two bars of lye soap. Dabi opened up the pillow case, dropping the soap into it, and wrapping the open end around his hand. He swung it around a few times to test the weight, adjusting his hold on it to make sure it felt secure.

Satisfied, he walked around to the side of the bathroom with the showers. The only person left was Sakai, washing his hair, the steam rising up from around his naked body speaking to how hot the water must be. He was facing away from Dabi.

“Hey Buto,” Sakai called out without looking behind himself. “Can you grab my towel? I’m almost ready!” Buto must be the white-haired twink.

The showers stretched out in a long row, a thin curtain separating one from the next. They each had a small shower-head high above and a knob in the tiled wall to adjust the temperature of the water.

“Buto isn’t here to protect you,” Dabi sneered as he stepped up behind the man.

“What in the fuck—” Sakai spun around, but Dabi was ready. The moment Sakai spun, Dabi swung the soap up and hit him directly in the side of the head. The guy grunted at the unexpected pain, stumbling slightly and grabbing onto the wall for balance. Dabi quickly reversed and back-handed the soap around to hit the other side of the man’s head. Dabi was spinning the encased soap much like a pair on Nunchaku. He smiled at the blood that started to drip from the guys mouth. Just as Sakai was able to look up at Dabi, he brought the pillowcase directly down on the bridge of Sakai’s nose, and a small stream of blood spattered the floor at their feet.

Dabi moved quickly, the attack would only stun the larger man for a short period of time. He folding leg kicked the brute in the stomach, sending him tumbling backward into the next stall, careening through the curtain, which tore free from its rings as the man grabbed it, trying to break his fall. Dabi dropped the soap as he stepped in behind Sakai, yanking the larger man up to his knees. Dabi grabbed the curtain the man was already partially entangled in, pulling it up to wrap around the man’s arms as he wrestled with the brute. Within moments, Dabi had him mostly pinned in the curtain. He forced Sakai to face the back of the stall, stepping in directly behind him and grabbing the back of Sakai’s head roughly.

“Fuck!” Sakai growled again, making a desperate jab at Dabi’s ribs. But the man was too wrapped up to make any real effort. Dabi could feel the adrenaline flowing through his veins. He slammed Sakai’s face directly into the knob of the shower. There was a sickening crack, blood spraying out onto the wall as the man screamed.

“I don’t need my quirk to be powerful,” Dabi hissed as he slammed the man into the knob for a second time. He relished in the crunch of the man’s skull caving against the unforgiving metal, blood coating the knob and starting to drip down the tile as he pulled him back up.

“I don’t need a set of fucking steel teeth.” Sakai was struggling desperately, his screams fading into a bloody gurgle as his face met the metal a third time.

“I don’t need a bunch of crony bitches.” Dabi continued, bringing him down for a fourth and a fifth time. Sakai’s body had gone limp, his face completely caved in. There was blood and brain matter smeared along the wall now, the shower beside them still running freely.

“And I have never needed Shigaraki to protect me,” he hissed, putting all of his strength into slamming Sakai into that knob for a sixth time. He left Sakai there, his face hooked gruesomely over the blood-coated knob. Sakai’s arm twitched as Dabi let him go, the rest of the larger man’s body slumped exaggeratedly as his face remained stuck to the wall. Dabi stepped back, admiring the macabre display on the wall of the shower. The way that Sakai’s face was destroyed beyond recognition, blood oozing from the crumpled skull onto the shower floor, all wrapped in opaque plastic.

He glanced irritably at the right leg of his pants. It was damp from having kicked Sakai out of the water. He stepped over the soap-filled pillowcase, and made his way to the sink. He washed the splatters of blood off his hands, smiling at himself in the mirror.

His body sang in a way that only killing could provide. A high that left him feeling both deeply satisfied and craving more blood, more death. It was better than sex. Better than drugs. Better than money. It was raw, unfiltered, carnal power.

He walked out as that high flowed through his blood. Ameharo, once more, glanced away as Dabi passed him.

No. Dabi didn’t need anybody’s protection.

Chapter Text

Shouto looked up at Bakugou. The blonde was frowning down at the mark on his chest. Shouto scooted over toward the wall, self-consciously trying to get the symbol out of the other’s line of sight. He put his hand on the blonde’s arm, hoping that they could curl up together and talk everything through. They had jumped the gun. They should have talked about everything first. It just…

It had just felt so good to be with Bakugou again. And Bakugou had wanted him too… It had made sense for them to have sex, didn’t it?

Shit. This was his problem. This was exactly why he was struggling so much to choose between the two in the first place.

“I don’t know,” Shouto answered honestly, settling his head against the pillow. Bakugou slumped heavily beside him, burying his face into the pillow, not even looking at Shouto. Shit. This had definitely made things worse instead of better.

“You’re still with him, aren’t you?” Bakugou asked quietly, his voice muffled.

“Yeah,” Shouto replied hesitantly. “I… um. I moved in with him.”

“What?” Bakugou’s head shot up, and he glared at Shouto. “You fucking moved in with him?”

“Where did you think I was staying?” Shouto asked, a bit defensively. It’s not exactly like he had a lot of options.

“Dabi’s!” he replied. “And that was bad enough!” The blonde was flustered. “Kai is fucking dangerous. He’s possessive.” Bakugou grabbed his arm, lifting it up to point out the faintly yellowing bruises encircling his wrist from when Kai had suspended him over the bed. “How can you not fucking see it? This shit isn’t healthy.”

“That’s not what you think,” Shouto pulled his arm away, aware of twin bruising on his other wrist. “These marks aren’t from him hurting me. We were…” he wasn’t sure if he wanted to admit the marks were from sex. It was possible that would go over worse than if Kai had been purposely hurting him. He wasn’t sure. “Just trust me. He isn’t abusing me.”

“Yet,” Bakugou retorted, his voice angry enough that it almost made Shouto flinch.

Shouto knew that Kai was possessive. And maybe there was a time that Kai would have hurt him, but he didn’t think that the other man would now. He was firm yes, and he expected obedience. But he wouldn’t purposely hurt him.

“Fucking stupid…” Bakugou growled, pushing himself up to sit, grabbing his T-shirt to start cleaning himself off. “Even if you don’t wanna fucking be with me, you need to get away from that asshole. You really want to end up as a fucking Yakuza pawn?”

Shouto scoffed as he looked over at the blonde. What would Bakugou think if he knew that Shouto had already committed himself to the Yakuza? That he had already gone out on missions with Kai? That he was set to meet up with the head of the Yakuza in less than twenty-four hours? Shouto was not going to be a pawn just because he had chosen a different path than everyone expected him too.

“I care about him, Bakugou,” Shouto replied, not really sure what else to say.

“Than why the fuck even come here?” Bakugou growling, pushing himself off the bed and tossing the T-shirt back at Shouto.

“Because I needed to see you,” Shouto defended himself, as quietly as possible. “I care about you too, and I.. I needed to find out what you really thought about me. You didn’t come visit me at the detention center. And the things you said at the trial. I was hurt that someone I cared about, someone that I had grown close to could possibly… that you could believe I was capable of that.” He watched as Bakugou pulled on his boxers. “I just felt like there was so much left unsaid between us.”

Bakugou snorted derisively.

"So this was what… a fucking goodbye?" Bakugou asked. Shouto started to wipe himself off, feeling a bit more self-conscious than he usually did after sex.

"Yeah," Shouto replied. It hurt to say it, but it was the truth. Bakugou flinched.

"You coming back to UA?" The blonde asked, his voice strained. "Am I going to have to see you every fucking day?"

"No," Shouto mumbled, feeling kind of pathetic as he reached between his legs to clean up the blonde’s cum. Bakugou was so angry with him he didn’t even want to see him anymore. Shouto didn’t know how to feel about that. He was the one that shouldn’t want to see Bakugou again, after everything. And here he was, trying to work things out so that they could part as… friends? Acquaintances? He wasn’t really sure.

"Tch," Bakugou sneered sadly. "This is what you want? To be in a fucking gang? To become a criminal?"

"Not everyone in the Yakuza is a criminal. They help people too. They help people in a way the traditional hero system can't." Shouto defended his decision. He had already seen it. Bakugou hadn't, he just didn't understand.

"Fuck!" Bakugou growled. "If you could hear yourself! You sound just like Shigaraki did when they had me tied up to that chair."

Shouto froze, his stomach clenching up and his mouth dropping open. He looked up at Bakugou, who was faced away from him staring at the floor. How could Bakugou… He didn’t sound… He could feel the anger starting to bubble up in his chest. How could Bakugou say that?

"Don't ever compare me to Shigaraki," Shouto growled. He pushed himself up out of bed so quickly that he knocked into Bakugou, nearly pushing the blonde off the bed. He needed to get dressed, suddenly very uncomfortable with being the only person naked. Shouto could feel hot tears prickling at his eyes as he grabbed his boxers and quickly stepped into them.

It was hard to breathe. The tension between them had gotten unbearably thick.

"Shit," Bakugou replied. “I’m…” He trailed off. He couldn’t even bring himself to apologize.

How did Shouto ever think that this could end well between them? God, he had been so stupid to come here tonight. But if Bakugou could truly see any similarity between Shouto and Shigaraki, after everything that had happened… well, it was clear that Shouto had been so wrong.

"You don't understand, Bakugou," Shouto defended himself angrily as he wriggled his pants on, cursing how difficult it was to pull on the damn skinny jeans when he was angry. "I thought you did. When we talked at Mina's party... heroes are corrupt. Just as corrupt as everyone else. They are glorified police officers. They are almost as corrupt as the Yakuza."

“Yeah heroes are fucking corrupt,” Bakugou replied as he watched Shouto pull on his shirt. “And it fucking sucks. But after seeing the shit that’s happened to you, it makes me want to be a hero even more. Who else is going to stand up to the damn corruption? We could be the fucking heroes that change the cycle! You think you can make that kinda difference in the Yakuza?”

"You've only barely seen it, Bakugou," Shouto retorted, frustrated. Why did everyone think they knew better than him what he needed? What he should do with his life. "You don't really understand how far gone hero society is. You follow the rules to get in. You follow the rules once you are in to make it big. You accept a little help here and there. And by the time you are in a position that can make a difference, you'll be too deep to see the problem anymore. In the Yakuza, I won't have rules like that. I can make a difference from the beginning."

"You really think that's true?" Bakugou replied. "Or is that what he's telling you?"

"Both!" Shouto snapped. "But so far Kai has only helped me. He healed me. He helped me stand up to Enji. He paid for my lawyer. He didn't second guess if I was innocent or not.” Bakugou flinched at the implication, his scowl deepening. “If it wasn't for Kai and the Yakuza, I would still be locked up. I owe everything I have to him."

"He fucking branded you," Bakugou growled, a bit too loudly. He took a breath, his voice quieter again as he spoke. "Of course he fucking helped you. He knew it would put you under his thumb. Do you think he still would have helped you if he thought you were going to be a hero. If he thought you might choose me?"

"Does it matter!?" Shouto snapped. He pushed the words away. Even if that was true, it didn't change anything. Not really. "I would rather be a free member of the Yakuza, than be locked up and discarded my entire life because people thought I raped Izuku. And the only people I have to thank for that are Kai and Dabi. That's where my loyalties are!” Shouto took a deep breath, desperate to steady his emotions. “I would have been loyal to you too." he added bitterly.

"Than maybe it's better this way," Bakugou growled. Shouto's heart sunk at the words. He knew the blonde still cared for him too. Shouto had come here to make things better. And for a moment, everything had been so good. Bakugou felt so good against him, so right. "If this is really the path you are choosing, than this IS the end. I won’t get involved with that shit. Even tonight was stupid as fuck. If I had known you were living with him... Shit! Fuck!" Bakugou was pulling at his hair, his face lined with frustration.

"Tonight's fine," Shouto said. “He gave me permission to come see you."

"You fucking kidding me?!" Bakugou snapped, once again having to lower his voice. At this rate, they were definitely going to wake up his parents. "He gave you permission? Do you even fucking hear yourself?! I bet he didn't give you permission to fuck me, did he? You say he isn't abusive, but how many times do you think he is going to let you fuck around on him before that changes? He’s as controlling as Endeavor, you just don't see it because you like fucking him!"

Shouto glared. Of all of the ways he imagined tonight going, this was one of the worst possible outcomes. Bakugou wasn't even trying to see it from Shouto's perspective. Tonight wasn’t about Kai! It was about them, and Bakugou was lashing out because he was angry.

"You're just jealous that I didn't choose you," Shouto growled, regretting the words the moment they left his mouth. Bakugou visibly recoiled from him, his mouth dropping open. Shouto could see the hurt in his eyes.

Fuck. Fuck! Why in the hell did he say that?

"Well, you certainly achieved your goal for tonight. Fucking half-and-half bastard," the other teen growled. "You wanted to say goodbye. Well, good-fucking-bye! This shit between us is fucking over! Just don't expect me to wait around for you to realize that this is a mistake."

Shit. Worst possible outcome. He could feel the tears stinging at his eyes. He felt just as awful as he did seeing Bakugou after the trial. Angry. Confused. Hurt. He forced himself to push his emotions away. What if Bakugou was right? What if things were better this way? No matter how much he hated it. No matter how much it hurt. At least he could look Kai in the face and tell him that it was really over.

No more lies.

"For what it's worth, Bakugou," Shouto replied. His voice was cold. "I liked you as much as I liked Kai. I would have risked his anger to continue seeing both of you. We could have found a way to work it out. What we shared in your bed tonight... that could have been us."

"Get out." Bakugou growled, not even looking at him as he pointed at the door.

Shouto stood and stared at the blonde for a moment, his thoughts torn between walking out and never looking back, and staying to try to fix whatever the hell had just happened between them. He scrubbed at the hot tears that threatened to spill over. His stomach twisted as he looked at Bakugou’s flushed cheeks, his hair mussed up from sex, his arms folded defensively over his chest. His stomach twisted painfully, and his mouth felt dry at the thought of talking.

What was left to say.

After a few awkward minutes, Bakugou glared up at him, his red eyes shining with unshed tears.

“I said, get out,” Bakugou hissed, the words heavy with emotion as they filled the room between them.

Fuck. Even as angry as he was with the blonde, that wasn't how things were supposed to end.

Shouto pushed his emotions to the back of his mind, smiling bitterly as he turned to go. He opened the door quietly, slipping out into the hall and closing it behind him, leaning his forehead against the cool wood as the darkness of the hallway draped over him. He stood there for longer than he should have, trying to calm the flurry of emotions that were wreaking havoc on his body, allowing a few useless tears to fall down his cheeks.

Finally, he pushed himself away from the door, making his way quietly down the hall and down the stairs. He picked up his shoes from beside the door, knowing this would probably be the last time he was in this house. He wasn’t sure if it was easier to laugh or cry at his own pathetic state as he struggled to get one shoe on and then the other. He opened the door, wiping the last of his tears off his cheek as he stepped into the cool night air.

He made it to the sidewalk before he turned to look back up at Bakugou's window. He saw the blonde’s head for a split second before it disappeared from sight. Bakugou had been watching him.

His thoughts flitted back to the marks on Bakugou's thighs. Shit. He just needed to walk away. No emotion. Bakugou had doubted him. Bakugou didn’t want anything to do with him. It was better this way!

“Get out.” The words were so typical of the blonde. It was just like Bakugou to mask his pain with anger. And Shouto knew it. But hearing him say that had stung. The words didn’t feel like a defense mechanism tonight. They had seemed so personal.

Shouto found himself in front of Izuku's door and knocking before he had really thought through what he was doing.

It was after midnight. And he was probably still a touchy subject in the Midorya household. But he couldn't just walk away.

After a few minutes, a light turned on inside and Inko opened the door. Her eyes widened in alarm for a moment when she saw him there. Then she seemed to remember the trial, and that he hadn't hurt Izuku, and her tired features softened.

"It's after midnight, Todoroki," she said, a gentle, chiding tone to her voice. She wrapped her green robe a little tighter around herself. "What are you doing here? Are you in trouble?" She seemed to give him a once-over as if trying to determine whether he was hurt. He knew he didn’t look great, his eyes were probably red from crying, and his hair a mess from sex.

"No," he replied awkwardly. "I'm ok. I just, um... Bakugou might be in trouble, and I was wondering if I could just talk to Izuku. Just for a minute. It's important."

She was weighing the options in her mind. Finally, she sighed, stepping aside and motioning for him to come inside.

"Alright," she said. "If it's important. You wait here, and I will go and get him."

Shouto nodded, stepping to the side so she could close the door. He looked around at the entryway, breathing in the lingering smell of their dinner. As always, it was warm, and the main room was covered with even more framed pictures than he remembered. This house had always felt so welcoming before, and now he felt like an intruder. Shouto shuffled his feet. He shouldn't have come.

It was a few minutes before Izuku came in. He had clearly been fast asleep, clad in All Might pajamas and wild bed head. He was rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He no longer had the large bandage around his head, which made Shouto feel the littlest bit better.

"Shouto?" He said, as if he almost didn't believe it. "What are you doing here?"

Inko had come to stand in the entry. Far enough back to give them a semblance of privacy, but Shouto knew she was probably listening to every word.

He didn't blame her for being cautious, but it still hurt. He took a deep breathe, pushing the feeling aside. Once Izuku knew what happened, then Shouto would leave. And then she wouldn't have to stress about seeing Shouto on her doorstep again.

"It's over between me and Bakugou," he blurted out. Izuku was probably going to think he was crazy. "I just left his house. We were arguing... and you should probably check on him..."

"What?" Izuku blinked at him sleepily, his mind trying to catch up. "Why are you telling me...?"

Shouto shoved his hands into his pocket.

"We got in a fight, and we broke up. For good this time." Shouto tried to explain. It wasn't exactly his place to tell Izuku that Bakugou was cutting himself. "I'm not sure if he's ok, and you should check on him... Soon." Izuku nodded, his brows furrowing down in worry.

"Are you ok, Shouto?" Izuku asked, he reached out like he was going to touch him, but pulled his hand away before he did.

Of course. And everyone thought he could just go back. Momo was disappointed. Bakugou hated him. And Izuku couldn't even touch him.

He had made the right choice.

"Yeah," he mumbled, quickly turning toward the door to leave. "I'm fine." He opened the door and stepped out, and had almost closed it behind him when Izuku caught the door and opened it back up. He was chewing anxiously on his lip.

"I heard Aizawa and All Might talking yesterday," he began, his voice quiet. "Is it true? Are you... are you not coming back?"

"No," he repeated, turning on the porch to face the greenette. He did not want to have this conversation again. "I'm not coming back."

"What about your dream of becoming a hero? You wanted it as much as anyone."

"It wasn't really my dream" Shouto shrugged. "It was what I thought my dream was supposed to be. I, um, I have new goals now."

“But it was,” Izuku said, his voice heavy with confusion as he looked at Shouto. “It was your dream. You are one of the strongest people that I know! Your father might have been pushing you to be a hero, but I know it was your dream too! You don’t have to give that up. You can still choose to be a hero, and a damn good hero! It doesn’t matter what happened, its not too late for you to choose what kind of life you are going to have.”

A sense of deja-vu rolled over Shouto. Why was it always Izuku? Why did he care so much that Shouto succeed?

“You told me once that you were stronger than me,” Izuku continued after a moment. “That you were going to beat me. Step up and prove it!”

For a moment, Shouto felt that spark of intense passion that had passed between them at the Sport’s Festival. The same energy that had led them to become friends in the first place. Besides Momo, Izuku was the first person to see him as someone other than Endeavor’s puppet. And a part of Shouto wanted to rise to the challenge, but he pushed the feeling down as quickly as it emerged.

He had a new path now.

“I can’t,” he replied firmly. “I’ve already decided.”

Tears sprung up in the corner’s of Izuku’s eyes as they stared at one another for a moment.

"Will we ever see you again?" Izuku asked.

Heroes and villains don't mix. That's what Dabi had told him when they first reunited. What he didn't really believe back then. Shouto didn't really consider the Yakuza villains, not like the League was. But he doubted his friends would agree if they knew. Bakugou certainly didn't.

"I don't really know," he replied honestly.

Izuku ran out of the door, throwing his arms around Shouto. He buried his face into Shouto's shoulder and cried. Shouto wrapped his arms around Izuku, returning the hug. They stayed like that for a lot longer than he expected before Izuku pulled back, sniffling and wiping at his nose.

“I hope I see you again!” he choked out, tears still streaming down his cheeks. The sight nearly broke Shouto’s heart. “No matter what, I’m still your friend.”

"Take care of yourself, Izuku,” Shouto said quickly, pulling back into himself as he turned and walked away. “Take care of that stubborn asshole, too,” he added, over his shoulder. It was meant to be light-hearted. But he knew Izuku would take it seriously. He stuffed his hands in his pocket as he walked away. That hadn’t gone the way that Shouto had expected, and the greenette’s words had hit him deeper than he could have imagined. Despite everything that had happened, the other still chose to see the good in Shouto… still acted like Shouto was a hero to him.

Fuck.

He needed to get out of their fast. To clear his head, because suddenly his choice to stay with Kai felt like a betrayal to Izuku. He was too far gone for those thoughts. He couldn’t give anyone, even Izuku, the power to make those decisions anymore. Shouto had already decided. He wasn’t going to be a hero. Everyone was going to have to accept that.

* * * * * *

Kai still wasn't home when Shouto got back to the apartment around 1:30. He was conflicted. On the one hand, he was emotionally exhausted, and he didn't really want to be asked about how things went with Bakugou. He didn't even want to think about how things went with the blonde. It had been a complete disaster, and there was no other way to describe it. On the other hand, the apartment always felt so lonely when the other man wasn't there. He hadn’t lived there long enough for it to really feel like home yet. He felt like shit, and as he stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed, he wished Kai was there to wrap Shouto up in his arms and just hold him while they slept.

He also hoped that everything was alright. Kai had said he was going to be late, but Shouto didn't expect him to be this late.

He sent Kai a quick text saying he was going to bed, and then he forced himself into a fitful sleep. He wasn't sure what time it was when he finally felt the mattress dip as Kai laid down next to him, but he smiled sleepily when the man pulled Shouto back to rest against his chest. When he pressed a warm kiss into the top of Shouto’s shoulder.

When he woke up again, it was just after eight. Kai was still sleeping soundly next to him, his limbs draped lazily over him. Shouto had to crawl out from underneath Kai. Though it pained him to step out of the warmth of their bed, he had plans for this morning. They had started to form last night as he struggled to sleep before Kai got back; an idea that he couldn't get out of his head. His conversations last night had put everything into stark perspective for him. Everyone still thought he was the same person he was three months ago. And he wasn't. That person was practically a stranger to him now. Timid, apathetic, weak…

He wanted to do something that would show the people around him just how much these past few months had changed him.

"Kai," he gently shook the older man.

"Hmmm," Kai murmured sleepily, burrowing further into the pillow. He reached out blindly, pulling Shouto back up against him and nuzzling his face into Shouto's neck. "It’s early. You should come back to bed, little fox." He encouraged in a gravelly voice.

Shit. Kai was so warm. And the feeling of the other man’s naked skin against his was really tempting. But Shouto really wanted to do this today, before his meeting with Okimoto. Shouto wiggled and pushed at Kai’s arms. Even sleepy, Kai was strong.

"I am going to go out for a little bit," Shouto said as he managed to break free of Kai's grip. "I should be back in an hour or two."

Kai finally lifted his head, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Where are you going?" He asked, slowly waking up.

"I want to go get my hair cut," Shouto pulled his phone off the nightstand, opening it up to show Kai. "Like this. I want to have it done for when I meet Okimoto tonight."

Kai blinked at the phone a few times before looking up at Shouto.

"Are you sure?" Kai asked.

“You don’t like it?” Shouto asked nervously.

"I didn’t say that,” Kai replied. “I think it would look good on you… but it's a pretty big change."

"Exactly," Shouto agreed, glad that Kai approved. He had been a little worried that he wouldn't like it.

"Alright," Kai replied, laying his head back down. “Don’t be gone to long, we need to meet up with Hagiwara this afternoon.”

Shouto nodded, getting up and choosing an outfit. He changed, self-consciously, as Kai watched him. Shouto couldn’t even look at him, because every time he did, Kai would allow his eyes to rake over Shouto’s body very suggestively, and Shouto didn’t think it was possible to blush any harder than he already was. Especially once Kai shifted the blanket, exposing most of his very naked and very enticing chest. It made his pants uncomfortably tight, and he had to keep reminding himself that he didn’t have time for sex at the moment. He quickly pulled on a beanie (no point styling your hair if you are cutting it), and hurried out of the apartment.

Shouto wasn’t exactly known for his fashion sense. In fact, he had never even chosen his own haircut. Whenever Enji took him, he just got the same haircut he always did. For eighteen years. With the same barber he always went to. And that was where he ended up today. The barber was a younger guy, popular with a lot of the heroes, and he had a knack for fine detailing. The guy had originally tried to talk Shouto into something different, but had eventually given in. Probably in the hope that he could glean some prime gossip from Shouto. After all, there had been numerous (ridiculously numerous) articles in every newspaper and magazine around since the trial. Both positive and scandalous. Everyone knew he had been proven innocent, but they also knew he had been raped by the leader of The League of Villains. And Shouto hadn’t even begun to attempt to keep track of the articles about Dabi.

The Todoroki brothers were definitely a topic of hot gossip.

Which meant that the almost two hours to cut and dye Shouto’s hair was filled instead with awkward small talk. Thank the gods that it was considered rude to ask somebody about their court trial, their rape, their criminal siblings, and definitely all of the above.

Finally he was done. Shouto smiled as he finally got to see it in the mirror. It wasn't Todoroki Shouto. The quirk baby who was half his father and half his mother, raised to do exactly as he was told, down to the cut of his hair. He wasn't the hero who was known at UA and whose face had made it into dozens and dozens of newspapers, magazines, and TV broadcasts. He wasn't the guy who sat under trial for raping his friend.

He was a new man. This was a fresh start, and it looked fucking good.

He had buzzed most of the sides and back off, and left the top in a longer fringe that tousled down over his forehead. And his favorite part was the color. He had gotten rid of every strand of his father's red hair, and dyed the left half of his hair black.

It was perfect.

It also matched well with the aesthetic of new clothes that Kai had picked up for him. A wardrobe of dark colors that were more form-fitting than anything he used to wear. But he had to admit that they looked good. And he absolutely loved the way that Kai could barely stop touching him when they were together. So he left a generous tip (a very generous tip for confidentiality), and headed back to the bus stop, but not before snapping a quick selfie for Momo.

It was only a few minutes later when his phone started ringing. It was Momo. He grinned. She was supposed to be in class.

"Playing hookie?" He answered, teasing her gently.

"No," she defended herself. It was good to hear her voice. "But I may have had an emergency that required me to leave the classroom for a few minutes."

"And what was that?"

"Shouto,” She replied in a very serious voice that said he already knew exactly what the problem was. And he may have a pretty good idea… “You can’t just send people those kind of photos without warning! You have never changed your hairstyle, and damn, I did not think you could get any hotter, but seeing that pic. I needed to take a moment..." She said, her voice growing sultry at the end. Fuck. It was her bedroom voice, and his pants were way too tight for that. The last thing he needed was to sport a boner while on a public bus.

"I take it that you approve?" Shouto replied, feeling even better about the decision.

"Approve?" She laughed, "I'm beginning to wonder if I made a mistake letting you cancel our engagement. Can you imagine how beautiful our babies would be?" She sighed wistfully.

"Well we don't need to be married for that," he teased. "It sounds to me like you just miss having me in bed."

"I miss all of you, Shou," Momo replied sadly. "I never imagined that I wouldn't be able to see you everyday."

"I miss you, too," Shouto replied honestly. He climbed onto the bus, ducking into the back, and finding a seat to hide the left side of his face against the window. He did not want to deal with being recognized right now. He hadn’t spoken to Momo in over a week, and he didn’t want a single thing to interrupt the conversation. Especially knowing that it had to be short anyway, she couldn’t hide in the bathroom forever. Not without pissing off Aizawa.

"I heard that you saw both Bakugou and Midorya last night," she said after a moment. His heart sunk slightly at the reminder of the night before. He had worked so hard to push the argument between he and the blonde to the back of his thoughts. "So you really aren't coming back to UA?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Shouto replied quietly. "I thought you would be disappointed."

"Only because I care about you. I'm worried about you jumping all in with Kai. I'm not trying to nag you, but you have other options. There are other universities if you want. I'm certain I could convince my dad to let me come with you. We could go to Shiketsu or Ketsubutsu."

"I'm not trying to be a hero anymore," Shouto said, his voice lowered enough that it was barely a whisper.

"Bakugou told me that you're going to start working with Kai?" She added quietly. Shit. Since when did her and Bakugou get so close? He was mildly irritated by the blonde telling her so much. It didn’t matter how upset Bakugou was, that news wasn’t his to share. Shouto had wanted to tell Momo when he was ready. Now he was being forced to tell her.

"Yes," he answered. "It's not as bad as you think. They aren't as bad you think."

"I'm still worried," Momo said, her voice getting pinched. Shouto could tell she was trying not to cry. "This is such a dangerous path. What if you get hurt again? Seeing everything that happened to you during the trial was horrible, and it could be even worse… What if you get killed?"

"Being a hero is a dangerous path too, Momo," he reminded her. "You have as much chance of getting hurt as I will. Maybe even more." It was the truth. Heroes, even the corrupt heroes, had codes they had to follow. The goal was always to bring a villain or criminal in alive if possible. But the villains and criminals? They didn’t have codes like that. And there were many of them that wouldn’t flinch at the idea of permanently maiming or killing a hero.

She sighed.

"You told Izuku you probably wouldn't be seeing us anymore," she said, her voice tinted with an edge of accusation.

"It's not really safe, Momo," he said, watching the buildings as they passed by. He thought about his phone, the pictures of her that Shigaraki had access too. About how quickly his life changed, how fast the decisions had spiraled. He couldn’t put her in those types of situations. "I've already put you at risk. It's probably better if we don't see much of each other."

"No. That's bullshit Shouto," she replied angrily. "I'm not going anywhere. If you are set on doing this, you are going to need me more than ever. If you try to cut me out, I will track you down and kick your ass. Don't think I can't do it!"

Shouto was taken aback by the tone of her voice. It was full of demand and sheer determination. It was full of desperation.

"Momo," he began, but she cut him off.

"No," she practically shouted. "Just stop arguing! Cut out anyone else you want, but not me. Please..." By the end, she was begging. Fuck. This must be how Dabi felt when he warned Shouto about the risks of them reconnecting.

"Ok," he agreed, because he honestly didn't have the strength to say no. He didn't want to cut Momo out. Just the thought of not seeing her again was painful… It was probably selfish to keep her in his life. He hoped that he wouldn’t come to regret it.

"Good," she replied, not sounding entirely convinced. "So let's plan on lunch next week. I want to hear all about your new apartment and… job, ok,"

"Alright," he agreed, because he really wasn't sure what else to do. "Next week. I will text you later with my schedule."

"I'm holding you to that, Shouto," she said sternly.

"Alright," he agreed, again, standing up to climb off the bus. He hesitated before his next question, debating about whether or not he should even ask. “How was he?” Shouto finally caved, his stomach clenching at the thought of Bakugou. “When you saw him this morning… was he alright?”

There was a heavy pause on the phone before she finally sighed.

“No,” she answered him honestly. “He’s not alright. He’s angry and he’s hurt and he is already bottling it up inside. Midorya has been with him most of the day. But you broke his heart. You can’t expect him to be alright the next day.”

Shouto felt the lump rising to his throat as he headed in to the gated apartment, flashing his ID to the doorman to get inside. He heard everything she said, and he knew she was right, but he hated it nonetheless. He still cared about Bakugou, even if everything between them had ended in a shit show. Even though he hadn’t fully believed he was innocent. Even though the blonde had made it clear that he no longer wanted anything to do with Shouto.

Suddenly there was a banging noise in the background.

“Momo are you ok? Aizawa made me come in to check on you.” Shouto could hear Mina’s voice in the background.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Momo answered quickly, “Just girl problems… I will be right back to class!”

“Do you need anything?” Mina asked, concerned.

“I’m fine, Mina,” Momo replied.

“Alright,” Mina said, and Shouto could hear water running in the background.

"I gotta go,” Momo whispered into the phone. “Bye, Shou,"

"Bye, Momo." He replied as the phone clicked off.

As he got into the elevator, he glanced at his reflection in the shimmering surface. He could officially go up and tell Kai that he was done with his past life. He was no longer the same person who left Bakugou’s house last night. He was ready to commit himself to the Yakuza.

* * * * * *

Shouto shuffled his feet nervously under the table, self-consciously adjusting the red tie he had on over a black dress shirt. He and Kai had purposely arrived early, settling into a private room and ordering a very costly bottle of wine. Okimoto was going to arrive any minute, and Shouto was starting to feel very anxious.

"Don't be nervous, Shouto." Kai said, his arm resting around Shouto's shoulders.

"I am about to meet the head of the largest gang in Japan," Shouto responded quietly. "Who wouldn't be nervous? What happens if he doesn’t like me?" Shouto legitimately didn’t want to know. If Okimoto didn’t like him, than everything he had gone through over the past few months would be for nothing. Shouto knew too much. He would probably just have Shouto killed. Shouto would ultimately be filed as a missing person, only he would never resurface like Dabi had. Kai would eventually a find a new person to share his bed. And in a half a year, no one would even remember Shouto…

Fuck.

He had to make a good impression today. No matter what.

“The Yakuza isn’t a gang, little fox,” Kai replied, his voice bordering between serious and chastising. “It is a brotherhood. A way of life. This organization has ties all the way back to feudal Japan. We have as much right to operate with sovereignty as the Japanese government. And it is certainly nothing like your University. Tonight isn’t about whether or not Okimoto likes you. It’s about whether or not he can trust you. It’s about loyalty.”

Shouto nodded, taking a sip of his water. If loyalty was what Okimoto wanted, he could provide that. Loyalty was something that Enji had impressed upon him at a very young age. Hell, he had been loyal to that bastard for years after Enji started abusing him. And Shouto knew he could be helpful to the Yakuza. He was strong. Especially living with Kai. He could learn how to do the jobs the Yakuza wanted of him, and he would learn how to do them in a way that helped the city. Just like Kai had done with that disgusting club owner. He could make the difference he still wanted to make, and he could be loyal.

"Ok," Shouto replied. "I can do that."

Kai gripped his chin gently with his free hand, pulling Shouto’s face around to kiss him firmly on the mouth. Shouto turned toward him, closing his eyes and letting himself get lost in the entrancing heat of Kai’s mouth moving against his. Enjoying the way the other man teasingly nipped his lower lip in between his teeth as his hand moved up to wrap around the back of his neck. When Kai pulled back, he met Shouto’s eyes. The man’s golden eyes were dark as they searched his.

“You’re going to be fine.” He said, matter-of-fact. The tone was both of comfort and a command. For Kai, Shouto not meeting Okimoto’s expectations simply wasn’t an option. The other man’s confidence in him helped. But it didn't stop his stomach from churning as he waited. Although he wasn't about to admit that out loud.

Shouto sat up straighter as the door opened. A tall man with gray hair and sharp features walked in. He was much older, but that didn’t seem to affect him at all. Dressed in a black haori and hakama, he carried himself with an air of confidence that came with years of power. And not just the physical power of having a strong quirk, a power that came with the ability to change people’s lives with a single word or a snap of their fingers. This was not a man to be taken lightly.

Kai stood up, bowing deeply. Shouto hurried to follow his lead, bowing even deeper.

"Chisaki," the man greeted. Then he turned to Shouto. "And you must be Todoroki Shouto. I am Okimoto."

"Yes sir," Shouto replied, standing up straight and looking him in the eye. Despite his nerves, he was determined to come across as nothing but confident. He was going to make a good impression. There was no other option. “I am honored to meet you.”

Okimoto motioned for them to take a seat, sliding into the bench across from them.

"Ohanu, does the chef have our meal prepared?" Okimoto asked, looking up at the waiter expectantly.

"Of course, sir," The waiter replied.

"He may bring it out," Okimoto said. "After that, we ask for complete privacy. We will summon you if needed."

"Of course, sir," Ohanu repeated, bowing deeply as he stepped out.

Okimoto turned, looking directly at Shouto.

"You have caused quite a stir these past few months, Todoroki," the man began. "Both in hero society and in the cities underground. Why don't we begin with you telling me how you got here."

Shouto held off on starting his story as the chef brought out their food, not sure how much he wanted a complete stranger to hear. They were served katsu ika odori-don, a dancing squid bowl with rice and a plethora of tobiko. Even at the many specialty dinners Shouto had been to over the years, he had never been served this dish before, and he was mildly disturbed by the way the squids tentacles flailed around as the chef poured soy sauce over each of their bowls. Okimoto seemed pleased, though, as the chef walked out and he picked up the still writhing squid, biting off one of the tentacles.

When the door closed, Shouto finally felt comfortable to speak. He didn’t bother lying. He had a feeling that Okimoto would be able to see through any attempts to disguise the truth. So he started with the training camp when he recognized Dabi, and summarized everything that had happened over the last few months. He even talked about how conflicted he was about the Yakuza when Kai first marked him (hopefully his honesty would earn some of the leaders respect), and everything that led him to realize that he didn't want to be a hero anymore.

"The Yakuza has already shown me that they help the community, more than I would have ever realized as a hero. They are the only reason that I'm not still locked up today. I owe the Yakuza my freedom. If I had continued on my path to become a hero, I would have always lived in my father's shadow. By joining the Yakuza, I hope to make a name for myself."

"And all of your friends? What will you tell them?" Okimoto asked curiously.

"Most of my friends thought I was a rapist," Shouto replied flatly. "I have no wish to see them again. As for the others, I understand that I'm not going to be able to spend time with them. It's too risky to spend time with heroes." He tried not to think about Momo.

"Perhaps. Although one or two friends in that society can be beneficial at times, especially if they are trustworthy. That is, however, a lesson for another day. Your willingness to make sacrifices for my organization is very commendable.

Shouto nodded, a tiny sense of relief spreading through him. Things seemed to be going alright. He finally took a few small bites of the tobiko and rice. Okimoto had already finished most of his meal, and even Kai was almost done. But between trying to tell his story and his nerves, it was hard to eat. But he knew that it would be considered rude not to eat anything, especially considering that this was a delicacy, chosen and prepared by the head chef just for this meeting, in a very high-scale restaurant. He took a sip of wine, hoping it would help to calm him down a little more.

"Tell me about your quirk," Okimoto asked, reaching over for the bottle of wine to refill everyone’s glass.

"I am dual-quirked," Shouto replied. Okimoto probably already knew about his quirk, but it was still a good question for Shouto. He had a strong quirk, and Okimoto would likely look at it favorably. "I inherited my mother’s quirk of ice control.” He said as he created frost across the lip of his wine glass with the index finger of his right hand. “I also inherited my father’s quirk of fire projection.” He continued, with a bitterness to his tone, and created a small flame in the palm of his left hand. “I can focus on one or the other, but my quirk works best when I use both together so that it helps regulate my body temperature and allows me to use my quirks for longer periods of time."

"Most of your media coverage shows you using ice. Is your left side weak? Have you not finished your training with it?"

Shouto gritted his teeth. It was a fair question. Shouto still hated his fire. And he hated knowing that he was probably going to have to use it in the Yakuza.

"I have been resistant to using my fire since it's the side I inherited from my father," he replied honestly. Admitting that he had let a grudge get in the way of his training was technically a weakness. But it was the truth. "I don't know if you've ever met Endeavor, but he is hardly a role model."

"I can't say that I've ever had the pleasure to really sit down and get to know him," Okimoto replied.

"If you ever do, you will learn that it's not a pleasure," Shouto retorted before he could stop himself. Then he looked up with a blush, realizing that he had just talked back to one of the most powerful men in Japan. Shit.

Okimoto chuckled quietly, giving him an indiscernible look.

"You will need training with your fire then," Okimoto said, matter-of-factly. "Dabi can help with that, I assume. I hope you don't mind that I plan to utilize the two of you together. Chisaki says you are close?"

"Yes," Shouto nodded. The idea of actually getting to train with Dabi again, whenever they finally got him out of that damn prison, was actually really exciting. Potentially the best news he had heard all day. They used to train together all the time, and it was always much, much better than training with Enji. "We were really close when I was younger, and we were living together before I was arrested.”

"That's good," Okimoto replied. "Although you will both be in the Shie Hassaikai, I do hope to utilize the two of you in a few additional missions over the next few months."

"Of course," Shouto said, keeping his face impassive even though he wasn’t entirely sure he liked the sound of that. He had assumed that his missions would always come from Kai. It had probably been a little naive not to realize that Okimoto could technically, as the true leader, put Shouto anywhere he wanted within the organization. Even with Kai’s mark on his collarbone. Although if the way that Kai had tensed up beside him was any indication, Kai would be furious if Okimoto tried to actually take Shouto out of the Shie Hassaikai.

"I'm sure you are quite excited for tonight," Okimoto said casually, taking the last bite of his rice.

"For tonight?" Shouto couldn't remember Kai mentioning anything else going on tonight. After the way Kai had responded to his haircut earlier, Shouto had been hoping to solicit some very specific attention from the golden-eyed man. But he definitely did not think that was what Okimoto had been talking about.

"You haven't told him?" Okimoto raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of wine. "Are you not planning on him joining the mission tonight?"

Shouto looked at Kai curiously. Didn't the Shie Hassaikai just do a mission last night?

"He will be there," Kai replied, looking over at Shouto. "Tonight we are going to get Dabi."

"Tonight?!" Shouto's mouth dropped open. Yes. Yes! Every day with Dabi stuck in that prison had left Shouto feeling worse and worse. Even Hagiwara had been unable to secure his release, and Shouto was starting to feel anxious that Shigaraki was going to get his hands on Dabi before they could get him out of there.

“I assume everything is in order for the mission,” Okimoto asked.

“Of course,” Kai replied confidently. “We finalized the plans last night.”

“Good.” Okimoto nodded, finishing off his glass of wine. “I suppose we should wrap this up so you have time to prepare, then.” He patted off his lips with his napkin before folding it and setting it down on the table. He seemed to be getting ready to leave, which felt like a huge relief to Shouto. “Todoroki,” He said after a moment, looking directly at Shouto. "If Chisaki died during the mission tonight, would you still be loyal to me?"

Shouto’s heart clenched at even the thought of that, but he replied without hesitation.

“Yes,” he said. He had made this choice, and he was determined to see it through no matter what.

Okimoto nodded.

“If I told you to kill Chisaki tomorrow, would you still be loyal to me?” he asked, his face completely serious as he waited for Shouto’s answer.

Shouto’s conviction faltered. What in the fuck kind of question was that? How was he supposed to answer? Because the answer was no. He could not kill Kai, not even if it was required to prove his dedication to the Yakuza. But if he said no, would he fail Okimoto’s test? And if he failed the test, would that mean that Okimoto would have him killed instead? Shit. Their couldn’t possibly be a right answer to that question.

Fuck.

“No,” he finally replied, opting for honesty instead. “I couldn’t kill Chisaki for you.”

The man continued to stare at him for a moment as Shouto waited nervously.

Finally, Okimoto nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. And Shouto let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

Okimoto stood up, Shouto and Kai both following his lead.

“I expect to know once you have Dabi out tonight,” Okimoto said to Kai. “And I expect to see Shouto at the headquarters sometime on Monday to put together a schedule for his quirk training.”

Kai bowed lowly once more in place of an answer.

“Good luck tonight, boys,” Okimoto said, heading toward the door. “Don’t disappoint me.”

* * * * * *

Shouto stared at himself in the mirror. The outfit, unsurprisingly, fit him like a glove. Just like all of the clothes that Kai gave him, as if they were perfectly measured to his body. And he normally loved wearing them, especially when they were alone together and Kai would run his hands suggestively over the fabric as if he could memorize Shouto’s body beneath them. But unlike most of the outfits the older man chose him, this one made Shouto feel as anxious as it did sexy. This wasn’t just any outfit. This was Shouto’s costume. The costume that Kai had chosen for him to wear for their missions with the Yakuza. Fitted black pants that were held up by a large studded belt, a white dress shirt with a black vest and tie, a stylized, long, black overcoat with red trim and red gloves. And a mask. A mask that covered the left half of his face, with skeletal teeth, a hooked, almost bird-like nose, and red flames around the eye. It was meant to perfectly conceal his scar, and combined with his new hairstyle, he looked like he belonged in the Yakuza.

Kai eventually came in to the room, interrupting Shouto’s thoughts. He had a vial of red liquid in his hand. He stopped as Shouto turned around, his eyes raking over his outfit. Shouto self-consciously adjusted his mask.

"You look good as one of my bullets, little fox," Kai noted, his gaze lingering appreciatively on the snug fit of Shouto’s outfit. Kai was dressed in black pants and a black shirt with a white tie, and his green jacket with the purple fringe. He came over, one hand cupping Shouto's cheek and running his thumb along the edge of Shouto's mask; the other, balancing the vial between two fingers, teasing his cock through the front of his pants. "It's too bad we’re pressed for time."

Kai leaned down, tilting his head in order to kiss him deeply, sliding his tongue into Shouto's mouth. Shouto relaxed into the feeling of his lips, closing his eyes and enjoying the hungry explorations of Kai's kiss. For a moment, he could pretend that it was a normal night and they were about to climb into the bed and get lost in the feeling of one another, the soft sheets tangling around their legs.

But, too soon, Kai pulled away, and Shouto was back in the reality of the moment. They were about to set out to free Dabi. And Shouto was so torn between wanting to see his brother free, and dreading what would be required to make it happen. Kai seemed to sense his unease, the older man’s warm hand caressing Shouto's cheek as he handed him the vial.

"I need you to drink this for me," Kai instructed.

Shouto furrowed his brows at the vial. He reached up, taking it from Kai's hand. It was unlabeled, and the contents inside looked eerily like blood. He glanced up at Kai apprehensively.

"What is it?" Shouto asked.

"It’s a new drug," Kai answered. "We recently came into possession of a schematic for a drug based off of Toga's quirk to mimic a person's appearance, only it has been altered to mimic the appearance of a quirk. Although it is meant for physical mutation style quirks, our scientists believe that it will successfully allow your fire to mimic Dabi's iconic blue fire. Like Toga's quirk, however, it does require one to ingest the blood of the person whose quirk they wish to mimic. So that vial contains both the drug, and enough of Dabi's blood to ensure the effects will last the duration of the mission."

Shouto looked at it. It was actually blood, Dabi's blood. He shuddered as he remembered Toga's affinity for drinking blood. The way she had licked it off his body. The taste of it on her lips when she had kissed him afterward. The idea of purposefully ingesting blood made him queasy.

"And this will help us?" Shouto asked, reluctantly.

"It is the kick-off of our entire mission," Kai replied, taking his hand off Shouto’s cheek to take the vial back. "Dabi is going to 'disappear' inside of the jail for a few hours. Once the guards believe he has escaped, they will raise an alarm. That's where this comes in. You will set fire to a large portion of the prison grounds. Since the fire is blue, the guards will come out, believing that Dabi is outside. As they do, mimic will enter the prison through the walls, and release the prisoners in their general population. Some of the guards in max will be forced to respond to the new threat, which will allow for Chrono and I to slip inside and find Dabi. Once I have his bracelet off, he will light up the inside of the prison with blue fire. This will force any responding heroes to divide their attention between three threats, and we use the chaos to slip away."

"We are burning down the prison?" Shouto asked incredulously.

"Only a few small sections," Kai replied. "Many of the heroes will be forced to respond to the fire in order to minimize casualties. If they do their jobs well, they should be able to keep structural damage to a minimum as well. They will have to rebuild parts if the prison, of course. But this plan has the highest chance for successfully retrieving Dabi with minimal risk to the rest of the Shie Hassaikai."

“And what about all of the prisoners that escape?” Shouto could only imagine the chaos that was going to cause for the city over the next few weeks. There were hundreds of prisoners, some really dangerous, that they would have to track down. And they likely wouldn’t find all of them.

“It’s unlikely very many will escape. We have a few dedicated members in the prison who have been given direct orders to add to the chaos instead of attempting to escape. As they do, other prisoners will likely join in before the guards and heroes manage to round them up. A few will escape, I’m sure. But most of the people in gen-pop are there for minor offenses around drugs and petty thievery. Nothing too damaging to the city. And having prisoners to hunt down will take some of the heat off of our escape.”

Shouto’s thoughts were going a hundred miles a minute. There were prisoners who were going to purposely not escape in the perfect situation to do so, in order to help the Yakuza free Dabi.

“And you trust them not to try and escape? Just because you told them too?” Weren’t criminals supposed to be out for themselves?

“Of course,” Kai replied patiently. “As I told you earlier, the Yakuza is a brotherhood. The men we have inside are loyal enough to know their place, and to understand that their purpose is to serve as we instruct them. If they do that, then their time will eventually come that we help them get free as well. It might not make sense now, but, just like you did, those men chose to be a part of the Yakuza. Like you, most of them have lost everything, and have found a new life in their servitude. They would die for the Yakuza if we asked it of them.”

Shouto nodded. It still seemed so strange. A brotherhood. Just like the hero agencies, or even UA.

Fuck. If this was the plan with the least risk, Shouto didn't want to know what other ideas they had considered. He nodded, swallowing the lump that was trying to form in his throat. If Dabi went to Tartarus, who knew when he might get out, if ever. They had to get him out tonight, which meant that Shouto had to trust Kai. No matter what it took, Shouto would do his part to get Dabi out.

Kai unscrewed the cap off the vial, handing it back. Shouto took it, putting it up to his lips and drinking it before he could change his mind. The taste of copper and artificial strawberry flooded his senses, and he gagged as he forced himself to swallow the concoction. He shuddered as he pulled the vial away from his lips. It was obvious that someone had tried to mask the taste of the blood, but Shouto swore it only made the bitter tang stronger on his tastebuds. And it was thick. The blood felt like it clung to his tongue and the insides of his mouth, and he kept swallowing to try to get rid of the lingering liquid.

“Here is an ear-piece,” Kai continued after a moment, pulling a small device from his pocket. “It hooks around your ear like this,” the other man instructed as he helped set it in place. “We use them for communication during missions. If you press here,” Kai lifted his hand up, guiding Shouto’s index finger to a very small button on the side,” than you activate the microphone, which allows you to speak to us. In turn, you will be able to hear important messages from the other members. It’s very important that you follow any new instructions that come over this.”

“Alright,” Shouto replied. He was used to similar tech from his training at UA. Aizawa always told them that the most important part of a team mission was the ability to communicate. Especially if the mission wasn’t going as expected. You had to be able to communicate problems to your team mates, and very quickly adapt to changing circumstances. Failure to do so could mean life or death.

So it made sense that it would be the same for the Yakuza. Especially considering that they never know how many or which heroes might show up, which definitely requires the ability for them to adapt quickly as a team. It was familiar, and almost surprising how much that one small piece of equipment made Shouto feel more secure than the entire rest of his costume.

“You’re going to attract a lot of attention from both guards and heroes,” Kai continued, briefing Shouto on the last of the details for the mission. “So I have partnered you up with three of the strongest bullets. Rappa is blood-thirsty and dangerous, and his quirk, strongarm, allows him to attack with immense power and speed. Katsukame is a brick house, and his quirk, vitality stealing, allows him to absorb his opponents strength to render them useless and make himself stronger. Both are instructed to take a dose of a drug called trigger that enhances their quirks, and will allow them to be the primary defense between you and the guards. Tengai is the last defense. His quirk, barrier, is basically a telekinetic shield that he can use to protect. He will be moving between the three of you to defend when necessary. I want you to use evasive maneuvers and avoid confrontation as much as possible. If you are forced to engage in combat, do not use your ice. As you are the only person in the city able to command both ice and fire, the presence of both will be a dead giveaway to your identity. And although there will probably be suspicion that you are involved, there is no need to make it too obvious.”

Shouto nodded. He really wished that he was partnered with Kai instead. Or even Chronostasis. He had never met these other three. But at least they sounded like strong, capable teammates. It was risky to go on a mission without fully understanding your teammates capabilities, but it happened even in hero work. It also felt very ironic, as they had only barely started training on quirk combinations for improved team performance. And none of those quirks sounded anything like Bakugou’s, Izuku’s, or Kaminari’s. But he would just have to improvise. Hopefully they were familiar enough with each other to make up for that weakness.

Shouto just needed to stay focused on his role, and the bigger picture. They had to free Dabi before tomorrow. The only reason that Dabi was even in that place was because of Shouto. And if Shouto messed up his task in this, it could mean life behind bars for his brother. And that could not happen. Shouto would burn down the entire forest behind the prison if that was the distraction that Kai needed to get Dabi out. And if he came face to face with a guard, or a hero… well Shouto would deal with that when the time came.

He took a breath, pushing his emotions toward the back of his mind.

He looked back in the mirror, making eye contact with the man staring back at him. One cold, gray eye. One determined blue, framed by the mask of his new identity. He could do this.

"We will be leaving in ten minutes," Kai said, taking the empty vial. "Come out when you are ready Fenikkusu."

Shouto looked back in the mirror, licking the last glint of Dabi's blood from his lips.

Fenikkusu. Phoenix. A creature born in flame from the ashes of a previous life. The ninth bullet of the Shie Hassaikai.

Shouto adjusted the lapels of his coat, running the red gloves down over his torso. Less than twenty-four hours ago, he had been in Bakugou’s bed. What would the blonde say if he could see Shouto now? What would Izuku have said if Fenikkusu had been the one to show up on his doorstep? What would Momo have said if this was the selfie he had sent her? What would his father say? His professors? The rest of his classmates?

‘I don’t let emotions get in the way. Emotions are messy. It’s how I deal with a lot of shit in my life.’

Dabi’s words floated back to him as Shouto took each of those thoughts and slowly filed them into the back of his mind. What anyone else thought about his decision didn’t matter anymore. He was done worrying what others thought about his decisions, he was living for himself now. He needed to stay focused in the moment. This wasn’t like the sports festival, or their trainings. If things got out of hand, there would be no one to step in and take control. Shouto needed to keep in mind every bit of training he had, because he had a feeling that he was going to need it.

Taking a final breath, he left the safety of their bedroom. Kai was already waiting by the door. The older man removed Shouto’s mask, stashing it in a black bag. He handed Shouto a helmet instead. Shouto looked at him curiously, taking the helmet from the other man and tucking it under his arm. Apparently, for the first time since Shouto had met Kai, they were not going to be traveling with Xiao Fe.

“Are you ready?” Kai asked, picking up his own helmet and reaching for the door. Shouto knew the question was a lot deeper than it sounded. And honestly, Shouto had no idea. Was he ready?

Would it really make a difference either way. They were here, and there was no going back.

“I’m ready,” he replied. “Let’s go get Dabi.”

* * * * * *

The motorcycle ride alone was exhilarating. Shouto had never been on a bike before, and he loved the feeling of the wind whipping through his hair as he had his arms wrapped tightly around Kai’s body. The night air was chill as they drove, and he closed his eyes and curled up against Kai the best he could with their helmets, enjoying the strange sense of peace as the bike leaned with each twist and turn of the road that led out to the prison.

Before they reached the prison itself, Kai slowed down and pulled off the road seemingly into the middle of the forest, Kai turned off his lights, guiding the bike slowly through the trees. They eventually came across the other bullets, all waiting patiently, their bike lights off and fully dressed. Shouto climbed off as Kai parked. Kai was right behind him, pulling their masks out of the storage.

"The shift switch just finished," Chronostasis informed Kai, as he and Shouto attached their masks. "Day guards should be out in about ten. Ameharo should be reporting Dabi missing in thirty."

"Alright," Kai said, motioning for everyone to come closer. "That gives us thirty minutes to get in position. We went over this yesterday, and Fenikkusu was briefed tonight. Nemoto, Tabe, and Sakaki; you three are going to take the east side of the prison. This is the side of the general population, so expect a surge of both inmates and guards once mimic opens the gates. Setsuno, Hojo; you two are going to take the west side of the prison. Rappa, Katsukame, Tengai and Fenikkusu, you guys will be in the back; Chrono, Mimic, and I will go in once the coast is clear. I am going to Overhaul the main road in, but we should expect hero interference within ten minutes of the alarm going off. Do not get arrested. Any questions?"

He was met with silence.

"Headquarters is the rallying point," Kai said, "once you hear that we have Dabi, everyone needs to start pulling back one or two at a time. Tengai, Fenikkusu does not have his own bike yet. I want you to stay with him. If I am not here when you retrieve your bike, than I want you to transport him with you to the rallying point."

What? Shouto glanced at Tengai, and than back at Kai. Why would he have to leave with anyone except for Kai. Unless...

Shit. Kai was preparing for the possibility that something might happen to him. Shouto forced his face to remain neutral, but the idea that Kai might actually get hurt... Shouto took a breath. This was real. It wasn't class. It wasn't a training exercise. Of course Kai could get hurt. Any of them could. Shouto could. He pushed the worry to the back of his mind. He had to stay focused.

Kai stepped toward him.

"Trust your team, Fenikkusu," he said lowly. Then he turned, and raised his voice. "Alright boys, let's get in position!"

The men shuffled as different groups started to head off into the trees. Shouto walked over to join his team. Kai hadn't been kidding when he said he had put him with some physically strong guys. Two of them were enormous. One of them looked like a body builder, with forearms that were bigger than Shoutos head, wrapped in leather with steel plating that went over his knuckles. He was wearing loose black pants, brown boots and a white T-shirt that was stretched obscenely over his muscles. His black mask was beak-shaped like Kai’s, but covered his entire face except for his eyes and flowed back into a wild main of curly red hair. The other guy was even bigger, a literal fucking giant. He stood head and shoulders above everyone else, and although his head was a normal size, the rest of his body was three times bigger than a normal man, every inch pure muscle. He was wearing huge, steel-plated gloves, green pants, orange boots, a blank tank, and a large metal harness that wrapped around his waist and up over his shoulders. Like the other man, his mask was a simple black beak that stretched all the over the back of his head with only two slits for his eyes.

Shouto stared. Shit. Either one of them could probably crush Shouto with their bare hands… if he let them.

The third was a lot less physically intimidating. He was tall and thin with spiky blonde hair. He was wearing a black yukata secured with a white cloth tied around his waist, and simple pair of geta on his feet. His mask was a simple brown beak that was secured in place with three black leather straps. He bowed as Shouto approached.

"Welcome to the team, Fenikkusu. We are honored to have you fight beside us today. My name is Tengai. And these two are Rappa,” he said, motioning to the man with the red hair, “and Katsukame." He motioned to the giant beside him.

Shouto bowed quickly.

"I am honored to fight with you, as well," Shouto replied.

"Come on," Rappa growled impatiently. "Enough talking. Let's go."

"Excuse his brash words," Tengai said, motioning for the four of them to move out. "He is just eager to get to the mission."

"I'm ready for a good fight," he corrected as they started to make their way through the trees. Shouto stayed near Tengai. He hadn't been briefed on the prison layout, so he had no idea where they were going. "I hope your fire draws enough attention. I want a challenge!" The burly man continued.

Katsukame grunted in agreement.

"There will be plenty of fighting tonight," Tengai replied very quietly. "Just don't lose sight of the mission. Goal is to hold our line, get Dabi out, and leave."

"I know!" Rappa snorted in response.

They moved in relative silence after that, the only sounds the occasional breaking of a twig or cursing as one or another stumbled in the dark. They only had the moonlight to move by, and the shadows of the trees blocked most of that as they made their way around to the back of the prison.

"Nemoto, Tabe, and Sakaki are in position" came over the earpiece.

"Copy," Kai replied through the walkie. "Chrono, Mimic, and I are also in position."

Shouto was glad to see a lot of dead and dried brush amongst the living plants as they made their way through the forest. That would catch fire much easier than the living plants. And if Kai really wanted a big fire, the kindling like that was going to be an important part of helping it spread.

After what felt like forever trudging through the darkness, they were finally in position.

"Tengai, Rappa, Katsukame, and Fenikkusu are all in position. Will administer trigger in five," Tengai said through his mic.

"Copy," Kai replied. "Alarm should be sounding in ten minutes. Setsuno, Hojo, are you near position?"

"Almost there, boss," Hojo replied.

Tengai pulled a small box out from his robe, opening it up. There were four small shots inside.

"Alright, Rappa, you are going to take the right," he instructed as he started to hand out the shots. "Katsukame, you are going to take the left. I will be in the middle, and Fenikkusu you will be behind all three." He handed Shouto one of the doses of trigger.

"I already took the drug I was supposed to take," Shouto said, hesitantly accepting the new drug.

"This is called trigger, it's a quirk enhancing drug," Tengai explained. "When that alarm goes off, we need to pull attention to us fast. Which means that I need you to create a blazing forest fire within a matter of minutes. Unless you are 100% confident that you can do that, I need you to take that drug."

A forest fire. In minutes. That was a big fire. Much larger than he had originally assumed Kai wanted. He would need both larger flames and intense heat to make it happen. Shit. He wasn't positive, especially without the ability to regulate his temperature with his right side.

"I'll take it," Shouto said, his hands shaking as he held it.

Tengai nodded as if he had expected as much.

"When I give the word, inject the drug through the side of your neck," he instructed. "It's a little overwhelming the first time, and it spikes your adrenaline. Don't try to fight the rush of power you feel, but don't let it consume you. Many people don't feel pain while using this drug, so be careful if you end up in combat."

"Got it," Shouto replied, forcing himself to push his nerves aside. This is what it took to get Dabi. He just had to stay focused on the bigger picture.

The earpiece buzzed with static for a moment.

"Setsuno and Hojo are in position." Hojo said. "But we aren't alone on the west side. There is movement in the distance, too far out to be a guard."

"Keep us updated," Kai replied. "There shouldn't be as much officer response on your side, so don't leave your back unguarded. We may not be the only people coming for Dabi tonight."

Shouto's breath caught as he headed toward his placement on the battlefield. His blood went cold.

Shigaraki.

Shit. Everything had happened so fast since they left the dinner with Okimoto. He had gotten so focused on his role in the mission, that he hadn’t stopped to think about the fact that if the Yakuza knew that Dabi was getting transferred tomorrow, then The League would probably know as well. And just like them, The League might consider it worth their time to try to get him out before that.

Shigaraki could not get to Dabi before they did.

"Copy," Hojo replied, drawing Shouto out of his thoughts.

Just as Shouto reached his position, he saw Tengai motion for him to take the drug. He watched as the dark silhouettes of the others brought the drug up and injected it into their neck. His hand shaking, he followed their lead, ignoring the prick of pain as he sunk the needle into his skin and he pushed the button to release the drug.

In front of him, Katsukame’s silhouette physically grew in size.

It took almost a full minute before he felt the effects of the drug, but once he did, it hit him like a tidal wave. His energy spiked, and his blood felt like it was positively rushing through his body. It wasn’t the slow high he was used to, but overwhelming and immediate. He was used to the adrenaline spike that came with fighting, but this made him feel almost invincible. Like he could take on anybody. It was the euphoria of cocaine without the numbing effects on his mind. The confidence of alcohol without the slurring words or stumbling walk. The surge of power that came with really strong support gear. The sheer bliss of an intense orgasm.

Holy shit.

It was amazing. He couldn’t believe that this wasn’t the drug that the Yakuza was trying to push. People would pay really good money for this. Hell, he would pay good money for this! Fuck yes! Nothing could stand in their way now, not the guards, not any heroes, and definitely not Shigaraki.

His quirk tingled along the edges of his skin, and it was suddenly all he could do to not give in and let both his ice and his fire flow through his body. His hands shook with the effort, and he braced himself for the alarm, left hand extended toward the forest. He swore he could feel his teeth tingling in his jaw.

The alarms sounded in the distance.

"Fenikkusu, paint the horizon blue." The command came from Kai at the same time that Shouto gave in and let his fire take control. Heat surged through his body as an explosion of blue flame shot toward the tree-line. He screamed as the flames poured from him, and he could see the trees lighting up in the distance. He had never felt so powerful before, and the rush of heat through his body was heady and inviting. The force of its release was almost enough to knock him off his feet, and he had to brace himself to keep it from blasting him backward.

He didn't know how long he stayed like that, his flames destroying the trees around him and casting an eerie blue light in the field around them when he heard Rappa scream in victory behind him, the sounds of fighting quickly following.

He let his flames die, taking a moment to admire a beauty in the blue fire before turning around and crouching into a battle stance. The sound of the sweeping flames sounded like a hungry thing, with the backdrop of the sirens and the fighting he could swear that it almost sounded like music. His body pulsed with energy. God, this was almost as good as sex!

He could see the others fighting before him, but they were grossly outnumbered. It was only a matter of time before the guards got to him.

The adrenaline pumped through his veins. They had no idea what was awaiting them.

Fenikkusu was ready.

* * * * * *

Overhaul POV

The horizon behind the prison lit up with a brilliant blue flame. The drug worked exactly like they had been hoping. The fire looked exactly like those that Dabi usually spread, but bigger even than Kai was expecting. The initial burst of flame was impressive, and the fire grew rapidly. Shouto must have taken a dose of trigger.

The drug was not a part of the original plan. Shouto was already under the effects of a drug that was still in the experimental phase. They didn’t even know the full side effects of that drug, so to combine it with trigger was reckless. Who knows what effects the combination of the two drugs might cause. And in combat, there would be no one to watch to make sure Shouto was alright.

It made Kai’s jaw tense. Tengai should have known not to give him that without permission.

But there was nothing to be done for it now.

And he couldn’t deny that it was a perfect execution of their distraction. A fire of that size would definitely draw out a number of the officers, and catch the attention of any heroes coming in to help. And since Kai had already crumbled the main road in to the prison, what little help they did get would be spread thin.

Just like they wanted.

"Mimic, you're up," Kai said, turning his attention back to their part of the mission. The three of them were crouched in the shadow of the guard tower. They needed to get in quickly to release the prisoners. He had no doubt that heroes would arrive on scene quickly, and he needed as much chaos as he could get before that happened.

Mimic nodded, his body morphing into the side of the guard tower without a word.

"We have League members on the west side," Setsuno’s voice piped up over the mic. "Confirmed sighting of Muscular and Twice. They disappeared pretty quick once the fire started."

Kai smiled. Perfect. He knew Shigaraki wouldn't pass up the opportunity to get his hands on Dabi.

"They're earlier than you expected," Chronostasis noted quietly. "Do you think that will cause problems?"

"No," Kai replied confidently. "We are taking a more defensive stance, Shigaraki will be more offensive. They should take some of the heat from the heroes off our back. Might make things easier.” And once he ran in to that decaying bastard…

He might not be able to kill him. But he had every intention of making Shigaraki pay for the things he saw in that damn video...

The gates opened a moment later.

"Gates open," Mimic's voice came through. "Headed to the main building now."

"You ready?" Kai looked at his second-in-command.

Chronostasis nodded.

Kai glanced one last time at the blue flames on the horizon, large plumes of smoke wafting up toward the sky. He could still see the occasional burst of flame that told him Shouto was still activating his quirk. Somewhere far away he could here voices responding in panic. He frowned as Chronostasis slipped past the gate, following after his second-in-command. He didn’t have time to worry about Shouto right now. Kai followed the white-haired man through the yard to the building, walking along the shadows nestled against the brick wall. The alarms were almost deafening this close to the building, blasting out into the night air as they waited for the signal.

"Gen-pop gates have been released. Inmates starting to flow out now." Mimic’s voice came over the earpiece.

"Good," Kai noted, setting his hand on the brick. The building shuddered as a huge crack formed and widened into a gaping hole, loosened bricks falling out to the ground around it. A way inside for them, and a way out for any inmates smart enough to find it. Forcing the heroes to chase down escaped convicts would make their own escape much easier.

He stepped inside, a strobe-light effect cascading over the large hallway in time to the sound of the alarm. In the distance, two officers ran past a connecting hall, but they were so focused on the task at hand, they didn’t see him or Chronostasis. He motioned for the other man to follow his lead. The Maxiumum Security wing was not that far away from this part of the building. And according to all the reports, Dabi should be in a closet at the back of the linens area.

"League member's in the back," Tengai's voice came through. "Muscular just engaged with Katsukame and the guards."

"Watch your left, Tengai" Sakiki’s voice followed up. You have a squadron of six officers in riot gear that just came out of the east side entrance and are headed your direction."

"I see them," Tengai's voice gritted. Shouto’s fire was definitely drawing attention. Possibly too much attention if they started getting other League members out there. Although it wouldn’t be long before some of the officers were recalled to deal with the escaped inmates, and once the heroes started to show up, The League members would have no choice but to divide their attention to help hold off the heroes.

Kai stopped at the end of the hall, peaking his head around the corner. The adjoining hall was empty as well, although he could hear the sound of rioting in the distance, even over the constant alarms going off around them. He motioned with his head to go right before stepping out.

It wouldn’t be long before they would get to Dabi, then his fire would add to the chaos and take some of the attention off Tengai’s team. Allowing Kai to focus on more important matters.

An inmate careened around the corner ahead of them, running wildly toward their direction. He looked crazed and confused. He definitely was not one of theirs.

"Chrono," he said, nodding at the man.

Chronostasis stepped out to block the man’s escape, one of the arrows in his hair streaking forward to lodge itself into the front of the man’s neck. The man’s body jolted as he came to a shuddering halt, his eyes widening, Chronostasis’ quirk slowing his movements as he fruitlessly and slowly began to reach up to grab at his neck. Blood was starting to seep out, and as Chronostasis pulled his hair back out, the man’s hands came up just in time to get covered by a rush of blood spurting out of the wound. He fell to his knees, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as he collapsed, bleeding out onto the floor.

Kai walked over, carefully avoiding the blood on the floor and leaning down to put his hand on the man’s cheek, the body instantly turned to an amorphous ‘puddy’ and sloughed from the corpse, leaving behind just the man’s skeleton. The flesh twisted like a wave over Overhaul’s skin and settled upon him. Within seconds it began to take form, that greatly resembled Kai’s regular features, and underneath his clothes, the increase in mass was almost imperceptible. The man’s flesh would make suitable armor in Tengai’s absence, and would come in handy for Overhaul’s plan.

“Hawks is flying in from the east side,” Sakiki’s voice come over the mic.

Kai stood up, flexing and stretching his arms and shoulders to adjust to the added bulk of the other man’s muscle melded to his body.

The first hero had arrived.

* * * * * *

Shouto POV

Shouto was standing at the ready as two officers managed to make their way around the other members of Tengai’s team. Both Rappa and Katsukame were focused on fighting, their attentions divided between the guards and Muscular. All the while Shouto’s blue flames roared hungrily, casting ghostly blue light across the area, and shadows danced wildly around everything. Sirens blared overhead into the night air, and Shouto could barely make out anything save chaos at this point.

Muscular would not be the only League member here tonight, of that Shouto was sure. The muscle-bound creep made for a great distraction, but Shigaraki undoubtedly had a bigger plan. The twisted leader of the League was unpredictable and it would be hard to guess which or how many of the other league’s members would make an appearance.

Through the flames, riot-geared officers were headed towards them at this very moment. This far into the mission Shouto knew heroes would begin showing up any minute as well. Things were definitely going to get worse before they got better.

He swept his left arm in front of him, spreading an arc of blue flame over the ground between himself and the two approaching guards. The dried weeds caught immediately, sparking up in small infernos all around him. He widened his stance slightly as one of the officers pulled something out of his belt.

Kai had told him to avoid combat it possible, but Shouto’s body was practically begging for a fight. He could absolutely hold his own against these two.

The officers courageously continued through the fires, one had a readied night-stick in his hand.

"Get down on your knees and surrender and you won't get hurt!" One of the guards called out, but everything else was so loud that Shouto could barely hear the words.

"That isn't him," the other guard called out. They had split up a little, trying to approach him from both sides, but the fire made their progress slow. They had been expecting Dabi, and both stopped in their tracks, caught in uncertainty when they did not recognize the figure before them.

Shouto knew he could not afford to be distracted with these two when that riot team arrived. He went for the one with the night-stick first.

The officer steadied himself for Shouto's first strike, bracing the night-stick against his forearm, and attempting to deflect the blow. The trigger in his system was a powerful ally, and Shouto was confident in his strike, barreling into the officer, and knocking his parry off balance. The officer staggered backward through a wall of blue fire, and scrambled to escape the flames that were eagerly licking at his clothes.

Shouto loved the feeling of the heat around them, the crackling of the fires. He had a distinct advantage with his fireproof gear, and he planned to use it to his advantage. He pursued the scrambling officer into the flames, and the second officer stopped short of attacking Shouto from behind as he was engulfed by the blue fire. The first officer had scrambled free of the inferno and was batting at clinging flames to his legs and left forearm.

Shouto turned just in time to see the second preparing to leap through the flames to follow, and with a wave of his left hand, Shouto reinforced the fire between them, the draft of the heatwave all but knocking the second officer off his feet and away from them. Satisfied, Shouto turned back to see that the first officer had only just managed to extinguish the flames on his uniform, and quickly raised his hands in surrender, pleading with Shouto.

“Please! We are just doing our job! Please…”

Shouto stood over the officer, blue flames clinging to his left hand, and watched the man shield his face with his arms. A rush of power washed through his system, amplified tenfold by the drugs in his blood. He felt like a god.

“Please” the officer continued as he scrambled helplessly, cut off from the rest of his team. “I have children… A… a wife.” Shouto listened to the man plead. He had won. The officer was defeated…

For a moment though he wondered how it would feel to really let loose...

“Go...” Shouto said before he could give in to the temptation, the word almost a whisper. He wasn’t sure if the officer could hear him over all the fighting around them, over the sirens, over the eruptive force of quirks in use and the growling of the flames, but the man scrambled backward, stumbling to his feet and fleeing into the darkness.

"Spinner and Twice are engaging us on the east side" Sakiki’s voice crackled through the earpiece.

Shouto looked around for the second officer, knowing that his attack against Shouto had only been delayed by the flames. But the man was nowhere to be seen. Out of nowhere he heard a whoosh and a golden barrier suddenly erupted right beside him. The second officer collided with it violently, directly behind where Shouto stood. In a blink, the barrier was expanding away from he and Tengai, and the officer was hurled away through the blue flames. Tengai was by his side in an instant and watching in the direction that the officer disappeared.

“It was good that Overhaul sent me to watch over you,” Tengai said, a slight chastising tone in his voice. “You would be wise to always stay aware of you surroundings.”

Before Shouto could respond, they heard a commotion over the sounds of fighting around them. Tengai barely managed to conjure a new field as a wave of distortion wracked the yard. Some kind of a sonic blast that put them both to their knees. Tengai cried out in pain and grabbed his head, the barrier shrinking until it was barely larger than both of them, but he managed not to let it drop completely. Shouto clamped his hands down over his ears. Even behind Tengai's shield the high-pitched shriek was over-whelming and disorienting.

He heard Rappa scream in frustration. Shouto looked up, scanning the scene in front of him. Those not within the barrier had all been leveled by the riot control attack. The riot-geared officers were forming a half-circle around the three dangerous villains, and were preparing stun grenades. They had heavy duty riot shields prepared for a quick takedown. Muscular was writhing on the ground, his body mass expanding rapidly, and in a fit of disoriented rage began attacking everything within his reach, including the ground. Within moments the grenades were going off, small explosions and bursts of smoke enveloping their team mates. Rappa was furious as he struggled to his feet, looking for new victims to vent his frustrations on. But Shouto could see the stagger in his step, and it was obvious that the burly fighter was using every ounce of strength he had just to keep standing.

Their line was going down quickly. They were going to lose if Shouto didn’t do something.

"Drop your shield!" Shouto screamed at Tengai. Blue flames were already licking up Shouto’s arm. He crouched down, his left arm extended toward the line of riot-control officers as he allowed the temperature in his flames to build back up to the same insatiable heat that he had used in his initial blast to engulf the forest behind them. He was ready, and the moment Tengai’s shield dropped, Shouto shot a blast of fire out toward the six riot officers. Within seconds, screams echoed into the night air as the men were completely engulfed in blue flame. It was beautiful and absolutely sickening. Even in the ecstasy of the drugs racing through his system, he knew that his flames were capable of killing, and he half-hoped that their increased armor would save their lives.

He fought down the urge to vomit as he watched figures writhing in the flame.

They needed to get out of there.

"Pull back to my shield" Tengai screamed from beside him. Rappa stumbled backwards at the instruction, holding his head and cursing loudly as he went, dripping with sweat from the heat. Katsukame emerged through the flames a moment later, just enough for Shouto to finally see him. The giant hurled himself at the absolutely berserk Muscular, taking a vicious blow to his head as he tackled The League member backward into more flames. They struggled back and forth for seconds before Katsukame had drained enough of the muscle-bound villain’s vitality that his flailing ceased and he lay limp. Katsukame staggered over Muscular as another sonic blast was directed at the area where he tackled Muscular. Shouto was amazed that the half-giant stayed on his feet as he stumbled away from the attack towards Tengai’s barrier. The trigger in his system and the recent dose of Muscular’s vitality must be the only thing keeping the man moving.

Shouto sent a second blast toward four officers that were pursuing Katsukame through the flames, forcing them to abandon their pursuit or be roasted alive. Tengai's barrier shot up around them the moment all four were close enough together to do so. It cast the blue fires around them into an eldritch green through the golden shield. Two stun grenades went off outside the barrier, but only created a dull resonating thud for those inside.

"We need to retreat to the tree-line! Between the flames and the trees they will be forced to split up so we can face them separately. It's our best chance for success. Rappa, Katsukame, can you still fight?”

Rappa growled in reply, punching his fists together in fury. Katsukame nodded wearily.

“Good,” Tengai replied, motioning to the tree-line. “Let’s go.”

They started to pull back together, running for the tree-line. Rappa and Katsukame still stumbling as they recovered from the sonic blast. Shouto laughed as they ran, knowing that it was the wrong thing to do. But he couldn’t help it. His emotions were running high. The adrenaline was still pulsing through his body, and the sound bubbled up as if by its own accord.

He felt so fucking alive!

"Hawks is flying in from the east side!” Sakiki’s voice sounded in his ear.

"Understood" Kai's voice replied. "We should be to Dabi in less than five minutes. Hold your lines, as soon as we have him, we will start to pull back."

Shouto glanced behind him as he ran, and that's when he saw it. A flash of red flame coming straight at the shield around them. It looks like Hawks wasn't the only hero on the field. Endeavor was headed straight for the source of the blue fire.

* * * * * *

Overhaul POV

Getting into maximum security was almost disappointingly easy. After mimic slipped in to the guard tower and immobilized the two guards, Kai simply melted the gate and he and Chronostasis were able to walk in. The prison had sent more officers than they should have to deal with the other threats. By the time they realized that max had been breached, Dabi would already be out of the complex and most of his team would be on their way to the rally point.

"Laundry is in the back," Chronostasis said, motioning with his head. Kai nodded, following the white-haired man.

Two guards came around the corner as they entered the cafeteria. They startled when they saw Kai and Chronostasis, immediately ducking into a defensive stance. Chronostasis’ two arrows snaked out, catching both guards in the arm, slowing their movement as one started to reach for their walkie, and the other was reaching for their gun. Their eyes widened in surprise as his quirk took effect and slowed their movements to a crawl.

Kai walked calmly over, wrapping his hand around one’s neck and with a quick flex of his quirk overloaded the man’s synapses, forcing his body to blackout. The guard collapsed to the floor at his feet as he stepped over and did the same for the second officer. Once they were both down, he turned their walkies into dust, handcuffing them together. He really had more important things to deal with than prison security.

"Endeavor is on the field," Shouto's voice came through the earpiece.

Shit.

He arrived faster than Kai expected. He would know the blue flames were a farce if he got close enough to Shouto. He might even recognize Shouto. They needed Dabi to start the second fire right away in order to draw some of the mounting attention away from Tengai’s team. Than they needed to get Dabi out and on his way to the rallying point.

"Kamui Woods and Mount Lady on the west side," Hojo’s voice came though.

"Shigaraki confirmed on the east side. He is with Kurogiri," Nemoto said right after.

"Got it," Kai replied, following Chronostasis to the back room. "East side pull back when possible and head to rallying point. Do not engage Shigaraki."

He and Chronostasis entered the laundry room. The white-haired man stayed by the door, acting as a lookout while Kai made his way back to the closet. He knocked twice, and it opened only a moment later to reveal Dabi, a half-smoked cigarette hanging out of his mouth. He pulled it out, exhaling and smiling as he saw Kai.

"Enjoying yourself?" Kai asked, irritably wafting the smoke away.

"Took you long enough," Dabi replied, flicking the cigarette to the ground, and holding his cuffed arm out for Kai. "Not much else to do. Besides, these shitty cigarettes were a gift. I'd hate for them to go to waste."

Kai rolled his eyes.

"Not even here a week, and you already have gifts. What have you been up to?" He mused, reaching up and melting the bracelet up into a small metal ball that he pocketed. Okimoto would be interested in that later.

He had a pretty good idea of what Dabi had been doing. Apparently the prison hotshot died the night Dabi arrived. Official report said he killed himself… in the shower.

"Oh, you would enjoy that story," Dabi said, stepping out of the closet. "If you ask nicely, I might tell you later." He smiled, brushing his hand up against Kai's cock, palming it briefly before pulling away and walking toward Chronostasis. “But for now, let's get the fuck out of here.”

Kai pulled his earpiece out of his ear and handed it to Dabi. The tattooed man didn’t have a motorcycle here either, so it was crucial that he didn’t get permanently separated from Chronostasis. Dabi accepted it, giving him a questioning look.

"You two go ahead. Light the fire up in the main lobby and then get to the bikes. I will meet you back at the rallying point." Kai replied. Dabi's eyebrows went up, but he was smart enough not to say anything.

"Are you sure about this Kai?" Chronostasis asked.

Kai only stared at him coldly. Chronostasis should know better than to question his judgment.

"Shigaraki will come to me. And I will be ready.”

* * * * * *

Shouto POV

Tengai's larger shield held fast against the burst of fire from Endeavor. The flames crackled and burnt in a beautiful display against the shield as they neared the tree-line. Fuck. For that fact that he probably thought Touya was on the receiving end of those flames, Enji was not holding back.

Tengai dropped his shield when they reached the tree-line so they could dodge out and hide in the burning forest. The trees were lit up with a rapidly spreading blue, and now orange flame.

Father and son.

Finally, on the combat field together.

It would almost be poetic... If they were on the same side. And if Endeavor hadn't just tried to incinerate who he thought was Dabi.

Shouto sent a blast back toward his father. He put the same heat and passion into it that he had directed at the riot officers, determined to counter the size and ferocity of his father's flames, and the resulting blue fire exploded out of the tree-line and engulfed the field in front of the forest. Enji’s form disappeared completely in the flames.

"Rappa! Katsukame! To the bikes!" Shouto could only vaguely hear Tengai giving orders behind him. The roar of the fire and the incessant prison alarm drowned out almost everything else.

Tengai was behind him, hand on his arm as a blue flame shot up in the distance, lighting up the sky over the prison, matching the color of the burning forest.

"We have to go!" Tengai said, "Dabi's out."

Shouto shook his head as the flames from his last attack started to burn out, and Endeavor came into view in the smoldering field, his body silhouetted against the conflagration, the reflection of the blue flames muddying the stark orange color that blazed around his father. The large hero was half-turned, watching the blue flame near the prison.

Smoke and ash filled the air between them, Shouto's heart pumping so loud that it was all he could hear. He lifted up his left hand, ignoring Tengai's warning to go. He could feel a slight pain in his left arm as he raised the temperature of his fire once more, blue flames rolling off the sleeves of his coat. All the times that Endeavor had belittled him. The times his father had beaten him. Forced him to embrace a goal that was for Enji's benefit. If he could hit his father with a hot enough blast...

His hand shook with exertion. Although he could still feel the drug in his body, it wasn’t as strong as before. The extra boost of power starting to wane away. Shouto desperately pushed past his capabilities, determined to create that same inferno for one last shot. Sweat poured down his skin. Blue flames licked the jacket of his coat all the way to the tips of his fingers as he let the temperature in his flames grow hotter. He could feel his arm burning from the effort, an annoying thrum rolling over his skin.

He swallowed.

His body screamed at him to let go. Take advantage of Endeavor’s distraction to punish him with one good hit. But his mind hesitated. If he did this, there would be no going back…

Then his father turned, and for a moment, their eyes met. It was dark, the field illuminated by the orange and blue flames. The space between them was hazy with smoke, but Shouto could still see the slight widening of Endeavors eyes, framed by vengeful orange fire.

Then, before Shouto could let his fire go, Tengai's shield went up as a rush of orange flame rolled off his father's body straight at him.

The rush of flame hit the barrier like a hurricane, roaring with deafening intensity. Shouto had never seen his father really let loose, and for a moment was utterly awestruck by the ferocity of the attack, even deflected by Tengai’s quirk. Tengai was pulling him away, using the cover of the attack to get him further into the blazing trees. Shouto allowed himself to be led, his body trembling at the heat he had built up for his attack. He felt sick and heady as they ran, the shield helping to protect them from the blaze spreading through the forest all around them.

He slowly became aware of the earpiece. Chronostasis was giving them orders to begin to retreat.

Chronostasis.

Not Kai.

They were nearing the edge of the fire, stumbling into the unburnt part of the forest. Shouto tried to slow down. He didn't like the feeling in his stomach at Chronostasis giving orders. Kai didn't just relinquish control like that.

But Tengai held his arm fast, continuing to pull him along toward the motorcycles.

Fuck.

What if Kai was captured?

What if Kai was killed?

* * * * * *

Overhaul POV

Kai waited in the main lobby of the maximum security wing. It was only a matter of time before the desiccated leader of The League showed up. Aside from Dabi, who was hopefully halfway to the forest with Chronostasis by now, the max prisoners were all nestled in their cells, and he could hear them calling out, questioning each other as to what was going on.

It wasn't long before Kai spotted it, the shimmering purple haze of Kurogiri's warpgate. It was only there for a moment before it was gone again.

Kai rolled down the sleeves of his jacket, allowing his quirk to move the extra flesh covering his skin to thicken around the exposed parts of his body.

He cracked the bones in his neck, and tapped his foot impatiently.

And he waited.

The glimpse of color out of the corner of his eye was his only warning, the smoky black and purple that distorted everything around it. Then Shigaraki’s hand was on the back of his neck, four fingers settled firmly against his skin.

Kai smiled underneath his mask.

“You are a too late, Shigaraki,” Kai greeted him casually, unphased by the silent threat. “Dabi is already out and on his way back to my base as we speak.”

“And yet, I find myself exactly where I want to be,” Shigaraki’s raspy voice replied, the four fingers tightening threateningly around the back of his neck. “Finding you alone is much more beneficial. Dabi is loyal to me, and he will come crawling back with his tail between his legs. Once you are gone, it’s only a matter of time before Shouto joins him. And he will have to ask for forgiveness on his knees. Its almost too bad you won’t be around to see your precious little toy begging for it.”

“Ah, but Shigaraki, your bark has always been worse than your bite,” Kai said coldly, allowing his quirk to flow into his fingers, preparing himself. “Your threats are meaningless. Dabi will never return once he gets a taste of working with an organization whose missions actually succeed. Your League has been nothing but a flop since the beginning. All-for-one is the only thing that gives your little playhouse any real spine. Under your leadership, you have failed at virtually every turn.”

Shigaraki growled, his fifth finger coming down to rest on Kai’s neck. Kai immediately felt the pull on the excess skin there, and he pushed the rest of the inmates flesh back to meet Shigaraki’s disgusting fingers, sacrificing it to the dust and decay that came with the villains quirk.

Shigaraki growled with frustration as the skin continued to decay off with no sign of real damage, leaning forward, his mouth almost pressed against the back of Kai’s head.

“Did you really think you could make a fool of me, Overhaul?” Shigaraki hissed, his breath hot on Kai’s ear, as he reached around to grab Kai’s face. But Kai reacted faster, reaching back and grabbing Shigaraki’s hand, deconstructing the villain into a bloody explosion without a single word. He felt the blood spray over the back of his neck, coating his hair. He had done this very maneuver a hundred times to different people, and a large part of him wanted to walk away and leave Shigaraki as a bloody puddle all across the disgusting prison floor. But he couldn’t kill the other man. Not yet.

He turned around, taking the last bit of the inmates flesh and forming it into a large spike as he simultaneously reconstructed Shigaraki in front of him. The very moment that his body was reformed and his glazed eyes suddenly came to life with awareness, Kai pressed the spear methodically into Shigaraki’s chest just an inch below his heart. Shigaraki’s body twitched, the man gasping in pain at being impaled. Kai reached up and yanked the hand mask away from Shigaraki’s face, enjoying the widening of Shigaraki’s eyes as Kai forced the spike further, widening the hole it created in Shigaraki’s chest. Blood dribbled from Shigaraki’s mouth as Kai finally released the inmates flesh, leaving the spike embedded in the other man.

Kai only had an instant to enjoy his masterpiece, as the dessicated leader’s eyes stared in furious horror at him, while Kai stepped back. Kurogiri was there in a flash of purple haze, wrapping his arms around Shigaraki and warping them both away from the prison.

Kai stared at the blood staining the floor around him. A deep sense of satisfaction growing within him as he began the walk back toward the splintered brick wall. Shigaraki had needed a reminder about who really controlled this city. Kai was certain that this, tonight, would leave a lasting impression that Shigaraki would not forget.

* * * * * *

Shouto POV

There was no sign of Kai when they reached the motorcycles. Two of the bikes were already gone, but Kai’s was still there, he and Shouto’s helmets tied hastily to it.

His hands were shaking almost violently, and Shouto realized that it wasn’t just the worry or the rush of adrenaline in his system. His energy was beginning to falter. He felt weaker too, and his arm was beginning to ache with a thrumming burn that ran all the way from his fingers up to the shoulder of his left arm. He was beginning to come down from the drug. He glanced at his trembling hands, but with the dull moonlight, it was hard to see any detail. Although it was obvious that his left hand was darker than his right, and when he flexed the fingers on his left hand, it pulsed with pain. He had over-used his left side. He had never done that before, and it was ironic how similar the beginning burns hurt like the frostbite usually did.

“Get your helmet,” Tengai directed him, pulling him back into the moment. “You can stash your mask in the bag on the side, but be quick about it. And while we are driving, tuck your body close to mine. I’m not used to riding with a passenger. If you don’t move with me, you can throw off the bikes gravity and it could crash.”

Shouto hesitated. They should hold back for just a few minutes so that he could ride back with Kai if the other man got there. The idea of leaving with Tengai just didn’t settle well with him. Especially since he hadn’t heard Kai’s voice in the earpiece once over the struggle to get back to the bikes.

“Shouldn’t we wait in case anyone needs help?” Shouto asked, trying to stall for time. He had a feeling he already knew the answer, but he had to try.

“No,” Tengai replied without hesitation, confirming Shouto’s suspicion. Shouto’s stomach dropped as he made his way to Kai’s bike, starting to unhook his helmet. “Kai was very explicit in his orders that we were to leave immediately should we arrive before him. And we need to get you out of here in case your father continues to pursue us. The fact that he followed us into the forest instead of retreating to help at the prison might only be coincidence, but it may also mean that he recognized you. It would be unwise to stay here any longer than necessary either way.”

Shouto nodded, aware that everything Tengai was saying made sense. He ignored the steadily increasing pain in his left arm, pulling off his mask and stashing it in the black bag next to Tengai’s. He hated the feeling that was worming its way into his gut. He told himself that it was just the drug wearing off. It had felt so good during the fight, it was only normal that it would feel awful to come down from. He was over-thinking. Dabi was out. That was the goal. That was the purpose of the entire night. His brother was free and probably headed to this spot at that very moment. It was only a matter of time until they would see each other at the rallying point. And Kai… Kai was probably fine. He had one of the strongest quirks Shouto knew of, the chances of something happening that he couldn’t protect himself against were slim. He was probably with Dabi and Chronostasis. The fact that he wasn’t giving orders however…

Shouto pushed down the insecurity as he shoved the helmet on his head and attempted to secure the straps with trembling fingers. Tengai had just climbed on when a noise caught their attention. Shouto dropped instinctively into battle formation, pain burning through his arm as he let small flames start to lick up his left side even as a barrier went up around them. But it dropped a moment later as Rappa barreled into view. The larger man barely spared them a second glance as he stumbled to his motorcycle and started to climb on, not bothering with a helmet.

“Hurry, Fenikkusu,” Tengai urged him, and Shouto quickly climbed on behind the other bullet. His heart was still beating rapidly in his chest, jolting once more as Rappa’s bike roared to life and the red-haired man revved forward, his lights still off as he disappeared into the trees ahead of them.

“Tengai, Fenikkusu, and Rappa are on the way to the rallying point,” Tengai’s voice said, echoing in the earpiece.

Shouto wrapped his arms around Tengai’s waist as the monk’s bike started up, clasping his gloved hands together at the front of Tengai’s stomach. He ignored the pain in his left arm at the pressure against Tengai’s side, and tried to focus on the sound of the motorcycle churning to life and the movement as Tengai started to walk the bike forward. They passed next to Kai’s motorcycle, and Shouto averted his eyes.

It was fine.

He swallowed the thick lump forming in his throat, trying to grip his hands together tighter to stop the shaking.

He was just coming down from the drug. Kai was fine.

He focused instead on the rise and fall of Tengai’s stomach under his fingers as the man breathed. His waist was much broader than Kai’s, but he was all lean muscle underneath his clothing. It felt strange to touch a practical stranger so intimately, wrong almost as his body leaned into the warmth of the other man. The wind was much colder now so late into the night, and he could feel it acutely as they finally reached the main road and Tengai peeled out onto the pavement. He did not shy away from the gas, and it wasn’t long before Shouto knew they were driving much faster than the speed limit for this road.

Shouto focused on leaning with Tengai, just as he did with Kai. He focused on the wind biting through his clothes, and the now almost agonizing pain in his left arm. It felt just like the cases of frostbite he had suffered, burning along his skin. He didn’t want to know what it was going to look like when he peeled off his shirt. He listened intently to every single word on the earpiece as the other bullets talked back and forth, many of them mentioning they were headed back to the rallying point. And each time he was disappointed to hear that it was Chronostasis who replied. Kai didn’t say even a single word. He pushed his emotions to the back of his mind. How long had it been since Kai had said anything over the earpiece?

“Chronostasis, Mimic, and Dabi are on the way to the rallying point.” Chronostasis’ voice came through clear as day.

He ignored the fact that Kai had not been included, even though the rest of his team was already headed back. It was fine. Kai was fine.

Shouto wasn’t sure how long they had been driving when they finally pulled into the parking lot of a large office building. They drove to a lot around back, and Tengai hit a button on his bike that opened up a large delivery door at the back of the building so they could pull directly inside. It led to a smaller internal parking area, and Shouto unhooked his arms from around Tengai’s waist as the man walked the bike over to park next to the other bullets that had made it first, the door already closing behind them. Shouto flinching at the pain that shot up his arm at the movement. It was enough that a wave of nausea followed, although that was possibly another side effect of coming down from the drugs.

He climbed off the bike, pulling the helmet off of his head and stumbling over to sit down on the cement block at the front of their stall. He cradled his head in his hands, the distress in his stomach churning with the lingering nausea.

“Sakiki is on his way to the rallying point,” the earpiece crackled in his ear, and he pulled it out almost aggressively, stuffing it in the pocket of his coat. He didn’t want to hear who would respond, if anybody would. He didn’t want to be reminded that Kai was no longer responding to any of his bullets.

“Come on, Fenikkusu,” Tengai said to him. “We need to get you inside. We have a physician who can look at your arm.” Shouto glanced down, seeing the red raw skin on his left hand. Small blisters had formed along the skin. And if the pain all along his arm was any indicator, his skin was probably in similar shape all the way up into his shoulder and even up the side of his neck.

Fuck.

Apparently the drug only helped to amplify ones quirk, it provided nothing to help ease the physical strain of doing so. And Shouto had definitely taken advantage of the extra power. He could still feel the flames pouring out of his left side, so much stronger and more alive than ever before. The fact that they had been blue like Dabi’s had made it so much less sickening than he usually felt while using his fire. Like he could pretend that it was something he shared with only his brother, and not something they had both inherited from Endeavor.

He pushed himself up with his right arm, cradling his left arm against his body, the pain somehow amplified just from seeing the damage he had wrought on his own skin. They walked through the parking area and Tengai led him toward a door on the far side. The building they entered looked like a regular office building, although the lights were dimmed because of the hours, and it felt eerily quiet as they made their way down the empty halls and toward a service elevator. Shouto followed him quietly, trying to focus on taking in his surroundings instead of the war of emotions churning through him. Tengai scanned some type of ID, pressing his finger against a small screen and hitting a large green button that said ‘call for help’.

The ride down was short and then he was following Tengai through a maze of hallways and doors until they finally reached what Shouto assumed was their destination. When they opened the door, Rappa and Hojo were sitting on some chairs in a waiting room of sorts. Rappa had a large cut across the top of his right arm, mostly scabbed up in a gruesome looking wound. It looked like he had been grazed by a bullet, but he didn’t seem the least bit concerned by it as he grinned at something Hojo was saying. Both men looked pretty different without their masks. Hojo was all sharp features with a broad jaw. Rappa’s features were rugged, an older, jagged scar decorating his right cheek.

Shouto shrugged out of his coat, still trying to ignore the sharp pain in his arm. He threw it over one of the chairs and sat down heavily on the other side of Rappa. He scrubbed his right hand over his face. He was getting physically more tired with each passing moment as the drug wore off, and his mind was spiraling into anxious worry.

Kai was fine. He had to be fine.

“Setsuno?” Tengai asked curiously as he sat down across from the trio.

“The docs checking him out now,” Hojo replied. “We ran into Toga and Mr. Compress on the way out. She managed to slice him up pretty good before Kamui Woods and Mount Lady showed up and we were able to slip away.”

“You alright?” Tengai asked.

Hojo shrugged, nodding.

The door opened and Shouto looked up hopefully, suppressing a pang of disappointment as who he was pretty sure was Nemoto walked through. The man nodded his large brimmed hat at the others, shuffling over and sitting down next to Tengai. Shouto slumped down in his chair, leaning his head back against the wall in defeat. Dabi would be here eventually. He had heard it over the walkie. His brother was on his way. It was only a matter of time.

So would Kai.

“Sakiki? Tabe?” Tengai inquired of the other man.

“On their way,” Nemoto replied, shuffling around to rest one foot on the edge of the coffee table in the middle of all them. “We got separated. As far as I know, all of the bullets are out. The only person who hasn’t radioed in is the boss.”

Kai. Kai was the boss. Everyone had checked in except Kai.

If Chisaki died during the mission tonight, would you still be loyal to me?

The question had seemed so hypothetical at the time. A question to test his strength of character. Of course there was always a chance that something could happen. Missions like this were high risk. He had answered with a resounding yes. It was an easy commitment, when the loss was hypothetical. But the more time that passed without Kai responding, the less hypothetical the whole situation seemed. And suddenly Shouto wasn’t so confident in his commitment to the Yakuza. Without Kai…

He closed his eyes. He tried to focus on his breathing, but it was difficult. The idea that he would lose Kai made it hard to think straight.

The door opened, and Shouto sat up expectantly. Chronostasis entered and Shouto’s breath caught in anticipation. A moment later, Dabi was walking in. A partial relief washed through Shouto at the sight of his brother, unhurt, even if a bit offsetting in neon orange, with flat hair and none of his piercings. Shouto jumped up, hurrying over and hugging Dabi firmly. Fuck, he felt like such a child. Here he was among his new team mates, and instead of playing it cool and waiting until they had some privacy, he was seeking out physical comfort. He buried his nose into the crook of Dabi’s neck, breathing in the scent. It didn’t smell like Dabi usually did, but it was close. And that alone helped, for a moment at least. It seemed to catch Dabi off guard, but he hugged Shouto back before gently pushing him away so they could step away from blocking the doorway.

Dabi grabbed Shouto’s chin, turning his head from side to side to admire his new look. Shouto fidgeted uncomfortably under Dabi’s intense gaze, pulling his chin out of his brother’s grasp.

“God damn, Shou,” Dabi smiled lazily. “I dig the new look.” He blatantly drug his gaze down Shouto’s outfit, his eyebrows furrowing when it reached his left hand. Dabi grabbed it, ignoring the way Shouto flinched in pain at the touch. Dabi starting unbuttoning his vest, and then his shirt. Shouto tried to bat his hand away.

“I’m fine,” he said as his brother completely ignored him and continued to try and peel his shirt off to inspect the damage on his shoulder and arm. “I will be fine. But we haven’t heard from Kai yet. Is he…?” Shouto floundered, not sure how to ask. “Do you know if he’s alright?”

“Overhaul had a secondary mission,” Chronostasis answered instead of Dabi. His brother impatiently pulled the rest of Shouto’s shirt off, clicking his tongue irritably at the extent of the damage Shouto had done. The cool air burned against his skin as he uncovered his arm. Shouto glanced down, his eyes scanning the red blistered skin that covered his entire left arm, and a large portion of the left side of his torso. He had done more damage with his quirk than he had realized. But it didn’t seem that important. Kai was still at the prison. Alone. With no support.

“What secondary mission?” Shouto asked, his attention focused on the white-haired man. Chronostasis had blood staining the ends of his white hair.

The door opened. Sakiki walked in, stumbling slightly as he lurched into the chair. He was definitely worse for the wear, a few large bruises blooming across his face, his bottom lip split open and his knuckles bloodied. Katsukame was right behind him, the mans large form haggard as he dropped down into one of the empty chairs.

“He needed to give Shigaraki a message,” Chronostasis said after a moment, looking at Shouto curiously.

Shouto’s breath caught in his chest. Kai had stayed behind to face Shigaraki. Alone.

Now he wasn’t responding.

Fuck. FUCK! This was his fault. Kai and Shigaraki were allies, of sorts. But he had seen the look on Kai’s face after the trial. After seeing the video. Kai had been visibly upset, which was a rare sight on the golden-eyed man. Kai was angry. He wouldn’t risk getting caught by the police or heroes to simply deliver a message. Shouto was certain about that. Which meant that he had stayed behind to face Shigaraki for other reasons. Kai was strong, but so was Shigaraki. If the LoV leader got even one hand on Kai’s skin…

“Shouto… Shouto,” he realized Dabi was talking to him as the tattooed man grasped onto his right shoulder. He looked at his brother.

He couldn’t lose Kai. Not now. Not like this.

He…

Fuck. He cared about him. The way his entire body tingled with pleasure at the slightest touch when they were together. The way he looked forward to spending time with him. His desperate need to impress Kai, to talk with him, to touch him… The way his body ceased to function at even the idea that Kai might not return to him.

He loved him. He loved Kai.

He could feel the tears starting to burn at the corners of his eyes. The nausea rising up in his throat. The shaking returning to his hands.

“I think he’s in shock,” Dabi’s voice came from beyond him as he closed his eyes. “Shouto, I need you to sit down.” He felt his brothers hands guiding him toward a chair, allowing him to sit Shouto down.

He was just coming down from the drugs.

He just needed to know that Kai was alright.

“He was given multiple drugs tonight,” Tengai was speaking now. “He is probably just coming down off them. He’s going to be fine.”

Somebody set a bottle of water in his right hand, and Dabi was helping to guide it up to his lips.

“Shouto, I need you to drink this,” Dabi said. Shouto nodded numbly. He could follow orders. He just had to stay focused on that. He let Dabi pour the water into his mouth, ignoring the way it spilled down his chin and dripped onto his pants as he drank. It tasted surprisingly good, and he found himself downing the entire bottle. He hadn’t realized how dehydrating using just his fire had been, and he swore he could feel the cold water sliding down his throat and slowly spreading through his body.

The door opened and Tabe walked in, his burlap mask stained red around the stitched mouth. The last bullet. Everyone was there except for Kai.

Then he was being guided by Dabi and someone he didn’t recognize into another room. The other man was thin, wearing a white coat. The doctor. He was being taken in to see the doctor. God, he felt weak. Physically exhausted as he leaned heavily against his brother. Then he was being sat down on a bed, and the doctor was hooking him up to IV of some sort. He could hear him explaining it to Dabi, a simple dose of saline and pain-killer to help him recover from the drugs faster.

He closed his eyes as the doctor lifted up his left arm to examine it. The gentle pressure of his rubber-gloved fingers sending small shocks of pain through his system. He focused on the pain, relieved for something, anything, to distract him from thinking about Kai. Whatever went down between Overhaul and Shigaraki had already happened. It was already said and done, for better or for worse. And all Shouto could do was sit and wait to find out if Kai was still alive or not.

Please. Please let him be alive.

The doctor was applying a thick cream to his burns now, stinging as it coated his raw skin, especially so each time it covered a burst blister. Then he was wrapping Shouto’s arm up in a bandage, winding it over his shoulder and even wrapping it around his chest to cover as much of the burned skin as possible. Fuck, the wrap hurt worse than anything else, sending shooting pains up and down his body as it pressed against the raw skin. Shouto clamped his jaw shut, letting himself be moved this way and that. Despite the pain, the IV was helping. His nausea was all but gone, and his head was starting to clear up a bit.

The doctor made him lay down once he was finished, encouraged him to sleep.

He nodded. He knew that was probably the best thing he could do. But he also knew that he wasn’t going to sleep. How could he? He needed to know what happened. He needed to know that Kai was alright. If Kai was alright. So instead he lay there, vaguely aware of Dabi sitting in one of the chairs, his head leaned back against the wall, staring blankly at the ceiling. And he imagined a dozen ways that the interaction with Kai and Shigaraki could have gone. The longer time stretched out, the worse his imagination seemed to paint the scenes. And just as the certainty that Kai must not be alright had started to sink in, and Shouto could feel the panic and depression starting to take hold, the door opened.

He opened his eyes, glancing over.

It took a moment to register that he wasn’t imagining things.

“Kai…”

Kai was standing in the doorway. He was there and alive. But he was covered in dried blood, impossible to tell whether it was his or Shigaraki’s. His gold eyes met Shouto’s, and he arched his brow at the worry on Shouto’s face.

Shouto’s chest surged as they stared for a moment, and then Shouto was stumbling out of the hospital bed. He ripped the IV out of his arm and buried himself in Kai’s arms. He sobbed once as the man’s warm skin soaked through his clothes and into Shouto. He ran his hands up and down Kai’s back, ignoring the stiff, blood-soaked fabric and the pain that shot through his arm with every movement. Relief flooded through him at the reassurance that Kai was really here. That, after nearly two hours of worrying, he was actually alive and here in Shouto’s arms. The musky scent of Kai’s cologne was overwhelming as Shouto kissed him desperately, across his neck and jaw, and up over his face and lips. And then Kai had Shouto’s face in his hands, stilling his clumsy movements so that Kai could lean down and kiss him on the lips. His heart raced in his chest, the blood rushing through his ears as the kiss deepened and Shouto could feel the passion in the way that Kai slotted their mouths together, his tongue slipping between Shouto’s lips.

It was overwhelmingly familiar and warm, sending waves of desire through Shouto’s body. At the same time it felt so different. It wasn’t just lust that he could taste on Kai’s lips. His thoughts from earlier came back to him, and the realization rocked Shouto to his very core as his fingers dug into Kai’s shirt, trying to pull the man as tightly against him as possible.

He pulled back just slightly, their lips still hovering just outside of a kiss.

“I love you,” he whispered, the words felt foreign to him as he uttered them. They sent a thrill of both fear and excitement through him, and his breath caught in his throat as he felt the way Kai tensed below his hands, a low moan filling the air between them as Kai’s fingers tightened slightly, pulling him back so that Kai could once again look him in the eye.

Fuck. Everything else fell away as he stared into those golden eyes, searching.

The world stopped as Kai smiled at him. That absolutely sinfully sexy smile that Kai had given him the first time they had met at Dabi’s apartment.

“I love you, too, little fox.”

Chapter Text

Shouto & Endeavor
~Numb – Linkin Park
~Believer – Imagine Dragons (Thank you @Eskimoof!)
~Fight Back – Neffex (Thank you @acertainneko)
~Big Bad Wolf – In This Moment
~Hear Me Now – Framing Hanley
~Fall Apart – Billie Eilish (Thank you @acertainneko)

Shouto x Bakugou
~Always – Saliva
~Not Strong Enough – Apocolyptica
~The Night We Met – Lord Huron (Thank you @neongreen)
~Wicked Game – Daisy Gray
~Dirty Dirty – Charlotte Cardin
~Hatefuck – Cruel Youth
~Hate Me - Blue October
~No Time to Die - Billie Eilish (Thank you @someandrea)

Shouto x Overhaul
~Mistakes – Amanda Joy
~#1 Crush – Garbage
~Breathe into me – Red
~Inside the Fire – Disturbed
~Sick Like Me – In This Moment
~The Pheonix – Fall Out Boy
~The Magic - Lola Blanc (Thank you @Spideypal) (especially powerful after that final line of Chapter 30!)
~Power - Isak Danielson
~Catch Fire - Jenix (Thank you @ someandrea)
~Addicted - Saving Abel
~Dont Fear The Reaper -cover by Gus

Shouto
~Stand My Ground – Within Temptation
~Lose Yourself – Eminem
~Shatter Me – Lindsey Stirling
~Popular Monster – Falling in Reverse
~Darkside - Alan Walker ft Au/ra (Thank you @Spideypal)
~Little Bastards - Palaye Royale (Thank you @spideypal) (This song is especially powerful for Chapter 24 on)
~Crawling in the Dark - Hoobastank
~.45 - Shinedown

~I Don't Feel Quite Right - Palaye Royale (Shouto at the club on the night he reunited with Dabi)

Shouto x Momo
~This is home - Cavetown
~Touched - VAST

Dabi x Shigaraki
~Skin – Adema
~Partners In Crime - Set It Off
~Sucker For Pain - Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa,& Imagine Dragons
~Teeth – 5 Seconds of Summer
~Love Me Dead - Ludo
~Every you and Every me – placebo
~Hatef**k - The Bravery (Thank you @spideypal)
~Tainted Love - Marilyn Manson ~Savages - Kerli

Dabi x Hawks
~Back to Black - Amy Winehouse (Thank you @Puffypaw!) ~Whore - In This Moment (Thank you @Spideypal)

Dabi
~Firestarter – The Prodigy
~Not An Addict - K’s Choice
~Gasoline - Halsey
~Middle Fingers – Missio
~Duality - Set It Off
~I Will Not Bow – Breaking Benjamin
~I’m gonna show you crazy – Bebe Rexha
~Daisy - Ashnikko (Thank you @Spideypal)
~Trip Like I Do - Filter
~Megalomaniac - KMFDM
~Long Hard Road Outta Hell - Marilyn Manson
~I'm Not Jesus - Corey Taylor
~Freak On A Leash - Korn
~Snuff - Slipknot

Dabi x Shouto
~This is love - Air Traffic Controller (Thank you @spideypal)

Overhaul x Dabi x Shouto
~Play With Fire – Sam Tinnesz (Thank you @acertainneko)

Endeavor (Enji)
~Black Honey - Thrice

(THIS ONE IS TOTALLY JUST FOR SILLY FUN AND NOT SERIOUS)
For everyone who is here for the ‘Sluttyroki’ tag 😉:
~Weak - AJR
~Guys My Age - Hey Violet (Thank you @spideypal)