The sounds and commotion that was usually quite common in a police station were faded. They were distant. All Todoroki could feel was the distinct vibrations coming from the cat in his lap and the tornado of thoughts and feelings swirling chaotically through his mind. He had to get them under control. Now was not the time to be emotionally vulnerable. 

There was never a time to be emotionally vulnerable. 

But he couldn't keep the thoughts away. He didn't know how to feel. How he was supposed to react. He certainly wasn't sad that Endeavor was gone, but he was his father. No matter how abusive or manipulative he was, he still meant something to Todoroki. Connections to people can be complicated, Dear Reader, and Todoroki's emotions regarding his father can definitely be categorized as complicated. 

So very complicated.

Todoroki wasn't sad that Endeavor was gone, but he wasn't happy either. What was going to happen to him now? What was going to happen to his mother? Why did Izuku do this?

Why did Izuku betray him?

Now that was another complicated mess of emotions. Izuku. Beautiful and bright Izuku. Lying and murderous Izuku. Sad and scared Izuku. Todoroki didn't know which version was the real him. 

"Shoto Todoroki?"

The distressed teen looked up to see a police officer standing in front of him. The man was eyeing Soba warily. "Come with me, please."

Todoroki nodded and stood up, cradling the cat in his arms. Almost as though he was daring them to kick her out. It was best to put away his feelings for now. 

Or forever. That would work too.

"Breaking News, dormant villain Deku has re-announced himself back to crime by-"

"The number one hero Endeavor was found in his home earlier this week-"

"The death of the number one hero coincidentally coincides with his sons seventeenth birthday-"

"Deku is back in business, witnesses say after sightings of a black-haired boy similar to the teen villain roaming the streets covered in blood-"

"The question we believe everyone is asking now is this: what are the villains planning and will Japan be able to stay safe?"

Todoroki goes back to school the next day. UA made sure to contact him to let him know that if he needed a few days off, the Todoroki was more than welcome to be absent but, it wasn't neccesary. Todoroki knew his education was important, these years were vital to his education. Not to mention the exams that were steadily approaching. 

No, Todoroki wasn't going to take a day off from school. He was fine.

He was fine.

Uraraka and Iida immediately confront him when they see him in homeroom.

"Todoroki, you were expected to be absent for at least a few days. There is no need for you to be here, your fellow classmates will assist with taking notes for you when necessary," Iida scolded as he vigorously chopped his hands in sharp up and down motions.

Uraraka, on the other hand, was more blunt about the whole situation, which Todoroki found himself appreciating. "What happened? We've all seen the news, and most of them don't even want to ask but, Izuku was our friend and- Todoroki, what did he do?"

Todoroki didn't want to tell them. He really didn't. They could say something to one of the pro-heroes and Izuku could be in even more danger. Despite himself, Todoroki still wanted to protect his friend. But Uraraka and Iida were close to Izuku. Surely they wouldn't do anything to hurt him? They took his absence hard. Even after hearing about all of the crimes he committed and the people he hurt, Todoroki always had this inkling that all they wanted was for Izuku to be safe. 

So he told them. Todoroki told them how after their battle in the alleyway, Todoroki literally had to steal Izuku's unconscious body away to safety because he was so damn stubborn and how he forced Izuku to stay. About how, after a few months, the time limit Todoroki had given Izuku seemed to have been altogether forgotten and they had adjusted to living together. He told them about how yesterday, he went to school, then came home to find his father dead and Izuku missing. 

Neither of them seemed to know what to say.

••••••••••••••••••••

Izuku was thrown back into his old room and let out a soft groan when he hit the floor. That was going to hurt tomorrow. Not that it mattered. The pain was preferable to thinking, but Izuku was Izuku and that made thinking a difficult thing to escape. 

To trap an Izuku with regrets in a room with nothing but his own thoughts is really the cruelest type of psychological torture a person could be capable of, Dear Reader. And now Izuku was sitting in an empty and silent room, with nothing but his thoughts and a cot on the ground that was so shabby it looked colder than the rest of the room. His old uniform lay on the bed taunting him. Laughing at him. Reminding him.

Izuku was a villain. A murderer, now. His time with Todoroki was blissful, a distraction from the truth of who he was. Who did he think he had been kidding? Babysitting? Fixing up houses? Mowing lawns? He was a villain, that was the simple truth. Helping people would never be a part of his nature. His nature was to hurt people.

His nature was to destroy them. Because that's what he was made for.

Izuku thought back to something the shadow man with the deep voice had told him when he had first arrived. The man had told the teen that his father had given up on him, had handed him to the first person he could find and said to do something to fix his pathetic and weak child. And the person did. They made you powerful, the man had told him. You should be grateful to have such an important purpose. You were nothing, and we gave you everything, he said.

Izuku genuinely wished he had been nothing, because being something, being a villain, seemed a much worse fate. He had finally found someone who had been able to help him, then he had turned around and stabbed Todoroki in the back. 

And he made sure to twist the knife.

I'm a monster, he realized. I'm a murderer, and a monster, and I'll never be anything else.

He tries to resist. He does, he really does. He refuses to train and he refuses to hurt people. He denies to comment when he's talked to about some strategy for crime.

"Izuku." 

The man's voice was dangerous and set all of the teen's alarm bells ringing furiously, but he refused to acknowledge them. He stood in front of his boss (Personally, I would call him a manipulator.) arms crossed and face blank. He didn't move a muscle. He didn't even dare to breathe. 

"Izuku, look at me~"

He didn't look.

"If you don't follow my orders, there will be consequences. You know this. Just listen to me and we won't need to take any... oh, what's the word? Ah, yes, drastic action."

Izuku felt sweat run down his back, but did nothing. He stared on blankly. He refused to give that man the fear and emotions he sought out.

The shadow that remained over the man's face said nothing, yet it told Izuku everything. The shadow was colder. Angrier. The man's voice was no longer gentle or teasing. It was harsh and short.

"Fine then. You know where to take him."

The villains standing behind Izuku every waking moment that was not spent in his cage of a room stepped forward and grabbed his arms. He did not fight. He done this enough times to know that it hurt.

It was a week before he recovered.

The man tries to coerce Izuku into training again. The two villains assigned to watch his every move stood behind him, and the two villains in front of him who were assigned to train with him seemed frustrated. No doubt they wanted to rough him up a little.

Izuku had prepared himself to refuse.

And then he couldn't.

The next thing the boy knew, his eyes were opening and his opponents lay motionless on the floor in front of him. Izuku couldn't breathe until he noticed that their chests were moving steadily up and down.

The man in the shadows didn't seem to care at all. He simply smiled a smile that made a cat's hair stand on end. It was a smile that had no business being labeled as a smile.

"Good. You may prove to be of worth after all."

____________________

It's super late, but I couldn't sleep and I figured I might as well write while I have time! Please let me know if you see any mistakes, its 5 am.

Love you all; please wear a mask when you go out and wash your hands!

M_B