Bonus chapter because we met the power stones goal everyone !

Beginning of a new funny arc.

Make sure to check out the story's P@treon, Nar_cisseENG if you want to read up ahead of shedule.

*

Katsuki, Inaza, Mirio and Uraraka.

For some reason, I'd thought that Deku would find a way to attract All Might's attention and slip into the bowels of the Elite Class's secrecy.

But I'd been wrong, and the boy had wisely stayed with the commoners, unable to cause the slightest stir despite the inexplicable variable that was his Quirk.

I had once believed that this world was like a Swiss watch, and that it would always find a way to get back on track...

I climbed the stairs slowly, hands in my pockets.

Memories of one of my clones, in charge of Uraraka's surveillance, flooded over me like a wave.

I saw her get up at dawn, have breakfast with Jiro, heard them talk about Yaoyorozu, saw them train together, have lunch, split up, take a nap and go back to her room to study.

My clone hadn't let go of her for a second, not even in the shower - may I be killed on the spot if I let the slightest bit of information slip out due to excessive modesty.

This girl was a traitor, and watchinh her soaping her back wasn't even on my list of remorseful deeds.

Still, I expected her to try to contact All for One...

Not a suspicious phone call, a single email to an ambiguous recipient, or a strangely worded sentence to warn an All for One who might be listening. 

If it hadn't been for her scent on Kaminari's body, I would have almost thought I'd made a mistake. 

Almost.

I pushed open the 1-A door with a jerk and went straight to the lockers where our clown costumes were stored.

aizawa purposely rustled up a stack of documents so that I'd turn to face him.

Screw him.

I took out box number 7 and opened it quickly to see if my new costume was there- and yes, Nezu was definitely the fast type.

I wonder if it has a tracking device.

It certainly did.

I thought about leaving it here and asking Teka to make me one, but decided against it. 

Maybe it'll come in handy at some point...

I turned and walked back towards the exit, my eyes fixed on the door.

- We need to talk

I continued without stopping.

- Shoto

I froze on the threshold, one hand on the door handle.

- It's Todoroki

- We need to talk

- Fuck off

I opened the door so quickly that it slammed against the wall.

I walked away quickly, head down, refusing to even breathe the same air as him.

I felt him get up and follow me at a running pace.

- I'm sorry, he said

The stairs loomed in front of me.

- I shouldn't have asked you what I was did

Two girls came out of a classroom to my right, laughing, then glanced at I and him in confusion before crossing the corridor in the opposite direction.

aizawa grew silent, obviously not wanting them to hear what he had to say, and I felt the urge to rip his face off.

I turned on my heels and backed away, barely a hair behind the two blondes.

- What did you say, Sensei ? That you were sorry for asking me to kill for you?

The girls rexchanged a glance and crossed the corridor faster, taking a wide detour to avoid Aizawa.

- Very funny Todoroki

But the girls were already out of earshot and I had turned on my heels again.

- I didn't ask you to kill-

- You asked me to save your lovely students from people who wanted to kill them. What was I supposed to do?

- That you think protecting means killing is disturbing, to say the least.

‘All you're doing is justifying yourself. You could have neutralised them without having to...to...’

I stopped abruptly and Aizawa almost bumped into me.

Eyes narrowed, I hit his chest with my finger to force him back, then spat:

- Fuck you and your little moral lessons. You can't even protect your students and you come here to give me big speeches?

I snorted contemptuously.

Aizawa's face darkened.

- You don't know why I didn't ask you to save them ? You really don't know why I forced you to do it ?

- Apart from you being an asshole ? No, I really have no idea.

- It's because you would have said no.

I shook my head, deaf to his nonsense.

- You don't know anything about it.

- Don't make me believe that if we were there again, in that forest, just you and me, and I asked you to put yourself in danger and reveal your abilities to save them, you would do it.

- You have no idea what I'm capable of.

- If you had even the tiniest shred of empathy for anyone but yourself, we wouldn't be here today.

- Funny you should say that when we both know that Tokyo is still standing because I chose to be 'empathetic'!

Aizawa shook his head in disappointment, and I suddenly felt like punching him.

- Your power could revolutionize the world, Shoto. You could save so many people.

- The only thing my 'power' will do is start a war.

- Life isn't as bleak as you think.

- Interesting, considering your Quirk allows you to literally render men impotent. That kind of power must have led to a lot of covetousness, huh? That's why Nezu keeps you so close.

Aizawa shook his head.

- You have no idea what you're talking about.

- Natsume told me about you and your sister at the orphanage, and why Nezu only took you with him. How does it feel to be separated from your sister because of your power ?

Aizawa took a step back, shook his head and raised his hand as if to silence me.

- I'm not having this discussion with you.

- What's going on? You don't like it when our roles are reversed?

Lips tightened, aizawa kept shaking his head frantically and backed away with a crumpled mouth.

- Come and talk to me when you've calmed down.

I raised my hands in a theatrical gesture.

- Calmed down? But I've never been so calm. On the contrary, aizawa, let's talk. What did Nezu make you do? Let's compare our childhoods and see which is the most disturbing.

But Aizawa walked away, refusing to answer me.

I smiled triumphantly then left.

*

Hawks had no opinion of the Todoroki's youngest.

He worshipped their patriarch and had no shame in thinking the eldest should have died, but he had no opinion about the half-portion.

Not really a half-portion, since the boy was a head taller than he was, but still, he was only sixteen and no sixteen-year-old deserved his respect.

Still, he had to be polite, since Ryota had told him to make friends with him.

- Are we going to stare into each other's eyes for the duration of my internship? asked Shoto, chin up, eyelids half closed, stretched out in the chair as if he were the owner of the place.

- Why not ?

- Creepy

Hawks smiled.

- Tell me about yourself

Your Quirk or Quirks, your ambitions, the murderer with whom you share your blood.

- Shouldn't you be the one introducing himself ?

- We won't get very far if you avoid all my questions.

The teenager seemed to think for a moment.

- Shoto. Sixteen years old. I can do some pretty cool stuff.

He raised both hands to face level, slightly apart. 

Arches of yellow light passed from one hand to the other as Hawks watched, eyes wide open.

The infamous lightning.

He remembered the real one that had fallen from the sky like divine judgement when the boy had helped redirect Gigantomachia during the Tokyo incident.

- Or like this

The water in Hawk's glass began to quiver and he thought it would boil.

But bubbles of water floated into the air, and the boy spun them around like planets in the solar system.

Hawks hadn't read that in his file.

Humour, Keigo. Always use humour.

- Why are you showing me this? I hope you remember I work for the Commission.

The teenager replied impassively:

- But you hate them, don't you?

Hawks cocked an eyebrow in amusement.

- And what makes you think that?

- You told me yourself that all you like about them is the food and the money.

- It seems I've been saddled with a low-grade psychologist.

The water bubbles suddenly fell back into the glass, splashing everywhere on his desk. 

- And a mediocre magician to boot, Hawks added without breaking his half-smile.

The boy didn't seem offended.

Surprising, since his file described him as particularly sensitive.

- What's the deal? Did you sign a lifetime contract with them?

- I believe you're very interested in the Commission. Would you consider joining us?

The boy went on as if he hadn't heard:

- Touya signed something like that a few years ago. My father almost tore his hair out because of how mad he was.

Sparkling eyes.

- Perhaps you've heard about him ?

Hawks scratched his neck.

- Not in the least

Suddenly the boy stood still, as if frozen in movement, his eyes following Hawks' gesture with unsettling interest.

Then he began to move again, as if life were returning to him, his features becoming human again.

- I'm sure he's told me about you. He spent all his time complaining about a bird head who always beat him.

Hawks smiled politely.

- Really don't remember

- It was about ten years ago, maybe eleven. He had joined one of your preparatory classes at the beginning of the summer.

- I believe you're very curious about someone who's probably tried to kill you at least twice.

Shoto smiled - his cheeks rose to his cheekbones.

- You know what they say: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

Hawks scrutinised Shoto as if trying to judge his sincerity.

Then, for the first time since their conversation began, a sincere smile formed on Hawks' lips.

- This is the kind of information the Commission would appreciate.

Shoto raised his hand as if to throw his words back over his shoulder.

- For what it's worth...

This casualness, this apparent disregard for the rules, sent a surge of adrenaline through Hawk's body.

His wings quivered, rising behind him like a bird of prey about to swoop down on its prey.

Hawks jumped to his feet, smiling.

The boy, suddenly as taut as a bow, took another second to follow.

Hawks, in good spirits, whistled past him, one of his feathers brushing his shoulder. He opened the door of his cramped office to the world and its wonders.

- Let's take a walk outside. You don't learn to be a hero by staying cooped up in a prison.

Maybe the kid wouldn't be so bad.