MHA : Shoto Todoroki - Modern-day Terrorist

It had been a split-second decision : on the one hand, Jin Woo's back was to me, on the other, my dying father.

I slammed into Dad with the force of a bull, though I was careful not to knock the wind out of him.

I had caught fire as soon as I brushed him, a match lit up thanks to scorching heat, mentally panicking because what the fuck had dad been thinking getting his temperature so high and why the hell was there fucking lava roaring right under his skin-

Jin Woo's abnormal fully black eyes followed my trajectory with a slight delay.

His hand rose, shadows whispered.

All of my energy went to my legs, and in a flash, we'd disappeared from the near vicinity, the world blurring around us.

Yet Jin Woo caught up easily : we were leaving a trail of red fire, a flash of light that burned the very air in neon red.

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to go faster, leaving the shattering ground to start shattering trees while hopping from one to the next.

It puzzled Jin Woo for no more than a handful of seconds before he followed like the disgusting leech he was.

Still intent on not waiting to do damage control with Dad's body, I could not afford for Jin Woo to get to our level and, thus, take my mind away from the more urgent business.

Lightning fell from the sky, splitting the ground and sending scorched soil blocks everywhere. It effectively cut us from Jin Woo for three seconds before he bypassed it.

A shadow clone holding another equally shadow dad sprouted from me like fungus.

This one had more than 60% of my reserves, enough to grab Jin Woo's attention whereas I blanketed my chakra to make myself look inconspicuous, trying to conceal dad's energy too and cursing myself for never working out the ins and outs of concealing other people's energy.

Genjutsu covered us in a 'there's nothing here' blanket while we hit behind a large tree.

Rather than abruptly change direction, I settled on a more subtle approach for my clone : he ran straight ahead, only barely veering right so his course would be altered in a hundred meters or so, subtle enough not to raise suspicion hopefully.

As I still wasn't certain Jin Woo wouldn't see right through my trick, lightning bolts kept falling from the sky, acting like a barrier between my clones and him.

Jin Woo flashed past me without so much as an eye twitch ; I held my breath until both groups were halfway out of my sensory range before I bolted left, dying, inert father slumped on my shoulders.

His nose bled, each burning drop scorching holes through my orange uniform, then falling to the ground, burning the grass black.

Desperation made me carelessly fast : momentum built up in my legs until I bolted at close to light-speed levels of fast, faster than what I'd done at Atago-Jinja.

Yet the speed meant I, despite my sharingan on, could barely keep up with my blurred soundings.

More time than I could count we bulldozed our way through trees, obliterating them, while I hoped that no one would be unlucky enough to find themselves on our path, because I couldn't – wouldn't – stop.

Jin Woo and my clones got nearly out of my sensory field, and I shot across meadows and plains like a rocket.

The distance between us increased at breakneck speed as we were both running – really, shooting – in opposite directions.

My clone popped, hit by shadows, and I knew it surprised Jin Woo enough that I felt him stop dead in his tracks, wondering what was going on.

He stayed still for long enough that he got out of my moving sensory range. He didn't run back in.

The world was a stream of shapeless colors, and when the first drop of salty wind hit my nose, my legs buckled in relief and I fell to the ground.

The momentum propelled me nearly two hundred meters forward. I had enough sense to shift Dad from my back to my chest, rolling on the ground to cushion our fall.

Everything went to an abrupt stop, so fast that my brain got a mental freeze.

I hurriedly took off my mask and threw up, shaking like a leaf, sweating buckets.

Stars were dancing around me : the whole world felt as if it would collapse on itself, a black hole that would swallow us.

I threw up once more because the first time had just been an appetizer.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, ignoring how dirty I was, and dragged myself to Dad.

I was still on fire and so was he, even though his condition was more akin to spontaneous combustion.

I put my hands on his chest, assessing his condition. His organs would start shutting down soon.

I needed to lower his temperature enough before cooling him down, otherwise I'd just make it worse.

I used my body as a pipe, stealing his heat with my right hand and directing it to the ground below where it was diffused, using my left to repair his damaged organs as I did so.

Once I felt like he wouldn't suddenly die on me because of the stark difference in temperatures, I cooled him down.

Soon enough he was breathing better and so was I.

My hands flickered over his burnt epidermis, rebuilding it as quickly as I could, stopping all of the superficial bleeding.

The green light turned off.

I slumped against the ground, forehead against the warm floor, taking in deep, relieved breaths.

"You brought us to… to Atami ?"

Dad's astonishment was easily heard.

I rolled on my back, arms spread around me.

Seagulls flew over our heads, cackling. The green sea was sparkling.

"How fast did you… ?"

Water gently shot from the back of my mouth to my teeth, cleaning away the awful taste.

I spit the yellowish mix, and it dirtied my pants. I was too tired to care.

I closed my eyes. The world was still spinning.

Slowly – afraid I'd fall through the ground if I moved too quickly – I lay down.

Even though it was still it felt as if a hundred snakes were stirring beneath the surface.

"Don't..." Large gulp of air "Don't do that again", I exhaled, exhausted, trying to sound as reproachful as I could even though I knew I was failing miserably.

Dad stilled, yet at least he wasn't shameless enough to lie to my face.

My forearm rested on my eyes, shielding them from the sun. They were still burning and hurting so much. My chest was rising and falling quickly with every dizzying breath I was drawing in.

"I knew you hadn't planned on getting out alive"

There, just the right amount of anger.

I'd known the second I was told Atami was the destination that he had in mind.

Dad had launched himself into what he'd believed to be a suicide mission : he'd gone to save me and had been ready to lay his life for me had the need arisen, best case scenario end up in jail for me.

The fact that Teka had certainly endorsed his crazy plan was enough to make me want to murder someone. She must've had a backup plan to get him out if necessary, but it still infuriated me beyond measure.

I opened my mouth, closed it, and gritted my teeth.

The mere fact that he'd acted on such an idiotic plan disturbed me greatly.

The dad I knew would've devised a plan to get us both out of harm's way, he wouldn't have been ready – eager, even – to hurt himself.

It rubbed me the wrong way.

I wanted to say it but couldn't muster up the courage to.

"… don't do that again", I settled for, quietly.

He knew I knew, and I could only hope it would be enough.

Dad lay on the ground beside me.

He smelt like a smoking bonfire and, even behind closed eyelids, I could see him as clearly as if my eyes were open, radiating so much heat and light that he was eclipsing the sun.

In my mind, he was a crisp, radiant white disk, so bright that no shadows could exist in his presence. I basked in the warmth he provided, drinking it in greedily.

Last time I'd seen him he'd been cooped up in his room, unwilling to even acknowledge me.

"Nothing escapes you", he tried to laugh it off awkwardly.

I smiled weakly ; at least he was aware…

I didn't want to put him on the spot, and he didn't want to argue, so we stopped talking.

Tiredness hit me like a brick wall.

I was not crazy enough to sleep in what was enemy territory, so I settled for physical rest if not mental.

A hand gently shook me.

I blinked, looking at the setting sun with wonder, not remembering when I'd fallen asleep.

"They're here"

He showed me a large ship sailing in our direction.

I hardly got up, my muscles as heavy and rigid as stones. My chakra coils were hurting so much that I had never been more aware of my body's pathways.

I was so tired I felt like I was going to die.

Repeating the feat I'd pulled up at Atago-Jinja had been hard enough but I had to hold onto it enough to cross the distance between Tokyo's outskirts and here.

The craziest part was that Jin Woo had managed to keep up, albeit he'd been slightly behind.

The easiest way to permanently take care of him would be…

"Feeling good enough to walk ?"

Dad looked like shit too even though I'd done my best to patch him up, thus I didn't want to bother him by asking to use him as a crutch.

I nodded and stood up on my legs, though they were wobbly.

We walked down a trail that led us to the beach. The sand crunched under our feet.

Atami, far on the left, was devoid of any life that wasn't a stray cat or rabid dog.

There were still traces of Dad's nearly activated God Mode, crumbled buildings that I could spot, and cracks on the ground that I could imagine.

I still remembered years ago when Kenzei and I had gotten here : I'd thought whoever had tried to kidnap me – or kill me, I still wasn't clear about this – had emptied the city, and I'd always wondered how they'd done so, but the truth was, Atami was one of the many Japanese cities who'd seen her population dwell until, when the last elder died, there had been no one left.

I wondered if someone had bothered to clean the hangar or if there were still splotches of dark red everywhere, proof of the day I'd decided to live up to what I'd been born to do.

Salted wind hit my nose full force, chasing away the smell of death, though I could still smell blood vividly enough to taste it, and I pulled my mask back on.

Dad was hunched, walking quietly.

"They're not going to stop chasing us, are they ?"

The ship was maneuvering a smooth U-turn.

"They can't. I used the God Mode to such a scale that… Starting from today onward, we're fugitives. There's no coming back from this"

We stopped where the sea licked our shoes – or rather our toes.

We'd both nearly obliterated our shoes, Dad's burning to a crisp and mine's soles destroyed by friction, only the top staying fastened to our ankles.

"I don't think I've got anything left here anyway", I said.

Dad did, and he said nothing.

I could console myself with the fact that Keigo was alive and that I'd fulfilled my promise to Katsuki.

Natsu and Léo would be alright without me – they'd always been closer to each other anyway – and concerning Yuei… I was sure it would be a relief for everyone to know they wouldn't ever see me again.

"Can you truly walk on water ?", Dad asked.

I nodded.

"Just give me a few minutes to gather myself and then I'll get us on the ship"

"Who ever said anything about you getting us there ?"

He grabbed me by the back of my shirt and, fire bursting from the sole of his feet, shot us through the sky.

I'd have protested if I could – because he was the one more injured – but I was too exhausted to.

There were orange and reddish hues in the sky : anyone who looked up would have trouble picking us apart from the clouds.

We landed smoothly on the deck, a regal Teka waiting for us, hands clasped behind her back.

She scanned us both from head to toe, lips pursed, before something flashed in her eyes.

For a fleeting moment, it looked as if her shoulders were sagging with relief, joy smoothing her features before she smothered them.

"You look like beggars"

Dad shot her an unimpressed look, slightly annoyed.

"We are well, thank you for asking"

She shot him a sharp glance and the interaction – the silliness and familiarity of it – brought forth emotions I had trouble putting words on.

I quickly covered the distance between us and she frowned.

"Do not-"

I engulfed her in a hug, her head against the crook of my neck.

She froze and I knew Dad was watching me as if I'd grown two heads, yet the simplicity of the moment after everything that had happened made me emotional.

She awkwardly patted me on the back and moved her head away for a second, likely to send a 'what the hell happened to him' glance at Dad, to which I pictured him shrugging.

I let her go and looked at both her and Dad.

God how grateful I am to have them.

Noticing grandma's worried face, I shrugged :

"I'm just happy to see you"

"And I'm…", She frowned as if unsure how to express herself "...glad you're alive"

She looked so confused it was nearly funny.

Us Todoroki truly were a bunch of emotionally stunned people.

"It's time to leave", Dad said

Teka took hold once more of herself.

"Should we worry about them tailing us ?"

I shook my head.

"We lost them"

My clone had gotten Jin Woo as close to the Pacific Ocean as he could : they wouldn't consider searching in Atami for us for a while – if they ever did.

Teka turned to Dad.

"When can we expect to see you again ?"

I frowned.

"At least not for a few weeks. I'll have to lay low until they actively stop searching for us"

"It will take some time", she mused. "Are you certain you do not want to come with us ? We'll stop by an island not far from here to get our jet for Singapore"

"What do you mean Dad ? We're not going with grandma ?"

A vein throbbed on her forehead.

"Little sh-"

"I am not going with you"

I was utterly confused.

"What ? Why ?"

There was no reason for him to stay there – this country had nothing else for us.

"There's things I need to take care of", he said vaguely. "Some work that can't be left undone..."

"I'll come with you"

He shook his head.

"They will be searching for two people with our builds. If I travel alone, it will be easier for me to blend in"

"I can easily cover our tracks", I said. "I can make sure no one finds us"

I henged into Jin Woo to prove my point : dad's eyebrows shot up while grandma looked speechless.

Yet he still refused.

"It's something that I need to do alone"

I was racking my brain to find any reason for his rebuttal, going back to my own appearance in a nearly smokeless puff.

Even though I would bring him far more benefits than anything, he still wanted to do it – whatever it was - alone.

"There are some things that a father alone can do", he explained, as though this cryptic answer was worth anything.

Once more I felt uncomfortable and couldn't help but study him more intently than I'd done previously.

Despite the strong facade he was putting on, he looked wary, burst capillaries in his eyes and violet eye bags on sick-looking skin.

He rubbed his cheek and I noticed he'd missed a spot when he'd shaved, as if he'd barely been aware of what he'd been doing.

His brows were drawn low, his head tilted forward as though he was bearing a weight too heavy to carry on his own, yet refusing to share it.

Sadness permeated through his whole demeanor, and once more I bitterly wondered how much Touya's death had affected him.

"At least let some of our men accompany you"

Dad shook his head.

"Thank you but no. I will do it alone"

His gaze landed on me and it softened, my brewing resentment towards a dead boy evaporating like snow under the sun.

"I just needed to make sure Shoto was safe"

One of Teka's men ran to her and whispered in her ear.

"It's time to leave", she said

Dad nodded and walked to the ship's edge, his back to the sea.

"You'll see me soon again, alright ? Don't let your grandma boss you around too much"

Teka frowned.

"Who are you calling-"

"I'll be waiting for you," I said. "Just… send me a text or anything so I know you're alright"

I couldn't help the worry in my voice.

Dad frowned, smile dimming, then briskly walked up to me and hugged me tightly, burying his head in my hair like he used to do when I was a kid.

I hugged him with the same energy, trying to memorize him by heart as if I would never see him again.

If Jin Woo finds him…

"I love you", he breathed in my hair.

My throat was tight. I hugged him harder.

It felt like a farewell.

I let him go unwillingly and watched him as he jumped off the boat, Hell Flame activating instantly.

Teka and I, side by side, watched him until his fiery figure became a reddish dot then disappeared among the clouds.

She left to take care of some technical matters while I looked at the sky until I could not sense him anymore.

Teka gently squeezed my shoulder.

"Let's eat, shall we ? You look rather famished"

I nodded, letting her drag me away, though my gaze lingered to the last spot where I'd last seen him among the clouds.

I hoped for everyone involved that nothing happened to him, because I would go to hell and back for him.

*

A/N :

Monday's chapter I guess. 

We are exactly 11 chapters from the end of Part 2.

Starting from now on, know that everything that will happen has been written and planned before I even wrote the first chapter of this FF (even though it has been heavily edited). 

Part 3 especially is the whole reason I wrote this story and I'm freaking excited you'll soon get to read it. 

So yeah, 11 chapters left here. 

I'll probably drop the A/N soon so I don't break the story immersion but do comment, I'll read everything.

See you in the next update !