The Rising of the Shield Hero of Peace

Chapter 6: A New Member

After much planning and decision-making, Yagi and both his new and old students agreed to visit the Melromarc church at nighttime, where they would be less likely to be spotted by other people.

Todoroki, however, got sidetracked into an alleyway after hearing the cries of a little girl. He was right in following the cries, as a young female with brown hair and red eyes rushed towards him, fear present on her face. She looked terrified at first, but quickly calmed down when she saw Todoroki standing there, and held onto him tightly.

"Mister! Please help me! He's chasing me down!" The girl pleaded.

"Where are you, brat?!" A man growled.

Now Todoroki was on high alert, whatever that man wanted with the girl, it's certainly nothing good.

"Help me... Please..." The girl begged, hugging Todoroki's leg.

Todoroki wasted no time, he used his ice to freeze the entrance to the alleyway, grabbed the girl who climbed onto his back, and made a run for it. The girl hugged Todoroki's back tightly, both to not fall off him and to signify she felt safe with him.

After managing to find a safe place to hide, the girl got off Todoroki's back and hugged him again for saving her.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" The girl said.

Todoroki, not used to receiving much affection, made the situation slightly awkward. However, he responded to the girl's thanks.

"Don't mention it. It's just my job to protect people." Todoroki said.

Upon closer inspection, Todoroki noticed that the girl had some type of dog-like ears and a bushy tail. There were also some bruises and cuts on her skin, some visible through her ripped clothing. Todoroki took some bandages out of his pocket and carefully wrapped them around the girl's arms and legs.

He also took out some healing potions to make sure the girl recovered faster. After doing all that, Todoroki called the other heroes via a crystal ball he had found out also worked as a communication system.

"Everyone, this is Todoroki. I found a kid being chased down by a man. It seems like they're in a bad situation. I'll be taking care of the kid for a while, I'm gonna need some help." He said.

"Understood. We'll be there in a moment." Deku said.

"Um... What is your name, mister?" The girl asked, wanting to know what she should call her hero.

"I'm Shoto Todoroki, a hero. What about you?" Todoroki said.

"Raphtalia..." The girl replied, a bit confused at what Todoroki meant by being a hero, until she saw his daggers that resembled a cardinal weapon.

Todoroki was well aware of the story of waves of calamity and the cardinal heroes after Yagi had told his new students to catch them up on what was happening. But the thing is, the hammer, axe, and dagger heroes were not mentioned in said story.

"I am a hero, but not one of the main four. My weapons are these daggers." Todoroki explained, showing Raphtalia his daggers.

Raphtalia was about to ask something else, but she started coughing repeatedly. Todoroki took notice and lit a fire with his quirk, as it was a chilly night. Todoroki did not expect what would happen next, as he felt Raphtalia's arms wrap around him tightly. However, what Raphtalia saw as a show of affection, Todoroki saw her actions as a way to increase both their body heat.

This made Todoroki move Raphtalia closer to his left while using his fire quirk to warm her up faster. Raphtalia interpreted Todoroki's actions in a way that made her blood rush to her cheeks, making her blush. This misunderstanding was made worse minutes later when Motoyasu, of all people, found the pair. Needless to say, Motoyasu did not interpret this the right way.