Fire Within -Tododeku

Allegiances

Shouto waited for Dabi to stop laughing. He was clutching his stomach, as if Shouto had said the funniest thing in the world.

It was kinda creepy, he thought. After all, he just asked if Bakugo Katsuki had ties to the League.
"That moron? God! Shigaraki obliterated him. God! Came here thinking he owned the place. I'm going to make you all regret becoming villains in the first place, he said! Fucking hilarious if you ask me."

"So they met... and had a fight, and he was utterly defeated?"

"Fucker ran away. He was trying to pretend to be a hero even if he didn't have a quirk! It was really pathetic. Somehow, he managed to impress sensei, who gave him one out of pity, without asking for anything back. I know, it doesn't make sense, does it?" Dabi said and spat on the ground, clearly pissed off that Bakugo had surprised whoever was "sensei".

Todoroki's heart raced. So Bakugo did have ties with the league, somehow.

He was quirkless.

Somebody just gave him a quirk, which was the most shocking part. Someone had to have a quirk that allowed to take and give quirks, he mused, trying to find logic in the situation. And Bakugo was given the quirk for free, apparently, if that is what the phrase "without asking for anything back" meant.

Was Bakugo a villain? Was he betraying the heroes' side in order to pay the debt? Was that the reason why he was always so aggressive and rough, especially towards Izuku? The league did want to kidnap him too, after sending Toga after him. It wouldn't be surprising if the league ordered him to-

"Don't think too hard, little brother, it might hurt you." Todoroki was awakened from his inner turmoil by Dabi's attempt to reassure him. Shouto realized he wasn't pretending to not be shocked, and quickly schooled his expression into just plain seriousness.

"So... is Bakugo on our side?" Shouto asked, without needing to feign confusion.

"Don't you wish to know." Dabi shook his head. "Only sensei knows that."

*

Shouto was expecting it, but he still felt a sting of disappointment after Midoriya told him he didn't want to leave Endeavor. He wasn't angry at him: he knew that Endeavor's training methods were harsh, and that's why they worked in the first place. It would be all justified for the sake of "inner growth". He had been so determined to save Midoriya from Endeavor, only to be reminded he didn't want to be saved in the first place, because well, "puking wasn't so bad".
And the worst part? Todoroki understood it all.