Cyclone - Shoto Todoroki

Chapter One

Always, for as long as he lives, he will never want to admit that he's alone.

Shoto had long since left the shadow of his family house, and was faced with a distressing revelation. What should he do now?

Shoto had rarely set food outside into the land unowned by Endeavor, and had limited knowledge of travel and fleeing a crime.

But, it was late at night and the weather was pleasantly cold, so surely if he picked a direction and walked far enough he would figure things out, he thought.

And so Shoto walked through the dark streets of Shizuoka, taking in the area with a newfound spark in his eyes, curiosity getting the better of him as he touched a telephone pole only to find himself pleasantly surprised as it was cold even to his right side.

The circumstances were deeply unpleasant, and Shoto was surprised he had yet to break down in regret or relief. He was always known to be apathetic, all semblance of empathy discarded in favour of creating a mask numb to all emotions.

Perhaps this meant he was beyond saving, or maybe it was a good thing. His father always said that remorse helped nobody, but Shoto was unsure how much weight should be placed on the man's words now. Afterall, he was dead; a failure by his own standards.

Shoto felt like he had been walking for hours, when he suddenly stumbled upon a blinking white light at the end of an alleyway, narrowing his eyes to offset the intensity of its glare. He was well aware that walking down such a sketchy alleyway would probably not be the smart choice.

And yet his feet moved independently of his brain, rationality thrown to the wind as he shuffled around trash cans and discarded objects. Luckily, as he got closer to the light it's strength began to dim into something much more tolerable.

He stepped over a final bag of trash and found himself standing in another street, vastly different from the one he just left. The road had neon signs lining the walls, displaying the names of the stores attached in flashing colours, despite the fact that only a few appeared to be open this early.

Looking ahead, he can now see that the light visible through the alleyway had been two lamps hanging on both sides of a sign reading 'Subway.' He knew that the subway was a form of public transport, but had always been warned against travelling on them.

But he was also aware that he had no choice but to continue moving, the farther away the better, and the subway was likely the best of very few options.

And so, Shoto stepped forth into the bright entrance, body tensed and eyes narrowed, prepared to defend himself if his fathers warnings were to be believed.

As he stepped inside, the first thing that caught his eye was the staircase leading underground, well lit with white tiles reminiscent of a hospital. He felt reassured by the lack of other people and the low hum of machines, likely working to keep the enclosed space warm.

Letting out a breath he hadn't realised he was holding, he gripped onto a yellow handrail and began to make his way down into the station.

Unsurprisingly the trend of white tiles and bright white walls continued downstairs. He noticed a guard walking around, glancing at him suspiciously before lifting his hand up and speaking into what Shoto assumes to be a phone of some sort.

The space stretches out and is much bigger than the small entrance outside implied, with benches lining the walls and a long fence running next to the train tracks, gates spread out evenly for passengers to board.

Shoto walked up to an empty bench, hesitating momentarily before sitting down on the cold plastic surface with a huff. He felt glad that he could finally rest, as the heavy weight of his bag had begun to pull uncomfortably on his shoulder, still healing from a recent dislocation.