Notes: This chapter's timeline is going to be split into 2 segments. The first segment at the beginning will describe Shouto's first patrol with Iris (some bonding and I have big plans for these two in Act 2 and Act 3). However the second segment will take place 4 months after the first patrol, so yeah, just heads up.
TW: Mentions of mental illness
Chapter Summary: Shouto finally has his very first vigilante patrol with Iris. The two start bonding with each other, as Todoroki sees a lot of himself in Iris. After that we hit time skip (around 4 months) and Izuku finally encounters one of the first AFO's follower.
Shouto's PoV
We stood on the rooftop of a small tement house - I could feel gusts of cold air piercing through my whole outfit. I covered my mouth with my balaclava and looked down. It was quite peaceful but Iris insisted to stay there. In the meantime, I checked my gear - Iris advised me not to use katana on my first patrol because I had no experience in wielding it properly. It hurt my feelings more than I wanted to admit but then Iris offered to teach my some basic swordsmanship.
I put the gear again on my back and glanced over to Iris. She explained vaguely what they saw during the previous night - Izuku quickly put himself back together but Iris still remained that haze. She was way more distanced and constantly looked over her hands when picking the stuff up - a small physical contact caused her to startle and flinch violently.
That continued till the patrol when she regained some of her composure. It didn't make things any easier though - I knew that first hand. Sooner or later, it would come back to bite in the ass. But I kept quiet - Iris made it clear that she didn't want to talk about it. So I avoided the topic as much as I could - but it didn't mean that I would let go. No, I couldn't burn my back on the case like that - something that reminded me too much of my past.
Then I noticed Iris signal - a drug dealer theatening an innocent looking old man in a sweater. I created an ice slade and both us landed on the ground in the matter of seconds - the drug dealer smirked and activated his Quirk. His nails extended to the length of his leg, colored black and sharp as a blade.
-"This is the day when you die, bastards" - the dealer hissed cockily
Iris drew her blade from her back and prepared for combat. In the meantime I created a glacier and shot small ice blades from it. But the man crushed all of them with ease and sprinted towards us - I took a deep breath and clenched my fist. I still had some form of hesitation when it came to my fire side - but then I activated it. The orange flames flourished from my arm and directed the fire column towards the man.
But the Nails were faster, directed towards my eyes. And then, I saw fleeting glint of the steel and sharp sound of someone cutting something. It was Iris with her trusted sword - she swung the blade towards one of the Nails, cutting them with an utmost precision. With no time to lose, I imagined a large fireball who shot up towards the man. He screamed enraged when his Nails turned to a pile soot and ash mixed with blood.
The dealer coughed and looked at us through bleary eyes.
-"Who the fuck are you?!" - he yelled furiously
-"I'm Frostfire and this girl is Iris" - I informed the criminal -"We're the part of the Vigilante team called "Eclipse".
-"Tell the criminals, that we're the storm. And we're coming for all of you" - Iris added viciously
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We continued the patrol till around 4 A.M. and the first sun started to rise on the horizon. Iris decided that was the time to get back - but before that, I proposed to grab a snack from a local 24h shop that we noticed along the way. Iris reluctantly agreed and we bought two muesli bars and two bottle with soda. We sat on the bench near the store to get some rest and to not pass out from exhaustion on the way back.
We also had to take care of Iris right hand - she injured it when she shielded me from the attack of one petty thief with a knife. The blade slashed across the sleeve of Iris hoodie - it wasn't a major injury but it required a medical attention. Fortunately I managed to grab some medical supplies before going out.
-"Whenever I go, it always seems that someone's arm gets injured. It's like a curse" - I muttered to myself, feeling a bit guilty -"First was Midoriya, then Ilda and know you".
-"Stop guilt tripping yourself, I took a stupid protective hit. I bet that you would manage to block or evade it. That's it, period". - Iris groaned annoyed
It made me quite happy to hear annoyance in her voice - it was a sign that she was breaking out of that haze that she was stuck in.
-"Hmm...It's all coming together" - I whispered
-"Hmm?" - Iris looked at me confused
-"Are you Villain's sercet love child?" - I asked dead serious
For second there was a suffocating silence, only the subtle hustle of the city in the background.
And then, Iris started wheezing and laughing at the same time - she clutched her belly and bent her back. She took a breath, like she was grasping for air and went back to laughing again. Tears formed in the corners of eyes.
-"No..Shouto...for Kami's sake...why the hell you would think like that?" - Iris scoffed when she finally calmed down -"But thanks for that, Frosty. I needed a good old laugh".
-"I'm not 'Frosty" - I tried to defend myself
-"Now you are" - Iris decided with a grin
-"Revenge it seems. If I'm Frosty, then you are...Blondie!" - I counterattacked with a smirk
Iris surrendered with a huff but a small spark of joy didn't leave her eyes.
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4 months later
Izuku's PoV
The thug lied on his back, gasping for air - a solid kick in throat from Shouto did wonders and pinned the criminal down. I reached out to Iris for the rope and she handed it over from her small backpack. She started to carry it after Shouto got injured while taking down a government agent that was meant to simply assassinate people with Meta's.
The man didn't move an inch but he stared directly into Iris silver gray eyes. Like he was desperately searching for something in her gaze - something that he knew. In the response, Iris only raised her eyebrown and the she scoffed with contempt. She gripped her hand on the handle of her sword and turned around to patrol the area.
I pinned the man down to the wall of the building and looked him in the eye.
-"Frostfire, you'll be watching him if he would try to escape" - I told Shouto and he nodded
I binded his wrists and ankles with a piece of scratchy rope and started the interrogation.
-"Pitiful vigilantes, your work is futile" - the man hissed with an ugly smirk
-"Who are you working for?" - I asked the thug coldly
-"Does it matter? Soon enough, everyone is going to be under his control. Nothing misses his attention" - the criminal replied bluntly
-"Keep talking shit and I'll be the one to kick you in the balls" - Shouto warned him sharply
-"What a pity. With such powerful Meta as yours, he would reward you richly. But it's not too late, child" - the man offered
-"Like I would want to do anything with son of the bitches like you" - Shouto commented without batting an eye -"You better start anwsering his questions, ugly".
-"Let me repeat myself: W-h-o a-r-e y-o-u w-o-r-k-i-n-g f-o-r?"
-"Oh, the underground already heard of that man. I'm sure you're aware of his name" - the man replied -"His name is All for One".
AFO - he already started running his criminal empire. And we were too late to stop this from happening.