1 out of 5 //A Todoroki Family Story//

11

Last night Kiego convinced me to just go home. We didn't talk again about what happened. Not like I wanted to.

I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about Touya. I promised myself I would help him.

I've got to push it all aside today. Kiego asked me to be his plus one and watch him on the billboards and join him at the after party tonight. So thats what I'll do. He's been a decent friend, more than decent and its my turn to return the favor. He hates these events, he absorbs the spotlight well but I can tell its not really him, he's a good actor though.

Instead of coming in my hero costume I dress nicely. I put a satin, silver, slip dress over a mesh black turtleneck shirt. I pair it with a thin black belt and some heeled boots. I leave my freshly dyed black hair down for once, styling it in a middle part. My makeup is light too, the only bold thing is a bit of red lipstick. I look a bit Gothic but no way in hell is anyone gonna dress me up like a plastic doll.

The dress has two slits going up to my mid thighs. The dress itself goes to my knees. My legs covered in fishnet tights and a pair of shorts under the dress. Its still a perfectly functional outfit.

A sleek black car takes me to the billboards ceremony. I don't pay attention to most of it, a pair of earbuds drowns out the overly enthusiastic presenters and stoic heros. I look up to see Hawks swaying, moving and jittering. His wings twitching as Edgeshot gives his thank you speech. I watch Mirko side glance at him, then she locks eyes with me and smirks. I barely know the woman, but I know her and Hawks have history. Which means we both know whats going to happen.

I roll my eyes and put my head in my hands. I quickly rip out my ear buds as Hawks takes the mic from Edgeshot mid sentence.

He floats above the stage, giving his speech of hating numbers and how he has the best approval ratings. He keeps jabbing at Endeavor, something I can't help but laugh at. The people surrounding me give me looks like I'm a lunatic. But I don't care, this is the funniest kind of petty I have ever seen.

I get up and leave as soon as the mic is passed to my father, the temptation to put out his flames is far too strong. Oh how I long to embarrass him. To out him as the terrible person he is right in front of everyone here. But patience is key.

I walk back stage, flashing my ID at the security guards. The heros are still on stage so I decide to take a seat and look at my phone, a few others are back here but not many.

I get a ping from Natsuo

Ahahaha your boss just roared that burnt shit.

I smile at that. At least he's happy, I'm sure Shouto is smiling as well, wherever he is.

And Touya, I hope he saw it.

I scroll through updated new outlets on my phone. The LOV is increasing in numbers , and the amount of high threat villains supporting them is increasing as well. Its been a steady incline since the Hosu incident and Stain went viral.

Eventually the doors from the stage open and the heros all walk in. I shove my phone into my bag and stand. Hawks and Mirko walk over immediately. Endeavor is caught up in conversation with another.

"I don't know whether to call you an idiot or a genius right now," I say blandly.

"That was pretty ballsy huh Mercury?" Mirko asks. She puts her muscular arm around my slender shoulders. "I like the look by the way. Edgy suits you girl,"

"Thanks," I mutter.

"Oh shit," I hear Hawks whisper. Some of the heros start to clear out, Endeavor makes a beeline for us.