MHA : Shoto Todoroki - Modern-day Terrorist

For a brief moment, the kid faltered.

Jin Woo's shadows seized the opportunity : they caught up to him, clasping around his ankles like handcuffs.

He squeezed.

Both he and his father exploded in a cloud of smoke.

Jin Woo stopped dead in his tracks, startled, eyes roaming over their smoky remains before he looked around, trying to find anything out of place.

There was nothing inconspicuous – or at least not conspicuous enough for Jin Woo to notice.

Wary, a ring of shadows burst from his chest and spread like a shock wave around him.

Except for himself, there was nothing and no one in a five-hundred-meter radius.

He frowned, his brain back-pedaling, trying to pick up on anything that could be interpreted as weird in retrospect.

When had he lost them ?

He was sure he'd never lost sight of them... had he been running behind this smokey creature since they left the prison ?

And what was this, anyway ? Since when did Shoto Todoroki have the ability to duplicate himself – or rather, to create illusory versions of him unable to sustain physical contact ?

Jin Woo couldn't be sure about the smell, but this doppelganger had a shadow, which meant it was material in some way.

The pace set had been punishing and, frankly, Jin Woo took great pride in his speed ; he'd just never expected to meet anyone who could outrun him.

His phone rang.

Jin Woo brought it to his ear.

"Yes ?"

Birds were chirping, the sun setting.

A beat.

"Nine ?", he asked, flabbergasted.

Nine had been one of the few privileged to get an expensive head bomb : he shouldn't have been able to get it off except if someone had helped him.

And from what they were telling him, the prisoners were grouping together with him as their leader.

He'd been a pain in the ass to catch and they still hadn't managed to fully unravel the secret of his Quirk : they couldn't afford to let him escape.

"Which direction ?"

Jin Woo gritted his teeth when he heard the answer.

Tokyo. Of fucking course it would be Tokyo.

"I'll intercept them"

He shot another glance around and disappeared into a pool of darkness.

*

"We've just received reports this evening that several prisoners have escaped from a maximum-security facility located just a few kilometers outside of Tokyo. Around thirty inmates, many serving life sentences, attempted the breakout. Thankfully, a military squad was deployed and successfully intercepted them before any contact with civilians occurred, resulting in zero casualties on the soldiers' side.

Initial findings suggest that recent volcanic activity has compromised the prison's structural integrity, leading to the escape. The sudden eruption of lava in various locations across Japan, particularly around Tokyo, has claimed around 2,000 lives nationwide. Experts are still trying to determine the cause behind this unprecedented volcanic awakening. Meanwhile, residents in high-risk areas are being evacuated as authorities cannot yet confirm if this is a precursor to something more significant or an isolated event."

*

Despite the cap and contact lenses, he knew he was still easily enough recognizable.

Two meters tall men were hard to come by, especially those who radiated heat as if they were living heaters.

Enji knocked on the door while looking around, trying to see if anyone may have spotted him.

His knocking turned to banging.

He didn't want to draw people's attention but he didn't have a lot of time either.

Footsteps echoed behind the door.

"Fuck's sake", Kaneki grumbled "I paid you Monday. What else do you f'ckin-"

He swung his door open, freezing when he realized who it was.

Behind him, Enji caught a glimpse of his and his son's face, both plastered on the channel news screen with 'WANTED' written in bold letters.

They'd used Shoto's mug – he was wearing the orange prison uniform, a bit of blood smeared across his cheek – and one of Enji without his Heroic costume, lest they send the wrong message to the population. Enji could count on one hand the number of times he'd been in Tokyo without his costume, which explained why the only picture they managed to get was one from a decade ago.

Kaneki tried closing the door but Enji's foot held it open.

"Oh hell no", Kaneki frowned, taking a couple of steps back "I'm not getting into this shit with you"

Enji raised his phone.

There was an ongoing call to the police.

A few streets away, police sirens wailed.

Enji stopped the call.

"There is no way you can make it out in time-"

Kaneki's face scrunched up in anger : he shouted, spit flying everywhere"

"You dumb fuck"

"-and you definitely won't be able to hide what needs to be hidden before they arrive"

Kaneki cursed because he knew Enji was right.

Kaneki dabbled in some rather dark matters even though he mostly worked for governmental agencies. They were happy to turn a blind eye to whatever he was doing but wouldn't put themselves on the line if someone discovered what he was up to.

He ran to an inconspicuous wall, pushed it aside, and grabbed a large, filled-to-the-brim backpack.

Enji moved aside when Kaneki got out, smoothly avoiding the cane that tried to smash his toes in retaliation.

Kaneki grumbled as Enji calmly followed him down the stairs.

"I've got a car", Enji said, gesturing to an old vehicle that no one would associate with him.

Kaneki frowned.

"I am never-"

Siren's lights hit the wall of his apartment building.

He cursed and slid into the passenger seat, Enji taking the driver's seat.

"If you go through the car pack there's another exit "

Enji nodded and drove.

After a moment, Kaneki said :

"As soon as I can I'm fucking off"

Enji smiled and drove them both away.

*

"Breaking news has rocked Twitter this morning as reports flood in about a daring prison escape. Among the group of prisoners attempting to flee from one of the most secure prisons in the world was none other than Shoto Todoroki. With the alleged aid of his father, both have vanished without a trace. While the public rallies in support of their actions, viewing them as victims rather than culprits, the government has responded by issuing an international arrest warrant for the fugitives"

*

BONUS :

Shirai watched the news grimly.

Everyone believed that the prisoners' evading was the result of one of these lava geysers sprouting in the basement and weakening the prison's structure – and it was to their advantage.

If it was known that one man had nearly brought Japan to its knees...

Shirai had always known that Enji Todoroki was a valuable asset, hence why he tried to control him.

Yet this – this was far beyond anything he could've ever imagined.

According to Jin Woo, Enji and he had merely fought for a couple of minutes, which meant Enji had triggered an apocalyptic-level event in as short of a time.

People like Enji and Shoto Todoroki were the perfect examples of why Quirk users should be monitored, and why there was no mercy when it came to Quirk users offenders.

A system of second chances meant leaving these people to their own devices after they'd already committed a crime mild enough to warrant prison but not enough for a death sentence, allowing them to grow stronger and more perverse.

Someone knocked on Shirai's door.

His secretary's head slid into the room.

"Sir ? I've got the data you wanted"

Shirai nodded and she briskly crossed the distance between them, handing him the casualties' report. Her ring caught the light, the flame drawing Shirai's attention for a mere second before he focused on more important matters.

Shirai's eyes roamed over the data, assessing and planning. Despite being persona non grata, he would keep doing his job and he'd do it well.

His secretary took a step back before a few of the other documents she carried fell on the ground.

"Apologies", she mumbled.

Shirai paid her no mind as she crouched next to him to pick up the scattered paper, slowly working her way to the back of his chair.

Thankfully the human toll wasn't that high.

The suddenly active volcanoes were a much more pressing matter, as were the number of damaged infrastructures. If they-

Two arms smoothly locked around Shirai's neck, pinning him to his chair.

His startled gaze went to the left where he tried to catch a glimpse of his secretary.

"Wh-"

"Our matriarch tells you goodbye"

She snapped his neck with a clean clack.

*

A/N : Teka may have been on the sidelines (because of Enji's wishes), it doesn't mean she didn't know what was going on - and she certainly didn't approve.

Shirai was her personal vengeance for treating her grandson badly.