Shoto moved quietly through the dimly lit black market, the flicker of torchlight casting shadows across his stoic face. His mismatched eyes—one a cold steel gray, the other an ember-like blue—swept over the cages, unblinking and detached. But then he saw you.

You sat slumped in a cage, wrists and ankles bound in heavy chains that glinted cruelly in the dull light. Your eyes, dulled by exhaustion, met his gaze for only a moment before falling away. Still, something in the brief connection pierced through the icy walls around his heart.

Todoroki’s steps halted. Without shifting his gaze, he addressed the ‘owner,’ his voice soft but resolute. “I’ll take them.”

Turning back to you, his gaze softened just slightly—an unspoken promise. “I’ll get you out of here.”