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HEROES TODAY Magazine, February Issue, Year 2148.
The February air always brings that specific scent of change at the start of the year, a strong coffee in the morning, and warm desserts to survive the winter, but it also brings a sea of romance with the flavors of Valentine's Day.
In this issue of HEROES TODAY, we will delve into how love can also be a power capable of saving, transforming, and going against the grain. We will share moving stories of rescue heroes, like Uravity, who brings smiles to countless faces every day.
Of course, in our centerfold, we'll have an interview with Shouto and Deku, who have been married for three years.
How can a hero balance their busy professional life with love? How can not one, but two heroes manage it at the same time? Find out in this issue! Let's keep celebrating love!
CONTENTS
Page 4 - Valentine's Day Charity Events.
Page 6 - Take our trivia quiz and win a romantic trip for two!
Page 10 - Love on the Rescue: Heroes who risk their lives every day to save others.
Page 16 - The founders of GeL Inc. open their home to us.
Page 20 - The Latest Heroic Updates!
Page 24 - Love in the age of heroism: The most iconic couples of all time.
Page 31 - DIY Gifts to confess your feelings.
Pages 35-40 - Cover Story: How to keep the spark alive in a long-term relationship? Heroes Deku and Shouto share their secrets.
Page 50 - You Can Be a Hero Too! In this issue… how to make compost.
Page 64 - The best looks of January.
Pages 72-75 - Love letters from our readers, four-page special.
On page 35, there was a photograph of Deku and Shouto, both dressed in the same outfits they wore on the cover: elegant, light-colored clothes, reminiscent of the suits they wore during their civil wedding. There were other photographs on the following pages, some showing them separately– Midoriya was smiling brightly while holding a Shouto plushie, while Todoroki was holding one of the official Deku hero merchandise.
The last photo showed them in their hero suits, smiling side by side and showing off their wedding rings.
The section was titled: “How to keep the flame alive in a long-term relationship? Heroes Deku and Shouto share their secrets.” A little further down, the first block of text opened, beginning as follows:
Ten years of relationship, three years of marriage, all while both have been immersed in the world of heroism. HEROES TODAY interviews Deku and Shouto this month of love, sharing domestic anecdotes, reflections, and of course, advice for our lovebirds.
Ten years have passed since you began your relationship while still walking the halls of UA, in your 3rd year. If you could briefly describe that time, how would you do it?
“It was a very fun time,” Deku commented, settling into his seat, his gaze softened by memories. “We were in that kind of push and pull where friendship was slowly turning into something more.”
“I remember asking Izuku out about three times in a row because I wanted to officially ask him to be my boyfriend, but more people always joined in and it ended up turning into a group outing,” Shouto smiled. “It was a time I really cherish.”
“We learned a lot from it, and there was never a shortage of laughter. During our 3rd year we were able to experience our teenage years more fully, with no war anymore, so we spent more time talking, studying, and finding excuses to be together.”
“We did a lot of silly things, too.”
“Part of the experience,” Izuku laughed.
Who would you say made the first move, or were there advances from both sides?
“I had the idea of confessing my feelings first,” Todoroki replied, “but with what I mentioned earlier about dates turning into outings with more people, I gave up for a couple of weeks. Izuku, as always, confronted me one day while we were in the common room.”
“You seemed off,” the freckled man agreed. “I knew something was going on, but I never would have imagined it was a love confession. It was like a dream come true when it happened.”
Both smiled, undoubtedly replaying the scene in their minds. Todoroki added, “You could agree it was a mutual move, Izuku deserves the most credit for getting the words out of my mouth, though.”
Was there a key moment when you realized it was no longer just a teenage relationship, but something that was meant to last?
After pondering the answer for a few moments, Deku spoke first. “There was a day, yes. We'd been dating for a little over two years when I was thinking about my future. At that time, I was already studying at university to become a teacher. When I noticed that all my projects involved Shouto, I realized that I really wanted our relationship to be long-term.”
“In my case, I think it was during some dinner in which I invited him to my apartment. I had recently moved out of my family’s house, and we managed to find time together at the end of our shifts. We cooked and talked about a TV series until it got late, jumping from one topic to another as we always do. It created such a cozy atmosphere that I wanted to have that every day, if possible.”
Was there a breaking point when you thought the relationship might be coming to an end?
Midoriya and Shouto shared a wordless glance, debating who would speak first.
“I think it was during the third or fourth year of our relationship. To put it simply, there was a certain distance,” Izuku explained, glancing at his husband every few seconds, knowing he was being completely honest, but that he had to respect their privacy. “At that time, the hero rankings were still extremely important and I was doing my last year at university.”
“We weren’t living together yet,” Todoroki added. “It was really hard to coordinate schedules, because I patrolled at night most of the time. It wasn’t until the following year that I started rotating shifts and we were able to see each other a little more often.”
“It was really hard to maintain a consistent relationship, but thank goodness we have texts and calls,” Izuku smiled, patting the phone he kept in his hoodie pocket.
Let’s talk now about how you manage to separate the battlefield from your home life. Where do you draw the line between one world and the other?
“It’s less complicated than it sounds,” Todoroki commented, his face calm. Years of experience had taught him to be professional enough to know how to separate his job and personal life. “Having worked with Izuku as a mission partner during our school years helped me figure out what our relationship as colleagues is like, where we maintain the professional distance.”
“Now, there was a time when we worked for the same agency, and I have to admit it was a little difficult for me to accept that I needed to have a different attitude at certain times, but I eventually learned it almost naturally.”
“The important thing is that, once we get home, we have an unspoken rule that we don’t talk about work unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
Izuku nodded. “Being home is for unwinding.”
Have you ever argued about decisions made during a mission?
They both nodded, probably recalling more than one story behind that immediate answer.
“Disagreements are inevitable in the middle of work, especially when it comes to spontaneous emergencies. There are countless decisions, strategies, and personalities,” Todoroki said. “It’s something that happens among heroes, whether they’re a couple or not.”
“I remember a time when we had to decide whether to cut the power to an entire neighborhood or not, without knowing if there were any people whose life depended on electricity in the area. Yes, it was too risky for those who lived there, but the criminal was feeding on electricity to increase his physical strength, so cutting off the power supply was a huge advantage for us.”
“Fortunately, Izuku was convinced to isolate the criminal while I quickly evacuated the area in search of people dependent on electricity. It was risky, but we managed to arrest the culprit within that same hour.”
“All without any casualties, that's the importance of reaching agreements,” Deku laughed, nodding his head.
Before moving on to slightly deeper questions, we can stop at something lighter. When one of you gets hurt, who's the worst patient?
Without wasting any time, Todoroki pointed at Izuku, while the latter pointed at himself in the same way.
“I feel like I'm too impatient to even be called a patient,” Deku joked. “I admit I'm reckless, but my body just moves on its own.”
“It's just that Izuku has a very high pain tolerance,” Shouto explained, a warm smile playing on his lips. “He only stops when he's already crossed the line... miles away. During his first year at UA, he didn't even stop when he had multiple fractures in his arms.”
“Yeah… I remember that.”
“During our fight at the sports festival, he really pushed all kinds of boundaries. I thought he would learn something from those experiences, but even now, as an adult, he still doesn't respect hospital discharge dates.”
“Shouto, love, we get it.”
What's the hardest part about loving someone whose job involves so much risk?
“Well... since we're both heroes by profession, we know what we're up against every time we walk out the door to work,” Shouto began, crossing his legs on the couch in the interview room. “I'd say the hardest thing, at least for me, is knowing that even though I want to be there when the person I love is in danger, I can't always be there. Being heroes, those dangerous situations multiply even more, but it's unavoidable.”
Izuku stroked his wedding ring as he answered, taking his turn. “For me, the hardest thing is admitting that I couldn't love it any other way. It sounds strange, but I say this because we both love being heroes; taking away the risk would take away the essence of the job. That's why this occupation exists in the first place, because we risk ourselves so that others don't have to.”
After a pause, Midoriya added, a blush rising on his freckled cheeks. “To be honest, I love seeing Shouto on the news. He always looks so handsome after rescuing an entire office from a fire, for example, but I get a lump in my throat knowing there might have been a complication on the mission.”
“That’s how this job works,” Todoroki smiled, shrugging and gently stroking Izuku’s hand on his own.
Turning now to the more public aspect of your relationship, how do you handle press rumors?
The answer was brief.
“Whenever there’s a sensational headline, I talk to Shouto directly about it.”
“I do the same, although lately it’s been easier to just ignore what the press says about fake news or half-truths.”
For the final segment, we’d like to know what advice you would give to young couples, whether they’re at UA or elsewhere.
“First of all, invest time in getting to know each other,” Todoroki replied, shifting his gaze from the interviewer to his husband. “Learn to trust and gradually discover what you like about each other, knowing that there will also be things you won’t entirely like.”
“That's right,” Izuku said, closing his eyes and widening the smile that seemed permanent whenever he was with Todoroki. “While I'm on my teaching shifts, students sometimes approach me with these kinds of questions, asking for advice. My answer is always similar: communication, honesty, and respect are key to a healthy relationship. Also, relationships that begin in youth don't have to be doomed to fail.”
Todoroki glanced at the rings they'd both worn for the past three years and affirmed, “I'd say that if you follow the right path, they're destined for success instead.”
Our second-to-last question is directly related to Valentine's Day. How will you celebrate this day of love?
“Nothing too extravagant, we'll save that for more special occasions. We will take the day off, of course, cook at home, and see if anything interesting comes up.”
“Like a skincare routine while we exchange gifts and chocolates.”
“Love, we sound like we're 40,” the freckled hero chuckled. “We promise these are fun scenarios for a pair of heroes who spend their days flying between buildings.”
Before we finish, and of course thanking you for your willingness to answer all our questions, we'd like to know: what is the secret to keeping the flame alive in a long-term relationship?
The look they shared felt longer than it actually was. In that moment, they remembered everything that had shaped the relationship they were in now: the first dates, the first kiss, the time they went to each other's houses to introduce themselves to the families as an official couple, the wedding, the honeymoon, and so many other moments.
Midoriya was a hopeless romantic; he thought about Todoroki constantly from his first year at UA, at first just as his friend, then (little by little, almost imperceptibly, starting in his second year) as something more. Now, during his patrols, he remembered his partner in details as small as a new soba restaurant, a sudden snowfall, or the red color of some flowers in a public garden.
Todoroki was also completely in love with Izuku, ever since that teenage crush after their one-on-one battle in their first year. He was drawn to how well Izuku understood him amidst his troubles, how kind and warm he was, how strong his heart was, and of course, that sea of freckles on his face.
How do you keep the flame alive in a long-term relationship? The fire expert could easily answer.
“Be friends of each other,” Todoroki replied, without taking his eyes off Izuku. “Don't stop being friends just because the relationship turned romantic. Joke around, talk, go on dates, nurture love.”
“Fall in love every day,” Midoriya smiled. “Choose the same person again and again. The years are nothing more than a reward for all that accumulated love.”
“Love, love deeply.”