So... I haven't really added any of the actual fights/battles in here just yet. There will be in the future, just not yet. Or they'll be like flashbacks so you know what happens. Comment if you have any questions or suggestions!
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If I win… you have to hear me out!
Todoroki loitered in the hallway, watching classmates and fellow students filter out into the waiting room. Exams proceeded without hindrance on the school grounds, leaving the injured and previous participants with nothing better to do than wait. Those waiting to be examined paced idly in the hallways, muttering to themselves as though summoning the courage to go on. Others - like Bakugo - seemed to channel their impatience into training - or angry chanting, whichever came first.
Todoroki’s exam had gone without a hitch, landing him yet another successful battle. However, the victory sat like bile over his heart, bitter and unwanted. He couldn’t shake Yaoyorozu’s face from his mind; the look of defeat - the ache of sadness in her eyes. It was almost a copy of the expression she wore during the Sports Festival. Humiliation as she was forced to listen to cheers that were not meant for her. Walking down the path of shame as she left the arena while Present Mic spoke highly of Tokoyami’s powerful and seeming invincible quirk… It haunted him.
And so now, he waited.
Sure enough, she appeared at the end of the hallway. She carried her PE shirt in one hand, which she used to wipe the sweat from her exposed skin. She stopped when she caught sight of him standing in the near distance, dropping her gaze to the floor and proceeding to shuffle past him. Todoroki caught her wrist as she walked by.
“Wait,” he said. “What did you want to tell me? Earlier you mentioned you wanted me to hear you out about something.”
Yaoyorozu glanced back at him, her eyes unreadable. “I didn’t win,” she reminded him. “I have nothing to tell you.”
She looked troubled, he realized. Recalling a time when Midoriya had gone the extra mile to help him, Todoroki decided it was time to give back what the world had given to him - by listening to Yaoyorozu’s plight; all a person really needed was someone to hear them out. Todoroki could be that person.
If she’d let me.
“I want to know. I mean it,” he stressed. “The exams won’t be ending anytime soon. Let’s find someplace quiet to talk.”
She hesitated for a moment. “...Alright. Fine. Lead the way.”
The two of them walked on in the opposite direction of the exams, leaving the building and entering a small enclosure surrounded by nothing but trees. A single bench sat in the middle of the area, worn with time but still equally inviting for his tired legs. Victory or not, Yaoyorozu had given a good fight. That was all he could ever have hoped for.
Letting her sit first, Todoroki waited a moment before taking a seat to her left. Neither spoke, not saying a single word as they sat there, listening to the whistle of wind as it rustled through the treetops. The air was thick; a rich, mossy smell on the wind with the promise of rain.
“So, what is it you wanted to tell me?” He finally prompted her.
Yaoyorozu clenched her fist against her thigh, which was bruised from their previous encounter. “It doesn’t-”
"Don’t tell me it doesn’t matter,” he snapped before she could finish. “What you have to say matters to me.”
She met his gaze. “I probably don’t have any right to say what I’m about to say. I thought, if I won today, I’d have proven myself worthy and this would be a lot easier.”
“Even the best of heroes lose sometimes,” Todoroki said. “There are times when pro heroes are forced to flee a crime scene just to stay alive; to survive. That doesn’t make them worthless.”
Yaoyorozu’s lips threatened a smile. She let out a long breath and turned her gaze to the ground, where a cluster of flowers were trying their hardest to grow amongst the weeds. “You always do that,” she said. “You know just what to say to make my problems disappear. Maybe that’s why I like you so much.”
Todoroki’s heart gave an unexpected leap once the words were said.
"I...like you…” she repeated softly, though her voice was as clear as ever. “That’s what I wanted to say to you.”
"Wh-what?” his brain fogged over as the words came out of her mouth, clouding his mind and making it hard to think straight. That was not at all what I was expecting to hear from her.
"Nevermind. Forget it. Forget I said anything.” Rising to her feet, Yaoyorozu set off in a sprint toward the building they had previously come from. Todoroki stared at his hands, which were trembling on his knees.
I like you.
Hearing those three words sent ripples of pleasure through him, then a sting of anguish. She liked him. Him. Not Enji’s son. Not the son of the pro hero, Endeavor. Not the guy who possessed a strong and powerful quirk. Just him. Shoto Todoroki.
Why? Why would someone like her…
Crap. What was he supposed to do? Todoroki wasn’t used to people liking him in general. Hell, he’d never gone out of his way to make friends before. But Yaoyorozu had made it so easy. Whenever they talked, whenever she’d encourage him, he felt as though he could do anything. Damn it. Why did this have to happen now? He liked Yaoyorozu; there was nothing to dislike about her. But he still harboured the resentment for his father. He didn’t want to follow in his father’s footsteps and end up with a powerful woman, just to use her later on. He still latched onto that malice, let it taint his decisions on the battlefield, even going so far as to letting it prevent him from getting his provisional hero license. His childhood was filled with abuse and darkness, training and harm the only things he truly knew. Yaoyorozu had such a good heart. What right have I to reject her…
Even through all that darkness of his childhood, she was the light that guided him on his way once he entered Yuuei.
Leaping off the bench, Todoroki rushed after Yaoyorozu before giving it a second thought. He spotted her halfway between the entrance and the waiting room, her face hidden by a mess of dark hair. Waiting participants gave her a wide berth, seemingly unsure how to approach. That distance only seemed to grow when they noticed Todoroki charging down the hall toward her. He didn’t slow his pace until he caught up with her, and even then he proceeded until she was within arms length. Grabbing onto her shoulders, Todoroki spun her around to face him.
Yaoyorozu’s moist, almost sad eyes widened in surprise. “Todoro-”
“Momo,” he said, her name sweet on his lips. “Thank you.”
She blinked at him, a stray tear trickling down her cheek. “For...for what?”
“I’ll become someone worthy of being liked by 1-A’s class representative,” he asserted. “Until then, I thank you. Thank you for...for liking me.”
“Worthy of...me?” she asked quietly, still rather confused as the shock lay fresh in her mind.
Todoroki nodded and caught the single tear on her chin, wiping it away with his thumb. “Let’s do our best to become pro heroes, okay?” Yaoyorozu stared at him for a few long seconds, dazed. Then, her smile widened, showing off pearly white teeth.
“Okay!”
