change of plans || todoroki shouto x reader

chapter thirty-two

todoroki had noticed the change in [name]'s mood.

he waited for her at the gates of the school, as usual, but she arrived late. it wasn't like her.

"you okay?" he asks.

[name] puts on a small smile, "i'm fine."

she wasn't. he could tell. her eyes were slightly puffy, and her nose was pink. it looked like she'd been crying.

"are you sure?"

"yeah," [name] insists, clearing her throat. "i'm alright, i swear."

todoroki didn't want to pry. "okay."

if you say so.

---

she was quiet all morning. it bothered todoroki that he was the only one who noticed. he brought it up to midoriya who said, "maybe she's just nervous. she's always had test anxiety."

no, it wasn't that.

they stood in front of the school with the teachers, buses parked around them. the practical exam was in a second location, perhaps the USJ, or some other field.

as the teachers announced the revisions to the tests, everyone seemed shocked. todoroki turns to [name] who still had a blank expression on her face. maybe she knew all along.

the heroes and pairs of students were announced one by one. a small part of todoroki hoped that he and [name] would be paired up. she wasn't the usual bright cheery confident girl who he'd been hanging out with the past few weeks.

now she was cold, and quiet. it was like the time they spent together with friends suddenly vanished.

"next.. is todoroki and yaoyorozu, against me," aizawa announces. it would have been too good to be true to be paired up with [name], todoroki thought. and the devilish smirk that their homeroom teacher gave as he announced it didn't help.

[name] was paired up... with sero against midnight. she didn't seem to react at the news, and it made todoroki's concern grow. he didn't know why he was paying more attention to her than usual. something just seemed off.

before the students split up with their respective teachers to their respective fields, todoroki approached [name] one last time. her eyes were glued to her phone. she wasn't doing anything, just staring at its locked, broken screen. was it broken yesterday?

"good luck out there," he says.

she looks up at him, only noticing him after hearing his voice. "oh, yeah. you too."

"you sure you're okay?"

"yeah it's just.."

"nevermind," [name] interrupts herself, stashing her phone in her pocket. "good luck." she smiles before running off to her bus.

---

"um, recovery girl, can i stay here and watch?"

"hm, i won't stop you. but don't overdo it."

the excited midoriya jumps up and sits himself in front of the monitors like a puppy.

"i know they're calling this a test, but each matchup seems like an intentionally specialized assignment, right?"

"that's right."

only two pairs had passed as of the moment. todoroki and yaoyorozu, and midoriya and bakugou. midoriya was the only one watching with recovery girl until todoroki walks in from the beds.

"todoroki-kun, you're all rested up?" the nurse hero asks. he doesn't take his eyes off the monitors as he responds, "i want to watch too."

"i don't think [name] and sero have been announced yet," the boy adds.