𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 (𝗏𝗂𝗅𝗅𝖺𝗂𝗇! 𝗍𝗈𝖽𝗈𝖽𝖾𝗄𝗎)

chapter sixteen

todoroki

Why wasn't I upset?

As soon as our feet entered the school's tall gates, Izuku took off running, claiming that his mom was calling him. After that, he dashed across the concrete path and out of view, leaving me alone with the other four.

Usually, I would have longed to be by his side once again, but, for some unknown reason, that feeling wasn't showing up. As I watched Izuku disappear around a corner, I felt nothing. Even though I was always happy to see him, at that moment, I didn't particularly miss his presence, as strange as that was.

I blamed it on that nagging feeling I had in the back of my mind, which had only tripled in size after the fight with the League. I saw the way Toga and Izuku looked at each other; they weren't enemies. The blonde had even waited for Izuku's permission before stabbing me (though I'm not complaining since I didn't want to be stabbed), and while that could have been perfectly normal, maybe just a sick joke, it didn't look that way. Midoriya seemed strangely close with the League, and it was nauseating to think about.

Izuku isn't a villain. He can't be.

I repeated those words to myself in a meager attempt to calm my nerves. There was no way Izuku could ever be a villain—he was too nice for that. Right?

I followed the group back to Allegiance Heights. We walked in silence, even the forever-yelling Bakugou quiet while the rain poured down on us. No one had thought to bring an umbrella, so we just let the water droplets hit us, almost like we deserved it for letting the villains get away again. Uraraka, however, was touching every raindrop she could, trying to make it float. Much to her dismay, the raindrops would disperse every time one hit her finger, and she let out a "Hmph" when a raindrop splattered against her forehead.

We reached the dorm building and I immediately made a break for the stairs. Just as I lifted my foot to ascend them, Uraraka's voice stopped me.

"Todoroki," she said hesitantly from behind me, "can I, um, talk to you?"

I turned around and joined her in the main room. She sat on the couch and I took my place on the floor (Kirishima, Bakugou, and Tsuyu were hogging all of the other couch space). Hagakure, Sero, and Kaminari were sitting near us, neck-deep in their own conversation.

Uraraka cleared her throat, gaining my attention. She was anxiously messing with her bangs, twirling them loosely around her fingers while her eyes darted about, looking at anything that wasn't me. Finally, Uraraka's gaze settled on her free hand, which was sitting still in her lap.

"Does Deku seem," she started, pausing, "off to you?" Her eyes met mine as she suddenly got the courage to look up.

"What do you mean?"

"You know, has he been acting weirdly at all? Have you noticed anything different about him?"

"I—"

"She's asking if you think Deku's a villain, Icy-Hot," Bakugou growled.

"No," I said instinctively. "Well, I . . . I don't know." My voice was quiet—I was scared of my own words. "He did seem different on Friday, during the training session."

Uraraka perked up. "Yeah, he did. I thought I was the only one who noticed, but he looked, um, really angry. He wanted to fight."

"Midoriya always tried to avoid fighting," Tsuyu added. "It's strange that he was so hostile even though it wasn't necessary. Ribbit."

"The damn nerd was defending the villains the other day, too." Bakugou was lying back on the couch with his legs on Kirishima's lap and his head on the cushions.