Shoto Todoroki Oneshots

Our Lasts

"Uraraka, you're up first." Aizawa announced and Ochako went up to the front, cheeks pink from a nervous blush.

"My assignment was about the importance of body image in the hero community, and how this can negatively affect young people. I focused particularly on the male and female gazes, then looked into commercial trends to find what products became popular and how media influenced the perceptions of heroes like Mount Lady and All Might. I hope my research helps reduce the stereotype of the ideal hero appearance, especially in our diverse society, and to help young people with self-image and eating disorders."

She sighed once she finished, pride in her eyes at not stuttering or feeling embarassed, and smiled widely when her classmates clapped for her. Shoto felt proud of her for looking into such a serious topic, especially since he knew his friend had issues in the past with food and her appearance. Now she had plenty of self-confidence and he knew she wanted to teach that to others.

"Next, Jirou."

Their classmates each took turns explaining their topics of choice; most were linked to heroes in some way but others were more personal. Iida spoke passionately about his topic, and Bakugou surprised everyone by talking about his research into the protection of children with dangerous or unusual quirks, and the changing behaviours of heroes towards people who were discriminated towards because of their quirks.

"Shoto, your turn."

He felt nerves creeping into his system, but pushed them down with thoughts of his hard work and the importance of his topic. He saw his friends were all anticipating his topic, knowing how he had hidden it from them these past weeks.

"For my assignment I researched the rates of domestic abuse amongst hero and non-hero families, including the physical debilitation and psychological impacts of this abuse towards family members across generations. I focused on inter-generational trauma and harmful effects of quirk use towards mental health, particularly towards minors." He paused to take a deep breath. "I hope my research helps families to discover how to escape harmful cycles of abuse and for more support systems to be put in place for sufferers of domestic abuse, including long-term therapy and physical accomodation. I want my project to help kids... kids like me." 

Even Aizawa joined in when the class started clapping, some even cheering. He saw Midoriya and others with tears in their eyes, others looking at him with pride. He went to sit back down and let the weight of the past few weeks lift off of his shoulders. He did it. 

They were given the weekend off from studies or homework since they had worked hard on their projects. Everyone spent the evening congratulating each other on and discussing the different research topics, before they settled down for their weekly movie night. Shoto paid attention at first since they were watching Howl's Moving Castle, one of his favourites, but as more movies passed he found his attention drifting back to his project. He thought about what he said, what he hoped to achieve, and thoughts began to sprout in his brain. Once it was late enough he said goodnight and went to bed, sitting on his futon and opening his laptop, tying rapidly as thoughts flew around in his mind.

His classmates were a little confused as to why he was still spending so much time on his phone and laptop throughout the weekend, especially since they had basically finished school now. Next week would be full of watching movies, saying goodbye to teachers, and getting more offers from agencies. Then on Friday they would have their graduation and leaver's party before parting from the dorms during the weekend. He didn't really mind their curiosity, knowing what he was doing would be worthwhile...

The week passed full of messing about in training and taking photos with their teachers, having a food fight in the dining room and sleepovers most nights. It was on the Wednesday, during their free afternoon, when Aizawa showed up to their dorms asking to speak with him. He sat down with his teacher in the common room, sensing lingering stares from the kitchen and nearby table.