Fresh Flesh (Bkdk, Dkbk)

- Chapter 34 -

Uraraka looks at the two of them, Tsuyu and Iida not looking good either. 

"Okay... Well..." 

She gives Izuku a weak smile. 

"If you need anything, let us know." 

The three of them walk into the classroom and Izuku anxiously watches them until the door shuts again. He lets out the breath he didn't even know he was holding and glares at Kacchan. 

"Next time, go along with whatever I say, okay? There will only be more problems if you get found out, Kacchan." 

The blonde boy lets him go and rolls his eyes. 

"Chill the fuck out Deku, it'll be fine." 

Before Izuku can tell him how no, it will not all be fine, he is already walking back into the classroom. Izuku wonders if he will have time to get lunch himself before checking the time and seeing there is less than ten minutes left of lunch. 

He goes back inside of the classroom and gets to his seat, planning to just wait it out. Todoroki brushes past him, but Izuku doesn't ask where he's going, figuring it's just the bathroom. He goes to his seat only to find more of his pens are missing. 

"Kacchan, did you-" 

His question is answered as he watches Kacchan shove a whole bunch of his pens into his previously empty backpack.

                                                                                              <-> 

It happened a couple of days ago. Him and Tsuyu are alone in the supermarket, Tsuyu pushing him in the cart. He looks at all of the items they are passing on the shelves, some of the titles of the products striking him as odd. He sees a box with a toothless cartoon deer on the front, red text saying 'My Deer's Teethy Cereal.' 

"So how is asking Midoriya out going?" 

Todoroki tenses up slightly, his fingers hooking into the thin cool metal of the cart. He has had a crush on Izuku Midoriya ever since the start of freshman year all the way to the middle of sophomore year. 

He promised himself that he would confess his feelings, but so far, he hasn't gotten very far. He wants to tell him how happy he has been ever since meeting him, being introduced to all his friends, and being able to hang out with people who actually get him. 

All of that is thanks to Izuku, and he wants him to know that. If he confesses and it turns out Izuku likes him back, then he will have everything he wants. He could hold hands with him in the halls, introduce him to his sister, go on dates, connect with his mom- 

"I'll take that as a bad sign." 

Todoroki sighs, not looking back at her. 

"Yeah. It's not really going anywhere." 

"You still have time until the dance. I don't mean to sound like I'm rushing you." 

Todoroki is glad that he told Tsuyu how he felt before anyone else. His shoulders relax and he looks ahead again, the aisles seeming to go one forever. 

"I'll let you know if anything changes." 

They continue silently, the buzzing of the lights making a sort of background noise. They pass into another aisle, and the cart slows to a stop. Confused, Todoroki looks back, only to see Tsuyu running off. 

"Where are you going?!" 

She turns back at him and gives him a thumbs up. 

"Wait right there! I think I saw a frog!" 

Todoroki is about to say something, but he sees a green blob rush into another aisle, Tsuyu chasing it. Todoroki sighs, knowing that she'll chase it down until she catches it. The cart creaks forward slightly when he shifts, sitting with his legs criss crossed. 

He doesn't hear anything except the buzzing of the lights. He tilts his head back, resting his neck against the safe dock and looks up at the dim lights. He counts in his head, waiting as the seconds pass by, seemingly turning into minutes. 

He looks behind him to see if Tsuyu is back but finds nothing. If it has taken this long, he thought she would just turn back. He closes his eyes, planning to wait longer. A couple of minutes later, he doesn't jump when he hears Tsuyu's voice coming closer to the cart. 

"Sorry I took so long!" 

He doesn't hear any of her footsteps, but then the cart starts to be pushed. 

"Did you end up catching it?" 

The creak of the cart sounds as it glides smoothly. 

"No, it ended up getting away." 

He opens his eyes and meets the eyes of something. A monster. All at once, he feels cold and hot, and his body feels like it's made out of boulders. A full shiver wracks his body as he finds himself unable to tear his eyes away from it. 

It grins down at him, its body hunched so that it's looming over him. 

"But I've found something a lot better." 

He wasn't wrong when he thought it was Tsuyu's voice. It is her voice. The monster is talking with her voice, making it ring in Todoroki's ears. 

"What... What did you do to Tsuyu..." 

He hates the slight shaking that accompanies his own voice, but the monster seems to feel the opposite. Its grin widens, thin sharp teeth gleaming dangerously. 

"I didn't touch a hair on her head. No, no..." 

It trails off, before laughing. There is no other feature besides its mouth, but that doesn't mean Todoroki can't feel the joy radiating off of it. It makes him feel sick.

 "What I really want is you. Well... more specifically, I want to eat the one you feel so strongly about!" 

Todoroki's limbs feel like they are melting into the metal of the cart, unable to escape.