obstinate / todobaku

when

note (jan 3, 2020): hey my writing is Very Shitty in this entire story cuz i wrote it like two years ago?? blease bear through haha,, i'm gonna try and edit it if i find the time!!

Todoroki has never been the one for company, preferring to lurk in the shadows behind the beaming rays of light on the earth.

And because he is emotionally constipated and socially stunted, he travels to many lands all by his lonesome, helping others in the depths of the darkness, for he is a wizard.

And no ordinary wizard either, he is the son of the greatest wizard-to-be, Endeavor.
The label is something that sticks to him, clinging on to his body, never letting go. It masks his true self, letting others only see it.

This particular day he finds himself in a snowy clearing in the middle of the looming woods, staring at the red ground beneath him. A copper smell fills his nose, and his eyes begin to water.

Before him lays a rapidly dying wolf.
And he doesn't know what comes over him ; it's a tidal wave of feelings and emotion that crashes down, and, before he knows it, he's carrying the wolf home.
Wherever home is.

~

His 'home,' is a small cabin just north of the woods in which he found the wolf. His footprints are dotted with dark red spots, and the wind is deathly silent.

The steps creak slightly as he steps on them with the added weight of the bleeding animal, and he hurriedly opens the door, a tornado of feelings brewing inside of him.

Worry.
That was the most predominant one.

Todoroki gently sets the wolf on the wood floor, being careful to lay him on the side that is less injured.
It is at that moment that he realizes--
--he has no idea how to do first aid. Because of course he doesn't, since his luck is just that shitty.

He gets bandages first, and some ointment, and desperately wishes that he had listened in medical school.

The wolf, once Todoroki's cleaned him, is an ashy blonde color, sticking out in matted spikes.

The next few moments are exhausting, as he realizes a deep gash in the animal's leg is too deep to be simply treated with bandages.

Stitching.

The night is long and gruesome, the only sounds inside his cabin being the sound of his fire crackling and the grunts exiting his lips.

~

The harsh morning rays of sun peak through his windows, casting a soft golden glow over the previously dark room.

Shouto stretches, feeling the satisfying pop of his joints, and he stumbles groggily downstairs.
Blinking sleep away from his half-lidded eyes, he walks over to the living room, only to find a wolf on his couch.

His mind is still hazy and uncertain about last night, but his eyes eventually drift over to the wolf's legs, where he spots crude stitching and dried up blood.

The memories of the previous day comes crashing down.

The wild dog suddenly blinks, crimson pools staring at his own heterochromatic ones. They're sharp, cold, and calculating, watching his every move.
"H-Hey," Todoroki tries, "I'm Shouto..." the dog visibly relaxes, "...Todoroki."

In a few seconds the wolf has leapt up from his spot in the couch and away from him, baring his teeth in a defensive manner.
Shouto knows this behavior ; people always acted like this whenever he mentioned his surname. He has yet to see an animal know his father, but there's a first for everything.

"Relax, I won't hurt you. I treated your wounds, see?"

The animal cocks his head in a slightly adorable way, a puzzled expression on his face.

"You don't remember anything?"

He's silent, and Todoroki takes that as 'what the heck happened last night' kind of message.

"Well, last night, I kinda, you know," his voice takes on a higher pitch, "found you bleeding in the woods..?"

An aggravated scowl takes over the wolf's features, and he paws at the ground. Shouto only wishes that his floor wasn't wood.

"Well, that's enough of that. I'm making breakfast, you want some?" And then he mentally slaps himself for the question.

An affirmative nod, and the ashy blonde wolf is instantly next to him, trotting to the kitchen.

"You know, I can't keep calling you 'wolf I found lying in the snow.' I need to give you a name," Todoroki thinks out loud. The 'wolf he found lying in the snow' turns to look back at him, his face saying, 'I really don't care.'

"Kasai...I'll call you Kasai," the wizard decides, "because Kasai means fire and you are probably the epitome of that."

If wolves could scoff, this one did, but he didn't growl or snap at him.

Shouto took that as a good sign.