This Thing A Quiet Madness Made

Chapter 5

And so, with a shuffle of papers, everyone obediently began the not-so-heroic task of calculus classwork.

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The bathroom door closed behind Todoroki as he stepped into the crowded hallway. He headed in the opposite direction of most of his peers; the final bell had sounded a few minutes ago, and the more eager students were long gone. Upon reaching his classroom, it wasn't much of a surprise to find only a handful of students remaining.

He made his way over to his desk and gathered his books, sliding them into his backpack. He slung his bag over his shoulder and turned to leave, but a strange gleam caught his eye.

On the ground, in between Naoko's desk and the wall, lay her phone, clearly having fallen out by accident. He walked around the desk to pick it up; its shining white face remained intact, fortunately. Todoroki slid the device into his pocket and sighed.

As he left the school and started in the direction of Naoko's house, he tried to recall the path they had taken after leaving the library that one night. He remembered the general location of the neighborhood, fortunately enough, and headed in that direction.

A buzzing from his jacket caught his attention. He pulled out the lost-and-found phone to see the screen had lit up, the LED in the upper left corner flashing white. It was a notification from an app he didn't recognize. He pressed the off button and slid it back into his pocket, but paused when he felt something odd press against the palm of his hand. He glanced back to the device and turned it over, noticing the case's built-in sliding compartment was partially open: the corner of a photograph was visible through the crack.

He stared for a moment before sliding the photo out.

It was a small polaroid-type print with slightly worn edges. The picture showed a group of six: a dark-haired man stood on the left, he and a small blonde girl both grinned at the camera, then two redheads- a boy and a girl- near the right side, both smiling softly, then a girl who looked to be the youngest of the group, standing up front and beaming a bright, closed-eyed smile. The last one pictured was Naoko, standing diagonally behind the smallest girl. He was sure it was her, despite the photo being a few years old and her hair being a bit lighter, but something gave him pause.

He brought the photo closer. The look on her face was strange: she was staring at the camera with a sharp, empty sort of glare he had never seen on her before.

It was... out of place.

He shook his head and pulled away from his thoughts, reprimanding himself for prying into a classmate's personal life. With a breath, he placed the photo back into the case and slid the compartment shut.

Looking up, he saw a familiar neighborhood just ahead.

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The doorbell rang loudly throughout the Bakugo family home.

Remembering his parents weren't back yet, the irritable first-year sighed loudly, dragging himself out of his room and stomping down the stairs. Upon reaching the door, he yanked it open, ready to give the unwelcome visitor an earful, only to lock eyes with just about the last person he expected.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he demanded, raising a questioning eyebrow at the boy who seemed equally as surprised to see him.

"Oh. I must have gotten the wrong house," Todoroki blinked at the frowning blonde. "Do you know where Naoko lives?"