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Zahra had offered for (Y/N) to stay the night seeing as it was already so late, but she would refuse the offer no matter how much Zahra insisted.
The usually crowded and bustling streets were not exactly devoid of life, but there weren't many people to be seen. There were some walking home or on their way to their night shifts, or doing whatever you do this late at night, but most lingered in the shadows and alleys, hidden away from a civilian's view.
Although this seems like the perfect time for villains to strike, smarter ones still knew to keep their guard up because hiding in the shadows along with the villains were heroes. (Y/N) recalled how Aizawa would leave late in the night for patrols despite him already working his ass off teaching and doing paperwork all day.
Of course, he was let off from patrols for a while as he continued to heal from the wounds he sustained from the USJ incident, but that would mean someone else had to uphold the responsibility of taking his shifts. They could be watching at the very moment, inspecting everyone thoroughly since villains do like to mingle at night.
(Y/N) was in a hopeless predicament, unsure of where exactly to go. She had told Zahra she was just going to go home, but she truly wasn't planning on it. She denied the comfort of a warm bed to sleep in for the night and she was now regretting it a little bit.
'...The hell am I going to do now? Zahra distracted me a bit by telling me about how she was being blackmailed and why she did what she did... but the fact still remains I'm probably a wanted person.'
(Y/N)'s eyes snapped to every person that crossed her path, even those on the opposite sidewalk as she cautiously kept an eye on her surroundings. It wasn't too cold of a night out, but there was a slight breeze that felt eerie, while the moon shot down cool rays of light in her path. She would occasionally pass by shops that were closing up, looking through the glass to see the warm lights that shone out of them. Their products would all be lined up in front of the windows, the pastries especially taunting.
This world scarily reminded her of her own at times, though it was obviously far more advanced than it. The simple things that were kept like selling products behind a glass would trigger memories, the time Mr. Joestar would use his stand on televisions displayed behind the glass being the first to come to mind.
'...Would I even ever be able to make it back? Although...'
How would it even be possible to make it back? She no longer had allies and she herself couldn't get ahold of Virtual Made Reality, this was truly the worst-case scenario. One world was completely inaccessible to her at the moment, while in the other, it seemed the world was completely against her being here.
'...This place did have its own perks while it lasted. Maybe I should just find a new identity or something.'
"Oh."
Someone stood directly in front of (Y/N) making her attention immediately snap over to them. She hadn't even heard their footsteps, but she saw them approaching, figuring they would just walk past her like everyone else did. She was tuning the world out while listening strictly to her own thoughts, just taking in what was around her with her eyes.
The boy wore a plain white tank accompanied by a light sweater over it, jeans and sneakers paired to match. An outfit (Y/N) was unaccustomed to seeing him in. She's only seen him wearing his school uniform, training uniform, and hero costume, but it was an interesting change to see him wear regular clothes out of school. Though, it still looked a bit plain and boring compared to her standards.
Meanwhile, (Y/N) was still wearing her sports festival uniform, probably sticking out and drawing tons of attention towards her. She looked down at her attire and put a finger to her forehead, rubbing in disbelief wondering how she wasn't caught yet with clothes that was sure to be recognized by people who passed her.
"...You there?"
(Y/N) hadn't even realized she was so lost her in thoughts, figuring he would have walked away by now or that he would simply vanish. To her dismay, he stood there with his hands shoved in his pockets, no intention to move.
Ignoring how he obviously wanted to have a conversation with her, she quickly walked forward without sparing another glance. Her footsteps were hurried as she moved to walk past the aloof boy who made a noise of surprise, probably not expecting to be ignored.
Right as (Y/N) was about to pass the red-and-white-haired boy, he turned and grabbed onto her wrist, stopping her from going anywhere. Without even having to think about it, (Y/N) jolted and pulled her arm towards her in hopes to escape from an interrogation.
"Hold on, listen to me for a second before you decide to run off." Todoroki said as he scrunched his eyebrows together in irritation. With a harsh tug, (Y/N) managed to get out of the strong grip on her wrist, taking a few steps backwards from the recoil.
She turned as if looking for any excuse to get away, but the streets were nearly empty of people, all remained was an elderly woman sweeping the front of her store in order to lock up for the night. She let out a sigh and turned back to look over at Todoroki, as if saying she was listening but she didn't want to. If he pulled anything funny, she would be quick to use her stand, aware she would be completely disregarding the rules that were set in place for her.
"...Well? What are you stopping me for? Does the wannabe hero intend to turn the villain in?" (Y/N)'s words not only hurt herself, but Todoroki felt his own pang of hurt. Her secrets being revealed during the sports festival had heavily affected her and she felt that no one would forgive her or understand why she did what she did.
"No, that's not it." Todoroki declared while beginning to unbutton his sweater. (Y/N) made a 'what the hell' kind of face before showing frustration at his words.
Todoroki slipped the sweater off from his arms and moved towards (Y/N)'s direction, her cautious of what he was doing. When he noticed her hesitance, he made sure to show his intentions by pointing at her own attire.
"If you keep wearing that, someone will recognize you eventually."
That made (Y/N) realize, she still was in fact, wearing her sports festival uniform. It unfortunately had not magically changed since the moment she realized and at the reminder, she let out an exhausted sigh. She pulled the zipper of her sweater down, taking the sleeves off one at a time and holding it in her hands when it was off. She stared down at it for a moment before folding it sloppily and holding it under her arm, Todoroki already having his sweater to offer outstretched in her direction.
She took the cardigan from his hands and stared at the crème-colored fabric for a moment, a little hesitant with wearing another person's clothes. Todoroki simply stood and waited, his hands returning back to his pockets like he wasn't affected by the weather in the slightest. She ended up putting it on, and after staring at it and doing nothing for a few seconds, she sent a nod over to Todoroki in thanks, who sent one back as if to say, 'no problem'. It's just how the aloof quiet people communicate.
"...About what you said before, then what is it? Here to mock me that you were right in guessing I was a villain all along?"
(Y/N) herself was now unsure of her words, seeing as Todoroki was kind enough to lend her his sweater, but she wouldn't back down in figuring out his true intentions. Her mind began to overthink everything, coming to a conclusion he was trying to just get her to let her guard down by acting nice.
"I know you're not the villain you claim to be." Todoroki boldly stated, (Y/N) immediately finding a heavy contradiction in what he said.
(Y/N) scoffed in disbelief as she shook her head back and forth, processing his words to see if she really had heard correctly. Todoroki himself looked conflicted and he had a noticeable demeanor change, something probably having happened to him during the sports festival that changed his attitude. (Y/N) was sure he would never even stop to look at her otherwise, and to spout this nonsense was far from what she believed he was capable of.
"...That's rich coming from you. Let me remind you, YOU were the first to accuse me of being a villain." She clutched her hands to the sweater that was leant to her by Todoroki, thinking it better for them to be there than throwing them at the boy in front of her. A car whizzed past the both of them, their headlights blinding and the sound of the engines obnoxious, making the situation more tense as she waited for Todoroki to refute what she said.
"I was narrow minded." He quickly declared once he properly gathered his thoughts.
"I only focused on my one goal, and you were an anomaly, something I couldn't understand, and so I labeled you as a threat to that goal." He was reminded of his home life, his family, and the day he made a personal goal of surpassing his father without using his fire. He was so blinded by rage and revenge; he had reduced everyone around him to distractions and unnecessary additions that would distract t him from his goal. (Y/N) had to be the hugest distraction yet for him, because he completely misunderstood her.
"...Calling you a villain back then was wrong of me." Todoroki continued as he looked down at the pavement, his eyes unknowingly narrowing in anger at the reminder of his past actions. He hadn't realized his father's influence still had unknowingly affected him, even when he believed he was making his own choices.
(Y/N) was not amused at all, her frown showing definite proof of that. She clicked her tongue as Todoroki was pushing her temper already, unaware of herself shifting back and forth to ease her growing nerves as she wasn't sure she had enough energy to fight back against him if he really did attack.
"...If that's all you came here to say, I'll be on my way then." (Y/N) was quick to turn on her heels, facing the complete opposite direction of Todoroki and ready to continue her aimless walking.
Red and white once again passed her vision, the boy moving in front of her to block her from moving forward anymore. He seemed determined to not let her go anywhere while she seemed determined to leave.
"Wait, I wasn't finished." Todoroki said, unwilling to let the topic go and (Y/N) knew if she tried to walk away again, he would only stop her. She crossed her arms under her chest and openly glared at Todoroki, who simply remained stoic and stared her right back in her eyes.
"You have that look in your eyes, I can recognize it because I've experienced the same."
He noticed the way her guard let down slightly for whatever reason, giving him a questionable look since she had no idea what he meant.
"...What are you talking about?" She asked as her arms loosened, the tenseness slipping away as she wondered if he was similar to herself. If he's truly experienced the same, what point was he trying to make by telling her that?
"I can tell you're hurt, and this isn't the only time I've seen that look in your eyes. I think I've finally got you figured out." Todoroki said while sending over a knowing look, and (Y/N) couldn't help but feel even more irritated at his facial expression.
(Y/N) was quick to respond to that as she once again tightened her arms under her chest, the nails of her dominant hand gripping at her opposite arm tightly.
"You know nothing about me, Todoroki."
Todoroki himself was getting aggravated, never having seen her so stubborn since she arrived. It seemed that her trust had significantly regressed, which was to be expected, but he hoped she would at least hear him out.
"Oh, come on!" Todoroki's eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed, his hair swaying with every stomp he took to get closer to (Y/N). She backed up a bit noticing his aggravation, though she could say the feeling was mutual.
"I know nothing about you? I've had my eye on you ever since you transferred to U.A."
Todoroki now stood directly in front of her instead of being a few feet away, any step closer and they would be chest to chest. He grabbed onto her shoulders and made sure they both held eye contact, the gesture being quite tasking as Todoroki never usually held eye contact with people for long. He just really felt that he had to get his point across.
"Creepy!" (Y/N) whispered under her breath, the word spewing as an automatic reaction to his statement.
"We were more similar than I had realized, and maybe that was why I was so intent on figuring you out, other than the fact you could have deterred me from my goal." He said while recalling all the moments he picked up on her habits that he himself had. Maybe the fact she had reminded him so much of himself was another reason he found himself feeling angry around her.
"I know how you hate eating right away after ordering lunch and usually let it sit for a bit before digging in, staring at it to appreciate its beauty first."
"...oddly accurate dude."
"I also know that even though you look like you don't care in many situations, it's because you're already looking for a solution. It's just your aloof attitude that would mask your intentions when you first arrived made me suspicious. I, as well as everyone else, know you're actually a really kind person, not the terrible one you make yourself out to be. I believe I can speak for everyone when I say we trust you more than anything, there's no way it's true that you're a villain."
(Y/N) had not interrupted him once while he tried to get through her stubborn mind that she wasn't as terrible as she thought she was. It had not subsided her anger in the least, but Todoroki felt less frustrated as he waited to see if this would sway her.
"That's still pretty damn ironic, isn't it? What's the point?" (Y/N) argued back, still believing he had hidden intentions he refused to show.
"Is it simply for the sake of you wanting to be a hero? Do you intend to make me let my guard down so you can turn me in and get your praise?"
"You're missing the point!" Todoroki raised his voice, realizing she wasn't even understanding what he was trying to convey to her.
"—And you're missing mine!" (Y/N) refuted as they both held equally harsh glares towards one another.
Her face softened and that hurt expression settled on it once again, her eyes moving to look down at the pavement. Todoroki looked conflicted while he stared at the down-casted look on her face.
"I know you all hate me, you don't have to try and make yourself look good by 'helping me'."
Instead of once again attempting to get away, (Y/N) stood as she waited for Todoroki to say something. Would he show his true colors and admit it, or would he tell her something she needed to hear?
"—No one hates you! If anything, we're angry at you because of the scare you gave us!"
Genuinely not expecting that response, (Y/N)'s eyes widened, and she slowly lifted her eyes from the pavement to look back up at Todoroki.
"...what?" She questioned, wondering why they didn't despise her but understood how they were angry. Why they would simply be angry and not hateful was something she just couldn't wrap her head around.
"What do you mean scare? There's no way you don't hate me after... hearing all that." She continued, waiting for Todoroki to say something as he had a look of desperation in his eyes.
"We were scared because you vanished without saying anything. What if a villain had got to you? I'm not the only one searching, the whole class is. Hell, kids from other courses as well as a few teachers are as well."
It was true, most if not all of her classmates were looking around their neighborhood to try and find out if (Y/N) was alright. Monoma, Kendo, Tetsutetsu, and Shinso were among some of those in other classes helping to look. Although Aizawa was heavily injured, the moment he woke up after an argument with Present Mic, he disregarded everything else to go out and look for the girl.
"...Is that" (Y/N) looked unsure, taking a moment to process her thoughts and swallowing a lump in her throat as she tried to get the reality of the situation to settle on her.
"Is that true?"
"Yes!" Todoroki breathed out exasperatedly, feeling he had finally got his point across. It just had to be him, the one with mutual trauma to be the one to find her, as if it were fate. Maybe he could understand why she felt so cautious about believing him and he could tell she's been distancing herself throughout the whole conversation.
That's why he felt the need to elaborate further, to tell her she's no longer alone and she has friends just as Midoriya had told him. He would be the one to bring (Y/N) out of the darkness just as Midoriya had brought him out of it.
"Why wouldn't it be? You're our classmate and fellow hero in training, of course we would be worried. I'll be the first to admit I've been an asshole, even if I didn't realize it too much, but I'm trying to change."
That was something (Y/N) wanted to hear, but unfortunately it wouldn't be enough for this mentally manipulated and confused girl. She was nurtured into believing one mistake would make everyone hate her for the rest of her life, and she could only trust a handful of people that were similar to her if they ever learned the truth.
She once again clutched onto the sweater Todoroki had lent her, closing her eyes softly before letting out a sigh. She began to walk past Todoroki once again, stopping once her back faced him and she stared towards the direction of Aizawa's apartment.
"...I'm sorry. Tell everyone I'm fine and not to look for me, I'll be headed home." She began to leave, now noticing the way her phone vibrated repeatedly while it was silenced so there was no loud ringtone.
"Wait! (Y/N)!" Todoroki shouted as he outstretched his hand in order to say anything to get her to listen to him for just a bit longer. He could tell she wasn't fully swayed, and he wanted to change that, because he strongly believed in her just as everyone else did.
"Goodnight, Todoroki."
"Hold on!"
She just kept walking, ignoring Todoroki's calling who simply watched as she turned the corner and vanished, not attempting to stop her again because he wouldn't know what to say. He sighed and pulled out his phone, sending a simple text to a group chat that he was in with his classmates, including (Y/N).
Todoroki: I found her, she's fine
and said she's heading home.
He read the incoming flood of concerned texts and sighed, hoping (Y/N) would check her phone and see that everyone really did care. Midoriya mentioned how he had informed Mr. Aizawa and that he was heading there as well, everyone genuinely glad she was okay. The search was called off as they trusted Todoroki's judgment and the students returned home from a tiring day of fighting at the sports festival to searching for their friend.
——————♡——————
(Y/N) stared up at the apartment building where she had been staying, shifting around her sports festival sweater in her hand as the lights illuminated the stairway up.
She cautiously began to walk up, every step she made earning a loud creak from the old unattended steps. She didn't put her hand on the railing because of how unsanitary it was and there was probably a high chance of tetanus from the way it rusted. They lived in a eerie neighborhood that was fairly close to the high school she attended, the fancier apartments a few blocks away but the one she lived in with Aizawa was a bit poorer quality. She couldn't complain much since it cost much less and was pretty spacious.
She noticed the light outside the front door of her apartment was on, light pouring from inside showing someone must be in there as she and Aizawa always had the lights off when they left. She wrapped her dominant hand around the doorknob and turned, finding it to be unlocked and the door easily allowed her entrance when she gave it a light push.
Upon entering, she announced her presence with an 'I'm home' before wiping her shoes on the entrance mat to get any dirt off. She then slid her shoes off, putting them to the side right beside a larger pair and slipped on her house slippers. She placed the sports festival jacket on the table by the entrance, opting to put it away later, stopping what she was doing at the sound of shuffling.
She waited for whoever was there to turn the corner, standing still as she frowned and knew only one other person it could be since they lived there.
"Aizawa..." She said as the man faced her, the bandages on his face nowhere to be seen but they still smothered the rest of his body.
"I..."
She didn't know what to say. She wanted to say so many things, but nothing would come out. He wasn't there when she needed him, and it made her wonder if he as well hated her with the knowledge of her past, readying herself to be yelled at and kicked out.
What she didn't expect were stiff hands to form some sort of hug around her, taken by surprise as she instinctively wrapped her arms around his torso as well.
"Don't scare me like that ever again, brat." Aizawa scolded as he let out a relieved sigh, trying his best to form some type of comfort, though he doubted it was much with how the bandages limited his movements.
"Huh?" She couldn't help but let out a dumbfounded noise as she processed that he was hugging her. Just as he did when she first broke down and felt she had no one to be there for her.
"You heard me. Don't go running off like that, do you have any clue how worried I was?" Aizawa continued to scold (Y/N) as he remembered how when he came to, Present Mic kept repeatedly apologizing about something happening to her.
"You were really worried?" (Y/N) questioned, conflicted on believing his words or subconsciously twisting them.
"There was a villain on campus and next thing I know you were gone. You were humiliated and I couldn't do anything."
"I'm so sorry." Aizawa added, greatly surprising (Y/N) as he had no reason to be. He wasn't involved in any way, so what was he apologizing for?
"Why are you sorry? Didn't anyone tell you what Present Mic said? I'm a bad person, you shouldn't be the one apologizing." (Y/N) mentioned as she refused to believe this was happening, her mind clouding with negative thoughts.
"I don't care about any of that, that was in another world there's no evidence. You're here, a hero in training by the name of (Y/N). That's all that matters." Aizawa finally parted from the hug, his arms beginning to ache, but he managed to let a creepy small smile come to his lips.
She didn't cry, she smiled. She smiled because she felt this was exactly what she wanted to be told. She felt accepted and finally, she found herself at peace. The clouds in her mind finally felt as if they parted way for the sun to shine.
No one hated her, she understood that now. Her original goal didn't feel as stressful anymore, something telling her everything would be okay and to let fate guide her through her days.
Becoming a hero in training didn't feel so bad, as helping people was something she actually felt a sense of euphoria in. The way they would thank her for doing something good, the way she would impact other's lives positively as she always wanted to happen to her, she felt she was almost destined to be a hero. And Aizawa just had reassured her, she still could.
"Thank you." She said as she stepped back from Aizawa and began to help him back over to the living room to sit down.
He had large dark bags under his eyes, and she then realized how much trouble she must have put him through. She would work hard to repay that kindness and scolded herself that she ever believed he would manipulate her and betray her trust, because in the end he was nothing like her previous father figure. He was a hero.
"By the way, you have a lollipop in your hair." (Y/N) mentioned while she looked at it in disgust, knowing it would be a hassle to get out. Aizawa was probably well aware because he just stood completely quiet.
"..."
"I'll help get it out."
"Thanks." Aizawa looked over to give his thanks and readied himself to get the sucker out but noticed something odd about (Y/N). She wore something he had never seen before, and she didn't see her wear it during the festival or leave the house with it.
"...Where did you get that?"
Aizawa pointed a bandaged finger towards (Y/N)'s chest, where she now noticed something familiar rested.
"What the hell? When did this get here?" (Y/N) questioned as she lifted her hand and dragged one of her fingers along the beads. She clasped the locket itself and opened it up, a soft smile coming to her face when she saw the familiar picture of her standing with Iggy, Polnareff, Mr. Joestar, Avdol, Kakyoin, and Jotaro.
For some reason, when her eyes landed on Jotaro, she felt a pang of hurt, but decided it was because she hadn't seen any of them in so long and missed them.
"I actually can't remember. I thought I lost it when I died. That's really... bizarre."
——————♡——————
After the sports festival, all students and faculty got two days off to rest and prepare themselves to return to school. During the two days, Aizawa's healing process continued while (Y/N) spoiled him, getting him anything that he needed.
(Y/N) connected with her classmates through the group chat, having separate messages from Shinso and some from those in class B as well.
She reassured everyone that she was doing perfectly fine, and she felt her heart flutter by the way they doted over her and were concerned with her wellbeing. Most hadn't doubted her in the slightest, though a few were a bit cautious to which she fully understood. She ended up explaining her entire past situation to them, even if they didn't need to know for them to trust her. She felt it was only necessary after having that much of their trust already.
To her surprise, they completely understood and thought her actions were in the right, even saying that the announcements were twisting her to be a villain when she really was a hero in her old world. That had nearly brought her to tears and more than ever she looked forward to seeing her friends again, but for some reason it wasn't the Stardust Crusaders who popped in her mind, rather her classmates at the hero school she attended did.