Emiri pouted as she lowered her phone from her ear, the robotic voice of the answering machine mutely speaking.
She leaned against the wall behind her, taking a moment to cool off in the air conditioned hallway of the hotel they were staying at.
After a few weeks of camping, hiking and even renting bikes to cycle around pretty nature walks, the group had decided that their last stop would be a nice hotel. They planned to spend a few days actually doing nothing but laying under an air conditioner eating snacks and playing video games.
The initial plan was for all of them to cram into one hotel room and share a king sized bed. But they'd been told they weren't allowed to by the hotel staff and, instead, Emiri and Ashido shared a room while the boys shared a room with two double beds.
Speaking of the boys' room, the door on her left opened and Bakugou exited the room wearing a baggy sleeping shirt and track pants shorts. He held change between ins his hands, an irked expression on his face.
Bakugou froze momentarily at the sight of Emiri, before he casually approached her.
"You tried calling Icy-Hot again?" Bakugou questioned, glancing at her phone that she gripped.
"Yeah, still no answer." She slightly raised her shirt so she could shove her phone into her shorts pocket. "What are you doing out here so late?"
Bakugou made a noise of annoyance, "I have to get those idiots drinks from the vending machine."
An amused laugh escaped her lips, "you lost rock-paper-scissors again? You must be really shit to not even notice that Kirishima always uses rock."
"I keep thinkin' he'll change tactics but he never does." Emiri shook her head with a smile on her face.
"Because I feel bad for you, I'll accompany you."
Bakugou rolled his eyes, walking ahead of her. She laughed, bouncing on his trail before he slowed down when she came to his side.
The two walked in silence – a silence that was a little bit awkward.
Weirdly enough, her and Bakugou hadn't talked much one-on-one the entire trip. She'd silently vowed to get to know him better, to maybe be closer to him by the end of the trip.
But she noticed he would avoid her, or at least avoid being alone with her. And even when they were together like this, he wouldn't tease and annoy her as much as he used to and the bantering was left up to her for the most part.
At first, she thought that maybe she did something to piss him off and he was upset at her. But that wasn't Bakugou; if he had a problem with anyone, he would tell them to their face.
"Why have you been trying to call him anyways?" Bakugou suddenly asked, stopping in front of the vending machine. "He's been texting you, so you're not completely cut off."
Emiri was taken aback momentarily by his interest. He seemed to be trying to fill the awkward silence.
"Well... I've been thinking about something and need to talk to him about it." Emiri said as she vacantly watched a bottled, ice coffee being manoeuvred to the bottom of the machine. "I dunno, it's important and I need Shoto. But he's busy."
"What could be so important that you need to tell him now?"
It was no secret that the Todoroki twins were close. Shoto was the person Emiri constantly followed around and could be seen annoying him any opportunity she got. Not to mention how if she weren't with him, she was most likely talking about how cool his quirk was or making fun of him behind his back.
She was an affectionate younger sister, rarely embarrassed by her quiet twin unless he was making weird theories – like the time he ranted to her at two in the morning about how Midoriya was related to All Might. Not his brightest moment, but Emiri and Shoto were twins, and being a little bit pea-brained was a trait they shared.
Though Emiri was independent most of the time, when she had to rely on someone it was Shoto. It was a given that no one questioned.
Emiri glanced at Bakugou who opened the vending machine collection bin to grab the piles of drinks he just bought.
With Shoto clearly busy, she wondered if it would be so bad to rely on others. Heck, she'd asked Bakugou to come to the cemetery to meet her once. Sure, it was a bit embarrassing to talk to your crush about your issues, but it was a part of growing closer.
"I was thinking of working full time with Recovery Girl after graduation."
˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
Shoto sighed, holding his phone loosely as he sat on the porch outside the dormitory.
He was supposed to call Emiri days ago. They'd agreed to call twice a week or whenever there was an emergency. But it had been three weeks since she'd left and he hadn't called her once.
Sure, she texted him to let him know when she had service so they could call. But he never initiated any calls and ignored her calls, texting her afterwards with some excuse as to why they couldn't call.
In reality, he was stunted. His father's words had immobilised him.
In all honesty, Shoto never believed that Enji actually cared for them as human beings, as his children. It was clear that Enji only viewed them as weapons to surpass All Might. Sure, he promised to be a better father and in some ways, Shoto saw Enji put in more effort in the past few years than he's ever done in their entire lives.
Whether that be trying to get more involved in their school lives, attending Fuyumi's dinners and even engaging in light conversation at times. But those were all just surface level things that never really showed that he did care about them.
But after hearing him talk about Emiri, Shoto was beginning to believe that Enji had been so adamantly against her dreams because he actually knew her. He paid attention to his children more than he let on.
Shoto spun his phone between his fingers, making a frustrated noise.
"Todoroki?"
He turned around, "Hello, Mr Aizawa."
The dark haired teacher leaned against the sliding door, peering down at his troubled student.
"I assume your talk with Endeavour didn't go so well," Aizawa stated, noticing the restlessness of his student.
"No, it didn't." He confirmed.
Aizawa quietly wandered over, slowly taking a seat beside Shoto before leaning back on his hands.
He would've talked to Endeavour himself if he could. But a U.A. teacher can't just convince a hero to recommend someone. It would be showing favouritism and he didn't want to get in trouble with Principal Nezu when he was already against the idea of overfilling the hero course with too many students.
"You know, your sister used to come to me every afternoon and try to convince me to let her into the hero course," Aizawa began, making Shoto look over at him. "I always thought that she had the ambition and the compassion for it. But I never really saw her actual potential until now, she's come so far."
Shoto nodded, "she would be happy to hear that, especially coming from you."
Aizawa exhaled softly, lightly patting Shoto's arm.
"If your sister truly has the talent, I believe she'll make it as a hero even if she didn't get into the hero course." Aizawa stated. "I'll do everything I can to support her, okay?"
Shoto smiled up at Aizawa.
"Thanks, Mr Aizawa." Shoto looked down at his phone. "I just don't know how to face her knowing that I couldn't get Dad to recommend her. I kind of agreed with him; that Emiri's spirit would only get hurt if she became a hero."
Aizawa watched as Shoto's eyes shone with determination, his hands clutching his phone.
"But now? Not so much." Shoto said, pursing his lips. "Weak is the last thing Emiri is. Her kindness is a strength. It's what makes a real hero. And if she ever burns out, I'll be there to save her. That's what I can do as her brother; be by her side supporting her when she needs it."
The 2A homeroom teacher held back a smile at Shoto's determined words. He hadn't heard him this passionate about something since the sports festival back in his first year.
"Kid, you two will be fine." Aizawa slowly stood up, dusting off his pants. "Just be honest with her. Like you said, she's a good person. She'll know that you did everything you could."
Shoto nodded, feeling his burdensome thoughts suddenly lighten a little bit.
˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
"So you're quitting?"
Bakugou was pissed.
And she was fumbling to explain herself. But the moment she'd confessed her new plan from now on, she'd regretted it.
"Well, no, I'm still going to be a hero, just in a different way – like Recovery Girl!"
"But what about your crystal quirk?"
"It's... fine, I'll just focus on developing my healing quirk."
Bakugou clicked his tongue, biting the straw of his juice box as he looked away from Emiri.
The two stood near the vending machine still, drinks in their arms as they talked about her future.
"Don't you feel cheated? Or angry at least?" Bakugou demanded, fed up by her patience. "Eye bags stooped so fucking low."
"Shinso was only trying to do whatever he could to get into the hero course, like I was." She reassured him before looking at her slippers. "If anything, I feel awful for not congratulating him, for making him feel bad for winning."
Bakugou felt a tiny bit guilty when he remembered how he'd gotten angry at Shinso after their fight. But it couldn't just be him feeling it, right? His classmates all seemed a bit put off by how Shinso had won the fight too.
He shook his head. No, the way Shinso won was definitely not honourable.
"Are you telling me that you've been worrying about that shitty guy this entire time?" Bakugou asked.
"No... of course I've been worried about my future too. But what about Shinso? What about all the time you spent tutoring me only for me to fail? I feel ashamed... I should've just listened to Mum and Dad in the first place."
"You're a lot more dense than I gave you credit for."
She raised her head, looking over to see his angry expression.
"I'm sorry..."
"Why're you such a pushover?" He retorted, looking at her now. "'What about Shinso, what about me?' What about you, idiot?!"
"I've already cried about myself and I felt disgusting." She admitted harshly. "I did it in front of Shoto and I felt embarrassed. All he did was blame himself for not being a better brother and I felt like shit complaining about my worries. I don't want to hurt anyone."
In that small moment, everything clicked in his mind.
She treated herself like shit.
Emiri could feel everyone's emotions like she could feel the pain of those she heals. Be it a part of her quirk or a part of her nature, she was selfless to the point that she pushed down her own pain to look after others.
But doesn't she know that living for others without living for herself can tire her out? Take away the pure kindness in her heart as she begins to avoid her own problems? She was a doormat who cared for everyone but herself.
"People will get hurt no matter what you do, that's why I live however the fuck I want." He spoke after a moment. "Look, no one's here but me. Tell me what's really wrong. And if it's so selfish and disgusting, I'll be there waiting in hell for you."
Emiri let out a strangled laugh, her eyes watering.
"You're crazy," she whispered.
"Says you."
"Touché."
The two stood in silence again until Emiri decided to give in.
"I just feel manipulated," she admitted, "I've always been nice to Shinso even when it was announced that we would both be taking the exam. I knew better than anyone how much he wanted this, we're in the same class. But he should've known how much I needed to get into the hero course, yet I feel like he took the nasty way to win."
"It's shitty," Bakugou affirmed, "he shouldn't have brought your personal issues into this."
"But at the same time, it was my insecurity that got the best of me." No matter how much she reassured Shoto that she knew it wasn't him who'd spoken such words, she wouldn't admit the truth to Shoto: she's initially believed it was him and it hurt. "It was a dirty play, but I should've been able to stand my ground."
Bakugou sighed, deciding to silently agree to disagree.
"I just don't get how you can just push this all down and pretend it doesn't affect you." He hissed, throwing his trash in a nearby bin. "You're not the type to let setbacks get to you – so why are you settling?"
"I'm just learning to appreciate what I have." Emiri looked down at her hands. "Recovery Girl is the only person I know of who has a healing quirk. It's a gift that I have a healing quirk too. So, I should cultivate it."
"But you can do so much more."
Emiri looked up at him in shock, waiting for him to look at her. But he stubbornly stared ahead knowing that if he were to look at her, he wouldn't be able to look away.
"You're selling yourself short, Emiri." Bakugou pushed off the wall, grabbing the drinks from her arms. "You deserve more."
Emiri's heart practically clawed the insides of her chest, her face flushing red as he left her behind.
She slowly slid onto the floor, holding her warm face as she repeated Bakugou's words in her mind.
You deserve more.
˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
a/n: I like to think that Shoto is there to protect and encourage her when she's upset, while Bakugou pushes her to be her best self and to take care of herself so she doesn't need to be protected.
I dunno, I love lil acts of love like that. It's so underrated.
(as you can tell, I love symbolism n shit).
Also, I am slowing down as this book is approaching its end and also 'cause I'm beginning to drown in uni work HAHAH.
So, I hope you enjoyed this update (even if it's just one chapter).