"My name is not five weenies–"
Rin witnessed from the audience stands of the stadium as Shoto valiantly attempted to talk with the misbehaving primary school students who wreaked havoc for the four high school students.
She found his attempts adorable, the boy simply blinking in confusion down at the children who hadn't listened to his one thousand word introduction about himself.
They hadn't quite talked about their intense kiss from the previous night. After Aizawa had barged into them and saw the soot covered walls, he had sent them straight to bed and had put Rin on cleaning duty while Shoto had to use Enji's black card to cover the cost of the repairs.
Needless to say, Rin had no idea where she and Shoto stood. But with Rin working under Enji and Shoto trying to get his licence, they both seemed to silently agree to talk about it when they could.
Speaking of Enji, behind her sat the former Number One Hero and the unofficial Number One Hero who were having a serious discussion that Rin tried not to eavesdrop on. But, from the snippets she accidentally overheard, the topic of the conversation was similar to her and Enji's discussion a few weeks back in his training room.
As much as Rin disliked Enji as a person, she could tell he was making a profound effort to get to know Shoto, Fuyumi and Natsuo, as well as trying to figure out how he was going to fit into the burdensome role as the Number One Hero in preparation for the Hero Billboards Chart event.
But, likewise to Shoto's genuine and hardworking attempts to win the hearts of the primary school students below, Enji's efforts were not quite paying off.
Being a work-study sidekick for Endeavour involved a lot of observation, and she unintentionally noticed how society views Endeavour; rather than feeling immense excitement in his presence, civilians were thoroughly intimidated by him.
His reputation amongst civilians was probably the reason why Enji was asking All Might what the 'Symbol of Peace' was.
"In other news, Best Jeanist and Icarus have been missing for months now." At the mention of her father, Rin zoned back into their conversation. "Do you think their rankings will go up?"
Enji was silent for a few minutes, Rin feeling his eyes burning into the back of her neck. Sensing his unease at her presence, she stood up, sending the two heroes a polite smile before she made her way towards the staircase leading down.
Instead of descending the staircase, she slipped behind the audience stands, waiting for their conversation to continue.
"I struggle to admit this, so I'm only saying this once; I believe that Icarus could've surpassed me in the Hero Billboard Charts." Rin's eyes widened. "Before he disappeared, a few of my heroes working undercover in Ryu's agency had discovered he had some deals with the Hero Commission to boost his rankings. And, with his popularity naturally rising, becoming Number One would've made sense."
Rin snorted, shaking her head. All this time, some of Ryu's most trusted coworkers had been Enji's undercover workers acquiring intel. Enji had to have some sort of clue as to how untrustworthy Ryu; a secret investigation on the Number Eight Hero already underway.
All Might sighed, "it's a shame what happened with Icarus – we still haven't been able to find him."
Enji clicked his tongue.
"All Might, I don't think you understand the severity of the situation." All Might raised a brow at Enji's tense state. "Something is not right about Ryu, for many reasons. Not only because of what happened to Nova, but because his daughter chose to work for me."
All Might leaned back in his seat, trying to desperately pick up what Enji was putting down. But there were too many gaps for him to comprehend what he meant. All Might knew that Enji was sworn to secrecy about what happened to Nova the fateful day she passed, but he assumed it had something terrible to do with Ryu.
"She could be working with you so she can save her father, because she knows that you more than anyone else could bring him back." All Might tried to reason. "Young Takahashi is intelligent, she's using her connections well."
Enji scoffed.
"You say she's intelligent but severely underestimate her." Rin's figure straightened at her hero mentor's unreadable tone. "Rin joining my agency is the last thing Ryu would want her to do, it ruins his image and admits that I'm stronger than he is. So, Rin's either a fucking idiot, or she's out to destroy Icarus."
Rin smiled, crossing her arms to her chest at his words. Whether or not they were said as a compliment or not, she felt glad that Enji actually took the time to get to know her throughout the time she'd worked for him.
"Why would she want to destroy Icarus?" All Might questioned.
She heard Enji stand up from his seat, her figure tense as she prepared herself to disintegrate into star dust if she needed to.
"Like I said: something must not be right about Ryu." Enji continued. "Rin hasn't tried searching for Ryu, nor has she displayed any signs of worry as to his whereabouts and his safety."
All Might frowned, "you aren't suggesting that she's the cause of his disappearance?"
Before Rin could panic, thinking that she accidentally made an enemy out of the two Number One Heroes, Enji let out a hearty laugh.
"That kid has a heart of gold," her lips parted. "She radiates the same kindness her mother once did. If she were to be plotting some immoral scheme to destroy the hero system, I would be thoroughly defeated."
Her eyes watered at his words, a fragile smile on her face.
A small chuckle came from All Might.
"You seem fond of Young Takahashi." All Might commented. "The only time I hear you speak so highly of someone is when you talk about Young Todoroki."
Enji peered down at his son at where he held out a small flame to a group of children, a gentle smile on the boy's face as they excitedly pointed at the slide made of his ice in the background. Shoto scooped up a few of the kids in his arms, the children burst into giggles as he helped them make their way to the top of the slide.
"Rin is my responsibility too now that Ryu is missing." Rin peered past the wall to see the luminous back of Enji. "I haven't talked to Shoto as much ever since the dorm system was introduced, but I know for a fact that she makes him the happiest I've ever seen him. So, if there's one thing I can do to make Shoto happy, it's to protect her."
She blinked away her tears before hastily wiping her eyes with her sleeves.
✩࿐
After his remedial classes, Shoto had returned back to the dorms fatigued, to the point where he and Bakugou had sat in total silence on the ride home – a rare feat for Shoto who'd grown a little talkative with Bakugou, and for Bakugou who always found some reason to shout at Shoto.
He had been tempted to fall face first onto his bed knowing he had remedial classes again the next morning. Alas, he somehow ended up sitting on the couch in the common room with the entirety of Class 1A.
Every Friday night was movie night which was often accompanied by severely burnt popcorn and sickly sweet desserts, the latter courtesy to Sato. He'd made Rin mochi – it was safe to say that she and Sato were close friends because of how much he loved to spoil her with sweets.
Someone had chosen 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', so Rin was captivated completely by the movie while Shoto's mind was elsewhere.
He stared at Rin's hand that had naturally intertwined with his.
His mind was consumed by her; what he felt, what they were. Things hadn't been quite the same after they kissed, as if the dreamy, dewy filter over his eyes had been wiped away to reveal the reality of his situation.
Like the times he and Rin held hands, flirted and exchanged innocent cheek and forehead kisses when they were alone. At some point, he forgot they were pretending and they acted as a couple even when no one else was there.
Since they kissed, he'd been cautious around her, a bit distant if anything.
He noticed how she instinctively came to his side when he was nearby, greeting him with a small peck on the cheek before interlocking their hands. Or, how her laugh was a little lighter and her words were more meaningful around him.
Yet, he noticed how Bakugou and Jirou teased them about how they looked like a real couple nowadays and how her face would dim at such a comment. Not to mention how she too realised how close they'd become but avoided talking about their relationship all together.
It was all too confusing for Shoto because he wanted something more but didn't know how to when Rin didn't seem to reciprocate how he felt back.
Rin's attention turned to the troubled boy when she felt his fingers untangle from hers, Shoto standing up from the couch and wandering out of the common rooms to the front doors of the dormitory.
Noticing her classmates hadn't been phased by his disappearance – they were either asleep or too focused on the movie – Rin also slipped out of the dorms. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, goosebumps protruded on her exposed skin as the early winter wind infiltrated her clothing.
Shoto sat on the concrete bannister of the staircase leading to their dorms, facing out towards the front gardens as his hair mixed in the gentle breeze.
"What're you doing outside?" Rin walked a few steps down so she was eye level with him. "It's cold, Shoto."
He let out a small huff, "then go back inside."
Rin tilted her head.
"Are you okay?" She asked. "Did I do something wrong?"
His head snapped to her, his tense features softening at her meek words. She was staring at her slippers, a little nervous because of his glacial remark.
Shoto wasn't a very expressive person, but she read him like a book.
Clasping his hands together, he closed his eyes in deep thought.
"I just have a lot on my mind." He let out a sigh. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you."
Rin took a seat beside him, Shoto automatically activating his heat quirk to warm her up.
"Tell me what's on your mind then," he always said that to her, so it was about time she let him have a go too. "I'll listen."
Shoto properly considered brushing her comment off, it seemed like the right option knowing she was what was on his mind. But, for some insane reason – no, there was no reasoning for such a choice, his decision fuelled fully by emotion.
"I don't understand you. One moment you're denying that we look like a couple to our friends, the next you're grabbing me by the shirt and kissing me in the kitchen at midnight." Her ears reddened at his unfiltered directness, his words fast and uncontrolled. "I just want it all to be real, I feel like it's all real. It's all the little things; the hand holding, the burning touches, the soft smiles, the kisses. I want it all, I want you– "
She grabbed the sleeve of his shirt, stopping him mid-rant. He was surprised to see her eyes flooded with tears, her body shaking as she clutched the material tightly between her fingers.
"Stop it," Shoto's heart dropped at her wavering tone. "I...I'm dealing with so much. I miss my villain father, I'm broken over my mother's passing that was nearly nine years ago, and I hate myself for putting you in this situation and lying to all of our classmates. I'm a mess. And you don't deserve that."
To her, she felt like everything Shoto should hate. She forced him into secrecy when he was the most honest person she knew, and not to mention his father approved of her. Finally loving her would only defeat the purpose of all those years of defying his father.
He unclasped her hand from his shirt, kissing her knuckles before holding it in his lap.
"But you like me back, right?"
Rin gazed up at him, Shoto swearing he saw the stars above reflecting in the layer of tears on her eyes.
"Loving you is the easiest thing in the world." Her fingers loosened in his hands. "B...But, I'm not perfect for y–"
"You're a doofus," Rin's eyes widened at the sweet, goofy smile that appeared on Shoto's handsome features. "The way your hair is messy when you don't realise, when you let out unhinged laughter, or when you wear your glasses when you study... that 'mess'... it's all perfect to me. It's the little things, your little habits and mannerisms that I love."
They sat quietly in the darkness, the stars and moon as their witnesses, as they soaked in the words spoken. Shoto froze as Rin placed the top of her head against his chest, her entire face crimson as she let out a soft exhale as his warmth surrounded her.
"Good." she whispered, shoving her face into his collar. "I can't imagine not loving you. Is that okay?"
A smile appeared on his face as his fingers slithered up her sides, his touches feeling electrifying. He pressed his lips to her head, not pulling away until she looked up at him.
"Mm... I think so." Her jaw dropped at his joke.
"Was that a joke, Todoroki?" Shoto's grip tightened around her waist.
"Do not call me that." She smirked. How the tables had turned. "We are way past that."
She let out a rambunctious laugh before Rin hung her arms around his neck, slightly pulling him down to her so she could peck his lips.
"You're my home now, you can't leave me otherwise I'll have to kill you." She whispered, smiling up at him. "Now, that's a threat."
He snorted.
"Threat noted."
✩࿐