A/N
You might have noticed that there were only twenty 1A students during the quirk apprehension test. I forgot to mention that, for the plot's sake, you got into U.A. instead of Rikido Sato. I'm sorry, Sugarman! :P
---
Battle Training with All Might as your teacher was a dream come true for you. "They say that clothes make the pros, ladies and gentlemen. Behold, you are the proof," All Might's voice boomed as you and the rest of 1-A walked up to him.
Your hero costume was proof to this, too. It wasn't the flashiest, but you were grateful for all the effort your friend Chiharu had put in to help you design it.
"Take this to heart..." All Might continued, "Now, you are all heroes in training. You look so cool! Should we get started, you bunch of newbies?"
After receiving the exercise's instructions, you figured you should soon work out a strategy with your partner, Koji Koda. As you inched closer to him, he turned away from you, too nervous to engage in conversation.
"Hey, Koji, could you possibly tell me how your quirk works?" You began, carefully taking a few steps around him so you could take in his timid face. "You know, so that we can make the most out of my Vitality Transfer quirk, and we win this exercise."
Koji swallowed thickly as your hero costume's boots came into his field of vision.
"It's okay. I won't ask to borrow your life energy, if that's what you're worried about," you reassured him, as the memories of how your classmates had reacted at the Quirk Apprehension Test flashed back into your mind.
Koji shook his head and brought his hands in front of him to explain himself in sign language, but all you could work out was that he seemed more comfortable in your presence than a few minutes ago.
Bringing his hands to his peach-coloured face, Koji let out his voice.
Though no animals came to the sealed room, you understood his quirk as soon as he batted his arms like a bird and put his shaky hands behind his head to give you the impression of a bunny.
"Woah, that's epic. Our quirks are gonna match so well. I can't wait to work by your side." You made a fist in front of you and reached out to the tall boy.
Tentatively, he responded to your fist bump, a shy smile breaking on his lips. He would never forget that you were one of the first people who tried to engage with him at this school.
---
As a couple of teams still needed to do the training exercise before it was your turn, you had some time to spare. Koji had gone off somewhere else, so you looked up at the screen displaying the latest battle until you caught sight of Midoriya on your left.
Because he had only just fought alongside Uraraka, against Bakugo and Iida's team, he was far too busy thinking and muttering to himself to notice you.
"Hi, Deku." You offered him a wave. "Well done on winning on the exercise."
"H-Hey, (l/n). All the best for yours... I can't... um... I can't wait to see your quirk in action." He wrung his hands together, telling himself off for being so awkward.
Yet, you took a step closer to him, deciding to ask him about something which had been weighing in your mind. "Deku, I know this might sound a bit odd, but I think that you knew about me before U.A."
Midoriya's cheeks were tinted with red. "Yeah, I don't want to sound like a creep, but I read about what happened to your father on the news. I was shocked to see how top heroes could damage the people they meant to save. I hope your father's better now."
"It's not creepy," you said. "Don't worry, Deku. I just couldn't work out why you knew my name."
Midoriya scratched his cheek. "I did some further research online and found some absurd conspiracy theories. It's nothing to worry about because I flagged them up. I think they took them down by now."
"Oh, really?"
"I can't remember exactly, but they seemed like fake news, and I thought they were unfair to your family."
"What were they about?" you pressed.
"Um, I-I think they said something about your uncle leaking your father's whereabouts, so he could make an insurance claim or something similar to that," Midoriya said, taking care to deliver his message with tact. "No one would do that to their own family, though."
You shivered as a cold wave washed over you. Taking the issue into your own hands, you'd investigate to get to the bottom of it. "Yeah, normal families don't do stuff like that to each other. Thanks for telling me, Deku."
---
When you arrived at the Todoroki's indoor training grounds, you swapped the bandages on your hands for some fresh ones. Swinging your arms about, you felt elated. Today's hero training had gone well, your team had won without much of a struggle, beyond your expectations.
After running around the courtyard for a while, you returned indoors. You noticed Todoroki by the weight bench, his muscles tensing every time he lifted the heavy dumbells.
He could have used another place to train, but he chose to do his resistance training in the same room as you.
But you chose to ignore that thought as you swiped some sweat off your forehead and adjusted your ponytail.
As you were about to hit the punching bag, Todoroki called your attention. "(y/n), you're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that."
"Nah, it should be alright. I used to train with my uncle, so I just imagine that it's him I'm fighting. I think it works out just fine."
Shaking his head at your remark, Todoroki stood up from his place. "How about you fight me?"
You tilted your head, surprised that he was interacting with you. "Sure, why not?"
As he stood before you, you stretched your arms and legs, still a bit sore since today's hero training exercise. Todoroki swung his arms forwards as to warm up. "I won't use my quirk, but feel free to use yours," he said.
Here he goes, Mr 'it's not your fault, we're just playing on different levels'. The creases that formed your frown could not reveal how much being looked down upon irritated you.
But you still rolled up your cuffs in anticipation, as you said, "That's hardly fair, isn't it?"
"Are you ready?" Todoroki ignored your question. "I've spotted a few things you've been doing wrong."
Was he watching me last night? You bent your knees slightly and put your arms in front of you, preparing to fight the half-and-half boy. "Come at me."
"You trust people too easily."
Soon as he finished his sentence, you threw your hands up to block his kick. His fighting style was sophisticated, as expected. You swung your arm at his ribs, pushing Todoroki back. You attempted to kick him, but he caught your leg mid-air. Stumbling back, you bit your lip.
You restrained yourself from borrowing some of his life energy, as you wanted an even fight. Yet you kept having to block his hits, with no time to send some of your own.
As he was coming at you, you shoved him with all your might. Todoroki's back hit the ground with a thud.
You raised your eyebrows, impressed by your own power. Though, this allowed an opening for him to push himself off the ground, and pin you down to the cold floor.
"Not everyone who pays you a favour is a friend, (y/n)." Todoroki hovered over you, his hands on the floor at either side of you, as you laid on your back. With the scent of both of your sweat mixing, the drift between you two diminished.
Too stunned to care about having Todoroki so close to you, staring at you in contempt, you shot him an inquisitive glance. "What are you even talking about, Shoto?"
"You know."
He had probably overheard your conversation with Midoriya about the handling of the media on your father's accident. This linked back to his own father, which made Todoroki's blood boil enough for him to lift the silent treatment he enforced to keep himself away from you.
You looked to the side, suddenly conscious of his warm breath on your face. "T-too close."
His eyes widened a tad as he noted the compromising position he had put you in. He had never done that to anyone before, but in the rush to point out your weaknesses, he had given into his own. "I'm sorry if I crossed the line." He backed off with one swift movement, guilt corroding his chest.
You stayed on the ground, covering your eyes with your arms to hide your flushed face. "I-I don't understand why you're like this with me, Shoto."
"Are you always this naive? Your wishful thinking doesn't always help. Not everyone in our class lives in the same idealistic world as you, either." He rubbed his temples, as he stopped himself from dwelling on what challenged him about you. "No... what I want to let you know is that you should never place your trust in my father."
The deafening silence made him steal a sidelong glance at you. He could have sworn that he saw a tear slide down your cheek.
But what rattled him the most was what you muttered next:
"You think I forgive him after what he destroyed?"
Todoroki's jaw tensed, taken back in realisation of his ruthless words. "That's not what I meant. I would never forgive him. He brought you into my life, but I am nothing like him. I hate that he raised me to become a hero who could exceed All Might, just to fulfil his own ambitions."
It was as if Todoroki had undone some of the deepest bandages around his heart, for the first time allowing you to appreciate the harshness of his childhood.
From the outside, his family seemed to function well, blessed with commodities which you could have only dreamed of as a child. Even in the days you spent with his family, you could only catch some of the distance between him and his siblings. Initially, you thought it was due to Todoroki's cold nature, but now you saw the emotional scars that his dreaded father had carved into him.
Shaken to the core, you made your mind up, standing up to walk up to Todoroki. All of this unresolved tension between the both of you was driving you around the bend. Todoroki didn't need someone else to be working against him. He needed someone to help him wrap those bandages with all the care in the world, so he could develop into a great hero - not the hero that his father wanted him to become.
You pulled him by the sleeve. "Shoto, I was a little startled earlier... and a little hurt."
Todoroki tried to get away from you by acting as if he was busy putting the dumbells back into their place. He would soon leave the training grounds unless you did something about it.
"Would you please listen? I'm upset with my own naivety. You pointed out some important things I'd forgotten. I know I'm not here to mess about."
"What's your point in telling me all of this?" There was a slight tremble in his voice.
You bit your tongue, stopping yourself from saying anything that would push him further away from you. Just then, you saw Todoroki's face. It almost looked like he was sulking, like a child that had just been scolded.
"I guess there's no point... but I can't stand being avoided by you," you confessed.
Todoroki kept his unseeing gaze focused on the floor.
You remembered all those times when he would grab your wrist to get you to listen to him. Gently, you took his hand to hold it. "I'm really sorry, Shoto. I genuinely had no idea."
"Aren't you scared of me?" Todoroki finally looked at you. He appeared a little sheepish, but you felt relieved when you saw his face.
"Believe me, I know scarier people than you."
While his thoughts caught up to him, every part of him paused. All he could do was ask himself what he had done to deserve such a dilemma, and why he wanted to believe that you weren't involved in his father's plans.
Yet, instead of bringing that subject up with you, "Thank you, (y/n)," was all he managed to utter.
You felt a warm feeling flooding your chest, as he gave your hand a squeeze before letting go. Seeing this side to Todoroki made you want to know more about him, even though you had been forced into living with him. While you treasured this moment, you doubted that you would move into the U.A. dorms as long as you felt welcomed at the Todoroki's.