Every student in 1-A started solving the maths problem on the handout, but for you. Staring at the board, disconcerted, you realised that while you had learnt some trigonometry in the past, you had never come across this mystifying topic called 'small-angle approximations'.
You took a peek at Bakugo's notes as he scribbled away next to you, suspecting that you would need to use some sort of formula.
Bakugo arched a sly brow, his crimson eyes narrowing into slits. "Hah? So you've stooped as motherfuckin' low as copying me now, you extra?"
"I only had a quick look at what method we're meant to use," you retorted, tucking an annoying strand of your (h/c) hair behind your ear.
"So you were cheating." Bakugo leaned back on his chair, throwing his arms behind his head. "I thought you'd bloody changed since the entrance exam, (y/n)."
Not wanting the conflict to escalate, you raised your hands as if admitting defeat. "Alright, I've no clue what's going on."
A cocky smirk plastered on his face. It amused him that you weren't afraid to acknowledge your limits when you wanted to improve on something. "You've got no fuckin' sense of shame, have you? I'll help you with maths if you come sit with us at lunch, instead of that damn Deku."
You blew out your cheeks, recognising that there was no way you would survive hanging out with him after school. If your mere presence annoyed him this much, surely you'd be better off if you kept away from him?
Cocking your head left, you rolled your eyes to the right corner of the ceiling. "No offence, but, you know, I think your head would blow up if you tried to teach me."
"What did you just fuckin' say? Are you challengi--" Bakugo shut up as your mathematics teacher hit the back of his head with a textbook. Bakugo fell forwards onto his desk, as the rest of the class watched Ectoplasm in awe.
Ectoplasm's broad, menacing smile showed despite his black helmet covering his entire head. "Watch your language, Bakugo. If any of you have a problem, you ask me."
---
As you placed your tray next to Midoriya's, Bakugo stood up from his place, steam coming out of his ears. Though you didn't notice, Kirishima managed to get him to calm down by restraining him and talking him out of it. Having a rant at you would not be manly at all, the red-haired boy explained.
Todoroki calmly took in this exchange while he ate his cold soba a few seats away from the explosive boy. His eyes darted to you as he thought you were addressing him, but his lips tightened into an unreadable line with the end of your sentence, "Hi, there! Congrats on getting class rep, Deku. You really are amazing."
"H-Hey, (l/n)," Midoriya's green eyes widened as he saw you. "Are you s-sure that... er... I mean, are you sure you won't get into trouble if you sit with us today?" His voicebox tightened, making him let out a sound that wasn't anything short of a squeak as you took a seat next to him.
"Me? Trouble?"
Midoriya scratched his cheek, a sweat droplet rolling down the back of his neck. "Yeah, you know, Kacchan and..."
"Oh, right. Nah, I think things should be fine, as long as I don't call him 'Kacchan' again." You tried brushing any worries away from Midoriya. Containing a laugh, you recalled the first day of school when Bakugo had got so riled up over getting called that name by you. "I don't see why he'd want to help me with maths anyway."
"Well said." Iida leaned forward as he tucked his chair nearer to the table, opposite you. "(l/n) is respecting herself, Midoriya, the same way as you have done when you have stood up to Bakugo."
"Yeah, I kind of see that." Midoriya let out a nervous laugh. He had experienced enough negative interactions with Bakugo since his early childhood to expect the ash-blond boy's glare to be burning a hole through his back at this very moment.
Yet again, Todoroki took note of this. Why did you cause such a strong reaction in your classmates? Especially in Bakugo...
Todoroki stared down at his empty bowl before glancing at you as you flexed your bicep - a sign of strength which made him wonder what you were talking about. But he shook his head sideways, trying to dissipate this fog that clouded his brain every time it came to you.
Had you voted for him to become class representative? You hadn't got any votes whatsoever, so you must have placed your vote on someone else. And Todoroki had deemed Yaoyorozu the best fit, so the lonely vote he had received could have perfectly belonged to you, right?
Unaware of Todoroki's unyielding gaze set on you, you furrowed your eyebrows as someone placed their hand on your shoulder.
Seeing Ochaco's bright smile, you patted the empty seat next to you, content that her bubbly presence had lifted the atmosphere.
The group's conversation shifted towards your families and your reasons for becoming heroes. While you admired Midoriya's idealistic 'I want to save everyone with a smile', and could see the reasoning behind Iida's 'I want to be like my brother, Ingenium', Ochaco's reason rattled you.
You had never seen anyone so readily admit that they wanted to become a hero for the money. Having always pictured that as one of the roots of the decline of the hero profession, you crossed your arms over your chest as you sat back into your seat.
In her heart of hearts, she was doing it to support her family. "I think you're strong, Uraraka," you reassured her. "You've got nothing to be ashamed of."
Her chest tightened as she mentally went over your reason to become a hero. "And you're strong, too, (y/n)! I honestly don't know what I would've done... Like, if my parents split up when I was a child, it would've destroyed me, but not necessarily encouraged me to become a hero?"
You rubbed the back of your neck. "I'm not sure I realised at the time, but ever since I held on to the belief that nothing is broken beyond repair. If there was anything I could do to rescue people from tough situations, I'd feel like I could fix this world."
Iida's glasses glimmered as he declared, "Seeing the four of us, all at U.A. for different reasons, is truly inspiring."
"I know this is a bit off topic but, (y/n), did you and Todoroki know each other before U.A.?" Ochaco swung her legs under the table before she added, "I noticed that you're on a first-name basis already."
You flinched as you realised that you had been calling him Shoto out of habit. Calling him Todoroki would cause far too much confusion at his house.
I don't wanna hide the truth from Ochaco.
Your clammy hands trembled under the table as you settled for a white lie. "Yeah, I met him a couple of times before U.A."
"I knew it!" She punched the air, happy that she had been able to read the situation. "During homeroom, I saw Todoroki put his name down next to yours for this afternoon's cleaning rota. There were other days available, so it made me wonder--"
Midoriya almost fell out of his seat at the sound of the alarm. An announcement came through the speakers: you were all to evacuate U.A. Someone had broken in, despite the school's advanced security system.
---
As the bell echoed through the classroom, signalling the end of the school day, Todoroki placed the brush in the locker in the corner. He still couldn't believe the sheer madness of the stampede at lunch, neither how Iida had solved it. But what had stumped him the most was that you had told him that you had voted for him of all people to become class representative.
It didn't make sense to him. No, you didn't make sense to him. But, with any certainty, he knew that there were too many contradictions, and too much to process all at once.
"So glad this day is over. I've had more than enough for today." You pushed the last chair under a desk, while you gathered enough courage to address Todoroki directly. "So, Shoto, can I walk down with you... as there is no one around us?"
Todoroki stayed quiet, contemplating the step-change he had done because of his impromptu decision earlier. Nevertheless, he didn't regret signing up to carrying out cleaning duties with you, considering that you wouldn't have to endure doing them with someone like Bakugo.
He looked around the tidy classroom before setting his heterochromatic eyes on you. "Let's go home."
Both of you walked side by side down an empty residential street in silence. A couple of days before starting high school, you could have never imagined that you would find yourself in these circumstances. All the times you tried walking home with him, he had managed to sneak out of school without you, even though you waited for him by the gate.
The back of your hand brushed against his knuckles, reminding you of last night's events. You could almost taste Todoroki's frustration as he hovered over you like a threatening storm, his warm breath giving you goosebumps. As much as that sudden intimacy had shaken you up, the thought of the Todoroki family's disturbing secret life hadn't left the forefront of your mind yet.
Caught up on your thoughts, you stepped on the road, but soon froze in your place as someone tugged your arm. Stumbling back, with a gaped mouth stare, you heard Todoroki shout your name.
"Jesus Christ," you said as you saw the beige car speeding past a few meters in front of you. Your heart rattled in your ears. That was way too close a call for your liking.
With his lips pursed as if he'd been chewing on a lemon rind, Todoroki struggled to make sense out of you. How could you be so clumsy when you had proved to be a skilled fighter last night? "You should be more careful, (y/n)," was all he found himself saying.
You gulped as you minced your way away from him. "I'm sorry. I was spacing out."
"Sorry for pulling your arm with more power than I should have."
Though your arm felt tender, you outstretched it and swung it around. "Why do you apologise? I'm absolutely fine."
Todoroki gave you a shrug of resignation.
Despite his blatant indifference, you looked heavenwards, meekly smiling to yourself. "If you weren't here, I might've been injured. So thanks for saving me, Shoto."
"You're welcome, I guess."
His cold remark stung a little, but you still took more care to look both ways before crossing the road. Studying the beautiful houses whenever you deemed it safe, you decided that you prefered the city's more modern ones to your village's.
You went on to study Todoroki, as he strolled beside you. His chiselled jaw was tense, yet he still managed a deadpan expression. You browsed your memories, trying to remember a time when you had seen him smile.
"Do I have something strange on my face?"
"Hm?" Why am I like this? He caught me staring at him again. You put your hand to your forehead, trying to buy some time. "No, I just thought you've grown tall."
"...Have I?"
You would have banged your head against a wall if you had the chance. In the heat of the moment, that was the best you could come up with to avoid telling him what you were really thinking. Yet you decided to roll with it. "Oh, you don't look so happy, Shoto."
"I am." He hunched over to look shorter, but then he brought his hand to the top of his head and projected it upwards. "But I wanted to be taller."
Intrigued, you paced closer to him. "I think you're tall enough, though. Do all boys want to be as tall as possible?"
"Maybe. Well, because you're pretty tall."
"Me?" You pouted. "I don't think I'm especially short... But you're a good couple-- maybe even more than a couple of inches taller than me."
Todoroki looked to the side, away from you. Your shoulders shrunk noting how, perhaps, you had let on too much of yourself in front of this cool, level-headed boy. Although, in reality, he was doing nothing but holding back a laugh due to your invaluable expression. Both of you continued walking home, unaware of the pair of blazing eyes watching over your every move.