Atsushi's lucky, are the first words that enter Izumi Kyouka's mind when she sees him snogging the life out of Akutagawa Ryuunosuke in the Great Hall at breakfast.
She pokes her scones with her fork in the most moody of manners, before Uraraka Ochako joins her.
"Kyouka-chan!" She says, cheery as always.
Kyouka smiled slightly in greeting. "Ochako-chan." She said before resuming her scone picking.
She just wanted some tofu, but apparently the elves didn't know how to make one.
It made her even more gloomy.
"Kyouka-chan, what's wrong?" Ochako asks, worry prominent in her chubby face.
Kyouka smiled, strained. "Nothing."
Ochako sees the sight of Kyouka's brother and his boyfriend going on at it like two wolves in heat at the Gryffindor table amidst groaning from Bakugou and Kirishima and hums in understanding.
"You don't have to worry about all that. At least you don't have to share your breakfast with someone else!" Ochako tries saying, though she knows it's useless.
Kyouka nods absentmindedly. "Sure." She says in a dead, flat voice.
Ochako exhales as Kyouka rocks back and forth on her chair in that sad way of hers.
"If you want to ask Todoroki-kun out,"
Kyouka tenses but Ochako continues in that blunt, brutally honest way of hers.
"Go on for it! No one would have imagined your brother would be kissing his sworn rival, and no one would certainly imagine you had the guts to ask out Todoroki-kun! Girl power, remember? Plus, there's the Christmas Ball coming up!" Ochako says, pumping her fists, her exuberant nature showing.
Kyouka groans, her face burning up in embarrassment.
The Christmas Ball was something Headmaster Nezu had come up with, as a measure to celebrate Christmas much happier in case none were able to be with their families.
Like Todoroki, and Akutagawa, she remembers distinctly.
It would occur once in every three years, in case people wanted to celebrate Christmas with their families.
Coming back to the present however, Kyouka just heats up so fast that she's sure her chair would have burnt up by now, but it hasn't, for some reason.
"I told you he doesn't like Momo-chan!" Ochako says, exasperated.
"Not so loud. Yaoyorozu-san herself told me, so there's no problem." Is all Kyouka's able to say blandly.
"Then? Kyouka-chan, you can't envy your brother forever!" Ochako says in worry, touching Kyouka's shoulder.
Kyouka just brushes her hand off and eats her horribly buttered scone with a bad grace.
Her bad mood only worsens when she sees her brother tenderly smile at his boyfriend.
"You might as well have each other for breakfast!" Bakugou says irritably, loud enough for a Hufflepuff, which she is, to hear.
Akutagawa only kicks Bakugou's face gracefully (how on earth can you kick someone gracefully, Kyouka wonders) in reply and Kyouka starts to hate him even more while Atsushi tries to make his boyfriend retrace his leg from Bakugou's face.
"Akutagawa-senpai, Akutagawa-senpai, please stop!" Midoriya can be heard pleading as Akutagawa says something in that quiet voice of his which is inaudible.
But Kyouka can guess what it is if the malevolent expression on said wizard's face is any indication.
Ochako only sighs and it's only too bad that Kyouka doesn't see the thumbs down gesture Ochako sends Todoroki, who's sitting at the Gryffindor Table.
And the disheartened look on his face.
"I don't like Todoroki-kun." Kyouka tries repeating to herself in Transfiguration class until Professor Aizawa throws a chalk piece at her head.
"Izumi. I don't like it when a student who's got a good reputation behaves stupid." He drawls.
"Yes, I'm behaving stupidly." Kyouka thinks to herself, trying not to think about how cool Todoroki is.
Girls are talking about the Christmas Ball excitedly in Herbology class, which is headed by Professor Midnight who's lenient enough to let them talk.
Kyouka almost breaks her wand in half when she sees the Gryffindors coming.
Ochako keeps a hand on her arm, but it's too difficult because there's...
Todoroki.
She just doesn't pay any notice to him, but it's tough and merely tries focusing on collecting the Bubotuber pus.
It burns her hand through the gloves she's wearing, simply because she's so distracted and she lets out a yelp, wincing as her eyes water due to the sharp pain the Bubotuber pus has induced.
She waves her hand like a mad person, biting on her lip to stop herself from screaming and that's when she feels a hand touch hers.
"You should be more careful."
Kyouka wants to scream into the void, as her dear brother has aptly described plenty of times, because Todoroki is hell-bent on making her pine for him, isn't he?
Her face is burning hot, as Todoroki holds her hand and stops it from flailing.
"Here." He said, almost awkwardly as he wraps her pus-burnt hand with mysteriously-appeared-bandages so carefully, so gently that Kyouka wants to cry because he's being so princely.
Like the Prince Charming's her brother often described jokingly when they were children.
Like the ones in her dreams.
Todoroki is so warm, for all the tales of coldness the girls swoon about, so close and Kyouka is burning in embarrassment.
His hands, though calloused, were exceedingly gentle and though one hand was slightly cold, it was cold, but in a pleasant way and they were fascinating to watch.
Ochako is breathing quickly now, next to her and the entire class is as silent as the day in her house when Atsushi tells their very traditional mother he's dating a wizard, not a witch.
The pain has been forgotten by now and Todoroki steps back, smiling slightly yet awkwardly as ever.
Kyouka looks at her carefully bandaged hands, and then at Todoroki, who is so tall that she has to retrace her head back a little to see him properly.
Kyouka is cursing herself for being so stupid, so lovestruck, so idiotic, because she can't find anything else except Todoroki-
"It's a good thing, that the pus wasn't serious, amount wise. 10 points to Gryffindor for immediate aid." Professor Kunikida says, effectively breaking the silence that had settled.
Of course he would do that, he was the head of Hufflepuff after all-
Kyouka feels so stupid as Todoroki widens his eyes.
"Professor, that isn't-" Todoroki starts to protest, the other half of his face just as red as the already reddened half.
"Nonsense. Get on with the lesson, Todoroki." The professor says, his voice a bit softer.
"And the rest of you, the same goes!" He barks, the precarious moment now broken amidst some general grumbling.
"That, was romantic!" Ochako squeals in lunch, making Kyouka groan.
"All the girls are so jealous of you now! Well, except for me, Momo-chan, Tsu-chan and..."
"No offence, Ochako-chan, but I really need to eat." Kyouka cut her friend off quite unfairly, but she didn't want to be reminded of the wide gap between her and Todoroki.
So many girls, and he could choose any of them later on.
Plus, he just looked upon her as Ochako's friend, not anyone real.
Ochako only sighed.
The Christmas Ball is the day after tomorrow.
(She never removed her bandages, even though her wound has healed more than satisfactorily.)
Kyouka wonders in slight agitation as to where the days have flown by.
Both boys and girls are now excitedly chattering and whenever she visits her brother, all he can talk about is how he's going to surprise his boyfriend.
Well, there were other things of course, that they chattered about, but all fall on deaf ears as Kyouka is slowly getting more and more caught up in despair about the fact she's going to the ball alone and without her Prince Charming.
As she stands in the Owlery, waiting for her mother's weekly letter, she finds Todoroki's standing there as well, wrapped up in a black fur coat that was far too fancy.
And Kyouka knew fancy.
Anyone would, if they came from a pure blooded family.
But it looks so good on him, her girlish heart squeals and Kyouka finds herself blushing like a maiden again.
"Kyouka." He greets, with that usual awkward smile, almost as if he doesn't know what to do around her.
Kyouka nods in greeting, not trusting her mouth to say a word.
The silence between them is so awkward that even Kyouka couldn't stand it anymore.
"Todoroki-kun.."
Todoroki almost jumps, but his composure is uncanny.
"Yeah?" He asks in that deep voice of his which she's loved, and why did she love everything about him, she wonders in self-exasperation.
"I never thanked you for that day, when you bandaged my hand, Todoroki-kun...So I guess," Kyouka fiddles with her hands before she continues.
"I'm trying to thank you...Thank you Todoroki-kun." Kyouka says, finding it difficult to look at him though that is what she's precisely doing as of the present.
Todoroki pulls the brown fur collar of his coat closer to himself, almost as if he were feeling colder. "It wasn't anything. Are you better now?" He asks, facing her now.
Kyouka nods, her tongue literally tied as if someone had cast the Tongue Tying Curse on her.
A regal looking white owl that she recognises as Shirayuki, flies her way to the hand she now outstretches, a letter tied around her legs.
Kyouka smiled, her heart more at ease with the owl she named after snow, and ruffled the owl's wintry head.
At first she had hated the owl as her mother did not buy a rabbit as promised, but now, Shirayuki was her best friend.
"Thank you, Shirayuki." Kyouka whispers, knowing that, for all her presumed madness at talking to an owl, Shirayuki understood her.
Shirayuki nuzzles affectionately and sends a look at Todoroki, unbeknownst to Kyouka.
As Kyouka walks out of the Owlery, she doesn't notice that Shirayuki rudely hoots at Todoroki and that the latter has face palmed himself in response.
"Dearest Kyouka,
I hope you are well. I very much wish you were here. Find it repetitive, but as parents, only we know how much we miss our children...
Kyouka never found it repetitive, that her mother often chose to repeat her love for her children.
She found it very comforting, and she smiled as she read the rest of the letter.
Please do take care of yourself, lass. I feel so happy whenever I see exploits of your talent. Do feel more confident in yourself.
Kyouka smiled a little, the words making her feel warm.
And do give Atsushi my regards.
Kyouka smiled at that.
The light is beautiful, and you are light itself. Do take care of yourself Kyouka, and when in doubt, remember that your father and I love you very, very much."
Kyouka sniffed, hugging the letter close to her chest.
The next day, Kyouka gets a package at the Hufflepuff dorm, which announces itself by smashing the window and flying straight for her bed.
"Open it, open it, open it Kyouka!" Ochako says excitedly.
Kyouka rubs her mussed hair with a frown, opening the package.
She gasps as Ochako excitedly runs over and squeals when she sees what it is.
It's a far too beautiful white gown tinted with the lightest shade of turquoise, her eyes tell her as she holds it out, with two silken white gloves and a light turquoise hairnet adorned with...
"Are those diamonds?" Ochako asks, her eyes shining in comical greed as she holds the hairnet up.
Kyouka widens her eyes and turning quickly to face Ochako. "Are they?" She asks, incredulously.
Ochako grins. "My girl, yes they are! Oh, look! It has a note from your mother!"
Kyouka runs to Ochako's side to see what her mother has written.
In beautiful calligraphy, it's written-
"I hope your Prince Charming sees you at least with this dress, my sweet flower. There is no possibility of him ignoring you with this dress on." Ochako reads out.
They look at each other for a second, Kyouka's body highly numb.
"Your mother just sent you the most gorgeous dress for your first Christmas Ball!" Ochako squeals again with a gleeful smirk, grabbing Kyouka by the shoulders and shaking her energetically.
This was technically Kyouka's second Christmas Ball, but as she had been in her first year...It hadn't really counted.
Kyouka stood firm and held her friend's hands.
"I'm sure your mother's sent you a more beautiful dress, Ochako-chan. And don't give me that old argument of you being a Muggle. Muggle dresses are much more beautiful anyway." Kyouka says, firmly as her friend opens her mouth to protest.
The girl then smiles, a little too mischeviously perhaps.
"Maybe Bakugou-kun will finally shut his mouth at seeing you." Kyouka teases, smirking.
Ochako just rolls her eyes, a little too wistfully. "That'll never happen. He's too busy screaming away at Deku-kun anyway."
"No way. How about we buy something this evening? Like Sleekeazy's Hair Potion or something?" Kyouka suggests.
Ochako, as expected, brightens up again.
"Sure!"
The evening, was a blast.
Not only did they get to buy the famed hair potion, but they also got to buy the jewelry Ochako had wanted for so long.
Kyouka had paid for it, despite her friend's protests and to their delight, they found Asui Tsuyu shopping in the novels section.
"Tsu-chan!" Ochako squealed, hugging the girl, who calmly reciprocated her hug.
"Ochako-chan, Kyou-chan." Tsuyu responded, smiling a little more when Ochako took time to look at her properly.
Kyouka bowed, smiling wider at Tsuyu.
She liked the frog like girl, who was candid and yet the sweetest girl ever.
"Tsu-chan, why are you in the novels section?" Ochako asked, curiously.
Kyouka watched in comical amazement as Asui Tsuyu turned red.
"It's...Midoriya's Christmas gift." Tsuyu said, shyly.
Ochako gaped, before grinning. "Your date?"
Kyouka widened her eyes, not believing it. The shy Midoriya with the candid Tsuyu?
That had to be...cute.
Tsuyu nodded, blushing before her eyes twinkled. "Who's your date?"
Ochako deflated a little before perking up again. "No date! Kyouka-chan's my date!"
Kyouka smiled slightly, giggling into her hand as Tsuyu laughed.
"Shame, really. Kyouka-chan is the prettiest in our year." Tsuyu said, mock critically.
Kyouka blushed as Tsuyu's face brightened.
"Why don't we go Christmas gift shopping together? It's much more fun." Tsuyu suggested.
Kyouka nodded, immediately knowing what she would buy for her brother, Ochako, Naomi and Tsuyu.
She had already sent her Christmas gifts for her parents much earlier so that they would reach them in time.
She hoped they'd appreciate the hand-made photo frame, she thought worriedly, for she had spent half her night slaving away at making it.
When she sees a black and white tiger magicked watch finally, after having bought other suitable presents, she brightens up.
"That for your brother?" Tsuyu asked, curiously as she peeked at it.
Kyouka nodded. "Have you sent your Christmas gifts to your family, Tsuyu-chan?"
"It's Tsu-chan. And yeah, I did send each person a present." Tsuyu said, absentmindedly searching through the watches.
Kyouka flushed at the first sentence but nodded again. Tsuyu was sweet that way, sending a gift for each and every one in her ginormous family.
"Guys! I found this!" Ochako said, excited, as she ran up to them.
Kyouka and Tsuyu looked curious and peeked at what Ochako had in her hand.
It was a snow globe with magicked figurines of the four founders of the four houses, raising their wands high up in the sky and making amazing magic.
"This is gold!" Ochako said, her eyes glinting both with joy and glee.
Kyouka inhaled sharply as Tsuyu widened her eyes.
"Who are you going to give this as a gift to?" Tsuyu asked.
Ochako winked. "That's a secret!"
"Obviously. If anyone can be happy at keeping a secret, it's Ochako-chan." Kyouka teased, her and Tsuyu snorting in laughter together at that as Ochako protested with good grace.
Kyouka hugged her letter again as she slept that night.
She only hoped tomorrow would be the fairy tale night her brother made it out to be.
"Get up, sleepy head! You have one gigantic dress to put on!" Ochako shouted in her ear, making Kyouka roll out of her bed.
Kyouka immediately woke up, and scowled at Ochako who was currently in her night dress, rubbing her head.
"What did you do that for?" Kyouka asked, frowning.
Ochako put her hands on her hips. "Because that dress isn't easy to put on! C'mon! We haven't got time to waste!"
Kyouka protested but even Tanizaki Naomi from House Slytherin had joined with an impish grin worthy that of a Cornish pixie.
"Ochako-chan called me to help you!" She said cheerily.
Kyouka stood up rather wobbily. "I don't need help putting on one dress." She said blearily.
Ochako rolled her eyes. "You'll be kissing our feet once we're done."
"I don't see you two dressed up." Kyouka said suspiciously.
"Oh come on! Do you want to look pretty for Todoroki-kun or not?" Naomi asked, one eyebrow raised.
Ochako smirked as Kyouka hid her face between her hands.
"Told ya!" The Muggle witch said cheerfully.
It had been very difficult.
The gown was indeed difficult to put on, and Naomi had volunteered to do her hair, while Ochako tied around the laces and checked if everything was set.
"When are you two going to get ready?" Kyouka asked, worried, when Ochako finally deemed her ready.
Ochako grinned. "We're not the ones who have to put on such a big dress! Don't worry." She added kindly.
Naomi winked. "I think even your brother will want to dance with you~! I wouldn't blame my brother if he wanted to dance with you." She sing sang, grinning.
Ochako coughed but gave a strained smile while Kyouka paled.
Kyouka loved her brother yes, but not enough for it to be considered as incest, while that was more than what you could say for the Tanizaki siblings.
Though they hadn't...seen anything, the suggestions were enough.
The amount of emotion in Naomi's voice whenever she talked about her brother was more suited for talking about a lover, in all honesty.
Ochako and Kyouka shared a glance before the latter bowed her head and smiled at Naomi.
"I've gotta go! I need to get ready!" Naomi chirped, kissing Kyouka on the cheek affectionately and patted Ochako's arm before skipping off.
Ochako smiled. "Me too. In another two hours, it'll be time for the ball."
Kyouka looked down and bit on her lip. "I wish you hadn't reminded me." She said, her voice shaking.
Ochako hugged her. "Kyouka, there's nothing to worry about, okay? Don't be so nervous, sweetie." She said softly, patting the girl's back.
Kyouka nodded, Ochako grinning as she went to get ready.
The corridor leading to the Great Hall is colourful, Kyouka notices, as she and Ochako walk through the corridor.
Ochako is pretty in a sunny way, having chosen to wear a yellow ballgown and wear her hair in a ponytail with flowers.
"I can't wait to see what the Great Hall'll be like!" Ochako chirps, staring through the crowd in anticipation.
Kyouka can feel looks on her and she feels beyond uncomfortable but she manages to keep her head high and nods.
The Great Hall was always redecorated in lieu of Christmas and this year, it would be no exception.
No meal tables, no staff tables, chandeliers with snow...
It was enough to make even the nervous Kyouka smile.
"K-Kyouka?!"
Kyouka turns so fast to face behind that she almost feels her neck cracking, once she hears her brother's shell-shocked voice.
"Your sister is beautiful." Akutagawa says in a cool voice to his boyfriend, as her brother, dressed in midnight blue dress robes gaped at her.
"Don't you think I know that, you prick?! Oh my god, you look gorgeous!" Atsushi says in amazement, running to hug her.
The hug is warm and Kyouka smiled broadly as she hugs him.
When they pull back, she notices her brother has put his hair on the side, making the uneven fringe actually look handsome and thus making her giggle.
"Do I look like an idiot? I probably do, put next to you." Atsushi jokes, though patting the plaited fringe self consciously.
Kyouka giggles again. "No, you look just fine." She says, giggling again.
"Told you, moron." Akutagawa says, walking up to them, dressed in silken black robes.
Atsushi blows a raspberry and smiles at Ochako. "Uraraka-chan, you look beautiful too!" He says brightly, making Ochako smile bashfully.
Akutagawa looks at Kyouka with something like approval in his usually emotionless grey eyes and that's more than what he can say, making Kyouka bow and whisper 'thank you' to him.
Akutagawa is surprised but he nods. "You look...graceful." He says, rather awkwardly.
Kyouka smiled. "Thank you. You look good, too."
Akutagawa just eyes the floor uncertainly, which is a first for him. "Thank you." He says finally, facing her.
"Uraraka-chan!" Midoriya calls from behind Akutagawa, waving his hand with a worried look.
Kyouka blinks as she and Ochako share a glance.
"Deku-kun?" Ochako asks, holding her given up and walking over to Midoriya.
The corridor is crowded and bustling.
"Did you see Tsuyu-chan?!" Midoriya shouts, looking worried.
Kyouka slaps a hand to her mouth as she immediately sees the petite Tsuyu creeping up behind Midoriya, trying hard not to laugh.
Ochako's undergoing the same torture as Tsuyu pulls at Midoriya's shirt.
"Midoriya-chan?" She says, loudly, making Midoriya jump out of his skin.
Kyouka giggles as Ochako hurries over to her, hiding her mouth with her gloved hand.
Atsushi laughs at the sight of Tsuyu teasing Midoriya and then smiles at his sister. "Kyouka-chan, Ryuu and I are going! Enjoy yourself, and you too, Ochako-chan!" Atsushi says, ruffling her head.
Kyouka smiled. "You too."
"Deku, you fucking nerd! I told you to fucking wait!" Bakugou screams from behind Akutagawa again, and the latter only shuts his ears and walks away from the scene.
Ochako shares a bland glance with Kyouka, who gives her a sympathetic pat.
"There's my date." Ochako says, her face bland.
Kyouka rubbed her back. "Ochako-chan, you look beautiful. You'll make Bakugou-kun shut up, I know it."
Ochako smiles wanly. "I'll see." She says, walking up to Bakugou.
Kyouka feels alone, but she feels happier when Bakugou indeed does shut his mouth when he sees Ochako.
Midoriya sighs in relief, and smiles hastily at Kyouka as he walks away to the Great Hall with Tsuyu winking at her as she walks away.
Ochako walks past her, much happier as Bakugou holds her arm and leads her away, a little less roughly than usual.
Kyouka tries to smile as she gathers up her gown and walks away to the Great Hall.
She blinks.
The Great Hall...was...
"It's so beautiful!"
"So pretty!"
"Whoever came up with this is a right down genius!" That was her brother whooping ridiculously, his boyfriend face palming and shaking his head.
Snow, actual snow, fell from the roof though there was no hole in the roof and a benign Christmas tree was visible, a Christmas pixie flying around it happily, alighting the top with a glowing...
Kyouka decided she couldn't damage her eyes for finding out what was the shiny thing that was making it glow.
Snow trees lined the corridors, their branches drooping prettily.
There was an ice rink in the centre, and as if the other girls read Kyouka's mind, they groaned saying that they couldn't skate with their pretty dresses.
Kyouka looked down, wondering if there was any possibility she could transfigure her dress into a warmer and simpler one so that she could skate.
"How are we going to skate?" Tsuyu asked, bluntly as always.
"We can't skate!" Ochako cried, looking horrified.
"Well, no one asked you to wear such poofy gowns-" But Bakugou was cut off by an angry Ochako who said things that made even his ears burn and Kyouka could happily say that Bakugou deserved it.
There were mutterings all around supporting Kyouka's thoughts because none of them knew there was going to be an ice rink!
Kyouka looked down at her dress and decided she could try transfiguring her dress because more than impressing Todoroki, she just wanted to skate-
"Kyouka?"
Kyouka blinked, hoping against hope it really was who she thought it was-
Yes.
There he was.
There, was Todoroki, who had evidently planned to forego the dress robe idea for he was wearing a princely tunic and breeches.
Kyouka could have hugged herself in delight but that wasn't dignified behaviour.
"Oh, Todoroki-kun." Kyouka said, mentally patting herself for not stammering.
Todoroki had a slight smile on his face. "You, er," he blushed and Kyouka wondered if she was in a dream.
"Look beautiful." He managed to say, biting on his lip.
Kyouka knew that she was dreaming, she definitely was-
"Thank you." She said anyway, turning away.
"I'm gonna skate!" Came the excited yells of her brother and everyone started whooping.
"Come on Nakajima!" People were shouting while Akutagawa folded his arms and looked blandly at the entire scene.
Todoroki's smile was a bit wider now. "He's enjoying himself, isn't he?"
Kyouka, despite herself, giggled. "He's always liked skating in the ice since he started dating."
Todoroki let out a chuckle. "I'm guessing Akutagawa influenced him."
"I have a hard time imagining that." Kyouka said, dubiously.
She really did.
Todoroki coughed before slapping his hand over his mouth, shaking in silent laughter.
The whole hall went silent when Kirishima excitedly shouted.
"Let's have couples skating! Come on everyone, the girls can skate too!"
The girls looked uncertain but when Ochako pumped her fist in the air and excitedly skated despite the fact she could trip over her gown any second, there was no doubt.
"I don't care if I have a poofy gown, as my date said! I'm gonna skate and no one is stopping me!"
Bakugou gaped.
Kyouka laughed, shaking with mirth as Todoroki had done a while before. "That's Ochako-chan for you." She said, in between her laughter.
"Bakugou better be careful." Todoroki said, biting on his lip.
Kyouka grinned, nodding.
"Ryuu, let's skate too!" Atsushi screamed, cupping his hands before doing a perfect backflip and an equally perfect landing.
"There's no bloody way I'm doing this shit!" Akutagawa screamed, making half the girls cover their ears.
"Oh come on you party pooper!" Atsushi said, raising his wand above and shooting out fireworks, somersaulting as he did.
"No way in hell, you swanking wanker!" Akutagawa said, scowling.
Kyouka and Todoroki couldn't speak for laughing and neither could the others.
"Oi, Akutagawa, too chicken?" Bakugou asked, smirking wildly as he slid past said wizard to join his date.
"Fuck you, Bakugou!" Akutagawa said, taking out his wand and pointing it at Bakugou, firing a jet of water from it once the latter started dancing with Ochako on the rink.
Everyone knew Bakugou was hydrophobic after all.
Or rather, water hating.
Unfortunately for Akutagawa, Bakugou only turned front and froze the water with his wand.
"Hey fucker, unlike you, I'm actually not chicken enough to skate with my date!" Bakugou said, with a smirk on his face.
Ochako groaned.
"I'll show you who's a fucking chicken, dipshit!" Akutagawa growled, sliding to the rink as if he was born for it.
Everyone gaped, including the usually emotionless ones and Bakugou, as Akutagawa skated his way to Atsushi and then actually danced with him.
People started clapping and shouting as couples started slowly skating on the enormous ice rink.
"I think I'm going to skate too." Kyouka said, her face glowing with the determination she felt.
No one needed skating shoes for an enchanted ice rink after all.
Todoroki blinked. "Are you?" He asked.
Kyouka nodded, unable to face him.
Todoroki rubbed his head. "Would you dance with me?" He asked quickly, facing her completely.
Kyouka widened her eyes and turned up to look at him so quickly she wasn't sure she heard it.
"Me? Dance with you?" She asked, hoping she wasn't dreaming.
Todoroki nodded.
Kyouka's smile at the moment was so wide she felt her cheeks paining quickly enough and the tears filling in her eyes were so warm she welcomed them to fall down.
Todoroki looked alarmed but Kyouka bit on her lip to stop herself from squealing and shook her head, silently assuring him she wasn't disgusted.
"I'd love to." She whispered.
Todoroki blinked before taking a look at the dancing couples and smirking slightly.
"Let's show them what real skating is like." He said, looking at her.
Kyouka grinned. "Sure."
While Kyouka may have not skated, this was enchanted ice and she was sure she could learn fast enough.
Who better to show real skating than two children of the ice, after all?
"Whoa!" Atsushi shouted, as he saw Todoroki and his little sister waltzing on the ice rink, the latter happier than ever as Todoroki, for the first time since a long time, grinned.
"That's what I call, professional skating." His boyfriend commented, skating backwards with his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah." Atsushi said, with a smile on his face.
Outtake:
"Why's your hand still bandaged? Was the pus that painful?" Todoroki asked, after they finished dancing, looking alarmed.
Kyouka blinked, before realising her face was burning up again.
"I, uh, yes." Kyouka lied, biting on her lip.
Todoroki looked suspicious. "Let me look at it." He said, narrowing his eyes.
Kyouka looked horrified. "U-uh-"
Todoroki raised an eyebrow before his expression softened. "Is it that bad?" He asked again.
Kyouka nodded, sighing in relief.
It had in fact, healed a day after the accident.