"Tsukino. Tsukino." A baritone voice with dwindling patience fell upon the deaf ears of a blonde school girl.
The man's typically stoic face scrunched a bit in annoyance. "Tsukino-san!"
Serenity Tsukino jolted out of her daydream with a start. Her shocked gaze shot up at her teacher's steely gaze. Even through her fear, the one thought circling her one track mind was "why is he so handsome even when he's angry?"
When Serenity finally caught the thought by its slippery tail and shoved it into the back of her mind, shame painted her face red. The young girl was speechless, but her mind was finally drawn back to the real world by one of the most attractive people on earth.
How was he real?! This tall glass of tea stood a head taller than her in a white button up shirt and slacks that did nothing to hide his well-rounded behind. His hair divided between the color of scarlet roses and the first blanket of snow on a winter's day. A well defined adam's apple bobbed up and down above his collared shirt. As Serenity's eyes swept along his chiseled jaw and jumped to his mouth set in a slight frown, her mind slowly came into the realization that the frown was directed at her. But not before lifting her blue eyes to meet his and gaze at turquoise and steel grey eyes sitting royally behind thin rectangular framed glasses. Sometimes she wished his glasses were opaque enough to hide his mesmerizing orbs. Maybe she wouldn't lose her concentration so much in class. Well, luckily and unluckily for her, eyes of the finest gem stared back at her, waiting for a response.
Shouto Todoroki stood imposingly over his troublesome student. His eyes most definitely did not get sidetracked by her honey-glossy lips as it made its way to meet a sleepy cerulean gaze. Todoroki finally took notice of the red blush dusting his student's cheek. Actually, his student's face was practically glowing like a tomato at this point. The corner of lips ticked upwards, hinting at a smile. He finally broke the pregnant pause.
"Tsukino-san. It looks like you might be getting a fever." Snickers rippled through the room. "Perhaps a trip to the nurse's office would fare you well. Kino-san, would you be willing to help your classmate?"
A tall, brunette student stood up behind Serenity. Makoto Kino placed a hand on her shoulder to shock her out of her stupor. "Come on, girl," she whispered urgently into her ear, "let's get you outta here."
When the two were far enough away from the classroom, Makoto shoved playfully into Serenity's shoulders. But with the brunette's strength, the blonde girl was almost painfully thrown against the side of the wall.
"Oops, sorry. Still trying to learn how to control my strength," Makoto chuckled apologetically. "But seriously, Serenity. Almost every girl has a crush on Todoroki-sensei, but you're the only one that turns into a speechless tomato whenever he's in your line of vision. You gotta keep it together. At least in class. It's getting a bit too obvious these days."
"Makotoooooo," the love struck girl whined, "I can't help it! He's just getting more and more attractive by the day."
There was no debate that Todoroki-sensei was hands down the most attractive man in the entire school. He had came in the middle of the school year like a godsend gift while All Might took a leave of absence to undergo surgery.
"I mean, I'm about to graduate soon! Can't I just drool over him for the time being?"
"Just don't let it get on your homework." Makoto ducked under as Serenity threw an awkward punch her way, laughing as she did so.
"Tsukino-san, may I see you after class?" Todoroki's words struck Serenity like a mallet. What could she have possibly done recently? Did sensei finally notice her glaring, obvious crush on him? Was he going to have a conversation with her about how inappropriate it was? The blonde girl shifted nervously in her seat as her classmates shuffled out of the class. Makoto gave her shoulder an encouraging squeeze as she made her way out of the classroom, leaving Serenity to fend for herself.
Her hands fisted into her skirt as her nerves failed her. She couldn't make any logical decisions right now. Her mind teetered on the brink at deciding something as simple as whether to stay in her seat or go up to her teacher's podium. Todoroki-sensei made the decision for her as his footsteps slowly approached her desk.
The male's eyes fell upon Serenity's magnificent golden locks as they bathe in the sunlight. It was spellbinding, the way the sun's shining rays struck his student's hair and made it seem as if a river of gold cascaded from her. His fingers itched to reach out and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. But Serenity beat him to it as her thin fingers moved to tuck the defiant lock safely aside her face.
"I've looked at your performance in this class, and you haven't been doing so well, Tsukino-san." Serenity flinched at such a blunt statement, and Todoroki inwardly reproached himself for not phrasing such a thing more delicately.
"You're not failing my class as of yet, but with graduation coming so close for you, it's better for you to be more vigilant about your grades." Serenity shoulders slackened and she looked at him with the most pitiful expression. His heart lurched at the sight. Todoroki felt like he had just kicked a puppy into the sun.
"I've noticed that your grades have been especially slipping since I took over for All Might." Serenity stilled very suddenly, praying her heart wouldn't betray her and leap out of her chest. Of course her grades had been slipping in his class. She was too busy paying attention to his hands than to what he was actually writing. And her ears were only attuned to how deep the baritone of his voice was instead of what he was actually saying. Plus, it's not her fault that he was teaching the most difficult subject for Japanese students: English! Even with his perfect and punctuated pronunciation, she couldn't tell left from right what he was saying. Everything was too complicated: from the multi-syllable vocabulary to her adolescent feelings for someone so unattainable.
Todoroki sighed. "I know I've got big shoes to fill in All Might-sensei's place, physically and metaphorically." Serenity let out an exhale of amusement at the thought. All Might was physically one of the biggest man she's ever met in her life and he did have a big personality. A ghost of a smile flashed across Todoroki's face at the sound of Serenity's kiddish joy. Good. He had made her smile.
"I can't help but think it's my fault that you're struggling in my class." Serenity inwardly tried to not explode in embarrassment. It was totally Todoroki-sensei's fault that she was on the brink of failing. But not for the reason he was thinking of.
"I would like to offer you tutoring services. If you're willing, we could meet after class to go over areas you're struggling over."
Serenity's eyes shot up to meet her teacher's. Completely astonishment washed over her orbs of blue. Never in a million years had she thought this was where this conversation was leading to. She thought her stoic, strict teacher was going to spend an hour lecturing her ears off. But to actually offer his help? Todoroki-sensei was as readable as a rock on his best of days, so his generous offer made her wonder if an alien had replaced him since she had last seen him an hour ago.
Oh no. Her blush was resurging. If she didn't leave his proximity soon, she would embarrass herself to the point of no return. Her heartbeat accelerated, leaving her mind in the dust, but she managed to stutter out a shy "y-yes."
Todoroki placed a thick packet of English grammars on her desk and Serenity eyes could do nothing but trace the contours of his hand. It seemed that his hand would dwarf hers, easily encapsulating her small one in his. What would it feel to have his fingers laced with hers, its warmth sending tingles through her body?
Her mind was getting away from her. If she wanted any chance to not die of embarrassment now and wake up for the next day, she needed to get out of here soon. Serenity shot up in her seat, clutching her bag to close to her chest like a shield. "Thank you for your kind offer, sensei. I should start heading back now." And with that, the nervous girl rocketed out of the class before she crumbled into a bundle of nerves.
"See you after class tomorrow, Tsukino-san." Todoroki said with no inflection in his voice.
What did Serenity get herself into?