When they reach the rest stop, Aizawa stops him from getting off the bus. He blinks up at his teacher in confusion, but Aizawa simply pulls him aside and tells Todoroki to keep moving. Todoroki obeys, but Izuku doesn't miss the way his eyes narrow slightly.
Once everyone has filed off the bus, Aizawa turns to him. He doesn't say anything at first, but his sharp gaze is enough to make Izuku straighten up.
Finally, Aizawa says, "I know Recovery Girl already used her quirk on you and you've spent the past week and a half resting, but I don't think I need to remind you that you've gone through a traumatic experience. Your mother has told me how hard you've been working with your speech therapy, but you're not going to get better right away. So, while I will let you do some training during this week, I do not want to see you pushing yourself in any way, shape, or form. I don't care if you think you're falling behind- it doesn't matter. Your physical and emotional well-being comes first. And if something's wrong, or if you need something, anything, you come to me. Understand?"
Izuku pauses and nods.
"Good," Aizawa says, "Now, stay by my side."
He turns and steps off the bus. Taken aback, Izuku hastily follows. Why does he need to stay by his side now? Isn't this supposed to be a rest stop? Although, it doesn't really look like one- the rest of his classmates are confused as well. To Izuku's surprise, Todoroki is standing with Kacchan, both looking very suspicious. When they glance over at Aizawa and Izuku, the latter realizes that Todoroki must've caught on to Aizawa's trick when he prevented the healer from joining the rest of the students. But what kind of logical ruse is this?
He gets his answer a moment later.
"Lock on with these sparkling gazes! Stingingly cute and cat-like! Wild Wild Pussycats!"
Izuku is the only one who visibly perks up. It's the Wild Wild Pussycats! They're the veteran team that specializes in mountain rescues! Oh, he wishes he brought his journals- he has so many questions! The ever-present ache in his throat is the only thing that makes him think twice about spouting them all right now.
After introductions, Mandalay goes on to explain that the lodge they will be staying in is at the base of the mountain, all the way on the other side of the forest which they own. Realization slowly begins to dawn on the students. A few start to shuffle back to the bus, but Mandalay grins. It actually makes Izuku a little nervous.
"Kitties who don't make it back by 12:30 won't get any lunch!"
Then Pixie-Bob proceeds to use her quirk to manipulate the earth beneath his classmates' feet and throw them off the mountain.
Izuku is pretty sure his heart stops for a good five seconds.
Once his brain finally processes the fact that yes, this woman, this grown-ass woman that is not only an adult but also a pro hero just threw a bunch of teenagers off a mountain and thought that was a good idea, all he manages to sputter is, "ARE YOU INSANE?!"
All three adults turn to him in surprise.
Izuku has never been more furious in his life as he marches right up to Pixie-Bob and gets right in her face. "Do you have any idea how reckless that was?! How many injuries you could have caused?! They could have gotten seriously hurt from a fall from that height! Or from all the debris crashing down on them! They could have been buried alive, they could have snapped their necks, they could have hit their heads- there are so many ways people can die from falling, even people with powerful quirks! What the hell were you thinking, damn it, you're a pro hero, you should be more careful than this!" Pixie-Bob stares at him with wide eyes. He isn't sure if it's because she's not used to getting yelled at or because his voice sounds like he threw a bunch of broken glass into a blender, but right now he's too pissed off to care. He continues on with his tirade, scolding her harshly for her recklessness and ignoring Aizawa's occasional attempts at interrupting. Pixie-Bob swallows, eyes darting towards Mandalay briefly, before she suddenly bursts out into high-pitched laughter. It's enough to startle Izuku out of his rant.
"Wow, wow, wow, Erasherhead! You've got yourself one feisty healer!" She cackles, "Recovery Girl is really rubbing off on him!"
She ruffles Izuku's hair with one gloved paw. The greenette flushes. Holy shit, wait a minute, he just yelled at a pro hero!
"Oh! I- I'm so-so sorry, that-that was so rude of me-" He tries to apologize, but his voice gives out. Before, he could barely talk properly, no way were his poor scarred vocal cords ready to handle yelling. He really pushed himself too hard. Right after Aizawa gave him a lecture about not pushing himself too hard. Shit.
Thankfully, Pixie-Bob doesn't seem too offended. "Don't worry, you're not the first healer to make me piss my pants!" She grins. "And I'm sure you won't be the last! Besides, it's always good to see such a fiery spirit in such a young kitten!"
Izuku's cheeks are still burning, and he doesn't quite know what to make of her calling him a kitten, but he's just grateful she's not upset. Mandalay walks towards the railing and Izuku hastily joins her, peeking over the edge of the mountain. He wants to call out, but his throat aches terribly, so he settles for peering down at his classmates worriedly.
They seem fine, if a little dirty and bruised, but most gaze up at him with dumb happy smiles.
"Damn, Midoriya-kun," Kaminari whistles.
"That was kinda hot, I'm not gonna lie." Sero grins.
Izuku somehow flushes even harder. Oh God, they heard that?
"Oh yeah, I'm turned," Shinsou says bluntly.
Ashido snickers, "Who knew that Midori-kun had such a beast mode underneath that cute facade?"
"Nevermind, I'm not worried about them," Izuku grumbles under his breath, low enough only Mandalay can hear. She laughs and he turns away, trudging back over to Aizawa and Pixie-Bob. As he does, he spots a young boy with a spiked hat staring at him. He'd noticed the kid earlier when the Pussycats had arrived, but they didn't introduce him. Maybe a relative? He's staring at Izuku with an intense gaze, like he doesn't quite know what to make of him.
Well, shit, yeah, if he is related to the Pussycats, then he probably isn't happy that Izuku just yelled at Pixie-Bob. Great. What was Izuku thinking?
"Midoriya-kun." Tearing his gaze away from the boy, Izuku quickly makes his way back to Aizawa's side. The man looks down at him with hooded eyes and Izuku ducks his head guiltily, scuffling his shoe in the dirt. There's a pause, then a heavy sigh. Aizawa's hand lands on the back of his head, gently ruffling his curls. "You're gonna be a menace once you get your license, you know that?" He huffs good-naturedly.
Izuku flushes and looks up at him, smiling. Aizawa's lips twitch upwards as his hand slips off Izuku's head.
"Pixie-Bob! They're all yours!" They both glance over as Mandalay approaches them, eyes sparkling with excitement. "This is going to be so much fun! I can't wait to see how they'll do with this! And the rest of the activities too-!" She turns to Izuku and grins. "If you think Pixie-Bob is cruel, just wait 'till you see what Eraserhead plans to put your classmates through!"
Izuku glances up at his teacher warily. Aizawa doesn't even blink. "They'll be fine."
Mandalay's grin widens, then she seems to sober up slightly. "It really is a crazy schedule though, Eraser…"
"Well, we're planning to have them acquire early what they normally would get at the beginning of their second year, so it's going to be crazy no matter what," Aizawa replies dully, "Permits to use their quirks in the time of an emergency- a provisional license allowing them to work as heroes. With villains being so active right now, they also need to learn how to defend themselves."
Mandalay's eyes flicker over to Izuku- fleetingly, but he catches it. A knot forms in his stomach.
"Ah, I see," she says.
A loud explosion from the forest distracts them briefly. Kacchan's doing, no doubt. Pixie-Bob jumps up and down in excitement, but Aizawa turns back to the bus with a tired sigh. Izuku follows him, and Mandalay calls for the boy- 'Kota', he learns- to return with them.
There's no point in sitting near the back of the bus with it being so empty now, so he takes a seat in the front with the adults. The muscles in his throat twinge and burn uncomfortably from being so overstressed, so he's more than ready to just sit back and let the heroes do all the talking, but that plan is apparently foiled when Mandalay plops down next to him with a wide smile and bright, glittering eyes that remind him vaguely of Nejire's.
"So, little kitten, tell me about yourself! Are you excited for the boot camp?" She asks eagerly.
Izuku blinks, then hesitantly replies in a hoarse rasp, "Ye… Yeah, I… I am…" He grimaces in pain and Mandalay frowns.
Aizawa comes to hover over his shoulder. "You stressed out your voice when you yelled at Pixie-Bob, didn't you?"
Izuku winces guiltily.
To the Mandalay, Aizawa explains, "His vocal cords were damaged during the attack, so he's been attending speech therapy to rebuild their strength."
"Ah, right," Mandalay sighs through her nose, "We heard about what happened at the mall…" She shakes her head. "Villains going after healers-! How pathetic can they get?!" She scoffs, then puts a paw on Izuku's shoulder. "Don't worry, little kitten. We'll teach you all our moves. By the end of this week, you'll be as swift as a cheetah and as powerful as a lioness!" She swipes her claws and grins somewhat ferally.
Izuku smiles and takes out his phone, typing, "Thank you."
She doesn't seem to mind communicating with him that way during the bus ride. He apologizes again for yelling at Pixie-Bob, but she waves it off and starts asking about his quirk. He explains, and then asks about hers and Pixie-Bob's. His inner fanboy starts to come out a bit as she talks and he starts to rapidly type out more in-depth and analytical questions. Mandalay blinks in surprise when she reads his phone, then smiles and answers.
All the while, Izuku doesn't notice the odd gaze Kota sends his way.
They reach the facility, which is unsurprisingly large and luxurious, and getting settled. Mandalay gives Izuku and Aizawa a tour of the place and then they set about making ramen for lunch.
Noticing that Mandalay is taking out a relatively small pot, Izuku frowns. Tugging on Aizawa's sleeve to get his attention, he types out, "What about the others? They'll be here soon, won't they? We need to make a lot more food."
Aizawa blinks slowly, expression unchanging except for the barest twitch of his lip. "Oh. Yeah. They're not gonna get here anytime soon." Izuku tilts his head, gazing up at him imploringly. "Threatening to take away their lunch would motivate them to get out of the forest faster."
Izuku stares at him for a long moment before turning back to his phone. "And being chased by quirk-powered monsters wouldn't?"
Aizawa reads, then raises an eyebrow at his cheekiness. Izuku wrinkles his nose petulantly. "You knew they wouldn't be able to get here by lunchtime."
"We'll cook dinner for them," Aizawa says dismissively, trying to end the conversation by turning away, but Izuku grabs his arm.
"It's not good to skip meals, especially not teenagers that happen to be heroes-in-training. They need all the energy they can get and food is fuel. Skipping a meal can cause low blood sugar, which can make you feel sluggish and weak as well as increase sweating and irritability. It can also affect concentration because the main fuel for our brains is glucose-"
"Alright, alright, I get it." Aizawa pushes his phone away and Izuku fumbles not to drop it. The teacher turns away with a snort, "Geez, Recovery Girl really is rubbing off on you."
Clutching his phone tightly, Izuku sticks his tongue out at Aizawa's back. When he looks up, he notices Kota watching from beside the door. Smiling, he presses a finger to his lips in a 'shh' motion. The boy startles, then glances between him and Aizawa still walking away. He opens and closes his mouth a couple of times, not quite looking like he knows how to react, then presses his lips together and ducks out of the room.
Izuku's a bit disheartened, but he tries not to take it too personally. Maybe the kid's just shy? He was a rather nervous little boy himself when he was young. They've got all week to get to know each other.
Lunch is a quiet affair, and then there's not much to do while they continue waiting for class 1-A to show up, but a couple hours later they start preparing for dinner. Mandalay asks if he's any good at cooking and, well…
It's not that he's never tried to learn. He has! Kacchan has tried to teach him many times how to cook! But for some reason he just… sucks at it. It's disgraceful, really, especially since Kacchan is so good at it. You'd think growing up alongside a person so talented in the art of cooking that he'd be able to pick up on some things, but no. Kacchan banned Izuku from the kitchen after he tried to boil some udon and it ended up catching on fire.
He still isn't quite sure how that happened. There was water in the pot and everything…
After shamefully telling the flaming udon story, Izuku is put on vegetable washing duty and, later, after some arguing with Aizawa- "How can I ever expect to do surgery one day if I can't even cut vegetables without injuring myself? This is good practice!"- vegetable cutting duty. He pretends not to notice the annoyingly close eye Aizawa is keeping on him the entire time.
Cooking and cutting are two different things! He never said he was bad at cutting things! Just because he has a habit of accidentally setting foods on fire doesn't mean he'll- oops, he almost sliced his finger there- focus, Izuku, focus!
Reaffirming his grip on the knife, Izuku continues slicing away at the carrot, humming innocently and ignoring the way Aizawa's narrowed gaze burns holes in the back of his head.
By the time class 1-A finally makes it to the lodge, the sun is already starting to set, painting the sky in orange and red hues. Pixie-Bob arrived not too long ago, and now she, Mandalay, Aizawa, Izuku, and Kota wait outside for the students to return. The rustling of leaves announces their arrival, and Izuku winces as his precious classmates come limping out of the treeline.
"Wow, that took you guys awhile!" Pixie-Bob crows, "We thought you guys would be back here in three hours."
A few cry out in protest, but most are just too tired and completely ignore her jab.
"Midoriya-kun," Kirishima whines.
"Midoriya-kun," Kaminari whines even more pathetically, reaching out and making a childish grabby motion with his hands.
Izuku glances at Aizawa for permission and, when the man nods, bounces over to Kaminari, wrapping the boy up in a hug. As soon as their skin makes contact, his quirk activates, and Izuku focuses on keeping the flow steady and controlled. Kaminari lets out a very inappropriate moan, practically melting in his arms. Izuku giggles and stumbles under his weight when his friend sags against him.
"Mmmnn, you're an angel," he sighs against his neck, breath tickling him.
"Thanks," Izuku rasps, "Did you short-circuit?"
"Once," Kaminari mumbles, still hugging him, "But it took a while to get to that point, and I came out of it pretty quickly."
"Diet's working then."
"Mmm hmm."
"Oi, oi, it's my turn to hug Midoriya-kun!" Kirishima grumbles, unusually irritable as he pulls Kaminari away from Izuku. Unbothered, the greenette smiles sweetly and snuggles up to his red-haired friend, wrapping his arms around his torso and tucking his head under his chin as he lets his quirk activate. Just like with Kaminari, Kirishima practically sags in his arms.
"Oh my God," Kirishima damn near moans, tightening his hold on Izuku and burying his nose in his curls. "Dude, you're amazing…"
Izuku smiles against his chest. Hearing his stomach rumble, he rasps, "And guess what?"
"What?"
"We cooked dinner too!"
"I love you." Kirishima sounds like he could cry.
"Oh, you did?" Izuku glances up at Yaoyorozu's voice. She looks immensely relieved- she also looks like she's about to pass out.
"Midori-kun!" Ashido cries out, practically draping herself over him, "My body's dyiiinng!"
"My elbows are killing me," Sero complains.
Kacchan suddenly appears by Kirishima's shoulder, explosive energy only slightly dulled. "Oi, back off, extras! It's your own fault for getting injured in the first place!" Izuku stares at him. The blond grinds his teeth, then thrusts out his wrists. "They fuckin' ache, though," he grumbles.
As the rest of his classmates start flocking over to Izuku, Aizawa calls out, "Don't overwhelm him. This is the only time he'll heal you this week so enjoy it. From tomorrow onward you'll have to heal the natural way."
Izuku's mind skids to a halt. Taking out his phone, he frantically types out in all caps plus big bold letters his response, then shows it to Uraraka to read.
She giggles before calling out, "Aizawa-sensei? Midoriya-kun asks, and I quote: 'WHAT?!'"
A few other students chuckle too while Aizawa sighs, addressing Izuku standing amidst the crowd, "I don't want them to start relying on your quirk so much. It'll teach them to avoid getting injured." Izuku frowns and Aizawa adds, "But of course if there's an emergency then you'll be allowed to use your quirk."
Izuku's still a little disgruntled at the surprise- he's going to need to have a talk with Aizawa about telling him about things beforehand, he's had one too many surprises today- but for now he simply nods and goes about healing his classmates. Iida has a nasty gash on his leg that's causing him to limp heavily and Asui's tongue is littered with cuts and scrapes, but most of the exhaustion is merely caused by quirk overuse. While he didn't pack his full healer costume, he was allowed to bring his medical pouches with him.
Aoyama and Uraraka whimper with relief when he hands them both anti-nausea pills after healing them. He also gives Sato and Yaoyorozu (and Ashido when she begs) some gummy bears just to hold them down until dinner.
Students like Hagakure, Shinsou, Jirou, and Koda apparently couldn't do much against Pixie-Bob's earth beasts and stayed behind the pack, so they mostly have scrapes and bruises and are easy enough to treat.
Meanwhile, the heroes commend them for their relatively quick action and tell them that they'll discuss their performances after dinner. Now revitalized, Kirishima perks up and notices Kota standing a few feet away.
"Oh, by the way, I've been wondering," he says, tilting his head, "Who's kid is that?"
Mandalay glances at Kota. "Oh no, he's not one of ours! He's my cousin's kid." She smiles and gestures to the boy. "Come on, Kota. Greet everyone."
To Izuku's surprise, Kota glares sullenly.
Not deterred, Kirishima approaches him with a toothy grin. "Hey, there, Kota-kun! I'm Kirishima Ejirou from UA High School's hero course! Nice to meet you-"
Kota makes to punch him in the balls, but Kirishima- still hyped up from the training and now no longer exhausted- instinctively reacts by activating his quirk. So when Kota punches him, he's, well, hard.
"Ack!"
"Shit!" Kirishima curses, then slaps a hand over his mouth, "I mean, shoot! Sorry, kid, are you alright? Is your hand hurt?" He worriedly reaches for Kota, but the boy stumbles away from him.
"Piss off!" He snaps, cradling his hand to his chest. "I don't need your stupid help, hero!"
"Kota!" Mandalay hovers over him. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine!" He spits angrily, but his eyes are clearly watery. "It doesn't hurt!"
"You shouldn't have punched him," Mandalay says disapprovingly, "He has a hardening quirk. Not to mention it's rude. Let me see your hand."
"I said it's fine! Leave me alone!" Kota whirls around and starts stomping away. Mandalay looks upset, but she makes no move to follow him.
Kirishima shifts his weight. "Uh, I'm really sorry-"
"Don't be," Mandalay interrupts, "He's… not the easiest to deal with."
Izuku hesitates, then takes a step forward. "It would be bad if he broke a finger," he croaks, "Mind if I try checking out his hand?"
She nods gratefully. "Please."
Izuku trots after Kota, catching up to him just before he reaches the doors of the facility. The boy tenses up when he hears footsteps approaching and whips around to glare at him, only slightly lowering his hackles when he realizes who it is.
"What?" He snaps, voice much too hostile for a five year-old.
Izuku pauses, then kneels down a couple feet away, leaving some distance between them so Kota can choose to come to him. He reaches out with one hand, palm up, and smiles kindly.
"I just wanted to see if your hand was hurt," he says, soft and hoarse, barely above a whisper. Kota's eyes flicker to his scar. "I'm training to be a healer, so it's my job to make sure no one is injured."
Kota stubbornly holds his gaze for a few moments, then drops his eyes. He cradles his injured hand to his chest.
"Doesn't hurt that bad," he mumbles petulantly, but then he reluctantly trudges over to Izuku and places his smaller hand in his palm.
The greenette surprises himself by how quickly he's able to slam down on the hose to stop the flow of energy. It's almost immediate. Usually, he has trouble with smaller injuries, since his quirk often heals them before he has time to shut off the flow. He thought after all this time he'd be out of practice too.
Oh well. He won't look a gift horse in the mouth.
With the flow stopped, he's able to sense Kota's natural energy swirling around the points of injury in his hand. While he wasn't really concerned about Kota hitting Kirishima hard enough to fracture anything, he does know that finger bones are particularly fragile, especially in those in children, so he just wanted to double-check. Lucky for Kota, that doesn't seem to be the case.
"Looks like you've just got some bruising," Izuku muses, letting his energy flow into Kota's hand. The boy's eyes widen as the pain disappears in seconds. "There you go, all better."
He lets go of Kota's hand. Kota looks at it in awe, flexing his fingers a couple of times, then turns his wide-eyed gaze to Izuku.
Izuku smiles. Kota's cheeks flush and he quickly glances away.
"Thanks," he mutters.
"No problem," Izuku says, "And don't worry. You're not the first person to punch Kirishima-kun and I doubt you'll be the last."
Kota glances at him. Izuku winks. Kota quickly glances away again, ear-tips red, but Izuku thinks he can see a small smile on the boy's face.
Izuku rejoins his classmates with an even bigger smile on his face. Kacchan arches an eyebrow.
"Why?" He grunts.
Izuku tilts his chin up in pride. "Kids love me."
Once everyone is healed, Aizawa orders the students to get their luggage off of the bus and get settled before dinner. Izuku wants to help, but Aizawa tells him to just sit down and wait for the others.
"You just healed a bunch of people," he says, "Take it easy."
Izuku reluctantly obeys. Out of respect. Totally not because his legs are starting to shake just a little bit. No way.
Dinner is delicious. Despite not having done as much exercise as his classmates, Izuku still manages to out-eat a good number of his friends. It's started to become a sort of competition at this point within the Bakusquad, a point of pride with him. He still has to be careful with what he eats, of course, what with the trauma to his throat and all, but there's plenty of rice, curry, and soups to go around. They all laugh and chatter excitedly, Izuku listening as his friends rehash with dramatics their harrowing adventure in the Beast's Forest.
Afterwards, Mandalay tells them that there are hot springs they're allowed to go bathe in. Everyone perks up and scrambles to go get changed. Izuku lingers behind. With his energy drained from his quirk usage coupled with his full belly, he's feeling quite exhausted. It's also been an incredibly long day when he's basically spent the past two weeks doing nothing but resting and recovering.
He slowly starts gathering plates and bringing them to the kitchen, but Pixie-Bob soon shoos him off, telling him to go have fun with his friends. It's not that he doesn't want to, but it's the same problem he had in the morning. There's a certain amount of energy needed to engage with his classmates. Well, he supposes this is just another good excuse to hang out with Todoroki more. Not that he should ever need an excuse to hang out with him.
When he reaches the boys' shared room, it's empty. They've probably all gone to the hot springs by now. Thanks to the tour, though, Izuku already knows where it is, so at least he won't have to worry about finding his way. The hot springs did look kind of nice. Maybe a little soak will make him feel a bit better.
He changes out of his uniform and puts it in his bag, wrapping a towel around his waist. Then, he turns and starts heading towards the door when something catches his eye.
It's a mirror hanging on the wall. A small one, with little inspirational stickers and post-it notes around it, probably only meant to be used to check one's hair before leaving, but that's not what makes Izuku pause. It's the sight of his scar. It's always his scar.
He's… he's still not used to seeing it, especially not in passing. It always takes some mental preparation to look at. In the bathroom, when he's undressing and getting ready to shower, he's always ready for it. He never purposefully looks too long in the mirror, but he's ready for the glimpses he'll catch of it. But ever since yesterday, when he decided to take off the bandages for good… well… it's been difficult. Inko had gasped at first when he came home and did her best not to stare, but he could tell it was hard for her to look at.
His eyes lock on his reflection as his fingers reach up, brushing over the marred skin of his neck.
"Midoriya?"
Izuku jumps.
"Todoroki-kun!" His heart leaps as he whirls around to face the boy standing in the doorway watching him with a curious expression. "Wh-What are you doing here?" He winces in pain as his throat twinges.
Todoroki tilts his head slightly. "You didn't show up at the hot springs, so I came back to make sure you were okay."
The statement makes Izuku's intestines twist into a bundle of confusing, jittery knots. Of course he did. Because Todoroki's just that nice. And also completely naked except for the towel wrapped around his waist. Izuku glances away, desperately trying to force away the flush creeping up his neck.
Todoroki steps forward, eyes peering intently. "Are you okay?"
Izuku nods rapidly. He opens his mouth to begin spouting some lie, but when he looks up, his gaze lands on Todoroki's scar. He falters.
His mind flashes back to the Sports Festival, when Todoroki opened up to him about his past, told him how his father abused him and his mother burned him, bared his soul to him when they hardly even knew each other. He thinks about how much trust Todoroki must've given him to tell him all that.
It… It would be wrong not to do the same, wouldn't it? Besides, this is Todoroki. If anyone knows about scars, it's him.
Swallowing heavily, he asks in a weak voice, "Do you ever get used to it?"
Todoroki stares at him. Izuku tries to give a wobbly smile and fails, then gestures to his throat. Understanding dawns on the other boy's expression. He's quiet for a long moment.
"Yeah."
"Really?" Izuku blinks in surprise.
Todoroki nods. He steps closer so he's standing in front of Izuku and glances at their faces in the mirror. "It takes a while," he says after a minute, "And it's not easy at first. But soon it just becomes… part of your body, I guess. And the memories… become memories. You'll never forget about it, and you won't get better quickly, but one day… you'll be able to look at your scar and… be okay."
Izuku's breath hitches as he stares at their reflections in the mirror. "I hope so," he rasps, blinking away the sting in his eyes, "I don't wanna… it- it hurts to look at-"
"I know," Todoroki murmurs, "I'm sorry."
"It's ugly-"
"It's not."
"Yes, it is."
"It's not."
"You're just saying that."
"No, I'm not."
"It's an ugly scar-"
"Do you think mine is?"
The question takes him off guard. "Huh?"
"Do you think my scar is ugly?" Todoroki asks.
Izuku shakes his head. "No, of course not!"
"Then yours isn't either," Todoroki decides.
Izuku purses his lips. "Yours is different," he mumbles petulantly, lowering his eyes. Unfortunately, that brings his gaze back down to Todoroki's bare chest. Blood rushes to his cheeks. Todoroki had to step pretty close into his personal space so that both their reflections could be seen in the small mirror. Izuku can still smell the faint scent of his cologne under the sweat he worked up in the forest.
The rapid change in emotions from happy to angsty to flustered is dizzying. Izuku shakes his head as if to clear his thoughts.
"You alright?" Todoroki asks.
"Yup," Izuku rasps, taking a step back so he can breathe a little easier, "Let's just, uh, go to the hot springs." After a pause, he adds, "And thanks. That… That really helped."
Todoroki gives him a soft smile that nearly makes him drop dead right there and nods. "No problem."
Oblivious to the near-cardiac arrest he almost sent Izuku into, Todoroki turns and walks out the room, obviously expecting the greenette to follow. As Izuku pads after him down the hallway, his mouth suddenly goes dry. Trailing a few feet behind Todoroki, Izuku has the most wonderful view of the taller boy's well-muscled back. His wide shoulders seemingly go on for miles. Izuku's eyes roam over the taut muscles, following the hollow dip of his spine and- oh, he didn't notice those back dimples earlier, sitting right above Todoroki's butt.
Wow.
Now that's just unfair.
Izuku is fucked, so very fucked.
He's slightly less fucked when the universe decides to take pity on him by giving him an out in the form of throwing Kota off a high ledge so Izuku doesn't have to spend the next half-hour making a fool of himself next to a half-naked Todoroki. Apparently, Mandalay put the boy on guard duty to prevent the more "lusty" boys (whatever that means) from getting at the girls, but the poor five year-old had accidentally gotten a peek at the girls and promptly fainted. It's unfortunate, but Izuku is more than happy to take Kota to his aunt, all but fleeing from Todoroki and his chiseled abs.
He forgets about his dilemma entirely when he learns about Kota's parents and his apparent hatred for heroes, but it's inescapable when he returns to the shared bedroom when it's time to go to sleep.
He's reminded of when Kaminari, Kirishima, and Kacchan walked him to school when they wanted to use the pool. How Kacchan picked up the rear while Kirishima and Kaminari went on either side of Izuku, keeping him in the safest spot.
Ashido's words suddenly come to mind, "I just wanna let you know that we're gonna be super annoying and overprotective from now on."
Okay. He understands. It makes sense, really. But this…
This…
This isn't good for his blood pressure.
His futon is laid out smack dab in the middle of the room. Which is fine, of course, he expected that much. However, it's flanked by Todoroki and Bakugou's futons. Which- just- no. Izuku would very much actually like to sleep tonight, thank you very much. Kacchan is too noisy to sleep next to when Todoroki is around, and Izuku is too gay to sleep next to Todoroki.
In addition to those two, Izuku's futon is also surrounded by, in order of closest proximity; Tokoyami, Kirishima, Iida, Shoji, Sero, Sato, Ojiro, Shinsou, Aoyama, Kaminari, Koda. It makes sense, surrounding him with those who are arguably the strongest in the class, those who would be most capable of protecting him. Honestly, he can't imagine a safer place to sleep.
The problem is that Izuku hasn't even sat down in his futon yet and Kacchan and Todoroki are already arguing. Well, the former is arguing, the latter is kind of just ignoring him, thankfully. Looks like Todoroki- much like Izuku- is too tired to deal with Kacchan's bullshit right now.
Letting out an irritated huff, Izuku carefully picks his way through the smattering of futons across the floor and plops down on his own.
"Oi, Zuku-" Kacchan starts to say, but Izuku interrupts him.
"Kacchan, I'm going to sleep now. Shut up." Kacchan sputters and Izuku turns to the others, raising his voice as much as he can, which isn't much, "And that goes for all of you. Lights out. Doctor's orders."
"You're not a doctor," Kacchan grumbles under his breath, but Izuku silences him with a very irritated 'do-not-mess-with-me-I-am-very-tired-and-gay' look.
Fortunately for him, Iida, wonderful, unproblematic Iida, hears his feeble voice and repeats his order much louder so that everyone else can hear. A few minutes later, everyone is in their futon and the lights go out.
Izuku sinks back into his pillow with a sigh of relief. He considers turning onto his right side, but that would mean facing Todoroki. What if he opened his eyes and Todoroki was facing him too? Then what would he do? He could just sleep on his left side, but if Todoroki was facing him and decided to open his eyes, all he would see is Izuku's back. Wouldn't that seem cold? Would he take it the wrong way? No, no, Izuku should just sleep on his back. A nice neutral. Even though he doesn't usually sleep on his back. He'll do it this time. It's actually the healthiest sleeping position, so he could be starting a good sleeping habit here.
…
Or maybe he's just being stupid.
…
Yeah, he's definitely being stupid.