Long runs around your neighborhood became routine for you in the early morning and late evening, trying to build some stamina and endurance in anticipation for the Sports Festival. You weren't able to jog in the evening during weekdays, though, which allowed you a break and an opportunity to rest.
During your runs, you were careful to avoid the Todoroki Household, or running in the direction of it. You didn't want to be asked about it later on, although Todoroki-Kun seemed to be giving you more space.
Of course, you told him about your mother's pregnancy, and he responded with a half-hearted congratulations, not sure how to address the situation with the knowledge he had of your family life.
You couldn't blame him. He was trying to be nice, after all.
Father had extended his business trip on the basis of an emergency. Mother told him over the phone of her pregnancy, and you were delighted to discover afterwards that he reacted cordially. It made it easier for you to sleep at night knowing he wasn't going to storm back home and take control. At least, not right now.
Your commissions were finished as of Sunday, and you already deposited the agreed amount of money into your father's account.
At 5:00 A.M., you were on your run for the day. You noticed you were able to go faster for longer, and not run out of breath so quickly anymore.
Your hair was in a ponytail, wearing a teal-colored elastic hairband and a thick beige jacket with fur on the collar, black workout leggings with a red stripe down the outside seam, and your Hawks brand tennis shoes.
Your phone was strapped to your arm, and you were just about ready to turn back and get ready for the day. You went farther than you normally would today, and you were proud of yourself.
You saw a figure in the distance, not particularly caring one way or another who it was, and turned around, just as you realized who it was.
You wanted to run as fast as humanly possible.
"Oi, Hanae!"
You ran.
"Hey, wait up!"
You didn't wait up. But then you forgot who you were dealing with.
They caught up to you and grabbed you by your shirt collar, yanking you backwards without a single regard to you or your throat that they just choked.
"How's it been, sweetheart?" That familiar face smiled so twistedly. You felt bile rise in your throat as you straightened up, touching your neck tenderly.
"Hello, Tadao-San," You sounded like you hadn't spoken in days, but being yanked on by the collar of your shirt probably didn't help.
Tadao-San smiled at you, towering over you with his hands on his hips.
"Aw, we're going back to honorifics, are we?" he said, leaning close to your face. "I thought we were past that phase, dear."
"I would appreciate you not calling me that," you said casually, straightening up and backing away as much as you could without treading on someone else's yard.
"Well, what am I supposed to call you?" He asked curiously, tilting his head.
"My name would work fine, thank you."
"Ahohoho, I see how it is…" you started walking again, and he followed alongside you. "You're just being sensitive, babe."
You stiffened. "Please don't call me that."
"Why not?"
"Because I am not yours," you said firmly. "You have no right to call me that, not without my permission."
"Well, do I have your permission, Ha-nae?" he drew out your name.
"No."
You walked faster.
You heard him sigh and catch up to you.
"You know...It's pointless to resist. Everyone knows and expects your father to marry you off to my family, you know."
"Oh, really?"
"Mhm. I'm surprised you didn't know. It's only a matter of time."
You considered deeply speaking up and proving him wrong, tell him you were taken, tell him of your marriage, how it wouldn't be to him.
Then you remembered what you told the twins. The secret must be kept. And Tadao-San had all kinds of power.
But what he said was true. Ever since the two of you were little, there had always been talk of you and him getting married. Your families were close-But you never liked him. He always had his self interest in mind. He was selfish, loud, never knew boundaries of any kind. He was spoiled, which was a stark contrast to you. And you hated it.
But if he didn't know already, then it would be near disastrous most likely if you told him now. So you kept your mouth shut, and forced yourself to be civil with him. At least for now.
"I haven't seen you outside of uniform in a long time, Hanae," he said, "Especially out of a skirt...who knew you had such nice legs? Oh, what a glorious day it will be…" he trailed off, but you didn't need him to finish to know what he was going to say.
'What a glorious day it will be... when you are mine.'
You started jogging, and he snatched your arm harshly, stopping you from doing so.
"And no heels? Wow, who knew you didn't need heels for nice legs. Although, those tall ones you used to wear at the parties really made you look good."
You clenched your fists so tightly they started shaking. You tugged your arm out of his hold-civilly-and walked, head held high.
"When are you finally going to show up at another Gala? I know you've been invited."
"I've been busy," you said simply.
"With what?"
"The children."
"Ah, yes, the children...how many are there now?"
"Six."
"Oh, wow that's...wait, weren't there six the last time we saw each other? I know your Mother's been pregnant more than that."
"Many things have happened between our most recent meetings," you said.
"We-hell, then, don't answer my questions. I'll find out somehow."
"Will you? And who will tell you?" you challenged. "My father? Yours? We both know they won't say anything unless they want to. And I definitely won't say anything. You may need to rethink your...plans."
With a sweet and slightly spiteful smile, you looked at him and turned away.
You barely heard him step up to you until you felt his hand gently grab and tug on your ponytail.
You stiffened, absolutely fuming. You turned in his hold, grabbing his wrist as you turned to face him. He had never done that before. Not to you...this was new. He knew of the importance of hair-he was Hubai. He was doing this on purpose-assaulting you on purpose. Your face harded at his smirk.
"Let go."
"Or what, princess?" he asked, holding onto you tightly.
Your hand started heating up, and his smirk fell as he looked at his school uniform. The one that was smoking.
He dropped your ponytail, and you stepped away from him.
He looked at you in shock and awe. You stood tall and proud.
His smirk returned, dark and menacing. You tried to ignore it boring into your head as you walked away.
.o0o.
After using your quirk, your hands were overheating. You tried to calm it, and it kind of worked, but you had to dig into your cabinet and take a double dose of quirk suppressants.
You were able to take a cool shower, waking you up even more than the run did (and the run-in with Tadao-San) and you dressed, dried your hair, and tugged it up into a bun. You changed your hairband to a peach and purple camouflage one, deciding against wearing earrings. You still weren't sure if they were against the dress code or not.
You started walking to the train station, headphones plugged in, playing some songs from your playlist "Listen Later - For Videos," picking out the ones you thought would do good as speedpaint background songs.
Your phone buzzed in your hand.
Todoroki (7:20 AM):
Dance lessons start today. I forgot to tell you last night.
Oh, great.
You were about to take a screenshot, but decided to wait until you got more information to send to Mother.
Nazumi Hanae (7:20 AM):
Okay. What time does it start and end?
Todoroki (7:21 AM):
From 4 to 7
On mondays through thursdyas
Thursdays
You cringed. If Mother was adamant on you coming home for dinner every night, this could be a problem. 7:30 was over half of the household's bedtime, and you would most likely not get home until around 8 every night. Dinner was relatively early for you guys, and this was why.
Nazumi Hanae (7:21 AM):
What's the location?
Todoroki (7:21 AM):
*Sent Image - Tap to View*
You looked at all the information he sent on the picture, looking at the address, the dates, the times, and the schedule. You saved the picture and took a screenshot of your conversation with Todoroki-Kun.
Nazumi Hanae (7:22 AM):
Thank you
I assume we will be going there together, correct?
Todoroki (7:22 AM):
Yes. I'll settle everyhting, don't wrry about it
What time does class end for you?
Nazumi Hanae (7:22 AM):
2:45 today. You?
Todoroki (7:22 AM):
I think 3.
Nazumi Hanae (7:22 AM):
Okay, I'll meet you at your classroom then
Todoroki (7:23 AM):
Okay. I'll see you at lunch
Nazumi Hanae (7:23 AM):
Sounds good :)
You already boarded the train, sitting down this time and sending the photos to your mother. She sent a thumbs up emoji and said she would save some food for you and have Lee take you some exercise clothes to the location in case you needed them.
You loved your mother so much.
You pulled out your sketchbook, looking around the train car.
You figured you would work on your perspective work, and you started drawing your guidelines.
.o0o.
Lunch was much more pleasant than it had been recently with Todoroki-Kun. It was much more casual and relaxed. There were lots of long silences, but they weren't awkward or strange.
When lunch ended, you watched him go. That was the first time you had ever done that.
But...something drew you to him. So you watched him go.
Cataka showed up behind you, looking at you, then at where you were looking-or, rather, who you were looking at.
You looked at her, and you caught her smiling smugly at you.
Your expression dropped and you walked into your classroom.
She laughed.
.o0o.
Two forty-five came around and you took your time heading to Class 1-A's classroom, watching the business walking down to the exit. And since you were not heading that direction, you were going against the flow of traffic.
Thankfully, the overall environment of the business courses was much more structured, professional, and mature. You didn't worry about people watching or judging you. It wasn't their business. They knew this, they acted like it.
You found 1-A's classroom, and waited outside the door, bringing out your pocket sketchbook you kept in the side pocket of your peach backpack. It was very small, more like a miniature notepad than a sketchbook, even, but it was all you needed to jot down your ideas and release some creative energy.
You checked your phone for the time occasionally, standing against the wall to relieve some tension in your legs from your heels. You carefully took them off each foot, stretching your calf before putting them back on.
And thankfully, you did just in time.
The final bell of the day rang, and the hero courses began filing out of their classrooms, including this one.
You put away your sketchbook and waited patiently by the side for Todoroki-Kun to show.
Several people looked at you, from this class and others as they filed out, that same redhead from before nodding at you enthusiastically, giving you finger-guns. It didn't seem flirty, though. More of an affirmation and approval of you than a flirtatious gesture.
You smiled politely and nodded in return.
He gave you a toothy grin, and you couldn't help but chuckle at the gesture. He seemed very sweet.
You caught sight of Todoroki-Kun and felt better about everything. For some reason, the feeling resembled something like the relief felt after seeing one of your siblings coming out of the school buildings when you went to pick them up.
He met you where you stood, and you said nothing, just looked up at him.
He took a moment longer than you expected before he looked away awkwardly, gesturing towards the exit.
"Let's go."
"Right-"
"Nazumi?"
A voice stopped you. You felt like you knew the voice from somewhere, but you weren't sure where from. But they-she-knew your name, your real name, and you were intrigued.
You turned around, smiling neutrally, looking for the voice.
And there she stood.
It took you a moment, but you slowly recognized her as she started smiling in recognition. You did too.
"Momo-San?"
You smiled widely, recognizing fully who called your name.
"Oh, my gosh!" You said. "It...It's been so long! I…" the two of you stood fairly close to one another, and you held your arms out gingerly, almost waiting for an invite for a hug. You wanted to, but knew that it would be improper.
She shrugged happily, and opened her arms, her smile wide.
You let out a laugh, and hugged her.
She hugged back, you both being polite and nonintrusive towards one another.
You pulled away after a moment, face still lit up.
"I...It's been so long," Momo-Yaoyorozu-San said. "How have you been? How is your mother?"
"Oh, she's doing well! I've also been doing well, just...busy," you laughed, standing a respectful distance away from her.
"Oh, that's so good."
"I see you're a part of the Hero Course?"
"Yes, I am. It's been...exciting to say the least," she said, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Oh, I can imagine."
"What course are you a part of?" She asked. "I didn't even know you attended U.A."
"Business course," you stated proudly. "Father….My father wanted me to join. Late, I am aware...Nevertheless."
"I understand completely-it's just that I thought you were still attending the girl's school."
"Well, I was, however-"
"Ahem."
The two of you looked at Todoroki-Kun.
You straightened up and looked at him neutrally.
"You two know each other?"
"Why, yes, Todoroki-San," Yaoyorozu-San spoke first. "We knew each other from our parents. We would stick together at the parties they hosted. We were very close."
"And you attended the same Temple as us," You recalled. "Then we had to move, and we ended up falling out of contact."
"Then we attended the same Boarding school as young girls, but we didn't get any closer nor any farther during that time," Yaoyorozu-San said, almost bashfully, or shamefully.
"That wasn't exactly our fault, however," you said. "You knew how strict they were."
"Yes, they were…"
"I'm glad you've reunited," Todoroki-Kun said, "But we must be going, Nazumi-Chan and I. We have an appointment to attend to."
"Oh," Yaoyorozu-San said, surprised. "I hope I didn't upset any schedules made…"
"Not dramatically," Todoroki-Kun assured. "But we really must be going."
"Of course! It was good to see you again, Nazumi-Chan!" She implored.
"You as well Mo-Yaoyorozu-San!"
"Goodbye!"
You waved goodbye to her as you walked in separate directions, Todoroki escorting you out.
There was a neutral silence between you as you smiled, the feeling of joy flooding you from your reunion with your old childhood friend.
"I didn't expect you two to know each other…" he started.
You looked at Todoroki-Kun as you began your tread down the stairs.
"But," he continued, "it makes sense now that I think about it. Two influential families-at least formerly-" you held in your laughter- "it's natural that you would know each other, if not know of each other."
You nodded. "Yes. Mother says we were like two peas in a pod. Her words, not mine." you smiled again, trying to be neutral.
"Hm...you said she was part of your...temple?"
"Oh, that. Yes. I'm fairly certain her family is Hubai. At least the Yaoyorozus used to be. I suspect she might be still, since her hair was up in a ponytail, but it could be a preference. I could be completely wrong."
"Hm."
It was true. Most members of the Hubai religion were there for glory, for success. Many of them were wealthy and merely went to the Temple for courtesy's sake.
And that was alright. Father was one of those people. The only reason people really liked him was because he was successful-by their standards, that is. Lots of children, a decent amount of money, well-off children, more than one son.
"I made all the arrangements," Todoroki-Kun said, breaking your thoughts. "We'll have my valet come pick us up down the hill so we won't have to worry about any other schedules."
"Alright," you said. "My mother is aware of the situation as well, so she won't wait up for dinner like she did before," you shook your head in amusement. "Either way...Let's be off."
He nodded. "Let's."
.o0o.