A/N: I'm not sure which story I'll be updating first, but if it's this one- check out the new update for TOIL for the long, drawn-out explanation for my absence. Or, just accept my shitty apology, and try your damndest to be patient with me.
Pairing: Kagome Higurashi x Shoto Todoroki
(*Continuation of 'Eyes'*)
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, My Hero Acadamia or the characters from either franchise.
Training
Kagome found it incredibly ironic that the first friend she'd made at UA could pass for a reincarnation of her beloved hanyou friend. She smirked as the blonde boy at her side let out an almost canine growl as he warmed up for their spar. Katsuki Bakugou was so loud, so determined, so rude! His first words to her had been something along the lines of "keep up or stay out of my way," and she couldn't help but force her friendship onto him. He had accepted it begrudgingly, along with the friendship of one Eijiro Kirishima, who was as kind as he was passionate. They made an odd trio, but Kagome found herself endeared to them both- especially Bakugou- who had proven to be a fiercely loyal, though volatile, companion.
It also helped that he was a pretty good distraction from the number one ranking student of class 1-A, that just so happened to be the same boy she had stumbled upon, naked, the day she moved into the dorms. Kagome felt the stares from behind her, and she ignored them, because she knew that one of them was his. She heard Bakugou bark out an order for her to start stretching and she rolled her eyes, swinging her arms out and pulling one tight across her chest. She caught movement from the corner of her eye, saw the flash of white hair, and felt her face heat up in embarrassment. Shoto Todoroki was not what she expected.
He was not showy or overly confident, despite his impressive abilities. Kagome had found him to actually be quite reserved, calculating- a true prodigy if she ever saw one. He mostly kept to himself, though she did see him socialize with the Midoriya boy Bakugou seemed so set on dominating. Todoroki was as smart as he was handsome, and Kagome found herself incredibly intimidated by him. With her experience in the Feudal Era combined with the strict tutelage of the experienced professors at UA, she had quickly rose in the ranks of class 1-A despite her late entry. She was on her way into the top ten, but often found herself struggling to focus when it came down to anything that required her to work in close proximity to the fire and ice user. It didn't help that every time she happened to meet his peculiar gaze, she found herself floundering for words and blushing so hard she was sure she resembled a tomato. How could she help it? She had made a complete fool of herself in front of him after all.
"Looks like you have an admirer, Kags," she heard Kirishima whisper at her shoulder before coming to stand in front of her to start stretches of his own.
Kagome tensed, throwing a look over her shoulder discreetly and was surprised to see a pair of emerald eyes focused their way, a soft blush on freckled cheeks. Kagome blinked in surprise when Izuku Midoriya caught her gaze and the flush bled down his neck, below the collar of his uniform. She heard Kirishima chuckle conspiratorially and whipped her head around to stare in shock at her two friends. She noticed Bakugou completely ignore her stare in favor of dropping to the ground, stretching his legs out, and gripping his ankles as he continued with his warm up as though he hadn't heard his red-haired friend at all. She felt a nervous sweat break out and looked to Kirishima for help.
"No way," she said, shaking her head nervously. "We've barely even spoken to each other."
"So?" Kiri chuckled, lowering himself to mirror Bakugou. "He doesn't have to know you to think you're cute."
"Will you shut up already?" Bakugou snapped, reaching out to smack the red-head with the back of his hand.
Kirishima's smile didn't falter as he sent a mischievous look Kagome's way. Kagome put her hands on her hips and chewed on her bottom lip nervously. Her thoughts immediately went to her middle school experience with unrequited feelings, and how much of a hassle Hojo had been for her just because she couldn't outright tell the boy she wasn't interested for fear of hurting his feelings. That was then, when her biggest concern with school was passing a math final. Now, she had much bigger things to stress about, and she didn't have time for Mirdoriya's affections, as sweet as the boy was, because she just didn't feel the same. She tapped her foot nervously before she spun around, steps determined as she marched toward the green-haired teen. She heard Kirishima wolf whistle in her direction, and another loud smack she had no doubt came from Bakugou, but she pushed on.
"Oi, Kagome!" she heard Bakugou shout after her angrily. "Get your ass back over here!"
Kagome raised a hand to wave him off, eyes locked on the poor boy that was staring at her with wide, frightened eyes as his skin burned an impossible shade of red. By this time, more than a few other students had noticed the commotion Bakugou was making and she felt their looks as she headed towards the third ranking student that was sweating bullets at her approach.
"H-Higurashi-" Midoriya stammered, eyes looking around for help as she finally came to a stop before him. "What-?"
"Izuku," she began gently, feeling her own face flush as her embarrassment got the best of her, but she knew that she needed to shut this down now. "Look, I'm flattered, but it wouldn't be fair to you if I wasn't completely honest about how I feel."
"Huh?" the boy stared at her in pure confusion, his head cocking to the side adorably as he looked at her. Kagome let out a huff that fluttered her bangs and shook her head gently as she reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. His eyes blinked down at where she touched him before meeting her cerulean eyes with his brows furrowed.
"I see you as a friend, Midoriya," she said gently, head tilted up to meet his gaze evenly. "Just a friend."
"Um...s-same here?"
Kagome blinked in confusion before she narrowed her eyes a bit. She removed her hand from the boy and stood up straight, arms folding across her chest as she replayed the look he had been giving her earlier in her mind along with Kirishima's words. She was positive she had caught him staring at her, and it was impossible to mistake that blush of his for anything else. So what was she missing? She shifted her weight to one foot and cocked a hip, tilting her head as she cocked her head to the side.
"You don't have a crush on me?" she asked him bluntly, only to see the boy's eyes bug out comically before that embarrassed blush returned to his delicately+ freckled cheeks.
"W-w-what?!" he stammered, gloved hands coming up to wave in front of him frantically. "NO! W-why would you-?"
"You were staring at me, weren't you?" Kagome pressed, hands going to her hips as she shifted her weight again. She heard whispers around her and she looked around, noticing that everyone had stopped what they were doing to watch the debacle she had caused. Her ears burned when she mistakenly met the dual-colored eyes of the boy she had been trying to avoid. She returned her gaze to the greenette before her, determined to settle this misunderstanding now that she had made an ass out of herself.
"No!" Midoriya exclaimed. "I wasn't staring at you, I was staring at-"
That was when the boy's mouth snapped shut and she watched him curl in on himself. Kagome frowned, watching as Midoriya's eyes flicked nervously over her shoulder and then down to his feet as the blush on his face deepened and spread to his ears as his feet shuffled nervously. Kagome looked over her shoulder, back toward her friends that were now staring at her openly, one in amusement, the other in full-out annoyance. Kagome turned back to Midoriya and watched as he brought a hand up to nervously rub at the back of his neck.
"I wasn't staring at you..." he repeated softly, and Kagome felt a bunch of puzzle pieces click together in her mind. She looked back at her friends again, saw the faint blush on Bakugou's cheeks, even as he glared at her, and she swore a lightbulb went off over her head.
"Oh!" she gasped, whipping back to face the muscular boy that was doing his best to disappear beneath the stares of all of their classmates. She brought her hands up to her lips, realizing she had missed some very obvious signs that she now realized were an attempt at covering up what was obviously a relationship Bakugou had intended on keeping a secret. She felt like such a jerk now! She reached out and took hold of one of Izuku's hands and gave it a gentle squeeze. Emerald eyes met hers nervously, and she gave him a soft smile of understanding.
"My mistake," she said, squeezing his hand again. "Just forget I said anything."
"Th-thank you, Kagome," he said with a small smile of his own, his shoulders relaxing a bit. "Besides, Todoroki probably would have given me a good beatdown today during training if I did have a crush on you."
"Huh?"
Now it was Kagome's turn to be confused. Midoriya giggled, and she found herself frowning as he gave her a wide smile and a wink.
"You definitely have an admirer, Kagome," he said with a head-tilt toward the direction of one fire and ice user. "Just maybe not the one you thought?"
Kagome couldn't help it when her eyes were pulled toward the boy in question. She felt shivers run down her spine when one turquoise and one gray eye locked with her bright blue. A small smile was sent her way, and she was immediately spinning around, marching in the other direction, followed by the sound of gentle laughter that only made her skin flush an impressive shade of pink everywhere she wasn't covered. Upon reaching Bakugou, she snatched hold of his upper arm and gave him a rough tug.
"Oi-!"
"Let's fight, now," she said stiffly "Now, before I die of mortification, please."
Bakugou stared down at her, then past her before a knowing smirk split his face. He looked down at her with that annoyingly smug face of his, and Kagome bristled. She grit her teeth and gave him a shove, focusing her power into her hands so that they glowed a soft pink. Bakugou let out a belt of loud, obnoxious laughter before he whipped his own hands out, palms sparking as his quirk manifested itself. Kirishima backed out of the danger zone without having to be asked, and she noticed the students around them inside Gym Gamma give the duo a wide berth.
"Ready when you are, woman," Bakugou said, and Kagome saw the thrill of a challenge light up his ruby eyes. "And don't hold back. We gotta give your boyfriend a good show, don't we?"
Kagome swore she felt steam rush out of her ears as she stepped closer to her friend, their chests bumping as she glared up at him before giving him a secret smile of her own.
"Don't forget about yours," she quipped, though she did so softly so that their classmates with enhanced hearing wouldn't pick up on it. "I'm sure he's just dying to see you in action."
She watched with satisfaction as Bakugou's cheeks flushed an adorable shade of pink as he sent a wide-eyed panicked look at her before his teeth were bared and his brows turned down angrily. Kagome smiled wide, jumping back as he let loose a small explosion between them that would have surely knocked her off her feet if she'd moved a second slower.
"I'm gonna wipe the floor with you, Higurashi!"
"Bring it, Kachaan!"
Kagome let out a peal of laughter as the explosions from her friend sent her hair whipping back despite her barrier going up before the blast could reach her. Her eyes, now flashing pink with her power, locked with Bakugou's, and the two were lost in the thrill of the fight, their quirks oddly compatible for their endurance training.
Neither noticed when Todoroki approached Midoriya, bumping shoulders with the boy as they both watched the spar between the explosive blonde and the transfer student that looked nothing short of magical with her spiritual powers.
"I told you about my feelings for Higurashi in confidence, Midoriya," Shoto said softly, though nothing in voice sounded upset that Izuku had spilled the beans. The greenette let out a nervous chuckle and shrugged.
"I didn't see the harm in telling her," Midoriya said, giving the dual user a side-eyed glance and a smirk. "She certainly didn't rush to tell you she wasn't interested like she did me."
"She could have just been embarrassed," Todoroki said, arms crossing as he kept his stare locked on the raven-haired beauty that was dancing out of Bakugou's reach with an ease that showcased her grace and agility. "The whole class was watching after all."
"Or," Izuku said, leaning over to whisper to his red-and-white-haired classmate. "She didn't feel the need to reject you because she's interested."
"Unlikely," Shoto said, a small frown breaking out over his handsome face. Midoriya watched, his heart aching, as the Todoroki prodigy raised a hand to run his fingertips over his scarred skin.
"Don't do that," Midoriya scolded, snatching the boy's wrist and pulling it away, ignoring Bakugou's scream as Kagome sent out a blast of power that sent the blonde flying and crashing into a concrete mass on the other side of the arena. "You are easily one of the most handsome guys in UA, Shoto. She's probably just nervous. After what you told me about her walking in on you, can you blame her?"
"One of the most handsome?" Shoto said after a long moment, giving Midoriya a small smile. "And just who would be more attractive, Midoriya?"
The green-haired boy gave his friend a wide smile, even as the blush returned to the apples of his freckled cheeks. He raised his hands, folding them behind his head as he turned to face the wreckage caused by the two friends still training up ahead. As he did, Bakugou pulled himself out of the rubble surrounding him, letting out a loud roar as he used his quirk to blast him back toward a grinning Kagome. Izuku's smile softened to something warmer, despite the violence the two sparring were displaying.
"My boyfriend, obviously," he said, quietly so that no one else would hear, but not so quietly that Shoto could miss the pride in his voice. He chuckled, heart warming at the warmth he saw in Izuku's eyes as he watched the chaotic blonde boy that was bound and determined to be number one in their class. Even if it meant defeating his secret lover to do so.
"I envy you, Midoriya," Shoto said softly, watching the spar as well, feeling that familiar fluttering feeling in gut as he watched Kagome fend off a flurry of explosions without missing a beat. "I wish I had the courage to tell her how I feel."
"You have the courage, Shoto," Midoriya said gently, giving the boy a gentle nudge to his calf with one foot. "You just have to utilize it properly. Try talking to her, maybe? I don't think I've ever seen you guys have a real conversation."
"She is good at avoiding me," Shoto said with a downward twist of his lips. "And... I'm not very good at expressing myself. Perhaps I could ask Mineta for advice? He seems to know a lot about girls."
Midoriya burst into belly-aching laughter, arms wrapped around his middle as he hunched forward. He struggled to catch his breath, repeating Shoto's words over again, making tears leak from the corners of his eyes. He reached out, gasping and struggling to calm his laughter, to slap his hand onto Todoroki's shoulder. He shook his head, wiping his eyes with the back of his free hand.
"You make the best jokes, Todoroki," he said through his giggles.
"I wasn't joking-"
Midoriya fell to the ground, literally rolling with laughter as a very confused Shoto stared down at him in concern. He was vaguely aware that the battle between Kagome and Bakugou had ended, but he couldn't look away from Midoriya's laughing face.
Once again, the humor in his words was lost to him.
A/N: DON'T COME FOR ME IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM WITH BAKUDEKU. I REALIZE THE ISSUES, BUT THERE IS SO MUCH POTENTIAL HERE AND I. SHIP. IT! I'll expound more on their relationship in other continuations of this story- just give it a chance, please? Or, just skip over the future continuations when I post them *shrugs.*
Read and review, my loves! Thank you for your support!
