Authors Note: Got some ideas. I own nothing.
The Conundrum
Shoto Todoroki walked out of the hospital a small smile on his face. It had gone so much better than he'd let himself hope. His mother had hugged him and he'd felt truly warm for the first time in years. She still loved him, after everything that had happened, she still cared for him. He let himself smile a bit wider. He didn't feel like going home just yet. He was in too good a mood to put up with the lecture he knew would be waiting for him once Endeavor returned home. So instead he decided he would take a walk. After a while he heard a familiar voice.
"It's fine Uraraka I promise."
"But can you even carry your bag with your arms all messed up like that?" Todoroki followed the voices around a corner and found Uraraka and Midoriya standing in front of an apartment building. Two people were coming down the stairs of the building. Uraraka's parents if Todoroki had to guess by the brown hair.
"I'll be fine Uraraka. I can make it home. I just hope Iida is ok." The girls shared a dark look overflowing with concern for their friend and Todoroki frowned as an emotion flared in his chest. He wasn't sure exactly what it was. Protectiveness? Maybe… It felt a bit more bitter than that. Jealousy maybe? But why would he be jealous? He pushed the notion aside for the moment and stepped forwards clearing his throat so the girls knew he was coming. He seemed to have had the right idea in doing so as Midoriya jumped and slipped slightly nearly tumbling backwards. Despite Uraraka being closer Todoroki got there first. He deftly caught her by her shoulders and gently righted her.
She was still wearing the bandages she'd gotten from recovery girl. Her left leg was bandaged to the knee. She was back in their regular school uniform except the top was different. It was a strapless black number, he could see bandages peeking out of the top of it. Her jacket covered her shoulders but both of her arms were still heavily bandaged though her right was finally free of the sling and her hand on that side was free.
"Sorry for startling you." Izumi had gone pink but she shook her head.
"No, I'm sorry. I wasn't expecting to see you here Todoroki."
"Yeah! I haven't seen you around here before Todoroki. Congrats on placing second in the festival." He nodded to Uraraka and took Midoriya's bag from her to the surprise of both of them. The adults were getting closer.
"Oh, you don't have to do that Todoroki. I can get that." Todoroki looked at Midoriya's bandaged arms and raised an eyebrow. She blushed a little darker. Uraraka's parents were nearly upon them. Uraraka pulled Midoriya into a quick light hug. Todoroki nodded to Uraraka who waved and turned to meet her parents.
"I'll see you guys at school ok!" Todoroki nodded again and Midoriya grinned.
"You bet!" The two of them left quickly, not wanting to interrupt the moment happening behind them. A few blocks away Midoriya spoke again. "Um I really can carry my own bag Todoroki. I have a ways to go to get home." Todoroki stopped and turned to look at her.
"I would like to walk you home. I don't doubt that you would carry your own bag, even with your extensive injuries but… I would like to help you." He floundered slightly for a reason to walk her home. In truth he felt sort of bad. "You're injured because of how hard you fought in our match. A real hero would help." There was silence for a moment. He wasn't sure of himself here. If she insisted he would probably hand over her bag and apologize. But she didn't.
"I appreciate it Todoroki." He let himself have the barest glimmer of a smile as they started walking again. They were silent for a time as Midoriya navigated the street with the surety of someone who had done this quite a few times before. Looking at Midoriya he couldn't quite tell what she was thinking. So, he took it upon himself to break the silence.
"I wanted to… I wanted to thank you Midoriya." She looked up at him, confusion written in her bright green eyes. "I… I remembered some very important things because of you. Because of what you said to me during our match. I remembered why I want to be a hero, not why he wants me to be one." He could tell they both knew exactly who he was referring to. She nodded slightly.
"I was hoping that was the case. That's why you didn't use your fire on Kacchan right? Because he wanted you to fight him as a test of who would be more powerful, who could destroy the other." Todoroki nodded slightly.
"Why did you cheer me on during that fight? You could have sided with Bakugou, but you didn't." Midoriya let out a small laugh that didn't quite sound happy. Todoroki frowned. "Thinking about it I don't know your relationship with Bakugou at all. I haven't been paying the best attention to my classmates." He said it like it surprised him.
"You've been focused on other things." She paused. "Kacchan and I have a… complicated relationship. We were friends when we were kids but." She paused again but this one was different, like she was searching for a reason. "But he got teased for hanging out with a girl and now we're sort of rivals I guess." She spoke quickly, as if covering for her momentary silence, her face heating up again.
"I see." They fell silent again for a few minutes as they passed through another neighborhood. "Do you always walk Uraraka home?" Midoriya shrugged.
"Sometimes. Usually when we do Iida is with us too." Todoroki nodded.
"Midnight said he had been called away because of family business." The look of Midoriya's face darkened and Todoroki frowned. "Is he alright?" It felt sort of odd to be asking about his classmates like this. He really hadn't taken much of an interest in them up till now. He regretted that, he saw that now.
"I hope so. I don't know much and what he shared I don't think he'd want spread around. He only told me and Uraraka after all." She took another step and flinched slightly. He paused, all thought of Iida flying out of his mind for the moment.
"Are you alright?" She nodded slightly, her smile edging on a grimace as she picked her foot back up and gently flexed her ankle up and down.
"I'll be ok. My foot's been broken worse than this before." Todoroki's frown deepened.
"You hurt yourself so badly. Why did you do that? I understand you wanted to win the fight but… You didn't have to go this far." Izumi had stopped completely and they were eye to eye. Almost without of thinking about it he reached out and touched her right hand. He almost flinched back when he felt the distinct feel of scar tissue. He bought her hand up between them. There were two brand new, still quite pink, scars on her hand. One wrapped around the outside of her hand a few inches under her pinky finger. The other was smaller siting less than half an inch above her thumb and wrapping around to her palm like the other. Her fingers were slightly crooked too, from all the breaks she'd put them through. His frown deepened again. Her fingers twitched in his.
"I'm fine Todoroki." His fingers frosted under hers a slight frost covering her fingers for an instant before her body heat melted it.
"Please don't hurt yourself for me again." He said it quietly, she almost didn't hear him. But she paused. Her hand still in his, cooled by his quirk.
"I can't promise that Todoroki." He looked up into her eyes and they held that same spark he'd seen in her eyes on the battlefield, a light he saw in All Might's eyes. "I'm sorry, but if I promise that I… well after what happened at the USJ I realized something. I don't care if I get hurt if I'm saving someone." Todoroki's fingers tightened on her fingers for a moment.
"Then promise you won't hurt yourself for me unless it's to save someone." Midoriya lit up with a smile at the compromise. She nodded and they continued down the street. The silence this time was more companionable than awkward. Midoriya stopped at another apartment building.
"This is me." It was then they both realized he'd never let go of her hand, that they had walked to her home hand in hand. Midoriya went bright red. Todoroki dropped her hand and apologized softly.
"I would like to walk you to the door if you don't mind." Her blush darkened but after a moment she nodded. They headed into the building and to a door marked with her last name. Izumi barely tapped on the door when it flew open, revealing a short plump woman with the same green hair as Izumi, though the woman's lacked the flyaway appearance of her daughter's. Izumi was wrapped in a hug as the woman gushed and sniffled about watching all of the festival on TV. Then she spotted Todoroki and her words stopped and she let go of her daughter who grinned slightly, a prominent blush making her smattering of freckles stick out further.
"Mom this is Shoto Todoroki, he's a classmate of mine. He walked me home. Todoroki this is my mom, Inko Midoriya." Todoroki bowed slightly and held out Izumi's bag.
"You have raised a wonderful person Mrs. Midoriya." Inko's face went from confusion to calculation to a giant smile in seconds.
"Would you like to come in for some tea Todoroki, or you could stay for dinner?" Todoroki shook his head.
"I'm sorry I have to get home, but thank you for the offer." He bowed again. "It was lovely to meet you." He turned to Izumi. "I'll see you at school Midoriya." He bowed again and she nodded and smiled at him awkwardly bowing back. He headed back outside and pulled out his phone routing his GPS back to his house he began to make his way home. He wasn't sure he understood her completely, her reasons for wanting to be a hero, her reckless nature, her deep set connection to All Might. But he knew without a doubt he wanted to find out more about Izumi Midoriya, the girl who'd reminded him of the reason he wanted to be a hero. Not because Endeavor wanted him to be but to protect people, save them from people like his father.
