Chapter 19
Days after All Might's retirement; the students were all shaken but the school had decided that the students may be safer staying on campus. Aizawa and the other teachers had made their rounds asking the parents permission to house their children at UA's new on campus dorms. Kaiya scoffed at the appearance of Aizawa outside the gym facility one morning.
"Is this a formality?" Kaiya asked him, seeing him in a suit and his hair pulled back.
"Your sarcasm is as always...a welcome distraction from the issue at hand Kaiya." He retorted, walking into the facility. He saw her bed, blanket, the worn out picture of her parents taped on the wall and an array of clothing she had folded up neatly; everything in the same place from the last time he visited. "So, as I'm sure you know. We want to have you students on campus for safe keeping." He started.
"I'm just grateful this is happening before the dojo gets demolished." She sighed, meeting Aizawa's worried gaze. "I don't have much to fill a dorm room; but I'd welcome a functioning shower." Kaiya smirked, leaning on the wall.
"That's actually what I came here to talk to you about too." He sighed as Kaiya's eyes rose curiously.
"The school...has gifted you some necessities. A bed set, bathroom supplies, and has given you a stipend for new clothes and decor to make you more comfortable." Kaiya froze at the kindness of her school and felt her eyes pool. "Oh. And your tuition won't be any issue...the school decided to invest in your future as a Pro Hero."
"The school?" Kaiya asked, seeing a small blush creep onto Aizawa's cheeks. "Thank you, I humbly accept." Kaiya smiled, bowing slightly, accepting the money that he handed her in an envelope.
"And from me...personally." He mumbled, handing Kaiya an empty frame with the word 'family' engraved on it. Tears welled as she walked over to her parents' picture and placed it in the frame. It fit perfectly as she set it on the floor and she let a tear fall.
"Thank you sir." Kaiya managed to croak out. He came up behind her and set a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"You're welcome. I'll see you tomorrow outside the dorms." He said, taking his leave. When she heard the door close, she let more tears fall as she finally realized that she would have a home at last.
Kaiya took her last walk from the dojo to school a little slower the next morning. As ratty and small as the dojo was, it had sheltered her for a long time. A bittersweet swell filled her chest as she took one last glance at the building before bidding it farewell. "Thank you."
Arriving at the newly erected UA dorms, Kaiya's mouth gaped at the size. "Good god…"
"Must be a relief that they built these in time for the dojo to be destroyed." A small voice sounded behind her. Todoroki approached her with his hands stuffed in his pocket, his eyes catching the building too.
"Yeah. Plus my tuition is covered too. I'm very lucky." Kaiya whispered to him, allowing a bright smile to form.
""I'm happy for you. Come on, Aizawa doesn't look thrilled this morning." Todoroki nodded, leading her to the group of students. The students stood outside the brand new dorms and gawked at the size and modernized aesthetic.
"We haven't forgotten about the provisional licenses you were supposed to get during the training camp. Listen well. This is important." Aizawa started before glaring at his students. "Kaiya, Todoroki, Kirishima, Misa, Iida, and Midoriya. You six broke the rules and went after Bakugou that night." A heavy silence hung over the group as Aizawa's glare ran over each student. "Judging by the lack of surprise from the rest of you; I will assume you were all at least aware of their plans. Putting aside a number of issues, if it weren't for All Might's retirement from the hero scene, I would expel each and everyone of you." Kaiya's heart strained at the harsh tone from her teacher as he continued. "Except for Jirou and Bakugou. They were not involved, but all of you that knew of these plans and didn't stop the group from going; still hold the blame. So in that case, you will all act as model students from here on out to gain our confidence back. Understand?" Aizawa threatened. As the solom group nodded their agreement, Aizawa seemed pleased with the resounding acceptance. "Now enjoy. Settle in. Tomorrow; the real work begins."
"Thanks for the pep talk." The students said in unison. Bakugou dragged Kaminari to the gate entrance and blasted him, causing the electric teen to turn lame again; causing everyone to burst out into laughter. The atmosphere was less tense as they all gathered into the dorms; admiring the interior and clean facility.
"I have never been in a place like this...it's huge." Kaiya murmured as she took in the modern and spacious area. Ochako was drooling over the area as well as the students were shown the living quarters.
"This is about the size of my closet at home; but I'll manage." Momo said as Ochako fainted.
"What is your life?" Kaiya asked Momo teasingly. "The bathroom is bigger than my sleeping area at the dojo." She mumbled as Todoroki came up behind her.
"You slept at a dojo?" Momo gasped, causing Kaiya to panic.
"Whoops. I didn't tell you all about that huh?" Kaiya internally slapped herself as Todoroki stifled a chuckle. "Yeah, I lived in the dojo I worked at." She told the students who gathered in the common area. "So this is a major upgrade." She giggled, trying to hide her embarrassment.
A shocked silence hung between the handful of students gathered before Iida announced that they should begin unpacking now. Kaiya found her room again and her mouth gaped at what was already in there. Whoever was in charge of getting her stuff, really knew her; she knew it was Aizawa, he'd just never admit to it. Her bedspread was a dark burgundy with silver swirls on it and dark gray sheets. Her desk and drawers were dark wood, matching the bed frame. She had an actual bed and she fought the urge to jump on it excitedly.
Instead, she unpacked the one box she had that had all the decor items she bought the day before with the money Aizawa gave her. She scattered crescent moon wall decor and star themed decor around neatly, and filed some books she had found quite cheap in the bookstore in the bookcase next to her desk. She also found a silver, soft rug that she placed beside her bed. She placed all her new bathroom lotions and creams in the spacious bathroom eager to enjoy the shower which she was sure functioned better than the gym one that was built in the sixties. She smiled as she placed the frame Aizawa gave her on her desk and looked at it warmly, completing the room. "Perfect."
In the common area, everyone had gathered once they were done unpacking and setting up their rooms. "Wow, that took a lot out of me!" Kirishima yawned, sitting with Kaminari.
"Hey guys! Why don't we show each other our rooms? Have a little competition?" Mina offered, earning squeals of excitement from the other girls.
"I'm down. It'll be fun! We can get to know each other that way." Kaiya smiled, seeing Todoroki look less than interested from his place behind the couch. Midoriya's was first and the boy almost died of embarrassment as his room was full of All Might memorabilia.
"My god." Kaiya whispered, admiring all the posters and figures around the room. Tokoyami was next as Mina pushed her way through into the darkened cave-like room. "This is pretty cool..kinda emo." She smirked, seeing the utter annoyance of the bird teen. Aoyama's was no surprise being disco and bright; a stark contrast to Tokoyami. "Who's next?" Mineta poked his head out of his room at the sound of the question.
"Come on girls. I have lots to show you." The girls groaned and headed to the third floor.
Iida's room looked a lot like a library. "You like reading, I see." Kaiya laughed as Ochako noticed the wall of glasses.
"I expect them all to be destroyed during training!" Iida defended himself as the girls left laughing. Kaminari's room was eccentric while Koda's room was cute and fluffy.
"He has a bunny!" Ochako squealed. A few of the boys looked down and beaten as they left Koda's room. "What's wrong?"
"I think they feel judged." Kaiya answered. A resounding agreement echoed as Kaiya pieced together an idea. "Why don't the girls show off their rooms too? Everyone is treated equally?" she offered, receiving a positive reaction from most students.
"What? We're doing this?!" Jirou asked, panic stricken all of a sudden.
"I could really use some sleep." Kirishima whined before Kaiya nudged him playfully.
"We'll do your room first then!" Kirishima accepted and let the girls into his room. "It makes me want to work out!"
"You get it!" He smiled. The group moved on to Shoji's empty room.
"You're a minimalist huh?" Todoroki asked as Kaiya looked unamused.
"I just don't see why anyone would want to fill their room with junk." Shoji answered.
"Fifth floor next!" Mina cheered. "Sero is next!" His room was exotic and colorful, much to the surprise of the girls.
"Wow, I didn't peg you for this kind of style Sero." Jirou smirked.
"Todoroki is next." Momo announced as the girls eagerly ventured into the private life of Todoroki.
"Let's get this over with. It's late." He mumbled, letting the girls in. The layout looked different and the Japanese architecture dotted around the room made the room feel homey. Kaiya wandered around and admired the purple floral on his drawers for which Todoroki noticed.
"It's beautiful, Todoroki. Very Japanese." Kaiya told him, nudging him playfully.
"How did you remodel a whole room in one day?" Kaminari asked, jealous of the Japanese style room.
"With hard work." Todoroki answered stoically. Kaiya giggled at the shocked gasps around the group as they exited the room to Sato's next door.
"There isn't much...oh crap! I was baking a chiffon cake. I wanted us to eat it together." He said, serving the cake to the group.
"Oh god. He wins. This is amazing." Kaiya squealed, enjoying every crumb.
"The girls are next! Kaiya, you're up!" Mina cheered. "I'm excited to see what you have!"
"I don't have much, guys; but I hope you like it." She smiled, letting in the group of students that remained. The girls loved the colors and the moon decor while Midoriya, Kirishima and Todoroki looked around.
"It suits you!" Kirishima smiled and she giggled while Todoroki noticed the picture frame on her desk. She had forgotten she hadn't told him that Aizawa had given her the picture and the frame when he looked at her in question.
"A gift." She whispered to him and he just nodded in turn.
The rest of the girls were shown and each room matched each girl to the letter. They all gathered in the common area and voted on which was the best room. "Okay! Are we ready? The winner is….Sato!"
"Is it because he fed you?!" Mineta asked as Kaminari jumped on Sato.
"Yes." All the girls answered. Kaiya was chuckling as Iida and Midoriya looked on in the small scuffle in front of them.
"Is it over? Can I sleep now?" Todoroki asked Kaiya who nodded eagerly.
"Thanks for sticking it out." She smiled before Ochako stopped the boy.
"Actually can you hold on? Iida, Midoriya, Misa, Kaiya, and Kirishima? It's important." She requested quietly. She led the group outside to find Tsu waiting for them. "Tsu said she wanted to talk to all of you."
"You all know I'm pretty straight forward and say whatever comes to mind. Remember what I said at the hospital before Bakugou's rescue? I called you villains. My heart was hurting and what I said must have hurt you. Despite what I said, you all still went to save Bakugou." She said, hanging her head as she spoke. "I didn't know that until this morning. I thought what I said stopped you. But it turns out I was worthless. A complete failure. And suddenly I had nothing more to say. I didn't think I deserved to joke around and have fun with everyone. But it made me so sad not being around all of you." Tears flowed out of Tsu like a waterfall as she looked at everyone around her. "That's why I wanted to talk to you all so we can go back to normal."
"It's not just you that feels that way. Everyone felt pretty bad about all of it and wanted everything to go back to normal. That's why we did the room contest. To bring us closer together." Ochako added on, comforting Tsu.
"You wanted us to be friends again?" Kaiya asked, understanding the tension that was still floating around the class.
"Tsu! I'm sorry!" Kirishima cried, followed by Momo and Iida apologizing.
"You shouldn't feel bad." Todoroki added, sharing a look with Kaiya.
"We all need to move on from this. We're a team." Kaiya smiled, hugging Tsu. "I'm sorry too." She whispered.
"It's getting late guys. We really need to get some rest." Midoriya added as the group dispersed.
Just as Kaiya settled into her sleeping clothes a small knock sounded on her door. "It's late...who could it be?" She asked before opening the door. No one stood at the door but a vase of purple flowers sat on the floor; the ones from Todoroki's room. Her heart swelled as she picked up the vase and placed it next to her family's picture frame. She sent a quick text to Todoroki before saying goodnight.
"You're very sweet. Thank you. Goodnight."
Todoroki smiled at his phone screen before sending his message; his heart thumping as his fingers danced over the letters. He wasn't sure what to do with these increasing feelings; being with someone was new for him. But he knew Kaiya was important to him; more than he ever thought anyone would be to him.
The next weekend after a grueling week of special moves training, Todoroki surprised Kaiya with an invitation to visit his mother with him. "Are you sure? I don't want to intrude." She mumbled to him over breakfast.
"I'd love it if you joined me, and I know my mother would love the extra company." Todoroki smirked, sipping on his tea. "You're more entertaining than me." He smiled. So it was decided that Kaiya would go with him to the hospital that afternoon. On the way there, Kaiya insisted on buying some flowers for Rei as she didn't want to show up empty handed on the first visit.
"Does she know that we are...together?" Kaiya asked Todoroki, holding the bunch of lilies and iris in her hand as they walked to the hospital.
"Not yet, I was planning on telling her today. She's been begging me to bring you in to see her so I thought that we could kill two birds with one stone." He replied, analyzing Kaiya's reaction. "Nervous?"
"I'm not exactly...trained in the act...of impressing parents." She mumbled, cuddling into his arm as they walked.
"My father already likes you; he is the difficult one. Mom will love you, relax." He smiled, kissing her head gently.
Walking to his mothers' room, Kaiya gripped onto Todoroki's arm tightly. They walked into the room and Kaiya saw a gentle looking, white haired woman sitting reading her book. Her smile was bright when she caught notice of them standing in the doorway. "Hi mom, this is Kaiya, my girlfriend." Todoroki introduced Kaiya as she bowed at the woman. Well that was a quick introduction.
"Oh! Shoto, how wonderful! I've heard a lot about you young lady." His mother smiled and pulled Kaiya in for a hug. She squeezed her back and handed her the flowers which she took happily. "Please sit! It's about time my son asked you out." She laughed, seeing Todoroki blush.
"He likes to think about things I have learned." Kaiya smiled, winking at Todoroki beside her. "It's lovely to meet you ma'am."
"Please call me Rei! Now tell me about yourself; although I'm sure my son has told me nearly everything about you." Rei smiled, reaching for Kaiya's hand.
"Mom…" Todoroki groaned, rubbing his neck at his embarrassment. "I'm going to get some tea for us; I'll be back." He offered, placing a kiss on Kaiya's cheek before he vacated the room.
"If a mother can't embarrass her son in front of his girlfriend; then she's not a good mother." Rei winked, causing Kaiya to laugh. "You are truly beautiful like he said; he's very smitten with you." Kaiya blushed at Rei's words and almost pulled at her hair but her hand landed on the burn instead. Rei noticed Kaiya's hand placement and her eyes appeared sad for a moment. Kaiya wrapped her jacket around her arm, hoping her scar wouldn't bring up bad memories for Rei. "Shoto told me what happened to you. I'm so sorry." She said, her small hand removing Kaiya's jacket from her arm. "Don't be ashamed of it; it tells a story."
"I just don't want it to trigger something...for you." Kaiya replied quietly; unsure of the mothers' reaction.
"You know then? What I did to my son?" She asked, her hand still rubbing Kaiya's scar. She nodded at her apologetically. "I regret it every day; but my son and I are close now and for that, I am thankful." She smiled and at that moment; Kaiya saw Shoto in his mother and her heart warmed.
"He loves you dearly." Kaiya tells her. "He talks about you often and I am honored to meet you." Kaiya smiled at her.
"It is my pleasure and the flowers are beautiful." She said.
"Lilies are my favorite, I wasn't sure what to get you." Kaiya said, admiring the oriental flower. Todoroki returned with tea and they all three sat together and told Rei about their training, their classes, their friends and what was to come next. The sun was beginning to wane and they realized they had to head back to campus.
"I hope to see you both soon." Rei smiled, hugging both teens to her. "I love you son."
"I love you mom, we'll see you soon." He smiled, grabbing Kaiya's hand gently.
"Bye Rei, it was lovely speaking to you." Kaiya waved, seeing her bright eyes and smile return again.
On the walk back to the dorm, both teens were both quiet but comfortable. Kaiya felt as if she had opened another piece of Todoroki with his mother and she felt closer to him. Then she realized that Todoroki didn't have to meet her parents and she felt saddened by that thought. She shook it off when Todoroki looked down at her and kissed her forehead, warming her heart again.
"Thank you for today." He told her as he dropped her off at her room.
"It was fun talking to her, you're a lot more like her than your father. You have her smile." Kaiya smiled, placing a kiss on Todoroki's lips.
"Thank you, sweet dreams my girl." He whispered to her, tracing her cheek with his finger.
"You too."
