I don't own MHA
While most of their class were paired off in training teams that gave some sort of balance to them, the last team was far too overpowered to even be considered fair. After all, putting the three powerhouses in the same team was asking for a disaster. That was why it was the job of all the other teams to bring the three down however what they hadn't expected was the near-flawless way Izuku and Katsuki linked Todoroki into their teamwork without hesitation. Instead of trying to force the dual quirked boy to conform to their tactics, the two let him set the pace leading to something out of a horror story.
There had been ice everywhere almost turning the backyard into an ice rink while Katsuki used the ice to slide around throwing out explosions and distracting them from Izuku's sneak attacks. Eventually, the others had given up and just allowed it to turn into a three-way match between the three powerhouses of class 1-A. It was doubtful Aizawa would be very impressed with their actions but none of them cared very much for being sneak attacked by a green whirlwind.
They hadn't expected the three to work together so well but at this point, Iida was willing to bet that just setting them loose on the other classes would win them the sports festival. It was only the spirit of fair play that kept him from pushing for that plan rather than the one they'd agreed on earlier. At least they were having fun, although Momo doubted her parents would be very happy when they saw the destruction. She didn't really care.
Izuku had felt something strange when working with Todoroki and Katsuki, a sort of odd pull to the ice clinging to the ground but she focused on the spar rather than the odd feeling inside her. Katsuki had even had fun when they sparred; it showed by the wild and wicked grin on his face. By the end of the sparring session, they knew that if worse came to worse they could simply use this team to tear through the competition.
Hours later, they'd split into groups to take care of various tasks however the trauma of the training session was still fresh in everyone's mind. Todoroki wasn't really sure what he hoped to accomplish at the moment, but he found it easier to focus on Sato's cooking rather than the fact he was going to tell his class about his father. The cookies really made it easier to ignore Katsuki's growling too; although he doubted the boy was as angry as he pretended to be. Watching the blonde gently tap Jirou on the head as she stirred the noodles, he felt his lips twitch upward. Apparently, the explosion expert was an amazing cook; although that didn't translate to him being an amazing teacher. He'd already kicked Kaminari and Sero out of the kitchen which led to the two vanishing. Todoroki himself had been regulated to supervising Sato who was baking; personally, he loved this job.
Momo had broken their class into groups to prepare for tonight's dinner since her parents were out of town on a business trip. Katsuki was in charge of cooking due to Izuku claiming he was amazing in the kitchen which had led to Sero claiming he was a housewife. Tsu, Momo, Iida, and Izuku were putting the finishing touches on their plan for the sports festival that was two days away; he'd seen Momo create a dry erase board in the living room earlier. Everyone else was outside doing sparring practice with Ojirou who was all too happy to teach them hand to hand.
Of course, the only people left in the cooking team were Katsuki, Jirou, Sato and him although he had no idea how to cook. That was why Katsuki had pointed to the barstool and ordered him to supervise the second they entered the kitchen. He thought they were making pasta, but he honestly had no idea how any of the spices Katsuki had fished out of the pantry were going to help. In truth, he didn't think Jirou was doing a bad job, but he couldn't really judge her; Fuyumi had always done the cooking at his house.
Despite the fact he wasn't doing much to help, he felt warm. Just being here with them made him relax as if nothing could hurt him. It was amazing what a weeklong break from his father could make him feel. The man was going to be insufferable after the Sport's Festival due to Todoroki planning to use his fire in the one on one matches. He'd talked it over with Izuku and come to the decision that he couldn't let the man stifle his chances of becoming a hero. More than that however was the fact class 1-A was going to win. His classmates deserved to win, and he wouldn't be the one to drag them down.
Hearing footsteps behind him he didn't glance back even as arms wrapped around his shoulders; what he did do was steal the last cookie on the plate causing Mina to whine. Ignoring the pouting girl, he watched Katsuki bristle like an annoyed cat at her appearance. A week ago, his classmates wouldn't have dreamed of being this close to him nor would they have laughed off Katsuki's actions. He found it easy to admit that being around his classmates now made him feel happy. Squeezing his shoulders, the girl moved away from him before Katsuki got annoyed and snapped at her.
"Half n Half go check and see if the planning group is done yet," Katsuki ordered while straining the noodles. Following the order, Todoroki threw one last glance at Jirou who was hovering beside Sato; the exasperated expression on her face caused him to smile slightly.
He found the planning team working together for once instead of arguing. What was more amusing however was that Izuku was allowing Iida within two feet of her without glaring at him. Seeing her glance in his direction he raised an eyebrow as she smiled in his direction. The open expression struck him for a moment and he couldn't stop himself from returning the small smile. Looking past her at the whiteboard he raised an eyebrow as Momo covered the entire thing with a sheet. The large grin on her face told him that she was happy with the plan they'd made; he couldn't wait to hear what they'd come up with.
He still found Izuku strange, especially because of Frost. She was his friend, yet he knew almost nothing about her. Would she still want to be his friend when he finished telling them about his dad? It was likely that she would, however, he couldn't put to rest the fear that despite being the one to convince him to use his flames she would abandon him. Watching her walk toward him he noticed that she finally seemed happy. He hadn't seen her this happy since the USJ.
"To-"
"Shoto," he corrected almost instantly. Watching her tilt her head in confusion he shifted nervously wondering if he should explain that he didn't want her to call him a name that reminded him of his father.
"What about Sho then," she asked a small smile appearing on her face.
Nodding he ignored the sudden rush of heat that caused his cheeks to color and the amused glance shared by Momo and Tsu. He had no idea why they were suddenly so amused, but he didn't really care. Remembering the reason why he'd been sent here he said, "Katsuki says dinner is almost ready."
Well he didn't, but Todoroki had spent enough time around the boy to learn to understand Katsuki speak. It helped that Katsuki had started to use more than grunts and growls when talking. Already knowing what he meant, the girl glanced back at the whiteboard before smiling. He was glad that she was smiling again; happiness suited her far more than sadness. In his opinion, she was cute when she smiled.
"That's great Sh...Todoroki we're just finishing up here," Iida said withering under the dry look sent to him by the other boy. Pouting as the twin colored boy led Izuku toward the dining room he wondered why she got to call Todoroki by name, and he didn't; he was the class president after all.
"Don't worry about it Iida," Momo said patting his shoulder as if she was trying to comfort him.
It was only twenty minutes later when they were all sitting down to eat that Iida figured out why she'd been acting so strangely. It had taken Todoroki bumping against Izuku followed by the boy blushing for him to connect the dots. The only thing that kept him from blurting out his findings was the glare Uraraka sent him when he opened his mouth. In the end, he just asked Shoji to pass the rolls. Hearing Katsuki chuckle he sighed, at least, his class was getting along.
Two hours later the entire class was gathered in the living room waiting for the plan to be presented and after that Todoroki would tell them the truth about his father and home life. Glancing to the left at Izu he relaxed as she began to almost bounce in place. Even Katsuki was anxious for the big reveal of the plan well he hoped that vicious smirk meant he was anxious instead of simply murderous. It was times like this that Katsuki reminded him of a less murderous version of Endeavor.
They were finally going to present the plan for the sports festival, she was nervous and excited all at once. There were butterflies in her stomach at the idea that her classmates were going to hear a plan that she'd come up with. Feeling Shoto touch her shoulder she realized that she was almost bouncing in place. Smiling nervously, she tried to calm down as Momo unveiled the whiteboard. Almost as one the class tilted their head in confusion at the three words on the whiteboard.
"Izu, please tell me that buddy system isn't our entire plan," Uraraka said once it became obvious that no one else was going to speak up.
"Of course not," she said ignoring the way Katsuki hid his face in his hands along with his growl of exasperation.
"We've decided to go with something simple," Iida admitted. It wasn't out of the question for them to think up some elaborate scheme however he felt that something simple would be best for what they wanted. Combining their quirks would be more than enough to overpower the other classes, even class 1-B.
"So the plan is to stick together," Aoyama asked with slight confusion. It wasn't that he didn't understand the plan, he just didn't know if it would be enough to win against the other classes. Class 1-A wasn't the only claim to strength at UA after all and he doubted the other classes would lay down and allow them to win.
"Mostly, we've decided the best way to overpower the other classes is to work together," Momo explained. Regardless of what the other classes brought into play, class 1-A had not one but three powerhouses. Not to mention that her quirk was the most versatile out of everyone; plus, her needle throwing was coming along great. She didn't doubt that their class would be standing on top in the end. Smiling she said, "well until the matches at least."
Katsuki smirked already knowing that once the one v. one matches started all bets were off. It was far too obvious that at that point they would stop looking out for one another and focus on who was going to win. Glancing over at his two training partners he found the same determined grins on their faces that he wore. Both Kirishima and Uraraka were ready to fight to win. The desire for victory was shared with the entire class if only so that they got the chance to beat Monoma into the dirt.
"It was Midoriya's idea to put us in teams according to our strengths," Asui said causing the green-haired girl to blush brightly. Smiling Asui watched as Kaminari pulled the girl into a one-armed hug before passing out the team assignments. Seeing the confused glance Mina sent her paper she said, "Here are the lists for teams."
"Then wouldn't putting Todoroki, Bakugo, and Midoriya all in the same team be our best chance at winning," Uraraka questioned causing Sero along with several others to pale. Putting those three together would be far beyond overkill.
"Well the teams also serve another purpose," Izu said softly gaining their attention. While she still wasn't used to the spotlight, she had no issue explaining a plan that she'd came up with. After all, they hadn't called her an idiot yet. Tugging on a strand of her hair nervously she leaned further into the warmth Denki provided as she said, "to keep Todoroki away from Endeavor during the sports festival."
"As such, we'll mostly be sticking to them during the breaks too," Iida said while pushing up his glasses. There was only so much they could do to protect their classmate, but they would do all they could.
"For me," Todoroki whispered although they all heard it. The silence hung in the room for a moment as they recognized the confusion and hope in his voice.
If he'd told most people that the number two hero was a horrible father, they would have written him off was telling a lie or exaggerating. His classmates, however, didn't even entertain the idea that he might be lying, instead, they chose to cling to him. In a way, it reminded him of what Fuyumi would try to do in her efforts to protect him but not even his sister had managed to protect him. Didn't they realize they would be going against the number two hero or did they just not care? They had to know how hard this would be, didn't they?
"Yep," Mina said as she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Feeling Hakegure join her, he stiffened for a long moment before relaxing.
"Dude we've got your back," Sero told him as he reached out to ruffle the other boy's hair. Instead of getting offended like usual the boy simply nodded.
Even Katsuki scoffed at the idea of abandoning their classmate. The most feral and selfish boy in the class was willing to fight for his classmate against the number two hero for the simple reason that Todoroki was one of them. Before Mineta's death, he hadn't really cared about the people around them due to the idea that nothing would happen to them. It had been seeing the death that woke him up to the fact he and his classmates were just as human as the civilians they were training to protect. Being a hero didn't make someone invincible.
He doubted that class 1-B or even just Monoma knew what they'd been doing when they issued their challenge. Destroying the competition wasn't something that Katsuki would shy away from and he knew Frost felt the same. When the dust settles and the medals were handed out it would be class 1-A that stood on top not any of the losers that could do nothing but complain about their lot in life. As the strongest in the class, he would clear a way for his classmates all they had to do was follow behind him.
In truth, Tokiomi didn't really know how he felt about being part of such a clingy and expressive class. When he'd suggested learning how to throw knives to Momo he'd expected the girl to brush him off but instead, she'd been all too happy to agree. This closeness between all of them wasn't something that he'd ever expected to find outside of his family. He was happy that he chose to come to UA over the other hero schools. Watching Sato stand to retrieve snacks from the kitchen he knew that this bond between the class wouldn't be broken.
"I have something to tell you all," Todoroki said sounding almost emotionless. Feeling Hakegure poke his cheek he offered the invisible girl an almost smile before diving into the horror that was his home life.
He told the story of how Endeavor chose his mother for a quirk marriage in order to breed successful children. How Fuyumi failed to live up to his expectations for a child and was forgotten; pushed to the background in the hopes that she would vanish. His sweet sister who still tried to bring their family back together when there was nothing, she could do to change their lives. Of Natsu who fled to get away from their father and house in general only to return every time Fuyumi called. He knew that his brother would always come when their sister called because he, try as he might, couldn't stop caring. None of them could stop caring despite how much pain it put them through to be together.
When he got to Touya he choked unable to bring himself to describe a brother he hardly remembered or the training session that revealed his fatal weakness. How the blue flames burned away at his brothers too pale skin until the scent of charred meat hung in the air. He told them about the panicked rush to the hospital and how Endeavor hadn't cared enough to be there for his child, but his mother had. Feeling Mina tighten her hold on him he kept his voice steady as he outlined how his older brother chose to flee the hospital and vanish rather than spend one more moment in their family. Endeavor pronounced his own son dead weeks later and they'd all blamed him for it because why couldn't he see that Touya's quirk hurt him? Why didn't he care enough to be there for his children?
Raising a trembling hand to his face he didn't realize that his voice cracked when he told them about his mother. It hurt to remember her wild panicked gaze and the pain of boiling water being poured over his face. Just the thought of seeing her again filled him with fear that she would hate him for being his father's son. He didn't want to remember the way his father threw the woman into a mental hospital without even owning up to his part in the incident. Every memory hurt and made it hard to keep tears from his eyes yet talking about it all lifted the weight on his shoulders. It was a little easier to breathe as he waited for their reactions to his story.
Mismatched eyes found emerald green as Izu stared at him without pity. The understanding in her gaze wasn't overshadowed by the pain they both shared and their horrible luck in father figures. Glancing at his other classmates he was surprised to seem them angry on his behalf, but the thought did feel him with a sense of warmth. Looking down at the paper in his hand showing his team he allowed a small smile to appear on his face at the silent support they offered him.
Frost watched Shoto smile as she took control. If he was laying out his soul, then it really would be unfair if she kept her secrets. Izu agreed as well so it wasn't like she was going against her other half in order to let them in on the secret. While they had been waiting for the right time to tell everyone, was there really a better time than right now. Feeling Denki's eyes on her she smirked as she reached up to tap his nose. The offended expression on his face amused her greatly. Clapping her hands, she drew everyone's attention before pointing to her eyes.
"Well if we're sharing secrets, I'm Frost Izu's duality quirk," Frost announced without hesitation. Meeting Shoto's gaze with her own she returned the small smile he sent in her direction with one of her own. While most of the reactions were rather amusing; it was Aoyama's squeak of shock that caused her to laugh. Once she stopped laughing at the blonde, she explained that when her eyes were gold, she was in control, not Izu. It wasn't surprising to learn that, Uraraka had figured it out on her own; the brunette was observant when she wanted to be.
Teams for the Sport's Festival:
Team Izu: Izuku, Katsuki, Iida
Team Todoroki: Todoroki, Momo, Aoyama, Kaminari
Team Asui: Asui, Shoji, Tokiomi, Sero
Team Uraraka: Uraraka, Jirou, Mina, Kirishima
Team Ojiro: Ojirou, Hakegure, Koda, Sato
