There were a few vacant moments before Izuku could recognize the man that had just arrived as Todoroki's cousin. With his clean-cut formal attire and his hair neatly tied, he scarcely looked like the same person – except for the dark circles under his eyes. He wasn't the only one who was at a momentary loss, either. The golden cat turned and hissed at Aizawa for a few moments before its expression changed to something closer to recognition (insofar as Izuku could read a cat's expression). In contrast, the rat-who-may-or-may-not-be-Todoroki looked (how were these animals so expressive) nonplussed. He supposed it made sense because if the rat were Todoroki, then he'd already seen Aizawa earlier that day.
Still, the cat was radiating aggression, but before it could make any further sounds, it was interrupted by two loud pops and smoke washing through the room. Izuku turned away, trying to keep the blowing air away from his eyes, though he was thankful for the excuse to avert his eyes when he realized that the animals had been replaced by the naked form of the two other boys. No one spoke as the two retrieved their clothes and dressed themselves. Izuku was busy keeping his gaze trained at one of the boxes in the corner, hoping he wasn't as red outside as he felt. After a few moments, Izuku turned toward the sound of Aizawa taking off his shoes and stepping up into the room. The man sat himself down on one side of the center-table, retrieving take-out boxes from the plastic bag he held, arranging them neatly on the table – one on each side.
"Todoroki, if you could be so kind as to fetch us something to drink. Bakugou, there're some materials in the drawer near the television. Fix the door. Midoriya, come sit with me."
The stern tone in Aizawa's voice suggested it wasn't so much a friendly invitation rather than an order, and all three boys followed. Midoriya sat wordlessly across Aizawa. It was a few minutes before Todoroki came back, with a tray of glasses and pitcher of juice that he set down on the table, before taking his place on his own side of the table. The blonde boy – Bakugou – glowered by the porch, working with nimble fingers to try to mend the large hole he'd kicked through the door. If the tension weren't so palpable, Izuku might have laughed – Aizawa hadn't even had to guess that it was the blonde boy that shattered the door, and the blonde hadn't seen it fit to argue.
Aizawa was giving him a quizzical look – whether to gauge Izuku's reaction to everything that had happened, or to dare him to break the silence, he wasn't sure. Still, the silence was making him restless, he just wished someone would start explaining things to him. He decided to take the older man's maybe-challenge to speak, but starting with something…less severe.
"You have a wonderful home," he said with a smile, kicking himself mentally because, really, that's how you open?
It must not have been a terrible choice, Izuku sighed, when Aizawa snorted out a laugh. The man seemed to relax, busying himself with disassembling his bento box, sorting through it with his chop sticks. Todoroki seemed less than relieved however, still sitting shock still on the side adjacent to Izuku. There was a slight chill in the air, and Izuku wondered whether it was Todoroki or the fact that the room currently had one less wall than usual.
"You've met Bakugou, then," Aizawa said, cutting through the tension. The blonde boy huffed from where he was crouched. Izuku swallowed, before chuckling nervously.
"It's nice to meet you, Bakugou."
The blonde winced as his name came out of Izuku's lips. What is this guy's problem with me?
"I understand you likely have a lot of questions, so let me explain some things first. You can ask for clarifications after."
That seemed to have gotten Todoroki's attention. The boy quickly turned from his unopened food, shooting a skeptical glare at his cousin. "In the mood for sharing, are we?" his classmate's tone almost threatening.
"Aren't I always?"
Aizawa didn't seem the least bit impressed by Todoroki's warning. He instead looked at Izuku, and Izuku nodded dumbly in agreement. "Good, where to start then?" Aizawa asked himself, stroking his chin.
The man spoke for quite some time, and it took a minute after he finished for Izuku to process everything he was told. By the end, Izuku had learned two things –
First, that Aizawa, Todoroki, and Bakugou were all related, part of some big family.
Fine, nothing too out of the ordinary with that one, never mind that none of them seem to resemble each other, maybe it's just a very big family.
Second, that a select number in their family were cursed to turn into the animals of the zodiac upon sufficient physical contact with either someone who was of the opposite sex, or someone who was quirkless.
Todoroki looked constipated after Aizawa had explained that. Even Bakugou took time out of his renovation project to look at his cousin like he had grown a second head. Aizawa kept his gaze trained at Izuku, and Izuku would be lying if he didn't find the stare from the man's half-dead eyes intimidating. Still, he did his best to chew through the second bit of information.
A curse?
Izuku liked to think that he kept an open mind – after all, in a world full of quirks, anything seemed possible – but…an ancient zodiac curse was…a bit…
"…Ridiculous."
Izuku didn't mean to say it out loud, but it wasn't the first (nor would it be the last) time he'd put his foot in his mouth today. He heard what sounded like a breath of relief from the two other boys. Aizawa just raised a brow at him.
"What makes it so hard to believe?" the man challenged.
Izuku slowly let his hands drop back on the table, gathering his bearings. He probably should put more thought into his next words, or, at least more thought than just blurting out the first things that came to mind. Aizawa looked like he was expecting something from Izuku, but what it was, he couldn't tell.
"Well…a curse just seems a bit...excessive…You're pulling my leg, right? I mean, these could just be your quirks…" Izuku drifted off, wondering why he was the one trying to convince Aizawa the story was ridiculous.
There was an edge to the way Aizawa kept eye contact with Izuku's as he rebutted. "There have never been any recorded incidences of people having multiple quirks that were completely unrelated. Also, identical abilities arising in related but mostly disjoint bloodlines goes against all understanding of quirks. If that weren't enough, transformations triggered not by the person's choice could hardly be considered their own quirk, even if – "
"Why are you trying so hard to convince him?"
The blonde's gruff voice rang through the apartment as all eyes went to him. Izuku wasn't surprised that the boy had interrupted – throughout Aizawa's attempt at arguing with Izuku, he could feel the tension building up in both Bakugou and Todoroki, and the blonde was clearly the more temperamental of the two. There was something desperate about his expression as his posture seemed stopped just short of tackling Aizawa; he looked like a completely different person than the one who was loudly stomping around the room less than an hour ago. For a second, Izuku imagined what Bakugou must have looked like in his youth, wearing a similar face of quiet distress. He found it wasn't an image he wanted to keep thinking about.
Izuku could see Bakugou trying to moderate his breath – keeping himself calm, his mind added - his posture sinking just the slightest as he exhaled. With a steadier tone, he continued.
"Why are you trying so hard to convince him, when we all know there's an easier way to deal with this?"
Izuku felt Todoroki freeze up beside him – not just figuratively – as their corner of the room suddenly felt a lot colder than before.
"You know that's not our decision to make," Todoroki's voice answered, cool and distant. There was something downright confrontational about the way he looked at Bakugou now, so different from the dismissive looks he'd given the blonde thus far. The look Bakugou shot back was no less severe, and Izuku knew if things didn't calm down, they'd come to blows again, and their earlier scuffle would seem childish in comparison.
An easier way to deal with this…This? Were they talking about him? Curse or no, surely every family would have its secrets…They meant a real family right, not like a crime family –
Izuku tried to be discreet as he looked around. The blonde definitely looked like the criminal type, and Izuku didn't have to squint too hard to see it in Aizawa too. Todoroki didn't seem the type, but then again, it was always the quiet ones…was Todoroki trying to freeze him onto the floor so he wouldn't escape?
Izuku swallowed. He tried raising his hands weakly, hoping to appear unthreatening.
Keep your head, Izuku. Don't make them want to kill –
There was a cough from across him, and Izuku just missed the chuckle it masked.
"We're not a syndicate, that's not what Bakugou was talking about," Aizawa said, not bothering to hide the amusement on his face.
Izuku refused to relax – this afternoon was proving a bit too much for him. Come to think of it, he was at a lone house in the middle of the forest, sat in a room with two strangers, and one classmate who may as well have been a stranger too…not to mention one of the strangers attacked them by surprise not too long ago…exactly what was he supposed to make of the situation?
"Regardless of what you meant though," Aizawa said, addressing Bakugou directly, "Todoroki's right. It's not our decision to make – I'll have to go to the main house tomorrow and ask him about this."
Izuku saw Todoroki flinch at the mention of him, and Izuku briefly wondered who that might have been referring to. Still, Aizawa's agreement seemed to have been enough to mollify Todoroki, and the boy looked away from Bakugou with a tired sigh as the temperature around them normalized. It took a few more seconds of Aizawa giving Bakugou a stony stare before the blonde backed away as well, choosing to continue with his handy at the door.
"Either way," Aizawa continued, looking back at Izuku, "the curse is true, and the convenience of truth is that it remains so, whether one chooses to believe it or not." Aizawa put down his chopsticks, and took a sip from his porcelain cup. "What does matter, however, is your situation, Midoriya. Todoroki told me you've been living in the tent, which has since been destroyed."
With everything that had just happened, Izuku had almost forgotten about what led him to this place to begin with. Izuku decided to take a sip from his own cup, buying himself some time to think of what he was going to say next. He didn't have the chance to say anything, though, as Aizawa spoke again before he had even brought his cup back on to the table.
"It would be irresponsible of me to send such a young man to live out in the wilderness alone, so I'd like to invite you to stay here for the time being. It's not permanent of course, just one more thing I'd have to sort out at the main house."
Izuku's gut reaction would have been to stand up, thank Aizawa for the offer, and politely decline, but Izuku froze when Todoroki shot him a look that was so….un-Todoroki. He almost looked…hopeful? The other boy seemed just as shocked too, quickly looking back down on the table with his more traditional blank look. Aizawa stifled a soft laugh as he went back to his lunch.
He chewed over the situation in his mind – and while he realized it was a very good offer since he didn't really have a tent to live in anymore, it seemed too good to be true. Was it really a good idea to just accept the offer to live with a bunch of strange men? Considering his other options, he replied with a sigh.
"That's very kind of you, and I'm very thankful, but only for a few days – I'd hate to impose any more than I already have."
That seemed to satisfy Aizawa, who absently nodded in agreement, busy picking at the vegetables in his box. For a while, they sat at the table silently, each eating from their own boxes, until Bakugou had apparently decided he'd worked enough or the time being, and plopped down on the side across Todoroki, opening his own bento box.
"How did you even know to get four boxes?" Todoroki asked as he arranged his now mostly empty lunch container. Izuku found himself wondering how much bad blood there was between Todoroki and Bakugou since the way Todoroki asked Aizawa about that did little to hide his disgust. Something Todoroki had said the previous day came to mind - "Cats are horrible, angry creatures. They don't deserve your pity." – and Izuku found himself wondering if maybe their ancient curse was real.
Aizawa perked up at the question, offering them all an unnerving smirk. "I knew he was coming – though to be fair, I thought he was going to arrive yesterday. I saw that little drawing you left, but where had you gotten off to?"
The blonde looked disgruntled by the attention being placed on him, and he turned his head to the side.
"I – " the blonde stammered, "I had things to do."
Aizawa raised a brow at him, and the blonde noticed it too, getting fired up.
"What!? I have a life too!"
Izuku couldn't help but snort, and he wondered if Bakugou was always so easy to rile up.
"You! Broccoli head! Are you laughing at me?"
Broccoli head? Izuku ran his fingers through his messy green curls. It was Aizawa's turn to snort.
"Now, now, Bakugou, you've hurt his feelings. No need to get so – "
"I'm not mad! You're just fucking – "
Aizawa cleared his throat, interrupting Bakugou.
"Todoroki, would you show Midoriya to the guest room at the far end of the upper hall? I'd like to speak to our cousin privately."
Todoroki nodded, and signaled Midoriya to follow him. Midoriya did, but not before hearing the blonde grumbling about stupid cousins and damn quirkless nerds.
Izuku walked silently beside Todoroki as the boy led him to what would be his room, at least for the time being. His eyes darted back and forth, marveling at the house. Sure, it wasn't some grand villa, but it was a lot larger than it looked from the outside. Also, there was something elegant about its simplicity – the walls of polished dark wood that made up the house seemed like it was teleported through time, preserved from some long-lost era.
Long-lost era, Izuku mused, maybe an ancient curse isn't so crazy after all.
The went up through a dimly lit stairway, and, upon arriving at the top landing, Izuku couldn't stop himself from gawking at what he saw.
A large wall housing an equally large painting of what could only have been the animals of the Chinese zodiac. Izuku paused, taking a moment to appreciate the work. It was…marvelous. Whoever made this had to have spent hours of labor. The scene depicted a garden, during what was probably meant to be spring, judging by the thick green trees in the background. All twelve animals were enjoying each other's company, with the image of their god looking on from the sky – long locks of warm white hair framing a kind, androgynous face. There was something in the corner, something that looked like it was creeping in from a dark spot in the forest, but before Izuku could take a closer look, he heard Todoroki's deep voice.
"Do you like it?"
Izuku turned to look at his companion, stood just a few paces ahead of him. The boy's sturdy expression betrayed some unease – was he nervous? To be fair, given everything that had happened today, being ill at ease seemed reasonable.
"Yeah, it's…it's…" Midoriya stammered, at an honest loss for words on how to describe the painting. He settled on giving an awed sigh and a smile, hoping Todoroki would be able to make meaning out of them. Luckily, Todoroki seemed to get the message. The answer seemed to satisfy him, and he looked like he released some of the tension in his posture.
"Aizawa's very good at painting," Todoroki whispered, almost too quickly, avoiding Izuku's gaze. After a pause, Todoroki slowly looked at him again and spoke.
"So…do you believe what Aizawa told you? About the curse, I mean?"
Izuku wondered at that himself. The painting was just more proof that Todoroki's family had some sort of obsession with zodiac art and symbolism, though if decorative obsession was enough evidence for an ancient curse, he wasn't sure.
"To be honest, I'm thinking maybe it's not as ridiculous as I initially thought," Izuku wondered if that was the right thing to say, "but if it's true, your secret is safe with me." Izuku made a fist in front of his chest, hoping Todoroki could feel that he was being earnest. Regardless of whether Todoroki's family was under some sort of curse or not, they were offering him help even when he hadn't asked – it wouldn't be right to repay their kindness with anything less than his best. Todoroki nodded, and turned away.
"Alright," he said plainly, "let's keep going."
They walked a few feet until Todoroki stopped in front of a door at the end of the hallway just across the mural. He reached toward the handle and pushed it open, beckoning for Izuku to follow him inside with. The room was mostly empty – pushed on the far-end wall was a wooden bedframe holding a decent-sized mattress. There was a nightstand on one side, and on the other, in front of a large window, was a desk with a chair and drawers. There was a dresser on the right-side wall, with an empty bookshelf beside it.
"This is where you'll be staying," Todoroki said, pointedly not looking at Izuku, "there are probably clean linens in the closet over there, and you're free to put your stuff where you please."
Todoroki continued to talk Izuku through the house rules, but Izuku was busy trying to figure Todoroki's behavior out. He was getting just a bit frustrated because of how difficult to read Todoroki had been – if it wasn't death glares, it would be these strange, almost-too-familiar-for-Izuku's-liking looks, and if it wasn't those, it's like Todoroki didn't even want to look at him at all, just like now.
"Todoroki."
That seemed to surprise the boy, abruptly cutting off his monologue on bathroom usage (Izuku would have to ask him to repeat everything he said later, hopefully when he had a pen and some paper). Izuku had second thoughts about continuing, but as with things that had concerned Todoroki in the last twenty-four hours, in for a penny –
"Do you have a problem with me?"
Izuku winced at the sound of his own voice. Even to his ears it sounded much blunter than he would have preferred. Still, he figured that was better than the alternative – if he tried to skirt around the issue, he knew himself well enough to know he'd likely yap for a few minutes before losing track of the conversation all together. If they were going to live together, even for a few days, Izuku didn't want there to be issues he didn't know about, so he figured it was best to iron things out as soon as possible.
"What do you mean?"
Todoroki looked confused, still refusing to meet Izuku's gaze. Izuku kept himself steady, trying to figure out how to explain the rest without things getting too confrontational.
"I just," Izuku started, absently letting some of his hesitation break through, "it's just, for the longest time, all I've known you to do was glare at me, and then suddenly you help me out, and then there have been times in the past day that it seems like you just…can't even look at me, and I really have to wonder if…if maybe my being here is an issue? I don't know what it is that I've ever done to you, but if my being here is a bother, I'd just like to clear things up…I know I agreed to what Aizawa said, but if it was really a big issue to you – "
"Midoriya."
Todoroki's deep voice pulled Izuku out of his slight rampage. His eyes were stinging a bit but, no, these are my issues, not his.
"I…I've never glared at you," Todoroki said, looking sincerely perplexed. Izuku gaped.
Is Todoroki suffering amnesia? Does the animal transformation affect brain capacity? In what world could Todoroki ever claim with full confidence that he hadn't spent the better part of the last year burning holes through my skull?
"You….you've never glared at me," Izuku repeated slowly. Todoroki nodded, now looking at Izuku with what almost looked like concern.
He probably thinks I've been imagining things. But that's – that's not possible! Literally everybody knows glaring at me is the only hobby he seems to have. Am I supposed to believe that was just Todoroki's default expression?
There were a few moments of silence – Izuku dumbfounded and unable to think of a follow up, and Todoroki just looking intently, maybe trying to remember a time when he had glared at Izuku. Izuku waited for Todoroki to say something – anything – hoping that he would find even just one instance in his memories, it shouldn't be that hard –
"No, I'm certain I've never glared at you."
So, yes, apparently Izuku was supposed to believe Todoroki's gaze was just naturally unfriendly, and always naturally trained toward him.
Izuku wondered if there was anything he could say to steer the issue without sounding overly sensitive as to the way Todoroki looked at him. That made him swallow – maybe I should just spend less effort paying attention to how he looks at me?
His classmate offered no explanations, no further commentaries, satisfied to let Izuku decide on his own, it seemed. Izuku briefly considered arguing some more, but thought it would be better to drop it for now, and figure it out later. At least he learned one thing – if Todoroki were being as honest as he seemed, then he wasn't out to kill him by glares, and didn't even seem to be aware of what he was doing. Izuku sighed softly, and raised one hand, offering Todoroki a meek smile.
"Okay, forget I said anything," Izuku started, and before he could think any better of it, he soldiered on. "Maybe just smile more?" He brightened his smile as best as his could, his eyes crinkling enough for him to miss the pink tint that flashed across Todoroki's face. He couldn't help but break into laughter when he opened his as, strangely enough, Todoroki seemed to try to follow his advice immediately, morphing his face into what Izuku thought might be a smile - but it was all teeth, mildly robotic, and extremely off-putting (There's the family resemblance with Aizawa). Todoroki seemed only momentarily disappointed that his attempt at smiling was being laughed at, but before he could comment on it, both their attentions were snatched by a loud explosion, the sound of wood shattering, and a string of expletives being shouted from the floor below.
Three guesses who, Izuku thought. He and Todoroki shared a look of understanding before they walked quickly back down to see what Bakugou's commotion this time was about.
"Motherfucker! Let me blow something up!"
"What has my door ever done to you?"
Izuku heard Todoroki sigh beside him. The door Bakugou had just finished mending was, yet again, scattered through the room. Aizawa, deadpan as his tone was, had his gaze trained at Bakugou, his eyes glowing an unsettling shade of red (where have I seen that before?), long black hair raised around his head like some demonic halo. The blonde kept trying to make motions with his hands, as if he was calling on his explosions to come out, but none did.
"I'll only stop once you sit down." Aizawa said calmly.
"I'll stop once you tell me you're goddamn joking!"
Todoroki stepped forward, and spoke. "What's going on?"
"This old man's pulling my leg!"
Aizawa sighed, but didn't blink. Don't his eyes hurt?
"Bakugou's mad because I enrolled him in your school."
"You did what?" Todoroki's exasperated shout caught all of them by surprise, it seemed, and it was only a moment later that Bakugou was letting out loud explosions at the front lawn. Aizawa sighed, probably satisfied enough to let Bakugou go at it so long as he wasn't blowing the house up.
"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you're not too pleased, either, Todoroki."
Aizawa stood up and walked to the porch, before shouting to Bakugou.
"It wasn't my decision, you wild child. It was Shigaraki's."
The silence was sharp and abrupt as it came. Bakugou froze midway through punching into an explosion. Even Todoroki looked disgruntled. Shigaraki – not a name I've heard before – probably someone important in their family if his decisions had weight? Was he the him from earlier?
Izuku watched as the blonde's hands dropped slowly, along with the boy's head, his gaze only pausing briefly as he noticed a bracelet of brown prayer beads on the boy's wrist. He didn't seem like the prayerful type, but who am I to judge?
Bakugou's tone was dark when he next spoke. "What game is he playing at?"
Todoroki looked grimly at the distance, and maybe Izuku would ask him later who this Shigaraki was if just mentioning his name brought this kind of gloom. Aizawa shrugged. "I don't know, but he told me it was a game you set up."
There was a shout from outside, and Izuku realized it was Bakugou screaming into the forest, back to letting explosions fly free from his limbs.
"That little bitch! That asshole thinks he can play me? Fine, I'll show him!"
"So long as you fix the door before tomorrow," Aizawa said with a sigh, turning to Izuku and Todoroki. "Ah, Midoriya, I take it Todoroki's shown you your room?"
Midoriya nodded, wondering if they were just going to ignore the angry boy making fireworks outside the house. Aizawa seemed to notice his concern, and shook his head slowly.
"Just let him be, he'll get tired eventually."
Midoriya nodded again, pushing away the part of him that wanted to find out why the blonde always seemed so angry, at least for now.
The rest of the day was comparatively quiet. It was around half an hour before Bakugou got tired from his tantrum, and by the time the sun had set, he was sulking quietly at the half-fixed doorway. Izuku, at times, wanted to sit next to the boy and help him mend it, but every time he so much as looked like he was going to approach, the blonde gave him a warning look and hissed.
Hissed! Who does that?
Dinner was also uneventful, and for that Izuku was grateful. Aizawa had taken the liberty of having food called in, and Izuku wondered if none of the others could cook – he hoped it wasn't the case because neither could he, and he wasn't looking forward to starving. Todoroki helped him bring the boxes of his belonging up to his new room, as well as set up the linens for his bed. They didn't talk much, but Izuku noticed the way Todoroki's expression seemed just a touch softer than he'd gotten used to seeing. He thought he might have even caught the boy trying to practice smiling while he thought Izuku wasn't paying attention.
Izuku was finding there were many things that Todoroki had done that he should be thankful for. Aside from getting the papers from school he needed for the week, he'd also taken the liberty of charging Izuku's phone. Izuku hadn't opened it all day, however, figuring it'd probably be full of messages from Iida or Uraraka, and he wanted to clean himself up first before dealing with them.
He stepped into his room – and it was strange saying that it was his room, really – damp curls dripping onto the towel draped over his shoulder. He was grateful that a lot of his clothes were inside bags and didn't get too dirty in the landslide – he'd ask Todoroki or Aizawa to show him his former camping site in the next few days to see if there were still things he could salvage. He tugged on a light grey shirt, relishing in the feeling of freshness he hadn't felt all week, and, with a sigh, sat down on the bed and turned his phone on.
He felt a tad bit guilty that he had waited this long to talk to his friends, since he was sure they would already be fussing, but it had been a long and very strange day. Moments after his phone booted, it buzzed incessantly as message after message finally came in, all of them expressing varying levels of concern from Uraraka and Iida. Izuku smiled softly to himself, glad to have people that cared for him like they do. He opened their group chat and started typing.
Midoriya Izuku: hey guys, im still alive no worries. Was a bit sick last night but feeling much better now ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
Uraraka Ochaco: IZUKU! WE WERE SO WORRIED!
Iida Tenya: Yes, we were most concerned. I admit I was quite surprised when it was Todoroki of all people that spoke up for you.
Uraraka Ochaco: MmmMmmMmMmM
Uraraka Ochaco: WHAT'S GOING ON
Izuku hesitated. He was probably going to have to come clean about what had happened – leaving the turning into animals bit out, obviously – but he figured it would be better to tell his friends he'd been living in a tent and was now staying with Todoroki in person rather than through text.
Midoriya Izuku: its kind of a long story
Midoriya Izuku: promise ill tell you tomorrow?
Midoriya Izuku: im rly tired now ლ(｡-﹏-｡ ლ)
Uraraka Ochako: MmmMmmMmMmM
Uraraka Ochako: MmmMmmMmMmM
Uraraka Ochako: MmmMmmMmMmM
Uraraka Ochako: Fine but u better tell us
Uraraka Ochako: And I better see ur butt in school tomorrow! ୧༼✿ ͡◕ д ◕͡ ༽୨
Iida Tenya: Yes, it would be most unfortunate to miss so many days of school this early in the semester.
Iida Tenya: I will pray for your swift recovery, Izuku!
Iida Tenya: Rest well!
Uraraka Ochako: GOOD NIGHT!
Uraraka Ochako: (◞ꈍ∇ꈍ)◞⋆**✚⃞
Midoriya Izuku: (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧
Midoriya couldn't help but laugh to himself – his friends were ridiculous, and he loved them immensely. He was lucky they let him off the hook tonight, though he'd have to think of a convincing version of his story to tell them tomorrow – one that won't make Uraraka want to bury him in a landslide herself. He sighed to himself, and reached to put his phone down on the bedside table, before his hand hit something.
Huh, there wasn't anything here before I showered.
He sat up, and looked at the table, wondering why he hadn't noticed the parcel laying on it. He took it in his hands, almost dropping it with surprise as he immediately recognized the weight and feel of his mother's picture wrapped underneath an extra layer of brown paper. There was a small white sheet taped onto the back too, and sprawled, in illegible kanji with what seemed like a red crayon:
'Here you go. This is for you.'
Izuku's heart fluttered, and he could feel himself tearing up. He wondered briefly – who found this? How? I thought it had been lost to the landslide?
The only person he even brought this up with was…Todoroki? Had Todoroki looked for it without him telling Izuku that afternoon? Todoroki was the only one who knew about it, so that was the only explanation! He absently wiped at his damp eyes, wondering why Todoroki would do something like that. Izuku wondered if he was making up for those months of not-glaring at Izuku. He hugged the wrapped picture close to his chest, letting himself imagine it was his mom for just a brief second, before catching himself with a steady breath.
He set the parcel down on the table, settling himself under the covers soon after. He'd figure out a way to thank Todoroki in the morning.
Autumn Leaves, Chet Baker and Paul Desmond: watch?v=Gsz3mrnIBd0