Chapter 2 : Beginning II
Third Period. It was another physical training class with All Might. As Class 1A gathered in the training hall, waiting for their teacher to arrive, Midoriya couldn't help but avoid eye contact with Bakugo. He could feel the boy's piercing gaze on his back. If only looks could kill…was Bakugo really pissed off because Todoroki wanted to go to the movies with him? It seemed like a weird thing to get angry about given that Bakugo had never really cared whether Midoriya went out to the movies with Iida or Uraraka.
As Midoriya was lost in his musings, the door to the training hall opened and a familiar booming voice greeted all the students.
"HAVE NO FEAR FOR I AM HERE…TO TAKE YOUR CLASS TODAY!" All Might strode into the room, his confident smile plastered on his face. "We'll be pairing you all up today for an endurance training. Now gather around so I can pair you all up."
Midoriya shuffled his feet forward. He wished that the pairs weren't already decided. That just meant that there was a one in twentieth chance of him being paired up with Bakugo and he did not want that currently. There was just a slim chance of that…right? All Might knew how strained his relationship with Bakugo was. He wouldn't actually intentionally pair them up, right? Of course he wouldn't…
"Iida with Hagakure, Kirishima with Todoroki, Jirou with Kaminari…"
But then again, what would be the point of avoiding Bakugo? It's not like Midoriya did anything wrong. Bakugo had chosen to ignore Midoriya ever since they started attending U.A together. While that was a considerable improvement from the bullying he had to endure in middle school, it didn't necessarily sit well with him. Somehow, it felt like the distance between them had increased tenfold than what it was during their middle school days.
"…and our final pair is Bakugo and Midoriya! Now get on with your training everyone. Remember you're second years now and you need to hone your quirks and make them more versatile. Begin!"
…All Might how could you! I trusted you! Izuku sent an accusing glare towards All Might.
Now now young Midoriya. This is for your own good. All Might's knowing glance seemed to reply back.
My own good? How is me being murdered in the training hall of U.A. good for me?! Midoriya stared at All Might with disbelief.
You're being over-dramatic. Bakugo won't harm you…I think. Anyway, get on with class. All Might gave him a discreet thumbs up before breaking their eye contact and surveying the other students.
"Hey you fucking nerd! Why the hell are you staring at space? You think you're too good to train with me? Huh?!" Bakugo's voice broke Midoriya out of his spiralling thoughts of doom. Well…he'll just have to make the best of his situation.
"It's not that, Kacchan. Ummm so what do you wanna try? Hand-to-hand combat? Quirk endurance?" asked Midoriya.
"Combat…with quirks. Come on Deku, let me have a go at that new move of yours that you've been showing off," snarled Bakugo.
Midoriya frowned. "You mean Full Cowl Shoot Style? I'm not sure that's a very good idea given that we are inside an enclosed area. I'm still having trouble controlling my power and…"
"Well that's the whole fucking point of this training isn't it you dimwit? Or…" Bakugo's voice dropped a few notches, poison seeping into his words. "…is it that you don't think I'm worthy of being your partner? You saving your quirk for that half-and-half bastard is that it? Best friends you two are, aren't you now?"
Midoriya was lost. "Why are you bringing up Todoroki in this? Kacchan you've been acting weird since this morning. Are you alright?"
"Don't you dare fucking patronize me Deku. Let's get this started." Bakugo snarled before launching into his attack.
Midoriya blocked the first volley of incoming attacks. He had spent enough time observing Bakugo to know his attack patterns. Bakugo was nothing but resilient in his attacks. He kept on attacking Midoriya, intent on not giving the boy any time to come up with an offensive strategy, he needed to keep him on the defensive. Time went by. It was as if they had entered a world of their own. None of the other students mattered. Trading blow for blow, it was almost a stalemate. Midoriya was becoming a little frustrated. How long was he going to be on the defensive? There would be no end to their match unless he could figure out a way to one-up Bakugo. Just like he knew Bakugo's trademark moves, Bakugo too knew Midoriya's. And he was blocking him on every front to go offensive.
"What is it Deku? Getting tired? You're slacking off on me?" shouted Bakugo and he dodged Midoriya's fist and leapt up in the air. Taking advantage of Midoriya's momentary surprise, he took aim. "My win." Bakugo smiled as he let out an explosion.
Midoriya didn't have time to dodge. The brightness from the explosion right in front of his face blinded him as he felt the heat getting closer.
I knew I was gonna die… were his last thoughts as his consciousness faded away.
Midoriya awoke to a familiar white ceiling above him. It calmed him down. Considering the number of times he had been to see Recovery Girl in the infirmary since his first year at U.A, he thought he really should have some kind of VIP status now.
"I see you're awake, Midoriya-kun," Recovery Girl said as she hummed a tune, sitting in her chair, jotting down something in what looked like a medical record. "You see this? This is your medical file. I have to admit, out of my many years in U.A. you are the only person for whom I've had to make two new files. Try not to fill them in so quickly now would you?"
"Ummmm...I'm sorry?" replied back Midoriya, a little embarrassed.
"Well it's not completely your fault this time. Can you sit up?" asked Recovery Girl, closing the file.
Midoriya tried moving his body. It was a little sore but nothing he couldn't manage. "Yup. So…what happened? How long was I passed out for this time?"
"Just a few hours. You only missed the rest of the day's classes but I'm sure your friends took down notes for you. Now…how is your eyesight?" asked Recovery Girl as she leaned forward to observe Midoriya's eyes.
"I think they are fine. I'm not having any foggy vision or anything," replied back Midoriya as he tried to focus on random things in the infirmary to test out his eyes.
"That's good. You took the blast straight to your face. Luckily you closed your eyes out of reflex so they aren't damaged but I would still like to keep you under observation for a day. You hit your head pretty badly due to the rebound."
"Okay. Umm do you know what happened to Kacch- I mean Bakug.."
A knock on the infirmary door interrupted Midoriya.
"Ah! That's probably Todoroki-kun," said Recovery Girl. "The door's open, come in."
The door opened and sure enough standing there was Todoroki. He swiftly crossed the room and stood next to Midoriya's bed. "You're awake. Iida and Uraraka wanted to drop by too but they had some classroom duties to take care of first. How are you?"
"I'm fine Todoroki-kun. I only...ummm why are you looking at me like that?" trailed off Midoriya.
"Like what?"
"That withering gaze you're giving me!"
"Ah…I was just thinking that you certainly look chippy for a person who's in the infirmary after getting blasted."
Chippy…? Did people even use that word anymore? Deciding not to question Todoroki's choice of words, Midoriya smiled. "Well I don't have really grave injuries or anything. So there's nothing to worry about."
"Your clear lack in the sense of self-preservation is what worries me the most. Anyway," Todoroki turned towards Recovery Girl. "How long does he need to be here?"
"Well I'll need to run some standard tests but he should be up and running by tomorrow," replied Recovery Girl. "You can stay as long as you want Todoroki-kun. Now excuse me, I have to hand in some documents to the Principal."
Once they were alone, Todoroki sat down on Midoriya's bed. "All Might took Bakugo away after training ended. He came back halfway through the next period all sulking and clearly pissed off."
Midoriya could feel the tenseness in Todoroki. His shoulders were stiff and the cold anger and disapproval radiating off of him wasn't hard to notice. Trying to lighten the mood, Midoriya chuckled and said, "Well isn't that just how Kacchan always is?"
"It's not funny Midoriya. He could have seriously injured you."
"But Kacchan didn't. He held back. If he hadn't I wouldn't have escaped with such minor injuries. Besides I think he wasn't feeling well tod..."
"Why do you keep on defending him?! I thought he had improved his attitude a bit but this is exactly how he used to behave in our first year. I understand that you have the patience of a saint Midoriya but this is ridiculous," Todoroki couldn't contain the anger in his voice as the words left his mouth. He was angry.
Midoriya lowered his eyes and wrapped his arms around himself, as if he was trying to not let the sadness he felt inside surface. "Then what do you expect me to do Todoroki-kun? I…I know Kacchan hates me…I've….known it for a long time. But…I just can't hate him. I…I…lo…"
Todoroki's arms enveloped Midoriya. "I'm sorry. I made you upset." His right hand made soothing circular motions on Midoriya's back. "I didn't mean to make you upset. I just…can't stand it when Bakugo hurts you. And…you don't even protest which makes me even more frustrated. I shouldn't have taken it out on you Izuku. I'm sorry."
Midoriya almost melted into Todoroki's embrace, the fatigue kicking in again, before he jolted away from the embrace. "Todoroki-kun….d-d-did you just c-call me I-Izuku?!"
Todoroki immediately realized what he had blurted out as his eyes widened and the pace at which his face went from normal to bright red intrigued Midoriya. He would have to make a note of that later.
"Ah I uh…didn't realize…you probably didn't like it ummm….I'm sorry I won't…"
Before Todoroki could manage to hyperventilate to death, Midoriya grabbed his face and turned it towards him, forcing Todoroki to look right into his eyes. They were sparkling with excitement.
"I don't mind at all Todoroki-kun! It just surprised me a bit. I haven't had a friend call me Izuku in such a long time. It felt so good hearing that from you Todoroki-kun…ah but…in that case…can I call you Shouto?"
Do not set the bed on fire. Do not set the bed on fire. Do not set the bed on fire… "I'd like that…Izuku."
Todoroki was falling…he was falling really hard for Midoriya.
A/N : We're at the second chapter people! Bakugo get your shit together. Todoroki...you gayness is too obvious XD XD Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It's a bit frustrating when you have the whole plotline planned already but getting there takes so long and you just wanna...ugh...get to the good parts already. But we're still at the beginning of their story so you'll have to wait patiently with me...even though I myself am not a very patient person :P
Hey superpants! I'm glad to see you back on another fic of mine! NanamiYoru and Shiranai Atsune, thank you for joining me on this journey. I hope you'll have a fun ride!
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