CHAPTER 17
Inasa wrapped his arms around the two guys and forcefully dragged them inside our classroom. "Instead of creating trouble again, why don't you check our maid cafe first? Yuri should be able to do her work without any distractions. We need to earn money today. You hear me?"
The sound of bickering faded as the trio made their way inside our class. I was thankful that Inasa managed to stop Shoto and Bakugo before causing any more distress. Our maid cafe just opened minutes before we arrived. I carried on with my assigned duty and served food to students visiting our booth. More people stopped by than I expected which made me very busy. Even though I was wrapped up in managing and going around our booth, my head was equally preoccupied. I still can't get over Shoto and Bakugo's exchange of words earlier. What has gotten into Shoto? If he wasn't careful with his actions, our marriage might get found out. It's not something people should know so I'd rather be mum about it. And Bakugo? He never used to react like that. What is going on? Was Inasa right? Am I really that dense? Or am I just overthinking? Argh!
THUD.
"Sorahiko-chan? Are you alright?" A classmate asked me as I unconsciously slammed the tray I was holding on the counter.
"Oh... I'm sorry! I think I'm just tired walking in circles." I sat down and rested my elbow on the table in front of me.
"Well, it figures. I'm already expecting that we'd get a lot of visitors today because of you and Yoarashi-kun. But it doubled up since Todoroki and Bakugo are here. It was nice of them to help with the stamp cards, though."
My gaze traveled to Shoto and Bakugo. Inasa somehow convinced them to help out rather than just being idle. I wasn't able to chat with them the moment I entered the classroom since we were so swamped. The rest of UA have already visited and were jeering at the two boys non-stop. Luckily, I had time for a brief chat but had to let them go after. They wanted to roam around the school. After what seemed like a rush hour, the visitors gradually dispersed. I saw Inasa inviting Shoto and Bakugo to go somewhere, but it was just the spiky blonde he had persuaded to come with him. I walked to their direction to ask where he was taking him.
"Yu-chan! I'm taking Bakugo with me! He wants to check out the other heroes class!" Inasa forcefully dragged him out again. I could hear Bakugo murmuring something but Inasa clasped his hand against his mouth.
"Oh okay. Have fun then!" I waved them goodbye. Once they're gone, I placed a bottle of soda and an onigiri in front of Shoto. He seemed tired.
"That's not the best food on our menu, but I can pack one for you later." I smiled and sat beside him.
"Thanks!" He opened the soda right away and took a sip. He held the can in one hand and looked at me. "Seems like Shiketsu wasn't a bad choice."
I stared at his differently colored eyes. He still has that same soft look. I can confidently say that we were able to rekindle our friendship. "Hey, we are the best school in the West! Of course attending Shiketsu is a good choice."
"Not as good as UA, though." Shoto chuckled. I smirked at him. "Although, I think it would have been better if we attended UA together. Come to think of it, we never went to the same school."
"Yeah, you're right. It was a good thing though. I can't imagine myself being the center of all the hate from your fan girls. I've had enough from Inasa already." I laughed.
"Fan girls?" Shoto chuckled. I curiously looked at him. "If we did attend the same high school, I'd let them know right away that I'm going to marry you. I was hoping you would choose UA before. I was upset when I heard that you chose Shiketsu. But that's all in the past, so I'm okay with it. If you're happy here, then who am I to say no, right?" Shoto stared at me again waiting for a response.
Did he say he's going to marry me? For the nth time today, my mind was preoccupied. I have never heard Shoto talk so bluntly. He said those words so smoothly yet cautiously. I cleared my throat and internally shook my head.
"Thank you, Shoto. I'm sorry if I was too greedy with my feelings back then. I didn't know you were as hurt as I am." I lowered my head. Why are we having this kind of discussion? It's a good thing that there are not a lot of people right now.
"Are we still going to talk about those things? The important thing is what we have right now." Shoto took a sip from his soda again.
"It's just that sometimes I can't help but feel sentimental. But, you're right! What's important is now." I smiled and opened the onigiri for him.
"Now that I think of it, it's actually better that we are in different schools."
"Huh, why? You were so against it just a minute ago." Shoto got the onigiri, took a bite and swallowed before responding.
"If the two of us were classmates, I would have to worry about you all the time. You said you might get stressed with my 'fan girls', right? I would probably be in trouble with any guy in school who gets near you. You see, I have problems keeping my feelings under control. I can't just let anyone make a move on my future wife. Staying here unbothered while guys get your attention was already a mental torture." Those words glided through Shoto's lips effortlessly. I think I need the whole day to process what he just said. Was he just…
"When did you ever get so good at flirting, Todoroki Shoto?!" I slapped his back with my palm as I forced myself to laugh. Shoto almost choked while eating his food. "That's a good one though!" I pointed at him and slowly stood from my seat.
"You think I was just flirt-"
"Nice try, Shoto-kun! Hey, another batch of students are coming now. Do a good job stamping those cards, okay?!"
"Yu-" Shoto tried to say something but I was already on my way to the counter. Seconds before I left, Bakugo and Inasa has just returned from God knows where. And just like that, we are all back to our busy selves. I tried to distract myself from Shoto's unexpected confession by taking several orders from our customers. Would you even call it a confession? That was all too sudden. While I pretended to be busy, I could still see the dual haired guy gazing in my direction from my peripheral.
"Yu-chan!" Inasa abruptly called for my name and stood beside me.
"What is it?" I replied not looking at him as I placed more food on the tray.
"We ran out of pasta." He whispered.
"WHAT?" I immediately stopped what I was doing and stared at him with wide eyes. Apparently, our pasta was a big hit and now that we ran out of our main ingredient, we won't be able to serve anything.
"We didn't expect this high volume of customers. Should we just tell them that it's out of our menu and serve bread instead?"
"But… There are still a lot of people lined up outside." I was starting to get worried.
"There's a nearby grocery store near here, right? I don't know which pasta-"
"Just stay here. I'll go get it." I removed my apron and grabbed my school coat that I placed at the back of the counter.
"Or should you just use your quirk and make all the people-"
"No! I want this day to be as normal as possible. No quirks, got it?"
"Okay, okay. You take the boys with you. I'll be in charge of the stamping temporarily." Inasa assured me.
"No, I can do it on my-"
"Todoroki, Bakugo!" Before I could even finish, Inasa already called the two UA boys. I'm already feeling uncomfortable towards Shoto and now he wants Bakugo to go with me. "I'm sorry but could you please go with Yu-chan to buy some pasta? It will be quick, I promise." Without any hesitation, they nodded.
"I'm sorry if we needed a little bit of help." I apologized while we were walking towards the school gate.
"There's no need for you to say sorry." Shoto replied. "We were already helping so this is no big deal."
"Thanks!" I tried to avoid eye contact with Shoto. I still feel embarrassed with how I reacted towards him. Bakugo was silent as usual but he didn't look bothered at all which was a relief.
When we were already outside the school, I stopped for a while and contemplated which grocery Inasa was talking about. "Inasa said that there's a grocery nearby. I forgot which way though."
"I think we passed by that store when we were on our way here." Shoto said, looking around. "We should cross the street and turn right."
"No. I think we should turn left. I'm sure we saw it when we were roaming around this area before entering Shiketsu. And hey, taiyaki girl! How can you not know which store? You live near here!" Bakugo argued.
"It's not like I visit that certain store all the time!" I argued back.
"We should go right." Shoto asserted firmly.
"No, left." Bakugo stared down at Shoto.
"Come on, boys. We can just go both ways if we're not sure. Let's cross the road first." I tried to calm them down.
"I'm really sure we have to go right." Shoto insisted.
"I SAID IT'S ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE STREET." Bakugo shouted.
The two boys were busy arguing with each other and attempted to cross the road when I saw an incoming van.
"Hey! Watch out! There's a rushing van in our direction." I stopped them from crossing the street but they didn't mind me and were quarreling non-stop. The van, at the speed of light, was already approaching the duo.
"HEY! I SAID WATCH OUT!" I grabbed both of their collars and unconsciously used my other quirk. Oh no.
At that moment, the van stopped just right in front of them. I was holding on to their collars and a bewildered look from Shoto and Bakugo greeted me. Both of them were shocked by what they saw. People passing by paused in front of them. Everything froze in time. I forcefully grabbed them by the shoulder so that they wouldn't get in the way of the van. After a few seconds, they were back on the sidewalk with me. Things turned back to normal. The rushing van passed by the street effortlessly, not hitting anyone.
"I said, watch out." I let go of them. Their stares are still the same.
"What was that?" Bakugo exclaimed. Shoto was dumbfounded. It was the first time I used my time quirk around other people aside from Inasa.
"Let's just grab that pasta and go back to school. I'll explain everything later." I looked at Shoto. "Let's turn right first, and if we didn't see the store. Let's go left then. Understood?"
The two guys nodded without hesitation. Turns out, Shoto was right. We bought the rest of the things we needed for the cafe. The trip back to school was silent. I was drowned in my thoughts trying to come up with the best explanation possible. Shoto and Bakugo were walking behind me, still confined in curiosity.
The rest of the day passed by just as normal. The class was able to continue serving more food. Shoto and Bakugo helped with the stamp cards for a while but were dragged by their classmates later on. That gave me time to breathe. At least I didn't have to be conscious of their presence. It was around half past three when we closed the cafe. We still have time to go around the other booths. I decided to change into my uniform once we were done cleaning our pretend cafe. Instead of joining my other classmates, I went back to the room and saw Inasa chatting with our other classmates when I entered. I slumped into my chair, rested my head and grabbed my hair.
"Long day, huh? At least we got the job done. How about a high-five, Yu-chan!" Inasa raised his hand. I just stared at it and left it hanging in the air.
"I'm dead…" was all I could say.
"What? What are you talking about?" Inasa grabbed a chair and sat beside me.
"I used my time quirk."
"What happened to 'I want this day to be as normal as possible'?" Inasa started laughing.
"I used my time quirk. Shoto and Bakugo saw me use it."
"WHAAAAAT!" Inasa screamed. The remaining students in our room looked at Inasa in wonder. "Sorry about that everyone! You know me, I exaggerate everything." The buzz cut started to whisper. "How did that happen?"
"They were arguing over the directions to the store. There was an incoming van and I had to stop both of them from crossing the street. And I just used it…unconsciously." I buried my face on my desk.
"Woah… Way to go, Yu-chan. Did you-" Inasa's question was interrupted with a thud from the entrance. It was Shoto. He walked towards our direction. I stared at his mismatched eyes. They seemed calm but looks can always be deceiving.
"Can I talk to Yuri for a while? In private." He addressed Inasa.
"Sure!" Inasa tapped my shoulder and I automatically stood up. Shoto and I walked outside of the room quietly.
"Follow me." I told Shoto and made our way to the rooftop. When we arrived, I closed the door. My head facing the floor. It was silent for a moment. I still haven't composed any decent explanation in my head. The only words I could think of were…
"I'm sorry." I finally faced him but with my eyes closed. I slowly peeked at him and to my surprise, his gaze was as calm as before.
"Why are you apologizing?" Shoto tilted his head to one side.
"Because… I kept that quirk a secret from you?"
"If you did, you might have a good reason. Let's hear it." Shoto leaned against the wall, both his arms crossed. "But first, tell me what that quirk is about. I should know what it is, at least."
"Well… It's a time quirk I inherited from my dad. I can basically freeze time but not for too long." I started explaining to him.
"And those that you're not in physical contact with are the ones affected by your quirk. Is that why Bakugo and I saw everything paused before us?" Shoto was quick to analyze how my quirk works.
"That's right. The thing is, Gran Torino asked me to keep it a secret. He said that it was a threat to All-For-One. You know what he can do with his quirk and it's going to create a lot of trouble if he knew about it, let alone stealing it." Shoto was all ears. I decided to explain further. "My family and I were forced to cut ties. For their own good and mine. I was left under grandpa, All-Might and Enj-san's care."
"Is that why we're in a quirk marriage?" He interrogated me.
"It's part of it. They thought that I'd be safer if I'm married to someone with a strong quirk, and that's when you came into the picture. I promise I was meaning to tell these to you but that incident happened back then." I looked at Shoto waiting for a response. If he gets mad at me, it's fine. But I was actually hoping he would understand. "Are you mad?"
"So, all I need to do is take care of you?"
"Well.." I was taken aback of what he said. It sounded like a mere responsibility to him. Here I am thinking that he actually confessed his feelings to me earlier. "Kind of…?"
"Okay… That sounds good to me." He replied with a smile.
"Huh? I don't understand…"
"If taking care of you and making you feel safe is part of our quirk marriage, I'm happy to oblige." Shoto was slowly walking towards me until we're an inch away from each other. He bent slightly meeting my flushed face. "If all you ever thought was me flirting with you earlier, I might have failed to fully tell you how I feel."
I froze in my place. So… Was it a confession? Or was I just making things up in my head?
"Yuriko, we've been friends for a long time. You always made sure if I was okay. I think it's time for me to do the same thing for you." Shoto continued. "Honestly, I was confused at first until Yoarashi talked to me."
"Inasa?"
"I hated him before because he was too close to you. I felt that I was lagging behind. But it turns out, he's a good person. He's a good friend. Anyway, my point is…" Shoto took a deep breath before continuing. "I realized that I do really care for you."
It's as though time froze. I have been using my quirk for the longest time that I forgot how it seemed from my end. Although this was a normal situation, I was reminded of it today. It was beautiful. My mind was filled with all these thoughts but I couldn't say a thing. I could only stare at this beautiful human before me. Every word that came out of his mouth made my heart skip a beat. Shoto took one more step. He leaned in a little closer. I felt his warm breath on my face.
"Actually… I think it could be more." Todoroki Shoto pulled both of my hands and placed them on his back just above his waist. I was so taken aback by what he did that I find it hard to function. He hugged me tight and wrapped his arms around me. We were standing just like that for a few seconds. It felt… warm. He slightly released himself from me but kept his hands on my shoulder. He stared at me as he said those words I never thought I would hear from him. "Yuriko… I… I like you."
A/N: WAAAAAAHHH HAHAHA. Let me know what you guys think of this chapter :)
