So, sometimes I feel like life just wants me to suffer. Sunday my grandmother (who I live with) had a heart attack and is now in Hospice. I'm hoping she still has another year or so, but I think we can all agree there are no guarantees in life.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Show Me Where Your Love Lies
Chapter 14
The UA Festival… A hodgepodge of events grouped together as a way to give students other than those in the Hero Course a time to shine. Todoroki vaguely remembered Aizawa stating that their class had to participate anyway, but he had no memory of being involved; his classmates had probably assumed that he wasn't interested and left him out entirely… All three years.
They weren't wrong, of course. Todoroki wouldn't have put any effort into whatever it was they ended up doing, so why bother? He'd been more than fine with that at the time and hadn't even considered it since. Now though, he finally understood how wrong his mindset had been; how much he'd missed out on because of it.
Anxiety had been the primary emotion he'd been experiencing in the days leading up to the event, but now that he was driving Midoriya and himself to UA, all he felt was shame. Over anything. Everything. The UA students didn't want him there; they rightfully blamed him for their Symbol of Peace having to temporarily step down.
And what about his own classmates? Surely at least a few would be there, either as spectators showing up in support of their alma mater or as security. Todoroki couldn't recall speaking to any of them since graduating—hardly before that either. How many had died during the League of Villains uprising? He didn't even know… He'd never cared enough to check.
Scum. That's all he was; maybe he was even worse than that if there was such a thing. So unlike the young man beside him, the person who'd ultimately saved Japan and the entire world just half a decade ago.
Midoriya was typing frantically, messages pouring in through a group chat with his friends. Todoroki wanted to squirm, vomit, cry, maybe even abruptly turn the car around, and refuse to continue with this hellish day. They hated him too. That had been made abundantly clear first when they'd shown up at his home to see Midoriya and then again when Bakugo reamed him for his unappealing personality.
Exposed, right down to his still fragile, damaged core. Todoroki would be surrounded by a world that detested him for a multitude of reasons, all valid in his opinion. Only Midoriya considered him a friend and he honestly wondered if that would be enough. He'd defended him before, so Todoroki knew he'd do it again, but what if in doing so 'Deku's' reputation was tarnished?
The burden of his shame was already crushing him; he wouldn't be able to survive the actions of his past self if they hurt Midoriya's future too.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Midoriya was literally bouncing around the moment they parked and got out of the car, his excitement uncontainable. Had Todoroki not been on the verge of a psychological break he'd have probably laughed right alongside the hyped Pro.
"I can't believe it's finally open to the public again!" Midoriya squealed, his nostrils flaring in anticipation. "We weren't able to have any events my second year for obvious reasons and things were still too chaotic and dangerous my third year so, getting to experience it again is amazing!"
Todoroki forced himself to maintain the conversation, refusing to let his self-hatred ruin something that Midoriya was truly thrilled about. "I was abroad your first year… What did your class do?"
"We had an epic song and dance routine!" Kirishima shouted, responding in place of Midoriya as he ran toward them. "It was so manly, Todoroki, you have no idea! Would have been way easier to do some of the special effects if you'd been in our class though. I was in charge of rushing across some dangerously narrow support beams Yaoyorozu made ahead of time, carrying a block of ice and shaving it with my quirk to make Aoyama's laser even more intense. If you'd been there though, we really could have gone all out!"
Bakugo snorted upon catching up to his enthusiastic lover. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that, Ei, but we all know me being on the drums is what made it so cool to begin with."
Todoroki was taken aback by the initial compliment from Kirishima, but his jaw completely dropped when Bakugo outright agreed with his boyfriend. Out of all of Midoriya's friends, he was certain the explosive blonde detested him the most and had the personality to tell him so.
But the three people around him didn't seem to miss a beat, all turning to head towards the entrance where the rest of their group was apparently waiting for them. Todoroki was frozen in place despite not having activated his quirk, only reluctantly stumbling forward when Midoriya noticed him and ran back, grabbing his hand and tugging him along with a comforting grin.
"Ah, Izuku, Todoroki, it's good to see you both!" Iida greeted, robotically chopping his arm. "As you can see, the festival has just begun. If we wish to make it to all of the activities, then we must get going."
Ochaco was practically on top of Midoriya, squeezing him in an overzealous hug that he readily returned. "Our other classmates from 1-A and 1-B will be here too! Tenya reached out to Kendo to set up a reunion; isn't that awesome!"
"Really? Thank you so much, Tenya!" Midoriya gushed, turning his attention to the sickly pale, cold-sweat-covered man he'd dragged with him. "Shoto, this is going to be great! You'll get to meet even more of my friends!"
"Heh, you look like you're going to pass out, Todoroki…" Shinso chuckled, reaching out to give his shoulder a few pats. "Don't worry about it. I was nervous when I was trying to get into the Hero Course at the end of my first year but they're all pretty cool."
Hatsume nodded in agreement, giving the dual user two thumbs up and a toothy smile.
"Right. Let's get going!" Tenya ordered, leading the group in.
Once again, Todoroki began lagging behind, but Midoriya didn't leave his side. He simply entwined their arms and smiled brilliantly, ushering him along.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Midoriya was so proud of his friends, all of them putting their discomfort aside to welcome Todoroki into their group. Todoroki still looked ill, but also bewildered, like his mind couldn't comprehend what was going on. Not that such a reaction was unexpected; Midoriya knew how much he struggled with accepting attention that wasn't full of negativity.
Forcing Todoroki to continue with the get-together wasn't ideal, but he truly believed that this was his next big step to becoming the person he desperately wanted to be. Ochaco, Tenya, Eijiro, Katsuki, Mei, and Hitoshi wouldn't let him down and he doubted any of his other friends would either. They'd have his back and by extension, Todoroki's.
"Look, look, look!" He begged, jostling the arm he'd latched onto with unbridled excitement. "The business course classes have hero merchandise out!"
"More action figures, nerd?" Bakugo scoffed, eyeing his best friend's empty backpack. "Your bedroom is already full; are you planning on filling up Todoroki's house too?"
Midoriya pouted at the blonde before sheepishly turning to catch Todoroki's eye. It was true; his every wall was covered in posters and other memorabilia. He'd honestly considered building an extra room onto his home just to create a shrine of sorts for his extensive collection.
"It just one or two, I swear!" he offered, big green eyes pleading. For the first time that day, Todoroki seemed to relax, if only a little, the barest hint of a smile twitching in his expression.
"I'm not sure I believe it's possible that you haven't already gotten your hands on whatever they're selling, but we can look," Todoroki responded lightly. "If you do find something, however, I wouldn't be opposed to putting up a shelf for you."
Midoriya began bouncing again before rushing over to the various stalls with Todoroki, leaving his other friends to catch up. He spewed hero knowledge as fast as his tongue could move, overwhelming the students as Todoroki observed fondly.
"Tsk. Overpriced bullshit…I've got this one, guys." Bakugo grunted, shaking his head as he got out his wallet. "Ei, go give this to the kid at the register and give the usual spiel, got it?"
Todoroki blinked in confusion, just close enough to overhear the blonde. He watched as Kirishima did as instructed, sneaking behind Midoriya while he was distracted and handing a significant amount of cash to the student while whispering something.
Turning back to Midoriya, he saw that he'd apparently found several items that he didn't own. The Pro was mumbling to himself, contemplating which one he should get while checking his own astonishingly empty wallet. Todoroki didn't understand; Deku was a Top 5 Hero… the stuff he was looking at wasn't worth the price they were charging, but it wasn't really expensive either.
"Deku only keeps enough money for him and his mom to live off of; the rest of his paychecks go to various charities," Ochaco explained after noticing Todoroki's confusion, leaning sideways and whispering behind her hand. "It takes him months to save up for stuff like this, so, whenever we get the chance, we pay for whatever he might want in advance without him knowing and ask the person at the register to insist it's free."
Iida nodded in agreement. "Selflessness is indeed a hallmark of being a hero and Izuku is a shining example of that quality. As his colleagues, we respect his personal sacrifices but as his friends, we feel he more than deserves a few action figures. He'd never knowingly let us spend our own money on him though, which is why we developed this strategy."
It was now obvious why the young Pro needed to wait for his last paycheck to arrive before he'd paid Todoroki back for the property damage he'd caused. The dual user felt like his heart was stuck in his throat. He hadn't thought it possible to admire Midoriya more than he already did, yet here he was being proven wrong once again.
As if on cue, Midoriya began panicking, stumbling over his words as he tried to stop the students from thrusting multiple bags into his hands. "Th-This isn't necessary! Please, I really don't need all of them. Just one is plenty! Here let me give you—"
"No, no!" The students assured; their faces were genuine as they all crowded around. "You're the guy who saved Japan! You're our Symbol of Peace and a former UA student! We couldn't possibly charge you! Please, let us have the honor of showing how much we appreciate all you've done!"
Todoroki wanted to smile and cry at the same time, confused emotions swirling in his chest. They might have been given instructions, but the kids weren't acting. Even if Bakugo hadn't given them more than enough money for the merchandise, they'd have likely insisted their idol took what he wanted anyway.
Midoriya was beet-red when he finally returned, face steaming in embarrassment from the multiple bags stuffed to the brim in his arms. Shinso snorted and stepped forward to help put the hoard into his friend's backpack, smirking at his expression. "Just one or two, huh?" he joked, everyone laughing from Midoriya's squeaking gulp.
Even Todoroki couldn't stop himself from smiling gently at the display, realizing he'd need to put up quite a few shelves to display Midoriya's newest collection. That was more than fine… Honestly, he couldn't wait.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you feel like it! I'd love to hear feedback on the chapter/story and what you think will happen next!