Intending to make a full day of their outing, the group had gotten to UA just as the festival was opening. Events generally took place later in the day, so not many people other than current students, staff, and hero security were milling about when they'd first arrived.

Now though, the public was showing up in full force and it was becoming evident that despite their excitement at seeing Deku alive and healthy, finding Todoroki practically attached to him wasn't appreciated.

'See, I told you he's the reason Deku isn't returning to work yet.'

Their judgmental gaze and disapproving glares were constant and unwavering, every whisper a terrible sting in his heart. Todoroki wasn't sure if he should walk more closely to Midoriya or attempt to distance himself, not wanting to ruin their excursion yet desperate for the comfort that being near his friend provided.

'I heard Endeavor totally got forced into retirement after the war. I'd bet he did something really awful to blackballed like that… and 'Shoto' acts just like him.'

Todoroki didn't even have the others in the group to blend in with anymore. The Support Courses' expo had started, and everyone had splintered off to check out various new gear that caught their eye. They were close enough to catch glimpses of, but to Todoroki they might as well have not been there at all.

'We shouldn't be surprised. You know all the rumors about his father and how much he hated All Might… Shoto probably did this on purpose, hoping to undermine Deku's hero career by keeping him from working.'

"Shoto? Are you alright?"

The dual user blinked, having not realized how far inward he'd retreated until he felt a gentle grip tugging on his sleeve. Midoriya was staring up at him, his eyes encouraging but holding veiled concern.

Todoroki couldn't bring himself to respond at first. He hated how he was being spoken about and looked at… he hated himself because he truly believed he deserved it. With a trembling breath, he went back to staring at the ground and nodded anyway, refusing to drag Midoriya's otherwise pleasant day down any further.

"We can leave," Midoriya offered, unconvinced by his pitiful attempt at pretending to be fine. "I really don't mind!"

Todoroki doubted that, but he wondered if it even mattered at this point. Sticking around didn't mean much now that Midoriya was too worried about him to enjoy the festivities. And he was so uncomfortable, so exposed. He couldn't block out the negativity anymore, not after all the work he'd done to open himself up to others.

"Hey," Midoriya continued, moving his hand down from Todoroki's sleeve to his fingers to give a comforting squeeze. "Let's just go home, okay?"

"I've got a better idea!" A citizen chimed, his voice loud and angry as he forced his way into their private conversation. "Why don't you go home and let Deku stay, huh?"

Todoroki's heart stopped beating at the immediate flurry of whispers from the citizens nearest him, all eyes suddenly on them. The already crowded area became compacted as more and more people stopped and glared, adding in their own accusations and frustrations while gradually becoming bolder.

"Yeah!" another yelled. "Crime is skyrocketing again, and we all know it's because you got our Symbol of Peace put on medical leave! But what should we expect from the guy who didn't come back to Japan when the League of Villains caused society to collapse? Did you have a good time abroad, 'Shoto'?"

The angered voices began overlapping, becoming too loud and jumbled to understand. Todoroki couldn't bring himself to move or respond; He stayed completely still, emotionally overwhelmed to the point of shutting down to protect himself.

Todoroki was vaguely aware that Midoriya had released his fingers and stepped forward, attempting to calm the increasingly brazen citizens to no avail. Regardless of how desperately Deku yelled, his voice was drowned out by the unyielding flood of angry shouts.

Fear had taken over and not even Deku's presence was enough to jolt them out of their reactionary states. Todoroki closed his eyes, bitter. He shouldn't have agreed to come here. Interacting with the public in any significant way was never something he felt comfortable with because he knew what they thought of him and now Deku was going to pay the price for his past mistakes.

-BOOM-

An eardrum-shattering blast assaulted his senses. Temporarily blinded by a bright flash of light, he stumbled back several feet from the residual shockwave, lungs nearly choking on the smoke-bogged air.

When his senses returned, he was already in an attack stance with frost on his arm, expecting a villain only to find Bakugo standing a few meters away with a single hand in the air, the other leisurely stuffed into his pocket.

The blonde had a bored glare on his face as though he hadn't just caused a couple hundred civilians to tumble to the ground with fear. "Shut it, extras!" he huffed loudly. "When shit hit the fan here, every country in the world implemented travel bans, making it impossible for Shoto to get home any sooner than he did. He's a Top 5 Pro for a fucking reason; Shoto is a boss and has helped the rest of us heroes put Japan back together. He's our friend and came here today with us, so keep your conspiracy bullshit to yourselves or else!"

Todoroki finally felt his heart start beating again, this time so rapidly he became faint, the world spinning dizzyingly fast. Midoriya had returned to his side at some point and wrapped his arm around his shoulder in solidarity, nodding along with what Bakugo was saying while increasingly supporting his swaying body.

Suddenly, however, another form was pressed up against his other side, this one much smaller. Initially, he believed it must have been Uraraka, but looking down with uncoordinated eyes, Todoroki found it wasn't one of Midoriya's friends at all.

It was the timid young girl from Aizawa's newest class of students, the one who'd asked him why he'd wanted to be a hero. "Mr. Ground Zero and Deku are right, Shoto is a real hero!" She exclaimed with surety, the shyness she'd had weeks before all but gone as she faced down the increasingly meek crowd. "He works hard to make sure everyone can feel safe!"

Not more than a few steps behind was the obnoxious teen that had not so subtly questioned Todoroki's qualifications as a Top Pro, slamming him for not using his fire quirk. Mimicking Bakugo's nonchalant aura he sauntered up and offered his hand to shake, a sign of respect and support. "I'm glad you came today, Shoto. We were hoping you and Deku would come to watch our show."

Numbly, Todoroki accepted the olive branch, lightly grasping the student's hand as he struggled to comprehend what was happening around him. Mind still swimming in confusion, he turned to Midoriya for help. This had never happened to him before… Was it even really happening now?

"We'd love to!" Midoriya assured, beaming with pride and gratitude. "Shoto and I will definitely be there!"

Todoroki somewhat nodded, feeling utterly lost and helpless despite the wonderous sensation of having so many people standing up for him. It didn't seem to bother the two who had come to his aid or their other classmates who had filtered in after them, all bouncing with excitement at not only seeing Deku, but him as well.

"Awww Yeeeah! That's our future successors! UA Represent!"

Todoroki blinked at the boisterous voice, continuing to swivel his stabilizing gaze around to who was speaking this time. The one who'd shouted was Chargebolt, with EarphoneJack and several others from Midoriya's graduating class waving at them excitedly.

They made their way over as the shamed civilians began to disperse, each hugging Midoriya and high-fiving the students before officially introducing themselves to Todoroki, who only managed to keep up with the chaotic greeting because his first friend was there beside him, letting him know through gentle touches and adoring smiles that everything would be okay now… He would be okay.

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It wasn't long before all of Class 1-A and 1-B had arrived. Deciding to eat together, the young heroes fell into an easy flow, everyone reminiscing about the 'old days' and explaining what they'd been up to since graduation.

The bonds shared between them had been forged in the fires of the near-fall of civilization and they were essentially family now; different hero specializations and distance meant nothing. Midoriya was so happy to be with everyone again, laughing and listening to how their lives had progressed since he'd last seen them... But he was thankful too.

Only his closest friends and family knew the details of his medical leave, meaning most of his old schoolmates had no real idea what was going on between him and Todoroki or why Bakugo had suddenly declared him their friend after low-key hating the dual user for so long. Yet they hadn't questioned it, they hadn't hesitated even for a moment. They readily accepted Todoroki into the group, immediately declaring him an honorary classmate for their graduating year.

Though still somewhat dazed and overwhelmed, the dual user had calmed down significantly from the earlier incident. It was gradual and unsteady, but color began returning to his face, his breathing slowed, and he regained the ability to speak, even if his contributions were minimal and hesitant.

Midoriya was well aware that his friends took notice of the palpable discomfort, confusion, and self-doubt that emanated from Todoroki, but they smoothly ignored it and adjusted their behaviors accordingly, moving conversations along and including the dual user without being too pushy.

Honored wasn't a strong enough adjective to describe how Midoriya felt about having such wonderful, empathetic people as his friends and fellow heroes. Even the more obnoxious students seemed to tone down their chaotic glory when directly interacting with Todoroki... except Monoma, of course.

He unapologetically got in Todoroki's face, maniacally spouting about the 'epic rivalry' between their classes and declaring 1-B's obvious superiority now that they were officially Pros. Kendo snuck up behind and knocked him out just as she'd always done, however, sending everyone into a nostalgic laughing fit.

"Everyone is being so nice to me..." Todoroki whispered, taking advantage of the distraction. "I've met some of them before and I wasn't particularly amicable... But they don't seem to remember or care..."

Midoriya shook his head soothingly and slipped his fingers into Todoroki's once more. "Don't worry about it, Shoto. You've seen how different all my friends are and we all get along. Like Kacchan said, you're here with us and our graduating classes stick together. You're one of us now."

Todoroki didn't look entirely convinced, but there was the most beautiful twinkle of hope in his eyes that hadn't been there before. What had once seemed like an insurmountable mountain of cold hatred for others and himself now seemed so minimal and fleeting.