Okay, friends! I totally got screwed by my insurance and the hospital I was going to get tests/treatments from, so, I'm going handle my stress in the best way I know how: to write more MHA chapters!
Also, if you want to see some really cool MHA pictures, KyrieBlake on DeviantArt is amazing!
kyrieblake/art/IzukuXShouto-735985980
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Letters From A Fan
Chapter 6
Midoriya returned to his room, walking around like he was still in a dream. He'd spent the entire afternoon making love with Bakugo and stealing kisses from him in between the sessions. Of course, half of the time the blonde would gripe at him for it… but that was beside the point.
The only thing that mattered was that Ground Zero had taken off part of a day of hero work just to spend it with him. He saw his phone light flashing and lazily strolled over, only to pale and lose his sense of euphoria when he saw the many missed calls and texts notifications.
Izuku turned the call volume all the way down on his cell and dialed Todoroki, pacing around nervously. It only took one ring for the dual user to pick up.
"Midoriya! Are you alright?" Shoto questioned, his voice strained with worry.
"Yeah… I'm okay… Sorry about earlier. I… Can I make it up to you with some late-night dessert or something?" Izuku responded, his voice whispered so Bakugo wouldn't hear him. It was silly he knew, seeing as the blonde was likely downstairs, but he really didn't want to risk it.
"That's unnecessary… but I would like to see you in person to ensure that you are, in fact, okay. Meet me downtown at the park you ran to before in fifteen, alright?"
"Okay, Todoroki! I'll be there soon!"
Midoriya hung up and snuck downstairs as quietly as he could, taking the back door to avoid the part of the house nearest Bakugo and sighing in relief when he made it out of their yard without an explosion aimed at him.
By the time he reached the park, Todoroki was already there and jogged towards him, checking him over for injuries.
"Uh… What are you doing?" he asked nervously, taking a step away.
"You didn't show up earlier so I assumed the worst," Todoroki explained.
Izuku felt guilt pool in his chest; he hadn't even really thought about what Shoto must have been thinking. "It's not like that!" he stated quickly, "Kacchan took the day off to spend it with me and I just… I'm so sorry Todoroki…"
The worry that had been plastered to Shoto's face fell until there was nothing left but a blank expression. "You stood me up and had me thinking you were in danger so that you could fuck Bakugo? Are you serious?"
Midoriya's cheeks flashed between red and white in a mixture of embarrassment and shame. He wasn't sure what to say to make what he'd done any better, but he knew he had to give Todoroki some form of explanation.
"I… You don't understand! He even took off my shirt! Kacchan usually won't let me do that since he thinks my scars are ugly but today he did! He… He…" Izuku stated, his voice beginning to crack as he became overwhelmed with emotions.
"Midoriya. Your scars are nothing to be ashamed of as I've already told you. If Bakugo really cared for you then he would tell you how beautiful you are with or without them. You're smart, you're funny, you're a wonderful person and you shouldn't be desperate for scraps of attention from a piece of shit like him." Todoroki seethed.
"Don't call him that!" Izuku shouted back angrily. "I said I was sorry for missing lunch with you. If my relationship with Kacchan bothers you that much then… Argh. No… I don't want to fight with you Todoroki… I really am sorry."
Shoto tightened his jaw and glared. "No, Midoriya, I agree with what you were about to say. I can't stand how you let Bakugo push you around and I think it's best that we don't hang out anymore since the only things us being friends does it get you in trouble with your 'Kacchan' and makes me angry."
Izuku stumbled back some like he'd been hit with a physical blow, tears springing into his eyes. "D-Don't say that! You're my best friend and I love spending time with you! Please, just let me make it up to yo—"
"No." Shoto interrupted coldly, turning to leave. "Oh, and Bakugo didn't leave work early to spend time with you.
Midoriya felt his entire chest seize with pain as he watched Shoto start walking away, his heart beating unevenly from the shock of losing his only friend. But then he realized what else the dual user had said and he felt so much worse. "H-He didn't?"
Todoroki glanced back over his shoulder and scoffed, stopping just long enough to look over the quirkless boy who stood trembling and crying behind him. "Did you really think that he just spontaneously decided to be a decent human being? Bakugo got too rough with a villain today and was sent home as punishment."
Midoriya let his jaw drop as Shoto left right after, leaving him alone and emotionally wounded. He slowly walked away as well, still in slight shock. "It's not true! Kacchan loves me in his own way. He wouldn't have lied to me like that."
He pulled out his phone to prove his faith in Bakugo wasn't misplaced and scrolled through the news links of the day. Unfortunately, it didn't take him long to find the one that Shoto must have been talking about. He could barely see the video through his tear-filled eyes, but he could hear Ground Zero shouting at other pros before being told to go home or risk being fired.
After wiping his eyes, he saw the timestamp was about thirty minutes before he'd caught him trying to go to lunch with Todoroki and realized it must have been true. His chest hurt so badly that it was hard to breathe and he wanted to vomit. "How could I have been so stupid?"
After walking around for almost an hour trying to calm himself down, Izuku decided that enough was enough. He stomped up to his front door and threw it open, slamming it closed right after. The only thing he could feel other than sadness right then was a raging anger, burning deep inside him and flickering to the surface.
It didn't take long for Bakugo to come out of his room, hands already popping as he growled about a dumbass burglar about to get his ass kicked. "AAHH! What the fuck, Deku?"
"You didn't come home just to see me, you were forced to!" Midoriya shouted accusingly.
Katsuki's scowl lessened some but stayed plastered to his face. "Is that what has your panties in a knot? I fucking came and spent time with you, didn't I? I could have fucking gone anywhere but I came back here and didn't break a damn thing even though I was pissed. You should be fucking grateful!"
"That's not the point, Kacchan!" Izuku cried. "You lied to me and I'm tired of you treating me like I'm dirt!"
Bakugo stomped over and grabbed his collar tightly, growling in his face. "Don't you fucking talk to me like that you stupid fuck! I took you in when no one else would and have taken care of your quirkless ass since then!"
Midoriya wanted to break down and cry as he usually did—to give in to the guilt and fear that helped him cope with the toxicity of his relationship with Bakugo. But he refused to this time. Even if it was true he didn't have anyone else, part of him didn't care anymore.
"I know that! I know that without you I would have been living on the streets but that doesn't mean I have to be your punching bag! I don't deserve to be put down for wanting respect and… and Todoroki thinks I'm amazing just the way I am!"
Bakugo eyes blew wide with adrenaline, his jealous temper easily going off from the mention of the dual user. He shoved Midoriya, knocking him off his feet with a warning blast as he shouted. "I knew you were sneaking around with that bastard! You're a whore, Deku! Anything nice he says to you is a damn lie and deep down you know that! There's nothing desirable about you at all and once you stop lying to yourself you'll see that I'm the only one who'd put up with your worthless ass!"
Izuku got up off the ground and pushed Katsuki, though it only succeeded in making him stumble back a few steps. "See?! You're doing it again and I'm not going to put up with it! You're wrong about me, Kacchan!"
Bakugo's wavering hold on his rage snapped and he screamed in anger, setting off a large blast at Midoriya that sent him flying and tumbling to the ground several feet away. He was quick to follow him, yanking him up by his hair and half dragging him to the door.
Katsuki shoved him out and into the dirt, not even sparing a glance as the boy groaned in pain. He left and propelled himself to the Izuku's room, quickly shoving as many of his things into his backpack as he could before heading back down to where he was still trying to get back to his feet.
He threw the bag at him, easily knocking him back to the ground. "Fuck you Deku, you ungrateful little shit. Get your ass out of here and don't come back until you learn your place!"
Midoriya's glassy, tear-filled eyes widened slightly, all the anger and confidence welling inside him dissipating in an instant. He'd often pissed Bakugo off enough for things to get physical and he'd even shouted that he'd never come back in the heat of the moment, but the blonde had never told him to leave before.
"B-but… what about our deal? You said you cared about me and wanted to keep me safe! You said that you'd protect me so that I could be a hero too!"
Bakugo snickered at him, bending down to get in his face while he was still sitting in the dirt. "HA! Without your dumb ass always running off alone and getting beat to hell I'll have a lot less shit to put up with. Now scram before I blow you to pieces."
Midoriya flinched as the front door slammed behind Katsuki and he looked around like something or someone would come to help him. It was cold out and long past dark at this point and no matter how much he told himself he didn't need a quirk to be a hero, it was dangerous for him to just sleep outside somewhere.
He slowly forced himself back to his feet, his whole body aching from the impact of the blast as well as his skin stinging from the minor burns he received. His first instinct was to call Todoroki and he'd almost hit the call button when he stopped short.
Midoriya sobbed quietly, remembering how the dual user had said they weren't friends anymore. The fight had been about his relationship with Bakugo, which was now apparently over, but that didn't mean Todoroki would forgive him. He didn't feel like he had a right to call anyway, the guilt he was feeling earlier magnified even more.
He picked up his bag and trudged back to town with his head hanging as low as the day his mother had been so cruelly taken from him.
Todoroki slowly prepared for the day after a very long night of tossing and turning in his bed. Now that his anger had died down, he felt terrible for what he'd said to Midoriya. Even if it had been true, he knew that he'd only said it to hurt Izuku and it had worked. Every time he closed his eyes he saw the boys devastated face as he stood and cried.
Shoto knew he shouldn't have refused Midoriya's attempt at an apology or left him after telling him about Bakugo. Truthfully, Todoroki's chest had hurt to see the usually smiling boy so upset but his pride and frustration had gotten in the way and he'd walked off anyway. Still, just the thought of having to work with the blonde again or standing on the sidelines while he abused Midoriya made him want to catch fire with rage.
Since he had the day off he decided to go and see his mother, hoping maybe she could give him some guidance. He puffed out steam the whole way there, using his quirk to keep him warm in the frigid air. It must have been terrible for anyone unlucky enough to be stuck outside the night before.
"Mother…" he called, getting the woman's attention.
"Shoto, what's wrong? You look so upset…" she responded, holding open her arms for him to come and cuddle in.
He gratefully accepted, falling to his knees before her and resting his head on her soft lap so that she could pet his hair. "I'm conflicted mom and I don't know what to do…"
"I'll help you if I can… You know that sweetheart."
Shoto took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. It would be hard to talk to her about the situation since the whole reason she was in that place was because of an abusive relationship, but she'd know best. He was only a small child when she'd left and his spot as Endeavors masterpiece had saved him from most punishments that his siblings and mother received.
"That new friend I told you about… the quirkless boy. He's dating Bakugo, the boy I went to school with that became Ground Zero. Anyway, Bakugo hurts him, mom… He controls everything he does and manipulates him with physical threats and playing on his emotions. It doesn't matter what I say to Midoriya… he refuses to leave that prick!"
"What about Midoriya's family? Friends? Does he work?" Rei asked.
Shoto shook his head slightly and sighed. "No father and his mom died while he was in high school so he moved in with Bakugo right after. I've never heard him talk about other friends and I'm not exactly sure what he does but I know that he takes some notes for Bakugo at his villain fights."
"So, what you're saying is this boy has no one other than you and Bakugo? That he has very little interaction with anyone even during work? My dear Shoto, if you know that's the case then surely you must realize how scared he must be."
Todoroki raised his head to stare up at her, understanding what she meant and yet not at the same time.
Rei pet him again and gave a sad smile. "You've always had someone Shoto… And even if your entire family disappeared you have a powerful quirk that could help you get a job and protect you. This Midoriya has no family and Bakugo has cut off ties to every other potential relationship he could have no matter how small… if he could make them at all with how our society views those who are quirkless. I'd imagine it's hard for him to even get a minimum wage job as well."
"But mom-"
"My sweet boy…" she interrupted gently. "Midoriya was likely desperate for any connection and then Bakugo exploited that need when they moved in together. After what I can only assume was a childhood filled with being bullied for his condition he's spent years with this boy as his only influence."
Shoto huffed out a puff of ice and swallowed hard. "But he can't stay with him… He hurts him…"
"You're right… But by walking away from Bakugo he'd also have to walk away from everything he knows and that must be terrifying for Midoriya. The best thing you can do for him is show him that you care, and when he feels safe then he'll do what he needs to do. Just make sure you're there for him when that happens."
Todoroki felt tears burn in his eyes and he nodded, hugging the woman tightly. He couldn't protect her when he was a child, but he could help Midoriya now. The first step in that was to apologize.
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Thanks for reading this update! :) Please, tell me what you think!
