Author's Note:
Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the last chapter and of course, we're here with another. This time we'll be taking a look through Todoroki's perspective. Will he figure out why Momo doesn't seem to like him? Also what seems to be going on between Bakugo and Tsuyu & Midoriya and Uraraka? Also if Jirou hates Kaminari so much why does she keep hanging around him so much? Let's see if Todoroki has enough social skills to figure it out.
Chapter 3: Todoroki
Shoto didn't know a lot of things. Shoto didn't know why people did certain things. It was fair to say that Shoto really had no clue about much when it came to other people. It probably has to do with the fact that he didn't socialize much with other kids when he was young due to his damned father so he never really learned social cues or skills. It had proved to be a major hindrance now that he was in high school. So many different things that Shoto didn't understand like why girls did the things that they did (although according to the other guys in their class, that was something almost no guy had ever done before), should he be interacting with others more because it seems that everyone does that, and most importantly (at least to Shoto) why in the world did Momo Yaoyurozu seem to hate him so much? He had barely even interacted with her but the times that he had she had been cold and short with him. Like the night before when they had been sitting next to each other at dinner, he tried to talk with her but all he got was the cold shoulder and an accusatory glare. All he had wanted to know was what she had thought of the food and she looked at him like he had just kicked her puppy. It was really weird because Shoto couldn't for his life remember what he could've done to her that would warrant this type of behavior. It was bothering Shoto a lot which bothered him even more because why did he even need her approval? She was just another classmate who would never understand his situation. But why then did his gaze always drift to her when they were in the same room? Or why did his thoughts drift to her right before he fell asleep? Having any social skills would have helped him figure these things out and currently the only thing close to friends that he could ask about it was Midoriya and Bakugo. He could ask Midoriya but based on what he's heard and observed Midoriya is in the boat as he is. And Bakugo doesn't seem like the type to be able to give useful relationship advice especially because not 5 minutes ago he was staring dumbfounded at Asui as she had walked away after winking at Bakugo. Also, it felt like a stretch to call Bakugo a friend. Maybe a friendly rival but the relationship between them was still rocky at best. Now Midoriya, Shoto has learned, is quite a good person and the only person in the class so far to whom Shoto has thought about revealing his family's secret. Shoto has never really interacted with anyone in the class much so it was a bit of a surprise when Midoriya asked him if he wanted to play Uno to which Shoto told him he had never played before. This wasn't a deterrent to Midoriya as this only made him want to teach Shoto. In the end, it was fun although it turned a bit more competitive when Bakugo joined them. Despite Shoto's reservations about his two roommates he honestly felt like he could relate to them the most out of the rest of the class and felt like he had a connection with them. Even if it is a small one, it also helped that the three of them were probably some of the highest-scoring students in their class as well as having the most raw talent. Some students even speculated that when they reached their third year they would likely be the next "Big Three". This definitely helped their connection as they would probably be lumped together until they graduated and probably even after.
"All right, good night guys," Midoriya said, climbing onto the couch because he volunteered to take it since there were only 2 beds.
"Good night Midoriya," Shoto said, turning off his light and lying down.
"Yeah whatever Deku," Bakugo said, lying down looking thoughtful. He was probably contemplating his encounter with Asui. He turned off his light and turned to face the window. And almost silently said, "Night Nerd."
And just like that their first day (although technically it was a half-day) in New York concluded. And just like every other night, Yaoyurozu danced through his mind against his will. To make matters worse he even dreamed of her. It was nothing much. All he remembered was that she was laughing at something he had said, threw her arms around his neck, and leaned toward him.
Breakfast at the hotel was alright. They had a nice assortment of food and it was a hotel so Shoto didn't really have very high expectations. He saw Yaoyurozu talking with Uraraka, Jiro & Asui. They all seemed to be having a good time.
"I know you don't know much about social edict and all Todoroki, but it is rude to stare you know?" Kaminari said, walking up to him to grab some food from the table he was at.
"I wasn't staring," Shoto said, looking over at Kaminari as he sat down.
"Oh were you saving this spot for someone else?" Kaminari said starting to get back up.
"No you can stay," Shoto said. He didn't know what compelled him to let Kaminari stay. Unlike Shoto, Bakugo & Midoriya, Kaminari was something of an underachiever. He passed most of the tests, if only barely. However, there was something about Kaminari that reminded Shoto of Midoriya. It was probably their friendliness. Kaminari seemed like a chill guy who just wanted to make friends. And Shoto was in desperate need of friends.
"Wow thanks, man," Kaminari said, sitting back down and starting to eat. "You're rooming with Deku, right?"
"Yeah, why do you call him Deku?" Shoto said with a head tilt.
"Well, he said I could, so I do. I mean we've barely talked on the plane but I think we might be friends. And I was wondering if you guys were friends because if so I would like to be friends with you as well," Kaminari said, shrugging and chewing on a piece of toast.
"Well I believe that Midoriya is a great guy and I think we're friends. I've never really had any before so I'm not certain but I'm pretty sure," Shoto said, sipping on his orange juice. "But I think that I would like to be friends with you as well"
Kaminari grinned before excitedly saying, "That's awesome man. I'd like to be friends with you as well."
Shoto hesitated a bit before asking, "Well since friends give each other advice could you give me some,"
"Yeah sure man, what would you like to know?" Kaminari said, leaning over the table.
"Well I was wondering if you could give me some advice on how to approach Yaoyorozu," Shoto said, looking as Kaminari's face changed from excitement to a cringe.
"Unfortunately I don't think that I'm going to be a good help on that front," he said, leaning back and looking over to where Yaoyurozu was sitting with the other girls. Shoto followed his gaze and saw he was looking at Jirou. "If I had the answers I would be selling them on the internet and I would be a millionaire. I wish I could help but I have my own girl problems that I need to solve first."
"Seems like every guy I ask has said the same thing," Shoto said, sighing. "Midoriya is trying to figure out his problems with Uraraka and Bakugo is being actively confused by Asui."
"Yeah I heard what she said to him before we all went to bed, it was pretty weird. I'd be confused as well. And Midoriya told me about his problems. The only guy I know that has a girlfriend is Kirishima and even he says that most days he can't figure Mina out," Kaminari lit up. "Maybe you, me, Deku & Bakugo could stick together and mutually help each other figure out our problems!"
"That might actually work," Shoto said thoughtfully. He was surprised that he never came up with that thought. It made sense right? People always said two heads are better than one so four heads have to be even better than that right? "The only person I think might not agree is Bakugo but honestly you just never know."
"Alright everyone to the busses we have to be at the museum in an hour and traffic is a pain," Aisawa-sensei said. "Remember I want you all on your best behavior or else."
"Yes Aizawa-sensei," the class shouted making their way to the bus.
"Alright, we can talk about this later Todoroki," Kaminari said, running over to sit next to Kirishima. Shoto went onto the bus and found the first empty seat he could. Shoto was staring out the window so intently that he didn't notice that Yaoyurozu had sat next to him. By the look on her face, he could tell that she would really rather not be sitting next to him. He looked around and saw that there were no other spots available so she was stuck with him. Shoto decided that this would probably be the best time to try and figure out what she had against him.
"Hey Yao…" Shoto began before she cut him off.
"I'd rather not talk to you right now if you don't mind," she said glaring at him. Again what the hell did he do? He decided he'd rather not start a fight so he nodded and they stayed in an awkward silence for the rest of the drive.
They arrived at the museum right on time for their tour. It was actually an interesting place and they learned quite a bit about American history. Eventually, they were turned loose to explore on their own for an hour. Shoto took this as an opportunity to confront Yaoyurozu and this time he wouldn't take no for an answer. It took him about half an hour to finally find her in the American Revolution section. She was thankfully alone for the moment and this was his chance. She was staring at the painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware when he walked up.
"It was a brilliant move on Washington's part," Shoto said, deciding to focus on the painting for right now. "Crossing the Delaware on Christmas that is. He predicted that the British would not expect them and would therefore have their guard down. Because of this, it was an easy victory for the Americans which then greatly boosted morale which was low at that time."
Yaoyurozu looks a little surprised before replying, "Yes indeed. He had a brilliant tactical mind and despite being American is a major inspiration for me. His brilliance when it came to making and executing plans was top notch and I want to be like him." Shoto doesn't know what to say to that. He had just had a non-hostile conversation with Yaoyurozu and learned more about her in the last couple of minutes than he had the whole rest of the year.
"Well I think that you're definitely going to reach that someday soon," Shoto said, smiling a little. 'That was the thing to say right?' Shoto thought to himself. 'I mean it isn't a lie.' And it wasn't. At U.A. they did things… well different would be an understatement. They had exercises to test thinking skills in practical situations. And whichever team had Yaoyorozu on it almost always won. There was only one time that they didn't and that was when Shoto figured out her plan and then took her out of the equation causing her team to go into a panic as it lost its structure.
"Yes of course I will someday," she says, frowning. "Of course, you point out the fact that I'm not." Okay, maybe it wasn't the right thing to say.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Shoto says getting a little defensive. "I was only trying to compliment you and now you're getting upset for no good reason."
"No good reason?" she said dangerously quite. "No good reason? I have plenty of good reasons."
"Really because I don't remember doing anything worthy of offending you," Shoto said, starting to really get frustrated. Who did this girl think she was?
"Of course, you don't remember," she said, venom dripping from her voice. "You're just like your father. You're arrogant and think that you're above all of the rest of us, so why would you remember something you said to an ant?" she said, starting to raise her voice.
"I don't consider any of you ants and don't you dare compare me with my father," Shoto said, barely keeping a lid on his anger.
"Oh yes, you do and I will keep comparing you to him if you keep acting like him. When you beat my team in capture-the-flag do you remember what you told me? You said that my plan was 'foolish and only an idiot would have fallen for it'," she said, starting to yell. People around them were giving them weird looks but neither of them cared. "I used to think that you were such a stoic guy and you were just a loner. But now I realize you're a loner because no one in their right mind would want to be friends with someone who is so full of themselves."
"That's what this is about? Some stupid game of Capture the Flag? I told you that so that you can learn from your mistakes and be better," Shoto said, barely holding back his rage. "Also if anyone thinks that they're better than everyone else it's you Ms. My-family-is-loaded-and-I-grew-up-a-spoiled-brat. You don't know a damn thing about me so don't pretend that you do," The more Shoto talked the angrier he got. "You don't know the meaning of hard work. You never had to struggle for anything in life. You've never had to fight and claw your way through life never knowing if you were going to make it. You were handed everything in life. You had a loving family that supported you fully and had enough dough to back up anything your heart desired. Yeah, we both got into U.A. based on recommendation but I actually had to earn mine instead of having my parents buy my way in," Shoto knows he is going too far but he doesn't care right now. All he can see is red and all he can hear is 'I can't bear to keep looking at that side of him'. "You're a spoiled bitch who can't take constructive criticism without crying like a little baby. I actually take back what I said. You'll never be like Washington. You're too much a crybaby, know-it-all, snobby, prissy bitch. Once we get out into the real world you're gonna find out quickly that money won't solve all of your problems and the moment someone criticizes you you're gonna fold and give up. You're not gonna go anywhere in life and will probably have to keep living off of mommy and daddy's money for the rest of your life," Shoto finishes not realizing that he had been shouting that at Yaoyorozu. He also failed to realize that the rest of their class had shown up to check out the noise. He looked back at Yaoyorozu and saw her crying running off somewhere. Good, Shoto thought bitterly, At least now you'll learn. She deserved what she got right? But if she did then why did Shoto feel a hole open in his heart seeing her crying like that?
"Todoroki come here and explain yourself," Aisawa said with a look of anger that Shoto had never seen before.
"Yes sensei," Shoto said, following Aisawa to the other room he was pointing to. Shoto passed his classmates and all of them looked at him with horrified eyes. Even Bakugo looked like he thought Shoto went too far. And that was when Shoto realized that he really had gone too far. Even worse, he realized that the scene reminded Shoto of when his father had gotten mad at his mother. And that's what shamed Shoto the most. For as much as he hated his father, when put under pressure he snapped in the same way. Some part of Shoto felt a bit of empathy for his father. He was one of the most influential business people in Japan after the now-retired Yagi-sensei. Shoto knew that there was a lot of pressure being that influential but never thought about it as being part of the reason his father was so angry. It didn't make what he did better but at least Shoto could understand. This realization only made Shoto feel worse. Shoto tried so hard to be so different from his father but when the pressure came he acted in the same fashion by taking his anger out on someone who didn't deserve it. Well okay, she deserved it a little. Wait, was this Shoto or his father speaking? The fact that he started thinking like his father only reminded Shoto of a fact that he had been hoping to prove wrong: The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
After explaining the situation to Aisawa, he looked like he was going to lose it. Luckily he just let Shoto off with a warning and told Shoto that he would have to apologize before the end of the day. Altogether it wasn't horrible. What was horrible were the looks that some of the girls were giving him. Their glares were familiar. They were the same ones that Shoto had whenever he saw his face in the mirror after thinking about his father. The guys were a little less judgemental and angry however they still gave him strange looks. Surprisingly (or maybe unsurprisingly) Bakugo was the first to confront him about it.
"Look I'm not going to disagree with everything you said about Ponytail because honestly, it's true," Bakugo started. He took a deep breath before continuing. "However even I have to admit it was a bit harsh of a thing for you to tell her, especially like that. I've had to learn the hard way that the saying 'Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me' is a load of bullshit. Because most of the time the worst wounds that you can inflict on someone else are caused by your words." Bakugo looks contemplative for a moment, something Shoto hasn't seen much before. This whole conversation as a whole was strange. Bakugo saying that you should watch what you say? Shoto thought he had ended up in an alternate reality.
"Wow Bakugo, I never thought I'd hear you say something like that," Shoto said surprised. "Although you would be wise to follow your own advice."
"Yeah, whatever," Bakugo says dismissively. "Do as I say and not as I do or whatever. But honestly speaking my respect for you has gone up now. I don't know if that means shit to you Todoroki but I'm telling you anyway." Then he turned on his heels and walked back over to Kirishima and started talking with him.
"Alright class we'll be heading over to Times Square for lunch and an hour of free time," Aisawa drawls when they're back on the bus. "Remember to be kind and respectful to all of the people and businesses that you go to. That's all."
Denki who is sitting next to Shoto looks over and says, "This is going to be a blast"
"Maybe. It's super busy there so who knows what will happen," Shoto says thinking about it. Denki then taps Bakugo and Midoriya's shoulders to get their attention.
"Hey, would you guys like to join me and Kirishima for free time?"
"Of course Denki!" Midoriya says excitedly.
"Fine. But only because I know Kirishima will drag me along anyway," Bakugo grumbles.
"What about you Todoroki," Denki says, smirking at him. "Are you going to join us?"
Shoto is shocked by their expectant faces. He is more shocked that they still want to hang out with him. He thinks about it for a second before deciding. "Sure sounds like fun."
AN: Well another week, another chapter. There are a few things I want to talk about. First, thank god Horikoshi finally confirmed Izucho. I mean we all knew it was coming but the confirmation was nice. However, of course some of the fans decide to behave like children. That aside, goodness Shoto needs to chill. I know that some of you won't like the way I wrote him but it felt right to me. I mean we know that because of his hate toward Endeavor, he started acting similarly so I feel it wouldn't be a stretch to take it a little further. Additionally, I didn't know what to make his and Momo's conflict so I kinda just took his & Yoarashi conflict and adjusted it to fit Momo. Also if Bakugo is saying you took things too far you know that you've messed up. I added the part about Shoto relating to Endeavor because I felt that it helped move Shoto a bit in his forgiveness of his father. Although forgiveness might not be the right word you get what I'm trying to say. I wanted to have Shoto do a little growth without Deku's help (which he'll still get btw). Also, I love Bakugo and Endeavor's redemption arcs so that is going to be a big thing, although I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to do Endeavor's redemption arc. Oh well, I'll figure it out. On a separate note God, there are not enough Endeavor x Rei redemption fanfics out there. I know it wouldn't make a lot of sense realistically for them to get back together but I still think that it would make a great fanfic. Also, there aren't enough EraserJoke fics out there either. Maybe I'll write some of both after I've finished with this one. I actually have an idea for a one-shot that I think y'all might like. Anyway rambling out of the way, originally for this chapter I wasn't gonna have Shoto making friends and he and Momo only had a small heart-to-heart instead of a yelling match. I changed it however because Shoto needs friends and it felt too soon to have them doing a heart-to-heart. That'll be later. Also like I said at the end of I think the first chapter I love conflict and this gave me my fix for the day. Anyway, I'll see you next week although I might not update due to finals and wanting to start back cataloging chapters before I publish them so that I can maybe put them out more often so y'all don't have to wait so long for updates. But we'll see. Anyway thanks again for the support and please review because I need all of the opinions on this that I can get and I kinda wanna hear y'alls thoughts. Anyway love y'all and see you later!