Preydator || Todoroki x OC

•13: I'll Never Be a Hero•

I gesture him to stand on the toilet so that they can't see two pairs of feet from under the stall door. I glance up and realize what an awkward position we're in with my back pressed against the stall door and him towering over me with his feet on the toilet and leaning his arms against the stall above my head. I blush under my mask, my heart pounding in my chest at our embarrassing position. "Ah, fuck."

-----

"Shh." Todoroki hushes me.

We can hear the girls enter the bathroom and shut the door. "Oh, is someone in here?" One of them calls out.

"U-Uh, yeah," I respond.

"I guess we aren't the only ones seeking refuge from the crazy crowd." Another says. "Are you okay in there?"

"Y-Yeah!" I say. "Uhhh period pains." I quickly come up with an excuse and Todoroki shoots me a strange look. I roll my eyes at him.

"Oh, do you need any pads or painkillers? I think I have some in my pocket." The girl replies.

"No, I'm okay. Thanks." I politely respond. The other girls begin to chat amongst each other again.

I breathe out a sigh of relief. "Are you always this friendly with each other?" Todoroki whispers to me. Thankfully because of the loud crowd outside and the girls being invested in their own conversation, they don't hear him.

"Period help is a must." I whisper back. Even I, who hasn't talked to any girls my age like this since middle school, know this.

Suddenly, it quiets down outside the bathroom. Iida's voice echoes through the halls, "Do not worry everyone! It is just the media!"

"Sounds like everything's calmed down." One of the girls says. "Let's go." We listen to their fading footsteps as they leave the bathroom, the door shutting behind them.

"L-Let's go, too." I stammer at our lack of space as I reach for the stall lock and handle. The door swings open which causes both Todoroki and I to tumble out.

"Ow..." I mumble, wincing at the impact with the floor.

"Are you okay?" Todoroki asks as I open my eyes to see him holding himself up above me as to not crush me under himself.

"Y-Yeah!" I embarrassedly stutter as he gets off of me.

'Is he incapable of blushing or am I just overreacting?' I think as I realize I'm the only one getting embarrassed. "Let's go." He grabs my hand and we exit the washroom together. Everyone seems to be exiting in a much more calm and orderly fashion in the halls now. 'Does he know what he's doing?!' I think to myself as I quickly let my hand fall out of his. He doesn't seem to notice as we continue following the crowd.

"Rin, Todoroki!" Mina and Kaminari call out as Todoroki and I exit the school. "Glad you got out in one piece." Mina half-jokes.

"Yeah." I reply dismissively as I look around for Aizawa. Todoroki pats on my shoulder to get my attention, seeming to know who I was looking for before I even said anything. He points to our teacher not too far away talking with a man with crazy, blonde hair spiked upwards, who I recognize as Present Mic, and the strange, white mouse-like creature that is our principal.

"We'll be back." Todoroki says before grabbing my hand again as we make our way towards Aizawa.

"They're holding hands!" I hear Mina say to Kaminari behind us. I roll my eyes at their antics, but seriously wonder whether Todoroki is doing this on purpose or if he's just the subconsciously hand-holding type.

"Oh, Rin, Todoroki." Aizawa greets us, briefly glancing down towards our hands as I quickly let mine fall out of his.

"Ah, Rin." Principal Nezu starts. "Pleasure to meet you in person. I hope you're adjusting well to UA- especially since you basically had no choice but to come here."

I clench my jaw under my mask. "Oh well, what can you do when threatened with jail." I sarcastically mutter.

The principal laughs. "Anyway, what has brought you two here?"

As we explain the situation of the people in the vents, Aizawa and Present Mic's faces change into a much more serious expression, while the mouse principal's face remains in a stiff smile. "Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We'll definitely need to investigate this further. Have you told anyone else about this?" The principal asks and we shake our heads.

"Good. Don't tell any other students just yet. We don't want them getting scared or having their parents get worried when we don't know just what's going on." Aizawa states.

"For now, let's send everyone hone." Present Mic hands the Principal a megaphone. He clears his throat once to get everyone's attention. "Students, you are all dismissed early. Please head back inside briefly to collect any belongings before going home."

The students cheer excitedly as their school day is prematurely brought to an end.

——-

I doodle a small image of me jumping from roof to roof on the car window using my quirk. 'I miss being able to get around by roof. Cast makes me feel weak.' I frown as I glance down at my cast.

"Hey. No vandalizing my car." Aizawa states from next to me in the driver's seat. "And you're not allowed to be alone with a boy in the house, understood?"

I give Aizawa a perplexed look. "What?"

"Don't act like I didn't see you and Todoroki being a little closer than usual." He says.

I blush furiously, my hands flying up to my cheeks- or rather, the mask's cheeks. "I-It's not like that! We've just been friends for a while!" I stammer. ''Friends?' Since when did I consider him a friend?' I think to myself. 'Just because we've run into each other a few times doesn't make us friends.'

"Well, he still won't be allowed at home alone with you." Aizawa sternly says.

"It's not like I was allowed to be alone to begin with." I groan as I erase the image from the glass window. "I miss my freedom."

"Well, I'm sure you'd have more freedom if you weren't a criminal." He replies.

I click my tongue against the roof of my mouth in annoyance, knowing he's right. "Don't say it like I'm a villain." I grumble. "I'll never be like them."

"Then why not become a hero?" He asks me. "We found your middle school records of high schools you were trying to get into. UA was one of them, so I'm assuming that you wanted to be a hero at some point."

I grit my teeth as I remember the day I filled out the form for high schools I was aiming for, the same day I learned the reality of heroes and how weak I truly was. "Maybe if heroes weren't so fake, I'd still like to be one." I snap.

"What qualifies as a 'fake' hero?" Aizawa asks me, looking over at me as we stop at a red light.

"Heroes who pretend to be saviours. Heroes who trick the weak into thinking that they're strong. Heroes who pretend that they're saints and trick kids into thinking they're perfect. Heroes who are hypocrites and liars." I hiss out. "Someone like my mom."
I see Aizawa's eyes widen briefly in the rearview mirror at my response. "That's why I'll never be a hero nor a villain. I'll never be weak enough to resort to being fake, and I will never pretend to be something I'm not."