Running With The Wolves (Shoto Todoroki X Izuku Midoriya)

Chapter 13: Help Comes In Unexpected Ways

The following day came, and Shoto was back in the castle doing his scullery work. With damp rag in hand, the boy was left on his own in a hallway lined with large windows, wiping one of the many many glass windows clean. The boy just couldn't help but smile softly and occasionally quietly chuckle to himself from time to time as he cleaned, the events from last night of him and the wild boy as young wolves kept on playing over and over again from within his mind.

What happened last night with Izuku was like a beautiful dream, the kind of dream he never wishes to wake up from. But sadly, like a dream, Shoto needed to wake back up to reality. Taking a pause from his wiping, he wasn't certain why, but the scene that stood from the other side of the glass caught his attention for some reason.

For a moment, the boy just stood there still as he silently starred at the glass window. That's until he found himself pulling away before swinging his head both left and right, seeming to check whether he was alone in this particular hallway or not. Once, he was certain that there was no one within his vicinity, Shoto tossed the rag into a nearby bucket before pushing the window open, allowing the cool morning breeze to enter inside and blow against his face.

Taking in a deep breath before letting it all out, he then lifted his head to stare at the bright blue morning sky.

"Mother? Mother, are you really up there? If you are, then is it true? Are you still watching over me?"

Of course, no one gave him the response he was asking for.

But that didn't stop Shoto from continuing "I hope you're doing well up there, because I'm doing alright down here myself. Well, sort of. There's a lot of stuff going on, but I managed to pull through. You see, I met someone. I'm sure you already know him from last night, his name is Izuku. Sure he can be a bit of a brat, a handful and annoying sometimes. Also, he bit me and turned me into a wolfwalker. But ever since we came here, he is by far the only one I can be myself around." Lowering his head, his eyes narrowed and this melancholic expression then appeared on his face when he continued "Something I can't do with Father. He wants to me to stay here and be a servant boy, says it's safer. But I disagree!"

Both his hands were curling tightly into fists. Shoto was trying his hardest not to raise his voice in spite of the overwhelming emotions he was feeling at the moment, in order to avoid catching any attention.

"Being with Izuku, it...it felt like a part of me that I thought would be lost forever, he brought it back. Being with him made me so happy, made me feel warm inside, he showed me what it really feels like to be free. But to be completely free means I have to..." Letting out a shaky breath, he then raised a hand to cover his face when he deeply sighed "What was I thinking?! I can't do that!" Pulling his hand away, he raised his head to look back up to the sky and added "Mother, what am I supposed to do?"

Once again, neither the sky nor the deceased loved one he had been speaking to this entire time gave him any form of response. Breathing out another deep sigh, Shoto pulled the windows closed before turning around to lean his back against the wall beside it.

"What am I even doing? Am I going crazy or what?"

Then from out of the blue, a loud crashing sound suddenly awakened Shoto from his thoughts, startling him a bit in the process. The boy didn't linger any longer to figure out what on earth that was when he pushed his heels and immediately bolted towards where he thought was the source of the sudden noise. Finding himself stopping before a pair of double doors, Shoto wasted no time and quickly pushed them open.