ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴏᴋᴏʏᴀᴍɪ sɪʙʟɪɴɢs' ᴄᴏɴsᴘɪʀᴀᴄʏ • 𝔹𝕠𝕜𝕦 𝕟𝕠 ℍ𝕖𝕣𝕠 𝔸𝕔𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕚𝕒

chapter 11: todoroki

"All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream."

– Edgar Allen Poe

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Eight year old Chiyo stares down at the wet grass, crying silently while ignoring the rain falling on her.

    Chiyo hugs her legs to her chest, sobbing into her knees as the rain poured down on her.

She doesn't hear the footsteps walking up to her before a small hum startles her. She looks up with wide eyes, quickly wiping away her tears.

  Chiyo flinches back when she feels a hesitant hand touch her shoulder and looks up with tear-filled eyes.

An eight year old boy with light hair, dark brown eyes, and fair skin stood there awkwardly, holding a slightly wilting dandelion. "Um–Are you–are you okay?"

  Shōto stood in the rain with an umbrella and a bag in one hand, eyebrows furrowed and eyes shining with worry–face otherwise blank. "Are you alright Chiyo?"

Chiyo sniffs and rubs her eyes again, shaking her head. Her wings wrap closer around her.

"N-no... not really... The teachers put my brother in another class and I–I don't like being alone..." She says softly, voice thick with sadness.

  Chiyo opens her mouth to speak, but stifles a sob instead. She takes a deep breath and shakes her head, furiously rubbing her eyes.

  "My–I–Sho–Shohei is cheating on me and I–I–" Chiyo starts to cry again "–I just found out and–"

"H-here. Let's go inside. I can stay with you. We–we can play Heroes vs. Villains!" The boy says, holding out a hand. Chiyo stares at him in surprise before smiling brightly, tears starting to fall again.

"O-okay." Chiyo grabs his hand and stands up.

  Shōto blinks in shock, staring at the black haired teenager for a few moments while Chiyo closes her eyes and tilts her head down. "Come on."

  Chiyo looks up and sees a pale hand in front of her. She stares at Shōto. A small smile grows on her face as another wave of sadness–and comfort–fills her chest and she reaches up for the stoic boy's hand.

"My name's Shohei, by the way!" The eight year old Shohei exclaims brightly. "You're Chiyo, right?"

The eight year old Chiyo nods her head with a shaky smile as she wipes away her tears for the final time. "Mmhmm. N-nice to meet you..."

"I–um–I saw how sad you were in class so... here." Shohei blushes a bit and shyly hands the dandelion to Chiyo. Chiyo blushes and gently grabs the single flower. She giggles shyly and smiles at the boy.

"Thank you..."

  "Here." Shōto takes off his jacket and places it on Chiyo's shoulder. Chiyo sniffs and rubs away her tears, giving the taller boy a shaky smile.

  "Th-thank you, Todoroki-kun..." Chiyo presses a hand to her mouth and tries to calm her sadness and betrayal. "I-I'm sorry. This–I–"