Running With The Wolves (Shoto Todoroki X Izuku Midoriya)

Chapter 19: Doing It All For Him

"Izuku, is this really necessary?" Shoto nervously asked. "You don't really have to accompany me, you know. I can walk back to town just fine on my own!"

Right now, both the hunter boy and the wild boy were making their way through the woods. The thing that got Shoto feeling nervous to begin with was watching Izuku what he could only guess was patrolling the area just up ahead of him.

"No way!" Izuku exclaimed a little too aggressively. "That intruder could still be out there, lurking around somewhere in our woods. Who knows? He could even be close by right now. Probably waiting for perfect chance to pounce on us at any moment now."

The hunter boy was left laughing awkwardly, obviously worried about the wild boy's severe paranoia. But who could blame him? They had just been attacked by a lone wolf who had probably trespassed into their territory. So Shoto of course was very understanding why Izuku was suddenly acting so vigilant, a little too vigilant if he might add.

"If you're so worried about that intruder going after me again. Remember, I'm armed with a crossbow you know!" The hunter boy stated as he jabbed a thumb at the very weapon that was strapped to his back.

"Shoto, I don't think that intruder is afraid of that little contraption of yours. Besides, not even I could protect you. So what makes you think it can protect you from him? I could only say it was even a miracle the both us made it out alive back there!"

Izuku spoke the last part with a quieter tone. And just like that, the air between the two wolfwalkers suddenly grew cold, mostly coming from the wild boy himself. Even though his back was facing him, Shoto was still able to tell that Izuku was sad just by simply spotting his slumped shoulders.

It took a moment for Shoto to even realize, Izuku had been feeling guilty this entire time. And from the looks of it, it was slowly starting to eat him up alive. The wild boy promised his mother that he will protect the woods, protect their home. So shouldn't he be more upset for allowing intruders to enter their forest?

That's what honestly surprised him the most, Izuku was more upset that he failed to protect Shoto over the fact that intruders were now roaming freely within his territory. Because if he really were, then the wild boy should've been the one worrying and complaining about it, not him. However, it would feel wrong if Shoto said he felt touched that Izuku cares deeply for him, because that also meant he was the very source to why he was feeling upset all of a sudden.

It wasn't his fault, but he was still the sole reason why Izuku was even blaming himself to begin with. And just the thought of it made Shoto feel guilty for it. He had to do something. No!

He needed to do something to lift the heavy burden of failure weighing the wild boy down, even just a little bit. And judging by the way how his mismatched eyes suddenly lit up, it appears the hunter boy has found the perfect idea of how he could do it.

"Hey, Izuku. Wait a moment!" Shoto shouted before pushing his heels to quickly catch up with the other boy ahead of him.

"What is it, Townie?!" Izuku exclaimed as he immediately turned to face the other. "Is it the intruder?! Did you see him?! Where is he?! Is he here?! Tell me!" He spoke each and every question with quick and aggressive tone while posing in a defensive manner, ready to attack.

The wild boy was meant to be intimidating. But for some strange reason, the hunter boy instead found him adorable, causing him to let out a chuckle as soon as he reached said boy's side.

"Izuku, calm down. There's no intruder!" Shoto replied reassuringly. "I just wanted to ask you a favor, that's all!"

His reassuring words appears to have thankfully worked, because the other boy slowly started to relax himself back into his normal pose.