weary travelers.

BITTERSWEET TRAGEDIES

Shouto is a regular occurrence in the bar. 

He sneaks out more than Natsuo and has memorized the address. He gets along well with most of the people, actually all of them―they're surprisingly understanding―namely Dabi. Natsuo gets along well with him, too, so it's not really a surprise. What is a surprise, though, is finding the leader of the IPS putting burn ointment on his hands at two in the morning―not that Shouto could say anything. 

He's stayed awake staring at the ceiling aching over burns, too.

Izuku has a mumbling habit, and Shouto doesn't mind. It's better than the ringing silence of fear that always seems to surround his house―Endeavor was always just around the corner―no matter why. The Todoroki children were the best at playing hide and seek; when Mom was still around she made the game fun, she promised mochi if nobody got caught at the end of the day. Now they always play hide and seak with Endeavor, and losing is inevitable, the consequences are harsh and there is no winning. Shouto does not like the game anymore. Todoroki doesn't like to think about the bubbling around his eye. So he'll just focus on Izuku, who is too enthralled in his own ramblings to notice he's here.

"Hey, Izuku?"

The freckled boy goes straight as a rod, his breathe catches in his lungs and his hands start to twitch, the burn ointment falls to the countertop with a muted thud. There is a choke in his voice and a tightening in his limbs prepared to defend himself from something. Terror and apologies sit on his shoulders and Shouto wants to know why. He wants to know why this boy has a burnt ear and why his left side is more sensitive than his right.

Todoroki Shouto knows the signs that he is showing, that's pure fear, and Izuku seems to feel it a little too often to be suitable. He wants to know why he doesn't tell anyone.

"What happened to your ear?"

"It's— been like this for, forever― see I, uh."

"Don't lie to me. If you don't want to tell me, don't tell me, but don't lie." Shouto interjects.

"N-no it— it really h-has― I-I've always had this," Izuku says, and Shouto wonders if everyone with a combustion quirk only hurts hurts hurts, "―I guess I was g-given it a-a really long time a-ago. It, uh, a-always has been a bit, uhm, m-messed up. O-one of my.. classmates," His voice scratches the word out like it's wrong; like he's used to saying something else. It leaves something bitter in Shouto's throat. Something like bile and vinegar - he doesn't think about it. Today was a better day, the tea kettle whistles quietly. Shouto does not want to feel like a ghost today. He ignores it. "had a heat-based quirk and them―they―uh, didn't know how to control it properly and well we were playing Heroes versus Villains one day and- and they used it on me―and this happened―by accident of course!"

Shouto thinks back to the first battle trial, how Ochako―they're friends now, he's never known what friends are, but they don't use last names at the bar―and Bakugou fought. There was a massive blast and then the villain team won. Only four brave individuals from their class went up and befriended him. Ochako doesn't like him, he made her wear a cast for three days. Shouto doesn't get why she's so angry, he's gotten casts for weeks and didn't complain at all.

He wants to ask if Izuku knows Bakugou. He wants to know why he's so scared of everything, why he tries to make sure nobody is angry (Shouto knows that when people are angry they get violent, he has enough baggage for a lifetime or two.)

"That sounds like―no, never mind."

He doesn't really want to know. He doesn't want to think about how there are monsters in the making under his nose.