PHOENIX: A Pro Hero Toya Todoroki AU

Chapter 2: Young Love (September 17, 2117)

I couldn't take my eyes off him the entire day; I was totally distracted. Keigo didn't seem to notice. I caught him stealing glances at me as well, but, for whatever reason, I was completely entranced. The sheer fact that someone could love me in ways that I thought were impossible was mind blowing to me. Though, to be honest, I don't know why it took me so long to realize it. After all, I'd fallen asleep in his arms almost every night we were in the dorm for the past five months. After the first night he wrapped me up, I slept rather peacefully. I mean, I would of course still have night terrors, though they were significantly less intense with Keigo's feathers caressing me. Last night was...something. I couldn't stop thinking about it. About how... good it felt. Yes, there was lust, and hormones, and intensity, but...it also just felt... oddly joyous. I was...happy. I couldn't remember the last time I was truly happy. Most likely before Shoto was born. Or the split second of amazement when my Quirk came in, and then when my flames turned blue...

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WHAM!

"Todoroki! Are you listenin' to me?!"

Our teacher's shrill Southern voice pierces my eardrums as her ruler thuds on my desk. I'd been daydreaming again. I blink and look around. I'm in my homeroom, the Quirk Studies class, and the clock reads 3:25 P.M.. Miss Kaminari looms over me, her eyes glowing with electric impatience. I hear Keigo's best friend, Rumi Usagiyama, snickering at the back of the classroom. I rub my eyes and sit up straight in my seat.

"Sorry ma'am. I zoned out." I'd been thinking nonstop about how I was going home this weekend. It would be the first time I'd been home since the weekend that I skipped to confess to Keigo. I hadn't been home in almost a full month.

"Again? That's a bad habit, Todoroki. We don't want your father to hear about this, right? Please pay attention in my classroom." As soon as she finishes her reprimanding, the bell rings. The school day is over. That means I can go see Keigo. I immediately jump out of my seat and go to sprint out the door when I'm caught by the collar of my uniform. After the other students pour out of the classroom, Miss Kaminari slowly puts me down.

"Toya Todoroki. What's going on? The past two weeks your grades have been at an all time high and yet you seem more distracted than you've ever been!? I don't know what to think. Are you cheating? You know our policy on academic honesty in the Hero Course," Miss Kaminari lectures me as she makes her way to sit down at her desk. She stares at me behind her black cat-eye glasses.

"No! Of course not! I would never cheat! I just. Have a good influence, I guess," I shuffle my feet and put my hands in my pockets as I stare at the floor. My heart beats fast in my chest. I just want to get this conversation over with so I can take Keigo out to dinner for a surprise.

"Ah, yes. That Takami boy. He's not only top of the class but at the top of the entire student body already. I find it interesting that you've suddenly found a friend after how much trouble you had last year. You're a bright kid, y'know," She continues as she straightens the papers on her desk. I shrug and fix my shirt collar before running a hand through my hair.

"You may be doing better on the paper tests, but you still seem to be falling short of your practical exercises. Have you applied for your support items? I believe those would be good service for you. I know you can't help your condition, hon, but you need to take care of yourself. I worry about you sometimes. You know I'm always here to offer advice as your teacher if you need to talk. I have a little one of my own at home so I know some things about proper parentin'," she smiles sadly at me, and I subconsciously rub the burn mark on the side of my neck. The amount of times I had to go to counseling last year about my home situation was too much; Miss Kaminari knew almost everything because I had a nervous breakdown last year after Shoto's Quirk manifested. In fact, my situation was the reason why Miss Kaminari lobbied to ensure the dorms were kept as there were talks to remove them this year. I knew she talked with our close-combat teacher Shishido about my condition, which is why he tried to get me to focus more on melee rather than relying on my Quirk.