Running With The Wolves (Shoto Todoroki X Izuku Midoriya)

Chapter 33: Wolfwalkers And The Little Ones

All the festive music and dancing may have already ended some time ago. But since then, both Shoto and Izuku were still laughing, occasionally humming the same festive tune from earlier.

"That was amazing!" Izuku giggled.

"I know right?" Shoto eagerly agreed. "Back there, I...I've never felt so alive!"

"Say, Townie. You never told me you were a pretty good dancer!" Izuku grinned as he removed his hood while snatching the hat off Shoto's head and placing it atop his head.

"You never asked!" He retorted with a chuckle before snatching his hat and placing it back on his head, but not without pulling up the other's hood back on.

The pair laughed once again while playfully bumping on each other's shoulders. At the moment, both boys were strolling through the still as ever busy streets of the town, while feasting on the cheese Shoto bought earlier. But then all of a sudden, Izuku stopped and turned towards a certain direction.

Shoto appears to have noticed, because he stopped as well just to turn and look at him.

"Izuku, what's the matter?"

Instead of answering him, without even turning to look at him, he asked "Shoto, do you hear that?"

Confused, for all he heard was the same old busy town noise, he asked "Hear what?"

Once again, the wild boy gave him no response before suddenly, running off without any explanation.

"Izuku!"

Unlike before, Shoto didn't chase after him this time. All he did was loudly sigh out in frustration before turning to the falcon sitting on his shoulder.

"Tenya, you know what to do!"

The bird screeched in response before flying off into the very direction Izuku had disappeared off to. Shoto was planning on just standing there, waiting for Tenya to return with Izuku. But then from out of nowhere, amongst the murmurs and whispers coming from the townsfolk all around him.

He actually heard it himself, the sound of crying. Shoto was alarmed at first, but he immediately began turning towards different directions, trying to locate it's very source. The sound then led him to a nearby alley.

And sure enough, on the ground with his legs tucked close to his chest was a young boy. Whether it be in fear or his inability to stop himself from sobbing, it was painstakingly obvious that the poor thing was shaking. So as anyone should do when they find a child, crying and all alone no less.

With his hands on his knees, Shoto bent himself a bit just so he could look at the kid better and asked softly "Hey, kid. Are you lost?"

The boy appears to have been startled by the sudden voice, making him look up from his arms to see. Hoping to reassure the little boy, Shoto smiled. But for some reason, with eyes still red from crying and a face stained with his tears and his snot, the kid shot a glare at the older English boy.

Then the unexpected happened, the little boy stood up and kicked Shoto by the knee. Of course, the pain made him shriek, lift his leg to cradle it and began hopping in place. And then suddenly, the kid ran off and hid behind one of the crates found within the alley.

"Hey, what the heck?! What you did that for, kid?!"

"Shoto, what are you doing?"

While still holding on to his aching knee, said boy turned to face the source. And sure enough, he finds Izuku with Tenya sitting on his shoulder.

"About time, where the heck have you been?!"

"I heard crying, so I followed it. Then I found this lost little thing!"