{UNTIL THE END} Todoroki x Fem!Reader

Terminal Decline

chapter thirty one

"Oh, and by the way, did you hear that Ida wants to talk with us after this?" Mei whispers to you and Todoroki toward the end of Yagi's funeral. 

"Now what?" Todoroki then grumbles, obviously not wanting to deal with more presumably bad news. 

"Guess we'll find out," she shrugs. "Bring the others, I'll meet you there."

Together, you, Todoroki, Sero, Bakugou, and Midoriya make your way to Ida's lab, a sense of unease hanging in the air. Bakugou's continued silence towards you weighs heavily on your heart, and you can't help but feel a sense of sickness in the pit of your stomach.

"So what's this all about?" he asks Todoroki, completely ignoring that you're standing right beside him. "Is Ida finally gonna spill his damn secrets now? Have we finally proved ourselves worthy?" he says sarcastically.

"I know what you know," Todoroki shakes his head. "We'll find out soon enough."

As you enter the lab, Ida greets you, his expression serious. Mina looks visibly nervous, adding to the tension in the room. But thankfully, Ida wastes no time and begins explaining the situation.

"Our food supplies are shrinking faster than anticipated, even with the farm. And, unfortunately, the air filtration system is starting to fail. With our limited resources, it's becoming increasingly difficult to sustain life down here," Ida begins.

Sero gulps, knowing that he is partially in charge of the air filtration system. "I wasn't going to mention it, but I've been monitoring the filtration system closely. We don't have the necessary materials to fix it..."

After that, Bakugou's frustration begins to boil over. "So what?!" his voice booms. "We're all just going to suffocate and die down here? This is bullshit!"

"We can't accept that," you agree, your voice growing louder. "We can't let ourselves be trapped like this. You all promised us that we'd be safer down here. That's why we stayed! We left people on the surface because of everything you told us we should do!"

"I understand your frustration, but we've explored all possible solutions," you hear Ida's voice as Bakugou's fists ball up tightly. At least you know he'll back you up on this. "We've done everything we can."

"W-what if we went to the surface? Got some supplies," you start as you begin to face Todoroki, whom you know has gone up to the surface recently and survived. But before you can out him on his explorations, Bakugou's hand lands firmly on your shoulder.

"There's nothing we can do, Y/N," he says rather softly. "It's over."

Silence engulfs the room, heavy with the weight of the truth. Realization settles in that the future is uncertain, and the fate of everyone within the bunker hangs in the balance. It's a bitter pill to swallow, but the strength of the group lies in their resilience.

And then, Ida somehow manages to make it even worse, saying, "We have a little bit less than a month before the air becomes toxic. After that, we won't be able to survive underground anymore."

Frustrated, you shrug Bakugou's arm off your shoulder and storm out of the room, desperate for air and space to process the overwhelming emotions crashing over you. You can hear Bakugou's voice booming behind you. "One month?!" he shouts, his disbelief adding to the growing panic of the others, including Mei.

Todoroki rushes out of the room after you, cutting in front of you to halt your hurried steps. You look up at him, tears welling in your eyes, and he asks if you're okay. The bitterness within you spills over.

"Okay?!" you say loudly. "Of course, I'm not okay! We have a damn month left to live! This isn't how it's supposed to be! I wanted to grow old, to live a full life, not have it snatched away like this!"

Todoroki gazes at me with a mixture of sadness and understanding. He reaches out and takes my hand in his, a silent gesture of comfort.  "I want that too, Y/N. I wanted to live a long and fulfilling life. But we can't change the reality of our situation. What I want now is to make the most of the time we have left, to spend every last moment I can with you."

Your heart aches at his words, the bittersweet truth sinking in. You grasp his hand tightly as you admit, "I don't know if I can do this, Shoto. How can I possibly face the end like this? It's too painful."

"I promise you that we'll make every moment count, create memories that will endure even when we're gone," he attempts to assure you.

"I'm scared, Shoto," you then whisper. "I'm scared of losing you, of everything ending so suddenly."

"I'm scared too," he admits to you. "But we'll face it together. We can make the most of our last month, I promise."

Your voices continue to tremble with emotion as you wrap your arms around him. The weight of your impending fate lingers, but in that moment, you somehow find the strength to savor the life you have while it still lasts.

Just then, Bakugou, Midoriya, Sero, and Mei step out of Ida's lab with blank faces devoid of any life. You let go of Todoroki and turn around to face them.

Mei is the one who breaks the somber silence, her voice trembling slightly, "I'm in desperate need of a drink... if the two of you want to join."

You glance at Bakugou, his eyes devoid of their usual fire, and wipe away the tears from your eyes. Determination seeps into your voice as you respond, "Sure, Mei. I think we could all use a moment to forget about this crappy news for a little while."

Midoriya attempts to conjure a smile, but it falters, showing turmoil beneath the surface. You reach down for Todoroki's hand and look over at him, receiving a small squeece of support back. 

With a shared agreement, you then follow Mei's lead, stepping forward together, ready to find a bit of relief, even if temporary, in the company of your friends.