𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 | 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗼𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗶 𝘅 𝗼𝗰

⁸a celestial body

Rin's eyes darted between Enji and Shoto, watching firsthand how Shoto nonchalantly disregarded his father's proud speech about his son finally deciding to 'walk down the path of the mighty' – whatever that meant.

They'd only just gotten to Enji's Agency and she was already tired.

Rin had experienced the most gruelling train ride with Shoto who refused to talk to her the entire ride. Not like she wanted to talk to him either, but it would've made things a lot less awkward for the two of them.

Not to mention that she was barely awake; she'd been struggling to sleep since her 'celebratory' dinner with the Todoroki Family and hadn't slept in a few days.

It had been plaguing her mind like some stubborn sickness she couldn't just shake off and move on from.

Something didn't sit right about the arranged marriage. Not just the whole 'being engaged to someone against her will' part, but also how she and her father even got into this situation. Sure, her father had explained how he'd been blackmailed into it, but she always thought that her life mattered more to Ryu than his status.

She always thought that as long as they had each other, nothing mattered.

Alas, she tried not to dwell on it for too long; she had to focus on finding out how to get Shoto on her side.

"And Rin, I'm glad to see you took my offer too." Enji turned his attention to her, Rin smiling politely up at the man engulfed in flames.

"Of course, I'm honoured to be trained by my future father-in-law." Shoto scoffed at her words, looking away. "I hope to learn a lot from you."

Rin was a suck up to adults, as usual. Shoto crossed his arms to his chest, ignoring the beaming face of his classmate.

Enji chuckled, placing a heavy hand on her head as he slightly messed up her hair.

"You won't regret it," Enji vowed. "You two should get ready to train for tonight and then we're leaving for Hosu City in the morning."

The two teens nodded, Rin following Shoto to the rooms they were staying in.

She took long strides to walk by Shoto's side, her luggage bouncing against the marble floors as she caught up with him.

"Can we–"

" – I'm not talking to you."

She halted, watching as he approached the nearby elevator and pressed the 'up' arrow. He tapped his foot impatiently, Rin glaring daggers into his back.

Rin needed Shoto's cooperation. If she wanted to get through to the stubborn boy, she needed to stoop down to his level – just this once.

Rin followed after the seemingly permanently pissed teen as he stepped into the elevator, stopping beside him with her carry-on luggage as he pressed one of the top floors.

After the doors closed before them, Rin whipped her head to him.

"Shoto, I know you're livid–"

" – it's Todoroki."

Rin poked the inside of her cheek with her tongue before she abandoned her luggage on the floor, leaning forward and smashing the emergency button of the elevator.

Shoto's lips parted in surprise, the elevator shaft jolting to a stop.

"Hey! –" He went to shove past her but Rin pushed her arm into his chest, pinning him to the wall behind him.