Flufftober 2021

Day 1: Winning a Teddy for the Other

Summer break was now upon the Heroes in Training at AU and everyone was looking forward to getting back home for the holidays except for one.

Aurora Cortez was currently spending her summer with the Todoroki family as the first day back at her family home was not a pleasant one. Todoroki was escorting Cortez home when he noticed she was getting quieter and quieter and was getting more nervous. At first, he thought it was just the after-exam nerves as she was 2nd in the 1-A class, but that thought was blown to smithereens when after a few moments the mint-haired teen entered the door and Todoroki was walking away he had to run back to the home when he heard yelling and screams from inside the household. He broke open the door and saw her bastard father beating her up with anything that would do her harm. Todoroki eventually saw red and froze the man and the surrounding living room with ice.

Endeavor was there 5 minutes after the police arrived when he received a call that his son was involved in domestic violence at this location. He was shocked to see the entire inside of the house was encased in ice and a man was yelling incoherently at the dual-haired boy, which gave him a look of deepest loathing. The same look he had previously had with his own father a while ago. He was about to scold him for using his Quirk at a civilian when he realized Todoroki did it to protect one of his classmates from further harm. He should have known better, Todoroki is not the kind of person who would do that without real cause.

When Endeavor looked at the girl in the ambulance, he noticed bruises, discolorations on her arms and face, and even more gruesome wounds all over her back and wings from apparent torture. That rubbed the No. 1 hero the wrong way, knowing a child was being abused to that extent, not to mention the flashbacks with his kids. The girl would have to be sent back to the dorms, however, she will be alone for the summer with Aizawa, the homeroom teacher.

That is how she got to live with Todoroki and the rest of the family, plus if Endeavor refused he would lose whatever bridge he was trying to mend with his children and he would not hear the end of it from his only daughter Fuyumi. The No. 1 hero of all of Japan, defeated by his children. If only the agency could see him now.

A week later Cortez still had casts on her arms and the rest from the elbow up were wrapped in fresh bandages. She had to get help from Fuyumi with her outfit today as for the first time since that incident she was going outside with her classmate Shouto. She had a tank top that buttoned in the back, blue jean shorts, and laceless shoes.

"There," Fuyumi said and took a step back after fastening Cortez's right arm in a sling. "You should be good to go to the Lavender Festival with Todoroki, I will also provide you a bag to hold your stuff for easier transportation. I also took a look at your wings, they are growing nicely and they are starting to show a pale purple coloration.

"Thank you, Fuyumi-chan." Cortez said, bowing in gratitude after taking a look at her wings, they still look horrible but when they are damaged to a certain extent they will take time to regrow. "Also, thank you for letting me stay for the summer."

"Don't worry about it." Fuyumi said, waving her hands in a good gesture. "Besides, you are also Shoto's friend. It would not have sat right with him after knowing what happened."

"Right." Cortez agreed and turned towards the door when her nose twitched, detecting that someone was behind the door.

"Are you ready to go?" Shoto said when he opened the door. He saw his schoolmate nodding her head and walking out of the room with him.

"See you later, Fuyumi-chan," Cortez said with a slight smile. Fuyumi noticed she was trying to hide her pain, but she could see a mask when there was one on.

"We might be home late, Nee-san." Todoroki said casually, and both he and his schoolmate walked out of the house and took the taxi to the Festival. Fuyumi waved them both off and once they got far enough, she had a slight smirk on her face, knowing that if anybody would try to heal her, it would be her little brother. They might not see it right away but she could tell that Todoroki was becoming more open with her around.

They arrived at the Festival and the location was so full of lavender scent that when Cortez got out of the taxi she inhaled deeply and the scent was immediately calming her nerves. She smiled even wider when behind the festival were miles of the same herb in different colors appearing in all its beauty. Breathing out she released a cold breath and looked at Todoroki who was looking at the area with a stoic expression. To the normal eye, everyone else would think he is not impressed but he had a slight spark in his eye that defied that.

"What should we do first?" Todoroki asked, and Cortez's stomach growled in massive rage. He saw her face turn a bright red, squeaking and he smiled slightly at her shy reaction. "I guess food is the first thing."

He gently grabbed the girl's left hand and pulled her towards the food stalls to see what would be delicious and easier for Cortez to hold. They got a variety of foods on a stick like corn dogs and grilled veggies, and Cortez was having a blast with a unique combination of pumpkin and lavender ice cream in a cup. The strange combination tasted great to Cortez, but Todoroki just shuddered at the abomination.

After that, they went to a section where they could play games to win toys or animals and in one stall they saw Midoriya and Bakugou racing each other in the water shoot for the grand prize.

"How much do you want to bet that Midoriya wins." Todoroki said casually and Cortez just giggled and shook her head.

"I'm not betting anything, because it is always the case." She replied and sure enough, Midoriya won the grand prize. Bakugou was yelling obscenities for being a sore loser and the green bean was cackling evilly. "See." She then got distracted from a particular stall of ring toss and her eyes lit up at a Teddy Bear holding a Lavender Sachet.

"This thing caught your fancy?" A man in charge of the stall looked at her and smiled. "Smells like lavender too."

"What do I need to do to get the bear?" Cortez asked while Todoroki was looking at her with a slight blush. It has been a while since he last saw her energetic smile.

"Ring toss, my dear." The man said and pointed to rows and rows of close-knit bottles. In one round, if you land 2 or more out of 5 rings you will get the bear. Hitting one with a gold ring around the neck is an instant win."

She smiled widely then it faltered a bit when she realized something. She looked at her arms and then looked at the man. "May I see the ring? I may not be able to toss or hold them correctly."

He looked at her arms and nodded, pulling out one of the rings and handing it to her. It was as she thought, due to her casts she would not be able to hold them properly. Her face dropped and the light in her eyes started to disappear.

Todoroki was not having it, the light that just returned to her, he refused to let it go out. So he grabbed the ring from her hand. "I would like to play, for the bear." He said, causing Cortez to go red in the face.

"N-no you don't have to.." She started but stopped when he gave her a look that he had never shown before. A look of...admiring determination?

"You're right, I don't have to." He said, then handed the guy the money. "I want to. I want to see your smile, hear your laughter and take away your sorrow."

Cortez blushed some more as she realized the truth. He liked her, and at the same time, she felt the same way about him. So, with silence and a warm smile, she watched Todoroki toss rings into the bottles, and 1 of the 4 was ringed and he was down to the last ring.

Todoroki was getting nervous. The requirement was 2 rings or a gold bottle, and he has only one ring. He was not going to give up, if he failed he would try again. So, with a deep breath and frost leaving from his mouth, he tossed the last ring and for a second it bounced off one bottle, and for a brief second of disbelief, it landed perfectly on another bottle.

He had done it, he was able to win the bear for his friend, or was it now girlfriend? That sounded better, he thought and he turned to see Cortez jumping for joy and her beautiful smile once again.

"You did it, Todoroki!" Cortez said and her green dragon eyes shone brightly when he handed her the bear. "Gracias."

Todoroki rubbed his right hand gently over her face causing a small chill up her spine. She looked up at him and for the first time, Cortez saw the purest, genuine smile adorn his face. "Never lose that smile."

Cortez smiled even wider and gave Todoroki a peck on the cheek. "I'll never let it leave again, Canelo."