After Burn

Soba

The training ended with two minutes left on the clock and eleven people eliminated. (The new eliminations being Mineta, Momo, Satou, Kouda, and Aoyama). Todorkoki had been the one to get Yume out, his ice trapping her in place before he approached her calmly, tapping her on the chest. As she took note of his quirk and name, she also took note of his incredible looks. She bit her tongue in order to stop herself from asking for his number, reminding herself of the situation she was in.

"Good game." he mumbled, a calm look on his face. "Thanks." she replied—he was the first one to show her any actual respect and she let herself be appreciative. As she walked to the rest of the class who were waiting by the entrance of the faux city—All Might proudly addressed her.

"Hokori! You did great out there, in twenty eight minutes you took out eleven of my students all by yourself. Very impressive!" She fought back a smile. It felt good to have people compliment her, she wasn't used to it. She scanned the rest of the class, who weren't looking any more fond of her. She played with the corner of  her UA PE uniform nervously as All Might broke down the fight, critiquing every exchange. It wasn't that she cared about what they thought of her, she was just trying to avoid being ganged up on back at the dorms. Her stomach tensed as a pink skinned girl, who she identified as Mina, approached her at the end of the class.

"Hey.. uh, Hokori? Even if you used to be a villain, you did a pretty good job out there. Girl power and all that stuff!" Yume grit her teeth, unsure of how to feel about the interaction. Used to be a villain? She was a villain.

"Thanks. Your quirk is interesting." Though there was zero enthusiasm in Yume's voice, Mina beamed at the unintentional compliment.

"Do you need help unpacking your dorm?" Mina continued, taking Yumes response as an attempt for friendship—which it wasn't.

"Nah I'm good, I didn't bring that much with me." The confused eyes of Mina's classmates followed them, probably wondering why Mina was talking to the villain girl who just beat them bloody.

——

Yume sat on the edge of the dorm bed, watching the light disappear from the window outside. A grumble in her stomach broke her from the trance, causing her to stand up from the bed and exit the dorm she refused to call hers. This wasn't her dorm, this wasn't her new life, and this wasn't her school. Her body felt fatigued as she arrived to the kitchen, the voices of her socializing classmates decorating her thoughts as she searched for something to eat. She was used to microwave meals so the abundance of ingredients puzzled her. She closed the fridge, leaning against the counter in defeat. Todoroki entered the kitchen, briefly pausing as he noticed Yume but then continuing to the sink, filling up a glass of water.

"Are you hungry?" he bluntly asked, not much emotion showing on his face other than a small glint of curiosity.

"I guess. You guys have a lot of ingredients." Todoroki tilted his head.

"What do you mean?" he inquired, causing a slight look of amusement to flash across Yume's face. She was unsure why. "I'm just used to microwave meals and stuff, that's all. I'm not really much of a chef." she replied. Todoroki paused.

"What do you usually like eating?" Todoroki innocently questioned, causing Yume to slightly relax her body at the lighthearted and simple conversation. She put a finger to her chin in thought, trying to recall what she would eat with Dabi.

"Soba." she promptly replied, sparking a small glint in Todorkoki's eye. "I enjoy soba too." he replied before turning to the fridge, searching for ingredients.

"What are you doing?" She already knew, but she asked out of  surprise.

"I'm going to make us soba for dinner." he responded impartially.

"You really don't have to do that Todoroki-."

"What's the problem? I'm not just making it for you, it's for everyone." Somehow his blunt statement relaxed her and she watched him in silence as he prepared the ingredients. Her gaze was then pried away from him as a certain pink skinned girl and her friends entered the kitchen, looking at the two in surprise.

"Whatcha' guys making?" Mina questioned cheerfully, as the others stayed silent. It was obvious nobody liked seeing her there.

"Soba." Todoroki replied from over his shoulder, encouraging a silent nod from Yume. "Hey, Hokori did you know that soba is Todoroki's favorite food?" Mina's attempt at a forced conversation was painful to watch.

"Oh really Todoroki? I had no idea, that's a nice coincidence." Todoroki nodded as he continued to make the soba. The silence in the air was obstructed yet again by Mina's voice.

"Oh come on guys, at least try to make her feel welcome! She's a part of our class now and it'll only be that way for a month..so we may as well put our convictions aside to make the most out of it." The others sighed in response, mumbles of hesitant agreement escaping their mouths. Yume didn't want this. She didn't care about feeling welcome, she just wanted this to be over.

"Hey Mina you sound super fired up, what are you guys talkin' about?" Kirishima entered the kitchen as well, a sharp toothed smile on his face.

Instead of Mina, Yume answered him—trying her best to sound the slightest bit friendly. "She was just telling the others to try to make me feel welcome. I understand you don't like me being here, and I don't enjoy it either, but it was nice of her." The group paused in response to her truthful yet reassuring sentiment.

"Alright then, Mina's right! What kind of a man would I be if I made a guest feel unwelcome—same goes for everyone else." he seemed to switch gears rather easily, and it was somewhat charming. The others smiled at Kirishima's passion, apologizing to Yume who was silent with  surprise and a small glint of appreciation....