Cyclone - Shoto Todoroki

Chapter Seven

I'm at fault for my life, I think back to that each and every time.

The plastic bag had been sitting on the desk since Kotoi had left, serving as a constant source of irritation.

Shuya knows that he should toss it in the bin already; but if it's bugged or rigged to explode then he can hardly just drop it into the breakroom, right?

He sits for hours, glaring at it, before Zushi finally returns from his trip outside. His left knuckle is bruised.

''I leave you alone for a day and you've managed to make an enemy of a plastic bag.'' He observes, condescendingly. Asshole.

Zushi walks up to the desk and messes up the boy's hair- much to his irritation- before walking over to examine the bag for himself.

After looking inside, he smiles brightly, before diving in and snatching up the packet of pocky, and pulling out a biscuit, eating it quickly before Shuya can get a word in.

He starts speaking, in the most patronising tone possible. ''How sweet of you to finally remember to pay me back after a week of hoping, wandering, when oh when will Akuto-''

''Kotoi left that bag for me while checking out.'' The boy interrupts.

Zushi quickly spits the offending biscuit out, before throwing the box back down as well. ''Give a guy some warning, won't you?'' He grumbles, before picking up the bag and walking back outside, likely heading to throw it out in some random trash can.

It's strange, because even though Shuya had been planning to do that exact thing, it still irritates him that Zushi would take it without asking. It was gifted to him after all.

When the man returns, neither of them say another word about it, and he simply sighs before walking into the break room, likely going to smoke.

What were Kotois intentions, anyway? Had it been some misfounded act of pity?

Or maybe, it was an attempt to bribe him. If the man had seen him Last week, it would be logical to assume Shuya would either warn Zushi or even report him to the police.

Unfortunately for the man, Shuya had seen no reason to keep it a secret from his boss, and had told him the next day. Zushis response was confusing, and he's made a habit of leaving the hotel every day during Shuyas shifts since then.

He knows that the man is hiding something from him, and he's torn between being grateful for the plausible deniability it gives him, and frustrated that he's left in the dark about something that might be important for his own safety.

But for some reason, he wants to trust that Zushi knows best. He doesn't truly want to know why Zushi leaves for hours at a time and returns with injuries, afterall.

Sometimes, it's best to be left in the dark.

—

Earlier, he had managed to get into yet another fight with some thugs that had been pestering him. The teenagers had been easily defeated- a sweep of the leg and a jab to the throat was all it took to incapacitate them.

And yet, unfortunately, he hadn't predicted the knife quirk until it was ripping through his face. Zushi told him that it would scar. Shuya isn't sure how he feels about that.

The man had then ordered him to go to the konbini, to pick him up some snacks, as payment for 'patching up his dumbass.'

And so, Shuya had left, after some half-hearted arguments about 'exploitation' and 'not being a servant.'