The Hellish Todorokis

Chapter 4

"Sho, get your dirty laundry together and bring it to my room, please," Touya shouts distractedly, brows furrowed as he hunches over his phone, reading an online recipe for a chicken curry dish.

In the week they've been moved into the apartment, he's been getting better at cooking. At least he thinks he is. It was hard with how sparse their kitchen was. Mr. Yamaguchi had let them sift through a bunch of stuff that a previous tenant in another unit had left behind, but it still wasn't much. He ended up breaking down and buying a cheap rice cooker and a couple pots and pans a few days ago. Hopefully they wouldn't have to worry about making their money last for long and could splurge on some things they needed after his job interview tomorrow.

As he slowly adds spices to the pot, the doorbell rings. Shouto's head pops out of his bedroom, and they lock eyes. Touya nods to him and Shouto darts back into his room and closes the door. Touya lowers the heat on the stove and checks on the rice, giving Shouto some time to hide himself in the closet, before walking towards the entryway. Taking a deep breath and shaking out his hands nervously, he plants a smile on his face and opens the door.

Standing in the hallway is a kind looking woman with shoulder-length dark green hair, holding a plate of what looks like sweet rice cakes. Touya looks down to see a young boy, his eyes and hair just a shade lighter than his mother's, peeking out from behind her skirt. "H-hi. Can I help you?"

"Hi there!" Her voice is kind and warm. "My name is Inko Midoriya, and this is my son Izuku." The boy gives Touya a shy smile. "I heard we had a new tenant in the building and wanted to welcome you!" She extends the plate towards Touya with an expectant smile. He takes it, awkwardly holding it out in front of him.

"Oh. Um, thank you. That's very kind of you. I'm Seika Tameda, it's nice to meet you." He looks down at the boy and notices his All Might shirt. "Are you an All Might fan?"

The boy's eyes light up and his mother chuckles when he nods his head wildly. "Oh, don't get this one started on All Might. Izuku is his biggest fan, right honey?"

"He's my favorite!"

Touya smiles. "He's my brother's favorite too." He opens the door wider. "Would you like to come in? I was just finishing up dinner if you'd like to stay and eat with us."

"We couldn't possibly intrude like that..."

"It's not an intrusion at all. I just, uh, can't promise it's going to taste the best. I'm kind of new at the whole cooking thing." He grins sheepishly, a hand coming up to scratch the back of his neck.

Inko smiles, her kind eyes crinkling with warmth. "Okay, but only if you let me help."

"Deal." He gestures for them to come inside before leading them to the living room. "Excuse me while I go get my brother and put these away," he says, lifting the plate in his hands. After setting the plate down on the counter, he walks over to Shouto's bedroom and taps twice, pauses, then taps once more. Their signal for 'all clear'. "Hotaru! There's someone here who wants to meet you."

He hears the closet door open and some shuffling before the knob turns. His brother peeks his head out cautiously, brows furrowed. "They want to meet me?" Touya nods reassuringly. "It's okay, come on." He can see the uncertainty in Shouto's eyes, but he lets him pull him out of his room and lead him down the hall.

Back in the living room, Izuku tilts his head curiously at Shouto as he peeks out from behind Touya's pant leg. Shouto loosens his grip on his hand when he sees the All Might shirt. He looks up to him, as if asking for his permission. Touya gives him a small smile. He hesitantly comes out from behind his pant leg, his eyes scanning the new boy.