UNDONE [Todoroki Shoto x reader]

51: hard truths

You had initially meant to go back to UA the day before, but after Aizawa had told you that he was going back the next day, you slept in the chair beside his bed without a care in the world. Prolonging the inevitable conversation you needed to have with both Bakugo and Shoto, was better. You were in no rush to tell the two closest to you that they could go on with their careers after this, while you were forced to cheer from the side.

Could you even cheer from the sidelines? Worst of all, a dark, ominous feeling had started to gather in the pool of your gut. The same feeling that reminded you of the chill of dread and the bitter tastes of envy whenever you thought about the two of them getting to be heroes without you. Jealousy. You didn't want to become the bitter bitch, but it was hard not to be.

There was no sense of urgency in your steps as you dragged yourself back to UA. What was even worse, was the fact that Aizawa lied to keep you in the hospital for another day. He got Present Mic to drive you back to UA, but Aizawa would remain put in the hospital. It was probably for the best. If you had gone back to UA yesterday, you would have been all sobs and in mourning. Today, you were just numb.

You awkwardly opened the door with your left arm, the movement uncoordinated and the door creaked obnoxiously loud. Heads whipped around from the couches, hopeful eyes stared back at you – and for some reason, they all blanked out. Confused, your eyebrows knit together. What a joyous welcome back.

Shoto was the first to move, nearly slipping out of his slippers on the way over to you.

"I thought you were coming back yesterday," he muttered as he pulled you into a warm hug. His arms wrapped tightly around your back, pressing down on your bruised skin and you let out a shaky 'ouch'. He hastily let go, worry shining in his eyes.

"No, it's fine. I didn't say you were allowed to let go," you muttered as you wrapped your left arm around him and pulled him back into a hug. Shoto huffed silently, ever so amused by your stubbornness. "They wanted to keep me for more tests," you lied with a shaky smile.

"More tests?" Bakugo's voice caught your attention, and you turned your head to look at him. The way his gaze was hardly set on the blue arm brace which kept your arm from flailing about like a wacky waving inflatable tube man. Then, his gaze met yours. You subtly shook your head not for him to bring it up, and Bakugo understood at once. It looked like he had just seen a ghost, the way his eyes went wide and his skin paled.

"Yeah, felt like a pin needle by the end of it."

Still leaning into Shoto, you looked at the rest of the class who were all staring down at the floor or avoiding your gaze entirely. After glancing at Bakugo who also seemed to shy away from your curious gaze, you started to count heads. Everyone was present, except for ...

"Midoriya left," Iida suddenly spoke up.

A chill of dread ran down your spine at the news.

"The hell do you mean 'Midoriya left'?"

While reading Midoriya's letter, you had to sit down. He had inherited his quirk from All Might. It did explain the bias towards him. But the sheer stupidity of him to leave the place he would have been safest? Idiot. Midoriya obviously suffered from an extreme form of a hero complex.

While you were reading, you could hear the sniffles and muffled noises of someone trying to comfort someone else. What the hell was Midoriya's end goal about this? There was no way he could beat Shigaraki on his own if that was his plan.

And the worst part of it all, Bakugo knew. Now that you had read the letter from Midoriya addressed to you, it made sense why Bakugo ended up leaving his assigned job during the raid only to end up amid the fight against Shigaraki, with Midoriya. Bakugo knew all along, and he hadn't said shit to you. It wasn't his secret to share, but still ...