The Realist(Shoto Todoroki x reader- Bakugo's twin sister)

Chapter 51

I walked toward the UA dorms with nothing but determination in my chest and chaos in my head.

The voices inside were a blur- fragments of thought, memory, anxiety, sarcasm, doubt- all mashed together like white noise on full volume. But I tuned them out. Not because I was at peace, but because I had to. If I gave them any attention now, I'd fall apart before I even got through the door.

And I couldn't afford that.

Not now.

My hand touched the front door.

I pushed it open.

Laughter spilled out from the common area, followed by the sound of a TV and half-hearted bickering over snacks or something equally mundane. It was comforting, in a way. Familiar. Normal.

But nothing about me was normal anymore.

I stepped inside and barely glanced at the group. My eyes scanned quickly, habitually. Denki. Kirishima. Sero. Jirou. I saw them in flashes- but he wasn't there.

I moved toward the stairs without a word.

"Cherry!" Mina's voice rang out, light and hopeful.

I paused halfway up the steps, hearing her shift on the couch. She was standing now. Probably smiling. Probably worried. Her energy was always warm like that- loud and unapologetically bright.

But I couldn't turn around. I couldn't smile back.

I had a mission.

One that might change everything I thought I knew.

I clenched my jaw and kept walking.

A small flicker of movement appeared in the corner of my vision. Behind me, faintly glowing orbs materialized in front of her, like a silent wall between us. My doing. A subconscious barrier- because I didn't want her following me.

They didn't activate or explode. Just hovered.

Mina must've understood, because she didn't come after me. I could still feel her watching though. For a few long seconds, the weight of her eyes clung to my back before finally lifting. Her footsteps padded softly as she returned to the couch.

Guilt twisted in my stomach like a knife.

But this was bigger than her.

Bigger than our friendship.

It was my life- fractured, dangerous, spiraling- and if I didn't get answers soon, it was going to collapse completely. Bringing my sanity with it.

The hallway was quiet as I climbed to the boys' section, the buzzing in my head returning, fainter this time but still insistent. I moved quickly, my boots hitting the floor harder than usual. When I reached Todoroki's door, I stopped.

The light inside was on.

But I felt nothing.

No aura.

No heat.

No energy signature at all.

Shit. He isn't in there.

I didn't even knock. Just stood there like a ghost, my hand hovering over the wood, breath shallow. I closed my eyes and stretched my senses farther, pushing the boundaries like I'd been practicing in secret for months.

Still nothing.

Just the low hum of electricity, the faint static from his desk lamp inside the room. But no Todoroki.