My Escape || Todomomo

Chapter Five ☆

Todoroki was kneeling on the floor, one hand holding himself up and the other clutching his stomach. He was coughing violently and a shocking pain ran up his arms as he struggled to stand.

"You're weak, Shouto," Endeavor's voice dripped with venom a few feet away. "and that ugly scar of yours is just a reminder of your frail past."

Peering through his dual-colored hair, Todoroki narrowed his eyes. "Y-you gave me the scar, scumbag." he snarled. His voice was shaky after a nasty blow to the stomach that knocked him to the ground. His reflexes were usually fast, but he was getting tired.

A flash of anger flared up in Endeavor's turquoise eyes. He leaned down and gripped Todoroki's shirt collar, pulling him up and staring at him in the eyes. "I have given you everything, you brat,"

Before Todoroki could do anything, Endeavor let go of his collar and dropped him to the ground. Todoroki landed on his side painfully, and as he tried to stand, Endeavor let out a roar of anger and kicked him with full force in the leg.

Todoroki let out a cry of pain as he collapsed to the floor again. He was trembling, his eyes brimming with tears as Endeavor turned and strode out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

"F-Fuyumi..." Todoroki coughed, propping himself up on his elbows. He didn't even try to stand, his leg felt like it was broken in two. His calls for his sister had fallen on deaf ears and he felt himself slowly slip in and out of consciousness.

After a few more moments, Todoroki's arms went limp and he fell to the ground again, blacking out.

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"T-Todoroki?" Momo was standing beside him. School had just ended, and she had been ready to walk to the library with him to study for their project.

Todoroki's expression was blank. He was staring at his desk, eyes wide. Momo was standing awkwardly beside him as many of her classmates rose to their feet and shuffled out of the room. After a few more seconds of silence, Momo slowly raised her hand and rested it on Todoroki's shoulder.

The instant her hand made contact with him, Todoroki jumped, "S-stop!" he hissed, flinching away from Momo's touch. Momo instinctively took a step backward, nearly falling onto a desk.

"Are you okay?" Momo asked, her heart beating from the urgency of his voice.

Todoroki let out a sigh and closed his eyes. He put his elbows on his desk and rested his head in his hands, covering his face. "Yeah, I-I'm okay." he murmured, his voice muffled. Momo noticed that his shoulders were shaking slightly.

"Do you still want to go to the library? We don't have to." Momo muttered, gazing down at him pitifully.

He didn't respond for a few seconds. Momo thought that he hadn't heard her until he finally nodded and raised his head. "We can still go to the library, it's fine," he replied dryly. "Let's go."

Momo took a step backward as Todoroki took in a deep breath. He pressed his hand against his desk and pushed himself to his feet, leaning on the desk for support. Momo's heart twisted in her chest as she watched him lean down and pick up his bag, throwing it over his shoulder.

"Todoroki- are you sure you don't need any help?" Momo whispered. "You told me your leg was feeling better."

"Yeah- I lied." he retorted. "Just make sure I don't fall." He headed towards the door of the classroom, Momo following close behind. His footsteps were slow and uneven, and Momo could tell that he was leaning most of his weight on his good leg.

As they were walking down the silent hallway, Momo took in a deep breath. "Did you finish Hawks' part in the project?" she asked, glancing towards him.

Todoroki nodded, his eyes flicking to her. "No, not yet. I got-" he turned away from Momo, a grim expression crossing his face. "I just didn't get the chance to work on it last night."

"That's okay." Momo smiled, doing whatever she could to pick up the pieces of the conversation and put them together. "We still have a little while until the project is due. We also need to practice presenting it."

"Shit- I forgot about that part..." Todoroki hissed under his breath. Momo heard the complaint and glanced at him.

"Do you hate presenting?"

"Yes. It's the worst." his voice was low and full of annoyance.

"Is there a reason you hate it so much? I mean- I know a lot of people hate it, but you seem to... really hate it." Momo flinched at her awkward words.

"Is there a reason you ask so many questions?" Todoroki murmured, keeping his gaze fixed on the floor. Momo pursed her lips and took a shaky breath, feeling a wave of shame wash over her.

After a few seconds, Todoroki continued. "It's just-" he shook his head. "Even though I know everybody in class 1-A, whenever I have to talk in front of them, they always stare at my scar."

Momo let out a sigh. "D-do I stare at your scar when I talk to you? I don't really notice..." she murmured.

"..." Todoroki was silent. Momo winced, ready for him to feel insulted, and simply waited for a response. "...No, you don't. To be honest, you're probably the first, outside of my family..." his voice was quiet.

"I-I'm sorry that people stare at it. I never really found a reason to." Momo shrugged. "I know it's kind of... unusual, but..." she bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "Sorry, I'm rambling. I know how stupid I must sound."

"It's fine," Todoroki said. He brought his hand up and absent-mindedly traced the outline of his scar, from the top of his forehead to corner of his cheek. "I just- I'm constantly reminded about how awful and ugly it is... how much attention it draws..." he slowly dropped his hand and closed his eyes, his voice shaking.

Momo widened her eyes. "W-who tells you that?" she whispered.

Todoroki didn't answer for a while. His eyes remained closed, and he stopped walking to rake his fingers through his hair. Momo debated taking back what she had said, and continuing their walk to the library until he finally answered.

"My father."

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hey y'all. this was a really short chapter because i wrote it at 1 in the morning but i actually don't hate how it turned out. i finally figured out a way to help the reader find out how shouto's leg got injured. :))))))))))

i'm not adding the sports festival in this story because if i read one more story where the main character goes through the sports festival or gets kidnapped by villains i will yeet myself off a bridge.