A Freeing Touch

Chapter Four

The weekend was relaxing, if not uneventful, for Midoriya. His mother fretted over him quite a bit, as the sports festival was coming up, and he had to assure her multiple times that he would try not to hurt himself.

He grimaced at this, as he was well aware he would likely break a bone. Or multiple.

(For Todoroki, the weekend was one of training. In particular, training with his father. They hadn’t trained as much recently, with Todoroki choosing to stay at the dorms more often than not. It wasn’t as if it was mandatory to stay in the dorms, he lived close enough that he could go home each day, but he liked to avoid his household, for obvious reasons.)

Midoriya glanced at his phone, checking the time. He’d planned to head back to the dorms the following morning, as long as he got up early enough to make it on time. He silently cursed the distance between UA and his house, not looking forward to the early start.

He pocketed his cell, choosing to focus on the television. A movie was on, though he wasn’t quite sure what it was about as he’d only switched to the channel minutes ago, finding that it was already 30 minutes in. He puffed out his cheeks, huffing. There was no fun to watching something when he had no idea what was going on.

Though, he was spared from further confusion when his mom poked his shoulder gently.

“Honey, it’s time to eat. You’re not in the middle of that movie, are you?”

He grinned, mood instantly improving at the mention of food, “No, I don’t even know what’s going on in it, honestly.”

She nodded, offering a warm smile, “alright, then come eat, will you?”

Already standing up from his spot on the couch, he followed her into the kitchen. His gaze immediately fell onto the table, stomach rumbling as he saw the noodles and rice waiting for him. Cup noodles could never compare to his mom’s noodles, in the end.

(And as Midoriya sat to eat and chat with his mother, Todoroki endured flames licking at his skin and punches thrown at him. The eyes that looked down at him were angry, challenging, and Todoroki endured. Even as he felt the heat and pressure of a fist paired with fire hit his side, he didn’t once summon his flames. He stared right back, eyes looking at Endeavor with his own challenge, as he called to his ice.)

Midoriya, for the fifth time that day, asked his mother not to worry.

“But, Izuku, I’m your mother, I can’t help but worry! Please take care of yourself this week.” Her eyes were pleading, and her eyebrows furrowed.
Midoriya gave a reassuring smile, “mom, really, I’ll be fine. I promise I’ll try not to break any bones.”

She offered a small smile in return, “Alright, alright, I trust you then.”

He grinned, before focusing on the task on finishing his half eaten noodles, savoring the taste. Really, if there was one thing he hated about the dorms, it would be that he didn’t get to eat his mom’s cooking every day.

As he cleaned out his bowl and pushed it aside, his told his mother about his various classes and studies. He was thankful he could say that he was doing well in all of them, as he wasn’t sure what he’d do if he was doing badly. It warmed his heart to see his mom look so proud of him, and his grin grew.

He kept talking, darting from topic to topic, up until the point his mother shooed him to bed, insisting he need his sleep so he could wake up well rested the next morning.

“Okay, okay, I’m going. Night mom.”

“Goodnight, Izuku!”

Midoriya stepped into his room, closing the door behind him. He looked up and around, admiring all of his All Might merchandise. While it was true that he had quite a bit in his dorm room, nothing could really live up to his bedroom.