Because of you {Tododeku/kiribaku}

Chapter 3

Todoroki ate his simple breakfast in peace, for perhaps the first time in years. Last night he'd finally been able to express some of the pent-up feelings he'd been trying to suppress and it was liberating, allowing him to just sit quietly amidst the chaos of the cafeteria, untroubled by the various chatter or his own personal problems.

He glanced around over his cup of tea, surveying how everyone was laughing and playing with their classmates. In the past, it had always irritated him that so many people his own age seemed to be carefree all the time, but now it was fascinating to him, and he wondered what conversations could possibly be making them all so happy.

"H-hey! Todoroki... Do you mind if we join you?" Midoriya asked, his nervous grin shining amidst the many faces.

Todoroki nodded, his cheeks heating ever so slightly. He felt almost excited at the prospect of sitting with him again, even if it wasn't to talk about something deep and emotional. But then he realized that Midoriya had said 'we' not 'I'.

His eyes flickered behind the green mop of hair and noticed Iida, Ochaco, Asui, and... Shinso of all people...trailing after the dopy teen. He sucked in a sharp breath and released it, the cold chill of his quirk cooling his now nervous body. "What changed? I was so comfortable just a moment ago, even after agreeing to let Midoriya sit with me and now... Now I feel like I'm out of place... I don't know what to say; I don't know how to interact with all of these people."

Whether he was ready or not, Midoriya and the others had arrived, taking their places at the small rectangular table. Asui and Ochaco sat across from him, while Iida and Shinso sat on the two sides, leaving the open seat directly beside him for Izuku to slip into.

Needless to say, the first few minutes were extremely awkward. Despite the fact that Shoto wasn't an explosively angry person like Bakugo, his quiet intimidation was just as unnerving to the other Class 1-A students, and no one had forgotten how dangerous speaking with Shinso could be. The only person at the table who seemed to think this was a good idea was Midoriya, who's animated voice finally broke the silence.

"Isn't this great! Shinso agreed to join us so we're making connections to people outside of Class 1-A. Not that the people in it aren't great, but, it's nice to branch out you know? We should ask Hatsume from the Support Course and someone from Class 1-B to join! Oh, and I guess maybe from the Business Course too, though I'm not sure they'd be interested..." Midoriya blabbered, his anxious mumbling bringing a lightness to the heavy air around them.

"I'm a little surprised that you've been asking me to hang out, seeing as I threatened your spot in the Hero Course and said such cruel things to you in the Sports Festival," Shinso commented, leaning his face in one hand as he lazily ate his breakfast.

Midoriya squeaked and flailed his arms around before answering. "No! It's fine! You had to say that stuff so that I'd speak and you could use your quirk against me. Besides! We all wanted to win and being a hero is the greatest profession ever. My quirks backlash is really bad so I can understand feeling like everyone else with flashy abilities has it a lot easier. I can't blame you for how you feel since I completely understand! When all of us are pros we can help each other... I mean with an awesome quirk like yours I don't doubt I'll need your help a lot."

Todoroki clicked his tongue silently. As usual, Midoriya was a peacemaker, but it still bothered him how little confidence he seemed to have in his own strength, and how formidable he would no doubt be in the future. He watched Shinso's reaction, noticing how his bored face seemed to soften some at the spastic teen's words. "It seems I'm not the only one who can't help but feel at ease around Midoriya."

The other three seemed to calm down as well, Ochaco starting up conversations about homework and how much she enjoyed living with Asui, the frog's cheeks taking on the slightest color of pink at the confession. Iida and Tsu would chime in occasionally, their no-nonsense replies easily making Midoriya laugh. Todoroki glanced over at Shinso again, noting that the two of them were the quiet ones out of the group, though Shinso seemed much more comfortable around everyone than he did.