You wake up as early as possible, not wanting to disturb Todoroki. You leave a note for him next to his bed, saying you left to get a head start on training with Hawks. While in the lobby of the hotel, you see a small stack of newspapers on the receptionist's desk.
You take one and look at the front cover, a picture of two blurry figures on a rooftop. You recognize them. Kurogiri and Shigaraki. You wonder what they could be doing on a building near the back alley where Todoroki, Iida, Native, and your brother fought Stain.
Then you realize, the Nomus your brother talked about, the league of villains must have sent them out. You hear rushed footsteps behind you and turn around, seeing Todoroki running down the hall where his room is.
"Allie!" he calls, "Why did you leave so early?"
"Ah, I wanted to get a head start on training, why? Was there something you needed?"
"My father decided to cut back on training, saying I would be traumatized from fighting Stain. All Might said this would be our last day as interns as well, because of the fight with Stain." You nod, but you're not quite sure you understand what he's implying.
"Were you thinking of something? Something you need to tell me?"
"Well, uh, no one else is really doing anything today. All Might made Iida go back to the hospital and your brother's with him, which means they're not going to be training."
"OK? You seem like you're going somewhere with this?"
"Oh, gosh, you really are oblivious... I was just wondering if you'd like to hang out today instead of training! If you don't want to, that's fine, I was just asking!"
"Oh, I, um, O-OK... Yeah, that would be nice! And, hey, I'm used to living with people who are quite blunt, I'm sorry I don't pick up on subtleties as fast as some others!"
He smiles a bit. "I was just joking. I wouldn't expect Midoriya to be blunt at all, though. Guess I'll have to get used to it."
"Yeah, it takes a bit to get used to. Anyway, did you have any plans for if I said yes?"
He inhales stiffly, then says, "Nope. I honestly thought you would say no. I didn't think about if you said yes."
"You thought I would say no? Why's that?"
He exhales loudly, then starts speaking faster than Izuku normally does, "Because you're really popular, and a lot of guys in our class like you, and I know you'd never settle for a guy like me, and I know that you were probably messing with me yesterday, and everything was probably a dare, and you probably like someone else like Kaminari or even Kirishima."
"W-what? Slow down! First off, it was not a dare. Second, I don't know what you mean by popular. Third, what do you mean a lot of boys in our class like me?"
"Uhm, well, I know that Kaminari has a crush on you. He talks about you way too often to not like you. Um, Shoji probably does as well. He really admires you. Mineta eyes you often, but he does that to every girl in our class, so I try not to think too hard about it. I heard Bakugou say you were cute once if that stands for anything. I remember Sero saying something about liking you as well. So, a lot of guys, really."
"How do you know this? I don't ever see you talking with the other boys? And why do you think I'm popular?"
"I talk to people. You just never see me talking to people. Aoyama knows lots of information about other boys, so that's helpful as well. You're popular because you're always talking to someone. You're always surrounded by people, no matter what. It's quite daunting, really."
"If you want someone surrounded by people, talk to my brother instead of me. I mean, have you seen the crowds he gathers sometimes?"
"Yes, but that's sometimes. This is always for you. You always have people around your desk. Be it Ashido or Kaminari, Jirou or Hagakure, there's always someone leaning on your desk, talking to you, whether you want them there or not.
"That's only a few in the class though, there's plenty of people I almost never talk to."
"It's more than the people who talk to me. I typically only have you, your brother, or Yaoyorozu talk to me on a good day." You giggle slightly at his comments.
"So, you have a plan for what to do, yet?"
"Well, a good start would be getting out of this hotel lobby. The receptionist has been glaring at us for the past five minutes."
"Oh, right, let's go then." You make your way out of the building and sit down on a nearby park bench. He sits down on the ground in front of you, crossing his legs and folding his hands neatly in his lap. He looks up at you, smiling brightly.
"I'm glad we've been able to talk outside of class today. It's been nice."
You blush a bit at how he's sitting. "Oh, yeah, it has. I've enjoyed it, too."
"You sound nervous. Is something wrong? Are you alright?"
"No, it's just that, you act completely different when you're not around others."
"Is that bad?" he asks, brushing his hair out of his eyes.
"No, it's just, funny. Why do you act differently around others?"
"It's a habit, I guess. I always had to be serious around my father, though I didn't have to be anything around my mother. And since I was around my father more I often, I grew more and more serious around others I didn't know that well, including classmates. People tended to avoid me because of it."
"You don't know me that well, what's the difference?"
"You're different. It feels like I've known you forever, and it's insane. I probably sound insane, but it's true."
You softly smile as he talks. "Hey, why don't we walk around town for a bit?"
"That's a good idea," he says, standing up and extending his hand. You stare at it, unsure of what to do for a moment.
"Come on, don't be scared! I won't bite!" You blush deeply and try not to smile as you take his hand.
He leads you around town until a T.V. in a shop catches your eye.
"Todoroki, look!" He stops and looks at the T.V. inside.
"The infamous Hero Killer Stain has been captured by heroes and authorities, and here we have Native, who was present as the fight took place."
He begins sharing his side of the story again, and you notice how his voice trembles when he talks about Iida trying to help him. He looks on the verge of tears as he explains how Todoroki, Izuku, and you helped as well. He, of course, doesn't use your names, but you can tell who he's talking about when. Other people around you stop and watch as well. They choose to stay silent as the pro hero continues to explain the fight with Stain from his perspective.
His telling of the fight makes it a lot more dramatic than it really was, but you don't quite mind. News anchors often make stories less dramatic as they continue to retell them, so this was a bit of a change.
You hear whispers in the crowd of who these 'young heroes' could be since they weren't mentioned by name. You hear one person say that they'd heard Bakugou Katsuki was there. That just causes more talking, louder than before.
A few accusations include your brother, Todoroki, and Iida, but no one suspects you were there. The crowd starts growing, going from five or six people to ten or eleven in a short amount of time.
You decide to leave before there is too much chaos, and it's a good thing you did. As you leave, people start arguing over who was there.
You stay quiet as you walk, glancing ever so often at Todoroki.
He eventually leads you to a park, and you sit down by the pond. A small child runs up to the two of you.
"Hey, I saw you at the Sports Festival! You two were so cool!"
You smile gently and say, "Thanks!" As Todoroki says, "Uh, thank you." He acts like he's never had people ask for his autograph before, and you're sure he has.
"Can you sign this for me? You two were my favorite at the festival!" You take the small book and pen from his hand and quickly sign your name, trying to be as neat as possible and make your handwriting legible without taking forever to write two words. You pass the book to Todoroki and he signs his name before giving it back to the kid.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" he squeals before running back to his mom, who apologizes profusely for her son 'bothering you two.' You tell her it wasn't a problem before she thanks you again and they leave.
You turn to Todoroki, your eyes gleaming with pride, "That was the first time anyone has ever asked me for an autograph! The first time ever! Usually, it's people asking Izu, never me. I know it's just a little kid, but still! You must have people asking you for autographs all the time, especially since Endeavor's your dad."
"Maybe a few times, but only when I'm with my dad, never alone like this, so it's new for me, too." You continue to grin wildly, feeling, for once, appreciated.
Other than a few children and their parents, the park seems quite empty. The only noise is caused by a duck and her ducklings in the middle of the pond.
"So, Todoroki, what's it like to have a famous dad?"
"Odd, honestly. Whenever we go into town, everyone recognizes him and wants autographs, pictures, etcetera. There's never any hiding either, mainly because he practically towers over everyone."
"It must be nice to have everyone flock around you, though. Where I and Izu are from, everybody knows everybody, and it's nothing special."
He shrugs. "Not really. I'd like to live in a small town where no one even glances at me. I'm tired of being stopped on the street because I'm the son of Endeavor."
"Really? I guess the attention could get annoying after a while, but it would be fun for a bit. That depends on the person, though."
"Yeah. I'm the type of person who's rather be left alone than talked to by twenty people at the same time. That's why I'm glad I don't have an insane quirk like your brother's. He's always in the spotlight, especially in class."
"Not an insane quirk? You froze an entire building in one shot!"
"Well, yes, but Midoriya's quirk is is unlike any other. The only person with a quirk like his is All Might."
"Yeah, but my brother's quirk has huge recoil, way too much force for his body," you mutter.
"If I don't use my left side, I end up freezing my body. My internal organs would shut down eventually. So I would die due to stubbornness. Every quirk has backlash, his is just more extreme than others."
"I think literal death is pretty extreme, though I agree, the backlash to his is quite powerful."
"Yours as well. If you fell mid-flight, you could get seriously injured or even killed."
"I have before, and you're right. Remember? My leg broke during the USJ attack."
"Your leg didn't break, it was crushed. Horribly, too. I don't know how you weren't screaming in agony on the bus ride home."
"You get used to the falls after a while, it doesn't hurt as much as you would think. Adrenaline does amazing things."
"It's not good that you know that."
"Oh, it's not like you've never had some nasty spills."
"I mean," he sighs slightly, "I've burned myself before, but only a few times. That was before I stopped using my right side." He shrugs slightly, glancing at the ground. His hair falls in front of his eyes, and you can't help but stare for a few moments.
"Your pain lessens the more pain you have, you get used to it, and you can move on pretty easily after a while."
"I don't like that you know that."
"You say that a lot to me, don't you? Oh, I've been asking a lot of questions, do you have any for me?"
"No, not really. You're a fairly open person, honestly."
"Trust me, there's plenty you don't know about me."
"Like what?" he asks, cocking his head slightly to the left.
"Like how I came to live with Izu."
"True... How did you end up with him and his family?"
"Well, it was just him and his mom, it still is. But the truth is, for a few weeks, I lived on the street."
His eyes widen slightly and leans a bit closer, seemingly without realizing it. "How old were you? You had to have been young if your quirks had just manifested."
"I was around four or five, I was quite young."
"That's terrible! How could your father just abandon you? You were a little kid! You had- have no control over your quirks. How could someone possibly do something like that!?"
"Luckily, I wasn't there for long. After a while, Izuku found me outside by a store, we talked, and he brought his mother to me. She decided I couldn't stay there, so she brought me home with them."
"Did you ever feel like you weren't a part of their family because you were adopted?"
"They did their best to make sure I never felt that way, but you can't help but wonder what would have been different."
"What do you think would have happened if Midoriya hadn't found you?"
"To be honest, I have no idea, but it wouldn't have been good."
"I'm glad you were found. I'm glad you're at UA, and you have a loving, although small, family."
You giggle and he blushes deeply. You sit quietly for a while before the two of you leave and walk around the city more.
He points to certain shops and explaining what they sell, and how eventually he would take you to them.
"This city is so big, how can you remember where to go?"
"My mother used to point everything out, and I made sure to note the things she'd mention often when my father would take me into town."
"I could never remember how to get around a place like this, I'd be lost quickly."
"Don't walk away from me, and I'm sure you'll be fine. The more you explore, the more you'll start to remember about the town."
"Yeah, I guess." You grab Todoroki's arm to make sure you don't lose him. You look up at him to see his eyes widen and his cheeks redden. You look down, blushing.
"Do you mind this? I can stop if you're uncomfortable."
"Oh!" he exclaims, his cheeks turning a darker shade of red, "No, this is fine."
He seems to lean into you slightly. You smile to yourself and walk slower, trying to match Todoroki's pace. He's walking so much slower than you, it's like he wants to delay going back to school as much as possible. You sort of want to, as well.
It's been nice, hanging out with Todoroki all day, you think, glancing over at him. He meets your eye and gives you a smile, more genuine than you've ever seen him. You smile back, feeling content with yourself and how the day has gone.
You end up back at the hotel, and you're staring at the number of reports on the day before on your phone. After a while of staring at the screen, you receive a text from Izuku.
Hey, where are you? Hawks said you never showed up for training today. Are you OK?
"Well, I'm going to die today," you mutter, attracting the attention of Todoroki.
He looks over at you, his eyebrow raised. "What did you just say?"
"I forgot to text Hawks to say that I wasn't coming in for training." His mouth forms an O shape as he continues to watch you, occasionally glancing at the ground.
"What do I do? I'm going to die at the hands of a birdman." His shoulders start shaking and soon he's laughing loudly, a bright smile replacing his once gloomy expression.
When he finally stops, he's still grinning slightly. "Don't worry. You'll be fine, I promise. I'll talk to All Might tomorrow, and he'll talk to Hawks so you don't have to."
"That's if I don't die today." Suddenly, there's a knock at the door. Rather than yelling 'who is it?' like you would've, Todoroki gets up and walks over to the door.
"I am prepared to die, my time has come," you mumble to yourself, staring intently at the door. Todoroki stands on the tips of his toes, looking out the peephole before stifling a laugh.
"What? Who is it?" He opens the door, and a man you instantly recognize walks in.
A short man with ash blonde hair and blood-red wings folds his arms across his chest, stops in the middle of the room and stares at you.
"H-hi?" You can tell Todoroki is trying not to laugh. He fails miserably and bursts out laughing before biting the back of his hand.
"Where have you been?!" Hawks cries, "I've been worried sick! You didn't tell anyone where you were going! For all I knew, you had been captured by the League of Villains!"
You look at Todoroki with a 'please help me' look, and he takes a step forward. He places a hand on Hawks' shoulder and the shorter man turns around swiftly, almost hitting Todoroki's face in the process.
"I apologize, it was my fault, really." Hawks raises an eyebrow, looking expectantly between you and Todoroki.
"I asked her to skip training. I should've reminded her to tell you or even her brother what we were doing. I really am very sorry, and I assure you Allie is as well."
"Is this true, Allie? Is that really what happened?" You nod, suppressing a smile until Hawks turns back around to face Todoroki.
"Why did you want her to skip training?"
He stiffly inhales, then says, "I wanted us to hang out for a bit so we could-" Hawks cuts him off before he can finish.
"So you could what? You're teenagers! You shouldn't be allowed to stay in the same hotel room, especially without adult supervision!"
"Sir, we weren't-" Todoroki is cut off again by Hawks.
"I don't want to hear it! You, young man, are in an insane amount of trouble! Wait until your father hears about this..." He mutters the last part, but both you and Todoroki hear him clearly.
"But, sir, my father-" You know what he's about to say, that his father already knows, but Hawks clearly doesn't want to hear it.
"I don't want any buts! You aren't getting out of this easily!" He sighs, looking dejected, and you can do nothing but watch as Hawks continues to yell.
"Sir, may we please explain what happened?" you ask quietly, just loud enough for Hawks to hear.
His arms are still crossed over his chest and he still looks angry beyond belief, but he nods anyway.
"I'll give you two minutes to explain this. No more."
You take a deep breath and start speaking a mile a minute, not even bothering to let Todoroki talk.
"OK, slow down a bit, you make it hard to understand you like that." You laugh nervously.
"Well, I had planned on going to training but then Todoroki said Iida and Izu were still in the hospital, and we didn't have to train. Endeavor had even told Todoroki to take the day off and that we wouldn't be shadowing anymore this week after today. Todoroki had forgotten to remind me to tell you that I wasn't coming to training. After I agreed, we walked around town for a bit and watched the news at a T.V. store. Then, we went to a park and sat around and talked. We ended up back in town after that and had just gotten back here when you knocked on the door."
Hawks nods. "Todoroki? Do you have anything to add?" He shakes his head, keeping his eyes glued to the ground.
"OK, then, I apologize for yelling earlier, I was just worried."
"Clearly..." Todoroki murmurs, and Hawks doesn't seem to hear.
"I've made a decision on what punishment you deserve." Todoroki's eyes widen, but he keeps his head down anyway, seeming to accept the punishment.
"It seems you made an honest mistake, we all have days where we're forgetful." You feel hopeful, maybe it won't be as bad as you thought it would. You glance over to Todoroki, seeing if he has the same face you do. He does, but he still looks thoroughly embarrassed from being yelled at by such a respected pro hero.
Hawks looks between the two of you before giving his verdict.
"A week shadowing with All Might. At least then we won't lose Allie. Again."
You look to Todoroki, and you notice he's smiling slightly.
"Alright, now that I've established what your punishment is, All Might wanted me to let you know that you will be taking the train home tomorrow. Your training with him will begin next Monday." You nod in a simple response.
As Hawks leaves, a note falls out of his pocket, but he's gone before you can give it back. Todoroki picks it up, unfolding it before showing it to you. His expression shows a mixture of happiness and confusion.
"What? What's on it? What's it say?" He hands to you, and you read it quickly.
As you read it, the same expression Todoroki had morphs onto your face. "We need to give this back," you say sternly.
"You shouldn't have picked it up, let alone opened it." In handwriting that somewhat resembles calligraphy, 'Will you marry me?' was written.
In messier, smaller handwriting below it, 'Yes.' is scribbled.
"Who do you think he's getting married to?" You shrug.
"It doesn't matter, we shouldn't even know! We need to give this back! He's gonna be so angry.."
The next day, you catch Hawks before boarding your train, and you silently give him the note. His eyes widen, and he thanks you quickly as you get on with Todoroki.
The ride back with Todoroki is uneventful, but at one point, you fall asleep and accidentally lean on him. He doesn't say anything, and you wake up with your head on his shoulder. You look up at him to see him grinning at you. You can feel your cheeks redden and all you want to do is hide.
"You're like a little puppy, Allie." Your face burns with embarrassment and you move away from him, covering your face with your hands and trying to make yourself as small as possible. You hear his soft laughter behind before you finally turn to face him again.
You cry, "Stop laughing at me! It's not my fault I fell asleep!"
He puts a soft hand on your face to comfort you, and when he does you look up at him.
"You know, I've wondered why you cover your eye, is there a reason?" You brush your hair behind your ear but stay quiet, avoiding eye contact.
When you were little, your mom used to put your hair up often. You always hated it, and kids often made fun of your eyes for being different colors. When you got older and entered junior high, you always wore it down. You still do.
"Oh, wow." Todoroki stares at you.
"Look, I know. Say what you will, I've heard it all."
"Your eyes... You have beautiful eyes. Has anyone ever told you that?" You stare at him breathlessly, not knowing what to say.
"N-no, I've only ever been bullied for my eyes."
"Heterochromia where one eye is yellow and the other is blue is quite rare, even for the uncommon condition. It's amazingly stunning, might I add."
All you can do is smile at his comment and try to hide your blush. He grabs your wrist and pulls your hand away from your face, grinning slightly. The two of you stare silently at each other for a moment. Time seems to slow down around you.
He leans down and presses a chaste kiss to your lips before pulling away, not even giving you time to react. Your breath hitches in your throat and you want to say something, anything, but you don't. You stay quiet instead. Your eyes are bright as you stare at him, and all you can do is pull him into a hug.
He wraps his arms around you tightly, and neither of you let go for a while. Nobody says anything, and nothing needs to be said.
That was the best train ride you will ever take.
YOU ARE READING
The Winged Wolf
FanfictionIn this world of powers, nothing seems fair. Especially not for this girl.
