Plus Ultra|Shouto Todoroki x Reader x Izuku Midoriya|

2. Protective

I pursed my lips, now understanding the situation. Katsuki would go on and on about how weak a boy he referred to as "Deku" was. Of course, I never enjoyed him being rude and often told him off, but I never thought I'd meet the so-called "Deku".

"DON'T TOUCH MY SISTER!" Katsuki screamed, stomping to the area in which I stood. It seemed as if he were throwing a fit.

Panic and fear appeared to wash over Midoriya's face, looking as if he were a deer frozen in a car's headlights.

His hands were still clenched, and even behind the fear, there was a fire in his eyes. Was he angry or was he scared? At the time, I didn't realize that he could've been both.

"Don't be dramatic! He helped me up after I fell down!" I lectured my brother, annoyed by him causing a scene.

Strangers that walked by starred, but most of the kids playing on the playground were too swept away by their own thoughts and imaginations to notice.

"Wh— but he—!" Katsuki yelled, seeming to be surprised by my standing up for the boy he had yelled at.

"No! I'm finally allowed outside, I want to have fun! Don't be mean!" I yelled back at him, not even giving him a chance to argue back.

Midoriya added nothing to the conversation, he only stood awkwardly beside me. It almost seemed as if he hadn't been breathing.

I hated to think that my brother could really make anyone feel scared.

"FINE!" Katsuki yelled, stomping away to a group of boys who had been watching. He was always so frustrating when around others. It had always amazed me how different he was with others compared to how he acted when it was just me and him.

Midoriya gasped for air, coughing due to accidentally inhaling too much.

'So he wasn't breathing? Is he really that scared of my brother? It's hard to think that my brother could do anything that would warrant such fear,'  the words echoed in my aching head. How different was my brother when he was around me?

I jumped, surprised by the sound. "Are you okay?!" I asked rather loudly.

The boy simply nodded his head, explaining his rather poor relationship with his brother to me with as little detail as possible. His eyes had glistened with unshed tears, but he still kept a smile on his face.

I knew my brother. Yeah, he was annoying and often times a jerk, but I had always known him as someone who wanted to protect and help others; someone with good intentions.

"I-I'm not saying I don't like you because of your brother! You seem really nice... even though I'm quirkless," Midoriya muttered, his smile becoming rather sheepish.

My eyes widened, remembering how Katsuki would rant to me about a boy he did particularly like. He never told me much about what exactly happened, but nothing he said about the boy was ever nice. I had asked him to stop months before actually meeting the boy that had been referred to as "Deku". 

"Oh yeah! You're quirkless," I spoke, remembering my brother's rants, but suddenly pausing. Oddly enough, something felt off the moment the word left my lips.

Odd.

"Oh, do you not like me anymore?" Midoriya asked, a nervous look in his eyes.

I blinked a couple times, confused. My brain was still trying to figure out what had confused me about

 "N-No, of course not! Sorry, I just got lost in thought!"

We talked for a short while after, but quickly decided to go play on the playground. We played for hours, my brother bitterly glancing over as he played with friends of his own, even going as far as walking over to check on me.

I hadn't had that much fun since before everything had changed. It was nice, I could finally enjoy myself. I had made a friend, something I wasn't regularly allowed. 

I could finally just enjoy being a kid.

Sadly, like all good things, it came to an end.

Because nothing good lasts; nothing beautiful stays; no joy is permanent.

My parents had come home early and heard from the babysitter where we had left. My parents were furious, marching us both home. Even my father, who tends to be rather gentle, had unleashed a rage of his own.

Everything simmered down rather quickly, though, but that didn't end the punishment. Wooden panels were nailed on the inside of my bedroom window, despite me not leaving through my window.

The wooden panels were meant to ensure that I stayed trapped in my own home, but they didn't.