I HATE this guy ⇝ 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐊𝐚𝐦𝐢

Chapter 8: Breakfast Talk

Me 12:34am haru is best persona5 girl

Todoroki Shoto 12:59am I refuse to talk to you anymore

McDonalds wasn't busy during this time of the day. To be fair, it was four in the morning and Kaminari wasn't even sure McDonalds would be open.

"Hey," Todoroki nudged Kaminari in the side with his shoulder. "Are you gonna order anything?"

"Ice cream." Kaminari replied quickly.

Todoroki looked at him weirdly. "It's four in the morning."

"Hey, anytime after one and before twelve is ice cream time," Kaminari retorted, pressing the digital image of an ice cream on the machine.

"That's pretty much every hour of the day."

"Exactly," Kaminari finished up his order with a banana sundae and a pack of small fries. "Ice cream is a snack for any and all times."

"That can't possibly be healthy," Todoroki criticised, his voice void of any ill intent and more of concern. "Especially for your teeth."

"Excuse you, but I brush my teeth every morning and night like a good kid," the blond quipped. He paid with his card and the duo found a seat to wait for their food.

The blond flashed a wide smile, his teeth peering through the crack between his lips to show them off. "See?"

"Yeah yeah," Todoroki sighed, waving his hand between them like you would with a fly. "Don't need to flex."

"I can flex my teeth as much as I want," Kaminari said.

"You won't flex them when you have cavities," Todoroki replied.

Kaminari huffed, crossing his arms while leaning backwards in his chair. "I won't get cavities."

"Can never be too sure," Todoroki shrugged. "Especially with all the ice cream you eat."

"Hey! I don't eat that much," Kaminari argued, his ears turning bright red.

"If you didn't want anyone to know about your ice cream addiction, then don't let anyone into your kitchen on their own," Todoroki poked, a tiny smile on his face. "Also, what the hell is with you and banana ice cream."

"What's wrong with banana ice cream?" Kaminari squeaked.

"Nothing," Todoroki said in that way that suggested something was wrong with banana ice cream.

"My mum used to tell me this story of soulmates that met through banana ice cream," Kaminari said, feeling the need to explain himself.

"So you think if you eat banana ice cream religiously, you'd meet your soulmate?" Todoroki questioned. His smile seemed to grow just by an inch at the embarrassed look of the blond, but nobody would ever know.

"I don't know - maybe?" Kaminari replied, possibly questioning his own logic.

"Don't get me wrong, it's cute how you still believe in that stuff," Todoroki admitted. "I never really got the chance."

Kaminari rested his arms on the table, his chin against his forearms. "Why?"

"Sorry bud, you're going to have to reach friendship level six to unlock that side story," Todoroki replied.

Kaminari let out a fake hurt gasp. "Am I not on level six yet? Did I not offer to play Persona5 with you?"

"That only bumps you up to level two," Todoroki explained, two fingers up to emphasise his point.

Kaminari pouted, rolling his head so now his cheek was flat against his arm. "What would quickly level me up then?"

"Tell me about that story," the Todoroki said after some thought. "The soulmates one."

"Sure," Kaminari said. "There was this dude called Raito who had been bullied throughout his whole life. He ended up enrolling into one of the top schools and in order to fit in, he changed everything about himself: his hair, his clothes, his dialect, everything. He was afraid of being at the bottom of the barrel again."

Todoroki's brows were furrowed, but he stayed quiet.

"It worked. He became one of the most popular kids in his class and had friends all over campus, and the best friend group he could ever ask for," Kaminari told him. "Yet he still felt the same as he did before he enrolled. He still felt just as helpless and lonely as ever. Why do you think that is?"

"Does it have something to do with the whole soulmates thing?" Todoroki guessed.

The blond nodded. "There was a mark on the back of his neck that haunted him. Two words that caused all the bullying and all the suffering, forever imprinted on his skin. His 'soulmate mark'."

"The rest of the story is the guy meeting this girl called Hikori and their soulmates blah blah blah," Kaminari ended the story there. "As a kid I wouldn't have my mum tell me any other story than that one. Apparently, I would throw a fit whenever they tried telling me anything else."

"I would've never expected you to.." Todoroki's voice softened. He opened his mouth but closed it. He turned his head towards the screens above the counter and finally said, "Our order's ready."

Kaminari sat up straight and turned around to look at the screen. "Oh you're right. I'll go get the stuff, be right back."

The blond slipped off to the counter. For the short while the other was gone, Todoroki wondered to himself why he didn't finish his question. Was it weird to ask someone that?

He also started to think how it was only two weeks ago that the blond would stare daggers through the back of his head, yet now they were out at four in the morning getting McDonald's. He had to put that train of thought aside for the moment once Kaminari came back with their tray of food.

The blond sat in his seat opposite the other, his cheeky smile still on his face.

"My mum left when I was young," Todoroki started, startling the other.

"Huh?"

"The side story," Todoroki explained simply. "My mum left when I was young and my Dad was more obsessed with keeping up appearances to actually be a dad."

"Oh," Kaminari muttered. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not some sort of secret," Todoroki laughed. "Anyone that's known me for two minutes knows that much."

Kaminari let out a betrayed gasp. "Then why'd you make me tell you that embarrassing story?!"

"For the inter story reference," Todoroki responded. "Plus, I wanted to know the reason for your obsession."

"It's not an obsession," Kaminari huffed. "It's more of a preference."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Todoroki has a smug grin.

The blond, once again, had the same feeling of annoyance towards that grin, but this time it was more endearing than anything. But that piece of information will stay with him, and he'd rather die than admit it.

"You can wipe that grin off your face," Kaminari said in annoyance. Somehow Todoroki didn't seem very affected, and continued eating his meal.