Saving Me [Monoma x Reader]

o9. Giving Your All

"There you go, dearie. Take a nice, hot bath when you get home, okay?"

Recovery Girl sent me away with a little piece of PEZ candy that she popped into my hand, waving me goodbye with that squinty-eyed smile of hers.

"Ah... thanks."

Hopping off of the patient's bed, I slung my bag around my shoulder, yawning a bit as I felt a slight stiffness from the aftermath of Todoroki's ice. Recovery Girl had healed any freeze burns I had, but she told me that I'd be tired and a bit rigid until tomorrow. I'd be fine after a good night's rest, though.

Hagakure wanted to stay afterwards and wait for me, but I told her to go on. There were other students in line who needed treatment as well, so I wasn't sure how long it'd take until my turn was finished.

A tired sigh gusted from my mouth as I stepped outside and descended the stone steps. I was surprised to see Todoroki standing at the bottom, already looking in my direction. We met gazes for a moment, but then he averted his eyes.

"..."

"..."

What were we supposed to say to each other right now? Were we supposed to say anything at all?

"..."

"..."

"...Are you okay?"

Thankfully, he was the first to break the silence.

"Y-... yeah! I'm good," I nervously chuckled. "Thanks."

He nodded his head and paused. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you."

To be honest, I was kind of surprised that he'd apologize for something like that. 

"Oh- uh... it's okay. Really. Don't sweat it." My feet shuffled anxiously as I searched for words to say. "You did say that... um, that weren't gonna go easy on me. So, if anything..." My eyes fell to the ground before looking back up at him. "I'm glad you kept your word."

He breathed a small puff of air through his nose, acknowledging my words. It was weird, though. He and Shoji won the battle, but he still looked disappointed for some reason.

"I have another question."

"Uh-... yeah, sure. Ask away." My fingers gripped tighter around the strap of my school bag. I didn't know if he knew how intense his gaze could be.

"You were distracted during the battle, [L/N]." 

Yikes, was it that obvious?

"You held back, until the very end. What happened?"

"..."

Should I tell him about Bakugo?

He seemed to sense my hesitation and added, "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

"N-no! It's fine," I blubbered. "I just-..." I took a moment to release a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding in for awhile. "Would... you like to take the train together? Then I can, uh-... tell you. On the way."

"Alright."

I told him about my encounter with Bakugo, how he bore down on me when I was just trying to readjust my bootstrap. I also told him about how Hagakure stuck up for me, and how the whole thing kept replaying in my head during my match.

"That's... that's why I was distracted."

"I see." He paused, then added, "Did he say anything to you after our match?"

I shook my head. "He didn't even look at me. I think... he knew that he couldn't say anything since... since he lost his match, too."

Todoroki stared out the windows opposite of us. Our bodies swayed with the movement of the train as the vibrations of the wheels on the tracks rumbled beneath our seats. "Your move at the end."

"Huh?"

"When you grabbed me." He turned his head and our eyes were fixed on one another. Somehow, without saying anything at all, I knew, that he knew, that I couldn't fly with my quirkk. And yet, I was able to push myself to do so at the very end.

"That's what you'll need to fight him. It's what you'll need as a hero to defeat villains."

I understood what he said. He wasn't talking about the actual flying itself, but about the fierceness that drove me to do it, that moment when I gave it my all. Even someone like Midoriya had that determination, and lots of it. Watching his match was amazing, because even if he didn't have control over his quirk, even if he damaged both of his arms, he still defeated Bakugo.