Finding Me (Todoroki x Reader)

Chapter 76

After talking with Tsu, we all returned to our dorm rooms, all teary eyed and exhausted - well, except Shoto. Apparently he didn't seem to have a soul when it came to all that mushy stuff, so yeah, he came out relatively unscathed.

However, hearing Tsu talk about her own guilt, and her own sense of failure, it made me think of myself. I knew that I was just a kid, and that there wasn't really much I could do about anything, but still...

'What if I'd been faster?' I wondered, laying wide-awake in my bed. 'What if I'd been paying attention. Would it have made any difference? '

"...As much as I hate to admit it, regardless of whether you were paying attention or not, I think we would've been caught..."

I groaned, rolling onto my back to stare at the bare ceiling. 'Bakugou's right, but I still can't help but feel responsible for at least some of this mess...' I rolled over again, the rustling sheets temporarily breaking the eerie silence of the night. Even though Momo was next door, and four other people were on this floor with others down below, I couldn't help but still feel alone.

My heart stopped at a sudden thought, and my breath hitched. 'If I hadn't been there... would there still be a Symbol of Peace? '

Thinking about it: yes, there would've been a high chance of All Might still being All Might. However, though, because I was there, a significant pillar of our society fell; because I was there, people got hurt; because I was there... we lost a great hero. The worst part is that he isn't dead. 'No. Now he has to wake up everyday, look at himself in the mirror and see the shell of the man he once was everyday.'

And who knew - maybe he was okay with that; maybe he had made peace with that a long time ago. And of course he can still be a hero, but it wasn't the same. The world was changing - far quicker than it was before - and who knew what dangers it would bring. All anyone knew was that not only was the Number Hero gone, but the world's Symbol of Peace, too.

"You need to know because when I take that power away from you, you'll realise just how much a fraud you are wanting to be a hero with a borrowed quirk."

Snapping my eyes shut, I threw my head until my pillows. "Get out of my head. Go away, please..."

As if by a miracle, All for One's gravel voice faded away, nothing by silence filling my ears. Nothing but silence and my own thoughts. Looking over at the time, I groaned at seeing a bright green 3:07am flashing amidst the darkness. 'Crap. I better get some sleep or else I'll never get out of bed.'

Summer classes were starting tomorrow, and I certainly did not want to be on Mr. Aizawa's bad side.

So, I settled myself back into bed, and just stared at the ceiling until my eyes drooped closed and my mind drifted off. However, even if the silence and sleep brought a temporary peace with it, it didn't change the fact that a whirlwind of guilt and regret and fear was building inside of me. Not even a little bit.

~~~

"I believe I've mentioned this already, but your main focus this summer is obtaining Hero Provisional Licenses."

"Yes sir!"

It was only eight-thirty in the damn morning, and Mr. Aizawa was already hitting us with the hardcore stuff. What did I expect, though? This was our merciless, flippant and caterpillar-of-a-teacher, who was also still really mad with a lot of us. So yeah, this was a form of punishment, I guessed; and considering I only received about four hours sleep, I'm pretty sure this was also karma.