Tea (TodoDeku)

Chapter 2

"So...You went to U.A?" The manager asked Todoroki. She was looking through his resume. The local business, Chilly and Chilli's was a dinner he owned and recently opened. It was easy to find information on the dozens of fliers going around. He wanted a little extra cash so he Todoroki noted she had a kind yet intrigued demeanor, he had to charm her with his abilities to charm her. "Yes, that's right." "You also have relations to Endevor Todoroki?" "I am Shoto Todoroki." She put his papers down and looked at him. As much as she needed employees, one bad apple could easily spoil the bunch. "As impressive as that is, I'm more interested in what you can do rather than who or what you're related to. What would you say is the best thing about yourself and your quirk?" Todoroki sat more upright in his seat. "Well you see Ma'am, I can heat things up with my fire and cool things with my ice. I just need to regulate my body temperature so I don't suffer from heatstroke or frostbite. I believe would be good for mostly cooking certain dishes, or I could help you save on electricity." "How about interacting with people?" "If I work with other people, I believe we could get along." "What would you say motivated you to get this job?" Todoroki felt a little nervous sweat break out. Should he be honest or... "Ma'am, I have found someone in my life that has been so kind to me. I want to be able to support them and myself. If I help others by making good food and help your local business thrive, then I'll really be a hero." She shook her head. Oh no, did he mess up? "That was so cheesy I could gag...But I love it! You're hired, be here on Monday 6:30 sharp! You will start by helping to unload our ingredients and on Tuesday, you will start to help with the Cooking!" Todoroki grinned. "Thank you Ma'am! I promise to do my best!" "I'm sure you will."
...
By the time Todoroki had finished his first week, he had gotten into a rhythm. On Monday he would check to make sure the deliveries were still frozen, particularly on the hot days. Then on Tuesday he managed to be useful during rush hour. It took a few tries along with some burnt patties, noodles, and fish. But he had gotten the hang of his cooking. If all of the ovens or stoves were full, they called him out. If they needed to chill something, he was the man to call. Of course it wasn't perfect. When he got home he would often just go straight to bed. But that clearly didn't deter his loving attitude towards Izuku. If anything it increased. It didn't take long for Inko to notice the new uniform he had to wash and how excited he was on Fridays for his paycheck. On a Friday evening, he was folding his clothes again. "Shoto?" Inko asked. "Yes Mrs.Midoriya?" He said as he was finished with his work for the week. "Are you sure you're okay with working this job? You seem a little more stressed lately and you don't seem nearly as cheerful." "I can assure you I'm fine. Besides, I'll get to buy that gift for Midoriya, then all of the chaos will be worth it. Besides, I might as well be paying rent here." "Nonsense. You don't have to pay us back at all." "I know you both keep saying that, but you don't know how grateful I am to have you both in my life." Inko looked to his uniform. "Then let me at least put it back in your room." Todoroki knew at this point he couldn't argue. "Thank you, Ma'am." He stared at the TV screen. Was he overdoing it? He was doing all of this for Midoriya. But...Was buying a gift putting too much emphasis on materialistic things? Maybe he could write him a poem, or try and give his a meaningful reminder of how great his life is...He didn't think this through.
...
Then...It happened. "Todoroki?" He heard a voice calling outside. It sounded like his manager. He put down the dishes he was washing and hurried over. "Yes Ma'am?" He asked with a nod. "I don't say this a lot, but good luck, you're gonna need it." Todoroki tensed up at that...What did she mean? She looked gravely at him. Like he was about to enter into a war zone. She turned around, looking to the door that was behind her. "It's Friday, 2:59 pm, light drizzle, Late June, slight humidity on top of it..." She looked back at him. Suddenly every one of his co-workers lined up alongside him. Her face was dark. "It's the annual 3:00 After-Lunch Rush. It's the perfect storm really. Investigating new places to eat, hunger pains strike during lunch you missed, it's foggy and wet for those poor souls lacking umbrellas...And everyone wants to relax during summer steambath like weather." She cracked her knuckles. "Everyone, we've got a big storm coming, we've prepared for this day! To your stations!" Some of the employees scrambled out the door, others ran the other way. Despite the small size of the kitchen, everyone seemed to move and slide around with ease. Todoroki just went back to the dishes. The clock turned to 3:00 pm. "Alright! Let's do this." Todoroki was still majorly confused, but knew he had to work faster.
...
Despite the chaos, things seemed to go rather smoothly. Todoroki noticed the plates piled up together again. He noticed one more plate was off in the corner. He rushed over to grab it. The more the merrier, but before he could- "Thank god, we need you Tootsie Roll!" He looked at him in confusion. "My name is actually Todo-" he felt something cold and round get shoved into his hand. "I need you to heat this up. Table 10 is not a patient table!" Todoroki looked down to see...A tea kettle...He suddenly felt uncomfortable. He did not have fond memories of tea kettles, but he heated it up anyways. It would be out of his hands anyway. "Sora! We need you to serve at tables 16, 32, and 12!" Suddenly, Sora was bombarded by several dishes. "Six burger patties with a side of fries and three marble soda, four large orders of steamed crabs with ricotta cheese, honey mustard and butter, and a huge order of sushi, onigiri, milk bubble tea, pizza, and yakisoba!" Sora had his arms full and a third in on his head. "Whoa! Whoa! Slow down!" "No time!" The person pushed Sora out the door with his back, he had several full trays in his hands too. "It's table 10 Tootsie Pop! Table 10!" "Wait I-" Todoroki barely had the chance to call out to him. Todoroki looked down at the teapot. Surely someone else could handle it...But he looked around to see the commotion wouldn't end. He hurried out the door to quickly deliver this tea, then he could hide back in the kitchen away from everyone else.
...
Inko and Izuku were walking around. They had decided to get out and talk, since it had practically been forever since they spent quality time by themselves. Todoroki was great, but nothing could compare to the mother and son duo of Izuku and Inko. It had truly been years since they had come to the local small businesses in this part of town. Izuku suddenly caught a whiff of several smells of spice and meat. "Do you smell that mom? Smells pretty good." Inko nodded. "Maybe we can take a look at the menus." Izuku felt something bump into him. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I guess I was too focused on...Myself."
The woman sighed out. "Stupid, stupid Chinari..." she mumbled to herself. "Are you okay?" Izuku asked, clearly worried for her. "Yeah it's just...I'm going to talk to my girlfriend about something that's...Really important...I'm just not sure how or when to bring it up." "Well whatever it is, I'm sure your going to figure it out." "Thanks, I hope you have a better day than me." She waves them off. "I'm gonna...Stand our here until I'm ready." Izuku nodded at her. Izuku and Inko walked inside to find the place was packed. Fast service, customers going in and out of doors and so many smells. From fish to chicken, to savory to sweet, from the bursts of hot air to the puffs of cold. "Reservation?" A lady asked. "Well we were looking to find a menu to see if there was anything good to eat." Suddenly the lady's eyes widened. "Are you Izuku Midoriya? Or Deku?" Izuku blushed a little and was certainly surprised. "W-wow! H-how did you me?" "Puh-lease! One of our recent hires loves you to death! Boss said something about him practically being in love with you. It was a real hoot!" Izuku was certainly flattered at the idea that someone could ever be in love with him. Even if it was just for his ability alone. He probably still admired him just the same. "That's interesting to hear, but other than that, do you have any small paper menus we can flip through? Oh, or a website or a business card, or a flier? Anything really helps." "Well we can-" She looked behind them as soon as she heard a horn honk. "Oh boy, you two better come with me! Joui, cover for me! We got a code yellow!" Joui quickly ran in tying his hair and apron in order. "Got it covered, darling! Get them to safety!" She grabbed the two by their arms. "H-hey! Where are you taking us?!" Izuku asked. "A table so you don't get crushed by the local boys' and girls' baseball team coming back from a rousing triumph! They looked behind to see a bunch of rowdy kids running to the entrance. They hurried along at the sight. "Don't worry, it's only for like two minutes, they're all seated outside in the back." They watched as the flood of baseball players filled in and slowly went to the back door. "Well that was a lot..." Inko said, noticing the comfortable seats. "A lot seems like an understatement..." Izuku said, flipping through the menu curiously.
...
He looked around until he saw the table. It was smack dab in the center in the establishment. So he hurried over there. He cleared his throat, and pushed a small smile on his lips. He had to make a mildly good impression. He noted how many of his co-workers were walking up and down the aisles, so he had to be careful. He walked over to the table, he found a blonde woman with her 2 sons. "Thank you for choosing to dine at our establishment today. You asked for some tea-" "There you are, we've been waiting for forever!" She snapped, interrupting him. Todoroki sighed quietly and put on his most genuine smile again that had nearly been wiped off. All he needed to do was serve the hot tea, and he could leave. The Midoriya house taught him that sometimes, you just need to nod and go along and with things so no one gets hurt. And as a result, he learned to be more docile and caring. But he also still didn't like it when people yelled at him for anything. "Apologies ma'am, something came up that had to be immediately handled." "Well...Don't be sorry, be better! That tea's probably cold now!" "If you do not mind me asking for the sake of a complaint, how long did you need to wait?" He might as well try to soothe the savage beast. "5 whole minutes!" It didn't sound long at all, in fact this rush seems to mean that was the fastest time. "Well take that into consideration Ma'am." He bent over the table attempting to pour the tea, but before he could, the woman had grabbed it violently. Todoroki nearly fell onto the table. "Give me that! If you can't serve me, I'll serve myself." Dragging this out was not a good Idea. "Hey, what the hell is going on?" One of the customers turned around to look at what was happening. "Butt outta this! Someone doesn't know how to serve anything here!" She pointed harshly at Todoroki. The customer looked up at him, he had a slightly uncomfortable expression on his face. They got up from their seat and grabbed the teapot behind Todoroki. "And how exactly do you think you should get involved?" She scowled "I've seen the way you treat people, especially the staff, you've been coming here for a few days and have caused nothing but trouble! At first I thought you would change, but this is the third time you've come in here whining!" The customer spat. "I am entitled to good service! And so are you, and trash like this is nowhere near on that list!" Todoroki was already starting to get way more stressed. This was not going well.
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"Hey...Do you hear something, Mom?" Izuku questioned. Despite how increasingly loud it seemed to be getting in the crowded diner, two voices stood out the most. He craned to see two women arguing over some disturbed kids. He also saw an extremely uncomfortable employee. He felt sorry for the guy. He couldn't see that it was Todoroki yet, but as the conflict grew louder, he noticed how more frantic he looked. Maybe he should go and find the manager, because it did not look like the conflict was going to resolve itself. Izuku got up, and told his mother that he was going to find a restroom. But that was a little lie, he was going to get to the bottom of what the hell was going on over there. As he walked closer
...
"Everyone! Please, calm down!" "Then why don't you make me!?" She shouted. Todoroki just grabbed the teapot trying to pry it out of both of their grips. "Please go back to your seat-" "But she's abusing you!" "But he's 5 minutes late!" "Well I'm sure you can wait, if you had to push out one of those gremlins out for 10 friggin' hours, I'm sure you can wait on a little tea in the middle of a cyclone!" "How dare you! I bet you're so alone you drop in on people's lives and regularly get restraining orders for being so obnoxious! You are so uncooth!" "Oh me? Your telling this guy to be better for some friggin' tea! What are you, on menopause!"  She gasped in deep offense. That was it. "You! You...Creep!" She yanked the teapot. "You're entitled to nothing bitch!" They yelled, yanking it right back. "Snooper!" "Prick!" "Imbecile!" "Cripple!" "Stalker!" "Slinker!" "Slut!".
...
Izuku looked closer, noticing the distinctive read an white hair. And his expression. Was that...?
...
Then Todoroki had had enough. He had to end this no matter what. He harshly yanked on the teapot. Hot water spilled out onto the kid's lap. The customer moved out of the way quickly, but Todoroki ended up falling, the rest of the water splashed onto his torso with the teapot. He bumped into another waiter and then crashed headfirst into the table. Everyone gasped at the sight of him. Everything freezes. The entire restaurant somehow goes quiet. Todoroki was covered in a strange food slop. Half his hair had been covered in nothing but white thick lumps and tapioca pearls, his neck had milk tea and hot water dribbling down, soaking every inch of him. And it all piled onto his black apron in a disgusting mix of whites, reds, and other colors in a sloppy and sticky mess. When his head slows down his pounding, he sees a little kid crying. He gasped as he stumbled forward. He activated his ice quirk to soothe the burn. The boy looked at him, still crying, but smiling a little. Todoroki smiled back. As chaotic as that whole ordeal was, maybe he...Could look back on this and laugh. "Hey! Get away from my son you monster!" He felt cold hands pull him up by his neck. The little boy reached out for Todoroki, watching helplessly as Todoroki looked straight into her eyes. She was angry beyond what seemed reasonable.

Or...Maybe he would NOT laugh this day off

"How dare you act so recklessly around my children!?" She spat in his face. Everyone gasped and murmured to themselves. The woman didn't seem to even acknowledge, or even care that she was in a public place, surrounded on all sides. "You idiot! useless, bumbling idiot!" Todoroki was about done. He was prepared to yell at the woman. "Listen lady I-" "Hiw dare you traumatize my child! You have no Idea what you could have done to him!" She yelled way louder than what should have been humanly possible. You could have broke him!" Todoroki noticed he wasn't on the ground. She seemed to grow. Her hands turned into claws, and her nails were talons, digging into his skin. It left a stinging...No...Not stinging...Burning in his neck. He saw smoke rising from his neck, Talons poking into his skin. He panicked, but used his ice to try and soothe his burning skin. "I am above you! I am your senior!" Her voice seemed to deepen. Smoke started to envelope his vision. He coughed harshly. "You can't even handle a little smoke?!" Little was an understatement. The smoke started to engulf the room. Customers could feel the stinging of smoke in their eyes. The air has a wretched stench that made it harder to breathe. And with the grip on Todoroki's throat tightening, it made his breath labored. "You burned my son with boiling hot water!" Todoroki gasped at the realization. He...Did that...He...His eyes shifted, his surroundings were surrounded in nothing but grey, he started to feel...Small. Weak. Helpless. He gunned his head away as best he could. He looked anywhere for a sign of help or comfort. Anywhere but- "LOOK AT ME WHEN IM TALKING TO YOU-" His body automatically reacted. If...If he wanted his attention...He had to give it to him, no matter what. His body and mind only ached compared to what he felt when he dared to look into those eyes. Hair and mouth were aflame, black scales poked out of the few bits of skin that remained, and a nearly demonic hatred radiated off of teal eyes tinted with red. But all he saw was his father. The dragon sighed, smiling to herself as she morphed back into something more human like. He didn't even acknowledge he was on the ground. He didn't even notice the way his knees threatened to buckle, the new layer of sweat added onto his skin, how everyone was just staring and recovering from the smoke that radiated off of her. He especially didn't notice his tears building up in the corners of his eyes, and the way his voice cracked when he choked out silently: "W...W-why did you do this to us? Why...Endevor?" He noticed his neck was released, his shaking legs took a step forward, then another step, and another. Until he was running out of sight into the employee bathroom. "Because you're an entitled little brat! A brat! And you could never know how harsh the real world is!" She shouted, knowing she was the son of Endevor. An entitled little brat who thinks just because he has his daddy's status, means he can easily get out of anything. Her satisfaction was cut short when she heard someone call after him. "S-shoto! Hang on I'm coming!" Izuku shouted, quickly pushing his way past everyone. Well...Not quite push. He had a mostly clear path through. Everyone was hoping that his friend could help comfort him after this humiliating event. But, someone else was there as well..."K-kahori? What did you do?!" A woman stomped up the her angrily. "Chinari, your late..." "And your rude!" "Don't look at me like that-" "Your not stopping me this time!" She breathed in. "We're going to have a long and private talk about this..."