"Page three hundred and twenty, did you get that?"
"Yep, spinal circuits can process information without brain control."
"Can you do something with that?"
"Maybe."
I tapped my pencil against my chin, tilting my head to the side as I let out a sigh, my eyes looming over the inconsistent scribbles across the paper before me.
"Would you like me to continue?" He asked smoothly, brushing some longer strands of red out of his eyes.
"We've been at it for two hours Shoto, I think we both deserve a break." I yawned, stretching backwards in my wheelchair as he nodded softly, sticking a marker in the textbook and slamming it shut.
My motivation had returned since meeting with Umi, stronger than ever. Unfortunately, just because my determination was back, didn't mean my ability to read was. Thankfully, Shota and my brother had offered to read to me in their spare time. I appreciated it, I really did, but I hated making them sit still for hours at a time, reading complex words that made their eyebrows furrow and lips twitch unnaturally. Neither of them seemed to mind too much, always repeating themselves if needed to and making sure I wrote down the page numbers on my notes.
"Do you want to go for ice cream?" Shoto asked, standing up from the common room couch he had been slouching in for way too long. When Shoto read to me, we usually did it at the dorm area of class 1-A, it was easier than explaining to him I lived at his teachers apartment where we did things that were probably left better unsaid and unseen.
"Ice cream?" I glanced outside, the sun already at its highest point on this bright Saturday. "Yeah, sure!"
✎ ✎ ✎ ✎ ✎
Shoto pushed me along the sidewalk as I held both our ice creams, occasionally lifting up his cone (which had one scoop of vanilla ice cream and one scoop of blueberry swirl per my request) for Shoto to lick as we continued our stroll.
"So how was it?" He asked, breaking the silence.
"The ice cream?" I rose an eyebrow, taking a taste of my own chilly treat (consisting of a scoop blueberry swirl and vanilla per Shoto's boring choice).
"No, living without dad." He clarified, watching me as I lifted his cold desert above my head, giving him another bite. I thought about it for a second, sticking my tongue out and licking the blueberry part of my ice cream.
"Well, my mom died when I was seven." I began, "So I pretty much lived alone since then, I mean, dad would stop by to check on me when I was younger since he was my assigned legal guardian." I snapped a piece of my waffle cone off, chewing mindfully. "Once I hit secondary school though, he stopped showing face all together. Just dropping money off for food and bills, so I don't remember too much of my time with him." I raised his ice cream up to his mouth, my nose twitching as I thought. "But what I do remember, isn't all that great." My face darkened, Shoto silently taking another bite from my hand.
"He trained you."
"He tried." I sighed, remembering the times he made my lips tremble with pain and my knees shake with fear. "He forced me to use my quirk against my will, burning my lips and tongue to points where I had to be taken to the hospital. I think he wanted me to build up some kind of tolerance to it."
"He did something similar to me." Shoto admitted, turning the corner in the direction back to UA dorms. "I was raised separately from my other three siblings, forced to use my quirk, to strengthen it."
"Is that why you refused to use your flames for the longest time?" I asked, eating the rest of my blueberry swirl and beginning the licking of Shoto's flavor choice.
"You knew about that?"
"Of course I did." I said, leaning back in my wheelchair so I could look at Shoto upside down. "I kept my eye on my little brother, who do you think made your first costume?"
"You did?" He gasped, his eyes widened as he looked down at me, my hair draping over the back of my chair.
"Yeah! I specifically asked to." I nodded, sitting back up, "Didn't expect such a lame design though." I teased, making Shoto laugh with me and lean over my shoulder to take a bite of his blueberry swirl.
"It really was a horrible design." He chuckled, resting his chin on me as we continued walking.
"It was."
We continued our walk with idle chatter, comparing our childhood memories and finding more similarities between us, more than we'd both like to admit. We laughed and joked, like normal siblings would until we reached the entrance to 1-A's dorms and the sun was hanging a bit lower than it was when we first began our journey.
"You should meet Natsuo and Fuyumi." Shoto proposed, making me bite my lip nervously at the question. I knew of them, mostly just from what Shoto has told me, but I was still a bit hesitant to meet them. I wonder what they thought of me. By now, they knew of my existence but never reached out like Shoto did. I wonder if they hate me? If they're embarrassed of me?
"Ah, maybe." I said softly, tossing the last bit of my cone inside my mouth. "Wouldn't want to impose."
"You wouldn't, I promise." Shoto insisted, "Doesn't have to be anytime soon, but how about dinner? Fuyumi loves cooking like our mom used to." I frowned at the mention of Shoto's mom. I didn't know a lot of the woman, but I knew enough. I knew she went a bit insane, harming Shoto and giving him that nasty scar. But can you really blame the woman? Forced into an arranged marriage because of the strength of her quirk? Being abused by her husband emotionally? Physically? Finding out he has a secret love child with a random quirkless civilian and who knows what else? I'm not saying she should be excused for hurting Shoto, her own son, but I just feel bad for the woman. She deserved a lot more than what she was dealt.
I guess we have that in common.
"Yeah, sure." I agreed reluctantly, watching as Shoto's face lit up with my words.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"This is great. They've been meaning to-." He was cut off by a particular Erasure hero standing in the doorway of the dorms with my books and papers in hand.
"I believe you're both about to surpass the curfew, Todorokis." He said firmly, making Shoto spin around with a bow of his head.
"Apologies, Aizawa-Sensei." My brother said quietly, turning back to me and giving me a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah." I grinned, waving him goodbye as he shut the door behind him, leaving Shota and I alone.
"It's nice to see you two becoming closer." Shota smiled gently, swiftly going behind me to push my wheelchair.
"Calm down, old man." I teased, "He's helping me read." I laughed, hearing Shota's disgruntled mumbling about how he 'really isn't that old'. Once we turned a corner, out of view of the dorms and closer to the teacher parking lot, Shota leaned forward, pressing his lips against my cheek.
"I love you, (y/n)."
I could feel my face flush a bright pink, my fingers reaching up and grazing the spot his lips has touched.
"And I love you, Shota Aizawa."
YOU ARE READING
Erase Herゾごホ
Fanfiction"...we both want the same thing." "Which is?" "A distraction."
