Secrets [Todoroki]

*Chapter Thirty-Eight*

Despite her thoughts from before, Miri had fun with the girls while shopping for clothes. Aside from the villains ruining their fun, everyone was all smiles walking out of the shopping center.

Unsurprisingly, the girls were very supportive of Miri and her swimsuit issue. They reminded her that it was okay to not look like everyone else. Her body is proof of her dedication to be a hero, and nobody had the right to mock her for it.

Miri walked on to the bus, having put her stuff in the storage she plopped herself down in an empty seat and waited for the bus ride to begin.

She pulled out a pair of earbuds and began scrolling through her phone for music. A hand came into view when she pulled out a bud and looked over.

"Is this seat taken?" Todoroki asked her.

Her cheeks heated. "Uh...no."

He nodded his head, sliding in beside her. "Are you excited for this trip?"

Miri inhaled deeply. 'I need to control myself.' She released the breath she was holding as a small smile grew on her face. "Actually, yeah. I mean, I'm not too thrilled about the part where I have to take supplementary courses to make up for my missed test, which Aizawa said I'd have to make up when we got back. I suppose as long as I'm learning something, it's fine."

He nodded his head along with what she was saying. "You missed quite a few days back there...I was starting to worry about you. Your text was a little ambiguous too."

Miri had a guilty smile on her face. "I..." The smile faded away. "It's no secret that I have issues with my mom. You know that. Now my dad is threatening to come back into the picture. And my relationship with him is...worse, I guess. Either way, the test and my dad came at an awful time." She bit her lip, thinking about how he sounded when he said he missed her. Little butterflies filled her stomach.

'You have a crush on him...' A little voice whispered in her mind.

'No, I don't...I'll crush you.' Miri thought back, violently.

"It sounds to me your parents won't be winning any parent of the year awards." Todoroki muttered, though his voice sounded hard.

Miri stared at the seat in front of them, thoughtful. She held out an earbud to him. "Well, much like anyone else, they have their positive attributes." She smiled at him. "If we worked things out between us, I think I can handle anything at this point."

A slight smile worked its way onto his face. He grabbed the earbud from her, his cold fingers trailing across hers. "I suppose so."

𓆩*𓆪

Miri was awoken by a soft shaking to her shoulder. Her eyes cracked open, and she saw nothing but white hair. She sat up abruptly.

'I was sleeping on his shoulder!?' Her mind raced as her cheeks heated.

"You look peaceful. I almost didn't want to wake you." Todoroki handed her the earbud. "But we've stopped here for a break."

Miri glanced out the window and saw nothing but trees for miles around. "What kind of break is this?"

She followed Todoroki out of the bus. She stood on the dirt road and looked around, noting how many trees there were. "If I didn't know better, I'd say this was the perfect place to get murdered."

"Ah, yes. Thank you, Miri." Kirishima sighed. "I wanted to hear that."

"Gotta keep the public informed." She began stretching, feeling the tension from the cramped bus leave her body.

"Well, it's always good to see a familiar face." A female voice piqued up. "Eraserhead, it's been such a long time..."

Miri's nose flared. 'Cats...not my favorite animal.'

"We're the Wild, Wild Pussycats!" The two women and small boy cheered.

Miri noted their bright and cheery costumes. "I've never heard of these guys before..."

"These are the Pro Heroes who will help you with your training while here." Aizawa explained.

"That's right!" The blonde explained. "My name is Pixie-Bob!"

"And I'm Mandeley." The brunette smiled. "The camp site you're staying at is at the base of the mountain over there." She pointed.

"Wait a minute here..." Uraraka sighed. "The bus is here, and that's there..." She began scooting towards the bus.

"Since it's only 9:30..." Mandeley muttered with a smile. "Shouldn't take you more than two or three hours at the most."

Miri grinned. "I like where this is going." Energy zipped through her body, her trademark aura slowly turning green.

"Your training..." Aizawa muttered as Miri took off running for the railing that separated them and the forest. The other students booked it for the bus, but they would never reach it in time as Pixie-Bob's quirk distorted the ground they were on. "...starts now."

"LET'S GO!" Miri cheered as she sailed through the air towards the trees.