Preydator || Todoroki x OC

•9: Letting Someone Close•

'What a bore...' I think as Aizawa rambles on to the students about something or other about heroes.

'Todoroki still hasn't said anything to me since he saw me.' I think with a frown. I glance over to the back of his head to the right of the girl I'm sitting behind. I doodle on the back of his chair, drawing a peppermint candy with a happy face and a red fox.

Suddenly, the classroom door slams open and a booming voice shouts out, "I AM- coming through the door like a normal person!"

I turn my head towards the commotion and see All Might- yes, the number one hero is standing right before my very eyes! I suddenly feel my heart rate accelerate. Ever since I was a little kid, I've admired All Might. I wasn't as extreme as some other fans out there, but my mom met him when she was a pro hero, and my admiration only intensified after learning he is one of the only true heroes- unlike my mother was.

The class erupts into reactions matching mine, the green haired boy named Mirdoriya screeching out, "All Might?!" the loudest.

"Hello, young heroes!" He bellows, walking to the front of the classroom. "Welcome to Heroism 101!"

'How cheesy.' I remark, but I listen in intently with my interest radically piqued.

"Today we'll be doing some combat training!" He announces, a few faces in the room lighting up in excitement.

A strange hissing sound begins to emit from the wall to my left. Suddenly, shelves of numbered briefcases emerge from the wall. "UA's personal design company has finished the costumes you designed and submited. Your briefcases are marked with your class numbers. Suit up and meet at Ground Beta!"

Excited murmurs fill the class as the students around me get up from their seats and pick up their briefcase from the shelf.

"Rin." Aizawa's voice says once the other students have left. I look behind All Might to meet Aizawa's face from inside the bright yellow sleeping bag. "You suit up, too."

"W-What?!" My eyes widen. I then glance to see a lonesome briefcase marked with the number 'twenty-one' left on the shelf. "But I'm not part of the hero course, and I didn't submit a hero costume design."

"Officer Osaro wants you to participate in class activities." He states. "But I couldn't care less if you wanted to sit them out." He unzips himself from the sleeping bag and steps out. "The design company was ecstatic when they heard you would be here. They took time to personally design your costume from the photos they saw of you online."

'What a drag.' I think with a sigh. "I thought I wasn't going to go around blatantly giving away the fact that I was a wanted vandal."

He shrugs. "That's up to you. Your costume isn't too obvious, I think." He adds.

"But what about my cast?" I gesture towards the dark grey boot around my ankle. "How am I going to participate in combat training?"

"The whole point of a cast is to hold your bones together. Running around isn't going to break your bones again." Aizawa states. "Plus, I thought you jumped across roofs as your main way of transport?"

"I can't do that with this heavy shit hindering me!" I retort.

"Hey, language." He warns. "And you'll just have to learn to improvise. A hinderance is just another tool you are bad at utilizing."

'What a drag.' I think as I begrudgingly get up from my seat. I grab the lone briefcase off the shelf and walk out of the classroom to follow the other students. 'I really hope they didn't make some uncomfortable leotard or something.' I think as I catch up to the girls heading into the girls' changing rooms.

-----

"Woah, your costume is so cool!" The girl named Mina with fluffy pink hair and horns exclaims. "I feel like I've seen it before..." she mutters.

"R-Really?" I sputter. I'd rather not have everyone know I was a wanted vandal that incriminated a few top heroes. I examine myself in the mirror, feeling strange in these foriegn yet familiar clothes. I sport a tight, strapless white top made of a sports bra-like material over a black body suit in the same material that stretches down to my mid-thighs. My feet are snugly hidden in white and gold combat boots- or rather, my right foot is. My left foot is still trapped inside the troublesome grey cast. A large, puffy, white windbreaker hangs over my shoulders. It resembles my oversized bomber jacket, however this jacket is lighter and has gold and red detailing that vaguely form the shape of nine fox tails against my back. A large, golden belt with a buckle shaped like a fox's tail hangs across my waist.
My eyes land on a white, red and gold mask in the briefcase; a fox mask. It looks almost identical to mine except the eye-holes have a dark film over them and there are tuffs of white fluff in the ears. I place it over my face, the lenses darkening the room. I pick up a small paper pamphlet with an explanation and details of the costume.
'The tufts of fluff in the ear pick up very small sounds and the lenses in the eye-holes enhance sight and night vision.' I read before tossing the paper back in the case.

"You look totally cute!" Uraraka says.

"You do too." I respond as I examine her tight pink and black body suit, with large, pink, metal boots and cuffs.

"Really? I think it's a little too tight and form-fitting." She sheepishly mutters.

'Same.' I think as I glance down at the tight body suit under my jacket.

"If you want to see form-fitting you should see Yaoyorozu's." Says a green haired girl resembling a frog with a hero costume to match.

I follow her gaze to a taller girl with black hair in a high ponytail and a gorgeous form- which her hero costume shows off quite nicely. She wears a red and light yellow hero costume that slightly resembles a one piece swimsuit, with a large, chunky belt.

She blushes. "It's necessary for my quirk." She retorts in a soft voice before clearing her throat. "We should meet the rest of the class outside before we're late."

They all nod and start to head out of the changing rooms.
"I wonder what kind of activity we'll be doing." Uraraka says as they exit. "You coming, Rin?"

"I'll be there in a sec." I say to her as I close my locker.
I watch her nod and shoot a bright smile at me before leaving.

The door swings shut behind her, leaving me alone in the room. I sigh and sit down on the bench, holding my face in my hands. 'I feel so out of place.' I think, frowning deeply. I look up through the dark lens of the fox mask. I mindlessly doodle a flower on my locker door, adding dots of yellow and white to create a pretty daffodil. I huff out a breath before getting up from the bench. 'I need to get going.' I think as I adjust the mask over my face and pull open the door of the changing room. I begin to walk towards the group of other students in the distance chatting amongst themselves when I bump into someone.

"Sorry." I say as I look up to see who I had just clumsily ran into. My eyes widen when I see a familiar pair of bi-coloured eyes staring back at me.

His hand slams down on the wall concrete wall next to me. "Rin." He starts seriously. "What are you doing here?"

"Didn't you hear Aizawa? I'm the new student." I reply, playing dumb.

"That's not what I meant."

"I know." I say. "I got caught by the police and am here for reformation."

Todoroki releases his hand from the wall and leans away. "Idiot." He mumbles, but his face stays stoic and doesn't seem angry with me. "You didn't get jail time?" He asks.

I hesitate, remembering the reason why I exchanged jail time for reformation. 'If I reform here, I might find my mom.' I respond in my head, but don't say it in words. "They let me choose." I state curtly. "And the rest is none of your business." I turn away from him and continue walking towards the class around the corner.

'I don't want him to know too much.' I think to myself. 'Nothing good ever comes out of letting someone that close.'