Friends? (tododeku)

Chapter 4

Third-person POV

"Shouto! Not again!" Endeavor roared with his loud voice and once again the back door slammed shut. Todoroki ran with a grin on his face and leaves were flying across the yard. The rebellion against Endeavor was super fun, and Todoroki could not resist the temptation. Todoroki ran deeper into the woods. He knew Midoriya would be there. He had not been able to sleep well last night. He would have liked to go back to the boy as soon as possible.

Todoroki had worn a sweater and long pants for the colder weather. On the other hand, it didn't matter what Todoroki was wearing. After all, he was always able to cool or warm himself with his quirk. However, he had wanted to dress neatly when he knew he would be able to see Midoriya.

He didn't quite understand why he wanted to please and show his best to the boy. Maybe he didn't want to lose his new friend, which made him feel the need to please him. Todoroki protected his face from the branches of trees and shrubs. The path was slippery from the leaves and ice, but the boy did not stop. He didn't want to waste time. Todoroki scrambled through a few more bushes until he arrived at the familiar square where he had met Midoriya. Todoroki took a deep breath and blew out. He was out of breath and sweating. He looked around. The air was cool and there was frost on the trees. Winter was coming.

Midoriya was nowhere to be seen. Was he late or was Todoroki just too early?

Todoroki sat down to rest on a fallen tree trunk. What if he forgot to come? He did not appear to be a careless boy. Yes, he would definitely arrive. Todoroki fiddled his fingers and looked for some movement around him. Nothing seemed to be moving. The forest was quiet, there was not even a single rustle. No animals were seen either. Had they moved somewhere? Winter seemed to be approaching at a rapid pace. It felt like yesterday Todoroki was sitting in the yellow flower meadows and collecting dandelions for his mother. Until a few days ago, Todoroki waved his feet in cooling water and cooled himself with ice crystals.

It was still quite nice that winter was coming. He could play in the snow and even make snow castles. In winter you can also skate and use an ice quirk as a rocket backpack. In the winter, it was also much easier to hide from Endeavor. Todoroki can make himself an ice roof and sit there until his Dad gives up. Winter is not as bad a thing as you might think.

"Guess who!" a happy voice said as someone's warm hands settled on Todoroki's eyes. Todoroki was deep in thought and startled by the surprising touch. Todoroki smiled. Of course he knew who this particular person was.

"Midoriya," Todoroki said, placing his hand on Midoriya's hands. "You came."

"Of course I came. I promised," Midoriya laughed, raising his hands from Todoroki's eyes. Todoroki blinked and turned. Yeah, of course he came. How could Todoroki even doubt?

"Did you wait long?" Midoriya asked and sat next to Todoroki. He was wearing a red jacket and a scarf. His mother had probably insisted that he wore them. It was a slightly cooler day today. Todoroki shook his head and looked at the ground. He didn't quite know what they could do together. What do friends even do in their spare time? It was annoying when he had so little experience.

"Do you want to go to the pond?" Midoriya suggested and got up. "It's over there," he pointed to a path that took them even deeper into the woods. "I've been there several times with my mom."

Todoroki got up and looked in the direction indicated by Midoriya. He had never visited that side of the forest. I hope we don't get lost.

After a moment, Todoroki nodded approvingly. Midoriya smiled and took him by the hand.

"I'll show you the way," he said boldly and pulled the other boy. Todoroki did not resist, but let Midoriya pull him towards the pond. The boys walked down a path shaded by the trees around it. This side of the forest was much shadier. The dirt road was short and they got into a dead end. There was a bush at the end of the path. Todoroki tried to look for a route around it, but could not find anything. How were they going to get through this?

Midoriya didn't seem interested in the bush and went purposefully towards it. He raised his small hand and raised one branch. Behind it was a small opening from which the boys could barely fit. "How did your mother fit in here?" Todoroki asked confused as he crawled through the opening to the other side. Midoriya was already waiting on the other side and continued his journey.

"This is just a shortcut I like to go. Mom always goes the other route," Midoriya replied.

"Hmm..." Todoroki muttered and scratched his cheek thoughtfully. Midoriya is pretty smart and inventive. Todoroki probably wouldn't have found this shortcut himself.

Midoriya showed the way a little further until they arrived at the shore of the pond. The pond was well hidden behind the trees. It was also very bright and a gentle breeze flew over them. Everything was pure and maybe even magical. Todoroki looked in amazement at the beautiful surface of the water. The air was not yet cold enough to freeze the water, so the pond was still fully open. You might even see a few fish swimming past if you looked closely enough.

"Isn't that beautiful!" Midoriya sighed and spread his hands to the view. The landscape was indeed very beautiful. The fogged leaves of the trees seemed to frame the majestic essence of the pond. Frosted ice crystals hovered in the air, glistening as they flew toward the ground. This made the whole place shine like in some fairy tale. It was just simply beautiful.

Midoriya ran excitedly to the beach and squatted. He lowered his hand under the surface. The boy giggled at the cold feeling and splashed water all around. Todoroki stood a little farther away and watched the phenomenon happening before him.

How can he be so excited about water? A weirdo.

"Todoroki look!" Midoriya exclaimed and pointed towards the water. "There's a fish!"

Todoroki turned his gaze and his eyes widened. There was indeed a fish there. Admittedly, it was nothing special. That was, quite frankly, a pretty dull-looking creature. It was dark gray and was not abnormally shaped. The fish was small but fast in its movements. It swam at a rapid pace towards Midoriya.

"Eek Todoroki!" Midoriya was frightened when that daring fish decided for some reason to attack the boy.

Midoriya tried to get up, but lost his balance and fell back down. Todoroki sighed and jogged to the boy sitting on the ground. "Todoroki..." Midoriya sobbed. He was really scared. Todoroki squatted down next to Midoriya and patted his back.

"It's just a stubborn fish. It won't hurt you," Todoroki said expressionlessly, trying his best to calm the crying boy. "Here, I'll help you up," Todoroki said gently and held out his hand. Midoriya wiped his eyes and stood up. He seemed to calm down. Todoroki fluttered the little boy's hair, which made Midoriya laugh.

"Thank you Todoroki. I'm fine," Midoriya said with a smile. He turned and took a step closer to the water. Todoroki startled and tried to stop him. What if he gets scared again and falls into the water?

"Mido-"

"Listen  to me, little fish," Midoriya said confidently. "That kind of behavior isn't appropriate. You can't attack others!" he shook his head. This lesson did not seem interesting to the fish, and it turned and swam away.

Todoroki stared at the green-headed boy more confused than ever.

He really is a weird one.