Finding Me (Todoroki x Reader)

Chapter 34

"The potential to be your own hero, of course."

I turned back to the front, but my eye caught sight of Mineta talking with Midoriya, and a small chuckle escaped my lips at the sight of the obnoxious, orange uniform still on him. 'I wonder how long it will take for Mr. Aizawa to realise that Mineta and Kaminari aren't in uniform...'

My eyes wondered to the right of the classroom, and smiled happily at the sight of Ochaco clinging onto Iida for dear life, happy tears spilling out of her big, brown eyes. 'I'm so happy for her. She deserves all the offers she gets, and more.'

Speaking of Iida, my eyes relaxed with curiosity at the uncaring boy in front of Ochaco, unbothered completely by our friend's happy antics. My brows creased with worry as he just sat unmoving with his head lowered towards his desk, seemingly unaware of his surroundings.

'Ever since the Sports Festival, he hasn't been acting like himself, at all. I hope his brother is okay...' I thought back to the conversation I had with Midoriya as we exited the stadium after the festival...

{Two Days Ago}

"Hey, Midoriya," I greeted the curly-haired boy, who was sitting in a window seat on the bus we were take to get back to school. "Mind if I sit here?"

"N-Not at all, L/N."

I gently sat next to the freckle-faced boy, careful not to bump any tender body part of his. I stared towards the front of the bus, sending Shoto - who ended up sitting next to Momo - a thumbs up with a grateful smile.

'I need to speak to Midoriya, but I can't do that with Shoto around. Not just yet. Not until I know the situation...'

As the bus took off from the stadium, I glanced at it one last time before drawing my attention to a distracted Midoriya. He was looking out the window, too, but the sad and concerned expression on his face told me that his head was somewhere else.

"Hey," I said gently, sending him a reassuring smile. "Everything okay? You seem a bit out of it."

"O-Oh, yeah. I'm fine!" Midoriya replied hurriedly, waving his uninjured arm about like a windshield wiper. If I wasn't so concerned, I would've laughed at his antics. However, as his arm dropped, so did his grin and eyes, going back to staring off into nowhere.

"I'm just worried," he admitted, his voice lower so that only I could hear him. "I'm worried about Iida."

'Just what I wanted to know.'

"Why are you worried about Iida, Midoriya?" I asked gently, leaning towards him so that no one else could overhear. "What's going on? Where has he run off to?"

Midoriya didn't answer straight away, his freckled face scrunching up slightly in contemplation. Probably whether to tell me or not. My heart twinged awkwardly at that. I reached a hand out to squeeze Midoriya's uninjured hand, turning his attention back to me.

"I'm Iida's friend, too," I said, not letting Midoriya's bright, green eyes slip past mine. "Please tell me what's going on. I want to help."

Midoriya breathed out deeply, pausing for a moment longer before opening his mouth. "Iida's brother, Inginium, was hit my a villain."

I flinched at his words, my blood running cold at the very thought of what that meant.

"Is he... What..." I couldn't form any coherent sentences, the shock and underlying dread I felt blocking my synapses from functioning.

"Iida didn't know any details, himself," my green-haired friend explained in a hushed tone. "He was just called to leave immediately, which is why he wasn't at the final ceremony."