Finding Me (Todoroki x Reader)

Chapter 36

He certainly had put my emotions into a turmoil of confusion and despair, that day. And to think - all of that shit went down in one day. One. Day.

'I'm just relieved that the matter has been resolved, and that my connection with Shoto has grown even stronger.' Looking around at the bustling city around me, I couldn't help but wonder what Shoto was doing at his father's agency. 'I hope he's okay...'

"On a normal day," Manual started explaining to us, "I'd be waiting for client calls to come in. Not really exciting. But things have been fairly hectic here, lately."

"So, you're using street patrols to suppress crime," Iida stated, his voice sounding more ominous than before under his helmet.

"Yeah, exactly."

We continued walking, casually scanning the area to see if anything was amiss. However, all I could see were kids waving at Manual, calling out to him and saying hello. Looking at Manual, I could understand why he was so popular amongst the citizens; he was very grounded, relatable, considerate, not overly boisterous, but he had a seriously cool costume.

'I wonder why he chose to resemble a fish, though....'

"Man," Manual breathed out, waving casually to a pair of school kids across the road, "I kinda can't believe Ingenium's little brother is interning at my agency. I'm sure you had offers from Pros who have much bigger followings than mine."

"D-Don't say that!" I exclaimed, waving my hands in front me wildly. "Your agency is wonderful! It's a good place to intern at, as you're so nice, and welcoming, and..."

I heard Manual chuckle in front of me, his head tilting slightly for me to see his grateful smile. "Thank you, that's very kind of you. I'm also amazed that you wanted to come here, as well. You placed third in the Sports Festival; that's quite impressive!"

"Tied for third, actually..." I tried correcting him, but decided to let it go.

"It was a long shot sending offers to you and your classmates," the normal hero continued, his eye never straying for the streets in front of him. "But I thought that if I didn't try, I'd never know. Besides, we're always happy to welcome new faces."

An elated smile unconsciously slipped onto my lips, suddenly very happy about my choice of internship. I might've chosen this place mainly for Iida's sake, but I had a feeling that I'd also learn something for myself from Manual.

Suddenly, Iida stopped in his tracks, making me pause a few steps later. He was looking across the road intensely; I couldn't see his eyes, but I knew that his mind was somewhere else. Where that was, I couldn't tell, but his clenching fists told me that it wasn't a good place.

"Iida?" I called out, hoping to draw his attention back to me "You coming?"

He didn't reply straight away; he only kept staring across the road. I walked over to my friend, and grabbed his arm. My sudden touch made him visibly flinch, but I didn't step away. Wouldn't step away.

"Iida," I said more forcefully, "are you okay?"

My Class Rep finally turned his head back to face me, and it was kind of off-putting that I couldn't see his eyes. The helmet made him seem less... human, somehow.

"Yes," Iida finally responded, nodding slowly, as if waking himself out of trance. Satisfied with his reply, I decided to let go of his arm, but I didn't walk away just yet.

"You can talk to me about anything, Iida," I said, trying to see through the darkness the slit in his helmet held. Trying to see his eyes. "We're friends, right?"