Finding Me (Todoroki x Reader)

Chapter 73

"I know you are," I said. "And I am, too. But... I need some space."

{Present}

After that, it didn't take long for my parents to agree, half-heartedly nodding along to whatever Mr. Aizawa and All Might said for the rest of the afternoon meeting. And now - two days later - I was standing beside Shoto and Midoriya and the rest of our classmates, waiting patiently to enter our new homes.

"Hey." I jumped slightly at the deep voice near my ear, turning swiftly to find Shoto really really close.

An uncomfortable heat crawled up my neck as I leaned back in surprise. "W-What are you doing?" I whispered as forcefully as possible, but it came out more as a squeak.

"You're thinking about your family again, aren't you?"

I went to protest, but thought better of it. Whether it was my facial expressions or he was psychic, Shoto always seemed to know what I was thinking; and always knew what to say, as well.

Nodding, I whispered back, "Yeah. Let's just say we didn't part on relatively good terms."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It's better this way..."

Cold fingers brushed mine, causing a shiver to rattle down my spine.

"I'm sorry," Shoto said, but more forcefully this time.

That made me smile. He was persistent, I had to give him that. In response, I brushed my fingers against his, too, flashing him a small, grateful smile. "Thank you."

"We're glad to see the teachers got to come back, too," Tsu said, bringing me back to reality. "I was afraid you wouldn't be allowed. The people at the press conference seemed pretty upset with you guys."

The rest of us hummed our agreement. From what I could remember seeing, it certainly hadn't been a pretty interview, to say the least...

Mr. Aizawa nodded, grumbling, "I was surprised, as well. But circumstances have changed. Now, I will explain how your dorm assignments will work, shortly. First, however: we haven't forgotten the Provisional Hero Licenses you were supposed to get during the training camp.

'Oh yeah, that's right,' I thought, a lightbulb flicking on inside my brain. 'We went to the camp to get them, though they are normally for third year students. So much has happened that it slipped my mind....'

"This is important. Listen well..." Mr. Aizawa's aura changed, making me nervous as to how serious he'd become. He never usually was, so what was the go, now? Unless...

"Kirishima," he said. "Yaoyorozu. Todoroki. Midoriya. Iida. You five are the ones who broke the rules, and went to go rescue Bakugou and L/N that night."

I didn't need to use my quirk to feel how tense everybody had just become under Mr. Aizawa's scrutinising gaze. It was petrifying.

"Based on your reactions, I assume the rest of you were at least aware of their plan. I'm going to set aside a number of issues and just say this: if it weren't for All Might's retirement from the hero scene, I would expel everyone here, except for except for Bakugou, L/N, Jiro and Hagakure."

'No way...' I wasn't surprised at this, but it did make me nervous for my friends. Looking around, they all looked about ready to shit bricks. I was too, and Mr. Aizawa wasn't even looking at me.

"The five of you who went, of course, but also the remaining twelve who didn't stop them. You betrayed our trust, even if it was to keep your friends from getting into trouble. In order to regain our confidence, you'll need to obey every rule to the letter, and act as model students. That is all. Now, look alive. Enjoy your new home."

As Mr. Aizawa left, we all just stood frozen in partial shock and fear, feeling like our insides had been ripped out. 'Uh... are we supposed to be excited after that speech? ' I thought, watching him turn and just... walk away.

I sighed. Who knew with Mr. Aizawa.

The air was tense and thick as we all remained standing stock still, either waiting for someone to make the first move to follow, or still thinking about what we'd just been told.

"If it weren't for All Might's retirement form the hero scene, I would expel everyone here..."

That had to be a stab to the gut, particularly the five who broke the rules. Turning to Shoto, I saw he was staring at the floor, probably thinking about boring a hole into it rather than anything else. It was his strategy to avoid difficult conversations, I'd figured out.

Before I could open my mouth, I heard a scuffle from behind me, making me to turn to watch the commotion. Bakugou grabbed ahold of the back of Kaminari's shirt, dragging him behind some bushes. 'What the heck?! '

We all jumped as we saw large flashes of electricity flare up from behind the foliage, but  erupted into raucous laughter as a completely brain-dead Kaminari came stumbling around the corner. Everybody burst into fits of laughter, including myself, having to cling onto Shoto's arm to keep myself upright.

It had obviously been so tense that Bakugou figured we could do with blowing off a little steam. The boy could really be intuitive when he wanted to be.... and when he wasn't being an asshole to everyone.

After settling down, I turned to face Shoto again. He was smiling, at least, which was a good sign that not all was doom and gloom, anymore. Maybe we could go enjoy our day in the dorms, even for only a couple of hours.

"Sorry, everyone," Kirishima called out over the din, "I know this won't make up for it, but let's all go out for dinner tonight. On me!"

"Yeah!" I joined in with the collective cry, my mouth already salivating at the endless possibilities we could possibly be having tonight.

Just like the afternoon in the hospital, it seemed as though there was still one bright light in my life still.

I had my friends, and I had Shoto, and that was all I needed.