Finding Me (Todoroki x Reader)

Chapter 102

Their appreciation and admiration for Kirishima hit me like a truck. They were truly grateful for what Kirishima had done for them, their smiling faces saying it all. My pride for my classmate grew even more at that.

The tubby man suddenly turned to me. "And you, young lady. You protected us, too. There could've been a lot more damage if you hadn't been there to protect us. Thank you."

"M-Me?" I stuttered, pithing at myself. "You don't have to thank me, at all! I didn't really do much but support my partner."

"That's still quite heroic, young lady. You should be proud."

As much as I didn't agree with the man, his and all the other civilian's smiling faces had me nodding to appease them. Didn't want to disappoint fans before actually going Pro, now.

"Talk about making a big splash," Fat Gum said, flashing both of us a smile. "That's a better reception than what I got for my debut. Solid work out there. You guys are going to be amazing heroes one day, I'm sure of it!"

The smile Kirishima flashed back was nothing short of one full of pure gratitude. "Thanks, sir."

I tried to mimic his smile, but it didn't feel quite as bright. "Yeah, thanks..."

"Young man," the tubby man said, "what is your hero name?"

"Yeah," the young man said beside him. "I wanna know, too."

"I'm Red Riot," Kirishima answered, turning back to face them. "And my partner here is Nova."

The tubby man nodded, saying, "Well, you can bet those are names I won't be forgetting. "

"Yeah. Red Riot's the coolest!"

"Thank you so much, Nova!"

"Thank you." Kirishima bowed before them, but he lost his smile for a moment. As if something had triggered him into a deep thought. I wondered what he was thinking about.

"Well," Fat gum announced, pulling the villain out of his stomach and onto his shoulder, "we better get a move on and get this guy to the police. I've also got to check if Suneater is okay. Do you mind, Nova?"

I nodded, following his gaze to where he pointed at the villain on his shoulder. I sent out two beams that wrapped around his hands and legs, pulling them tight against his body. Yeah, so should've done this beforehand.

"There," I said. "Now he can't get away, again."

I walked behind Fat Gum alongside Kirishima as we made our way out of the maze of dark alleyways we'd run through. Seeing the villain motionless above Fat Gum's shoulder got me thinking about how close tonight had been to a disaster. I'd been frozen scared; and if Kirishima hadn't manned up, then the situation could've been a whole lot worse. Damnit, why couldn't I move and be hero like he had been just now. I mean, I did do something, but not like him.

Why did I just... freeze.

"Yo, L/N. You okay?"

I jumped at the feeling of foreign skin touching my shoulder, making me look up and see my spikey-haired classmate looking at me with narrowed eyes.

"F-Fine," I said. "Totally fine."

He didn't seem convinced, as his narrowed eyes narrowed even more. "Are you upset about not getting as much recognition back there? I'm sure they didn't mean anything by it. I thought you were super cool! Knowing you had my back made me more confident, you know?"

I shook my head, letting a few breathy chuckles escape my lips. "It's okay, Kirishima. I dont mind that I didn't get much recognition. Besides, the truth of the matter is that you were the hero tonight, not me. Tonight was your moment; I was just glad I got to witness it."