"If this doesn't work... I can kill them." Katsuki growled, standing between Aizawa at the entrance to Best Jeanist's house. It was quite large, and hard to find. We all stood on the porch after knocking at the door. Whilst I was anxious about this, I was missing Literature after all. So there was at least one upside.
"Murder was never, and will never, be on the table Bakugo." Aizawa shot down Katsuki's amazing plan.
"Tch. Whatever." Katsuki mumbled. A tall blonde wearing a bit too much denim opened the front door.
"Ah, hello. Bakugo, Good to see you again, although I wish you had kept that hairstyle. Now, do come in." He invited the three of us in. We followed the number 4 hero into his home, astounded at the size.
"Take a seat." He led us to the dining room, and we all pulled out a chair at the round table.
"First of all, we'd like to say thank you again for saving us at the training camp incident." I bowed my head, also grabbing Katsuki's and pushing his down too.
"That's alright. It's the job of a hero, after all." I smiled at him. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard.
"So what I hear, is that the provisional licensing exam board won't allow you to take the exam unless you have a certain set of letters saying you should. Due to the fact that you are quirkless. Is that right?" I nodded in response. Somebody walked in asking if we'd like anything.
"A round of tea, please. How do you take it?" Jeanist let the man know. We all rang off how we take our tea.
"6 sugars please." I asked. Katsuki looked at me in horror.
"Really?" He leaned over to Aizawa and whispered.
"Yup." He whispered back.
"Thank you. That is all."
"SURE, BEST JEANIST!" The man exclaimed before leaving.
"Anyways. Most would give up at that point. I assume you've already experienced many trials and tribulations whilst trying to become a quirkless hero. Your resolve is strong and tight, like a good pair of jeans. I like that." He complimented me strangely.
"Uh, thank you sir." I smiled politely.
"You know, you seem like a nice girl. Why are you friends with Bakugo?" Katsuki didn't seem to like this.
"WHO WOULDN'T WANT TO BE MY FRIEND?!" My terribly short-tempered classmate answered back.
"That's my Katsu." I patted his head a little too hard, signalling him to shut the fuck up.
"Being kidnapped together really strengthens a bond, ya know?" I joked. He laughed a little at my weird sense of humour. The man came back and put some cups of tea in front of us.
"Now, I've already heard a bit about you from Bakugo and Eraser head, but I'd love to hear from yourself. Why do you want to be a hero?" He asked the million-dollar question.
"Because... I want to use my life to help people, and save them. Especially children who are quirkless... They get targeted relentlessly to be bullied. I want to change society's opinion of quirkless people, since they all assume we're weak and, basically worthless. We get treated like trash. I'm going to rewrite the rules of this society, saying that you need some superpower to be a hero. Anyone can do it. The only thing that makes you a hero, is not a quirk, or lack thereof. It's whether you move, or you don't, in a dangerous situation. Whether you run away, or run to save someone. That's the foundation of a hero. Not a quirk. And I want everyone to know that." I rambled my true feelings. Regret started to take over... He probably thought it was a dumb reason.
"I haven't heard that one before. I like that. Very much. Very noble of you. I agree, that an amazing quirk does not make a hero. It is in fact whether you act where needed, and if you're ready to put your life on the line for others." He agreed with me, much to my relief.
"You got 2nd in the sports festival, right? I did see your fight with Bakugo. You fought well. I think you are absolutely more than capable, and that is what I'll put in my letter." My eyes widened at his decision.
"R-Really?" I made sure. He nodded, confirming the unbelievable.
"Thank you so much!!" I bowed my head in appreciation.
"You're welcome. I'd be happy to assist you to your goals, and I'm excited to see what you'll do in the future."
We continued to chat, until our cups were down to their last drops. Eventually, we had to go and Best Jeanist walked us out.
"If you need any work experience or internships, or perhaps even a job in the future, let me know, okay? Bring your best denim." He said at the doorway.
"Of course, that would be amazing. Thank you!" We said our goodbyes and headed to Shouta's car.
"That went well." Aizawa said, starting the car.
"I know, right! Better than expected. He even said I could do an internship with him! Don't you just love that idea, Katsu? Us interning together?!" I mocked him, patting him on the back.
"What about Endeavour then?" The blonde changed the subject. Aizawa sighed, making a turn down the road.
"You don't want to know." He answered for me.
"Don't worry. I've got the perfect plan."
"Scam." Our homeroom teacher interrupted.
"Okay, yes, a scam. One could even refer to it as a con." I then decided to explain it all to Katsuki, knowing he'd love it.
"That's fucking genius. You'll get that letter easy." He grinned.
"Ohhh yeah. I just hope my acting skills are up to par..."
We reached the school and got out, heading to last homeroom. The room was full of buzz as usual, mainly about the upcoming exam. I caught Todoroki's eye, and we both sent a knowing nod to each other from across the room.
"Be seated." Aizawa grumbled, sending everyone into their chairs.
"For homeroom today... no news. Alright, chat amongst yourselves. Quietly." The man concluded, crawling into his yellow sleeping bag for his scheduled afternoon nap.
"So... How'd it go with Best Jeanist?!" Ochaco asked, coming over to my desk.
"Huh? How'd you know about that?" I wondered. She looked at me as if it were obvious.
"You kidding? The whole class knows!" I looked around to see every eye on me, all wondering how it went.
"Alright, it went well. He's writing it for me." The class said a few hushed 'yes!'s, and a couple fist pumps.
"That's two out of three letters! Have you got a meeting with Endeavour yet though?" Denki asked.
"Yes. I do. I think it'll go brilliantly." I deadpanned, looking at Todoroki briefly.
"Why does it sound like you have something evil planned?" Sero said cautiously.
"Why does everyone think I've got some devious scheme in mind?! I'm not that terrible..." I answered innocently.
-----
I stood confidently outside the Todoroki house, absolutely shit-scared.
"We're lucky I don't look 20 in this country. Or tonight's gonna get real weird." I said to Shouto, never taking my gaze off the front door.
"Why are you doing this for me, anyways?" I wanted to know why this boy was going to such lengths to help me.
"I love the thought of deceiving my father." He replied bluntly. Which, fair enough, if I were in his shoes I'd love tricking him too.
"Well then. You ready?" I asked.
"Yes. And if he gets angry... don't be afraid. I'll make sure you're safe." He seemed a bit nervous about this himself, but he'd never tell me that.
"Okay." We went to the front door and knocked. An older-looking girl with white hair opened the door, beaming at the sight of her younger brother.
"Oh, Shouto! I missed you so much!" She took him into a quick hug.
"And you're the girl he's been telling us about, hmm?" She raised her eyebrows. Luckily, Fuyumi was already in on it, as well as his older brother Natsuo.
"Come in then!" We followed her to their traditional-style dining room and sat on the floor.
"Lovely house." I commented.
"Thank you!" She smiled ever so sweetly.
"I can't believe you're doing this." Natsuo came in and sat down next to Fuyumi.
"You better believe it." I said quietly, hoping Endeavour wasn't nearby.
"It'll be hilarious if you get away with it. Please do not mess this up." The older boy added.
"I'll try not to. You know, you have a lot of siblings Shouto. Kinda makes me wish I had one." I said, although I certainly wasn't jealous of the dynamic between them and their parents.
"We had another one too." He said matter-of-factly.
"Oh. Cool!" I said, not wanting to pry. There was surely a reason that he wasn't here, and Todoroki hadn't told me about them because of tonight. But I didn't need to know.
Sure enough, Todoroki Enji came strolling through as intimidating as ever. I gulped, beginning to get VERY nervous. He was kinda scary up close.
"Hm." He sat down at the end of the table. Fuyumi got up and went back to the kitchen to continue dinner.
"Hey, Todoroki-san. I'm Y/N L/N, pleased to meetcha!" I tried to sound as disgustingly casual as possible. I was just glad I hadn't given my name or any personal details when I emailed him, or the plan would have failed.
"My name is Todoroki Enji. Hello." He said standoffishly.
"Father, this is my girlfriend." Shouto said from next to me, taking my hand and interlocking his fingers with mine. His hand felt unnatural in mine... for obvious reasons. It was a soft hand, sure, but nothing like the warmth from Aizawa's roughed-up hand.
"...What?" He couldn't believe what his son was saying.
"Yes. We have been in love with each other for a long time now, but she asked for my hand only yesterday. I plan to marry her one day. I'm sure you two will get along great." Todoroki finished his painful, cringe-inducing speech. I smiled the whole time, innocently.
"..." The patriarch remained calm, but he was clearly extremely pissed off. But he wouldn't get mad whilst a guest is over.
"L/N. What is your quirk?" He began his interrogation, as Fuyumi set down some food in front of us.
"Oh, I'm quirkless!" I replied a little too happily. He grimaced at my words.
"Right. You're the girl that beat him at the sports festival and took away his chance? And you want to... be with my son?" He realised who I was- but not to the full extent.
"Oh, yeah. That was a total fluke! Shouto should have totally beat me, but, like, I'm pretty sure he let me win!" I beamed at my 'boyfriend'.
"You let her win... do you realise how integral the sports festival is to your career as a hero?" He spat, trying not to lose his cool.
"Yes. But love makes you do strange things." He rubbed circles on the back of my hand with his thumb, making sure that his father could see.
"Okay..." The veins on his forehead were about to burst.
"But Shouto... Why a quirkless?" He asked.
"It doesn't matter to me. I love her, father." Todoroki was busting out the acting skills like there was no tomorrow.
"Right. What are your future plans, L/N?" He continued to grimace.
"I'm gonna be a hero! But, like, I don't really like school so Shouto does all my homework for me! But it does mean that he's totally behind... But we have a solution! I'll become a super great hero, and he'll drop out and look after all of our cute little quirkless babies!"
And that was the final straw for our dear antagonist, Todoroki Enji.
"WHAT?!" He stood up, sending the table flying. My heart was racing; this man reminded me of his own father. Shouto put an arm in front of me instinctively.
"YOU. Get over here." He pulled me up and dragged me to another room.
"HEY-" Todoroki started to get up too, extremely concerned.
"We're just going to have a talk about your future. Nothing to fret over." He continued to pull me out. We got to a training room, where he shut the door and allowed himself to calm down a bit.
"How DARE you make my son think it's okay to abandon his purpose. You quirkless people disgust me." He started berating my poor self.
"Well, I'm sorry..." I said childishly.
"What's your price, huh?" He asked, doing the hard part for me.
"What do you mean, Enji?" I addressed him very friendly.
"Ugh. How much money for you to stay away from my damn son?" I stood for a moment in mock thought.
"Aw... well, I guess this would make leaving him worth it. My one condition to leave him is, that I need a letter of recommendation from Endeavour saying I should take the provisional license exam!" I dropped the fucking bomb.
"Are- are you the one that wrote that email...?" He put the damn puzzle pieces together.
"Mhmm! So will you write it for me?"
"I knew you must have some kind of ulterior motive. Fine, I'll write it. In fact, I'll do it now." He sat down angrily and typed out the letter, huffing the whole time.
"Sent." He said, shutting the laptop closed. I checked my emails, and sure enough, a letter of recommendation from the number 2 hero Endeavour sat in my inbox.
"Thank you! I'll break up with him tomorrow!" I said, beginning to walk out.
"No." Somehow, he was already behind me and grabbed my shoulder. I was beginning to get a bit cautious of the man.
"Do it now. Tell him you never loved him, and you're not good enough for him." I paused.
"I-in front of his family...?" I almost dropped the act for a second.
"Yes. He needs to learn his damn lesson." He wanted to embarrass his son for no good reason.
I scoffed, unable to hold it in. Out of pure spite, I really wanted to yell 'NEVER! TODOROKI SHOUTO IS MY ONE LOVE!', but I opted for this instead.
"One other condition. Stop treating your son like a piece of shit. He's more than your selfish goal. He's gonna do great things one day, without you." I dropped my voice an octave to its normal pitch, causing him to raise an eyebrow.
I stormed to the dining room, leading to the Todoroki family all staring at me. I thanked God that they knew what was going on, or they'd think I was a total bitch for the events that were about to follow.
"Shouto... I'm so sorry, but I'm breaking up with you. I never loved you, and I'm just not good enough for you. And... There's another man!" I added that last part for dramatic flair. Fuyumi gasped in pretend shock, slapping her hands to her cheeks, and Natsuo facepalmed at his sister's antics. Poor Shouto was looking at me with bewilderment.
"I'll never forget you, even if I don't love you like at all. May we meet again in the next life. Goodbye forever... my sweet prince." I pushed back his bangs and pecked his forehead, making his face turn the same colour as his scar.
I think I really sold it with that one. After all, I'd rather Endeavour didn't realise he'd been conned until I'd taken the exam. Or... just ever.
"See ya tonight, ya know, cause we live together!" I showed myself out of the house, pleased my scheme had worked.
And that was it. All three letters were acquired. Through... not so innocent means, but hey-ho. All I did was play on his shitty preconceptions of quirkless people. His own fault for being prejudiced.
----
A/N woop! a chapter for my pretties :3
And that was the plan! Super awkward, super weird, they both hated every second of it.
Love,
Wyatt.