CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
❛  the classroom ❜

"ALRIGHT NOW, STUDENTS." Standing before 1-A was none other than Mr. Aizawa, who had just gone through his usual lectures. Since Midoriya and Bakugo were back, it was time to delve deeper into the hero training. "Now that everyone is back, we'll begin to dicuss your work studies."

Gesturing toward the door, he spoke. "Go ahead, come on in." The classroom door slid open, revealing three older UA students. They walked in, waving to the class. There were two males, and one female. Your eyes widened; you recognized them from last year's UA Sports Festival. Specifically, the blonde-haired student. He left quite the impression, his clothes falling off more than once during his performance. You saw much more than you were interested in seeing that day.

"These students are referred to as 'The Big Three', UA's top students. Go on, introduce yourselves and make it brief. Amajiki, why don't you go first." The black-haired student froze, his eyes wandering around the room. He began to sweat profusely, and he struggled to form any words. Instead of speaking, he slowly turned around to face the wall, mumbling nonsense to himself. You, as well as your classmates, shared confused glances. This couldn't be one of the top students, could it?!

The female student with waist-length blue hair let out a chuckle. "I'm sorry about him, he's a bit shy! This is Tamaki Amajiki, and my name is Nejire Hado! I'm so excited to work with all of you!" She then paused, leaning forward to stare at none other than Todoroki.

"Woah, how'd you get that huge scar on your face?!" She pointed. You gasped at her directness, knowing Todoroki would be upset at such a question. His eyebrows furrowed.

"That's none of your—"

"Hey, if those horns broke off, do you think you could grow new ones?! Can you wiggle them?!" Nejire quickly shifted her attention toward Mina, who was confused at her many questions. Before Mina could answer, she spun around, pointing at Mineta.

"And are those balls your hair or what, I don't get it!" Mineta beamed at the girls sudden interest in him and his balls. This was a rare occurrence.

"You want to know more about my balls?!"

"This is completely irrational." Mr. Aizawa growled. The blonde student chuckled nervously, putting a friendly arm around Aizawa.

"Don't worry, Eraserhead, I'll get the audience refocused!" Stepping forward the blonde haired student offered a friendly salute.

"Hello, I'm Mirio Togata!" He smiled kindly, his next words not at all matching his actions. "Today, you'll all be fighting against me. I won't go easy on you all, you'll be crushed!" The class erupted into a frenzy of confused yelling. Some were excited, others were terrified.

"A whole class against one person?!" Someone exclaimed. You were beyond surprised. How strong was this guy to be fighting against a whole class?! From watching his performance at the sports festival, he didn't seem to be all that strong. Maybe your class would be able to take him on, it doesn't seem likely that he'd win against the entirety of the class.

"Alright, students. Let's make this quick. Change into your PE uniforms and we'll head down to the training area to begin the spar."

☆彡

"Ahh, that was a nightmare!" Mina cried, pulling at her messy pink locks. 1-A had just finished their training with Mirio, and what a workout that was. After multiple rounds of sparring, not once did your class win against him. Mirio's quirk was a sight to behold, and his control of it was unmatched. He had far more experience than your entire class had— combined. Mirio was a student that you were positive many looked up to. He was definitely hero-material.

"I don't know if I can join the study group after that..." Uraraka let out a sigh, dragging her feet as she walked. Everyone was headed back toward the dorms to get ready for bed. Usually, you and the girls hung out before going to bed. On Wednesdays, you usually studied as a group together. You all would rather go to sleep, but knew studying was far more important. Speaking of studying, you paused, rummaging through your bag. You froze. Where was your notebook?! You can't afford to lose that notebook!! You looked up the girls, panic filling your body.

"I think I left my notebook in the classroom!!" Turning around, you began to run toward UA in a hurry. "I'll meet you back at the dorms!" They watched as you disappeared around the corner. Normally, they would've followed after, but they were much too tired to bother. Luckily for you, UA's doors were still open despite it being so late in the day. They must've been doing a deep-cleaning on the school before closing for the day.

Entering your classroom, you made your way toward your assigned seat. Just as you expected, your notebook was left on your desk in the same spot you had left it. You let out a sigh of relief as you made your way toward it. All of your notes have been kept in here, and if you were to lose them, your grades would be on the line. You picked up your notebook, placing it safely into your bag.

"(L/n)." You spun on your heels, your bag falling from your hands. You locked eyes with Todoroki, who stood at the classroom door, ignoring the school supplies that had scattered across the floor. "Is everything okay? I saw you running, and I got worried." He looked down at your dropped bag, taking notice of all of the books and papers that littered the floor. He walked toward you, kneeling to gather your dropped belongings. You hesitantly kneeled beside him, helping to pick up your things.

"I-I'm fine ..." You muttered, inwardly cursing at your stutter. "I just forgot my notebook..." You then both reached for the same book, causing you to freeze. You didn't know whether to move, or slap his hand away. He slowly picked it up, sliding it into your bag.

"I've been wanting to talk one-on-one, actually." He began, handing you your bag as you both stood up. You locked eyes with his heterochromic orbs. It was quiet— too quiet. You gripped onto your bag tightly. He awkwardly cleared his voice.

"I wanted to apologize for how things ended between us. You didn't deserve that." He started. "I made decisions revolving around my father, doing anything that he would approve. Anything to make him proud of me. In reality, there's nothing I could possibly do to please him, and I realize that now. Worrying about what he would think made me do things that I deeply regret. I don't want to become heartless and hurt others around me like he does." You were silent, taking in what he has just said. His apology sounded pretty sincere.

"Midoriya has been a good friend to me lately. He's helped me realize that it's okay to be my own person, and to make my own decisions. I don't need to live my life based off of what others may think. I hope one day you and I can become close friends again. You didn't deserve any of the pain I caused you. I only want to see you prosper. I know you'll make a great hero someday." You didn't notice the tears that began to stream down your face. Without thinking, you wrapped your arms around Todoroki. He did the same, and the two of you shared an embrace that seemed to ease the tension between you two.

While you were together, you remembered how much he struggled with having a father like Endeavor. He was a cold, ruthless man. You couldn't imagine what it must feel like to be treated so horribly in your own home. For as long as you could remember, Todoroki was treated as a dog that's only purpose was to be trained. Now, he was finally fighting for his own freedom.

"Todoroki, I forg—." Before you could finish, the lights suddenly flickered off. The two of you were left in a dark classroom, dimly lit by the moonlight seeping through the glass windows. The two of you jumped back, the redness on your faces unbeknownst to each other. Averting your gaze, you nervously scratched your neck.

"Uh, we'd better get going." Speed-walking to the door, you fiddled with the knob. The door was locked. Realizing you had both been locked in the classroom, you pulled on the door again, panic beginning to set in.

"Hello?! We're still here!!" You knocked on the door frantically. There's no way you've been locked in the classroom. You'd for sure get in trouble if someone were to catch the two of you alone together. Todoroki placed a comforting hand on your shoulder.

"Relax, we'll get out through the window." You stared at him in disbelief. You were on the third floor, how exactly would you get down without attracting everyone's attention?! If you were to use your own quirk, you'd have to muster up a great amount of power to safety land. Your quirk would attract too much attention. Despite your confusion, you followed the dual-haired male toward the window. He slid open the window and climbed over the edge. He dangled his legs, and much to your surprise, he looked unbothered at the great distance between himself and the ground.

"Come on, let's go." He offered a hand, helping you over the edge of the window. You gulped, the height at which you sat making you nervous. Quickly, you shook your head. Pathetic, what kind of hero is afraid of heights?!

"Trust me." Todoroki then wrapped his arm around your waist, pulling you closer. Your face turned a bright shade of red from the close proximity.

"W-What are you—" Without warning, Todoroki pulled you from the ledge. You wrapped your arms around him tightly, letting out a fearful scream. You could feel your stomach dropping as the two of you descended toward the ground. An icy slide then erupted from below, and Todoroki held on to you tightly as you slid to safety. As he let go of you, he produced a large heatwave that melted the evidence behind you. You stood there, catching your breath. The quickness of the fall took you by complete surprise.

"That was .. scary ..." You chuckled in-between breaths. Looking past Shoto, you could spot flashlights scouring the area from a distance. Grabbing onto his hand, you pulled him toward the direction of the UA dormitories. As you ran hand-in-hand, the two of you laughed together, not believing what had just happened. It was as if the uneasiness melted away, and for a second, you felt as if you had your best friend back.