寒い

“So you trained with Aizawa-sensei ?”

He breaks the silence between the two with a simple question, eyes focused on the other’s reaction. Though the two had never had a real conversation before, Shouto’s curiosity took the better of him.

“I’m Sakia Ayuko! And your name’s Todoroki, right? So nice to meet you! You got in on recommendation? That’s so cool! Did you have to take an entrance test like I did? Or was it written or something?”

Her curiosity, though warranted, surprises him for a moment. Though this curious behavior was something he’d grown accustomed to ( as one might expect from the son of Endeavor ), this was the first time someone had been so curious about something so... mundane.

A nice change of pace.

        Bakugou was not expecting to be asked anything of his rival, let alone for advice of all things. He’d just been walking to a table in the lunchroom with his dinner tray, planning to sit beside Kirishima and talk to no one else. Eyebrows were furrowed as he looked over his shoulder and saw the boy wasn’t joking or preparing to make a comment against Bakugou.

        “You want advice from me?”

Lips pursed for a moment, Shouto drops his gaze and turns to focus on his now twiddling fingers. It was far too late to back out of the conversation, especially one he’d initiated himself. Another second of silence before he builds up the power to push past his pride-

“Your quirk... It’s powerful, right ?”

He can’t help but immediately feel foolish for stating something so obvious. If Shouto hadn’t thought it was, he certainly wouldn’t have bothered asking Bakugou for advice.

concerned meme | accepting

The very visible wince on his face blew away any possibility of following up her words with a convincing response. The pain in his side was enough to keep him from moving comfortably, breath hitching as he struggled to pull himself upward. Though he’d made sure to be as careful as one could in their situation, luck wasn’t always on his side. One small mistake, one wrong step, had all but put them in danger’s grasp. And yet, with every sign pointing to the obvious ‘no’, he hadn’t the luxury of allowing himself to admit anything other than ‘yes.’ Yes, he was fine. Not because that was the truth, but because it was absolutely necessary for him to be. 

“I can manage.”

Another wince. He was fine. 

“I’ll only hold you back like this. You should go ahe-”

A cough.

“Go ahead. I’ll catch up.”