I hate how long this stuff takes me.

Anyways, I’ve mentioned on previous posts that the book takes place after the Sports Tournament. It also takes place after the hero internships and before the final exams and summer camp.

Warnings for a somewhat gross Mineta during the first quarter of the chapter.

Also warnings for very cringe-worthy Iida who has no idea what Todoroki’s family situation is and makes the atmosphere very awkward.

I also made a Wordpress account where you can also read it if that’s your preferred format. Click HERE!

So without further ado…

THE NOTICE FROM SCHOOL

After the internships had ended came a calm and sunny day between spring and summer that marked the beginning preparations for the coming end-of-term test.

“Next, Midoriya.”

In the midst of a ruined city, an incredibly apathetic voice called out.

On the ground of this ruined city stood Class 1-A’s homeroom teacher Aizawa, who looked up to the third floor of a building with lethargic eyes peeking through his unruly long hair. The building, at that moment looked to be on the verge of collapse.

“Yes, sir!”

At Aizawa’s call, a plain-faced student with busy hair and rather charming freckles stood and answered. There was a slightly nervous look on his face.

“Deku-kun, good luck!”

Behind him from the line of girls, Uraraka Ochako poked out her head and cheered him on.

“Yeah!” Izuku answered as his cheeks flushed at her bright, refreshing smile. He stepped towards the chute that connected the third floor to the ground.

The chute shifted and bent around his weight. It was a vertical escape chute used for evacuation. This tool, much like a slide, was meant to be used to get people down to the ground from high buildings.

This was U.A. Academia. And this moment was the middle of Class I-A’s Heroes Fundamentals class.

U.A. had a large amount of properties with different facilities. Like a stadium that could house innumerable people. Or the USJ, a place where they could train for disasters and accidents, where the memory of being attacked by the Villain Alliance was still fresh. This ruined townscape where the class was being held was also one of their institutions.

**************************

“Quirks” manifesting in people was still something with a more recent history.

As special abilities appeared in people one by one, at first it was considered to be a supernatural phenomenon or a miracle. But now 80% of the population had Quirks and it was considered commonplace. However, there were many people who used their special powers for evil.

Criminals increased explosively. The population descended into chaos. Society collapsed upon itself.

But then those who used their abilities to protect and fight for justice also appeared to stand against the criminals.

Heroes. Those who rescued the weak, stood against oppression, and were firmly on the side of justice. The dream everyone had longed for had become a reality.

Soon it became a professional occupation due to a widely receptive public. Eventually, as their successes grew in number, they gained fame and steady income from the country.

But not just anyone could become a hero. Now it was needed to have a certification to do hero work. On principle, using Quirks in public places was banned to keep order.

In order to be accepted by the country, it became necessary for heroes to acquire professional licenses to freely use their Quirks. That necessity became the foundation for schools with hero courses, which were essential to receiving those Hero Licenses.

And of course there was the narrowest gateway. The highest hurdle, U.A. Academia.

In this era, Izuku was considered a rare “Quirkless” individual. Someone that couldn’t become a hero because they didn’t have a Quirk, which usually manifested at the age of four. At the same age, Izuku had learned the harsh truth of society.

Izuku’s dream of becoming like the Number 1 hero All Might seemed very, very far away.

Even so, Izuku never gave up. No matter who laughed at him or looked down on him, no matter how impossible it was, he clung to his dream.

And just when Izuku’s wish seemed impossible, along came his first meeting with All Might, who recognized his qualities and put him through training from hell to mold him into a successor to secretly inherit All Might’s Quirk, “One For All”.

**************************



Although in the beginning his lack of mastery resulted in multiple injuries, through both classes and the guidance of All Might’s master Gran Torino, he was finally able to control it a bit.

“Oof.”

After experiencing a bit of a floating sensation, Izuku exited the chute to the ground and stood up.

“Alright, everyone from the boy’s side is done. Next, Yaoyorozu.”

“Yes, sir.”

The Vice Class Representative, Yaoyorozu Momo, answered and moved to slide down the chute.

As those on the ground waited by Yaoyorozu to descend, a round-headed, short student named Mineta Minoru was breathing heavily for some reason.

“What’s wrong, Mineta-kun?”

At Izuku’s question, Mineta’s breathing became heavier and heavier.

“Midoriya, when a girl goes down a slide, she should be wearing a skirt, right! But why is she wearing a gym uniform… I know why! Because there’s no taste or sex appeal or Buddha, dammit!”

“You never change, Mineta-chan.”

Asui Tsuyu, who had come down after Yaoyorozu, bluntly commented.

“That is correct, Mineta-kun. It would not do if their skirts blew up during class after all. It is simply more rational for girls to wear gym outfits which are easy to move around in for evacuation practices… No, wait a moment. If this were a true evacuation then skirts would also be worn!”

“No, you’re probably wrong about that.”

Izuku gave a worried laugh and reply to his ever serious friend, Iida Tenya, who had very seriously come to a wrongful conclusion. When they had first met at the entrance exams, Izuku had thought of Iida as a scary person. But now they were good friends.

“Quit your damn smiling, shitty Deku.”

A sullen voice snapped at Izuku.

“Kacchan…”

It was Izuku’s somewhat detached childhood friend, Bakugou Katsuki, who glared at him with sharp eyes.

Angrily cussing at Deku was something that happened daily. Although compared to middle school, the times he charged recklessly into situations had gone down. Not a lot, but quite good for Kacchan.

“Anyways, this shitty evacuation practice is fucking stupid.”

“What are you saying?! The top priority for all heroes should always be saving lives! And learning about the tools used to rescue those lives is important. It’s a very significant class!”

“Like I care. People are cut out for different things. I’ll fucking destroy all the villains and somebody else can rescue them and it’ll work itself out.”

“Wha—Do you really want to be a hero?!”

On one hand there was Iida with his strong sense of justice. And on the other hand there was Bakugou with his strong sense of self-conceit. The two were highly incompatible. Izuku hurriedly went to hold Iida back before he stormed up to Bakugou.

“Iida-kun, calm down!”

“Well, it’s true that he’s not exactly suited for rescuing others.”

Somebody nearby muttered. It was Todoroki Shouto, an attractive male student with a burn scar on his face.

“Todoroki-kun?”

“I can’t imagine Bakugou saving somebody.”

“…… The FUCK did you say to me?!”

“Oh yeah, I totally agree! He’s more likely to injure them!”

Kaminari Denki crowed in agreement. Bakugou roared, “I’ll injure you first, bastard!” as explosions erupted from his palms. Bakugou’s Quirk was to have nitro-like sweat come out of his palms and explode.

The girls who came down from the rescue chute were confused by the uproar and the other boys stopped in place to watch the whole spectacle.

Just when it seemed that the situation was out of control, a quiet voice spoke up.

“…… Do you have any idea what time this is?”

At the sound of Aizawa’s voice creeping over them, all the students of 1-A froze in place and stood up straight. Aizawa, who loved with a motto of rationality, had become a terrifying presence to the students over the past few months. Though he was usually apathetic, Aizawa had his eyes wide open and eyes tinged with red. Aizawa’s Quirk was the ability to make other people’s Quirks disappear by staring at them until he next blinked. He was known as the Erasure Hero, Eraserhead. But because he hated media exposure and photographs, his popularity was low.

The students went quiet and Aizawa’s eyes returned to their usual apathetic state as he spoke.

“Whether you’re suited or not, you can’t use that kind of excuse out in the field. Doing what you need to do is part of being a pro hero.”

Aizawa looked over his students as he spoke.

“When rescue teams or the police can’t help, you need to act as a guide to lead them to refuge.”

“If we’re talking about evacuation, then wouldn’t a rescue team be faster?”

From the crowd of gym uniforms, a single empty sleeve raised up in the air. The sleeve of Hagakure Tooru. Apparently she had raised her hand. Hagakure’s Quirk was to be invisible, so at first glance it appeared that her gym outfit was floating in midair.

“But what if you had to evacuate a large amount of people?”

At Yaoyorozu’s replying question, Aizawa gave a small nod.

“Correct. Evacuation only one or two people isn’t difficult. But in the case of a large amount of people is when evacuation tools come in handy. And of course during such situations, you can’t say that you don’t know how to use them. Which is why we include the usage of evacuation tools in the curriculum. Got it, Bakugou?”

“…… Yeah.”

Bakugou muttered in reply. From him, it was the greatest concession they’d get.

Next to Bakugou, Izuku let out a soft gasp and started to mutter to himself.

“That’s right, wouldn’t pairing together evacuation tools and Quirks be useful for evacuating large crowds…? Like if we use Uraraka-san’s Zero Gravity and Sero-kun’s Tape… or with Mineta-kun’s Pop Off Quirk too. Including in pro heroes… the possible variations are endless…!”

Izuku was a splendid hero fanboy, completely devoted to studying heroes on top of becoming one himself.

Izuku tended to mutter to himself when engrossed in his thoughts, which had shocked others at first. But now everyone looked at him with fond eyes (excluding Bakugou).

“Well, next is…”

At that exact moment, Aizawa’s voice was cut off by a loud engine roar from the sky. The surprised students looked up to see a helicopter descending.

From that helicopter leapt out a man with a muscular build fraimed by the blue sky.

“From the sky… I have come!!”

“All Might?!”

With a great thud, the No. 1 Hero All might, complete with explosive muscles and a majestic air, landed on the ground. His bangs that were split and pointed towards the sky swayed in the breeze produced by the helicopter as he showed a grin of pearly-white teeth.

“Sorry for being late, young ladies and gentlemen! Soon after I left I had to catch some villains!”

“Honestly. You were originally supposed to take the lead for the class.”

Unlike Aizawa, who muttered exasperatedly under his breath, Izuku’s eyes were sparkling.

“It’s already on the news! I checked during the afternoon break! You caught bank robbers, right?!”

“Oh, there was another incident too, but I guess it’s not on the news yet.”

“Wow… As expected of All Might!”

Izuku, who couldn’t stop yearning for hero exploits was unable to control his excitement.

Out of all the heroes, All Might was special. With his overwhelming presence he singlehandedly stopped criminals in their tracks.

He was the hero known to be the “Symbol of Peace”.

The fact that All Might handed down his power to Izuku and their teacher-student relationship was a secret from the majority population. How All Might’s true, withered form and how the time he could spend in his hero form was shortening was also a secret.

“Young Midoriya, your praise is already enough for me. Now, I cannot afford to keep the helicopter forever.”

“The helicopter? Wasn’t it just to bring you here…?”

“In times of emergency, I wouldn’t just use to make an entrance! Now, let’s have rescue practice with this helicopter! ARE YOU READY?!”

“As expected of the hero course…”

Izuku muttered, very amazed and rather touched.

To learn everything for the sake of being a hero, that was the U.A. Hero Course.

**************************



After completely the rescue training on the snowy mountains and waterfront, the students were returning to their classrooms.

“I thought that we’d rescue drowning girls and have to give mouth-to-mouth… And then suddenly they breathe in deeply and we don’t stop!”

“Aren’t you supposed to stop by then?”

Tokoyami listened in to Mineta and Kaminari’s conversation and muttered, “The embodiment of evil passions,” from his seat nearby. Tokoyami, with a head of a bird, had the Quirk “Dark Shadow”. An expandable, sentient shadow that lived within his body.

At that moment, Aizawa entered the classroom. Everyone instantly returned to their seats, backs straight.

“Alright, good work today. Anyways, immediately next week we’ll be having Parents’ Day.”

At his words, the entire classroom erupted. “PARENTS’ DAY?!”

“So even the hero course has something like that?”

The one who spoke was spikey-haired Kirishima Eijirou. Due to this “Hardening” Quirk that encased his whole body, he overflowed with courage.

The students passed back the printouts detailing Parents’ Day from Aizawa from the front seat to the back as he spoke.

“Make sure to hand those prints to your parents. The class lesson will be a letter of appreciation to them. Write one.”

At this little tidbit of news there was a beat, then the whole class burst into laughter.

“No way~! That’s so elementary school!”

Kaminari’s words were met with lighthearted cheer before it was cut into by Aizawa.

“You think I’m joking?”

Aizawa’s quiet threat immediately restored the quiet in the classroom.

“You’ll be reading your letters of appreciation out loud to your parents, who have always been taking care of you.”

As they realized that he was serious, the students were unable to hide their bewilderment.

“Seriously?! You’re kidding!”

“That’s going to be so embarrassing…”

As the clamor grew, Iida suddenly stood up and shouted. Out of habit he waved around his arms.

“Quiet, everyone! Quiet! QUIEEEEEET!!”

“Iida-chan, your voice is the loudest though.”

Asui, who sat in front of Iida, pointed out. Iida muttered, “Hm, my apologies,” before speaking again.

“But Aizawa-sensei, everyone is disturbed at the idea. Parents’ Day typically consists of parents observing a typical class. I cannot consent to the idea of verbally reading an appreciation letter! Should we not show them out true purpose for being in the Hero Course?!”

Iida panted, winded after his rant. Aizawa gave a concise answer.

“It’s because we’re the Hero Course.”

“Just what do you mean…?”

Aizawa looked around the class as he spoke.

“As young potential heroes, you’ll receive plenty of gratitude from people you help. That’s why you should think about your own appreciative feelings towards others. Well, I don’t know if I can still be a pro then, since I don’t usually.”

“…… I understand! In order to reaffirm our hearts as heroes, true heroes always remember to receive thanks with humbleness. It’s that sort of class! I understand!”

“You do?”

Ochako blurted out from the seat behind him. While Iida gave a bit of a bittersweet smile due to his change of heart, the rest of the class had a mood of grudging approval.

In the Hero Course where anything was possible, making everyone happy was impossible.

“Well, before that, we plan to have you showcase some light training exercises as well.”

“Shouldn’t you have said that first?!”

Kaminari yelped out the thought inside everyone’s heart.

**************************



“What should I do about Parents’ Day and the appreciation letter?”

“Just writing whatever is fine, right?”

Todoroki replied to Izuku’s worried mutter. Iida on Izuku’s other side chimed in.

“I thought it would be problematic at first, but it is a superb proposal. I have always felt thankful to my family, and now I have a chance to express it to them. That being said, letter have a page limit, don’t they? I’m worried that I may not be able to properly convey my feelings to them with only a few pages.”

On the road home, the three students dressed in high school uniforms looked like ordinary high-school students. These same students had confronted the Hero Killer Stain who had shaken society, and nobody even knew.

Since there were no Pro Heroes present at the time, they had to fight him in a public area and combine their Quirks to harm him, which was a breach of the rules. Even if the opponent was purging those who called themselves heroes and killed countless people.

To avoid staining the futures of precious potential heroes, it was not publically announced.

Iida’s respected older brother had been attacked by the Hero Killer and Iida had gone to seek revenge. The ones who had gone to save Iida were Izuku and Todoroki. After fighting together, the bond between the three had grown stronger.

“Amazing, Iida-kun. You can write that much… I can’t think about anything to write. I’ve always sent messages through official Heroes’ websites, but I’ve never written a letter before.”

“Really? I’ve often sent thank-you letters though.”

“Thank-you letters?!”

“Once in a while I’ll help lost old women find their way, and they’ll send me something in return. At those times, my parents taught me to absolutely send back a letter of thanks.”

“As expected, amazing…!” Izuku said out of admiration to Iida, who spoke so nonchalantly.

“Really? It’s normal.”

Iida felt a bit shy from Izuku’s praise and looked to Todoroki for help, only for Todoroki to bluntly reply, “No, I haven’t done that before either.”

Iida’s shoulders slumped. “Is that so…”

“B-But what you did is a good thing! It’ll be helpful for you now!”

“… That’s true! Plus, you can put your whole heart into a letter. This time too, for sure…”

Iida at first seemed cheered by Izuku’s reassurance, only for him to abruptly yell “AH!!” and shoot both hands straight up into the air.

“W-What’s wrong?! Iida-kun?!”

“I forgot that I had received something! These!”

With that, he took an envelope out of his bag.

“What is that?”

“Native-san gave us some amusement park tickets. Us specifically.”

“Who?”

“That Hero at our fight with Stain! But why?”

“As thanks.”

He pulled four tickets out of the envelope.

“Why are there four?”

“Most amusement park rides are two-seaters, so maybe he was being considerate of that?”

“I see,” muttered Todoroki at Izuku’s answer.

“He really pulled out all stops for us. Shall we invite another person?”

Izuku enthusiastically agreed, “Sounds good!”

“Well, I guess,” Todoroki also easily agreed.

“But they’re only good until next week. Are you two free next Sunday?”

“Hm… Oh! Sorry, I can’t go then!”

“You already have plans?”

At Iida’s question, Izuku’s eyes widened and began to sparkle.

“They’re having a hero exposition at the Cultural Hall! It’s an event comprising of the most promising heroes! It’s something I can’t miss! There’s no other chance to get the data of the newest up-and-comers! Plus, as a special incentive, visitors will also get a detailed photobook for coming…!!”

Towards Izuku and his uncontrollable excitement, Iida couldn’t help his next remark.

“Really now, you really do love heroes, Midoriya-kun……!”

“Sorry!”

“Sunday is impossible for me too. I’m visiting my mother in the hospital. Sorry.”

Both Izuku and Todoroki apologized. Iida murmured a small, “I see,” with a somewhat discouraged look before recovering his usual calm face.

“It’s too bad, but it can’t be helped. It’d be bad to waste the tickets, so I’ll invite someone else.”

“Let’s go together next time… Ah, but only if you want to…”

Izuku suddenly trailed off faintheartedly, prompting for both Iida and Todoroki to ask, “What’s wrong?”

“I thought that I might be the only one excited to go with you two…”

Deku answered embarrassedly. Todoroki and Iida looked at each other.

“You have some amazing power, Midoriya-kun, but you don’t act like it at all!”

Iida said with surprise as Todoroki muttered, “Seriously,” in agreement.

Izuku laughed a rather strained laugh at their amazement.

“… Oh, come to think of it, who’s going to come to Parents’ Day for you, Iida-kun?”

Izuku quickly changed the topic and Iida, suspecting nothing, answered his question sincerely.

“My mother. Father has work. What about your household, Midoriya-kun?”

“My mom’s coming too, I think. And Todoroki-kun…”

“Probably… No one.”

Todoroki nonchalantly answered. Izuku gave a quiet “Oh!” and instantly turned pale.

Knowing Todoroki’s complicated family situation and the weight of it, he instantly regretted asking at all.

The No.1 Hero was All Might, and the Flame Hero Endeavor was No.2.

He was also Todoroki’s father.

Endeavor had a strong desire to rise up in the rankings, but no matter how hard he tried, All Might had always been in the way. Instead he decided that if his genes alone could have surpassed him, then it would still be his victory. For the sake of creating an even stronger Quirk and having a successor, he chose a spouse with another strong Quirk and arranged a “Quirk Marriage” to have children.

Todoroki, having a perfect mix of both his father’s fire-based Quirk and his mother’s ice-based Quirk, was the strongest out of all his siblings. Endeavor began to harshly train Todoroki at a young age to surpass All Might, simultaneously oppressing his wife when she tried to protect her son.

As a result, Todoroki’s mother became mentally unstable and poured boiling water on her son’s face. This was the origin of Todoroki’s scar.

His mother was put into a psychiatric hospital and starting from then, Todoroki began to hate his father.

“Um, I’m sorry…”

“That’s right, your mother is in the hospital. I’m sorry.”

Both Midoriya and Iida apologized. Todoroki gave a curt reply in return.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not something that needs an apology.”

“But it’s a shame that your parents won’t be able to see the fruits of your efforts.”

Iida nodded to himself.

“……”

At Iida’s words, Todoroki slipped his hand into his trouser pocket. The printout detailing Parents’ Day made a rustling sound as he touched it.

“Not really… Besides, seeing that guy actually participating would give me the creeps.”

“‘That guy?’ You mean Endeavor-san? Calling your father in such a way isn’t very admirable. Why not call him Dad, at least?”

“Calling my shitty old man ‘that guy’ is good enough.”

“If not Dad, then what about ‘Papa’?”

“… Pa…?”

“How about ‘Daddy’?”

“… Da…?”

Clearly he was unable to imagine calling Endeavor is such a way. Izuku quickly cut in as Todoroki’s expression turned more and more stormy.

“H-Hey! But you know, there are some families where kids call their parents by name or by nicknames, you know?”

“But if you call htem in such a friendly way, wouldn’t your respect for them as parents fade?”

“Calling that guy by a nickname…? … Impossible.”

“You can call them whatever you want!” Izuku was planning to say next but it died on his tongue.

As they arrived to a split in the road, Todoroki stopped.

“Todoroki-kun?”

“… I just remembered there’s something I have to do.”

Todoroki seemed to have a conflicted, faraway gaze as he spoke. Izuku’s face was unreadable, but worried as he was, he raised his hand to wave.

“Then we’ll split up here. See you tomorrow.”

“Take care!”

“Yeah.”

**************************



After parting with his friends, Todoroki finally arrived in front of a large white building, tinted orange by the setting sun.

It was the hospital his mother was in.

The waiting lobby was jam-packed with patients waiting to pay their medical examination fees. Todoroki gave a sidelong glance to the spectacle before hurrying to the elevator up to the floor meant for long-stay hospital rooms.

As the floor numbers flashed by on the display, Todoroki began to feel a bit nervous.

He always did no matter how many times he came to visit.

Even so, how he was now was nothing compared to his first visit. The first day he had come, he hadn’t felt nervous. At least not until he reached out to open her door and realized how much his hand had been trembling.

The elevator doors slid open with a soft sound.

He stepped out into the corridor, which was far quieter than the lobby below. The faint smell of antiseptic solution that all hospitals seemed to have reminded him of his prior hospitalization.

After fighting the Hero Killer, the three of them had been hospitalized for a few days to treat their wounds. While the others slept in the middle of the night, Todoroki alone kept his eyes open and thought about his mother in the almost inhuman silence.

His mother was probably always surrounded by this same silence.

“Shouto-kun, how rare.”

As he passed by the nurse station, a nurse he vaguely recognized called out to him—‘rare’?

“… Hello.”

Though he wanted to ask what she meant, the nurse was called away and Todoroki saw no choice by to press on.

He clutched at the print in his pocket with extreme trepidation.

In front of the room, Todoroki lightly exhaled before opening the door.

“… Mother.”

“Shouto?”

Todoroki’s mother turned her head from where she sat by the window.

Framed by the window bars behind her, her softly smiling eyes widened slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah… no, it’s nothing. Here, sit down.”

As she spoke, his mother offered the chair she was sitting on to him. “Yeah,” Todoroki said, walking forward and taking the seat. All the while his mother kept her gaze on him.

“… Mom?”

His mother blinked and murmured an embarrassed “Sorry,” and slowly seated herself on the bed.

“No, it’s fine… But if there’s something weird about me…”

“That’s not it. It’s just, well… It’s been so long since I could get a good look at you… You’ve gotten so big…”

As his mother’s eyes shone, Todoroki felt embarrassment run through him and he looked down. At that moment, he realized what the nurse had meant by ‘rare’. The last time he had visited had been his first visit ever.

“Sorry, for just showing up.”

“Don’t be silly. I’m happy that you came to see me.”

If he apologized, he knew that she would say that. While he felt uncomfortable about being spoiled, some part of him also felt pleased.

Although he had vowed to himself to rescue her, whenever he was in front of her he felt like a child again.

“…”

Todoroki brushed his fingertips over the printout in his pocket.

It was his reason for suddenly coming here. Even though he knew that she couldn’t come, his feet just naturally headed for the hospital.

It was better if she didn’t know. Or else.

Anxious about her son’s sudden silence, his mother suddenly said, “That’s right! Do you want anything to drink?”

“Oh, sure.”

Realizing how thirsty he was, Todoroki stood up to leave the room and buy a drink, but then his mother stopped him with a note of panic in her voice.

“I already have some! Take a look in the fridge.”

There was a small refrigerator underneath the desk next to the bed, and opening it revealed bottles of green tea and carbonated water and juice inside. There was also a small milk carton with a cute and childish illustration of a cow.

“Look, Shouto, you love Ushi-san’s Yogurt Drink, right? They were selling it at the store, so I just…”

Todoroki blinked. Certainly, he had the faintest nostalgia of drinking it, but the memory itself was gone. Seeing her son’s confusion, his mother’s bright smile faltered into an embarrassed one.

“Right, you’re already a high school student… I bought a variety of things knowing that, but I couldn’t help but wonder if you still liked it…”

Todoroki pictured his mother happily gathering drinks, anticipating his return, and felt something in his chest grow warm.

“… I’ll take it.”

He grabbed the carton with no hesitation. He heard his mother murmur “I see,” as he took a sip, the faint sweetness unfamiliar and yet so very nostalgic.

And then there was only silence.

After Todoroki finished his drink, he fiddled with the carton during the long silence.

He had just shown up to visit out of the blue after near 10 years of no contact. Both mother and son had no idea of how to break the awkward silence between them.

But it wasn’t an oppressive feeling. It was more like taking consideration fo each other and measuring the distance between them with minimal confusion.

Then, in a soft voice, his mother broke the silence. As always.

“… How was school?”

“Um…”

For a moment Todoroki felt relief, but then he remembered what was in his pocket and any relief disappeared.

He had to say it now. But even as he thought that, the words he intended to say wouldn’t come out.

White Todoroki internally struggled, his mother, unaware of his troubles, grew uncomfortable and worried. As soon as he realized this, Todoroki blurted out whatever came to mind.

“We had a rescue tool practical class today. We learned how to pilot a helicopter.”

“A helicopter? They even teach you that?”

Todoroki relaxed and continued as his mother clearly grew more and more interested.

“Rescuing people is the job of a hero after all.”

“That’s true.”

“And we used a vertical escape chute to escape a multi-floored building.”

“Oh.”

“And now to send out SOS signals.”

“I see.”

“And also…”

As Todoroki kept babbling, his mother nodded with a growing smile.

“And All Might was there too. He teaches classes.”

“You’ve always liked All Might, Shouto… But when your father was around you couldn’t watch any TV programs about him. Remember how we used to secretly record those programs and watch them later?”

“Yeah…”

When he was a child, All Might had been the type of hero he aspired to be. But like everything else, it had been pushed and buried in the recesses of his heart and forgotten.

And then he suddenly remembered.

Todoroki remembered dirty and bruised hands, bloody and unnaturally crooked.

And then he said.

“… There’s also a guy named Midoriya.”

“A classmate?”

“Yeah.”

When Todoroki had first entered U.A., he had taken no notice of Midoriya.

At first, Midoriya had come off as an overly nervous person. But then during the attack by the Villain Alliance at USJ, sometimes during classes he would emit a strange kind of power and spirit. He felt oddly similar to All Might. For this reason, Todoroki gave him a declaration of war during the Sports Festival, for his own goals of overwhelming his father and making him speechless.

To get revenge against his hated father for shunning his mother, he had hoped to win by not using his left side at all. And when he saw his father’s face cloud over, he thought that he had succeeded.

And then, covered in wounds, Midoriya faced him with all his power, ignoring his own state of being.

All the while, he was angry that I was fighting to win with only half my strength.

“It’s your power!!”

Midoriya had screamed this at him.

And those words pierced Todoroki’s heart because it was Midoriya saying them.

Midoriya, covered in wounds and annoyingly strong, and coming at him with zero holds barred.

All in order to become the hero he longed to be.

Even with no words, that passion was nostalgic to him. He had already forgotten that he had used to feel the same passion long ago.

And for a moment, he forgot.

Everything about the hatred for his father.

Up until he forgot, he had been held captive.

“… I fought him in the Sports Festival. Even though he was all injured and his hands were wrecked, he still stood up to me.”

“Oh.”

“… So I faced him with all my strength too.”

“… I see.”

“I fought with everything for the first time.”

“… Yes.”

“… He’s an amazing person.”

Todoroki murmured, and his mother smiled softly.

“You’ve made a good friend, haven’t you?”

His mother said softly, happy and a bit teary-eyed. Todoroki minutely nodded.

“… Yeah.”

And then silence fell once more. But unlike before, this silence felt amiable.

“Mother, I got your laundry… Huh, Shouto? What’s going on? How rare.”

Todoroki’s older sister, Fuyumi, suddenly opened the door and broke the silence. Though she resembled their mother, her mother’s features were more delicate while Fuyumi’s were cheerful.

“Even you’re saying that…”

“What?”

“Nothing, never mind.”

“You sure? Mom, I put your laundry in.”

“Thanks, as always.”

“What are you saying, of course I would.”

While Fuyumi hung up the laundry on the rack with a practiced hand, she addressed her little brother.

“Was there something you needed?”

“… Not really.”

As Todoroki stood to throw away the milk carton, the printout slipped out of his pocket and onto the ground.

“Hm? What’s this for?”

“Wai—Hey.”

Fuyumi finished hanging the last of the laundry and bent down to pick up the paper and unfold it.

“A notice for Parents’ Day?”

“Eh…?”

“… Don’t just look without permission.”

“I see, I see, now I get it.”

Fuyumi smiled to herself as he realized what he was here for. Todoroki frowned as he thought about all the time he had spent worrying, now wasted. But then he couldn’t help but jump a little as his mother spoke.

“Shouto… I’m sorry, but I can’t go…”

Todoroki became flustered at his mother’s apology.

“No, I just thought I’d let you know about it… I didn’t… I wasn’t expecting…”

Todoroki immediately regretted his choice of words. As he apologized, he knew that he shouldn’t have told her. He shouldn’t have come at all.

“Sorry…”

“Shouto…”

His mother’s eyebrows shifted into a sad expression as her son mumbled an apology to her.

“H-Hey now, you two…”

The instigator Fuyumi panicked between them, until her face suddenly lit up. “Oh yeah!” she cried out as an idea struck her.

“I’ll go to the Parents’ Day then!”

“Huh? What are you saying? You’ve got your own classes to teach.”

Fuyumi was an elementary school teacher.

“It’s fine. Since it’s for family reasons, I can apply for at least half a day off. And then I’ll record the whole day with a video camera!”

Her grin had ‘great idea, right!’ written all over it. Todoroki just stared at her in mute disbelief.

“It’s not like an elementary school sports festival.”

“Eh? I can’t? Recently a lot of visiting parents on Parents’ Day take videos now.”

Don’t put high school students and your students in the same category, Todoroki wanted to retort.

“Oh, she can’t…?”

His mother’s face had been hopeful, but now it clouded over. At any rate, she had liked Fuyumi’s idea.

“No, I…”

Todoroki hesitated. He very much did not like the idea, but seeing his mother’s said face made it hard to say.

“… I don’t know if you need the school’s permission or not…”

This was Todoroki’s best compromise.

And then night fell and it was time to leave. Todoroki and Fuyumi left their mother’s room together. While they walked down the hallway, Fuyumi asked him something.

“Your homeroom teacher was, umm… Aizawa-sensei, right?”

“Yeah…”

“What’s wrong? You look tired all of a sudden… Ah, or is it… Maybe Dad should go…?”

“Don’t say anything to him.”

“Eh, but—”

“Not a word.”

For a moment Fuyumi looked sad at her little brother’s stubbornness, but she quickly fixed her usual smile in place.

“… Fine, fine.”

As they waited for the elevator, Fuyumi noticed her brother trying to hide his grim face by staring at the floor.

“Do you really hate the idea of being recorded? Why didn’t you just say no?”

Todoroki lifted his head at her words.

“… I don’t want to be videoed, but it’s not that.”

“What is it then?”

“… I knew from the beginning that I shouldn’t have come, that it would have been better if she didn’t know.”

“That, huh?”

As she spoke, Fuyumi smiled and patted her brother’s head.

“What?”

“You know, there’s no parent who wouldn’t be happy to know that their child is so intensely considerate of their feelings. I don’t think you should have apologized to her, but I’m sure that she was happy you let her know. After all, for your first Parents’ Day, you were thinking of her.”

Todoroki realized that everything his sister said was true.

About his first Parents’ Day notice. Even about himself and their mother.

“… You’re like a teacher.”

“I am a teacher.”

Fuyumi noticed how her brother was trying to hide his shyness from her and she gently patted him on the head again.

The elevator announced its arrival with a chime and the doors slid open.

“Shouto? If you don’t get on, the doors will close.”

Fuyumi had gotten in first, and Todoroki followed as she called for him.

If his mother wanted to see a video, then he supposed that he could at least endure the embarrassment of it for her.

**************************



IIDA. NO.