Maneko [Shouto Todoroki x Reader]

14. It's your quirk

(Y/N)'s POV

After a while, we decided that it was time to head back home as it was late. "Since it is late, we should go by groups in case anything happens" Iida said. I felt Ochako smirk and I felt chills on my spine. "Wellllll, since it has come to this, I'll go with Deku since we live close, Tsuyu-chan with Iida, and Todoroki-kun with (Y/N)"

"W-What? But I also live near you Ochako, and we don't even know if he lives close to me."

"I live near Shizuoka prefecture" he said.

"Perfect then, she lives there too" Ochako grinned. She then grabbed me and whispered to my ear "Why do you think I invited him today? Sure, I needed a helping hand, but I could have invited anyone. But yesterday I saw you two get close so I decided to help you out." Oh gosh, am I hearing things right?

Seeing I didn't have a say in this matter, we went to our homes with our respective partners. I sighed... since it's like this I might as well take this chance to get to know him better. "So, I noticed you were having fun today" I snickered. "Yes, I did" "Well, that's good. It was kind of you to have helped when you could have refused." "Yeah"

.....

Oh my god it just downed on me that we don't know anything about each other. What are we supposed to talk about?? And I kinda don't wanna touch his parents subject because that would ruin the whole mood and I don't wanna when he finally opened up a littl-.

"Thanks"

"Eh..... What?"

"For telling me that before. I didn't know I was being extremely rude and I thank you for making me realize that." He made a pause but it seemed that he wasn't over, so I remained silent and waited for him to continue.

"I don't want to become like my father" So it had something to do with Endeavour. "I... want to be a hero different from him, and because of that I made a pledge to never use my left side.  Everything I achieve will be because of my mother's side."

He sounded so... heartbroken when he said those things. It must have taken a lot of courage to tell me that, and I appreciated it. So I want to alleviate his pain, even if by a little.

....

Shouto's POV

"Todoroki" I stopped walking when I noticed she was standing still, and I turned to face her.

"Why do you want to be a hero?"

Silence. She caught me off guard and I didn't know what to say. Although I'm aiming to be a hero, I kind of lost sight of my goal and forgot the reason...

"Hmm, okay I'll go first. I always say to myself and others that I want to be a hero to save people and give them hope with a big smile, just like All Might does. But that isn't it at all. You know... I was bullied because of my quirk, and I did something I'm terribly sorry for to my dad... To put it simple, I hated my quirk..."

I was taken aback by what she revealed to me, and memories flashed my mind.

'Shouto's... That child's left side sometimes looks very unsightly to me...'

'M-Mum...'

'Where's mom?'

'Huh? She hurt you so I put her in a hospital.'

Heh, I guess we are alike.

"But!" I continued to listen to her carefully "Look at me now, aiming to be a pro hero with my one and only quirk!" I widened my eyes when I heard her say that with a genuine smile.   

"So, as I was saying, the true reason I want to be a hero is because I want to prove that my quirk can be used for good too. And only when people recognize me as one, I'll be able to proudly face my father again."

More and more memories flashed my mind.

'I don't want to mom'

'But, you want to be a hero, don't you? It's okay for you to be one, as long as you have a future you feel strongly about.'

The wind was blowing both of our hairs, and although the sun has set down for some time now, her smile still managed to dazzle me.     

"I... somehow learned to accept my quirk as time went by. Sure, I sometimes do feel insecure, but nonetheless, it's still my quirk and nothing will ever change that. And one day, you will realize just how special your quirk is and you will learn to accept it as it is."

I was speechless. I slowly raised my left hand and I stared at my palm.

Accept... my quirk? Tch. I quickly clutched my hand tightly and lowered it.

"I don't know about that..." I looked at her with distrustful eyes, while she was still smiling at me.

"Look, I don't know what you had to go through and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I want you to know that you are not alone anymore. You have me, Izuku, Ochako, Tsuyu-chan, Iida, and all the guys from 1-A. Hell, even Bakugou counts haha. So, what I'm saying is that it doesn't have to be now... You can take your own pace but, could you promise me that you will at least try? Pretty please?"

"...Okay" She bounced in happiness when I made the promise, and I couldn't help but feel hopeful too: hope that everything will be alright in the end...

"It seems to me that you have already achieved part of your goal." I gave her a smile and she tilted her head in confusion. I shook my head telling telling her that it was nothing and we continued our walk.

After that, all that could be heard until we reached her house were my regular steps and her tiny hops. None of us uttered a word, but it didn't feel awkward at all. It felt nice...

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(A/N): I was kinda tempted to just fuck it all and do a kabedon or a kiss scene HAHAHAH. But I'm glad I didn't ('꒳')