In the Name of Love | Todoroki x Reader

IV - I'll Be Fine

I lay on the ground, surrounded in a puddle of my own blood and tears. Sighing, I slowly pushed myself up and rose to my feet. My legs trembled with every step. I slowly managed to make my way towards my bed. I thought I'd be able to last at least a few more days, but at this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if I died tonight. I stared out my window with a tired expression. My classmates had been visiting me every now and then throughout the day. Every time they asked me what's wrong, I'd tell them I had a mere fever, but it was far more than that. By now, just about everyone in my class had turned up at my door at least once to see if I'm alright. Everyone except them. I turned my head as I heard a knock on the door. I shakily rose from my bed and approached the door, stopping to lean on something every now and then to keep myself from collapsing. I don't know when I stopped bothering to fix my appearance, but I did. I opened the door to find both Kirishima and Bakugou staring at me with wide eyes.

"Hey guys." I croaked out.
"Save your energy." said Kirishima with tears brimming in his eyes.
"Don't cry." I said, my voice weak and frail.
"Damn it!" yelled Bakugou as he threw his fist into the wall. "Why didn't you listen?! Come on! I'm taking you to get the surgery now!"
"No." I stated, my voice sounding stronger than it had ever been in the past few days. "I'm not getting the surgery. We went over this."
"Y/N... why..? Is all of this pain worth it?" asked Kirishima. I nodded my head.
"It doesn't matter now. Today might be my last day." I said, putting on a smile. "It feels like my throat is on fire. Thorns don't show mercy, do they?" I let out a light laugh, but it only resulted in me turning my head away from the door so I could cough some more. "I'll be fine." I said, turning back towards them as I shifted my body to block the new puddle of blood, thorns, and roses. "You guys still have classes. Go ahead and return to the school."
"Are you sure?" asked Kirishima. "We could stay." I shook my head.
"I'll be perfectly fine." I said, faking a smile. "I don't want you guys missing classes." Both of them slowly nodded their heads and made their way down the hall. I carefully shut the door, not bothering to lock it again.

I faced my back to the door and slid to the ground. I stared at my dorm. The floor was littered with white petals, each one stained with blood. Red and white... how funny... I let out a dry laugh as I felt my chest tighten yet again. I burst into a fit of coughs, the familiar feeling of thorns clawing at my throat brought tears to my eyes. Four days..? That's all it took... I stared out the window with tired eyes. My final wish...?

May no one suffer the same fate I sentenced myself to.

Todoroki's POV

"Come on, Shouto!" exclaimed Momo as she dragged me around the city. Perhaps it wasn't the brightest of options, but skipping one day of school wouldn't kill anyone, right?
"Momo, I don't see why we need to head out." I said, letting the black haired girl drag me around.
"If we want my sister to believe we're dating, we might as well act like it." she said, continuing to walk down the sidewalk. "Soon enough, she'll realize how much she cares about you and ask you out. It's pretty simple."
"Momo, I don't think making her jealous is the best way to do this." I said, turning around to head back to campus, but she grabbed hold of my arm and held me in place.
"Why don't you understand?" she asked, her voice sad. "I know I agreed to help you.. but... I like you too." The words caught me off guard. I stared into her eyes. She stared back almost as if she was pleading me to stay.
"I don't feel the same way, but I'll accompany you until this evening." I said with a sigh. Her face lit up and it was as if I had just given her some hope. I sighed again as she continued to drag me down the side walk.

We had been walking for a while. It was now a few hours past lunch and we were still wandering around the city.

"Hey, I think we should head back otherwise it'll be dark by the time we get to the dorms." I said, stopping.
"Alright." she said with a sigh.

The walk back was mostly silent. She wore a solemn expression on her face as if she was disappointed we had to return. I'm sorry Momo, I don't feel the same way. The streets were silent and the sun was slowly beginning to set.

"Hey..." began Momo, interrupting the silence. "What does she have that I don't..? Am I not good enough? Am I not pretty enough? Am I not kind enough? Am I not strong enough? What does she have?!" Momo's voice grew louder and more pained with every word.

"She has my heart." I stated before walking ahead of her.

«────── « ⋅⚜⋅ » ──────»

I walked into the dorms to find my classmates staring at me.

"Where's Yaomomo?" asked Uraraka.
"She'll head in later." I replied, heading towards the elevator. On the walk here, I made my decision. I'm going to tell her.

I pressed the button leading to the second floor, her floor. When the doors opened, I was greeted with an eerie silence. Every time I walked down this hall to visit Y/N, there was always at least some form of noise coming from her room, be it her singing or the music she always loved to listen to, but all that greeted me was an unsettling stillness. I walked towards her room, taking a deep breath before knocking lightly on the door. There was no response. Strange...

"Y/N?" I called through the door. Still no reply. "Y/N?" I called again, this time raising my voice a bit louder. All that came was more silence. I instinctively reached for the handle which, to my shock, was unlocked. I quietly cracked it open in case she was asleep, but my body froze at what I saw.

"Y/N...?" I asked, my voice shaky. I swung the door open further, allowing the light from the hall to filter into the dark room.

In front of me lay a motionless body. Her matted H/C hair covered her face. The body rested in a pool of crimson. Stained roses littered around her. I fell to my knees as I simply stared in shock. I slowly began crawling towards her, my heart beating faster with every inch. No. It's not real. None of this is real. I'll wake up, right? It's just a bad dream. I'll wake up. And when I wake up, you'll be awake too... right? Tears dripped down my face as I couldn't stop the sobs. My quirk was sent out of control as I sobbed next to the lifeless body. My left side scorched one half while my right sent ice at the other, knocking over several objects as it went. I ignored the sounds of footsteps rushing down the hall towards the room. Nothing mattered. My eyes widened as my quirk suddenly deactivated. The moment it did, I reached out for the dead girl. I lifted her into my arms while I sat there on the ground. Carefully brushing her hair aside, I looked at her face. Despite being stained with tears, she wore a peaceful expression. She looked as if she had been freed. I froze a second time as a hand was placed on my shoulder. I looked up to see Kirishima. Tears streamed down his face as well.

"I'm sor-" he began.
"No!" I yelled, my voice bouncing off the walls of the room. "This is all a bad dream! I'll wake up! She'll be alive! She won't be... dead..." My voice trailed off as I stared down at her. "She'll be alive... and breathing... She'll be smiling like she always is..."
"Look I-"
"Shut up!" I yelled. "I don't want to hear it..."

"It's your fault!" yelled a voice. I whipped my head around to see Bakugou staring at us through the doorway. His face was clouded with regret and anger.
"W-what?" I stuttered.
"This happened to her because she loved you!" he yelled. That's when it clicked. The roses... the thorns... the blood... Everything.
"I did this..." I muttered to myself. Kirishima placed a hand on each of my shoulders. He shook me lightly.
"No. She wanted this." he said, staring into my eyes. "It was her choice."
"Why?!" I asked, holding her tighter.
"Who said love couldn't kill?" asked Bakugou as he let out a dry laugh. "Love hurts just as much as the thorns which pierced her lungs."