The Flame Of A Villain| |Tododeku|

Chapter XVI

Izuku's POV

U.A. was exactly how I remembered it. The entrance was, at least. I had been here not two months ago at the USJ but I hadn't gotten to see the school in its full glory. The arch that welcomed me almost made me smile, almost. Even after everything I found my heart racing as I stood under the entrance to the school.

My blades were pressed tightly against my thighs, having shrunk to fit there in case of an emergancy. It was a feature Stain had gone about adding himself when I was allowed to go out on missions. Being the only villian no one knew about had its perks, I guess. The blades were always on my body in some shape of form, one of the least obvious being against my legs. Today I had worn them out of pure habit. Todoroki had assured me over and over again as we left his home that I wouldnt need them. People wouldn't recognise me. I would safe. How could I believe him?

Todoroki was throwing me right into a pot of boiling water here.

"All day?" I mutter, running my bandaged hand - for looks I didn't burn myself - down the steel arch. Even on the warm day it seemed to be freezing cold; a shockwave making my body tremble for a few seconds before my hand fell by my side. "How the hell did you manage that?"

"Aizawa seemed pretty okay with it, actually." Todoroki sighs, taking a few steps onto the school grounds. He walked like he owned the place with a chin held high and his hands stuck in his pockets. His backpack hung loosely over one shoulder with unkept yet perfectly parted hair flying everywhere in the slight breeze that whisked past us.

My eyes shifted up to the windows of the building. In each, it seemed, I could see a teacher looking down at me. None of them were smiling. This fact didn't really scare me. I was sure the only reason I was here was for them to keep an eye on me. They had to know something. One of the teachers in particular caught my eye.

I hadn't paid much attention to the news when All-Might was involved anymore. After the incident I had burned everything of his I owned. Every action figure and poster was disentigrated in a single night. I didn't ever want to see his golden hair or his wide smile ever again. As I looked at the superhero he seemed to jump, almost in recognizion, before disappearing. His figure seemed to shake as he walked away. Perhaps it was the new health condition the villians had heard rumors about? Maybe he was just scared of a little teenager?

"All day with me and my classmates." Todoroki threw an arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to his side. The force made me stumble onto the schools grounds, which, thankfully, didn't shoot up to eat me alive or something crazy. For the first time ever I was stepping into U.A. with no ulterior motive. I should be happy, and I was, but unease seemed to settle along the fringes of everything. "Come on, we're gonna be late if we don't hurry."

Todoroki pushes me forward and we both start jogging to the door. As we ran, we passed students leisurely walking to big glass doors that opened up into a large entrance area. A big Plus Ultra was stamped in a comic looking Pow! bubble under our feet. Along the walls were posters of various alumi who made it big in the hero industry. The biggest being All might followed Endeaver and a few others. Each poster seemed to follow us as we jogged and, at a glance up the glass shelves full of trophies, I caught sight of the principle. His cup of tea was in his stuffed animal hands and his eyes were glued directly at me. Even with such a small frame, I knew what he could do. I had heard stories from the underground. That man was scary.

Todoroki didn't stop to admire the entrance as I wanted to, instead, he pulled us down the first hallway. He spoke to me as he did, but I was too focused on dread that seemed to eat me up as we jogged. It was so thick I could choke on it; so all consuming I felt like oxygen was running away from me. Panic wasn't even a word to describe what I was feeling.

Trust your gut Izuku. When something tells you to run, run.

Stain's warning rang in my ear as Todoroki came to a stop in front of his class. I could see my teacher holding a sword to my throat, his uncovered mouth set into a deep frown after another failed attempt.

Criminals have a great flight or fight instinct. Your gut is almost always right.

Here I was, telling myself I could just walk into a classroom and act like everything was okay. How could I ever do that?

"Calm down Izuku. You're going to be fine." Todoroki hit my shoulder with his own gently, his hand pressing to my own before he entertwined our fingers. If i hadn't have been so occupied with my own emotions, I'm sure I would have been as red as a tomato by now. "It's just a few heroes."

"Just a few heros? More like hundreds of professional heros on top of thousands of heros in training." I hiss, not bothering to look up at Todoroki as I spoke. The door to the classroom was open enough for me to see Aizawa, the teacher who could erase ones quirk with one glare, and a red head hardening his hand just in time to counter a small blast sent his way from someone I couldn't see. Laughter fell from the room, a warm aura flooding out of the heros antics. "You could kill me."

"But they won't." I could feel Todoroki's eyes on the side of my head. "Because even if they know you, they want to give you a chance to change."

"You're still stuck on that?" I mutter, my thumb absently rubbing the back of Todoroki's hand. It was soft, warm, and cozy.

"Of course I am. Will be all week." Todoroki chuckles and steps into the classroom.

Aizawa was the first to notice the pair of us. His eyes seemed to go directly to me, the veins easily visible from them. For a moment I wondered if it was his quirk or if he just never slept. The scarf around his neck sturred for half a second before the teacher nodded to me. It was enough for Todoroki, it seemed, as he pulled me to his side to get a good look at the classroom.

I recognized a few faces more than others. There was the girl that had been with Todoroki; she had dark black hair styled in a way that defied gravity. She was too caught up in conversation to notice me. Uraraka was there as well, her brown hair bouncing as she nodded eagerly at another classmate. Lastly, there was Bakugo.

The kid noticed me almost as soon as Aizawa did. It was a surprise he didn't jump me. His red eyes found mine and held them, anger and betrayal ringing loud and clear between the two of us. The red head beside him then looked up in confusion, noticing me, and smiled.

"You must be Midoriya! Todoroki told us you would be here." Heads turned to us as the red head jumped off of Bakugo's desk and skidded all the way over to me. He holds out his still metal-like hand, the hardness melting off like ice cream on a hot day in the process.

I didn't answer him right away, intimidated by both the large class size and the wide smile that sat on his lips. It was one of those genuinely ignorant smiles that light up a room and makes everyone feel ten times better than they had before. My shoulders relaxed against my will.

"Im Kirishima, it's nice to meet you." The red head smiled to me as I finally took his hand and gave it a little shake. His skin was burning, oddly enough, which matched his personality well. "The class of 1-A is happy to welcome you this week."

"This week!?!" I frown at Kirishima for a moment before looking up at Todoroki. He was looking everywere but me at the moment.

"Midoriya, it is my duty as class representative to welcome you into this classroom for the remaining five days of your stay." Suddenly there was anothe person in front of me. This one was tall and broad, his calves taking up most of his muscle mass. Sharp eyebrows furrowed together as he offered his hand robotically for me to shake. "I'm-"

"Iida, Tenya." I answer for him, shaking his hand quickly before letting go. "Brother of ingenium. I know you."

I sigh and push away from Todoroki, eyeing the class for a moment. I had written something about every single one of them in my recent log, which was in the backpack I took from Todoroki's house. "It's nice to meet you all, I don't like handshakes so please refrain from offering anymore."

With that, I walked to the back of the classroom and sat in the one seat that was out of line. Eyes followed me as I walked, which I paid no mind to. No one spoke to me as I sat, not even Todoroki when he sat beside me.

The bell rang. My own personal hell had finally began.