Friends? (tododeku)

Chapter 12

Third-person POV

"Hey, Todoroki," Midoriya said, swinging his head to the side. School was over and the boys were walking home. The sun was still up and radiating warmly. Todoroki lifted the strap of his bag and looked down at Midoriya. "I joined the Manga Research Club today. There were other students in our class interested in manga, so they asked me to join," Midoriya said and smiled. Todoroki pulled his glued collar, which sweated against his skin.

"I didn't know you wanted to join a club," he said, raising his other eyebrow. Midoriya usually read mangas and wrote alone. The only person hanging with him was usually Todoroki.

"I didn't want to at first, but they were so tenacious and didn't give up easily," Midoriya laughed and scratched his cheek. "It doesn't bother me. It's just that then we get to spend less time together."

"But this is a good thing," Todoroki said. "I, too, today joined a club, basketball club, to be exact. I was a bit worried about you having to be alone, but now you have someone to talk with while I'm training."

Midoriya looked up, his eyes wide. "You joined a basketball club?" Todoroki nodded and his bangs bounced. "So cool Todoroki!" Midoriya said excitedly and clenched his fist. "You're so neat!"Todoroki was amazed to hear this and put his hand on his neck. There was a gentle red spreading on his cheek that made Todoroki feel more and more awkward. It's pretty hot today.

"See you Todoroki!" Midoriya waved and turned toward the large apartment building. They had arrived at Midoriya's house and Todoroki waited at the gates for Midoriya to enter safely. He then turned and stepped toward his home.

----

The sun shined high in the sky and sand dusted. The school's outdoor court was filled with shouts and sounds of sliding sneakers. The basketball team had training going on and Midoriya had come to watch it. He sat on a hard wooden bench in the field auditorium. His notebook rested on his lap and a pen fell from his hand under the bench. 

So cool! 

Todoroki wore a white jersey and his shorts fluttered as he jumped to make a basket. His team cheered and he got a lot of high fives. Midoriya looked with his eyes wide and was ecstatic. He was supposed to do an analysis of the new superhero manga that his club was reading but was fascinated by the game. They played so fast and jumped high. They can run around even in such hot weather. Fantastic!

"Aah, isn't that red-and-white-haired boy handsome," a girl's voice sighed behind Midoriya.

"Indeed! And he's so good at basketball, too," another voice replied. Wow, Todoroki is so popular... Midoriya thought. On the other hand, it was no surprise. Todoroki was tall and good-looking as well as good in sports.

"Does he have a girlfriend?" Midoriya stopped when he heard the girl's question.

"Hmm hopefully not. I'd like to ask him out," the girl replied and sighed. Midoriya frowned and pursed his lips together. He knew that Todoroki was going to have a girlfriend someday. But he still didn't like that idea. If he gets a girlfriend, they'll have less time to hang out together. Midoriya sighed and straightened his back. He would encourage and support Todoroki if he decided to have a girlfriend. After all, he was Todoroki's childhood friend. Todoroki wiped sweat with his shirt and looked up. He saw Midoriya sitting in the auditorium with a notebook in his hand. He grinned and jogged through his playmates to the field's fence. Todoroki leaned against the metal and waved. Midoriya smiled happily and nodded. The girls behind him began to whine excitedly.

"He's looking here!" one of them said excitedly. Todoroki jumped over the fence and pushed his wet hair behind. "Hey, he's coming here!"

The tall boy took a few jumps over the benches and stopped in front of Midoriya. "Hey, Midoriya," he smiled gently and lowered his hand to his hips.

"Todoroki," Midoriya smiled back and swept his hair out of his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. Midoriya no longer felt any movement behind him. Had those girls left?

"I'm analyzing this manga," Midoriya lifted the bright yellow manga next to him. "Shouldn't you go back?" Todoroki glanced behind him and noticed a couple of his teammates staring at them. Todoroki waved his hand for a break and the standing players nodded.

He sat down next to Midoriya and tried to cool his face. "I'm just going to take a break." The green-haired boy nodded and began scratching his notebook. His booklet was dark blue and had the number 20 on its cover. Midoriya is diligent in filling out notebooks and always finds something new to explore. That kind of interest in things is admirable. Todoroki bowed curiously and peeked at what Midoriya was writing. He noticed that the opening was full of texts and drawings of him. The name 'Todoroki' was also written in capital letters at the top of the page. "You have written a lot about me," Todoroki smiled.

Midoriya flushed red and tried to hide his notebook, but without success. "You're just so cool, so I wanted to put as many things about you in here as possible," he muttered, embarrassed and fiddled his hair.

Todoroki shook his head. "Don't be ashamed. I would write just as much about you, if not more, if I did take notes." Midoriya jumped and waved his hands.

"There's nothing miraculous about me. You flatter me too much," he said and closed his notebook. Todoroki put his hands behind his head and squeezed his lips together.

"Now you made me embarrassed," he said as a warm blush spread along his neck. The boys sat quietly next to each other and avoided eye contact. Their ears flushed, and neither moved.

"Todoroki!" The boys jumped in fright and looked at the field. A member of the basketball team was waving at them. "Come here already!" Todoroki got up and walked down. He stopped in front of the fence and turned.

"Midoriya."

Midoriya was trying to cool his face and glanced at Todoroki. "Let's meet at the school gate. Let's walk home together," he said and climbed over the fence. Midoriya sighed and squeezed his yellow All Might pen. His smile could not have been any wider.

----

Midoriya squeezed the straps of his red backpack and looked up at the clock hanging on the outside wall of the school. He stood next to the large gate and looked around excitedly. The activities of the clubs were already over, so Todoroki should show up soon. Midoriya sighed. He hadn't gotten the analysis done during Todoroki's basketball practice. Hopefully, the other members of the manga club will forgive him. He was unable to focus properly and had instead decided to follow the game and did not notice the passing time. "Midoriya," someone said, placing their hand on the boy's shoulder. Midoriya woke up from his thoughts and looked up.

"Todoroki," he smiled. Todoroki's hair was damp and hung in front of his eyes.

"Sorry it took so long. I took a shower," he said monotonously. Midoriya laughed and shook his head.

"Don't apologize. You should have dried your hair better."

"But I didn't want you to have to wait," he said.

"You're so thoughtful Todoroki," Midoriya sighed jealously.

"Mmh..."