Paradise [Todoroki Shoto x reader]

Chapter 33

WHEN AIZAWA had said that your training would be intense, he hadn't been fucking around; which is how you found yourself lifting and swirling around many different rocks, all at the same time, in the middle of basically nowhere. And just for kicks, you'd been doing this for about three hours now, non-stop. It had been revealed earlier that morning that this boot camp was entirely for quirk strength training.

That was a fancy way of saying "you're here to tear yourselves apart both mentally and physically."

However, as Aizawa had said, you'd been subjected to 'special' treatment, doing about double the work of your peers, and being pushed twice as hard, to apparently make up for lost time. Hirotaka was overseeing you, and he'd been told to make sure that you didn't stop for even one second. You weren't going to lie, you were stunningly close to snapping the next person's neck who asked if you were alright.

That someone happened to be Hirotaka, who called over cautiously from where he sat. "(Y/n), are you alright?"

"Look at me and tell me if you think I'm alright!" you screamed back, aggressively throwing a chunk of rock in his direction; it missed him by about 10 metres, but he jumped nonetheless.

"Would you... like some water?" he asked timidly, waving a bottle around.

Without another word, you deactivated your quirk, and turned around in a satanic fashion, gesturing for him to come over. "Give it to me," you rasped.

"Oh my goodness!" Hirotaka freaked out at your demonic face, before approaching you, and handing you the flask, which you grabbed eagerly, and started chugging the liquid inside. "I'm really sorry that I didn't tell you," he admitted, "it's just that Aizawa said this was supposed to surprise you. It's all in good faith, I guess."

"Good faith? Good faith to break me down until I'm a pile of bones and leftover flesh?" you spluttered, wiping your chin carelessly. "If this is good faith I am never stepping into a fucking church."

"(L/n)!" Aizawa called over to you, from his overseeing position. "Get back to work! Remember, you need to catch up!"

"Ugh," you groaned, handing Hirotaka the water bottle back. "Here we go. Piss on my grave and call me dead for all I care."

"I'll buy you the newest season of that anime you like when we get home!" Hirotaka attempted to cheer you up, as you trudged back to your place, activating your quirk again.

The rest of the day continued until about evening, when you were all called back for lunch; at least that's what you thought. Just as you were about to move and get changed, a spurt of water hit you, causing you to fly backwards into the nearest wall. You winced, as you shifted on the dirt floor, now wet and even more miserable than before.

"And where do you think you're going?!" one of the pussycats, named Ragdoll, called out to you, hose in hand, signalling that she'd been responsible for your soaking.

"Come on you weakling! I thought you were worthy for the Hero course!" Tiger boomed.

"(L/n), if you thought it was over, you're dead wrong!" Mandalay exclaimed, somewhat cheerfully. "You're doing more since you're a beginner, remember? And a slacker! So, you'll be continuing your training, round the back there, and then you'll be washing up everyone's plates after they've had dinner! Then you can eat!"

A couple of stragglers such as Mineta, Ashido, Bakugo and Kaminari dared to snigger at your circumstances. This made you even more upset, having been embarrassed in front of the class, being called a slacker, so all you could bring yourself to do was get up, and slowly trudge round to where Mandalay had pointed. There, you met Aizawa, who immediately set you to work again.

After about another two hours, you stood at the sink in the kitchen, clad in the sweater you'd gotten so many years ago, absolutely exhausted, yet still somehow rigidly scrubbing the plates in the warm water below. Not only were you still wet from your 'shower' before, but you were also absolutely starved.

What the fuck was this summer camp? And they didn't have to go and laugh at you in the presence of the entire shitting class...

The sound of wood hitting the stone countertop caught you off guard, and you looked up to find Aizawa, who had set a bowl of slightly burnt curry at your side. "Eat." He ordered. You gladly obliged, grabbing the bowl, and stuffing the spoon it had come with into your mouth, relishing in the sensation of food finally sliding into your mouth. "Not here," Aizawa sighed irritably, pulling you away from the sink with a sigh.

"Aizawa-sensei?..." you questioned in confusion, as he took the brush you'd been using, and began washing up the remainder of the dishes.

"Go outside and eat," he grumbled. "You've done enough for today. And I'll tell the Pussycats to cut down on the embarrassing stunts." He was referring to your earlier humiliation.

A small grin made its way across your face; you bowed, uttered a thank you, and then quickly left to eat your dinner. The air outside was quiet, with not a single soul in sight except for the glittering stars above your head, and only the barely audible rustle of leaves were on the wind. In short, it was a beautiful night, and you were grateful the you'd finally gotten a moment to yourself that didn't involve working.

Though it didn't last long, for a soft monotone interrupted the silence; "I thought I'd find you here."

You turned to see Todoroki making his way down the steps towards the bench you were at. "Really?" you questioned, as he seated himself beside you. "Am I that predictable?"

"No. But I think I know you well enough now." He answered, before furrowing his brows at the sight of your shaking hands. "Do your hands hurt?"

"Yeah, but I need some food in my system, so I'll bear the pain," you replied, choking on the hot curry slightly.

"I think you're having trouble," Todoroki interjected, gently pulling the spoon from your hand, scooping up a load of curry, and holding it up for you to eat. "I'll feed you," he offered.

"What?! No! Todoroki-san, that's--" you protested, before he cut in.

"Your hands clearly hurt a lot," he stated pointedly, gesturing to your quivering fingers, that were still hovering in midair. "I don't think it would be smart to keep straining them, they'll hurt even more tomorrow."

"... fine. Since no one's here, I guess I'll put up with it," you muttered, before aggressively eating the curry off the outstretched spoon. "Be quick please, I'm really hungry." You grumbled, mouth full of food.

"Of course," Todoroki answered, picking up more, "you did do a lot more work than us."

"Not to mention that thing that the Pussycats did... god, that was awful." You mumbled.

"I did feel quite sorry for you," he admitted, "a lot of people talked about how funny it looked."

You were silent for a moment, chewing on the food in your mouth, before you swallowed thickly. "Wow," you whispered, "I must've looked... real stupid."

"You didn't look stupid," Todoroki corrected, poking your face with the spoon to try get you to eat more. "You looked... sad. It must have been embarrassing for you."

"Todoroki-san, I have a question," you muttered, finally choosing to eat again. "Am I really a slacker?"

"In schoolwork? Perhaps," he answered. This caused you to let out a chuckle, and when you glanced at him, your heart gave a little jump when you saw that he was also laughing very slightly. "But, I don't think slackers make it into the Hero course." He uttered, scraping up the last few pieces of curry on to the spoon. "So, no. I think you've worked very hard to get here."

You briefly looked at him, then ate the remainder of the food. "I still stand by what I said," you mumbled.

"What would that be?" Todoroki questioned, setting the spoon down.

"I think you'll be a wonderful Hero," you declared, standing up, and clumsily stepping over the edge of the bench.

"Thank you," his reply was so quiet it almost wasn't there.