Chapter Text
After a long day out with your brother, you slowly plodded down the streets. The sun had little ways to go before it fully set. It wouldn’t be long until the chill of the night came. Massaging your temple—attempting to fend off a throbbing headache—a deep frown settled onto your features and you groaned inwardly.
Sensing your discomfort, your older brother by five years, gave a small sympathetic look.
“I’m sorry.”
You shook your head. “Don’t be. I still managed to enjoy myself. It’s been awhile since I went to the mall,” you said.
“You hate crowds.”
“That’s beside the point, nii-sama. We barely go out anymore. Anywhere is fine, really.”
“So long as you had fun then.”
Grinning a bit, you eyed the shopping bags in your brother’s hands. He hummed thoughtfully—knowingly—and you giggled before smiling at him—more genuine this time. When it came to you, your normally aloof brother never failed to voice his concerns. Always mindful of your quirk, he always tried his best to ensure your comfort.
Despite having discovered your quirk at the typical age of four, you still struggled in controlling it even up to now. Your quirk was telepathy: having the ability to discern the thoughts of those around you. Your brother suspected there might be more to it, but you chose not to hone it any further, fearing the responsibility of such powers. For the most part, you valued privacy, and your quirk was a violation of any and all rules pertaining to it.
Regardless of your personal qualms, it never truly stopped you from hearing the murmurs that would occasionally float to your attention. By the very nature of your quirk, the hushed whispers of people’s hearts was an ongoing drone in the back of your head. In most cases, the voices were indistinct, forming something similar to white noise. But on occasion, one voice would stand over the rest, emotions of panic and trepidation setting it apart from the others.
You paused in your pace, the sudden halt in your step catching your brother’s attention.
“What’s wrong?” He asked.
“There’s there’s a kid nearby. He’s lost.”
“Where?”
“At the park,” you said.
As the two of you were to depart, your brother’s phone buzzed to life which he was quick to answer once spotting the caller ID.
“Otou-sama —we’re on our way home now—we’ll be there in a bit—yes—of course—I’ll be there soon.”
The moment he hung up, a sigh escaped him. You can only take a gander at what your father wanted from him. He was a strict man—all the more so on your brother in comparison to you—as the eldest, he was to be the next heir to the family after all.
You brother looked over to you, frowning as he did. “Will you be fine on your own?”
He could practically hear the eye roll in your next words.
“I’m a big girl, nii-sama,” you said, waving him off.
The park was just two streets over where you spotted a figure crouched in front of a young boy.
You approached the two them and the older one turned to you. Your eyes were met with heterochromatic hues of silver and azurite. Considering how you knew one person with that distinctive hair of red and white, it was a wonder how it didn’t click earlier as to who it was.
“Todoroki-san?”
The teen was now looking at you, espying you questioningly as his name rolled off your tongue. In response, you felt your ears grow hot. You didn't need to bother reading his thoughts to know what his unspoken question was. You may know of him but he certainly didn’t know you.
You quickly introduced yourself, fumbling a bit as you did, especially when mentioning that you were from class 1-E. For some reason, announcing yourself as a measly general ed student to someone in the hero department was more embarrassing than you expected it to be. Call it an inferiority complex, but after watching them in the fighting tournament of the Sports Festival, you felt so… small in comparison.
But your embarrassment can wait until later.
You knelt down beside Todoroki and in front of the young boy. Todoroki managed to calm him down to an extent, the distraught feeling you felt earlier having subsided into something less apprehensive and alarming.
The boy looked at you, sniffling as he did so. He was young, six at most.
“Can you tell me what’s wrong?” You asked him softly.
I’m lost.
“You’re lost? You must be very scared.”
He nodded.
“Were you with anyone?”
My mom.
“Your mom must be worried sick about you, and I think I know exactly where she is.”
A glimmer of hope flashed in those tear glazed eyes and finally, he spoke. “Y-You do?”
It was your turn to nod.
Just as quickly it appeared, the hope flickered out of life, and he began playing with the hem of his shirt. “Mom always said villains come out at night and hurt people so I should never be out so late. Will we be okay?”
You looked over to Todoroki hoping for some sort of assistance. Much to your chagrin, the teen just gave you a passive look but that’s when it clicked. Though there was probably no need for his incredible power, it didn't change the fact that one of the strongest students of your year was right beside you. “There’s nothing to worry about,” you told the young boy. “Todoroki-san will keep us safe."