Work Text:
UA High, Class 1-A, Several Weeks into First Year of Todoroki Enji
The morning light filtered in through the wide windows of UA’s Class 1-A, casting clean angles of sunlight across polished desks and the soft scuff marks of combat boots and sneakers. Students were milling about, chatting in small knots or reviewing notes before homeroom.
Enji Todoroki sat alone at his desk at the front, the weight of his textbook heavy beneath his palms, though he wasn’t reading. Not really. His eyes followed the same line three times over without processing a word because of the loud chatter of the girls in the class, he thought they were talking too loudly.
A shadow fell across his desk.
“Todoroki-san,” a voice chimed, clear and warm like those clarity bells at temples, “would you like one?”
He blinked and looked up. You stood there smiling, hand outstretched to show that in your palm was a little foil-wrapped candy, strawberry flavored from the look of it. He’d seen you passing them out to others just minutes ago, an easy smile always on your face. You were kind, maybe too kind, the sort of person who remembered birthdays and asked how someone’s weekend had gone and actually listened to the answer.
“No thank you, Kazami-san” he said, voice low and even, addressing you by your surname politely.
“That’s totally understandable,” you said, unfazed, your hand tucking the candy back into a small pouch hanging from your belt. “Is there a kind you do like? I always carry a bunch with me, it helps me with my quirk!”
He stared. The question was simple, but it lodged awkwardly in his chest as no one had ever asked him something like that before. What kind of candy he liked? He doesn’t have an answer because not even he knew, maybe he just never thought about it.
“I don’t really have a favorite,” Enji answered after a pause, more to end the conversation than anything else.
Your smile faltered a little, then a frown touched your features, sincere and small. “Damn, that’s kind of sad,” you bluntly said, not cruelly but just an innocent observation. “Well, during the Sports Festival I’m bringing a whole bag of snacks. You can pick and choose the one you want there, ‘kay?”
You were already moving away, chatting with another classmate as you passed out more of your little candies, the back of your head glowing in the sun like a halo.
Enji looked down at his book. The words still didn’t mean anything but something strange itched at the edge of his thoughts because of your voice, maybe, or the simple generosity of a question that expected no return. But he shook it off.
There was no time to waste, not on candy, when he had to prove himself as the strongest.
He turned the page, even though he hadn’t finished the last one.
. . .
UA High, Class 1-A, After the First Work Study of Todoroki Enji
The classroom was suffocatingly still.
The lights hummed faintly above, casting a sterile glow on the room that didn’t quite reach the shadows beneath everyone’s eyes. Chairs creaked quietly when someone shifted. A few seats away, a girl cried into her hands silently. Others sat stone-faced, stunned, trying to process what couldn’t be understood.
You were killed during your work study.
Principal Nezu announced something about counseling resources, the heroic sacrifice, the criminal that murdered you now locked away in Tartarus. His words were meant to be comforting, but to Enji they were distant as his head buzzed with questions.
It didn’t feel real, and yet it did. Like a fire that didn’t burn but left everything in ash anyway.
He did not get to talk to you more yet, he did not get to know more about you, he did not get to ask if-
He sat still, his hands folded over his desk, gaze unmoving. Around him, his classmates broke down in small ways, whether it was trembling shoulders or silence. Everyone had known you, because you had made sure of it through trying to connect to everyone during the time you were here, making sure no one was left out.
Even him.
He’d told himself you were a distraction, like the rest of his classmates, but he remembered your voice clearly, it was soft like bells, even now in memory.
He walked home alone.
The streets were blurred by the dullness behind his eyes, his body moving out of habit more than will. Somewhere between the school and the station, his hand slid into his bag, searching without really thinking.
His fingers found it easily.
A small, crinkled wrapper of your strawberry candy. It was the one he'd taken at the Sports Festival when you’d smiled at him with your ridiculous bag of candies and told him he could pick whatever he wanted, and he decided on the strawberry one you had offered before. He ate it in front of you back then, and just said thank you, feeling a bit shy to say more.
He held the wrapper tightly in his palm, letting it press into his skin.
He felt stupid being so sentimental about a candy wrapper, but he didn’t let go of it right now. Maybe in the future when he gets over your death, he will just throw the wrapper away.
For now, Enji carried it all the way home in his hand.
. . . .
Many Years Later
UA High, First-Year Sports Festival of Todoroki Shouto - Hallway Behind the Arena
The roar of the crowd was muffled behind the concrete walls, a steady, distant thunder. Shouto Todoroki stood with his back straight, arms at his sides, the residual heat of battle still simmering in his chest.
Endeavor stood in front of him.
His towering frame blocked part of the hallway’s light, casting a shadow over his son’s face.
“You held back again,” Endeavor said, voice low and sharp. Not angry but at the same time full of pressure. “You’re not here to make friends, this is about your strength that will carry into your legacy.”
Shouto didn’t answer. He didn’t look away, but he didn’t respond either.
Endeavor’s eyes narrowed. “When you’re out there, remember who you are. You don’t need distractions, especially not from people who won’t last, go make me proud-”
Then a voice broke through like a breeze cutting between leaves, sounding so familiar and airy. “Todoroki-kun!” It sounded of clear, spring bells that chimed softly.
Endeavor turned his head slightly, brows drawing together.
You were jogging down the hallway, waving, your small pouch of candies at your hip, a smile breaking across your face the moment you saw Shouto, but skidded to a halt when you saw Endeavor.
“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t realize you were with your dad,” you apologized, back straight and respectfully bowed at Shouto’s dad.
Endeavor stared at you. Not out of rudeness or recognition but because, for a moment, something about you unsettled him. You didn’t flinch in his presence, didn’t shrink under the weight of who he was. You simply stood there, blinking at him with polite confusion and your candy bag swaying at your side, and you reminded Enji of someone who he knew years ago.
“Oh, hello, Kazami-san,” Shouto replied, as if the words from his dad did not piss him off in the slightest.
“Who are your parents?” Endeavor asked immediately.
You tilted your head slightly, still smiling. “Oh, they’re not heroes, if that’s what you’re wondering.”
Endeavor’s gaze narrowed slightly, “Were they not from U.A?”
“No,” you said gently, “but my aunt was once a student here, she did pass away, though.”
“I see,” Endeavor said at last. His tone was flat, but behind his eyes something shifted, almost too quietly to notice. He nodded once, a gesture more loaded than it seemed. Then, to his son, Endeavor said, “Good luck for the festival.”
Shouto glanced at his dad before giving a small nod, and began to walk away, turning toward you like it was a gravitational pull.
You smiled again. “Let’s go, Todoroki-kun! Everyone’s waiting at the stands, and I brought snacks! What kind of candy do you like?”
Shouto blinked, then gave a soft nod without answering your question because Shouto wasn’t sure himself of what his favorite candy was. Your voice was animated as your chatted about the events, about who tripped during the cavalry battle, about the spicy crackers Bakugo pretended to hate but always finished anyway. Shouto didn’t say much, but Endeavor could tell that Shouto was listening.
Endeavor watched and understood Shouto’s feelings.