Chapter Text
Tottori Elementary School was located on the outer edges of its prefecture, residing a couple miles from the sea and situated right near the center of town. While the older children resided in one school building, the kindergarten class, your class, was located in a smaller one about a hundred yards away from the main building. With colorful wind-chimes adorning the overhang of the structure and wildflowers blooming in the field surrounding it, it served as the perfect little slice of heaven for you and your adorable students.
The newest addition to this year’s class was a half-red and half-white head named Todoroki Shoto. He was a terribly shy kid the first day he came that mid-September—silent and nervous, too. You remember the way his mother had gently nudged him forward with an encouraging smile and how his little face scrunched up in fear as he stood in front of you and his soon to-be classmates with clasped hands.
“Shoto,” you had said, “We’re all friends here! There’s no need to be afraid, I promise.”
And it was then, when Shoto saw you smile, that he let go of his mother’s hand, looking back hesitantly before taking a seat on the colorful rug the rest of the class was situated on. It was no surprise that by the end of that month, he had fit into the class like he’d always belonged there.
Despite that, Shoto was still undeniably different from his peers, and he still needed to spend some more time to completely come out of his shell. You had a group activity planned for today where Shoto would hopefully be able to practice his communication skills a bit more, so to say you’re disappointed when you don’t see his familiar head of ivory and ruby sitting on the class rug during attendance is an understatement.
“Is Shoto not here today? Has anyone seen him?” you question while looking down at your clipboard, and a handful of quiet murmurs follow as all the children shake their heads no. You mark him absent for the day with a frown, knowing he hadn’t been sick the day prior and Rei hadn’t called to let you know he wouldn’t be in school today like she usually did if something ever came up. Odd, but you try not to think too much about it.
“Miss! Why isn’t Shoto-kun here today?” Izuku questions with a raised hand and a little pout tugging his lips downward, and you smile sadly as you shrug your shoulders.
“I’m not sure, Izuku. He may just be running late today. But that’s alright—let’s get started with our morning and hope he shows up later!” You affirm, and your students voice their agreement before you pull out a handful of books to choose from to read for the morning. It’s still relatively early in the day, nearing nine AM to be exact, and it seemed like the stormy sky outside was making everyone sleepy. Reading a book usually wakes the class up, so you pull out your top choices for today with an inquisitive hum to get started.
“Alright, what do we want to read today? I think our choices should be between reading from our fairytale book or this new story I got the other day called ‘The Empty Pot.’ What do we think?” you voice, and there’s an immediate uproar of voices and excited conversation as you hear everyone ask to read both stories rather than just one, and you shake your head with a fond huff
“Let’s read both!” Katsuki protests, little fists shaking in determination as the rest of the class follows along with his words. Their insistent cries of 'pretty please, miss!’ have you smiling widely. You relax further into your cushioned chair, nodding your head with a laugh
“Alright! Settle down then, everyone. Let’s get started…”
Everyone huddles closer, and the gentle symphony of the slow rain pitter-pattering against the windows outside creates an atmosphere that manages to calm your students down. They listen intently to the sound of your voice, both reassuring and strong, flowing through the air.
“Holding the empty pot in his hands, Ping went straight away to the palace. The emperor was looking at the flowers slowly, one by one—”
The sudden sound of a door being thrown open is followed by a rush of chilling wind through the classroom. You stop and quickly turn around to see who’d opened the door, eyes squinting when you feel a few stray raindrops fall on you and the children from the strong gusts of wind—and they all squeal in delight at the sudden surprise.
An adorable chorus of Shoto's here! sound through the air a moment later. Shoto stands by the doorway in his frog raincoat and a wobbly smile, and right beside your student stands a man you’ve never seen before.
The stranger’s wearing a dark leather jacket with a white shirt underneath, but it’s completely soaked through and sheer due to the rain that had been falling down so mercilessly outside. The near-transparent cloth reveals an intricate canvas of tattoos that travel all the way up from one arm to the side of his neck, sweeping his jaw. His hair, white as the purest of snow, is damp and tousled from the weather outside, and it sticks to his forehead in strands. He pushes back the unruly bangs with his right hand.
And his right hand was… metal.
His right arm, more specifically, was. He's muttering a string of curses underneath his breath as he fumbles with little Shoto’s backpack, fingers digging into the cushioned fabric restlessly. His eyes are a deep blue, sharp yet somehow dark in the dim light of the classroom, but you have no time to inspect him any further than that when Shoto suddenly races towards you with wide eyes
“Miss! I’m here! I—I was late because of my big brother! I’m not in trouble, am I? I’m sorry I didn’t get here on time.” Shoto mumbles meekly, and the frenzied look in his eyes captures your attention as you quickly set the book down in your lap with a small frown
“Oh, Shoto—of course you’re not in trouble! We all run late sometimes, right?” you reassure him gently, and the hand you place on his shoulder seems to calm Shoto’s nerves immensely as he heaves a quiet sigh. His gaze flits to the man he’d entered the classroom with, and you watch his dual-colored eyes narrow into a steely little glare.
“Oi, you little brat, stop blaming me for…”
Touya’s voice trails off once he notices the dozens of curious eyes watching him and the half-hearted attempt his little brother was making to look intimidating.
When Shoto glares at Touya, he looks like nothing more than an angry kitten. But then, Touya notices the hand on his little brother’s shoulder, notices you watching him with wide eyes blinking in confusion—and he realizes just how stupidly loud and obnoxious he’d been barreling into your classroom as if he belonged there and wasn’t dropping off his brother nearly forty minutes late to school.
He clamps his mouth shut, half in embarrassment and half in resignation as Shoto’s backpack hangs limply from his hand. The students have all surrounded Shoto by now, welcoming him and asking him how he managed to get inside with the storm raging on, and you place your book down before turning towards them
“All right, can you guys fill in Shoto about what’s happened so far in our story while I go talk to our new friend?” you question, and a smile blooms on your face as you watch everyone excitedly nod their heads. Shoto situates himself on the rug with everyone else a moment later, shyly apologizing for his lateness before you stand up from your chair and make your way towards his supposed older brother.
Touya’s grip on the backpack strap tenses as he watches all the children surround Shoto, but that grip loosens the slightest bit once he notices you approaching him
“Hello! I’m Shoto’s teacher, and you must be his older brother. It’s nice to meet you,” you greet politely. Touya’s gaze moves over your face, slow and intense, all before he nods his head in greeting.
“Hey—nice to meet you too. ’m Touya. And, uh, sorry for barging in like that… had no idea the weather was going to be so shitty today.” He murmurs, leaning down just the slightest bit to match your height so he can hear your response better.
Touya finds himself looking at you closely, watching your movements even closer, because you are the teacher his little brother was always raving about. And it wasn’t just Shoto—his own mother was always singing your praises, constantly talking about how thankful she was that Shoto had gotten such a lovely teacher to introduce him to a regular school environment, and whenever his other siblings picked him up from school? It was the same deal.
You were someone Shoto looked up to, and Touya would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little curious to learn why his baby brother adored you so earnestly.
“That’s okay! I’m just happy Shoto was able to make it today. The storm really picked up in the last couple of minutes, huh?” you question, looking over his shoulder to peer out the window. The rain was coming down harder than it had all morning, the occasional rolls of thunder resounding through the sky accompanying it, and Touya hums lowly in response.
“Yeah. Felt like a hurricane on the drive here. 'Course Shoto needed his raincoat, rainboots, and umbrella, too.” He murmurs with a huff, but the way his lip twitches into a slanted smirk at the sound of your laughter gives away his amusement
“Well, you’re welcome to stay inside until the rain lets up a bit! It’ll be dangerous to drive right now, anyway.” You affirm, and Touya blinks in surprise at your offer before cocking his head.
“You really don’t mind? I’m not going to intrude on the little brats’ story-time?” he questions, and you shake your head with a bright smile. All the chairs in the classroom were too small for Touya to sit on, so he heads straight towards the colorful rug all the kids were on instead.
The majority of them sat on the other side of it in a half circle around your chair while Touya lingered near the back. A few curious and giggling heads turned his way, Shoto’s included, but he ignored them all and watched you get situated in your chair at the front instead.
Your smile is like sunshine incarnate, and Touya doesn't think he's ever seen a teacher as smiley and sweet as you were with Shoto and his classmates.
You manage to get the attention of every single kid—Touya somehow included—hooked on you and your storytelling. If he's being honest, Touya doesn't have the slightest clue what's going on in the book you're reading, because he's too busy watching your animated movements and the way you interact with the students instead
Your voice is like honey. Gentle and soothing in its own unique manner, and Touya finds himself genuinely amused at the stupidly endearing gestures you make with your hands while acting out parts of the story. Your students look like they're in a trance, watching you with wide eyes and muffled laughter as you make inflections in your voice to portray the different characters
Touya's legs are stretched out in front of him and crossed leisurely as he watches you, and when a huff of laughter manages to slip past his lips at one of your cheesy imitations, you catch his gaze and send him a smile.
His heart skips a sudden beat right then and there. It's a gentle curve of your lips—soft, secretive, and reserved especially for him—and he finds himself grinning widely despite himself. He stays on that colorful rug in the classroom throughout the entire story, watching you answer the occasional questions from the students and dote on all of them as if they were all important and all special, and they truly were to you.
By the time you finished the book, the storm outside had calmed to a gentle drizzle. Touya's not sure if he's overstayed his welcome, but he sure doesn't plan on leaving until he's given you a proper goodbye. You offer the kids a five-minute break to discuss the book amongst themselves, and he doesn't waste a single second before striding over to you.
"You're a pretty damn good storyteller," Touya comments, and you shake your head with a smile when you see him approach you as you're shelving the book away
"I grew up reading all sorts of stories to my younger cousins. Guess I have a lot of practice from that." You smile bashfully, and he nods his head in response.
"Mm. These kids are lucky to have you as their teacher."
The lilt of his tone was the thing to catch you off guard. It was teasing and low, sending an unmistakable shiver through each and every vertebra in your spine, and you try to ignore the fluttering sensation in your stomach as Touya leans closer.
"They're really lucky. I kinda get why Shoto's always talkin' about you know. You're just as charming as he made you out to be."
Touya’s practically high off of the glee that comes with the way you stammer for a response shyly, and the flush in your cheeks has his lips stretching into a toothy grin.
"Has anyone ever told you you're too much of a sweet talker?" you murmur eventually, and he shrugs with a carefree hum
"Only you."
Touya pulls away a heartbeat later, and you take a sharp intake of breath to steady yourself. He takes a glance at the clock behind you, eyes squinting for a moment before he takes a step back
"You'll let me know if Shoto ever gives you any trouble, right?" he questions, and you can't help but let out a huff of disbelief as you shake your head with a smile. He's heading towards the door now, but he turns around one last time before he exits and meets your eyes
Electric. That's exactly what eye contact with him feels like. Touya only holds your gaze for a few seconds, but his eyes are the kind of blue that remind you of swirling paintbrushes in water—they're the kind of blue you could find yourself drowning in forever—and the sheer intensity of one look from him was an inferno all on its own.
"See ya, Miss Pretty."
He nearly misses the silent hitch in your breath, and Touya revels in the way your eyes widen a fraction before you look away all flustered—he raises his right hand to send you a wave over his shoulder before he closes the classroom door, the gentle clink of the buckles on his boots just barely audible as his steps fade away from the door.
You have to physically press the back of your hand to your mouth after a minute to muffle your squeal because holy shit this man had a way with words and looking at you that made your knees feel useless and weak in holding you upright
There's a small hand that curls into the fabric of your skirt, and you're snapped out of your trance as you peer down.
"Oh—Ochako! Hi! Was there something you needed?" you question quickly, and the little girl tilts her head at you with parted lips
"Miss, why are you blushing?"
You let out a small sound of surprise at her words, quickly scooping her up in your arms and holding her close to your chest
"Nope. Nuh-uh. I was definitely not blushing. Anyway! Tell me about your weekend! Do anything fun?" you ask nervously
"Are you sureeee?" she giggles, kicking her feet excitedly as her fingers dig into the plush of your cardigan, and you pout.
"Yes," you whine, but you hear Himiko's familiar giggle from behind you and peer around at the sound
"Me and Ochako-chan saw. You definitely were blushing!" she accuses, and you let out a grumble as you use your other arm to scoop her up too. Both girls laugh, their attention quickly diverted when you spin them around in circles, and they're dizzy and giggling once you put them down.
Nope, you were definitely not blushing. You tell yourself that repeatedly throughout the day, but even as you lie to yourself, the truth couldn't be any clearer.
Touya Todoroki was hypnotizing in the most wonderfully cruel ways, more attractive than you believed to be humanly possible, and certainly not leaving your mind anytime soon.