Chapter Text
Monday morning feels wrong.
Not bad.
Just-
different.
Class 1-A walks into the academy wearing Ferrari jackets and suddenly everybody notices. The hallways feel louder.
People look longer, conversations stop when they pass.
It takes approximately four minutes for Kaminari to notice "We're famous." "We're not famous," Jirou replies.
"We're Ferrari famous."
"That's not a thing."
"It absolutely is."
Unfortunately, he might be right.
----
The strategy wing is already crowded when they arrive. Students from other years.
Support course engineers.
Mechanics.
Everyone seems to be looking at the bright red Ferrari logos stitched across jackets and gear bags. Ashido looks delighted, Kaminari looks like he's about to become unbearable, Iida looks proud.
Shouto looks tired. Katsuki notices immediately.
Of course he does.
The oversized hoodie is back, the hood isn't up.
Yet.
But it's close.
Very close.
----
The first comment happens before lunch.
Not directly. Never directly.
That's how these things work.
Two Third-years standing near the engineering building talking just loudly enough to be heard "Must be nice." Shouto keeps walking.
"What?"
"Having Ferrari sponsor your class."
The other student laughs.
"Well, when your father runs Ferrari..."
Silence. The comment isn't even malicious.
That's the worst part. Just casual.
Like it's obvious.
Like everybody knows it, Shouto keeps walking.
Doesn't react.
Doesn't stop.
Doesn't even look back, but her hands disappear deeper into her hoodie sleeves.
Katsuki notices that too.
By Wednesday the rumors are everywhere.
Not hateful, not cruel. Just annoying.
Persistent, like sand in a shoe.
'Ferrari sponsored them because of Todoroki.'
'Ferrari only cares because of Todoroki.'
'Anybody could get sponsored if their dad was Endeavor.'
The class starts hearing it constantly.
Kirishima gets annoyed first. Then Jirou.
Then Momo.
Then pretty much everyone.
Because the more people repeat it-
the less it sounds like an insult toward Shouto.
And more like an insult toward all of them.
The breaking point arrives Thursday afternoon.
Training ends early, students flood through the strategy building.
Ferrari jackets everywhere, noise everywhere.
And somehow-
the topic comes up again.
A group of upperclassmen stand near the telemetry labs, not trying to start anything.
Just talking.
"Honestly?"
One shrugs.
"Without Todoroki there's no way Ferrari sponsors a first-year class."
Several students nearby nod.
Like that's just common sense.
Like that's the obvious answer.
"Bullshit."
The word leaves Katsuki's mouth before he thinks about it.
The hallway immediately quiets.
Everyone turns.
"Oh good," Kaminari mutters behind him "He's angry."
The upperclassman blinks "What?"
"I said bullshit." Katsuki folds his arms.
"You think Ferrari sponsored the mechanics because of Todoroki?"
Silence.
"You think they sponsored support students because of Todoroki?"
More silence.
"You think they rented an entire track because of Todoroki?"
The hallway grows quieter. People start listening.
Really listening.
Katsuki keeps going, because now he's irritated.
And once that starts-
good luck stopping it.
"You weren't there." the words hit harder than he expects.
"You didn't see Grassroots."
Nobody speaks.
"You didn't see the engineers."
"You didn't see the evaluations."
"You didn't see Ferrari watching everybody."
The hallway feels completely still now.
"They sponsored the class."
Not Todoroki. The class.
Across the hallway, Shouto stands frozen.
Not because Katsuki's angry, she's seen angry.
This is different.
Because nobody asked him to do this. Nobody told him to.
Nobody even expected it.
The upperclassman finally raises both hands "Alright."
"Good."
"Didn't realize it was personal."
Katsuki immediately scowls "It isn't."
Several nearby students start laughing.
Unfortunately.
The moment breaks. People begin moving again.
Conversations restart.
The crowd disperses.
Life continues.
Shouto says nothing.
Not then.
Not during training. Not during dinner.
Not while Kaminari spends twenty minutes celebrating Katsuki's accidental speech.
Nothing.
That night she calls home.
The Ferrari development center answers immediately.
Because of course it does.
A few transfers later:
Endeavor picks up.
"People are being stupid."
Silence.
"The sponsorship?"
Shouto groans "I hate that you know immediately."
"Hm." there it is.
The annoying one.
The knowing one.
The father one.
"They think Ferrari sponsored us because of me."
A pause.
"Do you want a statement?" straightforward. Professional.
Shouto thinks about it.
Honestly thinks about it.
A public clarification.
A press release, one sentence from Ferrari and the entire conversation disappears.
Probably.
Maybe.
Not really.
"No."
"Hm."
"They'll just find something else."
"Correct." the answer comes immediately.
Like he's had this conversation before.
Probably because he has.
The silence settles comfortably.
Then Endeavor speaks again, calmer this time.
"You cannot control assumptions."
Shouto leans back in her chair.
The academy dorms are quiet.
Outside, rain taps softly against the windows.
"You can only control whether they're true."
For a second neither speaks.
Then:
"Besides."
Uh oh "What."
"Your classmates would be offended by that narrative."
Shouto laughs despite herself, a small one.
Real.
Katsuki would be offended.
Kirishima would be offended.
Momo would be offended.
Half the class would probably write essays about it.
"That's fair."
"Hm."
After the call ends, Shouto sits quietly for a while.
Thinking.
Not about Ferrari.
Not about the rumors.
Not even about the sponsorship.
Instead she thinks about a crowded hallway.
A loud voice.
And somebody saying:
They sponsored the class.
Not Todoroki.
The class.
For some reason-
that sticks with her longer than the rumors ever did.