Chapter Text
Shouto Todoroki was not little.
He could get up everyday, wash his face and get dressed. He could eat breakfast — on most days, at least — and get himself into homeroom. He could sit through a lecture about Heroics from Aizawa Sensei and he could recite the quadratic formula from memory when Ectoplasm asked.
He could do it all. He could do everything. On his own. By himself.
(Except when he couldn't.)
He could get up everyday.
Except that the sticky feeling of wet clung to his pyjamas on most mornings, resulting in loads of laundry at 2am.
He could wash his face.
Except that when the water was too hot or too cold, he simply sat and floated away into his head. He didn't end up washing his face.
And, he could get dressed.
But, sometimes, the buttons on his shirt got too complicated and his blazer was too itchy and oversized and everything was just wrong. Tears would slip down his cheeks at that.
But, no.
Shouto Todoroki was not little.
He was a neutral. A blank. Nothing but the baseline of society. If he wanted to be really precise, he was normal.
Was there anything wrong with being a little? Well– no. Not exactly. They could still become heroes. Stay in the hero course. Continue their studies at UA. They could do everything that a neutral or caregiver could do.
They couldn't go out without a caregiver supervising and needed constant wellbeing checks, but still. They could pretty much do everything that everyone else could.
Shouto knew there was nothing wrong with being a little.
Obviously.
They took up 15% of the population. 45% as caregivers and the remaining 40% as neutrals. At any given point in time, you were bound to have seen at least one little, bare minimum. Even at UA, a fair chunk of the faculty were littles, even if not extremely public about their status.
So, of course, Shouto knew that being little was nothing crazy. Nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing to scream and cry over. Just a simple fact of life that either happened or didn't.
Then again, that didn't make the classification results any less daunting to receive.
He remembered the test. Quite vividly, to be fair. A written test, with a mix of multiple choice and other short form answer questions.
"What is your favourite colour?"
'Pastel blue.'
Shouto quickly jotted it down. He liked the colours that reminded him of his mother and the snowflakes she'd create when she comforted him after another brutal training session.
"Do you find it easy to relax?"
○ Always
○ Mostly
○ Sometimes
○ Rarely
○ Never
He shaded the 'Sometimes' bubble. He wasn't exactly sure what constituted as relaxing or calming down. The panic attacks and crying seemed to tire him out eventually; the extra pillows on his bed being firmly gripped and practically strangled for answers at least once or twice a week. He liked music though, and the Disney movies his class turned into a tradition, once every month in the common room with snacks and blanket forts. Those were nice.
"Do you often feel younger than you are when distressed, angry or sad?"
He left that question blank - knowing the answer, in denial of the truth.
"I have your classification results," Aizawa began, a week after the initial test. "Some of you may be displeased with your results. Completely and totally normal. I'm offering my help to any of you who are in need of assistance or if anything is troubling you. Hound Dog is always available too, if that makes you more comfortable."
Silence filled the room as Aizawa continued on with his speech. Shouto began kneading his palms against his trousers, an anxiety technique he'd read up on a few nights ago. He wasn't nervous. He was a neutral. Of course he was. He was nothing but the baseline. The norm.
"These envelopes contain your results. Despite your own feelings about your classification, if you are classified as a caregiver or a little, I'd like to speak to you all." Aizawa's eyes drooped with fatigue as he handed out envelopes.
Quick rips and excited giggles chorused in the classroom. In Shouto's opinion, it was far too early for this. 8am and we're already yelping at the top of our lungs.
An envelope landed on his desk.
RIP!
Name: Todoroki, Shouto
Age: 15
Classification: Little
Age range: 1-3 years
As advised by the HPSC (Hero Public Safety Commission) and the LCC (Little Caregiver Cooperation), please seek a caregiver as soon as possible.
Shouto stared at the piece of paper.
He slid it back into its envelope.
'Little.'
It wasn't right. He was a neutral. He wasn't younger than his age. He wasn't mentally a toddler. He was just the baseline. He was normal.
Except, that's not what the letter said.
Excited chirps and mutters and 'What did you get?'s filled the air. Squeaks of glee and others’ nonchalance surrounded him. They all looked so.. happy. They were okay with whatever they got. They were all normal.
"Alright, alright. Enough." Aizawa declared, his eyes glowing red as his hair began sticking up into the air, silencing the room at his command. "All those with neutral classifications, you may leave. Enjoy the rest of your day. Those with other classifications, please remain seated."
A cacophony of chairs scraped against the floor as Shouto stayed cemented to his seat.
'One, two.. More than two at least. He wasn't the only one who wasn't normal.'
"Ashido, Jirou, Kaminari, Todoroki. All of you have been classified as littles with varying age ranges. Uraraka, Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, Sero, Bakugou, Shoji and Ojirou all of you have been classified as caregivers, all with specific age ranges which the test feels you'd interact the best with. Not all of you will end up with littles, I will make that clear. The little caregiver dynamic is something special that should be decided and built based on trust and the relationship you have with this person. From the results, Recovery Girl and I have paired the littles with caregivers we feel would work best. If any problems arise, we can change these pairings. But, for now, Ashido and Uraraka, Jirou and Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, Kirishima and Sero and Todoroki and Bakugou will all be paired together. All of you can have the rest of the week off to adjust." Aizawa finished, seemingly catching his breath.
Dismissing them with a wave of his hand, the remaining students began filtering out of the classroom, their new dynamics following them closely behind.
Shouto did not get up.
"Hey! Halfie!" Bakugou proclaimed, prominence in his voice as he stood over Shouto, "Let's go. Come on."
Shouto only stared back into his eyes, wordlessly, and without emotion.
"Do you want me to carry you or what? Like, come on. I've got shit to do and we need to talk."
Shouto blinked and muttered a weak 'sorry' under his breath, collecting his things and beginning to stand.