Chapter Text
It started with a cream coloured envelope appearing atop the floor near the dining area of the common room.
Uraraka held the soft paper gently in her hands—examining it, noticing with a furrow in her brow that the once crisp quality of the cover was now brandishing several blemishes, most likely from being trampled by the shoes of their classmates.
“Whatcha got there, Ochaco-chan?” Ashido exclaims, surprising her with a hug from behind.
Most of the girls in their class had planned to gather for tea that afternoon, collectively deciding that the occasion would be a great way to catch up with one another after a very busy week of exams.
“This envelope,” She hums, laminating the attention of all the other girls setting up the table. “It looks like someone must have dropped it.”
“Oh?” Ashido expresses her surprise, lips puckering in the shape of the sound. “Does it say who it’s addressed to?”
Uraraka examines the item from top to bottom again in hopes of finding some form of signature, but to no avail.
“Doesn’t look like it,” She says, a frown pulling at her round cheeks.
“That’s odd— who’d be writing letters in this day and age?” Jirou pipes up, setting out the tea cups neatly on the dining table.
“Perhaps it’s not a letter, but a permission form of some sort?” Yaoyorozu adds, referencing the slips of paperwork their parents were often sent in the mail by their teachers.
“Let me take a look!” Hagekure requests gleefully, making her way back from the kitchen— nudging herself in between the two girls brandishing the letter in hopes of catching a glimpse.
it’s only a matter of seconds before the room explodes with a high pitched squeal— any bystander might have thought the sound to be a kettle. Even the girls themselves realize belatedly that the noise ringing was in fact the sound of their invisible friend.
“No way…!” Hagakure exclaims, choosing finally to articulate her thoughts— her gloved hands clasping together all the while. “I know a love letter when I see one!”
At hearing such a proclamation, all four girls occupying the dinning area grow stiff— rendered speechless by the possibility.
“A l-love letter…?” Uraraka is the first to stutter out, eyeing the envelope in her hand incredulously— holding the item carefully, almost as if it were glass.
“Oh my gosh, you could be right!” Ashido gushes, ripping the letter from Uraraka’s hands— unable to contain herself from excitement.
“Hey—” the brown haired girl exclaims, but her cry fell on deaf ears. Both Ashido and Hagekure had quickly run off to the other side of the table.
“You guys seriously gonna open it?” Jirou says sardonically, scoffing at the antics of the other two girls. Yaoyorozu, all the while, watches on in muted disapproval of the events unfolding.
“That seems like something that should remain private, kero,” Asui makes herself known, returning with the tea from the kitchen.
“Just a peak couldn’t hurt, right?” Hagekure says, already pulling the letter from the inside— eager to reveal its contents.
While Uraraka hated to admit it, she too was shamefully curious to see if it was in fact a love letter— and if so, who of their classmates it belonged to. It seemed as though Yaoyorozu and Jirou fell under the same category, as they took their seats with somewhat bated breath right along side with her.
“What’s it say? What’s it say?” Hagakure repeats, no doubt hanging over Ashido’s shoulder.
“I dunno…” The pink haired girl explains slowly, still stringing information together it seemed. ”Something about internships coming up, and— Oh! They’re talking about Midoriya-kun and Iida-kun…?”
There’s a beat of silence illustrating everyone's blatant confusion— Uraraka finds the sight to be almost comical.
“Psh,” Jirou snuffs her laughter from across the table, placing a hand up to cover her mouth. “What kind of ‘love’ letter is this?”
“Oh dear,” Momo shakes her head with a chuckle, the absurdity of her expectations falling flat.
Uraraka can’t help but share the same sentiment— feeling if only a little bit foolish for getting ahead of herself.
“Wait— oh my gosh,” Ashido suddenly chirps with a sense of urgency she was lacking from earlier— recapturing everyone’s attention.
With a quick clearing of the throat, the girl begins to read from the letter.
“ —Living together does sound nice, It makes me happy hearing that you feel the same way.” The girl chants, sounding giddier with each passing word. “ I hope I can see you again soon.”
Then—
“ I Love you.” The girl annociates the last few syllables with a theatrical tone— only adding more to the suspense.
Uraraka feels her face heat up, all while both Ashido and Hagekure have their own moment to squeal amongst each other.
Just the prospect of a boy in their class writing such a thing was enough to stir an uproar between the girls— one Uraraka couldn’t help but find herself in the middle of.
“No way…” Jirou says belatedly, adjusting her posture so that she was sitting up straight. A thoroughly red faced Momo, shakes her head in disbelief— her hand clasped to her mouth.
Hagekure— who wanted to see the letter for herself stealthily steals the item from Ashido’s grasp during all the excitement.
“I didn’t get to see who it was from…” The girl whines, making a grabbing motion toward the letter.
“Well, whoever wrote the letter must be hella passionate— sounds like they’re already making plans to move in together.” Jirou quips, leaning back into her chair.
“Moving in t-together…?” Yaoyorozu stutters, flustered at the thought. “It’s much too early to consider moving in with a lover! We’re still in high school aren’t we?”
Jirou grins a mischievous smile. “Who knows, maybe the receiver is an older woman—”
The comment earns her a bonk on the head from Asui— Who, as far as Uraraka could tell, doesn’t seem too keen on where the conversation was leading.
“Hmm,” The invisible girl hummed, still reading the letter over in earnest. The rest of the room turns to her in curiosity.
“Find anything?” One of them asks.
“Hmm—Oh…!” The girl suddenly exclaims. “It says, um— Shouto …?”
There’s a momentary silence that fills the room as they all contemplate the sign off to the letter— none of them initially knowing anyone by that name. That is until Yaoyorozu makes a sudden noise of surprise, covering her mouth as if she were having a hard time coming to terms with something.
“Todoroki-san…?” The dark haired girl utters, cheeks ever so slightly pink.
The brief silence from earlier remains as everyone in the room puts two and two together, but it’s not long until they all make an amalgamation of noises to express their surprise.
“Todoroki-kun wrote the letter…?” Uraraka finds herself asking, the first to speak among the others.
Meanwhile, Hagakure and Ashido seemed off in a whole other plane of existence— entirely blissed out by the revelation.
“Woah— that’s unexpected,” Jirou says, looking up to her left to gauge Yaoyorozu’s reaction.
“I never pegged Todoroki-san the type to write a love letter,” The dark haired girl says with one hand to her cheek, her head tilting slightly to one side.
“Well, it’s written here— clear as day!” Hagekure exclaims, placing the letter down on the table for everyone to see.
Uraraka, Yaoyorozu and Jirou (despite their earlier sentiments) find themselves leaning over to read the contents of the letter for themselves— finding such a notion hard to believe.
“If this really is Todoroki-chan’s letter, wouldn’t it be best to return it, kero?” Asui chimes in, ever the voice of reason among them.
The three girls overlooking the letter retract their gazes from the object of their curiosity, feeling a pool of guilt wash over them.
“We can’t do that, what if he finds out we opened it?” Ashido cries, sinking down into her seat with a sulky expression.
Asui doesn’t seem entirely happy with that answer, and instead chooses to ignore their shenanigans in favour of distributing tea to the rest of them.
“More importantly,” Hagekure hums sadly, taking her seat along with the others. “The letter doesn’t mention who it’s addressed to on the inside either…”
“He did mention wanting to see her again…” Ashido thought aloud, placing a finger to her chin. “Going from that, It must be some girl from another school.”
“That doesn’t surprise me, I heard from Bakugou that some Shiketsu chick asked for his number during their remedial training— Maybe that’s who the letters for.” Jirou adds blandly.
“Eh—?” Hagakure draws out her surprise, “Why am I just finding out about this now?”
As the others continue to squabble, Uraraka finds herself sneaking another glance at the letter that was discarded atop the table— taking into account it’s neat handwriting, feeling a flimsy smile tug at her lips when she spots a cute devilish looking cat sticker skillfully placed in the bottom left corner.
‘Surely, Such a thing couldn’t belong to Todoroki-kun— right?’
“What kind of girl do you think Todoroki-kun likes?” Ashido asks, face smooshed into the surface of her opened textbook.
She, Jirou and Uraraka found themselves studying in the common area of the dorms—all working hard on the homework assigned to them in class earlier that day.
“Hmm,” Jirou feigns thought, placing the back end of her pencil against her lips. “Probably the ones that mind their own business— Ow!”
Ashido kicks the sarcastic girl discreetly from underneath the table— pouting all the while.
“I’m being serious here…” The pink toned girl whines, doodling along the sides of her textbook.
“I take it you’re still thinking about the letter then,” Jirou says blandly, closing the notebook in front of her.
“How could I not be…!” Mina exclaims, hoisting herself up from her slump on the table— a motion that startles Uraraka from next to her. “ Besides, you two were curious before too, weren’t you?”
“I guess…” Uraraka admits, fidgeting with her hands in a guilt ridden motion.
“I mean, yeah, but that was just because it was so unexpected,” Jirou says, shrugging indifferently. “But if the guy’s got a girlfriend then that’s that, right?”
“Oh? Don’t tell me you were interested, Kyouka-chan—Ow!” Ashido teases, only to be swiftly kicked from underneath the table— a small act of karma.
“I just mean there’s no point in thinking about it,” Jirou glares, leaning lackadaisically against her palm. “Unless you’re planning to get between them, that is.”
Uraraka watches as Jirou’s smile turns into a triumphant grin, all while Ashido seems all the more bothered with the implication.
“I’d never do something like that…!” The pink haired girl challenges, puffing out her cheeks in a pout. “It’s just hard to imagine what kind of girl Todoroki-kun would be into, y’know?”
“If I’m honest,” Uraraka pipes up, gaining the attention of both the feuding girls. “I’m still grappling with the fact that Todoroki-kun wrote a love letter to begin with... It just seems so—”
“Romantic?” Ashido interrupts with a sigh of bliss, both hands at her cheeks.
“—unlike him, is what I was going to say…” The brown haired girl trails off.
Up until this point, Todoroki barely showed interest in anyone in their class— let alone the opposite gender.
“Why write a letter anyway?” Jirou blanks, interjecting before Ashido could express her disapproval. “He could have just texted her or something— that would’ve been way more practical.”
“Love is never practical—” Mina is quick to chime in— though, promptly cut off in the process.
“I think i’ve had just about enough of your theatrics for today,” Jirou snickers, shoving a pastry puff into her friend's mouth.
As Uraraka watches her friend munch away happily at her cream filled dessert she can’t help but wonder if perhaps they judged their duel quirk classmate too hastily. Perhaps Todoroki wasn’t as cold and detached as they all pegged him to be— maybe this letter was proof of that.
“Look,” Jirou sighs, eyeing the brown haired girl deep in thought. “If it’s bothering you guys so much, why not ask the boys?”
Uraraka freezes at the suggestion, her face heating up. “The b-boys…?”
“Of Course—!” Ashido exclaims, smacking both her hands on the base of the table. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
Jirou and Uraraka watch in mild amusement (and some part terror) as Ashido calls over Kaminari and Kirishima, both returning to the common area, post workout it seemed.
The brown haired girl has half a mind to retreat underneath the table as the other two approach— not wanting to be exposed for her twisted curiosity regarding the love life of a classmate.
“Oh, hey you guys,” Kirishima says, overlooking the three—chugging a sip from his water bottle. “What’s up?”
“Um,” Uraraka begins, though she cuts herself off when she hardly knows what to say.
Jirou finds herself rolling her eyes as Ashido pulls the two boys down to ear level— whispering something to them with an enclosed palm. Uraraka watches the scene play out with heightened nerves.
“Eh—!?” The two finally exclaim, obvious in their surprise— making it so that anyone within earshot could easily listen in. “Todoroki wrote what—!?”
“Shh—!” Ashido chides, Smacking a hand over their mouths. “We aren’t supposed to know about this…!”
“No way, I won’t believe it unless I see it,” Kaminari says, tearing away from her grasp— outstretching his palm in an exaggerated fashion. “You gotta let me give it a read.”
“There’s no way we’d show you something so private…!” Ashido exclaims, her hands moving to her hips.
“Oh sure,” Kaminari challenges, pushing past a dazed looking Kirishima. “I bet you stole the letter from his desk or something, you stalker…!”
As the two continue to bicker amongst themselves, Kirishima— who seemed to have snapped out of whatever train of thought he was in— turns to the other two girls, scratching at the back of his neck sheepishly.
“Sorry about him,” The red head chuckles, “It’s just kind of a big shock, y’know?”
“I’m guessing that means you guys never heard the guy talk about a girlfriend then?” Jirou asks, scooching in closer to the end of the booth— leaving room for the other boy to sit.
“That’s the thing,” Kirishima says, scratching at the side of his face. “Todoroki never really talks about that kind of stuff all that much— Well, not to me at least.”
“Oi, Kaminari—” The red head turns, grabbing the attention of a still feuding blonde. “Has Todoroki ever talked ‘girls with you?”
“No,” The other deadpans, plopping himself down on a seat across from them— done arguing it seemed. “—And believe me, I really did try.”
The rest of their group looked on at the boy in muted interest— urging him to continue.
“ I mean— Mineta and I would often probe him about what type of girl he liked and all that juicy stuff,” Kaminari continued, leaning his cheek into the palm of his hand. “Rather than not be interested— it seemed like he wasn’t even in the flow of the conversation.”
“That’s our Todoroki-kun,” Ashido sighs, letting her head hang in her hands. “—Dense as ever…”
“Well, even so,” Jirou adds, stirring her drink around with her straw. “By the sound of the letter, Todoroki must really be head over heels for this girl— whoever she might be.”
“Eh—? Really?” One of the boys asked. “Was the letter that juicy?”
“Todoroki-kun, he—” Uraraka begins, surprising herself with how eager she was to elaborate. “ It sounded like he and the receiver were making plans to move in together…”
“M-move in together…?” Kirishima stutters out, leaning closer to the girls in disbelief.
Two fists suddenly slam on the table, surprising all it’s occupants.
“Todoroki, you—“ Kaminari exclaims, basically frothing from the mouth— eyes shining with genuine tears. “Was it an act this whole time? Were you really a player…?!”
“Oi, chill out man, we don’t know—“
“How dare that guy advance so far without us—“ the blonde cries, hiding his face in the crux of his elbow. “He’s making the rest of us men look like idiots…!”
“Hey, now,” Kirishima placates, a bead of sweat grazing his brow. “Crying over something like that is pretty unmanly.”
Jirou watches the scene unfold in disgust, murmuring something along the lines of ‘tch, boys’ as she continues to stir her drink with its straw. Meanwhile, Uraraka was beginning to think that things might be escalating far more than she anticipated they would.
“Shocked as you may be, it’s true—“ The dark haired girl says, “though, I had a hard time believing it myself.”
“—And you’re sure it’s really his?” Kirishima asks.
“Well, ‘Shouto’ is his first name, right?” Ashido chimes. “that's how the letter was signed— and we found it here in the dorms…”
“—I mean, who else could it be?” She continues, glancing around the common area— as if she were looking for other possibilities.
“Hmm,” the red head hums, clearly deep in thought.
“You think she goes to U.A?” Kaminari asks, still seeming somewhat bitter.
“The letter made it seem like they were estranged,” Jirou says, earning a nod from Uraraka. “—So it’s likely that she goes to another school.”
Kirishima jolts suddenly, earning him a curious glance from everyone seated.
“What?” Ashido asks, leaning in closer to the other— the boy leans back to accommodate the lack of space.
“Hmm, well,” He says, an anxious toothy grin in tow. “I guess I kind of just remembered something, but I have no idea whether it actually relates to this though…”
“Eh, so you know something after all?” Ashido asks, raising an eyebrow at the other.
“—I mean, maybe…?” He shrugs, scratching at the side of his neck— ignoring the four sets of eyes blinking back at him.
With a defeated sigh, Kirishima continues.
“So, y’know how Sero and Todoroki are floor buddies, right? Well, I heard from Sero that the guy usually leaves his room pretty early most Sunday mornings— around the same time too. Apparently he doesn’t come back until later in the day either. ”
“You think he’s going to meet his girlfriend?” Ashido asks, practically bristling from the new information.
“Hey, I didn’t say that, okay?” The boy says, throwing his hands up in a motion of surrender. “ I don’t want to jump to conclusions— especially when we’re already poking our noses into someone else’s business.”
“Still,” Jirou says, sitting up straighter in her seat. “To think Aizawa-sensei would give him permission to leave campus that often— that itself is kind of odd, no?”
Jirou’s words hang heavy in the air as the rest of them contemplate the implication behind her words— or at least, how it was that their classmate was able to convince their hard headed teacher to excuse his leave from the dorms so frequently.
“If you guys are really that curious,” Kaminari pipes up, drowning out the quiet of the room. “You’d probably have better luck asking Iida or Midoriya— those guys spend the most time with Todoroki, right?”
“Ah— that’s right.” Kirishima says, nodding along with the other boy. “They’d definitely know more than we do.”
“I guess you’re right,” The pink girl sighs, folding her arms into a pillow and pressing her face into its embrace. “Though, they’d definitely know something was up if I asked them out of the blue… It’s not like we hang out or—”
Suddenly Ashido’s head snaps up so that she’s inches away from Uraraka’s face— the brown haired girl practically jumps out of her seat at the abrupt movement.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Uraraka flushes.
“You eat lunch with Iida-kun and Midoriya-kun sometimes, right Ochaco-chan?” She exclaims, a grin tugging at her cheeks.
“Well, I-I mean I—”
“Could you please try asking them about it?” The pink girl continues to press.
Uraraka’s mind is swirling with all kinds of anxieties— not entirely sure what to say to such a request.
“Don’t let her pressure you into doing anything you’re uncomfortable with, Ochako-chan,” Jirou tells her friend, eyeing a desperate looking Ashido.
“Um, I—”
“C’mon, the boys are curious too y’know…!” Ashido cries rather shamelessly.
“Hey, don’t drag us into this...!”
Sure, Uraraka was curious too and all, but to probe her two closest friends for information about the private life of another classmate… wasn’t that a little much?
“Pretty please?” Ashido begs, her palms clasped together— puppy dog eyes in effect.
“I—” She starts. Then with an indignant sigh, resigns herself to her fate. “Okay… I’ll see what I can do…”
“Are you looking for something, Todoroki-kun?”
Todoroki looks up from his spot on the floor underneath the dining table— nearly bumping his head in the process.
“Ah, Midoriya,” he says, returning to his standing position. “I suppose I am.”
The freckled boy looks at him curiously, tilting his head to the side a few inches.
“Need any help?”
“No, it’s—” the duel haired boy begins, eyes scanning the floor like he was earlier— only to then return his gaze to Midoriya’s. “It’s fine. I probably just left it in my dorm room.”
“Hm,” The other hums, a knot in his brow. “Was it something important?”
“No, it’s fine,” Todoroki answers indifferently, following Midoriya out into the front foyer. “I can always make another, I guess.”
“Huh…?” Midoriya spouts, looking at his friend's side profile curiously— though the other keeps his gaze steady in front of him.
‘I wonder what he means,” the shorter boy thinks absentmindedly as the two continue to their morning classes.