#cold soba give him cold soba

[scarlettcryptid]

some of my dabi headcanons:

• his favourite season is winter

• he likes loose fitting clothes

• he likes cold food

the reason for these being that, like 4/5ths of his family, his body is cold resistant and he can't handle heat very well

so, with that in mind, i like to imagine bakugo's "piping hot udon" suggestion to shouto pre-final war is a nice thought that makes sense but...

>shouto: [sets a bowl of piping hot udon in front of touya]

>touya: [stares at it] too hot

>shouto: [freezes it]

>touya: [sluuurp]

[katsukistofu]

peaches (you're the cream of the crop)

contents ౨ৎ ⋆ touya todoroki x fem reader. fluff. slightly suggestive. cursing. ⭑ a series of grocery trips after touya is discharged from the hospital gives you both a sense of normalcy you never thought you’d be able to have again.

monday

“put it back.” he wrinkles his nose as you continue to pick out tomatoes from the neat stack in front of you. “i said put it back.”

you stick your tongue out and tie up the bag after you put the last tomato in, dropping it in the cart he was pushing.

“ew.”

you giggle, he was acting like a little kid.

“touyaaa, you have to eat your veggies to grow big and strong.”

“bullshit. all the brat eats is soba and he’s almost taller than me now.” he grumbles. “and tomatoes are fruits.”

“tastes like a veggie.” your hip gently bumps into his after you walk back to him from the vegetables. “and maybe shoto’s taller than you ‘cause he actually listens to me.”

he rolls his eyes at that, and hesitantly reaches for your hand.

he’s still not used to being with you like this, alone, despite knowing you stayed by his side through countless hospital visits he wished he was conscious for.

but it’s okay because you’re here now, soft skin soothing against his rough, charred flesh. you don’t seem to mind though, not even the fact that he tends to holds you a little more tightly than he used to.

touya doesn’t let go of your hand. not once. not when you went to get a napa cabbage, or when you inspected the peaches on sale for any mushy spots.

or even when he lets you drag him to a stand in the freezer aisle where a nice store employee offers you two samples of gyoza, which was surprisingly good considering it was from a brand you’ve never heard of.

you feed touya his share, his eyes wide as he waits for you to finish blowing on it for him before holding it in front of his lips to eat.

not until you ask “can you go get more bags for me touya?” in that soft voice of yours that turns his knees to jelly, does he even consider the idea of releasing you from his grasp. you ran out when you were getting green onions.

turquoise eyes flicker to you, a hint of disappointment in them. he really doesn’t want to let go.

with a quick glance around, it’s obvious the supermarket was practically empty. which made sense, the two of you purposely chose to come on a monday morning.

perfect.

you use the handle of the cart to push yourself on your tippy toes, taking the opportunity to give him a soft kiss on the cheek.

“please?”

he blinks rapidly, ducking his head down as he barely bites back a smile. you had him wrapped around your little finger and you didn’t even know it sometimes.

he’s always been weak for you.

“‘kay. be right back.” and you can’t help the laugh that bubbles up from your throat, knowing he means it this time.

from now on, he’ll always come back to you. to home.

he quickly returns from his trip to the dispenser roll of plastic bags near the checkout line and promptly dumps them in the cart.

“i changed my mind.” he says as he swiftly slips behind you to hug your waist, catching you in the middle of putting a packet of tofu skin in the nearly full cart. a soft weight can be felt on your hair as his chin rests on your head.

you smile, squeezing his forearms. “about what?”

“….i guess i’ll eat tomatoes.”

“awww, for me?”

“only for you.”

friday

— wild geraniums are rich in flower symbolism. they are associated with love, peace, joy, health, fertility, and spirituality.

it was a warm friday afternoon the next time you and touya go shopping.

the shizuoka prefecture had reached a new high today for the month, a sweltering thirty four degrees, and by the time you two get there you’re sweating bullets.

the cold air conditioning blasts you in the face, cooling your sweat as you’re met with the sight of mothers and elderly women bustling around, carts laden with fresh produce to last the next few weeks by cooking warm meals for their families.

he sighs next to you as the both of you stand in silence, enjoying the breeze for just moment longer.

touya grabs a basket for you, since you’re only planning to grab a few things for shoto anyway. a light pink sticky note rests on the palm of your hand, and he watches as you peer at the youngest’s neat handwriting.

a packet of soba noodles, a new pocky flavor, mousse matcha, that he wanted to try with his friends, and a bottle of green tea.

the two of you are in the snack aisle when he texts, touya too busy examining the ingredients of a box of choco-pie to notice you taking your phone out.

shoto [08:51]

Sorry for the late notice, can you please pick up a potted flower?

It’s for mom.

But don’t let Touya-nii pick.

It’s your choice that I trust.

you giggle at his remark, while your fingers fumble for the pen you know is somewhere.

thankfully, touya saves you by magically pulling it out from the depths of your bag, and places it in the palm of your hand.

you whisper a quick thanks and kiss his cheek. his face goes hot the moment you pull away to scribble on the list in your hand.

‘stop by the plant nursery’ is added to your sticky. it was only a block away on the way back to the todoroki house, so touya and you could just swing by really quick after getting shoto’s stuff. due to lack of a hard surface to write on, your writing was kind of messy.

maybe you should’ve asked touya if you could use his chest, but you doubt the grandmas in the aisle over would approve.

a new notification pops up on your screen.

natsuo [09:03]

helloo my favorite future sister-in-law

can u pick up some fish for sashimi pls

pls pls i got an A on my presentation today

touya leans over your shoulder to read the text and fakes a gag. he never liked fish, and eating it raw? no way in hell.

between the four of them inheriting most of their mother’s likeness (fuck whatever his dad’s weak ass excuse for genes was), you’d think they’d also gain her love of warm dishes like oden and niku-jaga.

as the eldest, of course it was his duty to set things straight and comment on his sibling’s questionable tastes.

you [09:04]

ew

you [09:04]

hot soba is better

mission accomplished, touya proudly hands your phone back to you. you bite back a laugh as you read his texts.

how eloquent of him.

natsuo [09:05]

????????

natsuo [09:05]

BITCH

I KNOW THATS YOU TOUYA

you roll your eyes at the two’s antics and grab your boyfriends hand, leading him to the seafood section.

a wide array of fish was displayed before you, and you take a picture of the ones labeled for sashimi.

you [09:10]

which one? :)

natsuo [09:11]

the salmon !!!!!

you [09:12]

ʕ •ᴥ•ʔゝ☆

natsuo [09:13]

THANK USOMHCH

I LOV YOU

MORE THANTOUYA

another notification appears as you quickly swipe out of natsuo’s texts before your boyfriend can throw your phone across the supermarket.

fuyumi [09:26]

are you guys at the mart right now?

you [09:27]

we are lol :9

did natsu brag about getting sashimi the moment he got home from his lecture?

fuyumi [09:28]

yeah.

giggling a little, you can almost hear her slightly exasperated tone.

you take a picture of an unsuspecting dabi looking at the frozen steamed buns and he side eyes you after you turn away, already having a sneaking suspicion who you were sending it to.

you [09:28]

touyamakinghearteyesatredbeanbuns.png

fuyumi [09:30]

fatass

you muffle your laughter as touya stalks over to you, swiping the phone out of your hands just as fuyumi texts again.

fuyumi [09:31]

anyways i was going to ask

can you add panko bread crumbs to your cart please?

i wanted make katsudon for you all tonight :>

touya’s types furiously as you hide your face in his chest in a silent fit of laughter.

you [09:32]

only if you take back calling me a fatass, fatass

fuyumi [09:33]

please i’ve hear worse threats from my kindergarteners in the sandbox

you’re almost to the checkout line, before touya stops you.

you don’t even have to take a glance in the direction he’s looking in.

“touya, no.”

“touya, yes.”

he wants to grin so bad but his new staples are still fresh from last week’s surgery.

his mouth settles for a safe pout to win your pity.

unfortunately for him you had an iron will in concerns to his health.

“the nurse said ‘no processed foods for the next thirteen days.’ that includes shrimp chips, dummy.”

your hand around his bicep is firm as you drag him away, and he stares longingly back at the snack aisle.

“where are we going?” he murmurs, the grocery bags that he had insisted carrying in one hand while letting you drag him along in the other.

he makes sure he’s walking on the side of the curb.

you slow your pace to walk beside him and he can hear the teasing smile in your voice.

“to bring a baby home to your mom.”

“okay… wait what?!”

he stares at the potted geraniums in your hands as you exit the plant nursery, eyes flicking up to meet your cheeky grin.

“our baby.”

so that’s what you meant.

you looked a little too pleased with yourself and had somehow gotten a smudge of dirt on your forehead in the process of choosing the perfect flowers for his mother.

he wipes it off with his thumb, and pretends to lick it to see your reaction. your squeals of protest and the way your eyes smile when you laugh make his stomach do a flip.

just like when he met you for the first time.

touya decides anything is worth it as long as he gets to see you make that face. especially pretending eating dirt. fuck the shrimp chips, the only snack he needed was you.

except you weren’t just a snack.

you were a goddamn meal.

he raises an eyebrow and smirks, eyes dancing with mischief as he looks down at you. a firm hand pressed against your belly as he places a painstakingly soft kiss on the spot where the dirt smudge used to be.

“don’t worry.” he breathes. you can feel him smile into the crook of your neck, his fingers caressing your stomach as you squirm ticklishly against him.

“i’ll get you a real one someday.”

you nearly drop the geraniums on his foot.

sunday

today is sunday.

meaning it’s weekly movie night in the todoroki household.

shoto was the one who made it a tradition, after liking it so much when he did it with his classmates. everyone agreed it was the perfect low-effort family bonding activity after a long week.

natsuo just finished taking his finals. you’re relieved not to see him pull anymore all-nighters.

fuyumi’s on summer break. letters from her students written in crayon and covered in silly doodles of her are litter the front of the fridge.

you smile as you pass by it when you’re on on the way to shoto’s room to help him do that little braid he liked on the side of his hair. he was starting to grow it out now.

rei makes sure to volunteer at the local gardening center in the mornings, ensuring her afternoons and evenings are free to spend time with her kids.

enji calls off from work the moment it hits six. his sidekicks at the agency can take care of whatever happens while he’s gone.

touya and you are in charge of buying snacks, and you get everyone’s favorite. after checking out, the two of you head home hand in hand.

you’re snuggled under a blanket with touya. it was shoto’s turn to choose a movie, and the sounds of shrek played as you grew sleepier and sleepier. touya’s warm arms, which had you trapped in his lap, were not helping.

you point at the plate of tuna mayo onigiri on the coffee table. rei and fuyumi had made them earlier while you and him were out at the supermarket.

“remember when you ate so many of those because natsuo dared you to and you got a tummy ache?” he lets out a noise akin to a giggle, and your mouth splits into a grin at the familiar sound.

memories of hot summers sleeping on the floor with the fan on full blast and staying up to see fireflies come flooding back to you.

lying on the roof, you remember him resting his head on your chest while pointing out constellations to you, echoes of shared laughter filling the night air as he’d get them wrong every single time.

the stolen glances at each other between bites of juicy watermelon and soba. his ears turning redder than the slice of fruit in his hands when you catch him staring, the smug look on your face quickly turning into one of concern as he choked on his food and you rushed to pat his back.

in the present, you cuddle up impossibly closer to him, and he shivers as your warm breath hits his neck.

you had really missed this. he did too.

he couldn’t wait to spend the rest of the summer with you.

the rest of his life, too. he wasn’t planning on leaving you alone again, not now, not ever.

with you in his arms, he focuses on the movie, laughing along with shoto as fiona attempts to yank out the arrow in shrek’s butt. he turns to you, a smile tugging at his lips. his hair looks even softer against the glow of the projector.

“would you love me if i turned into shrek?”

you grin, poking his cheek. “i’d miss this pretty face of yours too much.”

"scars and all?"

"scars and all."

he frowns playfully at that despite the butterflies coming to life in his stomach, and leans forward to rest his head against your shoulder. you smirk, catching a whiff of your conditioner. “i knew you only liked me for my looks.”

“shush.” you point at something on the coffee table.

he spots the bag of shrimp chips, not so subtly lighting up.

you must have snuck them onto the conveyor belt while you two were standing in the checkout line when he wasn’t looking.

“i love you so much holy shit.” he whispers, nuzzling into your shoulder.

“i know.”

cue the side eye from him.

you roll your eyes at his dramatics and turn around to straddle his strong thighs, raising your hands to gently hold his face in them.

touya shivers as your thumb brushes against his cheek, your touch sweet like the peaches he shared with you after breakfast that morning.

“i love you too.” you whisper back, just in time before he lifts the blanket up to cover the both of you in the dark as he hungrily leans forward to close the gap between you.

rei’s the first one to notice you two asleep on the couch as the ending credits roll.

she gets another fluffy blanket from the closet to layer on top of the one already on your sleeping forms, making sure you’re both properly covered.

she places a kiss on touya’s forehead, then yours, before hugging the rest of her children goodnight and giving them kisses as well.

enji follows suit, muttering a gruff goodnight to everyone. a chorus of quiet good nights trail after him as he lumbers off.

fuyumi, natsuo, and shoto are the last ones left in the living room.

they smirk knowingly at each other as they see touya squeeze you tighter in his sleep, mumbling something about how lucky he is that you’re his.

something about getting you a ring too.

as the three siblings exit the room, they wordlessly shared one last excited glance before heading separate ways to their respective beds. shoto was especially pleased.

when you started living with them, he could ask you to help braid his hair everyday.

he wants you to teach him when you have the time, too. touya could never get it right like you did when you weren’t here.

at least touya had enough of a grasp on his sense of style to help him pick outfits.

you, obviously, were already a todoroki in all of their hearts.

but they still couldn’t wait for their big brother to grow a pair and tie the knot with you.

[eternalfics]

giyuu tomioka as your bf !!

a/n: I know I’ve been reposting a lot of stuff but I have finally POSTEDDD 🥳🥳 (ALSO WE REACHED MORE THAN 100 FOLLOWERS. 😆) I’ll make a post about that too. btw there’s a hint of spoilers if u haven’t watched s4

summary: the title lmao 🥰

warnings: kind of angsty 😣

the song I listened to while writing this 😋

GIYUU TOMIOKA, who loves you more than ever, that he doesn’t want to lose you after his sister and sabito passed away.

GIYUU TOMIOKA, who hesitantly starts to date you. he doesn’t let anyone get close to him after his childhood, but he slowly starts to open up to you.

GIYUU TOMIOKA, who sometimes lets you braid his hair. he dosent really care, all he does is put it in a ponytail. he’s really glad you don’t look at his face while braiding it, or else you’ll tease him for blushing.

GIYUU TOMIOKA, who ALSO has a Cold Soba Noodle speed eating contest with you. after you had heard from tanjiro who did it with him! giyuu was silent the whole time, but after awkward silence you suddenly spoke up.

GIYUU TOMIOKA, who’s face turns slightly red after you challenge, “If I win, you have to give me a kiss! But if YOU win, I’ll give you a kiss.” “So.. we’re giving kisses either way..?” “Exxactlyy!” you nod proudly.

GIYUU TOMIOKA, who wins the contest, making the excuse of : “I was just hungry.” but he blushes furiously when you kiss him on the lips.

GIYUU TOMIOKA, who is secretly touch-starved and freezes when you put his head on your chest when you’re trying to cuddle with him. after a few minutes, he eases up and you both sit there in silence. sometimes, he falls asleep and you giggle at him.

GIYUU TOMIOKA, who has gift giving as his love language. he gets a little bit bolder with you when he does give you gifts, saying: “it reminded me of you.”

GIYUU TOMIOKA, who knows what makes you flustered. whether it’s caressing your cheek, or getting close to your face. he does it on purpose just to see your reddening face, and the best part for him is acting like he did it on accident.

GIYUU TOMIOKA, who already lost a lot of people because of him, so please don’t leave him like the others did. he knows he’s not a hashira, but soon he’ll think he’s not loveable if you leave too.

[ushiwakatrash]

The Dekusquad as roommates

According to the new rules, UA has decided to place two people per room.

(This deviates from the original plot line)

See the Bakusquad version here.

Midoriya Izuku  緑谷 出久

Biggest sweetheart

He's honestly a breath of fresh air and is actually very chill as a roomie

He is very considerate of you and is like an older brother at times (maybe kinda like a dad too)

You both have cute little study sessions when exams are nearing

has a very comforting aura that soothes your soul

gives the best hugs especially during a draining day or just when you need it

Is very accepting of everything you do like belting high notes in the shower (he snickers when your voice cracks)

or when you're doing a full on dance routine and he catches you mid act, he just drops his things and vibes with you

Unlike him, you struggle with waking up in the morning and once you are awake, you see him fully dressed, preparing his things for the day

He was the one who woke you up by the way

You rush to take a shower and hear him shout that he's leaving first

When you get out of the bathroom you see your bed made, on top is an apple with a little note attached to it

"HURRY UP!!! ♡"

Iida Tenya  飯田 天哉 

oh god why him

unlike Deku, this mf had a stick up his a-

he was okay BUT THE NAGGING HAS TO STOP

What surprised you is that he was actually good at listening to your concerns and would ask if you wanted either comfort or solutions to your problems

After Iida being your free personal therapist for a while you both started to open up to each other naturally and he used you as his free personal therapist as well

The nagging dies down when you finally start going along with Iida's antics and honestly, he was useful at times

When he gets unbearable you threaten to break one of his glasses on display (you gotta do what you gotta do)

he gives in but looks at you with a stink eye

Screams at you for leaving clothes on chairs

Todoroki Shouto  轟 焦凍

Is doing nothing and just being there the new definition of chill?

that ain't chill, that's just... cold ( ´ཀ` )

The first week he said absolutely NOTHING to you. Just fixed exactly half of the room the way he wanted, old traditional Japanese-style.

Like how did he even do this in a day

The next few weeks were the same but you both occasionally nod at each other just to acknowledge the other's presence

One night you were up and struggled to wrap your head around a topic in your history class which reduced you to tears

Shouto noticed this and headed to your desk to give you awkward but comforting head pats

"which part's giving you a hard time? let me help you."

after passing the test thanks to you roomie's help, you treated him to cold soba the next day (he gladly accepted)

since that day, you started talking more and hanging out more

after MONTHS he finally told you that he was lucky to have you as a friend

and maybe has a slight crush on you but you don't have to know that

(Izuku gives him away though by giggling or sending knowing glances when he talks to you)

𝓜𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻����𝓲𝓼𝓽

[with-my-calamitous-love]

OCEAN BLUE EYES / I FEEL LIKE I MIGHT SINK AND DROWN AND DIE ༄

ua! touya todoroki x ua! reader headcanons <3

inspired by gorgeous

- villain touya is a ruthless, cold-hearted maniac. ua, hero-in-training touya is just a prick.

- he’s the kind of student that skips class religiously, but somehow gets amazing grades. he’ll give attitude to anything with legs, including you, but somehow pass every test. he’s also unreasonably competitive, joining about every sports he can make the time for.

- becoming friends with him was inevitable, giving his magnetic field being just a little too strong. at first, he should have taken it as a compliment the way you’d talk to everyone in the room but him. he’s unreasonably gorgeous without even knowing it.

- he’s an asshole, but he’s also funny. he’s the kind of guy that just knows what to say, so fucking cool it makes you hate him so fucking much. he has you feeling like a dumb high school student with a dumb high school crush. because you are.

- little do you know, that feeling is mutual. you’re ruining his life by not being his.

- on the outside, he’s smart, strong, and a great student. on the inside, he’s still got those same battles you’d come to know him for.

- he’s in ua, yes. he’s becoming a hero, yes. but he still wonders if it’ll measure up to what his father wants. sometimes he wonders if he’s doing it for himself, or for the bastard back at home. and though half the reason he’s in ua is to rebel against and piss off his father, he also wonders if he can at least be acknowledged by him.

- during training, he’s thinking about his worth. in class, he’s thinking about who he is. every waking moment spent at school, at home, or alone, he’s terrified of being nothing more than a failure.

- the only time he doesn’t feel like that is with you. which is why he’s so furious when he can’t say anything to your face. how dare you make him feel this way?

- he does the unthinkable, and goes to his mom for advice.

- “touya, you obviously like them.”

- “SHUT THE FUCK UP! sorry, love you.”

- its then you learn more about who he is, beyond just who he’s trying to be. you learn he loves winter, and tries to catch snowflakes on his tongue like a little kid. you learn his favourite meal is soba, and how you learn to make it how he likes it. you learn that he’s an oldest child, and as much as he insists his siblings are pains in his ass, he’ll help natsuo with his math homework, walk fuyumi home from school, and tuck shoto into bed.

- you teach him its okay to just be who he is now. that sometimes, just being happy is the sweetest vengeance against someone who hurt you.

- so you help him pick out his hero name, design his costume and fuel his dreams. he learns that he can be a hero for him. fuck everyone else, as he would say. except you.

- touya becomes your best friend, your ride or die. its this beautiful, parallel universe, one where its possible to save him. one where the light in his soul is nurtured and seen, and one where he’s happy.

- touya todorki is touya todoroki. in every universe, he’ll burn down anyone that gets in his path, whether thats being a villain or a hero. but he’s sure that in every one, you’re there waiting for him.

✧.* ⋆.˚ ☾ .⭒˚ ✧.* ✧.* ⋆.˚ ☾ .⭒˚ ✧.* ✧.* ⋆.˚ ☾ .⭒˚ ✧.* ✧.* ⋆.˚

huge thank you to @sukunaes for helping me with this! i published this a while ago, but for some reason tumblr hid it 💔 but i’ve gotten to rewrite and add some more thoughts! i also have more ua touya stuff in my drafts 🫧❄️🪽🤍🐚🎧

[mooluvs]

Dating Todoroki Shoto would include:

Requests open! | Deku ver | Bakugo ver

Warnings:none | genre: fluff | fic type: headcanons

Small acts of love all the time

He’ll constantly do small things to show his love for you.

Like, remembering your friends’ names and your favourite foods and places.

Him tying your laces when they come undone or helping you do your skincare routine.

Him always checking in on you before you go to bed and texting in the morning.

Helping you study for any upcoming tests.

Making sure you got the homework done.

He’ll always make sure his lesson notes are clear and make sense in case you need to copy them.

Texts you random memes and animal photos that reminded him of you.

Him being totally soft for you

He’s always holding your hand.

And reminding you how much he loves you.

And little head kisses.

Loves cuddling together when you’re at home.

Will declare his love for you in the most random places just because something small reminded him.

Like, he’ll tell you that he’d die for you when your trying to order maccies and that you look beautiful mid way through a fight.

He’ll warm you up when you’re too cold without you even asking.

He’s also just.... so soft with you.

Always gentle, never raises his voice, treats you like absolute royalty

Him being endearingly awkward

He struggled to confess to you in the first place.

He knew he loved you but didn’t know how to confess.

So, he’d just kind stare at you and try and think about what to say.

To you, though, it just looked like he was blankly staring at you.

Luckily for him, he’s cute.

Even when you’ve been together for years, you still catch him staring at you with a small smile.

He just likes thinking about how much he adores you.

Helping each other when you struggle

You’re always there to help him when things get rough with his family.

He always knows you’ll be there for him, whether he needs a shoulder to cry on or someone to come fight endeavour with him.

His siblings all love that about you.

And in return, he’s always there for you when you need it.

He always gives you advice when you need it

And if he doesn’t know what to say to you, he’s at least there to support you in any way that he can.

Also,

SOBA DATES !!

[sinfulpanda16]

Amazing Classmate

Midoriya, Bakugou, Uraraka, Todoroki x foreigner reader

You are an international student in U.A and meet all of Class 1-A. What are their reactions to seeing you for the first time? How do you guys bond together despite the differences in nationalities?

(n/l) = native language (y/c) = your country

Midoriya

Is fascinated by you

He tries to learn your language by taking notes

When he saw you for the first time, he was starstruck. Your features are so beautiful, and he can't help but to blush a bit when you make eye contact with him. He decides to be a good friend towards you because he didn't want you to feel too different. You two become good friends and when he asks if you can help him learn your native language it made you feel a sense of warmth. You happily agreed, you would tell him 'The Word of the Day' and he would write it down in his notebook.

Izuku waits for you to think of a word. When you finally do you look at him with a smile, "The word of the day is, (random word in your language)."

Midoriya smiles brightly, "Ok! How do you spell that?" he asks getting ready to write in his notebook. You spell it out for him and go on to translate the word in Japanese. You explain to him how you would you use it in a sentence and Midoriya is writing it all down.

It makes you happy that Midoriya is so dedicated to learning your (n/l). He's learned so much from you and is almost able to have a full conversation with you in your mother's tongue. In a way he makes you feel at home.

He does it all because he wants to. He really likes you and where you come from. He likes all of you.

Uraraka

Strives to be more like you

You are so inspirational in her eyes

She walks into the common room and sees you sitting on the couch. She's hasn't been motivated to do much recently and doesn't know why. You have made it clear to all of Class 1-A that you're a safe space and are there for them. Uraraka figures maybe she can talk to you, so she takes a deep breath in and makes her way towards you on the couch.

"Hey (Y/N)" she waves shyly and sits down next to you.

You look from your phone and give her a smile. "Hey what's up?" you ask.

She looks at your eyes and she finds them so beautiful. She can't help but to turn away shyly. "Oh, it's nothing really. I just figured I could use some advice."

You turn off your phone and give her your undivided attention. You allow her to tell you her thoughts and feelings. You listen closely and after she explains everything, she looks at you, "I don't how (Y/N). What should I do?"

You chuckle a bit and begin to answer her question. "Back where I'm from they have a famous saying." Uraraka listens closely. You explain to her a quote your people back at home say a lot. It's something that people tell each other to help them feel better. After you finish explaining you look at her, "It's ok Uraraka. You're human so there's no need to beat yourself up for feeling more tired than usual. I'd recommend going on a walk. That always makes me feel better and productive". You give her a warm smile and say the quote in you language.

She looks at you with her big eyes and then chuckles. "Thanks (Y/N). Thats means a lot. You and your people are really something." she laughs.

You smile, it's true. You're proud of your blood and culture. And Uraraka is also proud of you for that.

Bakugou

Admires you from afar

At first he could've cared less about you, but your just so intriguing

He's sitting in the common room lost in thought and he sees you come out of the elevator. You two make eye contact and you smile brightly. You say, "Hi Bakugou." in your native language. He and all of class 1-A already know the word for Hi in your language because you always say it.

Bakugou just grunts, but that doesn't mean he's not willing to talk with you. You don't mind him and make your way to the kitchen to make yourself something to eat. You been enjoying cold soba ever since Todoroki recommended it to you. He was onto something cuz cold soba hits every time.

Bakugou knew you've been eating a lot of soba cuz of Todoroki and it bothered him. He wasn't sure why, but it did. He calls out for you "Oi! (Y/n)." you look up from what you were doing and look at him. Your eye contact always makes him feel a certain type of way. He can never hold eye contact with you. He looks away and abruptly says the first thing that came to his mind, "Teach me some curse words. You know...in (n/l)."

His request is so random, but you laugh, "Alright".

So that's what you do. You teach him all your favorite curse words in your native language. It makes you laugh because he honestly sounds and looks good cursing in your language.

This helped you two get closer and after you left, he found himself smirking. Just everything about you intrigues him and that includes your culture and language. And you can bet that after that he yells curse words at any extra in your native language.

Shoto

Is respectful to you and your culture

You and him both have your struggles and are always there for each other

You were feeling down and were in your dorm room. You love Japan but just like everyone else who moves countries, you get homesick. You sat at your desk looking at a photo of you and your friends back home. You miss them like hell. Long distance relationships are not easy. You hear a knock at your door and already know its Todoroki cuz of the way he knocks. You call out for him to come in.

He opens your door and walks inside, "Hi (Y/N). Are you busy-" he's caught off guard cuz he can tell something isn't right. He can tell your feeling down.

You raise an eyebrow at him, "Is everything ok?" you ask when he stops speaking mid-sentence.

"I don't know. Is it?" is all Shoto says in his soft voice, and you're taken aback. In all those months Todoroki managed to read you like a book. Honestly, you learned to do the same with him.

You smile softly, "I'm ok Todoroki. I just feel a bit homesick."

He walks towards you, "Oh. You miss (y/c)?" he asks sitting down on your bed. You nod your head and look back at the photo of your friends, "Yeah. I mainly just miss my friends and family. It's been a while since I've seen them in person." you explain.

Todoroki can only imagine what that must feel like. He sometimes misses his family, his mother, even though they're all with him in Japan. He doesn't want you to feel sad, so he suggests doing something to ease your mind.

"(Y/N) me and our friends were going to go to mall together." he reaches to hold your hand, "Please come. I promise it'll make you feel better." he says looking into your eyes.

You smile softly. Although your childhood friends are back in (y/c), that doesn't mean you're all alone here. You have amazing friends like Todoroki and the rest of Class 1-A to be with. You back into his eyes, "Ok. Thanks, Shoto."

He gives you his soft and cute smile, "You're welcome (Y/N)".

[rebeltigera]

Just had a thought, not sure what you'll think. As things get better with Macaque and Wukong and training continues with MK, Macaque begins to allow Tang and Pigsy to come over for visits. He does this because they are MK's parents, that he knows of, and figured it would be a good way to show them that MK is doing just fine on the island. Pigsy, by this point, fully knows neither Wukong or Macaque eats well or regularly. Pretty sure Macaque doesn't eat as regularly as he should and we all know how Wukong is.

So Pigsy starts cooking for Macaque and Wukong, as well as anyone else there, while he visits and makes them eat regularly the whole time he's there. At first, Macaque is a little annoyed but doesn't tell Pigsy to stop because he likes Pigsy's cooking.

Mac seeing Pigsy actually trying to cook when he'd visit would be willing to share kitchen space with him. Pigsy would try to give Mac and Wukong some of the noodles- Mac would politely decline , since he has his own meal schedule. He Rarely would agree for noodles ( he love em, but its a guilty pleasure) Mac eats fairly regulary , he sometimes might forget himself while working but other than that no. Mac and Pigsy would talk about Wukong's eating tho- they would get to conclusion Wukong don't really eat much and if he do , it's nothing hot like fresh noodles , or processed food other than chips apparently Pigsy would come up with an idea for cold soba - which was a big step in making Wukong eat more with people

[serxinns]

Hi! I was wondering if u can do a normal class 1a x reader platonic hc’s? Like readers quirk is like briar from league of legends and readers pretty sweet but scares class 1a a lil

I haven't did fucking headcannons In a WHILE I hope you enjoy them!

Disclaimer I do not know much about this character so if I mischaraterize something then I'm sorry

•ever since you transferred to Ua, they always thought you were a bit weird, especially when you 1st introduced yourself. It was a wild one.

•"Hello, the names y/n l/n and I think blood is tasty!" There was a sudden silence in the class a couple of sweat drops formed on some of the students while you just casually smiled like what you said was completely normal... oh boy it was gonna be a long but fun ride for sure

•your 1st ever companions were Mina and Denki the three of you matched each other's energy and chaoticness it was like 2 dumbasses and one less of a dumbass the 3 of you would get into the most shit like one time you convince Kirishima that he could be a hammer so you somehow got a big nail and test it out resulting in Kirishima knocked out and you 3 getting scolded by and yelled at by katsuki , making iida realizing he has to deal with an extra chaotic person now

• Next was Kirishima your victim I mean your friend you can count on Kirishima was quick to like you due to your lay loose and enthusiastic behavior making him want to be you at times two whenever the two of you trained together you were encouraged each other Kirishima especially and whenever he feels insecure you would encourage him and make sure he's a strong manly man he is! Yall two are just loveable idiots

•Shoto and you had a strange yet wholesome friendship at 1st. Shoto was uncomfortable and cold towards you, which you didn't mind, and you respected his boundaries, but it all clicked when he saw you eating soba. "You like soba?" You turned to face the expressionless boy with a bright smile. "Of course! I even like it with sesame oil, grilled chicken, and a yummy fried egg! Want some?" You reached into the fridge and handed him an extra soba pack and that's how your friendship began even without the soba he thinks ur a pretty interesting person to talk to even with your bizarre talks

"Omg bro you look like that penguin dude from sanrio!"

"I have a cousin name sanrio?"

•next was Ochako she's a tiny bit scared of you at 1st worrying you might get her blood (cough cough flashbacks with toga) but you quickly reassured her that you wouldn't do it without permission which makes her feel a bit better after a bit of time and communicating with each other she starts to feel a bit comfortable with you like would invite you to her room for advice and stuff and the two if you would go out at night to watch the stars with some other students like tsuyu or maybe Tokoyami her most favorite activity is to tell space facts to you (I hc her as a space geek)

��Momo was always your go to whenever you need help with a test and she acts like she's annoyed with it but she genuinely enjoys your company you may the studying sessions fun and interesting for her whenever there's a big test that you forgot to study about all you had to do was go to her dorm and give her the puppy eyes and if she sighs you know that's a instant she then help you study mostly you just copying her notes and make SURE you get a Good grade if not she's gonna make you test the test again untill you get a good grade but outside of studying she spoils you with gifts and more to show off to your other classmates and invites you and the girls for a tea party which ends up quite chaotic

•Jirou was your music bestie you and her trade music Playlists like it's Halloween candy you like cutely but with disturbing music types of songs while jirou like cozy, calm, and peaceful genre but she admits your types of songs are amazing! But you sometimes scare her with your type of music one time she overheard your headphones blasting some sort of innocent cheery music talking about "we'll be together forever!" She thought it was cute so she asked you what song it was and you told her the lyrics and..

"Hey y/n what's the title of that song is sounds catchy?"

"So you became the moon!"

"Awww that's sounds pretty cute whats it about anyways?"

"It's about two kids drowning in a frozen late and they became together in heaven!"

"...you know what that's probably one of the tamest songs you played knowing you I'll take it"

Yea let's just say she was used to your kooky creepy music but she didn't mind, as long as that song slaps she's jamming it with you!

•Bakugo and you were fucking CHAOTIC rivals like yall two would never get along especially when the two of you 1st met you and bakugo would make a competition out of everything to the point he stopped paying attention to izuku at times which he doesn't know if he should be worried for blessed maybe both but the two of you will cause a storm one time yall wanted played Mario party with sero, and sato to see who was the best and it esuclated fast everyone in the class were rooting for you or bakugo even most of class 1b joined in on this making bets and momomeven making merch of this, shit was like a football game but unfortunately it was cut short by a angry aizawa with fuzzy bunny slippers with a hello kitty pajamas (don't even ask) but after thst night the two of you became popular

▪︎ but aside from then bakugo secretly respects you your determination and you wanting to give your all makes him admire that somehow so be bugs you everyday for now on wanting to see that determination again even the rest of the class started to notice and tease him about it which pissed him off

• Izuku isn't at all scared by you but rather is intrigued by your personality and quirk when you 1st introduced yourself he asked alot of questions about you, how your quirk operates, kind of quirk is it, do you drink animal blood-? He wants to know everything and you let him, you and him will chat each other's ears off about your favorite pro hero's and sometimes even go out to hunt for rare hero merch, you even helped izuku by participating in the black Friday event to get a all might themed ice cream maker that he has this day thanks to you if it wasn't for you punching that Karen, he cherished that ice cream maker to this day and even host ice cream parties here and there the two of you basically shared it

• But overall you were their chaotic sibing that are willing to protect, defend, and come to your aid even if it's your fault and out on the battle field you were a beast out there that one time when you, jirou, momo and denki, beat a bunch of villians you didn't know your arm was broken untill you pointed out momo and jirou freaked out while denki ran to get some aid but strangely you weren't bothered by it rather you were joking about it

Momo- "it's ok y/n help it's on the way stay put stay calm"

Jirou - just take deep breaths and count to 10-

"I wonder if I can sling it around will it spin freely"

Both- wtf-

• Yea you were a werid bitch but you were there werid bitch and they wouldn't trade you for the world

[starbunii]

# . first date hcs 𓂃 ♥︎

𝜗𝜚 ┈ izuku, shoto, and katsuki x reader (seperate) ! ｡

cutie patooties on their first date w you!! warning: bakugo may be ooc; i dont really know how to write for him yet, i apologize 😭

drabbles ノ fluff ノgn! reader ノcanon universe - second person pov !! please enjoy! ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

-- ♡ --

izuku midoriya

nervous - like. really nervous.

he knows he's supposed to be, this is essentially a romantic interview, but those butterflies in his stomach keep tripping him up

his mom helps him get ready, giving him advice as they pull up a tutorial on how to tie a tie (it does not help...)

so nervous he almost forgets his wallet and house keys

practically runs to go pick you up! he's nervous, but so excited!!

would probably take you to a smaller, local place!! insists on paying, bc he's a gentleman ooooo

try to hold his hand? go ahead! but it's sweaty, and he won't stop blushing

walks you to your doorstep and offers a kiss on the cheek

shoto todoroki

keeps it cordial; inside he's giggling and squealing like a dork, but he can kind of keep that hidden, so long as he's not in front of you

his dad demands to pick you up and drive you guys..even though it's just a little picnic in the park. he hates it.

the air in the car is awkward times ten. there's that odd "i-can't-say-anything-bc-your-dad-is-here" kind of vibe, mixed with the fact that it was endeavor of all people? awkward, awkward, awkward

once you two finally get out, its like a breath of fresh air. shoto finally gets to talking, and you finally feel like it's an actual date

you two laugh while sharing lemonade and cold soba, a nice break from the summer heat while you were guarded by the shade

you two finished off the date at around dusk, enjoying yourselves by feeding the ducks at the pond

he walked you home while holding your hand <3

katsuki bakugo

storms around the house in excitement, a nice change to his usual frustration-driven pacing

he's confident (secretly insecure) but confident

he shows up at your house, greets your parents (he is sweating so much and his stomach is starting to hurt from the nerves)

lowkey smells like old lady perfume, but thats ok, he looks dapper enough

takes you out to a nice wing place, immediately trying to initiate a challenge as to who can eat the most in the shortest amount of time

if you win he will go again and again and again until he gets too full and has to give up

takes you on a nice stroll around downtown after! maybe stopping at a few stops on the way, treating you to little trinkets

walks you back home and gives you a warm, tight hug

stays up all night thinking abt you after (because hes a dork and i hate him /lh)

starbunii 2024 — all rights reserved. do not redistribute or translate to any other platforms

[yanderecrazysie]

Can I please request for yandere todoroki who at first was very cold and distant to you because he was unhappy with you and his quirk marriage courtesy of Endeavor. The reader tries to get along with him even making him cold soba and bringing it to him during his patrols. But todoroki remains stubbornly coldly ignoring the reader. One day the reader finally has enough and decides to just destroy the quirk marriage contract and leave for the countryside leaving everyone including Todoroki behind. Todoroki then starts to slowly fall for the reader now missing how the reader took care of him and cooked his favorite meals, he also starts to view The reader in as their own person without being clouded by his judgment. Todoroki then turns yandere out of shear yearning for you, he has recognized his mistakes and wants to make things right no matter the consequences, he will have you back and continue on with the marriage.

-Thank you for reading my request. I really love your writing especially the yandere cheater ones, they’re my favorite.

Thank you! And I’ll be glad to write this! ^-^

Title: Is It a Crime

Pairings: Todoroki Shoto x Reader

WARNINGS: Yandere themes

Summary: Shoto isn’t fond of the quirk marriage his dad has arranged. At least, he didn’t think so at first.

Part 2: here

“Is it a crime

That I still want you?

And I want you to want me too

My love is wider, wider than Victoria Lake

My love is taller, taller than the Empire State

It dives, it jumps, and it ripples like the deepest ocean

I can't give you more than that, surely, you want me back”

-from “Is It a Crime” by Sade

“Cold soba, just how you like it,” you try your best to smile warmly, but the glare he sends you is as cold as the dish you try handing to him.

“I’m not hungry.” 

Your smile falters a little, you had hoped that your cooking would get through to him. Wasn’t the fastest way to a man’s heart through his stomach?

Shoto resumes scrolling on his phone, indifferent to the sad look you give him. Your heart gives a painful tug in your chest- what were you supposed to do to get him to like you?

It wasn’t like you particularly wanted in this marriage either.

Your parents had left the final choice up to you, claiming that they’d be fine without the money, when you knew it was the opposite. They were too elderly to work and you couldn’t get a second job while in college to support them.

Endeavor had swooped in, offering to support your parents as long as you were married to Shoto. Evidently, he was drawn in by your powerful healing quirk, and could picture strong grandchildren that could use ice, fire, and heal themselves.

In order to give you and your parents security, you entered into the agreement, assuming Endeavor’s son was okay with the contract.

You were wrong.

Shoto seemed to hate you more and more with each passing day. He’d made it clear from day one what he thought of your marriage.

“I want nothing to do with the marriage, nor you. I will never love nor care for you like a husband should. Give up and go home.”

You were determined to continue the forced relationship, not willing to easily give up the life your parents would be supported by. Yet, no progress was made towards wedding plans nor any discussion of life after marriage.

Endeavor wasn’t pushy about when a wedding should be set, telling you that Shoto was “needlessly stubborn about things”. But you’d begun to worry that maybe he would never come around to the idea of loving you.

And, really, how could you expect that of him? It wasn’t fair to suddenly come into someone’s life and wait for them to love you like a husband loves his wife.

You retreated to the kitchen to deal with your thoughts, putting the soba in the refrigerator in case Shoto got hungry. You thought over what you should do, a little bored with the housewife position you’d been put in. Shoto was a pro hero, Endeavor one as well- you had no reason to even continue college. The two of them each had enough money right now to live off of three times over.

You were ready to hang on as long as it took.

Until you overheard Shoto on the phone.

“She’s annoying. Not my type at all. I could never love anyone like her, even without this quirk marriage nonsense my father is forcing on me.”

You felt tears pricking your eyes. He’d never, ever like you, would he? This was just a waste of time, until Endeavor either forced you into a wedding that made Shoto despise you even more, or canceled your contract for you.

You went straight to the number one hero himself, heart pounding in your chest as you approached his office and knocked quietly on the door. A moment later, you stood before him, those tears from earlier finally falling.

“Shoto will never love me. I think it’d be best for both of us if we… just… went our separate ways.” Your voice quavered, and your eyes closed tightly for the finish.

Endeavor sat back in his chair, obviously surprised, “But your parents-”

“I can quit college and get a second job.”

Endeavor blinked and, after an eternity, pressed on, “My son is stubborn, he has rebelled against me before. You should not take it personally.”

You considered his words. Perhaps Shoto didn’t hate you, just the arranged marriage. But then you remembered his words over the phone and started to cry all over again.

“No… no. I’m sure. I want to cancel the marriage. I’m sorry.”

Endeavor nodded, “I understand.”

Shoto woke up in a bad mood and it only worsened when he didn’t see you in the kitchen, making him breakfast. You always made him breakfast, so why not today? Were you sick?

He checked the fridge and found the cold soba from yesterday. Not exactly a proper breakfast, but it would do.

Sour expression on his face, he wondered why you weren’t awake, bustling around like a happy tornado, cleaning every surface like you had a grudge against it. Maybe you really were sick. He spooned soba into his mouth, debating whether or not to check on you.

Against his better judgment, he walked over to your room and knocked sharply on it. He gave an exasperated sigh when there was no response and opened the door, only to find… nothing. No clothes, no knick knacks, nothing that made the room uniquely you, like it had once been.

His heart sank in his chest and he leaned against the door, head hanging down as his thoughts raced. Wasn’t he supposed to be happy? Thrilled, even? This meant that the quirk marriage was over, right?

So why did he feel crushed?

Shoto stormed into his father’s office without knocking. “Where is she?”

Endeavor looked up from his paperwork, surprised. “Gone. The marriage is off.”

The younger man left, a hole deep in his heart where you had once been. He hadn’t realized it, so focused on hating you, but he couldn’t live without you. He felt like he was panicking, his breath was coming fast and heavy, his mind clouded with thoughts of you.

He knew where you lived, he’d been there once before to meet you. It wasn’t a far walk, and he’d be running.

He could be there in ten minutes. He was positive he could convince you to sign the contract again.

It was time to bring his bride back home.

[harukakito]

⭒TodorokiShouto⭒

I hate the bnha fandom but i literally love Shouto's design. I'm a Todoroki stan, change my mind. So here you go some hcs of half n' half. ;]

He takes you to amazing dates.

Calls you baby or darling.

He always plays with your hair when he is bored.

Lots of cuddles from this man.

When you are cold you prefer to hold his left hand to get more warmer, and when you are hot you prefer to hold his right hand to get more fresh so Shouto gets confused with that and doesn't know which hand you wanna grab because he doesn't know when you are cold or hot.

He is a very loyal boyfriend.

He talks with you about his problems and insecurities, so you end up giving him head pats and you let him cry on your shoulder when he needs (everyone needs to cry sometimes).

Once he stole Endeavor's credit card and you two almost bought the entire mall.

Secretly he loves when you two pass the entire day together and he doesn't has hero missions.

Talks to Midoriya about who amazing you are.

Tiny soba dates all the time.

You two used to always study together.

Sometimes he spends a lot of his time just looking into your beautiful eyes.

He likes to give you good night little kisses.

When you make his breakfast he gets very happy and eats everything because he knows you spended your time and love in that.

Once a time you gave him a cat for christmas and said it was gonna be your son, he started crying silently with pure happiness.

[majoryeager104]

More pro hero Touya Headcannons!

Summary: I realize all my Headcannons thus far have been way too joke based, so here’s my logical take on hero Touya, aka in my hc, Regulus, the blue flame hero 

He cried with Natsuo and Fuyumi for an hour when he found out he made it into UA. 

It was something he feared he’d never get to do. 

He was overwhelmingly happy, especially when he got to tell his mom in person at the mental hospital 

She was ecstatic for him, ofc, and she definitely cried a little after he left. 

Later, the Todofam went out for Cold Soba without Enji, who Touya probably didn’t tell that he got in until like he was walking out the door for the first day of school.

Shoto didn’t get to come for soba though, because Enji was still forcing him to train, but Touya made sure to buy an extra bowl to take home for him. 

He’d never let Shoto know it was him though, you know, emo big brother style. 

In school, he’d probably be a weird mix of Shoto and Bakugo. Like, not as hotheaded but just as determined, with a few snarky remarks. He’d top the class effortlessly. 

At the Sports festival, he definitely topped the school, but definitely lost opportunities when people saw he burned himself frequently throughout the event. 

This pissed him off to no end, and he got support gear as soon as he could, something that would keep his body cool, and protect him from burns

Chat, his costume would be based off of endeavors, I fear. 

But he’d look much hotter 😤

Once a fully fledged hero, as I’ve said previously, he’d top the charts, and more specifically, he’d topple Endeavor

As a hero, he’d definitely be the kind to be snippy and make retorts on the job

“Ma’am for the love of Christ keep your cat in your home.”

“If I see you run another red light Dave, I’m gonna fuck up your paint job”

“Robbing a thrift store? Seriously? There’s a jewelry shop down the street, shithead”

“Oh, cute quirk, you can make plants?”

Proceeds to burn each vine individually and arrest the criminal like it was no big deal. 

He’d definitely give Hawks a run for his money speed wise. 

Shockingly though, I think they’d make a good team. 

But I think he’d work much better with a hero like Mirko

His long range flames, and then her short range strength attacks afterwards? The villains would be dropping like flies

Plus how hot would they be as a team?

10/10, and they’d vibe like crazy too

[thatlotuscookie]

do you do hcs? if so, what would Todoroki plan for a perfect date? thank you

✧･ﾟ: a/n : hi anon! yes i do:3 REMEMBER! you can request whatever you'd like and i'll do my best to write it out for you. thank you for this request!!

✧ Title: ✧ Todoroki Shoto’s Perfect Date ✧ ✧ Character: Todoroki Shoto ✧ Genre: Fluff, Romance ✧ Rating: G ✧ Format: Headcanon ✧ Summary: Todoroki Shoto's idea of a perfect date is something simple yet meaningful, filled with quiet moments and subtle affection that show just how much he values being with you. ✧ Content Warnings: None

Simple but Meaningful Plan: Todoroki isn’t the type to go for flashy or overly complicated dates. His idea of a perfect date is something intimate where he can genuinely enjoy your company without too many distractions. He would put a lot of thought into making sure you’re comfortable and happy, without going overboard.

Starting with a Quiet Walk: He’d suggest starting with a peaceful walk through a park or somewhere scenic. Todoroki likes the calmness that nature brings, and it gives him a chance to talk to you without interruptions. He enjoys moments of quiet but would also make an effort to ask how your day went, genuinely listening to what you have to say.

Homemade Food: Instead of going to a fancy restaurant, he’d prefer making lunch for the two of you. He’s not a master chef, but he’d prepare something simple, like soba noodles—one of his favorites. He’d put a lot of care into the meal, and there’d be this shy but proud smile when he hands it to you. Eating together, he’d notice how you enjoy it, feeling secretly happy even if he doesn’t express it too much.

Arcade or Movie Night: After eating, he’d ask if you’d like to go to an arcade or catch a movie—something fun but not too crowded. He’s not used to loud environments, but he’d love seeing your reaction to winning a game or laughing at a movie. In an arcade, he’d quietly try to win a prize for you, probably getting a bit serious about it. If it’s a movie, he’d pick something light, maybe an animated one that reminds him of happier, simpler times.

Subtle Affection: Todoroki isn’t overly affectionate in public, but during the date, you’d notice small, meaningful gestures. He’d brush his hand against yours as you walk or offer you his jacket if you seem cold. These little actions are his way of showing that he cares. If you did something playful, like tugging on his sleeve, you’d catch the tiniest smile, almost as if he’s not used to being this relaxed with someone but enjoys it with you.

Ending the Day: By the end of the date, he’d want to sit somewhere quiet again, maybe on a park bench or somewhere with a nice view. He’s not the best at words, but you’d catch him looking at you thoughtfully, like he’s trying to figure out how to say something important. It wouldn’t be anything grand—just something simple like, “I’m glad we did this.” But you’d feel how much it meant to him, even in that short sentence.

Walking You Home: Todoroki would insist on walking you home, making sure you’re safe. The walk would be peaceful, with both of you feeling closer after the day you spent together. Before leaving, he’d give you a small, sincere smile—rare for him—and maybe, if he’s feeling especially bold, a gentle pat on your shoulder or even a light hug.

so yeah! I think Todoroki’s perfect date would be calm, meaningful, and full of little moments that show how much he values your presence in his life. He wouldn’t need grand gestures to express how much he cares—just being with you would be enough for him.

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

Deku refusing to pass out because Tomura needs to be healed and he's afraid no one will heal him but kill him while he's knocked out.

Deku still using blackwhip to keep his body in one piece as he guards Tomura's body, shaking from the strain, still refusing to leave his side.

Deku who cannot explain all he saw in their shared memories yet because he's still processing all the grief and hatred and trauma, he's still struggling to understand the man before him. He is the same man who ruined his life and got people he loved killed, the same that had made him suffer again and again. He is the kid he needed to save, the kid no one else cared about. He's all of those things and more and Deku is way too tired right now to do anything except promise they'll have another chance. A tomorrow.

Ochako who hugs Toga to her own body, covered in both their blood. Ochako screaming to get her a transfusion because Toga used almost all her own blood to keep Ochako alive. Ochako who won't let Toga out of her sight after all they went through, because she doesn't want Toga to wake up alone and confused.

Ochako who can't tell anyone how it felt to float in the sky with Toga while they exchanged a part of themselves, how it feels to have Toga's blood on her veins keeping her alive, how it feels to wake up to her own face lying next to her knowing now how much Toga admires her.

Ochako who cleans Toga's face as much as she can and thinks of braiding Toga's hair after taking a nap (she says). Toga is really pretty, even more when she smiles genuinely and she's not trying to murder everyone around her.

Shouto who panics as soon as he wakes up, afraid of it all being a dream. He's dazed from sleep and he doesn't call Dabi either of his names when he asks for him. No, he says " where is my brother? " and Natsuo next to him knows who he's asking form immediately. Their brother is back home.

Shouto who becomes insufferable until they take him to see Dabi, who sits next to him and looks at him, really looks at him for the first time maybe in his whole life. Finally, all his family in one room. No one being isolated, no one being rejected, no one crying tears of anger or fear or frustration. Even when they are all tired and hurt, Shouto has never felt happier. He really really wanted to bring Touya home. He wanted to give him a chance to heal.

Shouto who can't wait to ask Touya if he likes cold soba. Shouto who sits there and catalogues the damage and wonders how he survived so many years alone in the streets. Shouto who memorizes the scars and burns, who counts the staples, who looks at his own hair and then Dabi's. How can he explain the mental image he got of hugging the child version of his big brother while they were fighting? How can he even begin to explain why he believes so much in the criminal who hurt his friends and killed thousands and wanted to end their family? Who to explain his family, at all?

Class 1A taking turns watching over the villains to offer some reassurance to their friends. Most of them are unable to understand what's going on in their heads, some are wisely unwilling to ignore all the damage those villains caused them. In the end though, they trust Deku, Ochako and Shouto and if they want the villain trio alive and well, they will guard them up with their lives so that the heroes can rest.

Bakugo who should be dead by all means, but who wakes up and forces his way up to Deku and Tomura and sits there, telling Deku to accept the medical treatment. He killed AFO, he's not going to allow Tomura to escape or get hurt. Deku can rest, he can trust him. They'll be there when he wakes up. Even after all Tomura did to Bakugo, he owns Deku and he trusts Deku and he'd do that for him a million times if necessary.

Iida who sits next to Dabi to monitor him, because Shouto must stay in bed and stop making the trip up to his brother's hospital room. Iida who lived it with Tensei once, so he goes and tells all the news (or the lack of them) to Shouto. Iida who tells his friends that everything will be alright, that they'll figure it out, Iida who reassures Shouto and tries to distract him by talking where and when and how he'll take Touya to eat cold soba.

Tsuyu who might not be a big fan of Toga, but her friend is barely conscious and for whatever reason she refuses to let Toga's side. Tsuyu who promises to take good care of Toga, who carries her on her back for a while, who remembers all the terrible things and can't understand the fondness in her friend's face when she looks at the villain, but she respects it anyway. No matter what, Ochako can be sure they'll take care of it. She doesn't have to fear anymore. She can go to sleep.

The villains who wake up warm and safe for the first time in many many years. When was the last time they woke up with someone watching over them? They were convinced they'd be murdered in their sleep and yet... They're getting treatment. Clean clothing. They're bathed. When was the last time someone cared to give them medicine to lessen their pain? Although their first instinct is to run, when the person watching over them realizes they're awake, it's immediately pandemonium. They are screaming for Deku, Ochako and Shouto and there are people running and so many voices.

Deku, Ochako and the Todorokis who rush to their side. Never again will they have to face the world all alone. Deku reminds Tomura that he has been saved, he waited for 15 years, but it's finally over. Ochako tells Toga how pretty she is and yes, they are friends and there are still consequences, but she will be there, they'll be there for them. Touya wakes up to his family and isn't that funny? The last time he woke up in a hospital, he thought he was dead. He had to run away soon after burning it to the ground, but now there they are, gathered around him, crying, relieved, a bit scared and a lot concerned. They are looking at him, really looking at him. It breaks him. He had given up on that particular dream the day he burned.

[lilacxquartz]

CHASING HUMANITY • kenjaku × fem!reader

ao3 • masterlist • << previous chapter • next chapter >>

summary: kenjaku assigns you a new role for a case study, finding that it brings him conflicting feelings.

a/n: extra long chapter <3 no real warnings for this one, maybe sickness & suggestive content. i’m setting it up for a pretty messed up chapter for next time though.

Chapter 4. Cold Soba

In a way, this whole thing didn’t feel real.

What exactly were you really doing here?

And why were you having these thoughts now of all times?

Taking a deep breath, you attempted to steel yourself. No matter how you looked at it, it didn’t look good. You took a life this morning. Whether it was indirect or not, your actions led to the end of someone’s existence and for… what exactly?

What a joke. Suddenly, the air around you felt thicker, more thicker and barely breathable. You wanted to get out of the car sooner than later, lest you forget how to function. Just for a second, nothing more, the promise to stay put be damned.

You left the car anyway. You wouldn’t go far, at least. The gas station nearby where he was parked was sparsely manned with just a single employee. Their unrelenting gaze on you felt almost accusatory, but there was surely no way they knew, so it was all likely in your head… right? You were just browsing around, they were probably just making sure that you weren’t a thief. Fingers flicking through overpriced snacks and drinks alike in the aisles, quickly realising that the very prospect of food nauseated you.

In a strained tone, you asked the clerk if there was a bathroom on-site and he said there was one around the corner of the building, accessible from the outside. You tore forward in a flash, slamming the door and locking yourself in the tiny room yet somehow, it felt less suffocating than being in the car with him.

For a while you just stood there, your body reeling. Your eyes focused on the shoddy lock that barely kept the outside world away.

Soon enough, the wave of nausea passed through you again. Whether you wanted it, whatever little substance was in your stomach was coming back up and you couldn’t do a single thing about it.

Flipping the lid open, you dry heaved into the bowl.

Your mind continued to overwhelm itself with confusion.

Why did you act like that, back there?

You had never shown even a hint of potentially being violent, so why did you act like taking a life away like that was… nothing at all? Did living the way you did, so empty and numb and abused, really give you the right to apply that same level of depravity towards someone else just as undeserving?

Was it worth it? Your mind continued to challenge you, almost tauntingly. Was it? To attempt to impress someone who didn’t even see meaning behind your own life? Who nearly left you for dead?

You weren’t so sure why you were having these thoughts now but here you were, unable to escape them.

Leaving after washing up, you settled back into the passenger seat of the car, finding that Kenjaku was now wide awake, staring blankly at the steering wheel. He glanced you over without regarding you before pulling the car back onto the road.

Attempting to diffuse the tension, you tried to break the ice. “Thought I ran off?”

For a while, he didn’t reply as though seeing through you. Kenjaku recognised that look that you currently were, finding it almost nostalgic. After his first kill, his mind also spiralled in a similar fashion. It was a familiar feeling by now though and he had grown desensitised to the whole thing, prioritising his efforts into chasing the meaning behind humanity.

Still, it was a look he could never forget.

Meaning that you must have gotten him to an extent.

Maybe you were even trying to find your own meaning too, in the midst of this whole mess that you got yourself into.

“Not at all,” he finally said, “you’re not that stupid.”

The drive for the most part down the freeway was surprisingly quiet, the radio tuning into music on and off with static that buzzed when the connection faltered. You stared out of the window, seemingly dissociating through the ride. He didn’t mind. Eventually, he found himself tuning into the news, shuddering when he caught a mention of his calling card being found earlier than anticipated, with one suspected not yet found victim.

How quaint. Did the local authorities really think that you were the second victim? Almost. Luckily he got that itch scratched with the unfortunate tourist.

He supposed that it made sense that you were reported missing, though. He wondered if your cop boyfriend was the one to report it, or if someone else saw something they shouldn’t have. Maybe he was careless and you left behind something that indicated a struggle or maybe you simply had places to be during the early morning that seemed suspicious in the wake of a fresh murder. As long as they kept their efforts isolated to the vicinity of the town though, then neither of you needn’t worry, at least for a while.

Kenjaku flicked his gaze back at you, wondering why he was even giving you so much thought.

It didn’t matter to him whether you left the shithole he found you in or not, but by bringing you along, he invited an extra inconvenience in doing so. If you were to be a missing person, then he would likely have to disguise you a little now. Maybe shorter hair and a different colour. Red might be good. Maybe something you wouldn’t usually wear. Anything to distract the public from what you typically looked like.

The drive itself was long and tedious either way, but it did soon come to an end. Parking the car over a cheap inn-style hotel near a different town, not too far from the road, he figured that some real rest wouldn’t hurt at least for a couple of nights. If the efforts were focused elsewhere for now, then that’s all that mattered. He would get you a new phone, something simple, just to use as a burner. New clothes and some hair dye. To keep himself hidden, he would dress down for a while, refraining from the recognisable robes.

A shame. Those things were comfortable.

Leaving you behind to rest in the hotel room, he could only hope that you stayed put that time and weren’t roaming around the area causing more trouble than he could keep up with.

It would be a shame to get rid of you soon.

~~~

With everything back in tow, he found you resting on the still made hotel bed when he got back, indicating that you hadn’t moved a single inch since he had left you there. Good. You weren’t a hindrance, after all.

Leaving the goods there, he set out again, walking around this town in particular for a quick bite to eat and maybe, if luck had it in store for him, a brand new study.

It was a risk though, but he couldn’t help but be curious about places like these where life moved slowly and the residents seemed more often than not, to not quite be enjoying their lives in such areas.

A peculiar thought, perhaps. When he still worked in the city, the common narrative was to fantasise about owning property in the countryside, far away from any stress.

Maybe the lacking bustle just meant that now there was nothing left to blame, so that’s why people tended to lose themselves instead in places like these.

Kenjaku soon found himself walking into a noodle bar. It had barely caught his eye as the sheet metal sign that advertised it just over the entrance was long faded, but a blackboard outside seemed to hint at a lunch discount. Shrugging, he thought that it couldn’t be too bad. Food was food and he was hungry. so he could gamble a bite to eat.

His order was taken by a rather unkempt man which should have been his first warning about this place. Unclean fingernails and greasy hair that tied strands of hair together, oil stains that painted the man’s once white t-shirt. The udon he ordered seemed to be prepared by the same guy, who slid the bowl over the bar table.

Maybe he was going through something, which meant all the better for him. A vulnerable mind meant it was easier to break into.

Ignoring the hair he found in the broth, he reluctantly took it out and tried the dish. Not too bad, but he refrained from complaining. This strange man might just be the next case study.

“Haven’t seen you here before,” the man spoke as he threw a towel over his shoulder, planting his palms over the counter.

“Oh, I’m just passing by,” Kenjaku replied, feigning politeness. He was capable of doing so perfectly well, as long as he didn’t have to do it too often. He preferred stalking his prey however rather than mingling with it.

The man grimaced slightly at the strand of hair sitting on the napkin, but didn’t apologise for it. “So, where are you going?”

Kenjaku slurped on his noodles passively, replying between contained bites. “Probably Tokyo.”

“Probably?” the man laughed, trying to joke. “You don’t know where you’re going?”

“I’m just out on a day trip,” he replied, “the destination is a mystery, you know?”

The man quietened down after that, realising that he was talking a bit too much. It couldn’t be helped though—the place often did poorly—there were very few customers, let alone new faces that turned up each day.

Setting his chopsticks down, Kenjaku then looked around. The restaurant was small, but cosy at least. There was a distinctive humming sound coming from an old cooler that had maybe three total drinks inside. The fact that the man had very little to do, implied that the place wasn’t thriving. If he didn’t come back to work the next day, it would very likely not be immediately noticed.

“You run this place all by yourself?” Kenjaku asked, sifting through this wallet to pull out a few bills.

Taking the cash, the man shook his head. “Nah, my brother takes the evening shifts. We run it together. Used to be more popular, but there’s a population decline. More people keep leaving for the city.”

“I suppose there’s more work there,” Kenjaku speculated. For the sake of getting onto this guy’s good side to maintain the facade however, he chose to maintain his politeness while offering some sense of humour to further match the guy’s personality. “I’m still around for another day or two, make sure to stay in business.”

The guy laughed as he took back the bowl, his tone of voice sounding almost relieved, “I’ll try.”

Kenjaku pushed himself back from the stool and walked around the town to see if there would be anyone else more suitable of a candidate for the role, but it didn’t really seem to be the case. The residents in the town weren’t particularly special in any way with the occupants mostly being senior citizens and maybe a few younger people who had the misfortune of their family living here.

So perhaps the man who ran the failing noodle shop, who still found a reason to smile despite being clearly in shambles, was the next in line.

He did wonder to himself what exactly could possibly be the reason. The only hint that he had was that the guy liked to joke and shied away when there was no response. He probably had a corny reason to keep going, like seeing others smile.

Although, as he made his rounds back, he saw that the man remained unchanged from his work attire but was now standing at a bus stop. This town wasn’t too small, just empty, large enough to call for a bus route so he wondered where this man actually lived. It wasn’t too uncommon to reside in an elderly parent’s house, especially in places like these and since he worked with his sibling, he wagered it to be just that.

An amusing thought entered his mind however, as he saw him shy away from a woman waiting for the same bus. Not that she noticed it, her focus rightfully turned away from him, but he seemed to be shifting around nervously.

This gave Kenjaku a curious idea.

He was travelling with a woman, after all.

Returning back to the hotel, he noticed that you were only just now waking up. With an eye roll, he chucked the box of hair dye at you and crossed his arms, waiting for you to register what was evening happening.

“What’s this?” you asked, your voice strained with sleep.

“What does it look like?” he asked, his eyes narrowing at your silly question.

You held the box in front of you to inspect it in the dim light. It was still day, but the closed curtains made it difficult to see.

“Hair dye…?” you observed.

He smiled, finding your slow and tired mind to be entertaining. “Very good. Think you can do that now?”

“Right now?” you asked, yawning again. Your arms stretched so far that the box tumbled right out of your hand, watching as his eyes narrowed the longer he watched you.

With a firm and slow nod, he confirmed it to you, “Yes… and you’ll also change into the clothes I got you. You’re on the run, remember? You can’t look too much like yourself.”

Swinging your legs out of bed, you reached down to pick up the dye and walked over to the bathroom, pausing as he tugged on your hair to halt you in place.

“Also,” he added, “you’re getting a shorter cut. Don’t worry, I’ll entrust myself as your hairdresser, I’m sure it won’t look too bad.”

You warily laughed, trying to pry him off of your hair. You still felt off though, the very little sleep that you had doing little to soothe your still ongoing worries. “I’ll… trust you.”

Letting you go, he nodded again. As Kenjaku thought more and more about the plan, he couldn’t help but feel a bit odd about the whole thing without understanding why. It wasn’t jealousy, but something still stirred at the idea of you redirecting the ego feeding attention you were so happy to give him and putting it elsewhere.

He knew he was being irrational though; you didn’t even know about the plan just yet and he was already annoyed at you.

Shaking the thought away, Kenjaku focused more on discarding every single thing you had on your person and burning it off somewhere down the road or maybe chucking it into a dumpster somewhere once he got to the city.

As you soon emerged from the bathroom, your hair was still damp but you filled out the new clothes he got you pretty well. Something inconspicuous. Just a black long sleeve top and some jeans in a different cut from before. You still looked like yourself, but different which would hopefully be distracting enough to the untrained eye.

Slipping into his own bag, he pulled out some scissors and brought you forward, reeling you in as he tried to keep you secure. He patted his pocket for a hair tie, pulling your still wet strands back without warning.

“Hey, that hurts—“ you protested in complaint.

“Bear with it,” he tutted, rolling his eyes. You wouldn’t have been compliant either way and he didn’t want to sink too much time into doing it properly.

Cutting the ends off, he stared at the result. It was good enough, he supposed. Perhaps the colour was too eye catching, but at least people wouldn’t focus too much on the face. Given what you were wearing and how you looked when he first met you, he figured that your partner would be the type to describe you as shy and maybe even frumpy, so this sleeker appearance was doing more favours than not.

Your voice then brought him back down to earth. Surprise, surprise. More complaints. “Did you really have to take so much off?”

He glanced at the pile of hair on the floor, shrugging. “It’s easier to take care of now, be thankful.”

“Why aren’t you getting a haircut then?” you asked, attempting to sass him. He did have long hair, after all.

“Because,” he poked at your forehead yet again, enjoying messing with you, “I’m actually capable of taking care of myself.”

Besides, he wanted to continue to walk in Geto’s shoes for a while longer. It’s partially why he wanted to stop by Tokyo, loving the paradox of a cruel monk. There were some interesting prospects in the city and he wanted to secure some deals before moving further up north.

As you mourned your hair, Kenjaku took a step back, setting the scissors aside and leaned his back into the sofa. The news channels were talking all about the barbed wire shibari, his motives still speculated as unclear.

How funny.

If only they knew.

Arousal soon stirred in his trousers as more and more attention to his kill was addressed, a coiling feeling that made his cock feel hard. For a moment, he considered something darker, but he also sought your compliance for tomorrow (and for the foreseeable future) so he withheld. Excusing himself to the bathroom, he stepped into the shower and ran cold water as soon as he undressed. The running flow was loud, like crashing static and was enough to stifle away any grunts and gasps that escaped his frustrated lips.

Stepping out, he was still curious, but he had no intention of ruining the prospect of accomplishing a good study with sex that wasn’t mutual. It was surely annoying though, as the curiosity lingered. Whether or not he got to fuck or not, wasn’t an issue that he exactly cared about. Like with most of his life ideology, he preferred his actions to have meaning. Meaningless sex as a result was just what it was—boring, pointless even.

Maybe that was a him only issue to work on by himself, though. Kenjaku wondered if you would even like it or if you had been maybe put off of it thanks to whatever your boyfriend had you do with him.

Enough about that though.

He wouldn’t force your hand, it wasn’t that type of arrangement. There were more important matters to fixate on, his arousal finally melting away.

“You should sleep,” he said as he squeezed the last of the water out of his hair, throwing the towel over the sofa, “we’re getting up early tomorrow.”

“Are we leaving already?” you asked.

“Nah,” he shook his head, putting on a t-shirt, spreading himself out on the sofa, already concluding that he would sleep on it. He didn’t trust the bed in a place this run down anyway. If anyone was going to get bugs potentially crawling on them in their sleep, it wasn’t going to be him. “New case study in the works. You’re helping me.”

“Oh… okay,” you reluctantly settled into the idea, your mind still spinning from the last time you ‘helped’ him. “To study what they find meaning in, right?”

“Correct,” he replied.

“And what am I helping with?” you asked.

“You’ll be acquiring the trust of a guy I found in the town,” he yawned as he laid it out to you, “just be friendly with him, get his guard to go down—flirt if you have to.”

You frowned at the idea. “Why?”

Kenjaku shrugged. “The guy gets visibly nervous around women I’ve found. I feel like if he trusts you, then we could get him to open up more. You follow?”

You hummed, the idea of your actions leading to someone’s death still sounding foreign in concept. You weren’t terribly okay with it, despite thinking that it was all fine the last time. You already did it once, so in theory you could do so again, you just wondered when you would stop feeling so bad though.

Noticing your cold feet on the matter, Kenjaku raised an eyebrow, sitting up to study your reaction further. Initially, he wasn’t going to pry, but he couldn’t help but feel nosy, “You’re not having second thoughts… are you?”

“I-I don’t know,” you replied, your voice tinged with uncertainty. “It’s just too soon—“

“—oh, but you said you could keep up, no?” Kenjaku interjected, feeling amused by your sudden turnaround. “Are you really saying that your use for me has already run out?”

“No…” you denied, shaking your head, “that’s not what I’m saying, I…”

He tutted, unable to give into messing with you. Still so malleable, you just needed a little push into doing his dirty bidding. “I put a lot on the line for you, you know,” he leaned back, his head rolling over the pillow. “I was perfectly content with burying you, but your whining sold me.”

You took a deep breath, trying to shake off his teasing. “Do I have to kill him with my own hands?”

He smiled. So that’s what this was all about.

“You don’t have to lift a single finger,” he assured you. “Just talk with the guy. It’s not like I’m asking you to have sex with him.”

“Okay… I’ll try,” you replied, unable to not cringe at his crudeness.

Something about you surely did feel colder to him, though. You felt more distant, but he didn’t understand it completely. To him, people were relatively simple—at least usually. You seemed to be mad at yourself for something that you didn’t have to cause, was that it? Nobody forced you to give the tourist the jar full of acid nor to suggest such a method to begin with. You spoke to him with such a tone that implied that you were upset at him for something that he truthfully did very little to influence.

You were blaming him just because he was there. In the last day that he spent with you. he hadn’t done anything to you to make you feel unsafe other than retaining the general aura of unease that he passively carried.

His promise remained true: he wouldn’t kill you so long as you helped him.

And yet you were falling behind.

Kenjaku found himself disliking this sort of thought exercise, realising that you were forcing him to practise empathy. If he had to try and consider it, maybe it was just the side effect of you being both younger and naïve as a result. You seemed sheltered due to the lifestyle you had to endure before, that much wasn’t your fault. That wasn’t on you, he supposed. Jumping from an abusive domestic partner and to the side of someone like him couldn’t have been easy for anyone.

But at the core of it, whatever it was that was going on in that head of yours, wasn’t something that he should care about.

So if you were to keep winding him up with your own personal hindrances, then your usefulness was limited to him.

Once again, he asked you, “Will you keep up?”

Kenjaku stared at you, his gaze unwavering, cold and unrelenting. You were either going to keep up with him or he was going to dispose of you. It was that simple. In his carefully crafted lifestyle that he spent years cultivating where people were nothing beyond the studies they served as, there was no room for failure.

If you failed to comply, then you were defying the very cause that he sought to find answers within.

However, you then replied with a promised confirmation, “Yes. Sorry. I will.”

He watched from the sofa as you laid down to rest, still seeming exhausted, once again disregarding the concept that he could very take you out at any second, freeing you from your sorry existence if he had half a mind to do so.

Perhaps it was that jaded look you had though that stopped him.

The lack of fear missing from your face.

It was a look that he recognised quite well.

Maybe you didn’t care what he actually ended up doing, even if it did end with your body six feet under or burnt down into ashes, scattered into the back of a dumpster. Maybe you wouldn’t even care about torture inflicted on your body. Something told him deep down that such a thing was the case of you.

And that very little notion bothered him more than he cared to admit, because suddenly, he found himself being able to relate to you.

If there was no meaning to your life, then you were in the exact same boat as he was and perhaps this was something he was missing all along.

Maybe you’d both just cause each other to sink faster, but maybe—just maybe—one of you could find the lifeline instead.

But would you hold on?

…Would he?

~~~

The alarm sounded rather loudly in the morning at around eight o’clock. Given the season, it was still quite dark as well, but that was largely due to the cloudy skies. Kenjaku was able to both wake up and get up with ease, but it seemed to be a completely different story for you.

He narrowed his eyes as he turned the corner, seeing you perfectly passed out and not too different from a corpse. For a moment, he considered that you could actually be dead, but then he saw you turn onto your side.

“Up,” he firmly said, nudging at your tucked in shoulder.

You however did not immediately get up.

Kenjaku simply just sighed and stared at you with a resigned expression, tutting at the slight predicament he found himself in with you. Maybe he was just getting too old for this. How much sleep could you possibly need anyway? You were relaxing for most of the day yesterday as well.

Finally, you mumbled something in your sleep but it was far from coherent. He repeated his command a bit louder that time, finding that it only seemed to make you fall deeper asleep as your body sank even further into the mattress.

“Really?” he muttered.

He was about to tear off the covers in slight annoyance but then you finally stretched awake, yawning and still clothed. The bedding absorbed some of the dye. More to throw and burn away, he thought, but maybe after the upcoming case study, if it all goes according to plan.

“Finally,” he mumbled, watching you rise from your wake. The more he stared at you, the more irritated he got from the plan he had in mind for you, not quite understanding his own agitation.

It was as though he was pissed off at you for doing something before you even knew what you were getting yourself into.

Rationally, he knew that the blame was unjustified.

Finally out of bed, you adjusted your clothes and brushed out your hair. You still looked half asleep and in the process of waking up, but you were up and ready.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he walked you out of the hotel room and flipped the door sign to not be disturbed before directing you into the car.

“We’ll have to find you someone who can resemble your face card,” he said, buckling himself in. “We’ll be stopping by Tokyo, so we can find some nobody for you to become. A new name can open up more opportunities, especially since you look a bit different now.”

You simply nodded, throwing him off a little bit. Maybe you were just tired, he speculated, but the way you were acting hinted at something deeper, something cryptic that you were purposefully withholding from him. While he didn’t expect you to get chummy with him, it was a little odd that your personality was as erratic as it was.

He didn’t like it.

Being forced to care, that was.

For now he ignored that side of you, continuing to feed you information about the plan at hand and unloading as much information as possible with the hope that you could retain at least some of it.

“I’ve already been there once before,” he continued to say, “the place is usually empty from what it looks like.”

You blankly nodded once again.

“You’re keeping up with me here, right?” he asked.

You casted him a blank stare before stretching your arms out in the car, as if still exhausted. “Yeah. I’ll get the guy’s number and invite him over.”

“If you’re lucky,” he reminded you, “it might not work, but you’re likely capable of that much, aren’t you?”

“You’re putting too much faith in me,” you warned in a soft tone. You were still unsure about your indirect involvement with taking away a life despite knowing fully well what you were getting into the second you asked him to let you tag along.

Besides, if this guy was as insecure as Kenjaku made him out to be, then it had a chance to fail. As a former shy kid, you knew a little too well how it was to have low self esteem and if the man wasn’t too successful with women, then your attempt might seem mocking to him. Even cruel. He would likely be suspicious about your intentions right away.

You knew that you would be if you were in his shoes, anyway.

“Are you saying that I shouldn’t trust you with the plan?” he asked, trying to read you.

You however shook your head, shrugging your shoulders as you did so. Your answer wasn’t really all that clear. “I’m saying to keep your expectations realistic.”

He nodded too, feeling annoyed with your vagueness.

So cryptic, so cold.

So distant, almost.

Kenjaku didn’t like it anymore; he wanted that bantering, rebellious woman he met just days ago who wanted to defy all order while seeking out chaos, because that’s what drew him to you to begin with. This whole display however just felt… boring, for a lack of better words.

Just like the rest of them.

What happened to the version of you that poked fun at him or even jokingly defied him? What happened to the strange person who would feed his ego and flatter him?

Why were you… so confusing?

Was it because you were still hung up over what happened with the tourist? What was his name—Seb? Sean? …Seth? He didn’t really care to remember his name, seeing him as just another statistic in his journal of reports. Still, you shouldn’t be so upset, he thought, he was the one who endured the ugly parts after all, he was the one who studied those people, not you.

And if it was violence that you were so afraid of, then he would happily take on the responsibility of taking on the burden of dirty work forever, leaving you to play the part of someone trustworthy.

What he truly wanted from you was just someone who got it above all, someone that he could joke with and catch sass from.

(Was he lonely? Really? Him?)

How frustrating.

Try as he might, however, he could not read minds all the same. So whatever it was that was going on in that pretty head of yours was not something he knew anything about. What did you really want? And why were you being so elusive, so unclear?

Kenjaku could only sigh as he pulled into the on-street parking.

This was why he worked alone.

No mess, no overthinking the little things.

“You’ll do as you’re told,” he could only say, deciding to match you on the coldness you were giving him. You were being unfair when he was being surprisingly neutral. Ungrateful is what you were; quite literally biting the hand that kept you fed and concealed away from the chasing force that willed you back into a loveless home. Stupid girl. You didn’t understand.

“Okay,” you flatly responded.

There you went again with that bland tone, like a record playing a dull melody. Lifeless and uncaring.

Did you even want to be here?

…Did you even want to be alive?

Maybe you didn’t deserve to find meaning in your own life, after all.

Getting out of the car, he slammed the door shut and locked it as soon as you were out too, gesturing for you to follow him. The red hair looked good in the sunlight, he thought. A good decision on his part. Maybe you should be wearing glasses too to further conceal your features? On the other hand, maybe not. You were fine with how you were. They were searching for a corpse back in dirt hole you crawled out from, not a live crimson haired woman hours away from the area.

You’d be fine.

“One bowl of cold soba,” Kenjaku ordered as soon as he walked in. Despite the season, he could always go for something refreshing. He almost prayed to himself for the man to get it right and for no hair of mysterious origins to make it into the broth.

He glanced at you, waiting for you to order. It would be on the house for you, so you’d better be thankful.

“Beef udon, please,” you quietly asked a moment after reading the menu.

So quiet. So annoying. Why weren’t you being more assertive? Confident? He hated witnessing whatever it was that was going on, feeling more and more agitated the longer that he was forced to watch. Had something happened even just last night? You went to sleep after being off all day and then it somehow got worse.

Even just being in the same room as you bothered him. You sat alone at the bar stool while he sat further into the restaurant, scrolling mindlessly away on his burner phone, elusively checking on a possible son of his’ social media, his eyes narrowing as he failed to keep up with the ‘pranks’ the boy kept posting about.

Kenjaku sighed as he looked at you, after pocketing his phone as the meal was served to his table.

Tokyo could be good for a lot of reasons, he thought. It wasn’t too far away, but the current prediction seemed to be that he would stay in the south, from what he managed to get tipped off on from his moles back in the city. Besides, the city could give him more room to hide in even if he still continued to ‘study’ people, just as long as he played it carefully.

Especially since the goal was to otherwise find someone whose life you could assimilate into; maybe they wouldn’t have much going on or no immediate next of kin, which would make their search all the more delayed. Identity theft on its own was otherwise an easily enough accomplished task through paid forgery, he supposed, but there was something extra special about living on in the lives he had erased from existence.

It was like a sentimental legacy.

This would be a driving point that he would attempt to get you to understand too, like a mental initiation. The importance of both sacrifice and dedication.

It was almost symbolic, he thought.

Quickly torn away from his internal monologue, his focus was brought back to you when he heard laughter from the counter. He narrowed his sights as he leaned in and slurped on his noodles, listening in on what sounded like a genuine laugh that escaped your lips.

How odd.

Your lips were tightly curled and dimples poked at your cheeks. Your eyes squeezed into crescents—all at something the man was telling you, a smile just as bright on his face too.

Was this all an act?

No, that was an involuntary giggle; you even snorted. Something that the oaf had managed to utter left you feeling genuinely entertained.

Kenjaku then heard more.

You even called the man funny.

A compliment? Technically, he did encourage flirting, so he couldn’t be too annoyed at the delivery. That’s what your assigned role for today was. You had to get the guy to trust you so that you could lure him back into the hotel, it was that simple and yet, all it did was leave behind a strangely complicated feeling that stirred within him.

It wasn’t jealousy, he had been over this with himself already.

So what did that leave?

Whatever. It wasn’t important for now. If you were capable of completing the job successfully just as he had asked you to do, then that’s what he should be focusing on.

He wondered more about the man, he didn’t care to learn about his name, just like the others. This was subject number 15 or the restaurant worker, at best. Ordinary subjects didn’t deserve to honoured, not when their calling cards would make them so much more memorable instead.

Kenjaku tilted his head to the side, watching the interaction. He speculated that this man could technically find the reason for going in with others, perhaps. He seemed quite dim before making you laugh, after all, and now his expression was completely lit up.

An interesting specimen, indeed.

He finished up on the dish, focusing on you and ignoring him. This wasn’t envy, he thought to remind himself, as if trying to convince himself, even. Maybe it was something closer to entitlement. Whatever it was, he didn’t like that after doing everything otherwise correct at your side, that you were giving the warmth you otherwise kept locked away to a total stranger instead.

Entitlement indeed, he was a stranger to you too.

But it felt different somehow.

You then seemed to be exchanging phone numbers with the guy as he tapped the digits into your own burner phone.

Mission accomplished, he supposed.

That meant that it was a good time for him to leave then, throwing some bills at the counter as he motioned for you to follow suit. He wondered what type of relationship the guy thought you and he both had, clearly something unimportant if he thought that he was actually getting somewhere with you.

That was almost hilarious.

The drive back was in complete silence though, just like before. You were cold again.

With a weary sigh, he tried not to pay it any mind. “Text him all day if you’re able to, then invite him over for tomorrow evening.”

You nodded idly at his request with a blank look on your face.

It was then that he finally got it.

It hit him, just like that, like a sharp slap to the face.

He had seen that look after all, he even acknowledged it all the way back in the gas station.

You were simply being cold because you didn’t understand.

It was very likely a learned response from your relationship, if he had to guess. You probably just learned to bottle up your feelings and then never opened up the lid, because why would you?

Albeit reluctantly, he finally gambled a portion of his still latching shred of humanity that he had left. In a way, this was a lesson to him all the same, even if it didn’t have to resort to something violent.

While empathy was a foreign concept to him, he didn’t want to be ignored by someone that he finally found that he doesn’t mind keeping around for the long term. Being ignored hurts no matter how tough you are, he supposed and besides, it wasn’t good for his arrogance.

So for you, he would make do.

Settling in right beside you, he finally closed the gap not saying a single word and to his surprise, the tension you held onto finally seemed to sag. The stress finally seemed to melt away.

It wasn’t quite something he expected to endure, but he tolerated the sensation of you sobbing into his shoulder, trying to stifle it all at the same time.

Maybe if somebody did this for him after his first kill, he wouldn’t have become so far gone either.

So maybe you weren’t a pesky brat, nor vile, nor dumb or lacking. Just misguided, forced to endure what you shouldn’t have.

Maybe you did truly get it, after all.

What a strange sort of accomplishment he felt.

For today, he felt that he had truly learned.

If not about you, then humanity? And if not humanity, then about you?

(…About both?)