It was as if the ashes from your first meeting weren't even cold when you spotted Todoroki again, a couple of weeks later. As your friend held on to your arm, dragging you across the street to some clothes shop, you recognised his distinctive hair in the crowd. "Hang on a minute, Chi. I think I just saw someone I know."

"Yeah, right. It's not like you know anyone here in Musutafu city." Chiharu paused and narrowed her coral eyes in suspicion.

"Well, I sort of do?" But I only met him once.

"You're not getting out of this one. You promised that you'd come to karaoke with me, (y/n), remember?"

You still hadn't quite processed what happened that day you visited the Todoroki household as you had pushed those uncomfortable thoughts to the back of your mind. So, while debating whether you should go and say hi to Todoroki or not, you absentmindedly nodded.

"And it's Christmas Eve, so we can't have you wearing those clothes."

With your attention set on Todoroki as he grew further and further away in the crowd, you rubbed your arm and said, "Alright."

Before you could register what you had just let yourself in for, Chiharu began jumping up and down. "Yes, success! I finally get to dress you up! I never thought you'd let me! You don't know how much this means to me and I--"

"Wait, Chi, I can't afford anything too expensive, alright?"

"It's on me today - my Christmas present to you. I'll show you what a fashion expert I've become, and I'll even help you design your hero costume one day, you know?" Chiharu winked at you as a cherry blossom flower grew by her ear for effect.

But she soon frowned as she tried to take out the flower that got tangled in her strawberry blonde hair.

You laughed at your friend's actions, reminding you of the good times you spent at school before she transferred to a prestigious private middle school in the city. You missed her, even more so now that you were currently being homeschooled. "Yeah, you are the best in this kind of thing, Chi. Thanks for taking me out today."

You searched for Todoroki, scanning the crowd of people doing their own Christmas shopping. Yet he was nowhere to be found. You shrugged your shoulders and proceeded to follow your friend into a fancy pastel shop.

As soon as you came out of the clothes shop, a group of three teenagers joined you. "Hiya, my name's Mio Nekoma. I hear you're Chiharu's old friend?" A girl with sandstone hair and whiskers held out her hand.

You shook her hand and introduced yourself, later catching up to join Chiharu and the rest of the group. The pastel (f/c) dress suited your figure nicely, and so did the coat that went with it. Yet you didn't feel like yourself, and you could tell that Chiharu had changed her ways. She had adapted to fit in with the city girls, growing away from the rash child whom you used to fistfight with on a daily basis. Even when you tried chatting to them at the karaoke place, the feeling that you'd become an outsider dawned upon you.

You fidgeted with the hems of your new skirt, your surroundings blending into a blur of chit chat until you decided you had had enough.

As you shuffled to the left from your seat, you checked that you had all of your belongings with you. Before your childhood friend could ask you to stay, you declared in a hushed voice, "Chi, I'm just gonna go out for some fresh air 'cause the room's a bit stuffy. I'll be back, though."

"Yeah, okay. Just make sure to come back soon as! The boys will be arriving any minute."

After running around the fields near the agency until you passed out and working on close combat with your uncle, you felt like you deserved this day off. However, so far, hanging out with your friend had drained more energy from you than you had expected.

You dragged your feet down the stairs and headed out to the busy high street. As you studied the Christmas lights glimmering over you, a loud noise shook the pavement you were standing on. The explosion was followed by the sound of a shrieking crowd, coming from a few shops down the road.

Most people's instinct would have told them to stay away from there. Nevertheless, you sprinted down to the alleyway where the ruckus came from. Pushing through the crowd of bystanders, you neared the frontline.

That was when you saw the little boy.

With the sun setting behind the skyscrapers, the alley was becoming darker. The child with the teal winter coat sniffled, powerless to even cry out for help in fear for his life.

The villain's skin was scorching red and steaming, as he played with a spear point knife in his hand. The bulky man almost tripped over when he tightened his grip around the boy's collar. "Start chucking your purses at me, or else I'll kill the boy," he slurred. "Call the police, and I'll slice his throat. Y'all heard that?!"

It all happened in a flash. You could hear your heart beating in your ears as you touched a random lady's arm, borrowing some of her life energy. As you were about to lunge in to rescue the little boy, someone behind you called your name.

"(y/n), don't do it!"

You froze on the spot but then threw a mighty right jab at his face. Rubbing his swollen cheek, Todoroki spat out some blood.

"Crap, it's you, Todoroki. Why didn't you say so?"

Todoroki grabbed your hand, making you follow him away from the scene. You resisted it, but he tightened his grip. Your jaw dropped down when you saw a branch growing out of a pro hero's arm, expertly flicking the villain's knife away before threatening to restrain him. The pro heroes would have the second-rate villain under control in a matter of seconds. Yet your heart still rattled in your chest as Todoroki faced you.

"Everything will be okay, (y/n). The child's safe now."

"That was too close a call, wasn't it? The villain was out of their mind-- and--" You shook your head sideways, trying to pull yourself together. "We don't get much of that back at the village."

"Is that why you hit me?" Todoroki asked, letting go of your hand to point at his face.

Your eyes shone in genuine curiosity as you examined Todoroki's face from up close. His long bangs were parted slightly, and you took note of his chiselled jaw, and of course, his swollen cheek under the prominent scar under his eye. It was sure to bruise unless you did something. The least you could do was try.

After you cupped his face in your hands, a dim emerald light emitted from your right palm. You were too busy sorting out his injury - your tongue sticking out in concentration - to even notice his handsome widened eyes drilling into you.

"There you go, Todoroki. I'm sorry I hit you. Does it still hurt?"

"Don't worry. It really is okay, (y/n)."

"Alright, that's good to hear. I'm so glad the boy is okay, too."

You felt Todoroki's judging gaze on you. A little guilt corroded his chest as he thought about his lack of action against the villain. While he did run towards the alley when he heard the noise, Todoroki wasn't sure if he would be happier with himself if he had acted like you were planning to before he stopped you. Today's events reminded him of the stories of great heroes, who had begun doing heroic acts even before high school.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I was ready to rush in, but who knows if that would've turned out for the worse," you said, looking down at your feet. You noticed your fancy new shoes, which reminded you that you weren't even wearing the appropriate fighting clothes, but this cute outfit Chiharu had assembled for you. Clothes became utterly irrelevant as soon as someone's life was on the line.

Todoroki moved out of the way to let a mother pushing a trolley walk past. "Have you... got somewhere else you need to be now?"

You looked up to him, wondering if he was busy himself. "Um, kind of yes, but no at the same time? How about you?"

"Not necessarily. I came out to purchase a textbook."

Your ears perked up at his comment. He's on his own on Christmas Eve? What about his friends and family? While you felt terrible for thinking about standing up your friend at the karaoke, the prospect of joining Todoroki seemed much more fun than going back there. "Did you get the book yet?"

He showed his reusable carrier bag, containing a heavy Chemistry textbook as well as some manga volumes you had yet to get your hands on. Maybe, if you texted Chiharu that you'd be back within the hour, it would be alright?

Even though you hated to admit it, you doubted that she would miss you much in the time that you were gone.

But I can't really do that. I came to the city to visit my dad and to hang out with Chi, not to just go off with this boy I barely know...

You sighed as you made up your mind. "Todoroki, I actually need to go back to my friends at this silly karaoke place. Would you mind joining me for a bit?"