It wasn't even for a long period of time, but visiting Arata in the hospital has been ingrained so deeply as Todoroki's go-to activity. He has to remind himself a few times along his trip from his mother's room to the hospital entrance that: no, he doesn't have any business in the south wing anymore.
A few days ago, Aizawa took Arata with him as his adopted daughter, and since then, it has been a radio silence from both of them—from Aizawa, actually, considering that Arata owns no communication device.
Todoroki supposes that it is understandable, they must have been busy preparing her to enter the society. He does wish to be kept in the loop though, seeing that she is his friend as well.
Should he just directly go home now and spend the day reading the book he picked up on recently? It's not like he has any plans for the day after visiting his mother. He barely passed the second chapter last night, and there's still so much he has to take in, even if the book itself merely covers various fire applications from the theoretical side.
Just as he turns to the direction of Tokyo Station, his phone receives a notification, sending light vibrations through the fabric of his sling bag. Given nothing urgent to do, he decides to check it right away.
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When Aizawa invited Todoroki to join him and Arata for a picnic, he did not expect the boy to arrive so soon. Arata hasn't even finished laying out a blanket over the grassy field when he appears.
"I was in the area." Todoroki gives Aizawa a slight shrug, then turns to help Arata spread the grey-white checkered fabric. "You want to spread it here, Ara?"
"Hi, Shoto-san." A small smile splits her face as she pulls the other side of the blanket gently. "Maybe we should move it a little to the left."
"Under that cherry blossom tree seems like a decent spot," Aizawa comments, his hand holding a bucket bag filled with plastic containers. "It is a bit cloudy now, but it will be too warm once the cloud moves again, so a natural sunshade will be great."
It is a bit unfortunate that we're here during the summer, not spring. Todoroki's gaze travels to the green leaves adorning the wooden branches, not a single pink petal in sight. Well, there is always next year, we're not in a hurry.
He settles down next to Arata on the blanket as Aizawa claims the opposite corner as his seat. "So, what's the occasion?"
"Arata made sandwiches for our lunch, so might as well make it a picnic," the man answers with a nonchalant tone, his messy black hair swayed by a rush of humid air. "Besides, it will be a good break from all of our activities lately."
"Aizawa-san has been introducing me to shopping, commuting, and other things," Arata explains when Todoroki throws her a confused look, her hands fishing out a few boxes from the bag.
"I see. Have you gotten the hang of it?"
"More or less, yes. Yesterday, I managed to travel around Tokyo by bus! Still accompanied by Aizawa-san, of course."
With all of the legal matters and problems, the past week has been taxing for Todoroki, both emotionally and physically. But, what remains from that fatigue dissolves quickly as he watches Arata's grin blossom again on her face, delight dusting a faint rosy hue on her pale cheeks. She looks much, much happier here under the sunlight rather than under the hospital's lamplight.
Arata begins to open the containers' lid one by one, then slides them to the middle of their blanket. She waits for both Aizawa and Todoroki to take the sandwiches first before taking one for herself. The loaf texture is a bit coarse against her fingers, but it is warm and soft inside her mouth. Layers of cheese, ham, lettuce, and tomato follow next, leaving a delicious taste on her tongue.
Munching her sandwich blissfully, she leans her back on the tree trunk, sensing its patterned bark through her petal-sleeved cotton top. A few meters ahead of them, a lake with a surface so still and smooth that she almost considers it as a giant mirror, reflecting the cloud-filtered rays of sunlight from above. The silver illusion is broken when a bird descends its flight and scratches the lake's surface, causing water to ripple delicately.
"Oh, right." Arata taps her own forehead at a memory, then shifts a little to face her friend. "Do you live near here, Shoto-san?"
"No, my house is in Musutafu. Where did you get that idea?"
"I saw Endeavor Agency near a bus stop in Hosu City, so I thought your house would be close by."
Aizawa eyes both kids curiously as a hush falls over Todoroki. So, Arata did manage to figure out the familial connection between Todoroki and Endeavor. While it wasn't exactly a secret anymore after Donki's outburst, Aizawa did not expect her to casually mention it like it was nothing.
Endeavor is a number 2 pro hero, and that in itself is a prominent achievement, despite the flame hero's lack of appreciation for himself. As a consequence, it can't be helped that Shoto Todoroki also receives quite a spotlight, both as Endeavor's son and an aspiring hero. With publicity, one way or another, expectation and judgement for them are inevitable.
But, then again, Arata isn't part of the majority who idolizes All Might or other pro heroes—or anyone, really. She seems more enthralled by sophisticated, cutting edge technologies rather than other people. Aizawa has a hard time gauging her fascination towards different factors.
After swallowing the last bite of his sandwich, the boy finally speaks up again, "So, you know that I'm a Todoroki," earning a raised brow from her.
"Mm-hm."
"What does it mean to you?" Aizawa pitches in, while his hand is rummaging in the picnic bag on his lap. He swears he has prepared an ice cream pint before, but it mysteriously vanishes into thin air. Did I forget to bring it?
Desserts aside, Aizawa is quite interested in seeing Todoroki's deal about this. The boy has been staring at a fixed point on his right for some time now. One can regard it as his attempt at enjoying the park scenery, but Aizawa bets that he is doing it out of nerves. While his poker face can pass for a bored expression, his posture is far too stiff for someone who is relaxing.
Arata's eyebrows scrunch in puzzlement as her index finger keeps playing gently with a dandelion, poking its frail, gossamer-like sphere. "That Shoto-san belongs to the Todoroki family?"
"By that logic, the Shirayuki are your family."
"Wait... Ara, you chose 'Shirayuki' as your last name?" Shoto asks, his eyes narrowing in surprise.
"Yeah, but that's different," Arata replies, her lips pressed together in a firm line, a glint of iron flashing in her green eyes. "This way, they can't sweep their problems under the rug. I won't let the Shirayuki have their way after what they did, after the little trick they pulled to take me back and bury our charges."
Sneaky girl, Aizawa thinks to himself, a smirk threatening to break through his stoic expression. Probably, this kid isn't as docile and as ignorant as he originally thought.
Back to the topic of family name, it will do Todoroki good to talk it over with Arata. She is probably the first person who has entered his life without knowing he is a Todoroki.
Aizawa stands up from his spot and pats away pieces of dead weeds from his clothes. "Wait for me here, Todoroki, Arata. I'm off to buy some ice creams for us at the convenience store."
After he takes his leave, Arata turns to the quiet boy beside her, their shoulders barely brushing against each other. The spot between her eyebrows creases slightly, a glint of worry present in her bright green eyes.
Aizawa-san called him "Todoroki", not "Shoto" like he had usually done in front of me.
"Shoto-san... I'm sorry, um, I didn't realize that I wasn't supposed to know about your last name..."
Shoto searches her gaze, his white bangs peeking behind his crimson hair and burn scar. "It's not like that," he sighs, his right hand idly picking the tufts of grass around him. "I just didn't want it to influence your impression of me."
"I don't see why." Tiny valleys slowly form on her cheeks as her lips bloom into a smile. "Would you be less of Shoto-san if you were or weren't a Todoroki?"
Would he? Enji Todoroki makes up for at least half of his genes, while the rest originates from his mother. Would he be Shoto without his half-and-half quirk, without his half-and-half appearance, without his past? Would he still be himself? Without "Todoroki", actually... how much of "Shoto" is he?
He never thought that the day where he doubted his own understanding of himself would come. "I don't know, Ara... It has always been a major part of my life. I don't know where exactly 'Todoroki' ends and 'Shoto' begins."
"Maybe, it never begins, because you've always been 'Shoto' all along." Her slender fingers swipe her side bangs, tucking the jet black strands behind her right ear. "At your core, you are just yourself, Shoto-san."
Holding her gaze, Shoto feels a subtle twitch at the corners of his lips. "Maybe, I am," he admits, a small smile breaking through.
"You always are," Arata reassures him, smiling back warmly. "Should I start calling you by your last name instead, Shoto-san?"
"No need." His answer comes a bit quicker than usual, as if finding the idea offensive. He has grown accustomed to the way things are, and he doesn't want that to change just yet.
"Okay, okay."
The birds chirp merrily around them, their avian melodies filling the field with song. Shoto frowns as Arata rouses from her spot and jogs lightly towards the lake, leaving the greenery-filled parasol behind.
"What are you doing, Ara?" he calls out, his eyes following her path.
"You have to see this, Shoto-san!" she exclaims, her voice carrying a hint of excitement.