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Since he was little, Todoroki was always treated differently.

At first, it was simply because of his family. They were rich and his father was close to the king, so naturally, the adults in his life treated him with caution and respect, and his friend's parents always nagged them to be nice to him, and never make him upset.

However, when he was seven years old, his life took a drastic turn.

He discovered his ability on a hot summer's day, when he was playing outside with his friends from school.
They were just talking about the weather, innocently joking about wanting to enter a bathtub full of ice. Todoroki laughed with them and raised his hand to wipe off some sweat from his forehead, but when he touched his head, his hand felt really, really cold.

He was still confused when he heard one of the girls screaming, and when the other kids joined her as well. They all moved away from him, looking at him weirdly. It was only then that he looked down at his hand and realized it was covered in ice.

Everyone kept their distance from him until his father came to pick him up. They were crying and yelling, yelling at him.
By the time his father arrived, Todoroki was also crying, but his father didn't have time to condolence him. He dragged him home, told him to stay put and quiet, locked the door, and disappeared again.

When he finally came back, hours later, he said it was fine now. He said he took care of everything. No one will take his child away, even if he is cursed.
Todoroki was somewhat relieved to hear that, and for a moment he really thought everything is going to be fine.
That was until his siblings came home, and his mother.
No one looked at him the same way.

They all watched him with fear, and maybe Todoroki was lucky he couldn't recognize this feeling at the time. It took him another year or so, until he realized what it was that filled everyone's eyes when they looked at him.

And yet, Todoroki wasn't alone (although looking back, he wished he could be).
The people around him pretended to be nice to him because of his father. His classmates pretended to be his friends, and his family pretended he was normal.

But he wasn't fooled by their acting, no one tried to hide his true feeling well enough. It was just a facade, and they wanted him to know that.

Everyone in the world thought that something was wrong with him. And if everyone in the world thinks this way, he figured, then they are probably right.

With this understanding leading his way, Todoroki grew to hate himself and the power he possessed more than anything.
He pretended to be normal like they wanted, and he didn't try to talk about his ability because they told him not to.

And that was okay, because being cursed was nothing to be proud of.

***

The sky was painted in the colorful light of the sunset when Todoroki was already sitting at the edge of the lake.

He knew he was early, since he agreed to meet Midoriya at night, and the sky above his head was about an hour and a half away from turning completely black.
But he couldn't wait anymore, he waited the whole day, he didn't sleep at night. Staring at the clock in his house had slowly driven him crazy, so he went outside, thinking that maybe waiting at their meeting point would put his mind at ease.

He was wrong.
It was so much worse.

It was still early, and yet Todoroki couldn't help but fear that Midoriya wouldn't come.

Why would he come?
Todoroki remembered the conversation they had the previous night, how he tactlessly stated that his hair was a mess and that he smelled bad.
Why, for the love of God, did he say that?

What are the chances that Midoriya would want to meet the person who insulted him again?

Todoroki was also aware of the fact that they both came from very different parts of the city, and that Midoriya's side didn't particularly like the nobles, to say the least.

Todoroki bit his tongue, as a noble himself, he didn't find comfort in this thought.
He didn't want Midoriya to hate him.

He grunted as he accepted that there was nothing he could do about the situation. His only option was to sit, frustrated, and wait even more.

The sun was completely gone now, and the sky darker than ever.
Knowing he is waiting for someone that may not come had turned into a heavy, rocklike feeling, that pressed down on his heart.

Another hour passed, and then another.
The wind got stronger and started to annoy the hopeless noble.
He felt pathetic, waiting there, and the part in his mind that told him that Midoriya wasn't going to come, had now convinced him completely.

But he didn't move an inch.
He kept waiting.

He had nothing to lose by staying there.
He had nothing to come back to at home.

He could've waited like that forever, if only the thought of Midoriya never showing up didn't make him feel so miserable.

"Hey..."

The hesitant voice came from behind him, but he recognized it immediately.

He turned around so fast that Midoriya took a step back in surprise.

"You came!" called Todoroki, looking up. Midoriya seemed tall from his sitting position.

He smiled, "I would lie if I say I wasn't having second thoughts about this, but I promised you yesterday that I would come, so I owe you at least that."

Todoroki couldn't see him well in the dark, but he was almost sure that the other's hair looked a bit less messy this time.

"I'm glad you came," Said Todoroki, sounding so honest that Midoriya felt his cheeks warming up.

He set down on the grass, struggling not to stutter, "I won't be able to stay as late as last night, though. I barely forced myself out of bed this morning."

"Me too. I couldn't sleep even after I got back, my sister was having a panic attack."

"What, why?"

"Apparently someone broke into our house when I was here."

"What?" Midoriya's eyes widened, "this is horrible! Did she get hurt?"

"No, no, she is okay. They didn't harm anybody, just stole a bunch of stuff."

"Oh, then that's good. That she is okay, I mean. Not that your house got robbed."

"Nah, it's okay. It's pretty exciting if I'm being honest, and I wanted to talk to you about this."

Midoriya frowned, "Exciting? Are you sure those thieves didn't hit you on the head?"

"No, I'm serious. Listen, apparently, they were no ordinary thieves, they are cursed. Or at least one of them is. We went to my father's bedroom to see what they stole from there, and the door was-"

"Oh my, what's so exciting about them being cursed? No wonder your sister was having a panic attack!"

Todoroki stopped talking, suddenly less confident. Was he getting ahead of himself? Was it really a good idea to share his thoughts with Midoriya?
Maybe he should've explained his situation a little bit better before getting straight to the point.
Todoroki bit the inside of his cheek, he just assumed Midoriya would understand. Maybe he shouldn't have done that.

"Well..." he said, "I want to track them down."

"What-" Midoriya was so confused he almost laughed. "I mean, why? Why would you want to track them down? Let the soldiers do it if it bothers you."

"But they are cursed-"

"All the more reason to leave them alone. It could be dangerous."

"You don't understand, I don't want to catch them for what they did, I don't care about what they stole. I want to meet them because they are cursed, I want to talk to them. Don't you?"

The question lit Midoriya's caution.
He knew exactly what Todoroki was thinking about, but he practiced pretending his whole life, and the response came naturally to his lips.
Midoriya crossed his arms, frowning, "Why would I want to meet cursed people?"

Todoroki opened his mouth to reply, and then closed it. He had his suspicions that Midoriya was cursed as well, but he got the feeling that saying it wouldn't make him agree to his plan.

If Midoriya was really cursed, he didn't want anyone to know about it.

"I'm sorry, I think I got too carried away." Apologized Todoroki, controlling his tone, "I know we barely know each other, and you have no reason to trust me, but you are also the first and only person who treated me normally despite knowing I am cursed."

He tried to read Midoriya's expression, but the other hid his feelings well, so he continued.

"You saw me walking on the lake, and you still talked to me. You even came to meet me again today. You don't fear me, while my own brother and sister do. You should've seen their faces when they realized that the thieves who broke into our house were cursed. They look at me the same way sometimes. But your eyes look at me differently, so I thought that maybe I could do it with you. Please forgive me if I got ahead of myself, I understand why it might have... scared you."

Midoriya could've ignored Todoroki's touching speech, telling him that he was wrong and that he wants nothing to do with his cursed people's nonsense. But the truth was that he understood all too well everything that Todoroki was talking about.
People might have not feared him - since they didn't know he was cursed - so he and Todoroki experienced different kinds of loneliness, but the big picture was the same.
They had the same motives.
Midoriya too came back to the lake because he wanted to spend time with someone who could understand him. Someone like him.

Deep in his heart, Midoriya felt the urge that motivated Todoroki. The need to find more people like them.

Deep in his heart, he was tempted to say yes.

Midoriya sighed, "I'm sorry. I get why you want to find them, and I guess I wouldn't mind helping you, but I don't have the time to do that. I have to work, you know."

"Can't you finish early, some days?"

"No," Midoriya shook his head, "finishing early means less money."

Todoroki felt like he was one millimeter away from getting what he wanted. He couldn't give up now. He had to persuade him.

"Well, if you'll help me, we could eat together. You won't have to pay for food, so that means you'll have fewer expenses, right?"

"I mean, sure. But it's not the food I'm worried about."

"What do you need the money for, then?"

Midoriya shifted and lowered his gaze. This subject was close to his heart, although he tended not to talk about it.

"Medicine," he said quietly.

"Oh no..." Todoroki sounded truly worried, "are you sick?"

"Not me..." he said, "My mom."

"Oh..." Todoroki never lacked money, but he knew how expensive medical supplies were.

He looked at Midoriya, his heart clenching to hear the defeated tone in his voice.
Maybe he could make it beneficial for both of them.

"Let's make a deal then." He said.

"A deal?"

"Yes, I need help and you need to work, so what do you think about working for me? I'll pay you well, I promise. I've never done this before but, um, one silver coin a day? Does it sound good enough?"

Midoriya almost choked, "One silver coin?"
He was completely stunned, "That's... that's a lot!"

"Really?" Todoroki frowned, "Then, what about-"

"No! I accept! One silver coin a day, and I'll work for you."
Midoriya said that way too fast, and immediately felt a sting of regret. For someone who had to work hard his whole life and fight for every little coin, this offer was too good to be true. But he didn't want Todoroki to think he is using him for money.

"I mean..." he mumbled, scratching the back of his head, "...Only if that's okay with you, I could manage with less..."

He looked at Todoroki worryingly, but the other smiled.

"No, I'm going to make you work super hard, so I think one silver coin is fitting."

They both stared at each other, the space between them filled with their thoughts, but no matter how they looked at it, everything aligned perfectly. A bit too perfect, actually. Comically perfect.
So at the same time, they burst out laughing.

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Your next chapter is:
"Just an excuse"