[author— just a short chapter about Shoto and his mother Rei.
I don't know if I got the personalities right, it's so hard to do lol.
[1205 words. Hadn't had a chapter this short since Chapter 28]
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While Madara and Nejire were enjoying their time together as they went towards the Yaoyorozu mansion, a particular half and half teenager was currently walking in the halls of a certain hospital.
Shoto Todoroki, one of Class 1-A's strongest students, as well as the son of the number 2 pro hero, Endeavor. Today was the last day of internships, so the teenager didn't do anything serious like training or patrolling with any of his fathers's sidekicks.
Instead, he decided that it was a good idea to visit his mother, Rei Todoroki. She was the wife of Endeavor, as well as the woman who burned Shoto's face.
That man would constantly abusive her, ruining her once caring and loving personality, causing her to become mentally unstable. This was a huge reason why Endeavor in the anime was such a disliked character. Why most despised him.
Why Shoto hated him.
Fortunately, she was now well, and returned back to how she previous was due to being away from Endeavor. The fact that her son recently visited her also greatly helped.
Arriving at the familiar door to his mother's
room, Shoto lightly knocked, but opened it right away. There she was, sitting on her hospital bed while distantly looking out the window that was right next to her, staring at whatever caught her attention.
A woman with an average height and build, white hair with long bangs, as well as tired looking gray eyes. Rei Todoroki.
Seeing her son visiting her once again, she looked at him with care, and smiled at him with parental love.
"Shoto." She gently said his name, genuinely happy to see him again. Happy that his visit wasn't just a one time thing.
"Mother. I brought you flowers." Shoto responded back, having nothing else to say. Even though they have basically reconciled already, their interactions were still a tad bit awkward, but they were getting there.
"Thank you. You can put them over with the other ones you brought in last time." Rei said, feeling grateful that Shoto had brought her a gift.
Even if they were just simple flowers you could find anywhere, and even if they were the same as the last ones; she didn't care because the fact that her son gave them to her warmed her heart.
Doing as she said, Shoto put the flowers inside a vase that was filled with water. Afterwards, he brought a chair over and placed it right next to his mother's hospital bed.
"So what did you come here for?" Rei asked her son, adjusting herself so she can properly face him for this conversation.
"I came to see you, that's all." Shoto told her while looking down, obviously lying. Something that the white haired woman easily caught on to. How could she not? She was his mother after all.
Shaking her head, Rei gently took her sons hand and held it. She would always do this when he was a child, and it didn't seem to go away when he grew up. When the teenage boy looked up at her, it was then that the mother understood she would need to talk to him and help him with her best abilities.
"I'm sure it's not that simple. I can see it Shoto. The conflicted feelings right through your eyes. What's bothering you?" Rei questioned in concern.
"I-It's just that. Due to recent revelations, I've changed my views on things. As you already know, I've chosen to work in...that man's agency for my internship." Pausing, Shoto looked at his mother worriedly, afraid that she would react if he even mentioned the fire hero, but all he saw was her smiling at him.
Even if Rei still held fear for Endeavor, she wasn't going to overreact. Especially when her son needed to talk to her. She wanted to be there for him.
"Go on." She said, being patient with him.
"I always thought it was best to be the best. To rise to the top, so I chose that agency to greatly improve myself. To see the look of shame on that man's face when I surpass all the others and become number one. But how can I do that when——" Shoto was going to say, but was interrupted by his mother.
When he heard her words, an expression of shock instantly appeared on his face.
"It's just like Enji..." The distant voice and sigh of Rei greeted his ears.
"W-What do you mean?" Shoto questioned, feeling genuinely confused.
"The look on your face told me all I needed to know, and what you were going to say. It's just like how Enji was with All Might. How he looked when thinking of his 'rival'. The sound of his voice once he realized he would never be able to achieve his goal.
It's the same situation with you, right? There must be someone that's greatly affecting you. That's making you think all this. Someone who's strength is greater than yours that made you feel this bitter."
Rei said, actually being very worried, even though she didn't outwardly show it. She didn't want her son to become obsessed with this, because it was exactly how his father was. She didn't want him to become like Endeavor who became so desperate to be number 1.
"I can't escape anything from you. Yes, you've watched the sports festival, so you must know how badly I lost to a certain someone. It was humiliating, but even then I was able to calm my feelings down, meet you for the first time in awhile and then shake hands with the person, hoping to battle him once again." Shoto explained.
"It sounds to me that you have found a potential friend. Even if you and this boy didn't end up on bad terms, you still can't help but be frustrated with yourself, and it must be because of his constant achievements. Am I right?"
Rei questioned, knowing exactly who her son was talking about. She has watched the sports festival herself, and she had to admit that she didn't like seeing her son get thrashed like that.
"How did you know?" Shoto asked, seriously questioning if his mother was all-knowing.
"Shoto, you must have forgotten that I have a TV here. Watching the news is something that I often do, and this Madara boy has been all over it for the past week." Rei explained.
Seeing that this situation with her son wasn't as bad as she thought, she spoke up once again and said
"How I see it. It looks like this conflict with yourself won't resolve if you don't talk to the young man. He doesn't seem to be someone who'll mock you for your lose, so having a genuine conversation is possible. Who knows, maybe you two could even become friends?"
'Friends?' Shoto thought to himself. Looking at his mother, he let out a smile, which was pretty rare for him, and said
"Thank you mother."
So for the next couple of hours, the two stayed and talked with each other. Fortunately for Shoto, Rei didn't have the TV turned on, or else they would've seen something new about the boy they were just talking about.