Try to believe walking down the lonesome road

[inheritance]

[With the start of their internships fast approaching, it's no wonder a good portion of the students in 1-A are too excited to properly concentrate during class. Aizawa, picking up on their lack of focus, eventually ends the class a few minutes early with a tired, exasperated sigh. Izuku grins guiltily at their teacher's retreating back. He can't exactly blame his classmates for distracted like this--picking their hero names and their first internship is pretty exciting. And a big step toward being pros.

Fidgeting with the bandages on his hands, Izuku turns in his seat and just happens to catch Todoroki's eyes. There's the barest flicker of hesitation before Izuku offers up a cheerful smile.] Todoroki-kun, have you already decided where you're going for your internship?

[The classroom's already emptying out, but there's no real need to hurry out like everyone else is. Besides, Izuku hasn't really gotten a chance to talk to Todoroki since the festival. Remembering how subdued Todoroki was during the medal ceremony has made it difficult for him to shake away his concerns. So Izuku gathers up his books slowly and waits for an answer.]

Comments

[inheritance]

Let's see... [Izuku's free hand drifts up to cup his chin as he renews his search.]

Ahhh!! [With a, perhaps, louder cry of triumph than necessary, Izuku bounces on his feet a little and points a little ways up the wall.] Todoroki, Calico print socks! Was that what you were looking for?

[glaciers]

[They're!!! Better than he could have imagined!]

They're perfect.

1/2

[inheritance]

Oookay, then let's grab one and make that number three.

[He reaches up, standing up on tip toes to try and get at the socks. His fingers brush it, but not enough for him to pull it off the little rods. Izuku huffs and tries again, with the same result.]

[inheritance]

I...I can't reach it...!

[Life is hard when you're short.]

[glaciers]

[ Midoriya is ten whole centimetres shorter than him. So Shouto just plucks it right off the hook. ]

Do you usually have trouble reaching things?

[inheritance]

Sometimes. [Izuku drops back down onto his heels with a sigh and a little laugh.] You could say it's a family trait, kinda. [Just like the leaky tear ducts.] Mom's even shorter than I am, so...yeah.

I can jump pretty high now, but using my quirk for this seems a little like overkill.

[glaciers]

[ A whole family of tiny Midoriyas. ... Should they get Midoriya's mom some socks too?]

... Wouldn't you overshoot it?

[inheritance]

[Izuku opens his mouth to answer, then pauses, actually giving it some thought.]

Probably. But if I timed it right, I could grab it on the way down? I do need to practice being more precise with my movement... [A nervous look around the store.] Just not in a place like this.

[glaciers]

[Shouto looks amused in that quiet way he does.]

Aizawa-sensei wouldn't let you hear the end of it if you tried. You don't have your license yet.

[inheritance]

[That gets a full-body cringe.] Y-yeah, that's true. Let's leave the quirk training to when we're allowed. We got enough scolding after the Stain thing...not that I regret jumping in or anything. I'd still do it again if I had to.

A-anyway! [Miraculously, Izuku manages to catch himself before he veers off into his usual tangents.] That's three pairs for your mom. Think we should head on over to the hero themed section now?

[glaciers]

[Shouto doesn't regret getting involved either, but he'll let that go for now.]

Yeah, I think we're good on socks. Lead the way, Midoriya.

[inheritance]

[There's no hiding his excitement now as Izuku practically bounces in place before walking--quickly--back toward the relevant section and taking Todoroki with him.]

If we're in luck, they'll have something for Ryuku!

[glaciers]

She's in the top ten. There should be something.

[inheritance]

[Sure enough, there's a decent selection of socks featuring the dragon hero when they reach that particular section.]

Oh, look! These are really neat. [Izuku points at the socks with scale patterns all over and, most importantly, little wings like her hair pieces sewed onto the sides.]

[glaciers]

[Shouto perks up as soon as he sees them.]

Those are cool.

[inheritance]

And then there's this pair... [He moves his finger until he's pointing at something just next to the first one.]

I think they're based on her entire hero costume. Oh! And a claw theme for this this one... [Izuku's all too happy to keep chattering on, of course, but this is about Todoroki's preferences! So he glances over, gauging his friend's reactions.] What do you think? Anything standing out to you?

[glaciers]

[As much as he likes the first pair, they're going to be hard to wear with the extra little wing parts. Especially underneath his uniform.]

I like the one with the claw theme. [He'll take one for himself and drop them in the basket.]

[inheritance]

[And another pair goes in right after, accompanied by a bright smile. Matching! With Todoroki!]

I think that's everything we came here for, right?

[glaciers]

Do you want to get your mom anything? While we're here, I mean.

[inheritance]

That's not a bad idea. [A grin tugs at his lips.] I don't think she'll want anything from this section, though. [There's already enough of these hero-themed things at home.]

Ah, maybe I can get her a pair of cat ones, too!

[glaciers]

There are a lot of them.

Does your mom have a favorite cat?

[inheritance]

Not exactly. We've never had a pet before... [Izuku trails off, one finger pressing against his lip in thought.]

Let's head back to where we found the calico print ones. Maybe they have something similar in different patterns!

[glaciers]

Ah... not enough time to take care of a pet?

[He gives a nod and starts back in that direction, trusting Midoriya to follow him.]

[inheritance]

Something like that. [Izuku catches up with him, matching his stride.]

There was this one gray, striped cat I used to play with on the way to school, though. I almost brought it back home with me.

[glaciers]

What was stopping you?