Chapter Text
“Your grades are unacceptable, Touya!” Todoroki Enji’s booming voice echoed throughout the family’s large house. The boy in question shrunk in on himself, red creeping up his neck and round cheeks. He looked over to his mother in hopes she would step in. She never did.
“I’m just having a hard time understanding what my teachers are saying and they move so fast. I’m really trying, Dad. I promise!”
“Maybe he would benefit from one on one lessons instead?” Rei spoke up, flinching when her husband’s gaze fell on her. She swallowed nervously, yet stood her ground. “Some people don’t learn as well in a classroom setting.”
Enji looked both his wife and eldest child over, face impassive. When Touya had been homeschooled due to a training injury, his grades had been near perfect. In a small class of fifteen with a single teacher, his grades had been exceptional. His new school had a different teacher for each subject and thirty kids in each class. He may hate failure of any kind, but even he could see how that could be overwhelming. Though, other kids in his classes had straight A’s. Touya would just have to learn how to handle it.
“We aren’t changing schools or pulling him out if that’s what you’re suggesting.” The number two hero shot down Rei swiftly. His son’s face fell in disappointment. “Are you so weak that you can’t learn around other people?”
“No! I’m not weak!” Touya shouted as he took a step forward, flames flickering across his clenched fists.
“Perhaps we can compromise?” Rei’s soft voice interjected in an attempt to calm both hot-headed boys.
“What kind of compromise?” Enji wondered, not immediately shooting down what his wife had to say.
“We could hire a tutor for Touya. That way he gets his one-on-one lessons while still staying in his school.”
The fire users both scrunched their noses as they thought over Rei’s words. It was a well-thought-out compromise where both boys got what they wanted. Granted, Touya would have to do extra school work if he agreed. A couple of minutes of silence enveloped the room the three occupied before the head of the house came to a conclusion.
“Okay. We’ll hire a tutor for Touya, but if your grades don’t improve by the end of the semester there will be consequences.”
Midoriya Inko was an unassuming young woman. Short and slim, rather plain, she didn’t seem to stand out much. Her green hair and matching eyes were the most attention-grabbing thing about her, but in a world of fantastical quirks and mutations, it was hardly enough. What she lacked in her physical appearance, she made up for in intelligence. She was top of her classes at University and had a remarkable amount of free time despite being a college student. Inko was the first person her professors thought of when the Number Two hero came looking for a tutor.
Standing in front of the impressive manor that was the Todoroki Estate, Inko took a few calming breaths before walking up to the door. Just looking at the house was enough to give the young woman anxiety. She knew she was there for a job she was good at, but she couldn’t help but feel nervous. What if she was actually a bad tutor and Endeavour blacklists her from ever getting a job in any field? What if she doesn’t get along with her pupil? What if they’re a stuck-up brat who refuses to learn? Anxiety-fueled questions flew through her mind as her hand stuttered against the door. It was hardly a knock, but all her nerves could manage.
A pale, slim woman with white hair answered the door gracefully. She was much taller than Inko and incredibly beautiful, in the young woman’s opinion. With a gentle smile and soft-spoken voice, the woman ushered her in;
“Welcome. You must be Midoriya Inko, the tutor, right?” Inko nodded in agreement as she stepped inside. She couldn’t help but gawk at the interior of the house. “I’m Todoroki Rei, Touya’s mother. That’s who you’ll be tutoring everyday after school. Follow me and I’ll introduce you.”
Rei flowed through her house with an elegance Inko was almost jealous of. The older woman was delicate and graceful, like a princess or a fairy. The shorter of the two nearly tripped over her own feet as she scrambled after her. Inko was both nervous and excited to meet her charge. It had been a while since the last time she tutored someone. Her heart raced in anticipation.
The two women came to a stop in front of a door with a handmade sign hanging on it. In messy handwriting, surrounded by lovely drawings of flowers, it read ‘Touya’. Rei knocked on the door softly, jostling the sign. The door opened slightly and a head of fluffy white hair popped out to greet them.
“What?” The stranger, who Inko assumes is Touya, asks rather rudely. Rei doesn’t falter at her son’s mood. She simply steps aside to introduce their guest.
“Touya, this is your tutor Midoriya Inko. Midoriya-san, this is your student. I’ll let you get to know each other. Your lessons will start Monday at five in the afternoon, as previously discussed.” With that, the white-haired woman walked away leaving two awkward teenagers alone.
“Um, hi,” Inko waved shyly. She gripped her backpack straps tightly, anxiety rising. “Like your mom said, I’m your tutor. You can just call me Inko, though. None of that ‘Midoriya-san’ business.”
Touya blinked at her with bright blue eyes that the young woman couldn’t help but be entranced by. “Yeah, same. Just call me Touya. I guess you can come in.” The teen opened up his door to reveal a surprisingly clean room, a full bookshelf, quite a few art supplies, and a few pictures of his siblings. Neither of his parents were present in any of the photos.
“I like your room.” Inko said, entering the room enough for the boy to close the door behind her. She watched him curiously as he pulled out his desk chair and motioned for her to sit.
“Thanks. You can take a seat there if you want. Put your bag down anywhere.” The young teen instructed as he took a seat himself on the stool that had sat in front of his easel. It was covered in dried paint in a variety of colours. Inko did as instructed, stiffly sitting down in the plush office chair that she would love to have in her own apartment.
“Why don’t we start by going over what you’ve been having difficulty with so we can work on that?” Inko suggests, reaching down to unzip her bag and pull out a black binder. When she righted herself she immediately noticed her charge’s red ears and the way he averted his gaze. She glanced down subtly and realized that while she was wearing an average neckline, leaning over in the chair had just given the poor teen a view of her chest. She quickly flushed in embarrassment yet kept quiet about it, hoping to just not acknowledge what happened. Touya seemed to agree.
The two teenagers began to talk about Touya’s school and how he learns best. Inko looked at his textbooks and homework sheets so she could get a grasp on what he was learning. It was all stuff she already knew, which was given. Before either noticed, the sun had set and Rei was back to respectfully end their session. Inko packed up her things and bid the mother-son duo goodbye.
Touya was hardly in love with Inko, nor was she in love with him. They became fast friends and definitely cared for each other, but they weren’t in love. Maybe it was because they were teenagers or a boy and a girl. Maybe it was because they spent hours alone together in the younger’s bedroom. Maybe they were just stupid and lonely and didn’t actually consider their actions.
Either way, Inko tutored her charge in a lot more than just school. He was a smart kid who just didn’t do well in a classroom setting. They worked through his subjects with ease which left the pair with spare time. They talked or played games, just enjoying each other’s presence until Inko was scheduled to leave. Perfectly innocent at first.
The problem with leaving two intelligent, isolated teens alone without supervision is that they get curious. They start to fall into rabbit holes, eager to learn something new. They start to wonder how certain things work in real life and not just on paper. They come to the conclusion that they may as well experiment with each other, because who knows when it’ll come in handy to have that knowledge.
Inko knew she’d definitely get fired if her employers knew what else she was teaching their son. She was practically the boy’s teacher after all. She also knew that the end of Touya’s school year was coming to a close and she would be going abroad for several months. The teens got to have a semester of experimentation and fun, then Inko leaves to continue her own schooling in another country. Perhaps when she returns she and Touya could spend time together outside of tutoring and ‘other things’ as friends.
Yes, Inko’s plan was perfect. What could possibly go wrong?