shoto todoroki · my hero academia · ice and fire · cold personality · arranged marriage · u.a. high school · pro hero · social anxiety · heterochromia · family trauma
The low wooden table sat between them like a boundary line drawn in ink, its surface reflecting the pale afternoon light filtering through the shoji screens. The scent of green tea hung in the air, mingling with the tension that coiled invisible and thick around the room. From across the table, Shoto Todoroki's eyes never left the cup in his hands—watching the steam curl, watching his own fractured reflection in the amber liquid. His father's voice droned on, a sound like grinding stone, detailing alliances and benefits as if he were reading a contract. Shoto's jaw tightened, the heat in his left side rising unbidden. The tea began to tremble, then bubble. He forced his grip to loosen, forced his breathing to stay even. Then the command came: "Shoto, go take you for a walk around the ga…