#i want ren to have a HUG and REASSURANCE and also a bowl of soup

[books-and-dragons]

I'm so sorry, I'm kinda drunk and dropping another idea, do with it whatever ye will.

Yknow how in the beginning of the game, Sojiro tells Ren he won't take care of him when he gets sick?

Consider: he's not used to city germs/being that closely shoved against other people on the train. He DOES start to get sick around Kamoshida's Palace, powers through it, and then is SUPER sick just after it's over.

He plans on sucking it up and hiding it, but Futaba hears his hacking coughs over her bug even when he's upstairs, followed by wheezing, maybe even a little weeping. He's constantly in and out of the bathroom, and he's starting to run out of tissues.

Futaba nervously texts Sojiro that the kid they took in sounds awful. Sojiro is gruff at first and says he's not a baby, he can take care of himself. She responds by sending him the audio and suddenly Dad Instincts kick in

y/n

obviously it's a YES, our brainrots continue because early-game ren and sojiro dynamics break my heart every time how dare you get me so invested in this idea, this post got too long so it's going under a read more

listen listen look i love sojiro and the coffee family okay, but early-game?? sojiro could catch these hands

ren has already been though so much by the time he arrives in tokyo, to then be put into a dusty old attic like a spare part would absolutely fit in with ren's own perception of himself at that stage. it would be almost too easy for him to put his own health on the backburner kinda like he's already used to it

very used to not taking up space, 'not being a bother', and then sojiro really reinforces this message when ren first gets to leblanc- so when ren inevitably gets ill a month into his probation, it's already doomed for maladaption

tokyo would be such a breeding ground for sickness compared to the countryside, and ren just doesn't have the consitution to deal with it. the dusty attic and poor eating habits don't help matters, and then we have the stress of kamoshida and the metaverse?? ren is not having a Good Time™

at first it's something he thinks he can shrug off, and is adamant that ignoring it is the way to go. a cold, it's nothing, he can handle this alone, no need to bother anyone else with it.

inevitably, he gets worse, because that's what happens when you don't rest and let yourself recover. a tickly cough becomes a tightness in his chest, mild congestion shifts into an attack on his senses and blurriness- but maybe that's the dizziness. he's not really sleeping, either.

it's something that's becoming increasingly difficult to brush off and hide, he even relented to finally getting some medicine (nothing as strong as he needs by this point, that would eat too much into his limited funds, but some painkillers to take the edge off). once or twice he's tempted to stay off school, at morgana's insistence, or a too close call where he definitely blacked out for a minute, but then sojiro's voice will ring in his head 'i won't be the one looking after you if you get sick', 'your parents got rid of you for being a pain in the ass', and all his worst insecurities come rushing back and he's resolved to deal with it on his own

meanwhile, futaba's been making use of her hidden audio bugs- normally they're a comfort for her in the daytime, but since the new kid- ren- has been staying at the cafe (part-timer her ass, how gullible does sojiro think she is?!), she's been listening more frequently. when ren gets sick, she figures it out quickly.

time goes on, he's not getting better- he's actually getting worse- and futaba starts to wonder if she's the only one who knows

(there's something in his sharp contrasts- the quiet kid who shuffles through the cafe and takes sojiro's scolding, to the coughing kid who cries into the silence of night when he thinks there's nobody there to see it- that stabs through her numbness. it feels like a companion to her own ghost)

one night she swears the kid gets up to be sick, and there's hardly any sound heard from the attic all night. if nobody's gonna help ren, then she will (futaba used to like helping, once upon a time).

she texts sojiro the next day, when ren doesn't say anything again, and goes off to school with what she bets is a fake assurance on his face

and you're so right, sojiro dismisses her concern really easily, claims the kid can 'take care of himself' and he won't 'baby' the part-timer. insists ren needs to learn some disipline, then maybe he'll stay out of trouble

frustration wells in futaba- if she was less fixated on what was going on with ren, she'd register it's one of the first changes of mood she's had for months- and she responds with nothing but an audio clip, an attached explanation that this is just from the past few days- it's been going on for weeks, then she waits, and hears the distant sound of her compilation through one of the bugs, a hitched breath from sojiro, curse words under his breath-

for all his earlier postulating about not helping ren if he gets sick, sojiro is immeditely struck with a pang of concern- it sounded bad, and if futaba's words were anything to go by, this had been going on for a while. the kid's at school now (at school, being as ill as that and he was still going to class-), so sojiro will talk to him when he gets back. there's a chance he goes a bit too over the top, between the variation of medicines he purchases, supplies he grabbed from home- if you accused him for over-compensating after maybe being too harsh on the kid in the beginning, you'd be right

and you just know ren would be so resistent at first to help, or even just the offer of staying off school. in his sickness-induced fugue, ren's filter-less in rattling off how he can't stay off, what will the students and teachers think, and he has work that afternoon, and a test soon, and he doesn't want to get in the way-

sojiro's heart just shatters

this kid, whose been silently carring the weight of the world and has apparently been falling to pieces for weeks now and sojiro didn't even notice?

(a part of it reminds him too much of the other kid he's got at home, the countless ways he's already failed futaba, and now ren too? he feels useless)

sojiro focuses on what he can do, and that's making the kid rest. work will understand, school can wait, ren isn't an inconvenience, he guides the kid to bed, calls takemi immediately (who rushes over, despite the fact she's technically closed at this hour, and refuses to take any payment),

even still, there's this stilted awkwardness between them when the quiet pushes on too long- they hardly know each other, afterall. sojiro is still figuring out the 'caring for kids' thing, and ren isn't familiar with any kind of parental affection, so some of sojiro's care veers a bit too close to clinical or mechanic, and ren still struggles to communicate what kind of help he needs, but it's enough for now.

for now, sojiro is there. he's trying, and at least ren's getting some colour back on his skin. for now, ren's willing to take a few days off and have some medicine, but he's over-apologetic and definitely tries to make up for his sickness once he's healed. it's gonna take them both a while yet, but luckily there's always their guardian hacker, ready and able to call them out when needed (and maybe some day she'll be able to keep an eye on ren and sojiro in person)

#ask #also the idea of it being futaba who first realises going on?? developing hers and ren's bond before they even meet?? #june i love your brain have i ever mentioned #such a gem even when it h u r t s (which is obviously only ever ALWAYS <3) #us : *sees angsty p5 game content* it's free real estate! #i want ren to have a HUG and REASSURANCE and also a bowl of soup #instead he gets dusty attic and milk-crate bed and instant noodles he packed for emergencies :c #persona 5 #p5 #persona 5 headcanons #ren amamiya #futaba sakura #sojiro sakura #oh also also!! imagine how sojiro might feel about his early-game behaviour by late-game/post-canon?? #ohhh i bet he'd hate it and there'd be so much self-blame/loathing there #parent guilt and all that good stuff y'know #futaba? seeing herself in early-game ren? ren? seeing himself in palace-futaba? sorry they make me soft and emotional your honour #i love my coffee family but i love it more flavoured with all the issues they haven't yet worked through #once again THIS WASNT MEANT TO BE SO LONG

[ichigopanhpff]

BNHA Fic: Blink! Ch. 25

Read Ch. 24 | Masterlist

Hello, lovelies and happy new year! Hope you’ve all been well. Here’s a new chapter.

With the investigation wrapped up, the guests were allowed back into the building to retrieve their belongings before leaving for the night. Ren exchanged goodbyes with her mom before sending her off in an embassy official car. She tightly bundled herself into her peacoat and shivered while Todoroki used his left hand to rub warming circles on her back. Seri, having a snowy owl quirk, was perfectly fine with the wintry night chill. From a distance, Aizawa could be seen talking with a detective and bowed before walking over to the three U.A. students.

“Sorry for the wait. Shall we get going?”

“Can we get some ramen?” Ren blurted out, starting to feel sleepy from the warmth and overuse of her quirk. “I’m starving.”

“Normally, I’d say no but given the circumstances, I can use some real food,” 1-A’s homeroom teacher agreed. “Know a place around here?”

“We’ll need the car,” Seri piped up.

Without another word, the four filed into their vehicle to get their actual dinner. After a short fifteen minute drive, they arrived at a random alleyway. Both Seri and Ren hurriedly got out and walked on ahead with purpose. Not wanting to get lost, Aizawa and Todoroki matched the two girls’ paces and caught up to them soon after.

“It should be after this turn here...” Ren muttered to herself and saw a small row of faintly lit red lanterns hanging outside. A small group of twilight guests hung around the alley smoking cigarettes and casually chatted among one another and laughing. Slowly walking past the crowd, they finally found their destination. Ren gently slid the door open and greeted the ramen master and scattered guests before settling into a seat of small 12-seater bar.

“Give me all the fixings with my pork belly ramen, please,” Ren ordered.

“Same,” Seri added.

“Me too,” Todoroki softly spoke.

“I’ll go with the popular consensus,” Aizawa agreed. “With a side of gyoza and beer please.”

“Ya got it,” the ramen master behind the counter acknowledged and got to it.

“So how did you girls even find a place like this?” the scruffy ebony haired man inquired.

“By chance,” Ren answered. “I was with my mom one night when she got out of work late. We decided to meet up. She said an embassy friend of hers took her here and was in love with the broth here.”

“It has a taste of nostalgia that soothes your soul,” Seri dreamily praised.

“I tried to take Seri and Tomoe here on another occasion, but this place only opens at night,” the pink-haired girl added.

“So it caters to more of the late working class then,” Todoroki summarized. “It’s not very good from a monetary standpoint.”

“If anything, this is more of a passion project for the master,” the snowy owl happily answered with admiration. “That’s rare nowadays.”

“Order up!” The master called and set down everyone’s order in front of them one by one. Seri and Ren inhaled the enticing aroma with the happiest of wide grins before picking up their chopsticks to dig in. Aizawa sipped his beer and watched the girls slurp the noodles and devour the condiments with reckless abandon.

“Don’t ya think you’re dressed a bit too fancy to come to a dump like this?” the master asked the group and chuckled.

“We just came from a party and the food was… not so good,” the black-haired man politely answered.

“Understatement of the year there,” Ren spoke up and pushed the noodles she was chewing to the side of her mouth. “You can’t even call that food; it was just oven-heated frozen garbage.”

“I have to agree with that,” the bi-coloured haired boy spoke and grimaced, remembering the lingering traces of frostbite on his tongue before sipping the broth with his spoon to warm himself up. It was milky, fatty and full of warmth; like someone was hugging you from the inside. He was never one for warm noodles, but this was definitely an exception.

“Besides, master. Your ramen’s the best around this area,” Seri beamed. “We couldn’t waste a chance to show up and eat your cooking.”

“Oh, you’re a charmer,” he barked out laughing. “I like this one.”

“Master!” another patron called and walked off to take their order.

The four happily ate in comfortable silence, feeling the steaming hot bowl of food soothe their aching muscles and frozen bones.

“Master,” Ren called. “Kaedama*, please!”

“Oh you can really put it away!” the owner praised. “Comin’ right up!”

“You’re gonna gain weight,” Seri pointed out and sipped her broth.

“I’ll burn it all off with my quirk,” she disregarded her friend’s warning with a roll of her eyes.

“Speaking of quirk...” Todoroki chimed in. “You traveled a lot further than you usually do.”

“Oh, so you noticed?” The wavy haired girl flashed a grin. “My hard work’s finally paying off.”

“So how far can you go now?” Aizawa asked before taking a bite of his gyoza.

“A little over 6 meters now.”

You sure your body can handle it?” Seri asked with a worried look.

“Why did you think I got so tired after?” Ren stated. “The traveling part is fine now, but I have to find ways to conserve my stamina without heavily relying on support items.”

“So how did you manage to strengthen your quirk like that?” Todoroki asked with seriousness, hoping to find something he could use for himself.

“It was a gradual thing,” she revealed. “I had to focus on further points for me to move to.”

“Points?”

“I can’t use Flicker unless I know where I’m going,” Ren reminded. “So I had to broaden my visual scope in order to increase the distance I can teleport to.”

“So that’s why you had me flying around during the practical feeding you information,” Seri put together.

“Exactly. You have the strongest sight out of everyone in class. That helped me build extra awareness of the terrain around me. It’s like knowing where the emergency exits are in a building.”

“Using someone else’s quirk to help strengthen your own. Smart, Takahiro,” Aizawa acknowledged.

“Gotta make up for what I lack to be efficient.”

With their stomachs full of soup and starchy goodness, the party of four said their good nights and headed back to the car. Ren barely had any more energy and fell asleep. As the automobile entered the freeway entrance, it hit a light speed bump, lulling the pink hair girl’s head onto Todoroki’s left shoulder. His eyes opened and saw his upperclassman’s head nuzzled into the crook of his neck and let out a sigh. His heartbeat mildly elevated seeing her face so peaceful. The steadiness of the car gradually drifted him into a light slumber and rested his head on top of hers.

Seri, observing the two with wary eyes, huffed a breath through her nose.

She knows she can’t do much about whatever they are with each other; the only thing she can hope is her best friend was happy in the end.

Arriving back at the gates of U.A., the stillness of the car woke Todoroki up in his seat. He looked down to see Ren still asleep on his shoulder.

“Senpai,” he softly called and shook her arm. “We’re back at the dorms.”

Letting out a light moan from her lips, her eyes slowly fluttered open and squinted at the car light being on from the front car door being open. Ren took a big inhale to wake herself up and lazily blinked a few times before lifting her head off of his warm shoulder. The three filed out into the cold evening, with the bite of the wind fully waking them up.

“You guys can get back on your own, right?” Aizawa asked with the students tiredly nodded in confirmation. “Good work tonight. Get some rest.”

The slouching teacher casually strolled off in the opposite direction while the students headed back to Heights Alliance. Seri said her good nights to the two before splitting off to the second year dorms. The two slowly made their way back to their building, the sounds of their dress shoes hitting the concrete quietly.

“Senpai,” Todoroki broke the silence. “If you’re too tired, we don’t have to talk tonight.”

Ren shook her head. “I’m fine. The cold’s waking me up,” she reassured with a small smile. “We can meet in your room.”

“Why my room?”

“Less suspicious,” she explained. “Also, I can just teleport back to mine and no one would know.”

“Is your body even in any condition to?” he asked with a tone of concern.

“I’ve recovered enough.”

A rush of warmth greeted their faces the moment the door opened, seeing a few scattered students in the common room hanging out.

“Oh welcome back, guys!” Kaminari happily greeted. “How was the party?”

“Exhausting,” both groaned out and kicked off their shoes immediately. Ren drew out the long sigh of relief the moment the balls of her feet hit flat ground, cracking her toes.

“Whoever invented these torture devices need a swift kick in the ass,” she groaned out and glared at her damaged and scuffed heels from the fight.

Exchanging good nights with the stragglers, Ren and Todoroki entered the elevators and pressed their respective floors. The doors dinged on the 4th floor.

“Meet in 30 minutes good for you?” she asked before exiting the lift; the boy nodded to confirm. Ren gathered her belongings before teleporting down to the bathroom to shower. After setting the water temperature to her liking in the shower, she quickly disrobed and hopped right in, letting the warm beads of liquid soothe her cold, aching muscles. Lathering up her shampoo into her wet locks, she let her mind drift.

Not wanting to waste any more water, she quickly lathered up the soap all over her body and rinsed everything off before turning off the faucet. The cold hallway air greeted her damp skin the moment she opened the shower curtains, sending goosebumps up her arms and legs. Ren quickly toweled off and practically threw her body lotion all over her skin before hastily putting her pajamas on to retrieve some lost warmth.

Walking to the sink area, she flossed and brushed up, not knowing how long their talk would go on. Grabbing her personal effects, the refreshed pink-haired girl hastily blow dried her hair before zipping back up to her room to put everything back and grabbed a hoodie. Taking another breath, she zipped up a floor to the front of his door and gently rapped on it with her knuckles. Todoroki opened it quietly to let her in; he’d changed into a long sleeve white v-neck shirt with loose black sweats. He smelled of linen and lightly scented soap.

“I thought you’d pop right into my room,” he said.

“I would if I knew how your place looked like,” she replied and was amazed at the dimly lit Japanese styled room. She looked down to see him sit on the floor. Her foot gently tapped on it like she was testing the waters.

“Holy crap. Real tatami...” she blurted out in amazement.

“Why is everyone so surprised by it?”

“I just never pictured you to be so… traditional?”

“The house I grew up in is one of the traditional styled ones. I can’t relax otherwise.”

Ren sat down across from him and looked around, still astonished at all the little details on the interior.

“How’s your body feeling?”

“Relax and rested,” she replied with a small grin. “What did you want to talk about?”

Todoroki adjusted his sitting position and stretched his legs out, not knowing where to start.

“I guess… Since you told us about your past, it’s only fair for me to talk about mine with you.”

“I have been curious,” Ren admitted. “But I didn’t wanna overstep any boundaries,” she clarified and fidgeted with the hem of her hoodie sleeve. “You seem like the type to by annoyed by nosy people.”

Todoroki let out a soft chuckle. “You’re not wrong on that.”

He then looked up to meet her hazel-green eyes with a soft expression.

“But I trust you. And I want you to know about my past from my own words. Would you listen to what I have to say?”

“Of course.”

The bi-coloured haired boy took a light breath before telling his story to Ren. She listened intently like he did with her, starting with his parents’ arranged quirk marriage.

The story of fire and ice.

He then went on to the abusive training regimen his father did with him in his youth. The scar on his left eye stemmed from his mother’s ice quirk after pouring boiling hot water on him during her mental breakdown, leading to her long-term hospitalization. He briefly mentioned his three siblings, one there wasn’t much to talk about since he didn’t know much about. And because he grew up the way he did, friends wasn’t a thing he had in his life; his father thought they were a distraction to his training.

Even though his body was free to be in and out of his home, his mind and heart were shackled and caged in by an obsessive paternal devotion for his son to be his second chance life in where he failed in his own youth.

As he told his story, all she could see was the glimmer of dismal emptiness and emotional void in his eyes and voice.

Todoroki was like her from when she moved to Japan.

He then proceeded to see his views slowly change after being accepted to U.A., especially during the Sports Festival. It was his gradual interactions with his classmates and with Midoriya changed his outlook about his powers and what it meant to be a hero. For someone who’s hated his flames for the longest, found himself slowly gravitating toward it to make sense of something inside him; to find the equilibrium in harnessing these quirks to make it his own.

“I recently asked my old man to teach me more about Flashfire,” he revealed. Ren’s eyes immediately widened.

“Are you… okay with that?” she asked with a tone of concern.

“I’m still conflicted, honestly. But after seeing him fight against that Nomu, I...”

He trailed off and tightly balled his left hand into a fist, tugging at the fabric of his pants. His hetero-chromatic eyes trailed downward, reflecting frustration and anxiety.

“If he died...” He swallowed hard before continuing. “Everything he knows about his quirk goes with him. I’d be left with nothing to go off in honing these flames. If I want to be a proper hero, I have to move past this to grow stronger… Like you did, senpai.”

“You have a choice; Mine was pushed at me,” Ren half-jokingly pointed out with a soft chuckle. “But I guess you’re right.”

Todoroki gave her a soft smile and said, “Thank you… for listening all the way through.”

“You listened to mine as I blubbered on like a snot-faced baby,” she bashfully replied and rubbed the back of her neck.

“You went through an ordeal. And you’re only human.”

“So are you, yet you remained calm and collected,” she stated.

“Not all the time… My heart’s thumping like crazy right now.”

He reached over and grabbed Ren’s hand to put over his chest, feeling his heart violently hammering. Her eyes slowly scanned up to see Todoroki looking away, his cheeks tinted a light shade of pink, his hair hiding his gaze.

“I was afraid… you’d leave halfway,” he softly whispered.

His hand gave hers a light squeeze as his heart continued to pound against his breast bone and slowly looked back up. The usual glint of melancholy mirrored in his hetero-chromatic eyes, wanting an answer to an unasked question. Ren gave Todoroki a softened expression and moved her hand up to the scar on the left side of his face. The tips of her slender fingers traced the edge of the rough tissue below his eye socket. He instinctively flinched at her touch.

“S-Sorry… I just–”

“It’s not unsightly, Todo-kun.”

Ren gently pulled down the collar of her PJ shirt to show the one on her shoulder.

“Scars tell our story, about who we are,” she affirmed softly.

His large, calloused hands reached up and caressed the rough tissue on her left shoulder. Ren used every nerve in her body to not flinch at his touch, despite her own complexes.

“How long did it take for yours to stop hurting after it healed?” he asked with his eyes not leaving her mark. Todoroki unconsciously traced the edge of her scar like she did with his, seeing a small patch of skin form goosebumps from his feathery touch.

“Close to a year. My mom got me professional help to deal with the phantom pains. You?”

“About the same.”

Todoroki’s hands slid down her left arm and wrapped around her digits, bringing the back of her hand to nuzzle on his cheek. Scooting closer, Ren intertwined her right hand with his dual colored locks. Her left arm drew him into a tight hug; he looked like he needed one after telling his story. The scent of mint and green apples filled his space as he accepted her embrace fully with his arms wrapped around her frame.

Having gone through such neglect in his childhood after his mom’s removal from his life, how many nights did he spend alone, hugging himself to sleep through tear-stained, puffy eyes? How many years had he yearned for someone to comfort him in his isolation?

“Thank you...” she whispered in his ear. “For trusting me with your story.”

She released from the hug and plopped down on the tatami beside him, their shoulders touching.

“Can you… stay a while tonight?” Todoroki softly asked. “I’d like to talk with you a bit more.”

“We’ve got nothing but time,” she turned to him and smiled softly. “And we can talk about anything you want.”

“Anything?”

Ren nodded. Seeming to hesitate for a moment, the boy sat up straight and adjusted himself before opening his mouth to speak.

“About what happened after the party…” he began. “The… kiss, that is.”

The pink-haired girl sucked in a quick inhale through her nose. Her shoulders stiffed up and swallowed hard.

“What… of it?” she slowly asked and avoided eye contact.

“I really don’t know how to say this without explaining...” He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably and softly groaned, feeling the sense of panic rising from the depths of his stomach.

Ren sighed and finally turned to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder for reassurance. It was then she realized he was just as nervous as her; one of them had to calm down or else the conversation won’t push along.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she reminded him with a small grin.

Todoroki finally relaxed his shoulders by slumping them back down to neutral and closed his eyes.

“I think… I’m starting to have feelings… for you,” he finally said and fidgeted with his fingers. “In a more than friends way.”

“Oh.” Her eyes enlarged slightly at his confession. “I… guess… now’s a good time to say me too.”

Their eyes finally met and all Ren could do was let out a small, innocent chuckle; he couldn’t help but crack a small smile himself.

“This is something Mina-chan and Kiri-kun would say is “normal high school stuff” right?”

A comfortable silence sat between them until Todoroki decided to speak up again.

“I want to give you a proper answer; I just need some time…”

“Something we’ll lack soon with the internships,” she pointed out and sighed. “But I hear you.”

He quietly thanked her with a matching smile.

“But...” She playfully drawled out and turned to face Todoroki with a devilish glint in her eye. “When you do figure it out...”

With a coy smile, Ren leaned in and pecked him on the cheek as a small form of revenge for making her flustered.

“Give me a proper kiss…” she whispered in his ear. “On the lips. Like you mean it.”

--

*Extra order of ramen noodles.

#bnha fanfiction #bnha fic #mha fanfiction #todoroki shōto #aizawa shouta #bnha oc #mha oc