Technical Support

Chapter 28

"In that case..." Ayano quickly dug through her bag, procuring a pile of papers and slapping it onto his desk. From a glance, he could tell they were detailed sketches of a hero costume.

"You will likely be in need of an improved hero costume, as your old one is outdated. Ever since our fight during the Sports Festival, I have thought about what such improvements would be. The most obvious improvement would be to aid you in regulating your body temperature without you using any extra effort or having minimal use of your quirk."

"In order to do so, I have designed a temperature regulating bodysuit. Its designs are very much like the one I lent to Izuku. He used it during his training for the U.A. entrance exam, so you can ask him about it if you prefer. It would be more convenient for you, seeing as the two of you are in the same class. Also, I am sure he is quite familiar with its mechanics." Ayano was about to continue explaining the other support items she had in mind, but she stopped after seeing the look on Todoroki's face.

When she started explaining, he had an astonished look. He was amazed at the depth of her work. Eventually, his eyes caught onto something else.

"Your mind is elsewhere." She noted and not questioned. Todoroki furrowed his brows. "Sorry. It's not that I'm not grateful. It's just...your hand..."

Ayano had been using her right hand to point at her sketches and notes as she explained the designs. It was the same hand that she majorly injured during their fight, and he was given full view of her arm since her uniform sleeves were rolled up.

She looked at the scars on her hand, wrapping around her arm and flitting up to her elbow, disappearing below the rolled-up sleeve. The skin from her wounds were slightly discolored after healing. "The scars bother you." She noted again.

Todoroki looked away in discomfort, choosing to look at his own hand. "Sorry...It seems as though whenever I'm involved, people's hands get messed up. Maybe it's a curse or something...?"

Ayano blinked. She heard some chortles behind her, presumably from Midoriya and Iida. "I do not believe in curses or other superstitious things like that." She responded but Todoroki only furrowed his brows tighter in response, deep concern growing in him. Perhaps he really was some kind of hand crusher?

"You can rest assured, Todoroki-san. These scars are not because of you." Her words confused him. Of course they were because of him! He was the one who inflicted those wounds!

"Recovery Girl could have easily healed the wounds you gave me. She made that very clear to me. I, however, requested that she only heal until these scars remained and no further. These scars are my own doing and nobody else's. They serve as a reminder to me that I still have very far to go before I can reach my goals." Todoroki once again looked at her in amazement.

"What I am trying to say is...please do not let this be a deterrent to you. You have an amazing power." Ayano placed her scarred hand on top of Todoroki's and gently smiled at him, surprising him further. "If anything, I am grateful to you for these scars. I am also grateful that you have come to accept your own strength. If it bothers you so, I implore you to use your power for good so that others will not be scarred like this." She gripped his hand to emphasize her point.

Todoroki gripped her hand back, nodding at her with determination and eyes filling with resolve.

The rest of the class, Bakugou in particular, looked on in disbelief. Bakugou's face held a bit more anger in it though. Or was it jealousy?

To think that the poker-faced Ayano could smile like that. Even Bakugou had barely seen her smile like that since they were children. Not only that, but they were even holding hands?! What did that half-and-half prick think he was doing?!!? What was Ayano doing?!