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F/N REMINDED HIM OF HIS MOTHER. Or at least that was the first thing that came to his mind when he first saw her. His mother.
Gentle yet strong. Kind yet beautiful.
He had never seen anyone that was like his mother. Until he saw her. Sure, there were more other girls that were more beautiful, more talented and overall, better than she was.
That was probably another reason why he had chosen her to be the class representative. And why he felt a little rejected when she chose not to be one.
But she was the best in his eyes.
Except for one thing. And that one thing was her quirk.
He could never guess what her quirk was. But after seeing how she didn't manage to block his fire, he felt that he had been overthinking about this topic and that perhaps she did have a Telekinesis quirk.
Fire.
That was one thing he hated about himself.
He glanced again at her injured arm, the very same arm that he had left a burnt mark on. It was his fault. It was all his fault.
"Um... What did you want to talk about?" F/n nervously asked, fingers fiddling together as she waited for his response.
But nothing came. The boy only stood opposite of her, leaning against the wall with a blank look. His eyes narrowed at hers, never faltering even for a second. That caused her to glance at the wall behind him instead.
"I was overwhelmed," he stated and F/n flinched as he did so.
'He spoke!'
"So much that I broke my own promise," he continued and F/n glanced at the left arm he raised up, "Iida, Yaoyorozu, Kaminari, Tokoyami, Midoriya and Uraraka didn't feel it. I was the only one that was overpowered."
"Every single time. In hero Basics lessons and even in the Obstacle Race," he looked at her once again, lifting his gaze off of his hand, "You always manage to surprise me."
"Is... Is that so?" she nervously asked, legs shifting positions quietly.
"L/n," Todoroki said in a very serious voice, "Are you perhaps a hero in disguise?"
F/n's breath hitched as she stared at him straight in the eyes, not believing her own ears upon hearing his words.
"Hero in disguise?" she repeated, feeling ridiculous just from saying that, "Why... Why would you think of that?"
"You seem to already master your quirk control," Todoroki stated, almost accusingly, before lowering his head slightly, "Not to mention, you seem to be hiding your quirk."
A shiver ran down her spine as she caught his glare, those heterochromatic eyes that she first thought were of a stranger were now boring and creating a hole in her head.
She didn't like that.
"I-I wasn't hiding my quirk-"
"Why did you not use its full power?"
"I always use..." F/n gulped before deciding to ask him back the same question, "Why didn't you use your full power?"
The boy moved his head to the side before starting to speak.
"My dad is Endeavour. You already know that. He's always been the number two hero. If you have something that could potentially lead yourself to become the number one hero, I... have more reasons to defeat you."
She stayed quiet, listening to his every word.
"My dad is an exceptionally ambitious man. He made a name for himself as a hero with an irresistible force. Because of that, the living legend All Might is nothing but an eye-sore for him. Since my dad couldn't surpass All Might on his own, he came up with another strategy."
"Why are you telling me this?" F/n interjected, wanting to just get out of this conversation as fast as possible, "What are you trying to say?"
The boy glanced at her from the corner of his eyes and said, "Quirk marriage. You know, right?"
"The thing that became an issue with the second and third generations after the supernatural powers appeared. Choosing a mate and forcing them to marry, in order to strengthen their own quirk and pass it to their child. An old-fashioned and unethical way of thinking."
"He has money and good records so he won over my mum's entire family and got a hold on my mum's quirk. By raising me to become a hero that would surpass All Might, he wanted to satisfy his own desire."
"How annoying," the boy muttered with much hatred, "I won't become a tool for that scum to use."
F/n watched his expression as he quietened for a short moment.
"In my memory, my mother was always crying," Todoroki slowly raised his hand up, just enough to lightly graze on his obvious scar, "My mother poured boiling water on me saying, 'Your left side is unsightly.'"
Her breath hitched at his words, unable to contain the emotions that gathered at the back of her throat. It was so sudden and so foreign, that she couldn't adjust to it in just a few seconds.
"Simply put, I'm so fixed at you because I want to get back at him. Even without my distasteful father's quirk... No... by becoming number one without using it, I will completely deny him."
He turned his body around and started to walk away.
"If you can't tell me your quirk, that's fine. No matter how powerful you are, I'll rise above you, using only my right hand. Sorry for taking your time."
'If life was a story, he would've been the main character,' F/n internally commented, 'He has such a background, it's rather unrealistic.'
She straightened her back before facing the boy.
"Wait, Todoroki!"
The boy paused in his step but didn't bother to turn to face her. F/n walked a few steps towards him before coming to a stop.
"You said that you wanted to be number one without your left side, I'm sure you don't actually think of that, do you?" she asked and the boy instantly spoke for himself.
"Of course, I-"
"Have you ever thought of it as your own quirk?" she asked again, stopping him mid-sentence, "Throughout the whole conversation, you kept referring to it as your father's quirk. But... If it was your father's quirk, wouldn't it make no difference?"
She gazed longingly at the palm of her hand, eyebrows furrowing in thought.
"I don't know what has been happening to me either. My quirk... I thought... No. Everyone thought that it was Telekinesis. But after using it more and more and after being in UA, I had a feeling that it was more than just Telekinesis."
"So I am equally as confused as you are," F/n admitted, lifting her gaze off of her hand and onto the boy's back, "Looking from this perspective, you have more potential than I do. You have a guide and I do not. Even if he was horrible, you can be number one."
"I, on the other hand, cannot."
A breath passed through her nose as she concluded her declaration.
"But... that does not mean that I will give up because I, like many other people, want to be a hero. I want to be just like All Might. Even if I don't have the potential, I will try. So don't think that I will ever back down just because of your words."
𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁
"Gosh, I can't believe we're actually doing this," Jiro breathed out a complaint, pulling down the skirt as if it would stretch a little longer.
"It's a good thing we have Yaomomo to help us with this too," Uraraka grinned, "Who knows what trouble we would have to go through if we don't."
"She's right," Ashido raised her pom-poms in the air, "I don't want to even know what Aizawa-sensei would do if we're the only class without these uniforms."
"After the quirk assessment test, I do not even wish to think about Aizawa-sensei's punishments," Hagakure shivered.
"We would probably be expelled," Asui stated, recalling the memory of their teacher tricking them with no care whatsoever.
"Well, it's good that Kaminari and Mineta reminded us of it then," Yaoyorozu sighed as she stood up from her squatting position, "Let's go then. We don't want to be late."
"Yeah!"
"L/n! You actually look good in that!" Ashido exclaimed, her compliment accompanied by a few nods from the other girls.
"Oh... Um... thank you," she timidly murmured.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Jiro asked, eyebrows furrowing in worry.
F/n sucked in a breath before shaking her head softly.
"Nothing," she said and quickly changed the subject, "We have to go."
The girls shared glances before nodding and walking out of the changing room. The audience was loud when the students came out of the building and under the sun once more.
"Lunch break is over and now we'll announce the final event!" Present Mic announced, voice as loud as usual, "But before that, there's good news for those who didn't qualify. This is a sports festival, so there's a recreational event planned for everyone to participate in. We even brought in cheerleaders from America to liven things up..."
The hero blinked as his eyes landed on a certain group of girls.
"What happened to Class A?" Present Mic's mouth fell open, "What kind of service is this?"
"Mineta, Kaminari, you tricked us!" Yaoyorozu shrieked while the two boys just smiled at each other in success.
F/n let out a defeated sigh as her knees buckled and she dropped to the grass beneath her.
"Why does this have to happen to me?" F/n murmured defeatedly, referring to both being tricked and the Todoroki incident.
She still couldn't get over it.
"Never mind, F/n," Ashido smiled, "At least Aizawa-sensei can scold them later."
"Why do I always fall for Mineta's tricks like this?" Yayorozu wondered and Uraraka patted her back pitifully, "I even used Creation to make these outfits."
"They're idiots!" Jiro angrily threw her pom-poms on the ground.
"Absolute idiots," F/n muttered in agreement.
"Well, there's time before the finals and it's tiring to be nervous," Hagakure said, waving her pom-poms enthusiastically, "We should just do it!"
"What?" Jiro shrieked, face red as she grew flustered just from thinking about it.
"Toru sure likes these things," Asui commented shyly.
The audience cheered as the next and last event was announced. It was a one-on-one battle. The students all lined up. F/n stood between Ashido and Asui as she listened to Midnight's explanation.
The heroine was about to start on the names when Ojiro raised his hand, claiming that he wanted to withdraw, which left everyone shocked. Iida started to rant about how good of an opportunity it would be.
"I barely have any memory of the cavalry battle until the very end," Ojiro explained, "It was probably that guy's quirk."
He pointed at the purpled-haired boy. F/n took a quick glance at him and saw the very same student that made a declaration against her class.
"I know that this is a big chance," the boy continued, "I know it's foolish to throw this chance away. But... this is where everyone fought to give their all. I can't... stand there while I don't know what's happening."
"You're worrying too much," Hagakure insisted, "Just leave good results in the finals."
"What you're saying applies to me as well," Ashido tried.
"No. This is about my pride. I can't do it," he said with a hand covering his eyes before adding, "And why are you all dressed as cheerleaders?"
F/n, along with the rest of the girls, looked away in shame. But she soon thought back about his words. He must be trying hard to even speak his mind. That itself was already heroic.
She could tell that he would be an excellent hero.
A student from Class B named Shoda Nirengeki also decided to withdraw his position. Their positions were replaced by two other students from Class B.
The tournament would start after the break. F/n and her friends, still in the cheerleading costumes waved their pom poms. At least some of them did.
F/n just sat on the ground with Jiro, too embarrassed to perform. Or maybe it was because she was too preoccupied.
Her battle would be against Kaminari and then either the girl from Class B or a classmate of her own, Iida. And in the third round, it would probably be Todoroki for she had predicted he would be the one winning against the other two.
That was why her mind was preoccupied. She would have to battle against Todoroki if she won against the other two. She hoped she could defeat him but she doubted herself.
How could she win against the son of the number two hero?
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