I slept like the dead after the confrontation, waking long into the early afternoon the next day. Inasa had to go back to his school, but we hung out for a little before he left. Or really, he hung out while Makoto supervised me cleaning. Makoto had already gotten reamed out by our father before I had even gotten home. Father was not pleased when he learned Makoto was my accomplice in all my night training.
Apparently Makoto almost lost his job too, which I would have felt horrible about and protested against incessantly, but Makoto held his own and remained. Makoto has basically been a mother to us twins, and he's also like a best friend to our father ever since he was hired 10 years ago. So yes, those two fought, but they ended it already before I was home.
We had two days off of school after the sports festival, though I couldn't say I relaxed much. I had to clean, like super deep clean, basically a mansion all by myself. A mansion that has three wind quirk users that kick up a lot of dust on accident. That and I was still in recovery, so everything hurt. Thankfully I wouldn't have any scars from the frost bite or the burns, but my muscles did ache almost as much as my lungs.
That was another thing that came up during my two days off. Father insisted, at the recommendation of Recovery Girl, that I see my regular doctor again about my lungs. I had to sit through a full exam and x-ray again, something I haven't had to do since I was held at the hospital for several months when I was first injured. I hate hospitals, something I thankfully share in common with my dad, who was the one to take me in. Our shared dislike of the chemically clean place is one of the huge reasons why Makoto was hired. His healing quirk is a godsend for a hero, but unfortunately he can only heal surface wounds.
My doctor gave me the update that thankfully not too much more damage had been done to my lungs. He even talked optimistically about a surgery that could be done to remove some of the old scar tissue, but it's something that could only be done after school since I had to be done growing first. That news surprised both me and dad, and Inasa when he video called in as well. I was originally told my lungs couldn't be improved ever, but apparently all my running and stamina training has strengthened my lungs enough to warrant the possibility in the future.
I'm not going to say I gave my father an extremely smug grin after that news, just as I'm also not going to say I heard him call me a 'cocky little brat' under his breath.
"I didn't get pulled out of UA!!!" I yell loudly as I run into my classroom seconds before the bell after our two days off, late as usual.
"Yoarashi!" "Irisa!" "Ri-Ri!" I hear multiple voices call out to me as I take my seat. I spin around and give the class a huge grin, but Aizawa walks in just then. He's free of his bandages I've sort of grown used to seeing him in, but unfortunately it just makes his glare he sent me all that more prominent.
"Mr. Aizawa, you don't have your bandages anymore." Tsu points out as the tired Pro walks to the front of the room, thankfully drawing his angry gaze away from me.
"Yeah, the old lady went a little overboard." Aizawa says, a tiny hint of sheepishness in his tone that makes me smile. "But that's not important. You all have in important class today... in Hero Informatics."
Ah shoot, was there a test I was supposed to study for during the break? I didn't remember reading about anything, then again I hardly gave myself hope I would still be in the class. Is the test going to be a written exam? Is it a demonstration? Will one of us have to turn into a villain and attempt to kill all the classmates in order to teach us as future heroes on how to deal with betrayal and loss?!
"You have to pick your hero names." Aizawa states while I'm internally panicking.
"Oh thank god I don't have to murder all my classmates, some of them are too adorable to slaughter." I whisper out under my breath in relief.
"What?" Shoji asks me with one of his mouths from my side, his real eyes wide as he looks at me.
"Never mind, my brain went on a rabbit hole moment, hehe." I sheepishly wave him off with a whisper and an awkward chuckle.
We weren't alone in our little side conversation, most of the class instantly bubbled up in excitement at the concept of hero names before Aizawa used his quirk to shut us all up. He is seriously intimidating. "This has to due with internships. Normally, this is reserved for second or third years, however your class is special." He goes on to talk about the importance of making good early on impressions with Pro's and other logistics. The he puts the totals of our offers up on the board for us to see.
Todoroki: 4,123
Bakugo: 3,556
Yoarashi: 1,490
"What? Yoarashi got second place, and Todoroki only got third but he got more offers than her and Bakugo?" Jirou points out, and I feel my smile dim a little at the comparison.
"Probably because no one wants to work with the winner who had to get chained to the podium." Sero adds in with a smirk to Bakugo.
"If I scared a Pro, they're just weak!" Bakugo scowls out.
"My offers are likely because of my father." Todoroki says quietly from the back of the room.
"I probably got less because my handicap was exposed towards the end of the fights." I say with acceptance. "I'm just happy to get offers." I add a little more brightly.
"These hero names you choose will likely be temporary, but take them seriously or-" Aizawa says once the chatter lulls a bit, but gets cut off by the classroom door slamming open.
"Or there will be hell to pay!" Midnight says seductively as she brandishes her whip and saunters in. She and Aizawa go on to tell us a bit more about chooses names, and Aizawa promptly becomes one with his sleeping bag and leaves us to the R-Rated hero. Midnight hands out whiteboards and markers and gives us 15 minutes to select a name.
I wrote down the name I had picked out since I was four right away. It was always our plan for Inasa and I to have mirroring names that also matched our father's. I know Inasa's going to be Gale Force, and my name was always going to be Gale Winds.
But that was all before my accident. And as I sit here and stare at the childhood hero name on the whiteboard, it just doesn't feel right anymore. I still don't actually have my father's full acceptance in being a hero. It feels wrong to use his name now.
I'm still contemplating over my name when people start to announce theirs. Aoyama and Mina had some... interesting choices that got rejected. Honestly I would have rejected Aoyama's even more than Midnight did, but he seemed excited about it so more power to him. Tsu had started off a better kick of good hero names, and close after her was Kirishima.
"The Sturdy Hero, Red Riot!" Kirishima says proudly once he takes the stand. My eyes light up and I cheer for him loudly, that's the perfect name for him. He's told me about his adoration for his favorite hero, Crimson Riot, and I'm glad he's paid homage to him. It again makes me debate over my own name though. I deeply respect my father as a hero, and I want to still honor his name.
"Lord Explosion Murder." Bakugo announces his name with a completely straight face once it's his turn. I keep waiting for the punchline, but it seems he's actually trying to have that be his name. At least I'm not entirely alone as I break out into full belly laughs, my worries of my own name gone for a moment. "What the hell are you all laughing at!"
"Murder's not really a good name for a hero, TNT." I tease him as he grumbles and stomps back to his seat behind me. "Maybe something simple like Fuse? Dynamight? Ground Zero? Missile Silo? Lord Combustion if you want to keep the royalty thing going, but that one's stupid. Kingdom Come? Smithereens?"
"Shut the hell up, those are getting worse and worse!" Bakugo kicks the back of my chair to shut me up since I started listing off random words at this point that weren't useful at all. I flip my head back entirely and just give him a grin before returning back to my own whiteboard.
"We've heard from most of the class by now, so that just leaves Todoroki, Iida, Bakugo who needs to redo his... Oh and Midoriya and Yoarashi haven't gone yet." Midnight says once everyone who's volunteered so far has gone and we've hit a lull.
Todoroki goes up first to name himself simply 'Shoto', and I wonder if he's having a similar problem as I am. I feel like I need to talk to him in a less violent battle setting. I kind of unloaded a lot of anger on him that he didn't entirely warrant.
Iida also named himself after his first name. His expression when he announced it kind of broke my heart a bit. I heard about his brother being attacked on the news yesterday. I couldn't imagine if my brother had to be forcibly retired like his was. I make a mental note to also talk with him later, at least to offer him support.
Midoriya then goes up and chooses his name. It was... actually very inspiring to hear his reasoning. I didn't realize that Deku was an insult for him growing up, and judging by the scoff I heard from behind me, I'm willing to bet Bakugo had a hand in giving Midoriya that name. But the green haired boy found a way to see the name in a new light and wants to redefine it in his own life, and I think that's very admirable. He took what a bully threw at him and made it positive.
"Yoarashi? Do you have your name ready?" Midnight asks me after the whole class rejected Bakugo's second choice of 'King Explosion Murder'.
"Uh, yeah." I stand uncertainly at the front of the class and present my name. It took me a while to decide, but I went with my gut for now. "The Breezy Hero, Jet Stream."
"Ri-Ri... Are you sure? You don't want to be Gale Winds anymore?" Mashirao asks worriedly from the front row.
"I uh, yeah I do and I don't. I still don't really have Gale Storm's support, so it doesn't feel right to use the name, ya know?" I admit sheepishly. "I was also going to go with maybe Storm's Eye or Cyclone, just to be ironic for my own eye, but I don't think either of those sounded right. So Jet Stream it is!"
"I like it, and it fits your quirk and specialty wonderfully." Midnight gushes proudly. "And from the sounds of it, if you ever wanted to change it to Gale Winds or maybe even Gale Stream, it's already really close." She offers up, and I thank her before sitting down again. I hadn't thought of Gale Stream before, it could be a nice tie in together if I want to merge Gale Winds and Jet Stream later in life.
"Your shitty dad still doesn't think you can be a hero?" Bakugo asks quietly in his gruff voice, his white board abandoned since he's over getting his names rejected by us all.
"He asked for time to come around to the idea. It was better than I could have asked for. And don't call my dad shitty." I say just as quietly, finishing with a stern stare at him. He narrows his eyes but otherwise doesn't comment more. It's odd trying to learn what his expressions mean, but I notice that if he reaches out to start a conversation, it means he cares, at least in his own 'Bakugo' way.
Aizawa hands out our list of internship offers after we all, sans Bakugo, have our hero names. I take mine excitedly, scouring through the list of Pro Hero agencies who want me. Though I was ready for it, it still didn't stop the hurt when the Gale Storm agency wasn't on my list at all. But it at least made me feel like I took the right choice in my hero name.
What did surprise me on the list were two certain offers. Endeavor agency and Hawks agency both put in an offer for me. This made my brain go on overdrive a bit since I like both of them. On one hand, I've liked Endeavor for a long time, and we could possibly talk more about what happened when I was six. Also, since I'm still weak on my quirk usage and powerful strikes still take too much out of me, he could help me train to make myself stronger. On the other hand, Hawks is a hero I've looked up to a lot in the last few years. His flight and speed would be an incredibly good match for me, especially since I generally tend to lean towards speed and evasion rather than brute force or power.
Class lets out for lunch after that, and I sped over to the half and half boy. "Hey Todoroki?" I come up to him with a neutral expression and he turns a curious gaze at me. I look into his eyes and see something that wasn't ever there before the tournament. I see a few subtle but different emotions, ranging from curiosity, earnestness, suspicion, and vulnerability. "Do you have time after school to talk? I feel like I owe you an explanation, and I would like to talk rather than yell and punch at you this time."
"Yes, I would also like to speak to you too." He turns fully to face me almost like he's assessing me. "I will wait after school for you." I nod and he returns it, and then I head to lunch.
After I ate with Mashirao, Shoji, Koda, and Tokoyami, all of us discussing the internship offers, I spotted Iida in the distance walking to class ahead of his set of friends. Since I was already done eating, I excused myself from my group before catching up to him.
"Iida?" I called out to the navy haired boy before he walked into the classroom.
"Yoarashi?" He asks curiously of me. We don't exactly interact much together, outside of him yelling at me each morning to stop showing up at the last second, so me stopping him now is probably weird.
"I just want to offer that if you need any support right now, I'm here for you." I say with a small bow. "I have a brother too... I don't know what I would do if he ever got hurt. I'm sorry yours was injured, but I'm at least glad for you and your family that he's still alive. I can only imagine that your mind is still healing from the events, so if ever you need a sounding board, believe it or not I'm a good listener. I promise not to even rant." I tack the last part on with a chuckle after my otherwise sincere offer.
"Thank you, Yoarashi. But I'm doing ok. Your concern is touching and I appreciate it, but I would rather not talk about it." He says formally, and it sounds like something's off with his voice but I don't know him well enough to place it. We part ways then since the bell rings, but I still offer him a bright smile that he doesn't reciprocate.
I was about to sit down to class when I remembered one more thing I wanted to do today. I grabbed my phone out of my bag since I still had a few more minutes before class and sent out a quick text.
Eye of the Storm 🌪️: Hi Shinso, this is Irisa Yoarashi! Sorry I didn't reach out before now, had some family stuff taking up my attention. Are you still interested in training with me? I'm not cleared to use my quirk for another few days, but I could start on hand to hand training now with you if you want?
Aizawa's Secret Love Child: If you think you can handle it, then I'm down to see what you've got. What should I expect? When do we meet?
Eye of the Storm 🌪️: I can handle anything! Well except black liquorice, but that's a different problem. Anyway, you should expect pain with a side of humiliation, but don't worry I'll give you an extra portion of suffering as well 😉. I am currently "grounded", whatever that means, but I usually train in the early mornings and then again until ridiculously late into the evenings, so trainee's choice.
Aizawa's Secret Love Child: Lets just do mornings. I don't sleep much either. Start tomorrow?
Eye of the Storm 🌪️: Good deal! Meet at school gym Beta at 7am, that gives us two hours before school to start breaking you in 😈
Aizawa's Secret Love Child: Your attempts to scare me aren't working. I fear only the world running out of coffee. I'll see you then.
And thanks, Yoarashi.
I smile to myself as I put my phone away again. I made a new friend, and I get to help someone defy their own odds and work their way towards being a hero. Maybe I should call myself 'The Defiant Hero' instead of a 'Breezy' hero, since I seem so hell bent and rebellious on defying expectations.
"Thanks for waiting for me." I say politely to Todoroki once class ended for the day. I had to stay behind a little bit to get lectured and warned by Aizawa since they found out I faked my admission signature. Thankfully they didn't kick me out, but I do have detention for the rest of the week starting tomorrow.
"It's no problem." Todoroki nods once we walk out of the school. "There's a café nearby, if you would like to talk there."
"That's fine." I answer, but my mind instantly wanders. "I wonder if they have smoothies? Can coffee be made into a smoothie? Would I even like that? What if I order that and it's gross? What if I order it and I love it but I can't even find it anywhere else? What-" A cold hand hits me very lightly in top of my head, and I turn a sheepish chuckle to my unlikely companion. "Sorry about that."
"I did what I've seen others do, it seems effective." He answers monotonously as we walk into the café. "But I will say, my sister gets frappes, and to my knowledge they are like a coffee smoothie, just with no fruit."
"Oh, you have siblings?" I spark up with interest. I knew Endeavor had kids, I just wasn't sure how many. We each quickly place our orders and step aside to wait, him ordering a white peppermint mocha and me trying the frappe drink he recommended.
"Yes, I have an older brother and sister. My sister Fuyumi is a kindergarten teacher and my brother Natsuo is in college." He answers, and I can hear a bit of pride hidden under his otherwise unchanging tone.
"Fascinating." I observe with genuine interest. "I have a twin brother. Sort of what I was trying to say when we were beating the crud out of each other the other day."
"I gathered as much, though I still don't know when I could have met him." He says as we collect our drinks and find a table. "There were several students in the recommendation exam, though I don't remember any of them."
"Yeesh, not even Yaoyorozu? She was there and she sits right next to you." I deadpan at the boy, taking my first sip of the frozen drink. "Oh my gosh this is yummy." I smile happily down at the drink, pleasantly surprised at the mix of chocolate and caramel inside of the coffee.
"No, I didn't notice her. I was rather... focused that day." He says with a tiny hint of guilt. "My father was watching, even if he only came at the end to collect me, so I had a point to prove that day."
"Yeah, my brother and I saw him picking you up. It's what further sealed my brother's decision not to go to UA." I admit to him.
"Why? Had you met him before?" He asks curiously.
"My brother had met Endeavor when he was seven and had an unfortunate moment with him." I tell him, not entirely lying but not telling him my truth about his father. "Endeavor brushed off my brother when we were little. I wasn't there to witness it, but he says that your dad was cold and uncaring as he pushed him away. And because of that, he hated you on principle, then hated you more because your eyes were also cold. Um... we're surprisingly stubborn in my family, despite being wind quirk users who are generally very go with the flow. Once we hate something, we passionately hate it."
"Do you also hate my father? I notice you only mentioned your brother hating him." He observes, his eyes shrewd.
"No, I don't hate your father." I admit. "Actually, he's my favorite hero after my own father. I admire a lot of what he does. I admire his resilience and his dedication to reach the top. I admire the passion he puts into his work as a hero." I stop there before I ended up telling him I admired the depths his father would go to in order to save someone he cares about. It's not my place to say that, especially since I don't know the full story.
"You speak highly of him as hero. You know nothing of him as a man." He says coldly, a hatred in his eyes.
"I kind of gathered a bit at the festival that you and he maybe have a... delicate relationship? You don't have to tell me, but it seemed rocky at least when I saw you in the hall with him." I nod quietly as I awkwardly remember that conversation.
"Have you heard of quirk marriages?" He asks me randomly and I nod. "He only married my mother because of her ice quirk. He kept me isolated away from my siblings because they only developed her quirk and he deemed them failures. I developed the blend of both of their quirks, and because of that my father trained me relentlessly."
"Did... did he give you your scar?" I ask delicately as I look at his scar. We have such similar scars since we're both marked on our left side, so in my head I just assumed he too got kidnapped as a kid by a villain. I never thought it could have been someone closer to him, but hearing him talking right now...
"He was a direct cause of it." He says, but I tilt my head at the wording he used. "He drove my mother into insanity. She couldn't stand the look in my left eye because it was exactly like his eye, so she poured boiling water on me when I was six." He confessed and I gasped, bringing my hand up to cover my mouth at the shock of the news.
"I'm so sorry, Todoroki." I say sincerely. "All this time I just assumed you had been kidnapped or something like I had. I couldn't imagine that it was your own family."
"It took me a long time to forgive her, but it was actually you and Midoriya who helped me let go of my anger." He confesses and my eyes widen.
"Me? How did I help you? I haven't said a single nice or inspirational thing to you." I point out to him.
"No, you haven't." He agrees casually before continuing, not seeming upset by that fact. "It was when you admitted you were tired of being angry at me, and that you couldn't see the same look in my eyes anymore. I figured if you couldn't see the same look, than maybe she couldn't anymore too. And that if you could let go of your anger, maybe I could let go of mine."
"And have you?" I prompt him to continue. "Did you let go of your anger?"
"Towards my mother I have." He states. "I went to see her yesterday for the first time in almost ten years. It was... nice. She's been in a mental health hospital after her break down, and I held resentment for her for so long that I never visited her. But I made my first step yesterday, and it felt good to let go of the anger."
"I can understand that one." I agree sincerely.
"Because of when you let go during our fight? Your movements improved after that point, like a weight was lifted." He observes, but I shake my head.
"No, I mean on a deeper level I can understand. I had a lot of anger over the man who kidnapped me and my mother, and if he hadn't died when I was rescued, I might have held that anger longer..." I confess. "But also, I held a resentment to my own father for years. He didn't allow me to be a hero, he didn't support my training, he forbade me to use my quirk. I resented him because he still trained my brother, my twin, and not me. Only I was deemed unworthy of his training. I'm still working on releasing that resentment, but I feel so much better he's at least partially accepting my choice."
"Did... did your father support you in anything else? Did he spend time with you ever?" He asks uncertainly like he doesn't know if he's allowed to ask.
"He did. He supported my martial arts, but only after he saw that it helped my recovery. He supports my hobbies too, not that I have many. He spends his days off with us, but usually half the time is him training Inasa, so it's not like we were taking vacations or fun trips together all the time." I say, a hint of bitterness as I want to change the topic. "You mentioned forgiving your mother, but what about your father?"
"I'm not there yet. I'm actually going to intern under him, I want to see him as everyone else sees him. I've never tried to see him as a hero because to me he's always been closer to a villain. I'm going to try, but I don't know if I can forgive him ever." He states plainly, and I find myself nodding in understanding.
"I think I understand that. So wait, you're interning with him next week?" I ask, realizing a part of what he said.
"Yes, I am. Why?" He asks curiously.
"He offered me an internship too. I'm still undecided, I got a few really good offers, I'm debating on who will help my quirk the most." I tell him, feeling more laid back with the lighter topic. I feel like he and I just crossed the next invisible line in our interactions. Our first line was not being enemies anymore, we crossed that one a few days ago. I think we just moved into the realm of being acquaintances now.
"It's strange he would offer you one. He usually sticks to fire or power quirks. Not that your quirk isn't powerful, but it's not the type he usually hires." He observes, his head tilting slightly in confusion.
"Ehehe, who knows why then?" I chuckle nervously, realizing maybe Endeavor offered for personal reasons rather than training reasons. "I should get going though. Thank you for letting me clear the air today." I say as I stand, my now empty drink cup in my hand ready to throw away. He stands as well and we walk out together, depositing our drink cups in the trash on the way.
"Thank you for telling me in a clear way." He says once we're outside. "It's easier to understand you when you're not yelling and causing a hurricane." He waves once before walking in the opposite direction then I'm going.
I head home and ponder over our conversation. I still hold firm that I didn't like him because of his cold eyes and that he was a direct cause of Inasa not going to UA, but I can't hold those things against him. Todoroki no longer has the completely icy look anymore, not since he unleashed his fire for what could very well have been the first time. His home life doesn't sound like it's all too great, and I realized I need to stop holding things he's not responsible for over his head. It's not really his fault Inasa isn't with me, it's my idiot brother's fault, it was just easier to blame someone else.
But I also don't really feel the need to blame anyone anymore.
I'm happy, genuinely happy at UA on my own, and I feel like I've gotten a lot stronger both as a future pro hero and as a person there. I've made friends there like Kirishima, Kaminari, Shoji, Uraraka, and most everyone else from the class. And Bakugo too, but I'm sure he'd yell at me if I told him that. I love being in school with Mashirao, and I even tolerate being in the same school as Monoma, despite our screaming match at the tournament.
I'm glad I get to continue this route in my life. Now I just have to stay clear of any more dangers until my dad completely accepts me. Shouldn't be too hard.