"You're not Dr. Todoroki," Deku observed. He sat in his chair. His hands were folded. There was a significant amount of baggage under his eyes. He was too tired to act out. It was all he could do to quench the flame of anger, sadness, and other emotions lurking within Izuku.
"How rude," Touya Todoroki placed a hand on his chest, feigning offense. "I am Dr. Todoroki, just perhaps, not the one you want. But, we've been over this. Izuku, Shouto doesn't exist," a cheap grin lurking on his lips. Deku didn't like Touya one bit right now. It was foolish of him to think he could trust Touya when he returned from saving Shouto.
"I am Deku!" Deku slammed his hand down on the table, causing a crack to form. Touya didn't so much as flinch. "What nonsense are you speaking? Shouto exists! I saw him yesterday!"
Touya sighed. "You didn't see him, you imagined him. Shouto is simply a figment of your imagination. Izuku Midoriya. You created the persona 'Deku' to internalize your negative feelings. You created 'Shouto' to help you cope with 'Deku' by forcing perfection onto him. 'Shouto' is just as much a figment of your imagination as 'Deku.' Only, he is more of a hallucination than an alternate personality."
"What would you know?!" Deku glared. A glare strong enough to make any sane person cringe. Touya continued to smile a half-hearted grin.
"Izuku, you do remember the first time you talked to Deku? You imagined being able to see him in your reflection. Is it so unlikely that you could imagine a person that doesn't exist? Even Deku has done it before. Deku himself imagined that your precious 'Shouto' had a darker persona too. 'Scar' I believe his name was," Touya looked down at his notes. It was impossible for him to know all of this! How did he know all of this! Deku refused to listen to it. It made sense. But, it made zero sense at all. He knew Shouto was real!
"Then, how do you explain the list, my date, all of the moments I've had with Dr. Todoroki!" Deku clenched his hand into a fist, ready to break this wretched table.
"You used the premise of a 'date' to break out of this cell of yours. Childsplay for you. You wanted to get revenge on a group you remembered having belittled you by using a means of 'saving Shouto' as your excuse. But, Shouto doesn't exist, so, therefore, it was just you going on a rampage for the fun of it," Touya shrugged. "As for the list," Touya held out the piece of paper 'Shouto' had written. "You've been replacing your memories with me by creating a better 'Dr. Todoroki.' You've had all of these conversations with me but replaced my words, my interactions with you, with a version you could relate to more. 'Shouto' doesn't, never has, and never will exist. Is that so hard for you to believe? You're in here for a reason, Izuku. You've never, ever, been completely trustworthy. You can't even trust yourself, so why are you doubting what I am saying?" Touya shook his head, disappointed. "I finally thought we were getting somewhere until you kept insisting 'Shouto' was real. He isn't real. Neither is 'Deku.'"
"Do you want to say that again? Impostor," Deku growled. He stood up, slamming his fist on the glass, threatening to break it. "I will destroy you," he promised.
"He doesn't exist. Neither does your alternate persona," Touya repeated, slowly and carefully, emphasizing each word. "You've been doing all of these things, imagining that you were someone else or with someone else or loved someone else all to cope with who you really are, Izuku. You're a hurt, sad, lonely individual with a special amount of strength that doesn't seem to fit in anywhere in this world. You can't trust yourself, remember? So, why are you trusting that your hyperactive imagination is the truth?"
"Oooh, you bas-"
"It's okay," Izuku folded his hands on the table. He stared at them, and the crack, and thought about the fact that Deku was once again trying to protect him from the pain and his own inability to act on anything. "It's okay, Deku," Izuku could feel the tears in his eyes. "No one has believed a single thing I've said. Even Shouto didn't answer my question on if he believed that I had a quirk or not. I can't be trusted. I can't even trust myself. Dr. Todoroki has a point."
"Except this isn't Dr. Todoroki! This is the imposter second version!" Deku yelled at the top of his lungs. "I want half and half back! Damnit!" he screamed, tearing out his hair, throwing a tantrum. Touya watched, unamused, writing simple things on his clipboard.
"Let's get the conversation back on topic, shall we?" Touya held up the list. "Your tenth and final item. You left it blank? Why was that? What is the item, Izuku? What did you think you were unable to do most of all with your case of mysophobia?"
"The last one..." Izuku tried to remember. It was clear in his mind but he couldn't quite draw it out. He was too afraid to now. It was unaccomplishable.
"The last one?" Touya repeated.
"I wanted to...I wanted to..." Izuku tried to remember his first conversation with Shouto. If that conversation wasn't real at all...was there a point to completing this list? If...if Shouto didn't exist...Do you have a problem with yourself, Izuku? The question repeatedly played in his ears. How many people asked him that? Shouto had asked him when he tried to complete his first task...why was he thinking about it now?
Do you have a problem with yourself, Izuku?
"I wanted to love myself and love someone else," Izuku sobbed. "I wanted to be okay with who I am and do something vulnerable and intimate."
"Like what? Sex?" Touya didn't quite understand. What about sex was vulnerable and intimate? It was just sex. But, then again, Touya wasn't the one with mysophobia.
"W-what?!" Izuku's face flushed and he rapidly shook his head. "I was thinking more like a hug! N-not that! Although, I could never be able to do that! But the list only goes up to ten! Besides no one would be able to do that with me that's like...item 10,000!!!"
"Hm? Boo, I would've done it," Touya pouted a bit. He wasn't very professional.
The door was kicked open and who was standing there but the very same Shouto Todoroki. Izuku was too stunned to process that information. Not only was Shouto standing there but his hair was disheveled. His shirt was partially unbuttoned, and his eyes burned with a fiery rage. Quite literally. Half of his head was engulfed in a beautiful red, terrifying, flame to match his hair. Orange and flickering, burning and contemptuous, he walked over to Touya and grabbed him by the shirt.
"I was right to come back early," his voice eerily calm despite his obvious rage. Bits of makeup fell onto Touya's face after being satisfactorily burned clean off. "Not only have you toyed with my patient but you put his mental health at risk by trying to burn lies into his fragile mind. I don't exist? Really? Shall I show you how much I don't exist, Touya?" Unable to keep his voice calm any longer it fluctuated with each flicker of the flame. Back and forth between cool and vengeance. Despite being so obviously disturbed, Shouto was still trying to control his emotions.
"Burn lies? Wow," Touya whistled, "the only one doing any burning here is you, Shouto," he smiled in the face of danger.
"You are an absolute disgrace to psychiatrists everywhere."
"I've told you," Touya shrugged, carefully removing Shouto's hands from his shirt. "I never became a psychiatrist to help people. I only became one to manipulate them for my own amusement."
"You despicabl-"
"Shouto?" Izuku finally snapped out of his strange haze. The flames had hypnotized him considerably. "You're on...fire? Are you okay?"
Shouto turned his head. His eyes met with Izuku's. He saw the fear, anxiety, and other various emotions on Izuku's face. It was enough to cool him off. He opened his mouth, standing up straight, breathing out a cold mist. Deadpanned expression returning as the flame wisped away.
"I'm fine. I apologize for worrying you and putting you through this entirely strange interaction. Touya, apologize for your insolence," Shouto shot him a glare.
"Right, right, I'm sorry," Touya sighed, waving it off.
"Why were you...on fire?" Izuku stood up. "You were on fire! Did you get burned?! Are you really okay! Your clothes are a bit singed! Is your hair okay? Is your face burned? Are you still breathing?!"
"Izuku," Shouto sighed. "I have a quirk just like you do, please don't be so surprised. I tried to tell you before, remember? After you jumped to conclusions thinking I was quirkless."
Izuku thought back to the moment before he'd decided to make tea and participate in the 'indirect kiss.' Sure enough, he remembered Shouto trying to say something to him but then stopping. So, Shouto had a quirk? That kind of made sense. Him being cold all the time must be the other half of his quirk. It was fitting. Why didn't Izuku notice before?
"Well, I'll be off," Touya waved and made his escape while the two were distracted.
"If you have a quirk, and I have a quirk, does everyone here have a quirk? Why does this place exist for trapping people that think they have quirks if quirks do exist?" Izuku frowned. He couldn't wrap his head around it.
"You're here because Deku killed and tormented people. You were able to get out of prison by entering a heavily secure facility. These people are here because the world isn't ready for quirks, not because quirks aren't real. A lot of them still have mental health issues and various other problems that make them and their quirks dangerous," Shouto crossed his arms and explained. "The people treating them have quirks. It helps keep the business secret without putting any people without quirks into a tight situation. The only reason your former doctors tried to convince you that you didn't have a quirk was because you were originally quirkless and they were bothered by it. And, because Deku scared them so they didn't want you aware that you had one."
"This is quite the eye-opener," Izuku was confused. He was confused but he was glad he knew it all now. Things fell into place. Puzzle pieces he never understood or could find were revealed.
"I apologize again for Touya. I'm not entirely sure why he did this. In any case, what was the tenth item on your list?" Shouto asked.
Beet red. Izuku's face turned the color of Shouto's hair. Touya had planted the seed of sex into his mind, even if he was originally just going to want a hug. Shouto didn't know that though. If Touya kept his mouth shut he might just be able to pretend sex was what he'd wanted all along. No, no, he shouldn't do that. He didn't want to lie to Shouto.
"It was a hug," Izuku mumbled.
"Oh thank the heavens," Shouto breathed out a sigh of relief. His face held a purely satisfied expression. Shouto was acting like Izuku had just saved him from falling off a cliff. "I thought you were going to say something drastically different," Shouto confessed. "I'll meet you in the hallway then," he said, turning to leave.