"One day, you'll realize that your son is no longer an object or tool for you to use. Trust me— that day will come soon."-- Hebinoya Ikari
POV—Hebinoya Ikari
The Girl Born With Nothing
Don't let me go.
Todoroki's scar always stood out.
I don't know if it's because
it bears a same meaning as my own tattoo,
But I can tell there is a backstory behind it.
How did he even get it?
Don't let me go.
I'm not in any particular mood to talk to anyone, so I decide to take a detour and head to one of the more closed off student exits. My feet pads silently along the cold floors as I slink through the hallways, mentally preparing myself for the fight that is to come. It won't be easy.
"...then that means that you two have a connection that you can't talk about, right?"
I instantly recognize Todoroki's voice and I stop in my path, afraid that he had heard me. I debate on turning back, to leave them to their conversation, but a strange trance seems to wash over me as I strain my ears and press my body against the cold walls. He must be speaking to Midoriya.
All Might.
The thought of Midoriya having a connection to All Might never truly left my mind ever since we had talked to each other. Now is my chance to find out why, even though it may not be the most respectful. Another part of me scolds my sudden interest, but it already overpowered by my curiosity.
When I hear another pair of footsteps heading towards me, I turn my head to find Bakugou walking towards me, a permanent scowl decorated on his face.
Panic begins to rise up in me. If he sees me and draws attention, he'll know I was eavesdropping. I begin to feel myself become more and more panicky as I run scenarios through my head. What will Todoroki do when he finds out I had been eavesdropping?
I wave at him wildly with one hand, pressing a finger to my lips on the other to stop him from speaking. His eyes grow wide with anger, but when he opens his mouth to speak, his voice disappears as he catches onto Midoriya's conversation. His eyes seem to glint with interest as he steps beside me, pressing his back against the walls as well. I give him an uncertain glare, unsure if he will still give away my position or not, but my attention is sucked back to Todoroki.
Midoriya is struggling to find an answer to Todoroki's question, but he is already cut off.
"My old man's Endeavor. You know that he's been stuck at the number two level for forever."
I've only heard of Endeavor through the news and television. He was even mentioned by Father when I was nine.
"The second best hero is as spiteful as a villain, but for some reason the public still sees him in a good light. Do you know why that is, Ikari?" He had asked me. On that day, his voice was especially cold and metal.
"I... I don't know."
Father hated unanswered questions, and I knew that.
"Try again, Ikari." He had hissed, his voice dripping with malice as he pressed his cigarette deep into my skin. "Tell me."
I whimpered. "B-because he saves people, so no matter what else he does he is still praised?" I stuttered out, the fresh sting of the cigarette tingling on my skin.
"Good, Ikari. Continue."
My attention is drawn back to Todoroki's monotone voice.
"...if you have something from the number one hero, then I have even more reason to beat you."
I silently sigh. Todoroki's always making some kind of enemy. He's in the position to do so, of course, but I don't have the same privilege as him. I made a declaration of war on humankind when I inherited my father's Quirk. I am always the enemy to others, and I certainly don't need to make any announcements.
"He has a strong desire to rise in the world, and he made a great name for himself. Because of that, All Might is a great eyesore to him. Since he couldn't surpass him, he moved on to another plan."
"Why are you telling me this, Todoroki-kun?" Midoriya nervously asks.
"You've heard of Quirk marriages, right?"
Quirk marriages...
I cup my hand over my mouth. I should've known that Todoroki was a result of a Quirk marriage. It's logical to believe so-- after all, his Quirk almost seems too powerful.
"Quirk marriages: choosing a spouse solely based on strengthening your own Quirk and passing on to your children, forcing people into marriages. The old way of thinking brought back by a lack of ethic and morals. An accomplished man with money. He managed to win over my mother's relatives and got ahold of her Quirk. He is trying to fulfill his desire by raising me to be a hero that surpasses All Might."
The grip on my mouth tightens as the bitter realization churns in my stomach. I furrow my brows, trying to fully comprehend the crude method of creating Quirks. Subconsciously, I look to my side to see if Bakugou has any reaction to this, but he doesn't seem to have emotion on his face at all.
"It's so infuriating... becoming a tool for a scumbag like him."
My throat is stopping up, it's burning up, but I can only force myself to listen to Todoroki's pained words. There is so much angst and pain in his voice, so much brokenness. And I invalidated all of that by trying to force him to use his other side that he had a good reason not to.
"In my memories, my mother is always crying. 'Your left side is unsightly,' she said, as she poured boiling water over me."
His scar.
My stars, his scar.
His scar.
I resist the urge to gasp as I clamp another hand on my mouth. My eyes burn up. Everything is burning up. What am I doing, what am I doing? What did I do? What did I do to make Todoroki this mad—
"I'll reject him completely by getting first place without using his Quirk."
It makes so much sense now.
Foul vomit churns in my stomach. When I look down to my hands, they are shaking furiously, and my breathing is becoming raggedy.
If he catches me listening—
I turn away silently, disregarding Bakugou's quizzical stares and I rush down the halls, the dim lights now painfully bright. The mere lights seems nauseatingly bright as I briskly travel towards the bathrooms, my eyes are wide with shock.
An overwhelming amount of guilt crashes inside me, and the itch behind my eyes only seem to strengthen.
His scar—
What did I do, what did I do?
Just when I turn the corner, I nearly slam into a pillar and I stumble away, slightly swaying from the nausea.
What is a pillar doing in the middle of--
Through my blurry vision, I focus on a man with dancing flames swirling on his shoulders. His mouth is lined with a darkened scowl, his eyes narrowed with disapproval as he stares down at me.
"Sorry." I mumble, giving him a slight bow. When I look up into his eyes, all I can see are cruel, empty ones. One that is so full of hatred that he's willing to abuse his son.
"Watch where you're going, stupid kid." His voice is rough and grating as he shoves past me. When Endeavor briefly meets my eyes, he stops in his tracks. He bends down towards me. "You're the villain child, huh?"
He eyes me with defined disgust, his nose wrenched up in anger.
I am beginning to see why Todoroki hates his father.
"You're partnered with my son. Don't meddle with him, if you know what's good for you."
The small pit of anger that had been planted in my stomach roars into a full blown swirling chaos of hatred. It licks at the insides of my stomach, threatening to spill out of my mouth. A wave of uncontrollable anger suddenly lashes out in me and the only thing stopping me is my guilt. I want nothing more but to spit right in his face and shout, 'And why the hell do I care, you shameful excuse of a hero?'
"I'll do whatever I want. You cannot control anyone, especially your son." Endeavor's fiery eyes widen when I say this, but I only continue, walking past him. "One day, you'll realize that your son is no longer an object or tool for you to use. Trust me— that day will come soon." My voice is barely controlled, right above a whisper.
It took me everything to not throw a middle finger at him.
"Listen here, you little maggot—" I can hear the pure anger dripping out of Endeavor's mouth, "—I'm going to do whatever I want to with my son. He's mine." The anger just rushes at me even more. "As for you, I could have you arrested in seconds. You think you have everyone fooled, don't you?" He growls. "I can see right through you. You don't want to become a hero at all— how could you? You're the daughter of Razor. You're the scum of the earth, and you should keep that in mind when you're talking to a true hero."
Perhaps I should hold up the finger on the other hand as well. The anger inside me froths and crashes in me, egging me on to unleash it, to give him a piece of my mind.
As much as I would've liked to, I let the anger go. I am too overwhelmed by emotions to properly respond to his insults. I dig my nails deep into my palms, hoping that it might help with my anger, and without another word I turn away and rush back towards the bathrooms. His words flows through my mind so quickly it all becomes a blur.
Villain— scum of the earth— throw you in jail—
I'm going to do whatever I want to my son.
He's mine.
His last words echo in my head as I forcefully slam a bathroom stall door open. It clangs with an unsatisfying echo as I seethe, walking into the cubicle and then slamming the door once more behind me.
After hearing Todoroki speak so ill of him and now experiencing it firsthand, I finally understand Todoroki's deep hatred for him. I try to take in deep breathes, my chest heaving up and down. Disgust begins to rise up in me and the next thing I know, I am kneeling on the ground in front of the toilet, sputtering out vomit. My hands clutch the toilet bowl as I cough and hack away, my mind a blank slate of emptiness.
The acidic smell burns my eyes, making them water, or perhaps it is my frustration that made them leak. After coughing out the last of my breakfast, I lean against the stall, the bitter taste of digested food tainting my mouth. I stare up at the ceiling, my breathing slow and shallow.
Todoroki helped me through so many tough situations, and what do I do? I yell at him for not using his Quirk. He has a traumatizing reason not to.
Shit.
I use the sleeve of my jacket to wipe the spit and from my face.
My eyes are blurred with tears, my hands shake furiously. I try to take in deep breathes, but they only come out as hiccups and the harder I try the harder it becomes to breathe. Guilt begins to consume me as I play back all the things Todoroki did to me, and it only makes more tears slip down my face.
I need to fix this.
I still have time.
In an instance, I bolt up from my stance and I throw open the stall door, a sudden spike of determination running through me. I sprint out of the bathrooms and towards the cafeteria. I can fix this. I will.
I scour through hallways and corridors, my eyes darting through every corner of the cafeteria and countless hallways, and finally, after rushing around with tousled hair and a beet-red face, I find him near the arena. When I finally catch up to him I call out his name.
"Todoroki!" The name seems so out of place in my mouth. He pauses slightly, giving me a cold stare.
"What?"
I open my mouth, ready to spill everything out to him, every last drop of worry and guilt. It urges me to get it out, to let it out immediately so I can be freed of this dreaded feeling, but just when I try to my tongue turns dry.
The part of me that had stopped me from apologizing knows that if I do, he will know that I was eavesdropping and that I had violated his privacy. He'd hate me even more. I can feel my hands shaking, my head pounding. Still, I try to make up for it.
"I— look, I'm sorry for pissing you off at training."
"Why are you saying this now?"
"I—"
"All students, please report back to the stadium. Lunch is now officially over. Please report back to the stadium."
Todoroki sighs and turns away from me, not even giving me time to answer. I can't even fully register his words as I watch him walk away, a shooting pain spiking through my heart. The guilt that rises up in me after that is the most I had ever felt in my entire life... that I had betrayed someone I actually cared out.
So much pain.
Seconds later, I shake myself out of my stupor. I pretend this never happened. I push all my feelings away, all my guilt and nervousness.
I have a Sports Festival to win.
Don't let me go.
Hey guys! I hope you guys enjoyed this episode. I know it's a bit short, but prepare for longer chapters in the near future! Please make sure you take care of yourself, and drink lots of water!
Fun fact(Writing Edition):
This is part two of my writing process! If you haven't seen the first part, go back to the last chapter and read it so you're a little more up to date. After I write down my initial thoughts on my Microsoft word doc(which is mostly made up of inconceivable words strung together to barely make a sentence) I will wait a day or two to go through a whole TON of editing. Usually, I make six or seven rounds of edits, spread out in the span of two or three days, before I actually officially publish it. In total, everyday I probably spend on average an hour and a half on this story.