The shop is small but it will do, Todoroki thinks as he pushes open the door to enter. A little bell tinkles his welcome and he blinks at the red ribbon tied on top of it. Not many witches would so blatantly use such urban magic, knowing that most look down upon those that use the modern ways.
He moves slowly inside, and it only takes him a moment to realize that a gigantification spell has been used on it's interior. Not particularly rare, given the spell's popularity among witches, but the amount that the shop's size has been grown... he looks around and ah, yes, there it is, traditional runes painted in blue, the color of the ocean and sky (the widest expanse there is).
But Todoroki isn't here to browse, so he moves quickly, his cursed hand tucked into his pocket and a glove on his blessed hand, put on with care so that his touch doesn't freeze anything.
He stands in the curse undoing section for a long time, browsing through purifying feathers and containment marbles before he is about to give up.
He frowns a bit.
He had hoped to find a good talisman and get it over with, but he should know better.
Thankfully, on his way out, Todoroki finds a tablet saying personalized spells at the front hanging from the window.
The boy at the counter has a slight frame, a green vest and simple white button down. He hasn't the mark on his temple revealing him as a witch, so Todoroki is surprised when he asks after the shop's witch and the boy smiles, "Oh, that's me!"
Todoroki blinks a bit, dumbfounded, and the boy sticks out a hand and introduces himself as Midoriya Izuku, but you can just call me Midoriya.
"Todoroki," He shakes Midoriya's hand with his gloved one and pulls out his other, "I have a cursed arm, and I was hoping that you could help me get rid of it?"
"I hope you don't mean by amputation," Midoriya's light smile is enough to show that he's joking and Todoroki holds out his cursed arm. Midoriya examines it with narrow eyes, "Hm... orange runes? Rare, that someone would take the time to do it so delicately, and to have it hand painted like this makes it very powerful but guessing from the residue left, it must have been there since a young age, possibly just a little before birth, meaning that someone would have had to pre-plan and..."
He mumbles a bit more, effectively guessing and running through all the options, before Midoriya leans back and shakes his head.
Todoroki's heart sinks.
"I'm sorry, Todoroki-san," Midoriya's voice is soft, apologetic, "I can't help you get rid of it."
Frustration bubbles up in Todoroki's chest, "Then there must be someone who can," he says desperately, "Can you refer me to another witch?"
Midoriya's eyes are cool, dark, "Your arm isn't cursed, Todoroki-san, it's blessed."
"No," Todoroki shakes his head, "My hand sets everything that I touch on fire."
"We can alter that slightly," Midoriya dips his head, "But it's a blessing."
"I don't want this blessing," Todoroki grits his teeth, "Can you get rid of blessings?"
Midoriya sighs at him and nods at his other arm, "There should be a water based blessing on that arm, to balance the two."
"There is, but," Todoroki shakes his head, "I don't want this."
"I can't get rid of it, then," Midoriya's frown is telling, and Todoroki wants to get rid of it somehow, "You always need a balance." He taps the side of his head, "You're a witch, so you, of all people, should know. Elemental magic is powerful, but that makes it dangerous. Everyone knows the tale of the fire witch from Ennan who burned from inside out."
"I can handle it," Todoroki shakes his head, stubborn.
"You can't," Midoriya's gaze hardens, "Let me see your other arm."
Reluctantly, Todoroki pulls off his glove and rolls up his sleeve so that Midoriya can see the pastel blue runes written on his right arm. Midoriya's fingers trace the curl of the rune over his wrist and the stocky block of the band at the base of his knuckles to ensure that the magic doesn't escape and infect anything, and then Midoriya shakes his head.
"Your magic is perfectly balanced. If you get rid of one, the other will consume you."
"I don't care!" Todoroki's voice is desperate, pleading now, "I don't need my fire!"
"Everyone needs fire," Midoriya puts a seed on the counter and holds out his finger. It turns green and he paints out familiar earthen runes, then he paints the figures for sun, brook, breath around in a circle. The rune lowers to the seed and a sapling sprouts out, curling and a soft pink flower blooming from the side. "This plant needs sun to grow, yes? It needs to be watered, and takes in oxygen to survive. It plants it's root in soil, and because it has all four elements, it survives."
Todoroki's heart pounds in his chest, "I am not a plant," he says.
"But you are alive," Midoriya claps his hands together and the plant turns to rune, the pink flower curling into golden ink for sun, leaves melting into breath and the rest of it dissolving into runes before it is simply a seed again, "And all living things need balance."
"I will be more balanced without the fire," Todoroki knows that he's fighting an empty battle but he tries anyway.
Midoriya glares at him, "The only way to destroy that arm is through dark magic, and the results will kill you."
Todoroki lowers his head, jaw set in irritation, "Then what do I do?" He demands.
"You accept it," Midoriya pushes a hand against his chest, eyes blazing, "Your fire is a part of you. I don't know why you dislike it, but whatever fire has done in the past, whoever gave you that rune, it does not matter. Magic has no past, only a present, and right now, that fire belongs to you and you alone. No other mana can be fed to it, and you are the one who chooses to use it so choose it."
"It destroys everything that I touch!" Todoroki yells.
"Because you won't accept it!" Midoriya yells back, "Because you suppress it, as though magic can be suppressed! You hold it back as though it's a dog, some pet, instead of a living, breathing part of you!"
"Then what do I do?" Todoroki breathes, chest heaving, breath ragged.
Midoriya sighs, "Then you let it be."
"It will turn everything to fire," Todoroki shakes his head, "It will burn your shop down."
"Don't be over dramatic," Midoriya snorts, leans over, and brushes his fingers against Todoroki's wrist, "You see this band here? It's an ending rune, and if I'm correct, you have one on your bicep as well. Ending runes are especially important because they do the job of containing magic, and yours seals your fire within. My guess is..."
Midoriya rambles a bit, babbling on and pointing to each rune and explaining their purpose. He takes over an hour to talk, occasionally stopping and asking Todoroki if this is alright. It is, Todoroki says each time, awed and humbled by the shopkeeper's knowledge.
At the end, Todoroki doesn't quite understand it as much as Midoriya does, but he understands that the magic is his and it is safe and good and none of it belongs to Endeavor.
"I accept it," Todoroki breathes, and the end, eyes closed and head bowed to Midoriya, "Thank you."
Midoriya smiles, "Then activate it."
Todoroki does, and the runes burn, fire licking each but not spreading, glowing bright and powerful and strong, the entire shop illuminated in sunset gold before it dies down, and the runes are normal again.
He gives his thanks to Midoriya once again, and Midoriya smiles back.
"Since you're, um, still in training," Midoriya gestures at the mark on Todoroki's temple, half done, the sign of a witch-in-training, "My shop has, ah, books and talismans. If you want to, ah, shop here, I mean."
"Trying to drum up more business?" Todoroki teases, trying to banish the memory of Midoriya looking stunning as he summons his magic and paints runes on the seed.
Midoriya turns red and stammers a few things before he calms and fiddles with his sleeves, "It would be nice to see you again," he admits, voice soft, "Balanced. Not just because you're balanced, I mean. You're more than your magic. Obviously. It would just be relieving, since it's healthier. Because I want to see you healthy. Not just you, I mean, I like seeing people healthy in general. But it's not that I don't like you! I mean, I don't really know you. But I'm sure that you're a great person!"
Todoroki lets Midoriya babble a bit more, and when he stops to take a breath, Todoroki says, "I'll see you again, then, when I come back to buy something."
Midoriya's eyes are wide, surprised for a moment before he beams back, bright and eager, "I'll see you then!"