Welcome to Epidemic!
This book is the love and labor of a project almost four years in the making!
I'm putting this disclaimer here.
I do not own My Hero Academia, I only own the storyline, the cover, and my own characters.
This story will also contain themes of torture, gore/blood, abuse, etc.
I'll put a warning in each chapter that contains it, but just be warned and do not read this book if the above mentioned subjects are triggers for you.
That being said, this chapter does contain violence.
….
Frostbite showed up on her doorstep that night; bruised, battered, and covered in blood.
Right.
Some explaining was probably in order.
Especially to her mother and father who would undoubtedly be worried sick.
…
*the previous day*
Frostbite Midoriya, seventeen year old adopted daughter of the number one hero and his wife, Izuku Midoriya and Ochako Midoriya, sat in a cafe booth in a bustling diner. She sat cross legged, cradling a porcelain mug in one gloved hand with a paper wrapped sandwich in the other. Snow fluttered from the sky but she didn't seem to mind as she sipped at a cold mix of watered down hot cocoa and sugar.
Across from her sat a boy, perhaps one year older than her at the most. His hair was the color of mouse fur and his eyes the color of purple orchids. His fingers were bandaged as a result of one too many nicks with a scalpel, his crooked nose telling the story of one too many run ins with bullies.
He was Takashi Tanaka, quirkless and also her best friend since third grade. His stuffed backpack showing he was a current medical student at the local high school. They had made it a point to get together when they could over lunch and just talk. Especially with exams for both of them coming up, they needed some companionship.
He sat across from her, nursing his own mug of overly-sweetened coffee and waving a paper in his well-manicured fingers,
"I'm telling you Frostbite! She's a spittin' image of you minus the eyes!" He rambled, shoving the paper in her direction. Said paper was a newspaper clipping he had snagged from a doctor he had been studying under.
It was waterlogged and torn from Takashi not putting it away during his trek through the snow. In the background of the main article of a hero posing for a photo, was a grainy figure of a woman. Takashi had circled her in purple pen he had borrowed, claiming it was a woman looking exactly like Frostbite. She couldn't make out much detail besides a similar shaped nose and the familiar pout she saw whenever she looked in the mirror. But that didn't prove anything.
"I dunno Takashi, she looks like any ol' woman t' me." She mumbled through a mouthful of ham sandwich, her old street-slang type accent slipping through into her speech.
"I'm telling you! I saw her with my own two eyes after a clinic! She's a spitting image! Weird hair and all!" He was almost spitting crumbs and she rolled her eyes,
"I'll believe it when I see it. And I don't have weird hair!" She swallowed her bite and took a sip of her cooling drink.
Takashi glowered before seeming to get an idea. His orchid colored eyes lit up and he set his mug down to smack the table lightly.
"I know where she hangs out, this medical group I'm in goes down there to help the homeless and stuff, I could show you by sundown." He countered and she paused, curious piqued but wary. Izuku has told her to be home by seven o'clock at the latest for dinner and it was five forty-seven now. Plus it was hamburger night at home and she didn't want to miss Izuku's American style burgers.
Takashi must've sensed her hesitation,
"Oh c'mon! We can go see if we find her and be home within an hour!"
Frostbite pushed her glasses up her nose and hoisted her backpack higher onto her shoulders as she followed Takashi across streets and through dingy alleyways. They had been running for nearly thirty minutes and she was getting irritated.
"I thought you said this would be quick!" She snapped and Takashi shot a glare back at her,
"I still have half an hour to keep my promise!" Was all he said before skidding to a stop and nearly causing her to topple them over into a trash heap.
She looked around, the area was bustling in the setting sun. It was a shady part of town she would frequent when she was younger; lots of bars meant lots of drunkards to pickpocket. She had gotten her favorite hat (which was long gone) from this place.
"I'm not seein' her Tak-"
"Frostbite look!" She did and felt the world spin to a stop.
A Hispanic woman, perhaps in her mid to late forties judging by how she carried herself, though she looked younger than that, stood across the street. Her hair was cut short, a ruffled pixie cut, her eyes a deep brown. Her skin was darkened by the sun and her ethnicity but she looked so familiar.
The slope of her nose was the same and the pout of her lips looked exactly like Frostbite's. Hell, she even had the same freckles dotting her cheekbones. She had that tired look in her eyes, as if she knew things better left forgotten. She was wrapped in a long coat, the kind Frostbite saw prostitutes wear late at night when they were looking for business. Frostbite clenched her fists, getting to her feet and turning away. The woman; who Frostbite didn't even know if she was her mother, was a prostitute.
"W-woah wait! Frostbite!" Takashi scrambled after her as she stormed away.
"Aren't you going to talk to her?"
"Why would I? She clearly doesn't want me. She didn't want me when I was born, I probably got in the way of her job. So why should she want me now?" She turned back to glance at the woman one last time and froze as she saw those coffee brown eyes staring back at her, welled with tears and wide with emotion. However, as the woman stepped closer, Frostbite turned and ran.
…
She went home, silent and confused. Had that woman really been her mother? Was Takashi pulling an elaborate prank? She didn't think so, but her skeptical mind was keeping on her toes and making her paranoid. Her thoughts were racing as she picked at the burger and salad on her plate.
Her parents didn't think anything of it, afterall she was always quiet. Especially with final exams for her second year at UA coming up. For the past month and a half, she had spent any time not at school, studying in her bedroom or at the local library. As far as they knew, that's where she had been all afternoon. And she wasn't about to tell them she had been hanging with Takashi instead.
They all washed the dishes, Frostbite still doing her age old job of drying the dishes. She missed having Toto at her feet. Her best friend had passed away a year prior, just before she had started school, due to kidney failure. That year had been hell, she had nearly dropped out, but her therapist had helped her with processing her grief
Now she was left with a feeling of loss. She didn't want another dog, she knew they couldn't replace Toto. So she dealt with it on her own, taking out her frustrations with training with Katsuki and sessions with her therapist
Frostbite kissed her parents on the cheek, murmuring a good night before heading to bed, changing into her pajamas and brushing her teeth. Her bedroom had changed throughout the years, her walls remained bare and her desk scattered with textbooks and notebooks. Her school uniform hung on her desk chair, her backpack with completed homework beside it.
A single framed photo hung above the nightstand next to her bed. Said photo was the day her adoption papers had been finalized and her last name legally changed to Midoriya. Izuku has swept Frostbite off her feet and onto his shoulders despite her shrieking at the motion. Ochako had taken the photo, capturing the fearful delight on Frostbite's face and the tears of joy glittering in Izuku's eyes. Toto had been jumping at their feet, his tail a blur as he tried to figure out what was going on.
She kissed her fingers and brushed them against Toto's picture. His collar lay below the picture, atop a hand carved box that held his cremated ashes.
"Good night Toto, love you." She whispered as she climbed into bed and put her glasses on the nightstand, switching the lamp off and plunging the room into darkness.
…
UA high school was bustling with sleep deprived students and fresh faced first years as Frostbite switched into her indoor shoes and shut her locker. Her backpack was heavy with dread and schoolwork, her glasses slipping down her nose as she shoved her way to her homeroom class. A weight crashed into her side and she stumbled, casting a glare at the perpetrator.
Akira Ito, seventeen year old second year and one of her two best friends, grinned happily. Her black hair had been styled in a neat bun (Frostbite claimed it looked like a bagel but Akira refused to listen to her), pale green eyes hidden behind star shaped sunglasses.
"Good moooorning Frostbite!" She crowed and Frostbite glowered,
"You're too energetic this morning." Was all she said and continued to class. Akira let out a long whine and draped herself on Frostbite's shoulders. The shorter girl simply kept walking, albeit slower than before.
"Frostbiiiiite! Why are you so grumpy today?"
"... couldn't sleep last night. Nightmares."
Not a complete lie, Frostbite had woken herself up in near tears during the night with images of the woman Takashi had shown her. Images of her casting a young version of Frostbite into the gutter, into the streets, at one point in front of a moving car. She didn't dare wake Izuku or Ochako, not when they had early Hero work the next day, so she curled under her blankets, clutching Toto's collar to her chest and muffling soft cries by biting into her pillow.
Thankfully, Akira didn't push or pry, she knew better than to ask about sensitive topics like Frostbite's nightmares. She got off her friend's back and together they walked towards their class.
The Department Of General Studies Class 1-C was already alive with noise. Frostbite ducked under a classmate and slid into her seat. Luckily for them, their teacher allowed them to choose their seats as long as they were quiet when he was talking. So of course Akira took the seat behind Frostbite. Frostbite sat down and immediately took out her needed notes to get some last minute studying in.
"Alright, everyone sit down please." Came the familiar and monotone voice of their teacher and pro hero; Mindjack aka Hitoshi Shinsou. He didn't glance up from his clipboard as he approached his podium and cleared his throat.
"If you'll all turn to page one hundred ninety-four, we'll begin with today's lesson…"
…
"Midoriya, can you'll hang back a few minutes please?" Frostbite froze in packing her backpack as the bell rang. Her brain hurt from trying to pay attention to the lessons and also puzzling about the woman she had seen yesterday. She slowly zipped up her backpack as her fellow classmates left the room to go home.
Approaching her teacher cautiously, she took a seat across from him at his desk.
"How have your studies been?" He asked, tone light and conversational. She shrugged,
"Alright I guess, it is the end of the year so exams are coming up." Shinsou nodded and steepled his fingers,
"Right, and since you'll beginning your third year next year, I'd like to talk to you about a couple of things." He glanced at his clipboard which held her grades and her score in the entrance exam.
"The faculty and staff of UA have been talking and we were looking for a potential candidate to move from the General Studies Department to the Hero Course since someone dropped out. And we'd like to extend that offer to you." Frostbite blinked, shocked and mystified. Her? Why her of all people?
Sensing her hesitation, Shinsou continued,
"You scored quite high on the entrance exam, though you were one point below the needed score to enter the Hero course so you were placed in General Studies. You never participated full heartedly in the UA Sports Festival either. But the staff and I think you'd be a great fit-"
"Sorry for interrupting you sir, and thank you for the offer. But I'd like to stay where I am. I don't want to move to the Hero course." She said quietly, eyes focused on her hands.
"Pardon?"
"I don't want to move to the Hero course. I'm happy where I am in General Studies. I'm sure there are lots of other students who would be much more capable as a Hero than I am who would be delighted to move classes. If that's all, I'd like to leave please." She reaffirmed yet kept her eyes down. Her teacher was quiet, taking in her words.
"If that's what you really want Miss Midoriya. You are dismissed." Was all he said and she nodded quickly, retrieving her bag and heading for the door. Yet as she reached the threshold, she paused.
"Please don't tell my father sir, I don't think he'd be very happy to hear I turned down the Hero course." She requested and heard the shuffling of papers before he spoke again.
"No worries Miss Midoriya, have a nice evening."
…
Frostbite chewed on her thumbnail as she walked down the streets away from the school. She had some time to kill before she had to be home, before Izuku and Ochako got home. Turning on her heel, she allowed her feet to lead her, her mind wandering. People passed, their faces a blur as she crossed streets and walked down the busy streets.
"Excuse me?" An unfamiliar voice, spiked with a Russian accent. Frostbite looks up through the falling snow to the speaker.
A woman, early thirties with blue eyes and curly blonde hair, wrapped in a fur lined leather coat and holding out a glossy blue card.
"This was to be delivered to you, it's from Ms. Rose." She said and walked away, Frostbite blinked in shock.
"Hey wait a minute!" But the woman was gone, leaving her ankle deep in snow and not a clue who the woman was. Glancing down, she could smell the overwhelming perfume as she read the smooth kanji "Miss Isabella Rose" for point two seconds before throwing the card over her shoulder and kept on her way.
All before scrambling back and picking up the card, flipping it over with shaking fingers to see the face of the woman from yesterday. In fine print, where no one looks, was an address. An address that would lead to the woman. But she paused, did she want to see this woman? The woman who could potentially be the absent birth mother she never had?
"Ah to hell with it." She muttered and turned to find the address before pausing,
"Pardon my language."
The apartment complex was a mess of cracking brick and scorch marks from past villain attacks. Frostbite looks to the card and then to the setting sun, Izuku and Ochako would be home in about an hour. An hour. That should be plenty enough time right? She steeled her nerves and ascended the stairs.
Apartment 36A was immaculate and clean, the doorknob a bruised bronze from many hands twisting and opening the door. Frostbite scuffed her shoes on the doormat before raising a hesitant fist and knocking on the door. One minute, then two, then the door opened and Frostbite came face to face with the woman who looked just like her.
They stared at each other, neither speaking, neither making a move. The woman was pretty, makeup concealing the lines around her eyes and lips.
"Umm… Ms. Rose?" Frostbite said hesitantly and the woman's eyes watered as she opened the door wider and allowed her inside.
The interior was bare, a single kotatsu table with two pillows in the living area was all she could see but she could smell the perfume coming from the bedroom and wrinkled her nose.
"I did not think you would come." The woman said and Frostbite hid a grimace, keeping her shoes on and sitting at the kotatsu table.
"Yeah, well, that Russian lady was pretty strange. I didn't want her doing something weird if I didn't follow the directions." She said as she held her backpack in her lap as the woman took a seat across from her.
"She means no harm, I just had to have her deliver the card to you. It isn't wise for me to venture out so often."
"And why is that?" Frostbite asked and politely declined an offer of tea in cracked tea cups.
"They watch me closely. It's a wonder they haven't reacted given you came here." The woman explained vaguely, only serving to confuse Frostbite more.
"Woah woah wait, I came here to find out why you look so much like me. And now you're spouting nonsense?" The woman almost looked offended.
"Isn't it obvious dearest? I'm your mother." Frostbite have a half grimace, not one hundred percent convinced.
"And why are you trying to get in contact with me now Ms. Rose? You never cared to before." The woman looked sad, her dark eyes down cast.
"... my real name is Sofia Fernández… and I wanted to get in touch with you much earlier, please believe me. But I had to keep my distance… for your safety and mine… O'Malley should have told you this… where is he now?" Frostbite froze at the name, her lips curling back into a snarl,
"He's dead. And he didn't tell me anything, he's a selfish, lying, torturous jerk who made my life a living hell. Now, let's pretend for one second that I believe that you're my mother. Who is watching you that freaks you out so much?" She snapped and the woman frowned.
"They're everywhere, in hospitals and the justice system. They know everything about everyone and they paired me with your father to create you… then they killed him off when his purpose was completed and made it look like an accident. It's only a matter of time before I'm next."
"Who?" Was all Frostbite asked, her voice cracking as she bit down on her temper and her rising confusion.
"They're called-"
A loud bang sounded and suddenly, a bullet hole appeared in the side of the woman's head. Bits of bone and flesh splattered on Frostbite's face with blood dripping down her cheeks. She let out a scream and scrambled backwards as more bullets flew through the window, puncturing and shredding the woman's body and sending her to the floor. Frostbite scooped her backpack onto her shoulders and ran, ran towards the door to escape.
The door knob cracked as someone large slammed their body against it. Frostbite skidded to a stop, gaining slivers in her hands as she turned and ran away, towards the only free window in the room that wasn't riddled with bullet holes. Just as she reached the window, a bullet buried itself next to her head and the door was broken down.
Glass shattered and rained down as she smashed through it and fell towards the concrete.
She maneuvered herself midair and landed, throwing herself in a roll onto her feet before she was pounding through the snow. There were more bullets sparking at her feet and she crashed into a wall skidding around a corner. She quickly ducked into a nearby crowd, pulling her beanie from her backpack and shoving it over her head, wrapping her scarf around her neck as she went. It wasn't much, but it'd help lose whoever was trying to shoot at her.
It was dark when she reached home, bruised from her fall, bloodied from the glass and the blood from the woman, and had several cuts and nicks. She had lost the attackers several blocks back, catching a bus to her street and avoiding any conversation whatsoever. The door creaked as she slipped inside, it was well past the time Ochako and Izuku would be in bed. Just then, the lamp in the living area turned on as she slipped her shoes off.
"Where have you been young lady- Frostbite what happened?!" Izuku's attempt to sound stern were cut off as he saw her bloodied appearance.
The events of the day started to set in and Frostbite barely managed to drop her backpack and make it to the bathroom before she threw up her lunch into the toilet. Her body shook, hands clammy and trembling as sweat ran down her back. Her nose burned with the scent of blood and her eyes stung with unshed tears.
Izuku's hand came to rest on her back, soothing up and down motions bringing her back to the present. Her throat burned and she heaved one last time, choking on a sob before she flushed the toilet and stood. Her father didn't say anything as she rinsed her mouth and washed the blood off her face. Her hands were trembling so much she clenched them into tight fists just to get it to stop.
It was quiet then, the only sounds being Frostbite's labored breathing. Ochako came down the hall but Izuku waved her off, instead bringing Frostbite to her bedroom to sit on her bed. He stepped out while she changed into pajamas, telling her to call if she needed anything. The light of her bedside lamp cast shadows, shadows that terrified her when she was younger. Pulling the hand-me-down UA sweater from Izuku's high school years over her head, she quietly opened her bedroom door. Izuku was waiting on the other side, his face full of concern.
Her lower lip trembled and she stepped forward into one of his tight bear hugs. Still shorter than average, her head didn't even come up to chest height on him, but that helped her feel safe as she started to cry. Thick tears coated her cheeks as she clung to her father's night shirt as her body shook with the shock of it all and her quiet sobs. He tucked her close, arms around her shoulders like he was protecting her from the world. Ochako came up behind her, still quiet as she wrapped her arms around Frostbite and Izuku, effectively wrapping Frostbite in a cocoon of warmth. Ochako rocked them back and forth carefully, almost as if she was scared to break her.
"Oh Frostbite… just what happened?" Izuku whispered into her hairline and she hiccuped, just what was she supposed to tell him?
…
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Until the next update!
FairyTailWzard over and out!~