Tokoyami needs more love.
I do not own BNHA.
Of Heroes, Blood, and Boba
Chapter Three:
Mint Tea
Mint Tea; herbal tea made by infusing mint leaves with hot water. Soothes upset stomachs, including heartburn and pains.
Kouki Fuyu, at that time Shinobu Fuyu, was five years old when she discovered the nature of her Quirk.
It was a memory she barely recalled upon, considering how young she was. The moment a child discovered their Quirk was meant to be momentous, it was a moment that helped you view the newfound power in your body and to determine where your dreams could travel. Could you fly? Teleport? Destroy things with a mere look? The possibilities of Quirks with the growing generations and the mingling of genes were constantly changing the possibilities and the nature of power.
The room she and her nursemaid shared were toward the west wing of the family estate. Nana. That was her name. Only Nana because Fuyu couldn't remember anything else and nothing else existed beyond Nana and the carefully constructed little world she lived in within long, towering walls and endless hallways.
There was only one expectation set upon her since her birth. With the nature of Quirks that ran within her family bloodline, constructed and woven in to meet the desires of those who sat at the top, for those who were willing to pay for the results, Fuyu did not understand what was riding on her the moment her father stepped into the playroom.
A single window was pressed to the wall that face a garden courtyard. It had slender wooden bars that ran across vertically, partially blocking her view. It was her and Nana's secret that the two bars to the left could be carefully jiggled out of their spot and pulled away so the two of them could slip through the window and step outside.
Nana turned at the sound of the door sliding open and soft feet on the tatami. Her eyes turned downwards, bowing her head as her father appeared. "Good evening, Sir—"
Nana's gaze landed on the katana he held in his left hand and her face went deathly pale. Fuyu, at the tender age of five, was merely happy to finally be able to see her elusive father after so long. Her crimson eyes brightened, brushing back unruly ink black locks and sitting up in attention. Nana's eyes snapped to where Fuyu sat and back to the haunted look on her father face.
In only took a few seconds for Nana to fling herself across the room, wrapping her arms tightly around Fuyu as she pleaded, "Sir, you can't—this isn't the way! If it doesn't work out then you will—"
"If it doesn't work out then it will all be for naught," he'd replied simply.
He took slow steps toward the pair, gaze unmoving from his daughter in the other woman's arms and Nana clutched her tighter to her. Fuyu blinked, gripping Nana's soft arms and frowning. "Papa? Nana?"
"Too many lives are riding on this," he said, reaching forward.
"You could kill her!" Nana shrieked, backpedaling with her feet and pushing Fuyu and herself flush against a corner. Fuyu's eyes were round with confusion, darting wildly between the two adults before her as her eyes finally landed on the blade in her father's hand. "She's the only one left—there are better ways to find out! What if it hasn't showed yet? You could be sacrificing her for nothing!"
"We don't have the luxury to be playing house any longer," her father gripped Fuyu's arm, bruising the tender skin and Fuyu winced, Nana screaming by her ear as she clutched desperately to the child.
"You'll kill her!"
"She's dead to me regardless."
Fuyu's eyes widened, body trembling as she found herself pressed down with her back to the floor. Nana was screaming in the corner, wailing and clutching at her hair, begging for her father to stop—stop what? Papa you're hurting Nana. Fuyu raised her curious gaze to meet her father's, the familiar, cold stare of his black irises gazing down at her.
"Papa?"
Her father raised the sword high above them, clutching the hilt firmly in both hands. Fuyu stirred. Did he want to play? She'd played hero with Nana before with sticks in the garden. Maybe her father was finally freeing up time for them to play. Maybe he wanted to pretend to be the villain.
No words escaped his lips and Fuyu stretched a small hand out to him, beginning to sit up. "Papa?"
Her father brought the katana down with a swift whoosh.
Crimson red droplets splattered the floor as though scattered like petals.
Nana's piercing, anguished wail filled the air.
Fuyu decided several years after that any pain she would ever face could never match the kind she felt that day.
The fist she had been trying to dodge came swinging out and collided into her cheek with a resounding crunch.
Fuyu stumbled back, nearly toppling and falling over from the sudden force. She blinked, shaking her head to clear the fuzz and feeling a wicked grin split over her lips as the boys in front of her scowled, the leader of the pack rubbing his knuckles.
"I don't really like hitting girls," he ran a hand over the sleek horns curved over the top of his head. "But you asked for it, you know. Right, guys?"
The two behind him nodded their heads in confirmation, eyes narrowed and ready for whatever she threw at them.
In hindsight, she probably had started this fight. It'd be a simple shove to her shoulder and a snicker under their breaths about U.A and how it wasn't really all that. Fuyu could care less about what other people thought of the school—her school now, most of the word recognized its greatness anyway. She was far more worried about getting to class on time because Aizawa wasn't cutting any corners for her, no matter how she might try to swindle and plead. But one of them had added that it seemed like the school took in anyone, and made a comment about her scuffed up sneakers and her bag tearing at the seams.
If there was something Fuyu prided herself on, it was the fact that she'd like to consider herself a fairly polite person. Her grandfather had smacked sense into her and told her not to cause her grandmother or him any trouble, and since she loved them to death, she did her best to be a good kid for most of her upbringing. If there was anything Fuyu didn't pride herself on, it was probably that she had a shorter temper than people realized and a very subtle streak of pride. Very subtle.
So far her debut in her class had gone swimmingly, in her opinion. There was no need for her to be rowdy or rude, most of them were nice. She was getting to do something with her life rather than waste away in a small classroom probably to study to be a doctor one day. The life of a hero shone and glittered far more than any regular desk job, the chance was presented in front of her face so of course she'd seize it with both hands and refuse to let go.
Kouki Fuyu was not a good person.
So dropping her bag to the floor—carefully, since her lunch was in there—Fuyu had turned on her heel and swung the first punch at the one who'd made the comment about her being poor.
And thus, her current predicament, which wasn't really a predicament depending on how this fight went.
Her faded black hair, now nearing a dark shade of gray, was wound back into a messy ponytail, self-cut hair falling in uneven lengths. She brushed aside her uneven bangs that fell in a fringe to the side and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She regarded the smear of blood, feeling the cut on her lip heal instantly as she spat out a wad of blood and saliva onto the concrete floor.
Three against one. A feral grin curled over Fuyu's lips and she rolled her shoulders back, shrugging off the school blazer and hurling herself forward as the boys let out a shout and grabbed at her. I've handled worse.
She'd also had her ass handed to her on several occasions during those worse situations, but having a healing Quirk did have its own perks after all. She was sure Shuzenji and near any of the other people looking after her would scold her furiously for abusing her "gift" in such a way, but with a Quirk that was less offensive and more defensive, she'd make it work. Defense is the best offense anyway.
A hand fisted itself into her ponytail, yanking harshly and she jerked out a foot, slamming into someone's jaw. She heard a howl of pain and Fuyu grabbed at the arm gripping her hair, whirling around and sinking her teeth into a hand that shot out to grab at her face. Someone cuffed her ear and sound fell dully into her right side as she brought her fist around, slamming it hard into someone's cheek.
There was the furious shuffle of feet on the floor, heavy breathes and shouts of pain and curses. Fuyu felt another punch smack into her jaw and she felt her lip split, healing the cut instantly. The skin on her knuckles bled and she healed that too, whirling around to split the skin open once more with the force of her punch.
There's something to fighting that Fuyu feels running through her veins, it's the same feeling she gets when she's able to heal someone, the same feeling she feels like she constantly has to search for and grab tight with her hands to remind here that she is here, here, here.
Alive.
It may have been three on one, but it was still an unfair fight. She could use as many healing potions as she liked in this battle simulation, and these guys had no choice to keep wearing her down when she'd just heal herself right back up.
Something burned her arm, a sharp hiss filling the alleyway and she jerked her arm back. Acid spit. The one with horns seemed to have realized her Quirk was proving difficult because every blow they landed was healing within seconds. "Guess Yuuei kids don't fight fair."
"Fun fact," Fuyu fisted her hands into the collar of his uniform and brought their heads together with a resounding smack. His eyes rolled into the back of his head, toppling over onto his ass and Fuyu smirked triumphantly above him. "Never said I fought fair."
"You'll pay for this!" One of the boys snapped, hauling ass out of the alleyway as they dragged their fallen leader between the two of them. "Yuuei, bitch!"
Fuyu spat at their retreating heels, wiping the back of her mouth and not even bothering to hide the triumph that flared in her eyes. She glanced to the watch on her wrist, wincing at the cracked glass. If I book it I can make it. She was only a few minutes away from the campus so if she hurried she'd be fine.
Fuyu regarded her hands, wiping off the blood and dirt on the inner sleeve of her blazer so the outside appeared fine. She dusted off the gray uniform, beaming a bit in pride at the emblem emblazed on the chest, reminding her where she was lucky enough to go. There was a hole in her dress shirt on her shoulder but if she wore her blazer the whole day it should be fine. I used more blood than I thought I would though.
Her stomach rumbled at the thought and Fuyu bent down to retrieve her bottle from her bag. Gotta make sure I drink more water to make up for it and stay hydrated.
She unclasped the bottle, bringing it to her lips when her eyes strayed to the mouth of the alleyway, a carmine gaze searing holes through her skull.
Fuyu froze, ash blonde hair spiked atop a familiar face with his bag slung over his shoulder. Bakugou regarded her at the end of the alleyway.
There was a minute of silence, perhaps more, and Fuyu spluttered when she realized water was spilling past her bottle and splashed against the front of her uniform. Her eyes bulged out of her head and she stumbled, bringing a hand to wipe at her mouth. Her eyes shot to Bakugou and she waited, shoulders tensing and eyes watching him carefully, challengingly, daring him to say something.
He must've walked past those losers then. Fuyu waited. If he tells the school then I'm going to be in a bit of a fix.
Bakugou snorted.
Fuyu blinked and the blonde in front of her scoffed, brows raising upwards in haughty disbelief.
"That's a good look on you, Apples," Bakugou sneered.
Fuyu was frozen stiff and he shifted the bag on his shoulder, chuckling darkly under his breath as he merely continued on his way and only spared her a searing glance over his shoulder, face one of complete indifference. "Better than that shitty farce you put on."
Fuyu gaped and Bakugou left her behind to head to school. Fuyu stood there for what felt like an eternity before she patted her cheeks roughly, ignoring the hot blush that colored her face and she fiercely rubbed the back of her head. She snatched her bag off the ground with more force than necessary, stalking out of the alleyway and marching off toward the campus.
Talking like he can see right through me—who does he think he is? Fuyu scowled, thoroughly miffed. Doesn't seem like the type to tattle at least.
There was a little hum of energy in the air and Fuyu paused, turning slightly just as a flurry of blonde and bright electric energy crackled past her. "Hurry up, Kouki—we're gonna be late!"
She watched Kaminari's sprinting form and paled, quickly shooting off after him as she tried to fumble with readjusting her necktie at the same time. "Why the hell are you late too?"
"I overslept! I short-circuited my alarm clock! Why're you late?"
"Who cares? You're shooting off electricity, cut it out!"
"I can't help it—yikes!" Kaminari skidded to a rough half in front of her and Fuyu barely caught herself against his back.
The two of them stumbled backward and she clutched Kaminari's bag as they teetered for a moment before straightening themselves. Fuyu peered over Kaminari's heaving shoulders and blinked. A thick crowd of what looked to be news reporters and cameramen were gathered tightly in front of the entrance of the school. Fuyu arched a brow, patting a soothing hand over Kaminari's head as he panted, resting his palms on his knees.
"What's all the ruckus about?" Fuyu questioned and Kaminari spluttered, looking up at her as he held a hand to his lips to hold back his laugh.
"Ruckus? What are you, an old lady?"
"You two!" A fiercely determined looking woman suddenly stomped up toward the two of them and they stiffened in response. Her heels clacked against the concrete and she shoved her microphone toward them, cameras instantly shooting their way. "You're students here at U.A. What can you tell us about All Might and his teaching career so far?"
"All Might?" Kaminari and Fuyu echoed. They glanced to each other and the woman pressed forward eagerly.
"How is he fitting in with campus life? How are his teaching skills? Is there anything you can offer to us about him and some insight—"
"Oh, he's super cool," Kaminari made fluid gestures with his hands, grinning from ear to ear. "It's rad having him as our teacher!"
Fuyu nodded dutifully beside him. "Super cool. Gets you pumped up."
"But what about—"
The warning bell for homeroom rang loudly through the school and Kaminari and Fuyu glanced to each other. He threw her a wide grin and a thumbs up and Fuyu backpedaled a few steps.
A mini field of electricity crackled around Kaminari and people let out gasps and shouts as their equipment went haywire for a moment. The two used this to plow their way through the disgruntled crowd and barely managed to slip past an annoyed looking Aizawa, who briefly spared them a glance. "You two have a minute to be in your seats."
"We'll do it in thirty seconds!"
"Hey! Don't make promises we can't keep!"
"Kouki! Your necktie is poorly done! Please readjust it so that you may properly uphold the school's dress code—"
"I don't know how to tie it," Fuyu said around a mouthful of a thin biscuit, coated in chocolate like a knock-off version of another snack.
Kaminari guffawed in the seat ahead of her and Kirishima turned around in surprise, making a small noise in the back of his throat. "You don't?"
"Never have," Fuyu said, a glint in her eye as she nodded, almost proudly. "I've just been knotting it these past few days—I mean, no one really noticed, right?"
"This is unacceptable!" Iida spluttered, looking scandalized by the very idea.
Fuyu frowned, "I mean, it's just a necktie—"
"How could I not have noticed these past few days?"
"Hmm, I guess usually it's not needed for girls to know," Kirishima rubbed his chin. "Since it's usually those bows and stuff, right?"
"Nah, nah, usually don't they learn from their moms?" Kaminari questioned, holding a finger up. "To tie for their husbands one day, right?"
"Right, right!" Fuyu jolted at the excited voice that piped up by her ear and she turned, meeting what looked to be nothing but air and a floating uniform. Oh, that's right.
Hagakure's arms moved in a way that seemed to be her clasping her hands together in excitement. "It's important you know, Kouki-chan! One day when your husband comes up to you, asking you to tie his tie for him, it's very cute! A must-know for all future wives!"
Fuyu snorted, looking amused by the idea. "Shouldn't he know how to tie his own tie?"
"What an un-cute response," Kaminari teased.
"If I'm going to have my hands full with late night shifts and work, he should at least be able to tie his own tie and—"
"Please fix your necktie!" Iida cut in, gesturing with his hand toward her neck. "I can show you the proper techniques—"
"Alright everyone, get to your seats." The door slid open and Aizawa shuffled in. Iida jolted, looking aghast that he hadn't already been in his seat and he quickly bolted toward his desk.
Fuyu caught Midoriya's shy gaze and she threw him a wave and a crooked grin. He blushed, waving quickly back and she stiffened when the corners of Bakugou's lips seemed to quirk upwards a bit at the corners like the beginnings of a sneer.
"Good job on the battle simulation training yesterday." Aizawa praised slowly. "I saw the videos and the results. Bakugou, you're talented, so don't sulk like a kid about the loss."
She noticed Bakugou grimace only slightly, scowling. "I know."
Fuyu frowned, brows furrowing at the memory of the battles she'd watched last night. Staying up late hadn't been the best idea, but she'd been cramming in as much as she could and had been particularly fixated on the way Bakugou and Midoriya had showed down. It was clear something had been going on, which explained the weird confrontation she saw yesterday, but there was no audio so she had no idea what they could have been discussing.
Fuyu had been far more focused on trying to analyze their fighting styles so she knew what to expect from the ones who were far more likely to bring harm to themselves. But she couldn't deny the feeling that had curled through her fingertips and bled through her veins. The sick, tight twisting in her stomach as she watched them fiercely battle it out to come on top, watched explosions rattle along palms and energy crackle through veins—
Envy.
"And Midoriya," Aizawa added, Midoriya jolting and looking down sharply at his name. "You settled it by breaking your arm again, huh? You can't keep saying you can't help it because you can't control your Quirk. That's getting old. As long as you fix that, your Quirk can be extremely useful."
Midoriya's eyes brightened and Fuyu turned her gaze to her hands, idly running her fingers over each other. "Feel a sense of urgency, Midoriya."
"Y-Yes!"
"And be sure to thank Kouki and Recovery Girl when you get the chance," Aizawa added. Fuyu's head snapped up in surprise. "You can't rely on them to heal you every time you go and hurt yourself."
"Y-Yes!" Midoriya nodded firmly and Fuyu couldn't help the small smile that curled on her lips.
"Now let's get down to some homeroom business," Aizawa sighed. "What you decide to day will affect your future."
Everyone stiffened in response to his statement, their eyes shifted around uncertainly, and Fuyu was already beginning to formulate how she could learn to set the bone better from the inside—she couldn't mend the breaks like magic, but maybe she could—
"You need to pick a class representative."
Sighs of relief escaped her classmates around her and Fuyu grimaced. Class rep? Her eyes strayed to the side and she sighed, resting her head on her palm. That's just asking for more work.
Hands immediately shot up into the air. Fuyu jolted in surprise as everyone began to clamor loudly for the position, Kirishima and Kaminari especially rowdy as they waved their hands and everyone began to shout to be heard over the other. Her eyes strayed to the side where Bakugou was shouting fiercely and Midoriya shyly raised his hand as well.
Fuyu stared at all of them in disbelief. "You guys want to be Class Rep?"
"Of course!" Kirishima spared her a glance. "The Class Rep is responsible for the class—at a school like U.A. who trains heroes, it's a position of leadership and reliability!"
Fuyu's brows scrunched up. "Isn't it still just more random work, though?"
Her gaze landed on the only person who didn't seem to be particularly interested in the whole ordeal. Todoroki merely sat with his hands above the desk, facing forward, and Yaoyorozu held her hand up calmly to attest for the position as well.
"Silence, please!" Iida's voice cut across the clamor and everyone turned to where he stood, adjusting his glasses with his free hand. "It is a job with the serious responsibility of leading others. It's not just a job for anyone who wants to do it. It is a calling which requires the trust of everyone around you. If we want to use democracy to decide on a leader, we should have a vote to decide who it will be."
Fuyu regarded Iida's arm, raised perhaps the highest of anyone else and straining furiously with the words that left his lips. She glanced to the glasses on his face, considered his call for her to fix her necktie earlier, and the way he almost barely rubbed her the wrong way but she knew to behave better because rules were rules and blinked. He definitely fits the role, that's for sure.
"Why would you suggest something like that?" Kaminari questioned.
"We've only known each other for a few days, ribbit," Tsuyu added. "How can we tell who will be the best suited?"
"That's precisely why the person who does manage to gain multiple votes will be the truly appointed person for the job, no?" Iida reasoned. "Is that alright, Sensei?"
"As long as you decide by the time my nap's over, anything's fine," Aizawa sighed, zipping up his sleeping bag and falling to the floor.
"You don't seem to be particularly interested," Fuyu glanced to the side where in the desk adjacent to hers, Tokoyami was watching her from the corner of his eye.
"Ah, well," Fuyu rubbed the back of her head, fingers tangling through her ponytail and smoothing it out. "Just seems like a pain if ya ask me."
The corner of Tokoyami's beak curved upwards in a half smile and Fuyu rubbed the back of her head a little harder. "I mean, in my opinion."
"You needn't adjust your speech," Tokoyami inclined his head slightly. "Though I do feel such an attitude isn't necessarily geared toward being very heroic."
A wry grin curled on Fuyu's lips and blood red irises slid over to him, looking almost wolfish.
"Well, I'm not really planning to be your average hero."
...
...
...
"You're referring to your healing Quirk, right?"
"Yeah, for the most part, it just came out more sinister than I thought."
"...for the most part?"
"Tokoyami! Kouki! Put in your votes already!"
"I got three votes?" Midoriya squawked.
Fuyu regarded the results of the election on the board with faint bemusement. For the most part, everyone received one vote, most likely from themselves, save for Yaoyorozu and Midoriya, who received multiple.
"Why Deku?" Bakugou shot up from his seat. "Who voted for him?"
Deku? It was said with loathing, but Fuyu couldn't help but wonder and find the nickname to be rather endearing. Like something you'd name your dog. She grinned a bit and Bakugou's eyes shot toward her, narrowing sharply. "What're you laughing at, Apples?"
"Apples?" Tokoyami questioned under his breath and Fuyu regarded Bakugou, head propped on the palm of her hand.
"Better than that shitty farce you put up."
"Nothing," Fuyu sighed, but the curve of her smile betrayed her words. "Why, got a problem?"
Kirishima turned to her in surprise and Bakugou seethed, eyes narrowing as a wicked grin curled over his lips. His palm crackled dangerously. "You've got some balls—"
"Well, it is better than voting for you," Sero pointed out with a teasing grin and Bakugou whirled on him.
"What did you say?"
"I got...one vote?" Iida looked both frustrated and mystified, and Tsuyu turned around to him curiously.
"You voted for someone else, huh?" Yaoyorozu said with a sympathetic sigh. "At least you got one vote though."
"At least one person believes in my capabilities!" Iida shot up, looking reinvigorated with himself and the idea. "Whoever it was—thank you for believing in me! I won't let you down!"
Well. Fuyu scratched the side of her cheek, turning her eyes sideways almost sheepishly. I'm sure he won't, but it doesn't really matter since he didn't win though...
"Then the Class Rep is Midoriya," Aizawa announced finally, a trembling Midoriya facing the entire class as Yaoyorozu stood at his side, looking ready for action though a little put off herself. "And the deputy will be Yaoyorozu."
"This might not be too bad," Tsuyu pressed a finger to her cheek. "I can settle with Midoriya."
"After all's said and done, he can be pretty fired up, anyway!" Kirishima added.
Fuyu settled back in her chair, an air of content seeming to curl around her and Tokoyami blinked. "You look rather satisfied with yourself."
"I think we just dodged ourselves a bullet," Fuyu said proudly. "No extra work for us. When the real tedious stuff comes around, you'll see what I mean."
"...you're rather laid back, aren't you?"
"Give it a little bit and you'll see what I mean, Yami."
"You seem to be adjusting well."
Fuyu idly fiddled with the cuff of her sleeve. She played with the soft lining of her uniform, not really meeting Aizawa's eyes.
The two of them were tucked away in a small corner of the faculty room. Several heroes, teachers here, were making their way around the room or going about their own business. The bell for lunch had already rung and Fuyu was keen on eating to make up for the blood loss this morning. Aizawa was eyeing her lazily, waiting for a response as he sat at his desk and Fuyu finally met his gaze.
"You say it like you're surprised."
"When you opened up with such a polite greeting I had my doubts," Aizawa crossed his arms over his chest. "Figured you weren't going to give any of them the time of day."
Fuyu's lips twitched. "I wouldn't do that."
"Not intentionally, no." Aizawa agreed. "Subconsciously, yes. You're not exactly the prime example of social interactions."
Fuyu gave Aizawa a long look and the hero ignored it, moving on swiftly as he skimmed through a few files. "I've been talking to Recovery Girl about your progress so far. It looks like it's going well."
"She's a good teacher."
Aizawa didn't respond, his gaze lingered on a few notes scribbled in a neat scrawl. Fuyu's gaze flickered in curiosity, but something else was lingering on her mind.
"Why'd you want to talk?"
"To check up on you, obviously." Aizawa gave her a look renewed with incredulousness, as though reassessing her intelligence. Fuyu grimaced at the look, tugging at a strand of hair and Aizawa continued, "Because you have a bad habit of toeing the line of what's considered living and I wanted to make sure you were doing fine."
"How could I not be?" Fuyu said quietly. "You're giving me the opportunity to do something I never thought was possible... Uncle Aizawa you're giving me a chance to be something."
"It's Aizawa-sensei, to you," Aizawa said. "And I'm not your uncle."
"Basically the closest thing to one."
"And being something is different than having a goal—you could very well be anything you wanted to be. I talked about having you enrolled here because I figured the thing you wanted to be was something a little beyond yourself."
Fuyu didn't bat an eyelash. "I want to be a hero."
Aizawa's lips twitched. "Takes work, kid. Years of work you still need to catch up on."
Fuyu paused, rubbing her arm before she glanced to Aizawa, albeit shyly. "Aizawa-sensei... I know I'm here for the health program, and I know there's plenty to learn from Shuzenji-sensei... But I can't help but wonder if maybe I could be doing more training—"
"Take off your blazer for me, would you? There's something on the stitching I want to see."
Fuyu blinked, puzzled, but she obediently shrugged off her blazer and handed it to Aizawa. The teacher didn't even make a move to take it from her hand. His eyes instead examined the burn through her sleeve and the bits of dried blood rubbed off on the inside cuff. Fuyu balked, quickly realizing what he had been intending.
"I didn't help you out so you could be getting into playground fights like before," Aizawa said with a thick sigh, leaning back in his chair and bringing his eye drops to his eyes. "I don't care what the reason you fought them for was—I'm sure it was needless. You don't see Recovery Girl picking fights she can't win just because she can heal herself. Besides, you're useless to your comrades if you go down early in a battle from over using your Quirk."
"I didn't lose," Fuyu mumbled, rubbing her arm but bowing her head regardless. "Sorry, Aizawa-sensei."
His seemingly dull gaze rested on her for a few moments before he stood, gathering some notebooks. "God knows Yagi would rather you be blowing your top off than moping around or mumbling quietly for the rest of your life, and I'm glad you're opening up a bit, but have some restraint, alright? You do have a reputation to uphold."
Aizawa lightly smacked the top of her head with the notebooks and she winced. "It's not very heroic to be picking fights with anyone who runs their mouth off."
"Who says I'm opening up?" Fuyu rubbed the top of her head, watching Aizawa's retreating figure. "They're just classmates. I'm supposed to be polite to them."
"I'm sure riling up the biggest hot head in the class is the perfect example of being polite." A wry grin curled on his lips and he spared her a single glance over his shoulder.
"Get to school an hour early tomorrow—gym clothes. We have some things to work on."
I'm not riling him up. Fuyu stubbornly shoved her rice ball further into her mouth, munching down on the salted plum flavor with a glare at no one in particular. He's the one always picking fights. Guy seems to just like snapping at everyone.
Fuyu considered the words he'd snapped at Midoriya the other day, the ferocious, vivid way he fought in the mock battle. Her eyes strayed to the side, where long window panes lined the hallways leading up to the cafeteria and she swallowed. Bakugou Katsuki was impressively strong. A lot of the people in her class were.
Her eyes flickered down to her hands and she flexed her fingers, using her left hand to bring the rice ball back to her mouth as she chewed. A lot stronger than me.
She supposed it was different, having a healing Quirk compared to a Quirk that could be turned into a weapon. She supposed it'd be a lot cooler if she had blood manipulation to a degree like the Pro Hero Vlad King, and she doubted he had to worry as much about the viability of blood and blood loss with the nature of his Quirk.
I want to keep moving forward.
Fuyu thought again of carmine eyes and a crooked sneer and she grimaced. Shoving the rest of her rice ball into her mouth, she chewed furiously and idly shuffled through her pockets, hoping she'd left one of the tea flavored candies Shuzenji had handed to her in them. I need to buy a bag of those if they're not too expensive. They're ridiculously good...
A loud siren caused Fuyu to jump, nearly choking on the plum inside her rice ball as she coughed, hitting her chest. Her eyes snapped to the side, widening surprise at the flood of strangers that suddenly began to pour into the campus. A loud alarm blared off and she whipped her head around, trying to figure out what was going on.
A group of students shot past and she snagged the cuff of one of them, "Excuse me—" Fuyu swallowed the last of her mouthful. "What's going on?"
"It's a security alarm!" The student responded quickly, looking startled by the news himself. "We haven't had one since I've been here, it means there's intruders on campus!"
Instructions to evacuate blared over the speakers across campus and the students before her rushed off. Fuyu glanced back to the window, frowning at the people who were surging forward and she caught a glint of cameras and notepads. The press from earlier?
Someone shoved her from the side and she lurched. Fuyu's eyes snapped back in surprise, opening her mouth to quietly tell them to watch where they were going when an elbow nearly struck her face and she dodged. Her eyes went wide, a flood of students suddenly rushing fiercely through the hallways—panicked and quick to act. Fuyu soon found herself swarmed by bodies pressing far too close for comfort.
Her heart rate picked up and her eyes searched desperately over the thickening crowd, arms shooting out instinctively to try and push bodies far enough to give her room to breathe. The crowd of students surged forward, clamoring loudly in panic and wonder and she nearly felt her feet swept up from the ground. I need space. I need space.
Fuyu willed herself to calm, heartbeat loud in her ears and she shoved with more force than necessary against a body leaning into her. There were all kinds of things that ticked her off, rubbed her the wrong way, set her on edge, but if there was something someone who aspired to be near people and help heal them from the ground up needed to do, it was handling personal space.
And Kouki Fuyu had a very, very, very mild case of claustrophobia.
"Back up!" Fuyu snarled, shoving roughly back against someone and breathing heavily. "Isn't it just the press?"
Her word seem to be swallowed up by the crowd and Fuyu felt panic lurch in her chest. Her eyes darted around furiously when someone shoved roughly into her, forcing her back against a window and she brought a hand up to roughly snag their neck tie. "I said 'Back up,'—"
Her voice died on her lips when piercing, glacier blue and soft, quiet gray honed in on her gaze. Fuyu blinked, feeling ruffled and flustered, but her heart slowed at the familiar face. Todoroki was gazing down quietly at her, regarding her with a look that seemed to border curiosity with a slight distance in his gaze. His hands were placed on either side of her head, effectively blocking her off from the torrent of students rushing around them as they pressed to the side, against the windows.
"Todoroki?"
His gaze dropped from her eyes to her scarred hand, fisted tight on his necktie. "Can you let go?"
Fuyu instantly dropped her grip, cheeks flushing slightly as she moved to back up but her heels collided with the wall behind her. "S-Sorry, my bad. I was getting a little frustrated there."
His gaze traveled back up to meet her and Fuyu found it rather unnerving how piercing his gaze seemed to be without meaning too. His face was a cool mask of calm, the only deterrent the slight furrow of his brows as he turned his head and eyed the mass of students pressing tight around them. "They're acting like scared children."
It was strange, feeling the faint whisper of cold from his right side and the gentle press of warmth from his left. She figured it had to do with his Quirk and wondered somewhere in the back of her mind what it felt like to constantly be teetering in a state of homeostasis. His words barely slipped past her ears and she glanced back to the scared, startled faces, some curious and some merely alarmed.
"They're just doing what they're told," Fuyu said slowly. Her heart was still hammering loudly in her chest, but having a sole spot to focus on was helping her swallow her discomfort. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine.
Todoroki's eyes met hers once more, as though waiting for her to explain herself. Realizing it just sounded like she was agreeing with him, Fuyu tugged at the hem of her skirt. "I mean, they have no idea what's happening, so they're doing the next best thing."
Someone brushed past Todoroki, shoving him a little closer forward and his eyes flickered to the side, bracing himself firmly against the wall. "Sorry."
"'S not your fault," Fuyu tugged at the knotted necktie and swallowed.
Todoroki quietly assessed her flustered features, gaze dipping to the grip on her necktie and watching her fingers fumble to loosen it and failing from the way she'd knotted it before. Her eyes were staring holes into his blazer, focusing solely on a single spot and Todoroki's fingers drifted downwards. "Are you alright?"
"'m fine," Fuyu said breathily, gritting her teeth and forcing herself to steel her nerves. "I just hope they figure this mess out soon and—"
Cool fingers paused above her own and Fuyu's gaze quickly snapped up to his, face calm and cool and annoyingly nonchalant despite this whole situation—nothing fazes him, does it? Todoroki's brows furrowed slightly.
"Are you claustrophobic?"
Fuyu winced, annoyed he'd hit the nail right on the head. Understanding dawned in Todoroki's gaze and he glanced back, finding no room to shuffle back. His eyes turned back to her necktie and he reached for it. Fuyu froze, breath catching and Todoroki made a small noise in the back of his throat, quiet and calming. "Do you want me to help?"
Her lips twitched down, threatening to turn into a scowl. Fuyu stubbornly shook her head and Todoroki regarded her for a moment before his gaze traveled to something above her head. Fuyu stiffened when he reached above her and pressed with his hand. Something clicked and suddenly fresh air wafted over Fuyu as she nearly lost her balance without something to lean back on. Her head whipped around, nearly catching Todoroki in the chin and she quickly braced her hands on the window sill, letting the fresh air curl around her as her shoulders slumped in relief. You're fine. You're fine.
There was shouting a few feet up and suddenly the students stilled as word was passed down from the hallway in front that the police were on the way and it was just the press. She saw shoulders relax and Todoroki stepped back the moment the hallway began to thin out and students stopped shoving. Fuyu shut her eyes in relief, sighing at the feel of air and space between her and everyone else. That could have been bad.
Fuyu suddenly grimaced, slowly turning over her shoulder to where Todoroki was facing toward the front, seemingly trying to gain further information. Her eyes darted to the side and she scratched the side of her head, slowly turning toward him. "...sorry about that, thanks."
His mismatched gaze flickered back to her, hands sliding into his pockets and Fuyu swallowed the pride lingering on her tongue. "I...uh, I needed that."
Todoroki stared at her a moment longer. "Something like that will hinder your chances of becoming a hero."
Fuyu twitched, fixing her classmate with a dry look. For some reason, he kind of rubs me the wrong way. Even if he did help me on the first day and he hasn't technically done anything wrong...
Fuyu figured she was just childishly feeling spite toward how aloof and well-rounded the teen seemed to be. Someone cursed to their side and she paused, glancing to where a boy was helping a girl out, a large cut on her knee from where she must've fallen down. "Let's get you to the nurse's office, think you can walk?"
Fuyu's hand instantly went to her pocket where her pocketknife lay—Aizawa had reprimanded her about carrying such a thing and that she needed to find a better way to have it on her. Todoroki's gaze dipped and he watched as she wordlessly slit a cut along her palm, heading towards the two as her cut healed and blood hovered above her palm. "Here, give me a second and set her down right here."
Fuyu knelt down and the two paused, the boy lowering the other girl to the ground as she let her hand hover over the wound. Her blood curled outwards, circling around the other girl's leg and a soft red hue began to illuminate the liquid. The two in front of her let out noises of surprise, and Fuyu merely pulled away the moment it was healed. "If it still hurts make sure you get it checked out, and make sure it doesn't get infected."
"Thanks!" They shot off and Fuyu watched them go until her eyes flickered back to where Todoroki still stood, watching her.
She roughly shoved her hand into her pocket, fingers enclosing around a small wrapper. Fuyu marched over to Todoroki and quickly pressed the candy to his chest with a little more force than necessary.
He blinked, hand reaching up to catch the item before it fell and Fuyu stalked past him, fighting the blush that threatened to creep up her neck. "Thanks again."
She didn't glance back to see his expression and she idly tugged at her ponytail, having hoped she could get over the silly fear without any problems. Now not only did someone know about it—they'd watched it happen too.
Fuyu grumbled, biting her lower lip.
"I'm so uncool..."
"N-Now, let us decide on the other class officers!" Midoriya stuttered out.
Fuyu leaned forward with her head resting over her arms on top of her desk. Kirishima and Kaminari had questioned if she'd been alright during the whole mess, and explained to her how cool Iida had been getting everything under control when people started to panic. Guess I have to thank him for getting everyone to calm down.
Todoroki hadn't said anything to her when they'd returned to class, but his mouth had been moving slightly from what she assumed was the candy. She'd sighed, albeit longingly, since it had been her last one too.
"...but first, can I say something?" Midoriya offered quietly, his nerves seeming to settle a bit and all eyes instantly focused on him. "I think that... Tenya Iida should be the Class Rep, after all!"
Fuyu's eyes glinted in surprise and Midoriya started again, "He was able to get everyone's attention in such a cool way. I think it would be best for Iida to do it!"
"I agree too," Kirishima piped up. "Midoriya's vouching for him, and it's true that Iida was a big help at the cafeteria today."
"Yeah! Didn't he kind of look like the guy on top of the emergency exit sign?"
"Emergency exit Iida!"
"You're wasting time." Aizawa sighed, sitting up from the corner of the room in his yellow sleeping back. "I don't care what you do. Just hurry up."
"If the Class Rep has nominated me, then it cannot be helped." Iida stood from his seat, looking proud as he raised a hand. "From this day forth, I promise to do my best to carry out the duties of Class Representative!"
"We're counting on you, Emergency Exit!"
"Did ya have any problems too?" Fuyu whispered to Tokoyami, who merely inclined his head.
"I eat lunch alone in the shade. I wasn't bothered."
"Eh~" Fuyu threw him a lopsided grin. "How cool, Yami."
Tokoyami glanced her way, clearly unamused with her nickname but making no motion to comment on it. Iida and Midoriya switched places at the front of the class, Yaoyorozu looking only slightly put off but ultimately resigned as she sighed, glancing to the papers in her hands. "Then now we need to decide on the other class officers."
Fuyu settled her head back on her arms, wondering if she could steal a quick snooze during this whole thing. If everyone wanted to be the representative so bad, they'd probably want the other positions too, right?
"First up... The class Health Representative. Any volunteers?"
The entire class was silent, though grudgingly from some. Fuyu cracked an eye open and froze, looking like a deer in the headlights when she realized all eyes were on her. "W-What?"
"Well, if it's the Health Rep, it's gotta be Kouki then, right?" Kaminari gestured a thumb back to Fuyu and Kirishima nodded in agreement.
"She does work with Recovery Girl after all."
"And she probably knows plenty about health with her Quirk!"
"Kouki Fuyu it is!" Iida proclaimed, and Yaoyorozu turned to write her name on the board.
Fuyu's jaw dropped, protests spluttering on her lips when a hand clasped her shoulder and she glanced over to Tokoyami, the corners of his beak curved upwards. "Don't let us down, Miss Health Rep."
"I'm sure there's someone else—"
"Now on to the next one! Who wants to volunteer to be..."
Fuyu groaned, slumping back onto the desk and Dark Shadow offered her a thumbs up from Tokoyami's side.
"You're in for it now."
Fuyu paused mid-step. She regarded the pathway before her, only a few minutes away from the station so she could head home. Her Gram was making spicy tofu soup tonight with her sautéed greens and the rice ball had barely filled her up from earlier.
Her eyes strayed to the side. The three guys from this morning stood before her, scowling and tense and Quirks at the ready. The leader of the three, a bandage around his head, stepped forward, fingers sharpening into claws and he grinned. "Now it's a fair fight."
She had to give it to them for tenacity. Fuyu turned on her heel, shrugging off her bag and rolling her sleeves up to her elbow. A feral grin curled on her lips and her eyes sharpened as she tensed, tightening her ponytail.
"Come at me."
The leader practically snarled, shooting forward as he brought his arm back to swing. Fuyu prepared to duck, turning her head slightly when her eyes locked onto soft, mossy green and her eyes went wide the same time Midoriya's did.
"K-K-Kouki?"
"Midoriya—"
His fist connected with her cheek and Fuyu toppled over. Pain blossomed across her face and she bit her lip, drawing blood as the cut quickly healed and she felt her blood rush to her cheek, soothing the pain as she braced herself against the ground. She heard Midoriya let out some kind of inhuman sound between a screech and a shout and she winced, spitting out a wad of blood and saliva onto the ground. Shit, the hurt more than I expected.
Deep gashes began to bleed across her cheek and the boy above her sneered. "Where's that fancy Quirk of yours now?"
In response Fuyu instantly felt the cuts heal up at his words. Her lips tugged down into a snarl and she prepared to lunge forward when bright yellow suddenly swam in her vision.
Midoriya's backpack slugged the boy across the face, catching him by surprise and knocking him back into the two behind him. Fuyu blinked in comical disbelief when a hand suddenly snatched hers and suddenly she was stumbling to keep up with the fluffy haired boy in front of her. "Come on, Kouki! We have to go!"
Midoriya snatched her bag off the floor and his with his free hand, sprinting down the road that lead to the station.
"What?" Fuyu squawked, glancing back over her shoulder where the guys were in hot pursuit. "I can take them on, don't worry! You go ahead and don't worry about me—"
"Fighting is bad!" Midoriya shouted fiercely, despite the fear etching itself across his face as they darted down a corner and surged through an alleyway. "Y-You shouldn't be fighting! It's not right!"
"'s okay! I started it anyway, I need to finish what I got myself into—"
"P-Plus!" Midoriya spared her a glance over his shoulder and Fuyu paused, their feet echoing loudly against the floor as they ducked past a couple and wound around another street. "How could I watch a friend get hurt like that?"
Something struck hard through Fuyu, like a hammer smacking straight into a gong. Her head pounded, eyes focusing on the back of the boy in front of her. Midoriya was smaller than most of the guys in the class—minus Mineta—but there were hardened muscles beneath the taut pull of his uniform and in the firmness of his grip on her hand. Her head spun for a moment, mind churning at his words and suddenly she caught a glimpse of red around Midoriya's ears.
"I-I mean, I know it might be presumptuous of me to say. And you're always healing me and I cause trouble for you—but i-it's what any hero would do and, well, um, I—"
Fuyu imagined the future she'd thought about this morning. The chance Yuuei had presented before her and how tightly she wanted to grasp it between her fingers. There were furious curses a few paces behind them and Fuyu's grip on Midoriya's hand tightened.
She put on a burst of speed and together the two ran side by side, a wide grin splitting over Fuyu's face as she let out a loud laugh, one that rang with a foreign lilt of joy—a sound she hadn't heard around anyone else but her grandparents.
"Alright then hero, let's try not to get our asses kicked!"
"K-Kouki! Why are they after you anyway?"
"I was an asshole to them!"
SEASON 3 IS OFFICIALLY NEXT WEEK. I AM READY.
The opening song sounds super promising too so I can't wait to see what's in store~ Thank you all immensely for your wonderful support. I die a little every time I see a notification for this story—for any story really. I think I'll be sticking to third person throughout this story since it gives me some more leeway with descriptions. You'll also be seeing a lot more of our side-cast because I love 'em, but I promise our main cast gets some show time too!
To answer a question: Yes! Fuyu's blood type does matter with how she heals people. She's lucky in this case since her blood type is O, meaning she can heal other types just as she could donate blood. Her healing does work slightly faster however on those who are her same blood type. Her past will definitely be touched upon throughout the story, I'm looking forward to her development as well. ^-^
Thank you all so much for your support! Feel free to share your thoughts or anything you'd like to say! I hope you enjoyed.
Marshmellow-
-OUT!