Benevolently, a hand began to languidly caress his bi-coloured hair which lulled Shoto to his senses. Pure pain in his temples throbbed and he groaned loudly whilst opening his eyes, but a bright, blinding light scorched into Shoto's eyes, so he closed them again, giving in to his natural instincts.
"Hey" purred a voice.
Memories flooded back to Shoto and he snapped upright, panting loudly. Looking around, he rapidly learned that he was in his cell and his bed.
"Calm down, lay back down" spoke the same voice and the figure sitting at the head of his bed rested both hands on Shoto's shoulders.
"I-Izuku?" stuttered Shoto, his throat felt scratchy and raw.
"Hiya" beamed Izuku and he tenderly pulled Shoto back onto his lap to continue stroking his hair and separating the two colours.
"What happened? Where's Denki? Wasn't I chased by guards?"
"So many questions" replied Izuku mysteriously but then he grinned and started explaining the answers to Shoto's questions,
"Okay, so we met in the corridor, remember? Kaminari and Uraraka left but doctors saw Kaminari faint, so they went to check him out. Turns out they are both infected with the same infection that Kendo has. It's spreading like wildfire and we're trying to find a cure. Then, you returned to class and had a panic attack from an accumulation of nerves, so you began attacking some by standing guards whilst screaming. We gave you some sleep syrup to try and calm you down and you slept for four days straight so now it's Sunday and it's also midday."
"Wait, I don't understand. Where does Katsuki fit into all of this? Also, if they were infected, shouldn't Denki have shown symptoms earlier on?" frowned Shoto.
"I'm sorry to say, but the girl had been lying to you all along. Katsuki was in the Moral Lessons test that day but explained to the Teacher that he didn't feel well. So, we got him checked out and he is also in the infirmary with Kaminari and Uraraka. The illness is tough to decipher as there are little or no warning signs of it; it just suddenly hits someone at full force"
"What do you mean Uraraka lied? She said some strong people took him away."
"She lied, probably thought it was funny to mess you and Kaminari about" curtly spoke Izuku.
"I don't understand why she would lie" retorted Shoto.
Izuku rested a hand on Shoto's forehead and looked him deeply into his heterochromatic eyes, his glacial tone replaced with a mellow one "Who do you trust more, me or that stranger girl"
"You" breathed Shoto, mesmerised by swirling hues of emerald in Izuku's eyes.
"Good, now go back to sleep. I need to go and start the Weekly Serum Tests; I'll call you when it's your turn" Izuku promptly lifted Shoto's head off his lap and wriggled off the bed.
"Okay" mumbled Shoto and he rolled over to fall back into a heavy slumber.
Resting a hand against the cool, metal door, Shoto intently watched #41 start his test. #41 had bright red hair which protruded upwards dramatically and pointy, white teeth. He was very muscular and laughed a lot whist attempting to chat to the scientists, who ignored him and endured with their tasks.
"Please state your name and number" called out Izuku whist cleaning his glasses on a white lab coat.
"Eijiro Kirishima, number 41" trilled Kirishima.
"Let's begin the 64th Weekly Test"
Kirishima shuffled his feet so that they were shoulder-width apart and acquired a comfortable stance. Then, he activated his power by clenching his fists and tensing his immense muscles: Shoto noticed his skin growing slightly thicker and rougher-looking.
"Skin cells have increased strength and thickness by 30% in the past 40 seconds" he heard a woman say hurriedly.
"Write it down!" instructed Izuku.
After about a minute, Kirishima considerably deflated and collapsed to his knees, puffing with fatigue.
"I'm done" he panted.
"Another fail, yet a lot of progress"
When Kirishima had left, Shoto was up next as Kaminari wasn't there to fill the gap between 41 and 43.
"Please state your name and number" repeated Izuku.
"Shoto Todoroki, #43" he chided with gritted teeth: the infuriating headset was back, and he itched to yank it off.
"Let's begin the 64th weekly test"
He stood there, trying to compose his buzzing thoughts without success. An unfamiliar surge of anger rippled through him when fierce thoughts swarmed his mind.
Why do I always have to fail?
Heat rushed through his body as his skin seared with agony across his left arm and leg; hearing yells, he cried for help but couldn't think anymore. Blazing flames licked up the left side of his face and he howled. Torment rushed through his body, but he breathed in slowly and held the flames, owning them with a profound confidence. The pain subsided to a dull throb as he stared at the ball of flame in his palm which extinguished as quickly as it came. Most of the top half of his jumpsuit was burned off and he saw scientists congregate round him. His chest heaved ragged breaths, hands clawed at him and he felt Izuku's hands on his face before blacking out for the second time that week.
"I called this meeting to talk about Shoto Todoroki, number 43"
A long, wooden table was set out and an array of head members sat along it. Izuku Midoriya sat at the head with his clipboard in hand. On it was #43's file, containing everything about his present and past self.
"What about him?" asked a young man with a blond moustache and spiky, blond hair, named Yamada Hizashi.
"Well, he is clearly our strongest out of all the test subjects" the greenete said with confidence.
"Pfft! No way" laughed a pretty woman with long, indigo hair and eyes that sparkled with humour called Nemuri Kayama. "It's that girl who can create anything non-living with the lipids in her body"
"You mean Momo Yaoyorozu? Number 103?" inquired a man with scraggly blond hair and a gaunt face, known as Toshinori Yagi.
"Yeah, her! Forget what Midoriya is saying, she's obviously superior out of all the subjects" articulated Kayama with a smug expression written on her face.
"Listen to me" snarled Izuku Midoriya, "Yes, number 103 is very strong, yet have you heard of two Quirks in one subject?"
The whole table was shocked into silence.
"Midoriya… what have you done?" asked the gaunt-faced Yagi, a grimace flashing on his face.
"Just a little science experiment. He's mine, by the way. I dosed him up with two different types of serum. Don't ask how, though, they're my secrets."
"You're the youngest out of all of us, yet you've accomplished the furthest" gaped Hizashi.
Midoriya shrugged wittily "He's not finished, though. One of his Quirks is slow to start but is prominent. The other one, well, there's a different story. Yesterday, he suddenly ignited and burned his face. He's alright, just sleeping"
"How injured is he? Also, if he burned himself, doesn't that mean his body isn't accustomed to the Quirk, for example, burnproof skin cells?" the indigo-haired woman beaded her eyes.
"I understand what you mean, but he showed signs of accepting the power before he blacked out. I have a video of yesterday prepared for this meeting"
On that cue, Izuku pressed a button and the large television on the other end of the table flickered to life. The screen portrayed a young boy standing in a circle in a dark room except for a few spotlights. Then, the boy frowned before bursting into flames, illuminating the screen and causing the watchers to gasp. Screams pierced through the speakers but soon afterwards his hand raised slightly up as flames encircled around his palm and submitted themselves to the owner.
"So, you think he's the one? What about mentally?" a voice called out.
"And that's where I come in" a gruff voice spoke, and everyone turned towards the dark haired, scruffy Teacher "I teach #43's Moral Lesson each day and he shows tendencies to be different from the rest. As well as this, he is extremely intelligent; he's perfect for the job"
"There's also bait I can use to manipulate him" Midoriya grinned as he shook Shoto's files in the air "Here's all the secrets to his past, the secrets that he'd to anything for"
"So, he's a curious one" mused Kayama.
"Aren't we all?" chucked Midoriya.
"What are you going to do now, then?" challenged the lazy Teacher, also known as Shota Aizawa.
"Oh, I'm just going to see him and continue developing his right side. Now the left has activated, I predict the right will catch on with some mind games and training" hypothesized Izuku.
"I expect a meeting as soon as his right side is stimulated. When that happens, we'll complete the plan using Shoto Todoroki as our centrepiece" acquiesced the scraggly man.
"All will be well" promised Izuku as he gathered up the scattered files and breezed out the stuffy room.
"Psst! Did you hear about the last weekly test?" spoke a hushed voice at lunch time.
"Yeah, apparently a kid caught alight" replied a voice.
"Someone said he died" interjected a different voice from the previous two.
"No, no, I heard he fainted" mused the 2nd voice.
"I heard his face was burned off"
"Wasn't he really good-looking before? Pity, tons of girls fancied him"
"He might look even cooler"
"I wouldn't bet on it, burn scars can look creepy"
"Are you sure he's not dead? I mean, someone saw him collapse. Also, someone who caught alight is bound to be seriously weakened"
"I can't wait to find out what he looks like now. Unless he's dead. Wouldn't be dateable then, would he?"
"No one's gonna date a corpse…"
All the children of Class 1-A chattered together in a huddle, discarding their half-eaten bowls of bland soup. Multiple rumours had been made of the incident, but none were confirmed as #43 had been immediately whisked to the infirmary for treatment.
Subsequently, Shoto Todoroki was sub conscious and unaware of the events transpiring in the opposite end of the vast establishment filled with trapped beings.
