Kyandi: Greetings, my lovelies. I have returned.

Halyn: This chapter is embarrassing.

Kyandi: Well, aren't you straight forward with your opinion.

Halyn: Wouldn't you be embarrassed?

Kyandi: ...Actually, yes, I would. I'd be mortified.

Halyn: Exactly.

Kyandi: But hey, at least the embarrassment is shared.

Halyn: That's of little comfort.

Kyandi: I know, but I tried. Anyway, everyone enjoy the embarrassment and review.

Halyn: Kyandi-sama does not own My Hero Academia.

Chapter 12 Embarrassment

That night, after they got back from patrols, Endeavor said the two could leave once they had changed. By the time Todoroki had changed and finished dealing with his father, Halyn had already left for the day. While Todoroki had wanted to speak with her about her choice for an internship, he suppose it was alright. He would see her the next day, anyway. Leaving his father to do whatever work he had to, Todoroki went home himself.

His sister, Fuyumi, was waiting when he got home. She met him at the door and stood there while he took off his shoes.

"So how was it?" she asked, referring to his internship.

"It was alright." he replied simply.

The short monotone reply did nothing to tell Fuyumi how her little brother actually felt. Especially when he wasn't looking at her, but at his shoes. It kind of made her wonder if it really had been alright or if he was just saying so. She knew that he didn't get along with their father and that their father really had a way of working his way under Todoroki's skin.

If it hadn't been for Halyn there at his side, soothing his temper whenever his father came close to sparking it, Todoroki doubted it would have been alright. Halyn was very good at taking his attention off his father, while still keeping them on task. Despite her helpful presence, though, it had been a long day and all he wanted to do was take a nice, long bath before dinner.

"I'm going to take a bath." he told his sister before heading for the corner of the house that was usually empty save for him.

Fuyumi stepped aside, letting him head past her. She watched as he vanished down the hall. While it was easier to talk to him now, since he had started visiting their mother, she still found it rather difficult to hold a conversation with him.

But that wasn't the foremost thought in her mind.

"Maybe I should have warned him..." Fuyumi mused. She thought about it for a moment, then shrugged her shoulders. How bad could it turn out? "It should be alright."

Across the house, Todoroki had just picked up everything he would need for a bath from his room. He was heading just down the hall to the large, indoor bath that was suppose to be shared by everyone in that wing of the house, which, at the moment, was only him. After dealing with his dad all day, he needed a relaxing bath. A nice, long one.

Thinking that, his mind went back to Halyn. All day, when he had come close to getting angry with his father, she had been right there to lay a calming hand on his shoulder or to softly call his name, soothing his anger in a way no one else had ever been able to do. And then he would look at her and she would give him the brightest smile she possessed, completely taking his mind off whatever his father had just said or done to anger him in the first place.

He definitely owed her one and was sure that would be more so true by the end of the week.

It was with this thought in mind that he slid open the door to the bathroom and came to a screeching halt, dropping everything in his hands.

Standing there, in the middle of the changing room just outside the actual bathroom, naked as the day she was born and dripping wet, was the very girl he had just been thinking about.

Just as he had frozen on the spot, so had she. She stood there, towel pressed to the front of her body, wet hair clinging to every curve, and fair skin left for him to see in all it's glory, staring wide eyed back at him. Without thinking, his eyes scanned her from head to toe, his mind having just enough time to take in the fact that there were scars on her thighs and a birthmark on her left hip, before it finally clicked for the both of them that they were just standing there with her naked.

Right before his eyes, her tail frizzled out, going straight as a board and, almost instantly, Halyn's lips parted, letting out a noise that was a mix of a surprised shriek and a yowl. She instantly dropped into a crouch, trying to cover more of herself. The noise she released was loud and sharp and jolted him out of his shock. Todoroki quickly backtracked, tripping over his dropped personal items. He hit the floor, but he managed to slam the door closed, turning to press his back against it.

Todoroki could feel heat rising in his cheeks as his heart thundered inside his chest. Had he really just seen what he thought he saw? Surely she wasn't there, in his house, in his bathroom, naked. Surely, his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Hurried footsteps approaching him had him looking to find Fuyumi rushing towards him, a concerned look on her face. She took one look at the scene before her, her brother on the floor, his cheeks turning red, and his things scattered on the floor.

"Did I hear a scream? What happened?" she asked.

Her eyes took in the scene once more, going between her brother and the bathroom door before it clicked in her head. Her lips formed an "o" as a hand raised to cover it.

"Leander-chan is still in the bathroom, isn't she?" she asked.

Her words clicked in his head and he whipped around to look at his sister.

"You knew she was here?!" he demanded.

"Yeah. Dad insisted she stay here until her internship with him is done. You know, in case he's called out during the middle of the night. She's staying in the spare room across the hall from you. I told Dad he should put her in another end of the house, that there was a room near mine open, but he didn't listen." Fuyumi replied.

Todoroki really wasn't all that surprised. Since the Sports Festival, when Halyn showed the country just what she was capable of, Endeavor had had an eye on her. Halyn had told Todoroki, earlier that week, that her brothers had told her that Endeavor had contacted her oldest brother with a proposal to arrange her marriage to Todoroki after they finished high school. Her brother, she said, had shot Endeavor down just as soon as the word "marriage" left his mouth. So this was probably some plan of his father's to arrange for them to end up getting together on their own.

It kind of annoyed Todoroki. He had a lot of respect for Halyn after all she had done for him and he knew she was an irreplaceable friend. As such, he refused to let his father ruin that friendship. If something happened, later on, and the two decided to try for anything else, Todoroki wanted it to be their choice and their's alone.

Not because of some scheme of his father's making.

Not that that would happen, of course.

"Shoto?"

Todoroki snapped out of his thoughts when Halyn's voice sounded through the bathroom door, as if she was sitting just on the other side.

"Yeah?" he called back.

"...How much did you see?" Halyn asked.

Todoroki knew he had to be honest. She would kill him if he lied and she found out. So he sucked it up and answered honestly, his sister pressing a hand to her face in disbelief. It was obvious that her brother had no experience with girls and that was her silent way of calling her brother an idiot.

"Not much. Your towel and hair blocked most of it. I did see the birthmark on your left hip. It looks like-"

"A flame, yeah, I know." Halyn said, cutting him off.

She fell silent once more and Todoroki had a brief moment of feeling like he had just made it worse. But he really just wanted to be honest with her.

"Sorry. I didn't know you were here." he told her.

It was silent on the other side of the door for a moment and he wondered if she was angry at him. Then he heard a sigh before she spoke again.

"Don't worry about it. If the birthmark is the most you saw, then I'll count it as being lucky. Let's just forget it happened." Halyn called back. "If you'll give me a few minutes, you can have the bathroom."

Todoroki was in no hurry to rush her. He heard her moving about the bathroom in a brisk pace, more than likely getting dressed and collecting her things as fast as she could. While she did that, he collected all that he had dropped. Fuyumi watched him, her hands on her hips.

"Shoto...what happened?" Fuyumi asked lowly.

Todoroki chose not to answer. Not that he needed to. Fuyumi was a teacher, she was a smart woman. He was sure she could figure it out. He had just picked up the last of his clothes when the bathroom door opened. Halyn, fully dressed now, stepped out with a bag of toiletries in her arms.

"Excuse me." she said before hurrying away quickly.

Fuyumi and Todoroki watched as Halyn vanished down the hall, her tail, still puffed up to twice it's normal size, the last they saw as she opened the door to the room she was staying in, disappearing inside. Todoroki swore, right before she vanished inside, that he could see the tips of her ears turning red.

"After that awkward moment during your fight with her at the Sports Festival and now this...that girl is so aware of you, it's not funny." Fuyumi said with a sigh.

He didn't need his sister to tell him that, and he was sure that that was what his father was counting on. But Todoroki could handle that later after he had a nice, long talk with Halyn about the whole thing. Leaving those thoughts for later, he went and bathed. When he was done, Fuyumi found him to let him know that dinner was done.

Halyn was already seated across the table from Endeavor when Todoroki and Fuyumi joined them. Halyn, as if nothing had happened, gave Todoroki a brilliant smile in greeting when he claimed the seat next to her. Endeavor, who had already heard of what had happened in the bathroom, watched the two, trying to judge how the two felt.

All through dinner, he watched, but apparently he couldn't find the reaction he had been seeking. So he just finally spoke.

"I was told there was an incident with the bathroom." he started.

"Oh, that."

All three Todoroki family members turned their eyes to Halyn when that was all she said. At their looks, Halyn just smiled.

"Not much more was seen than what is seen when I wear my hero costume. All that was seen that is usually hidden, is a birthmark on my left hip. Not exactly something so scandalous as to get worked up over." Halyn told them. "And besides, Shoto was a gentleman and got out as fast as he could. So, all is well that ends well. Right, Shoto?"

With the happy swaying of her tail, they were forced to take her words at face value and Todoroki gave a low "Right." in response. Dropping the subject with a frown on his face, Endeavor finished his meal and retreated to his own personal room. Halyn offered to help Fuyumi with clean up, but the woman turned her down.

"It was your first day of an internship and with my father no less. Go rest." Fuyumi told her kindly.

"Alright, but I'm helping tomorrow. It's impolite to be a guest in someone's home for an extended time and not help clean, at least. And I can cook, too, if that would help." Halyn replied.

Fuyumi smiled at her and agreed. Halyn gave her a polite bow and turned to head back to her room. Fuyumi leaned towards her brother when Halyn vanished out into the hall.

"I like her. She's a keeper." Fuyumi told him. "Especially since she can remain cool in front of Dad."

Todoroki was starting to think that his whole family was out to set him up with Halyn. Instead of replying to her remark, he followed Halyn back to their rooms. It was awkward, at least for him. The two walked in silence, Halyn glancing out of the side of her eyes. It wasn't until they reached their rooms, directly across from each other, that she spoke.

"Shoto," Todoroki turned to look at her. "It's awkward, isn't it?"

"Yes." he admitted, his mind recalling a mental image of Halyn with only a towel pressed to her front.

"I figured, but I meant what I said. It's not a big deal, Shoto. After all, you said you didn't see anything. Can we please act like it didn't happen and forget about it? We can even schedule our bath times and, at the end of the week, I'll be heading home." Halyn suggested. "How about one of us bathes before dinner and the other after?"

Todoroki took that deal. They decided, after that, that he would bathe before dinner and she would use the bath after dinner. Once that was decided, Halyn gave him a smile and wished him good night. Todoroki watched her vanish into her room. No matter what they promised, he was sure of one thing.

He was not going to be able to forget the image for as long as she dwelt in his house.

-0-0-0-0-

The next morning, Todoroki awoke at his usual time, getting dressed before heading to breakfast. He ran into Halyn as she was leaving the bathroom. Apparently she had taken advantage of the early morning to freshen up before heading to their internship. When she stepped out of the bathroom, she was wearing a pair of short, jogging shorts and a cropped top that bared her stomach.

He would have looked away after seeing what he saw the night before, but something else caught his eyes. He had noticed, briefly, when he had walked in on her the night before, that she had two scars across both thighs. This close up, he could tell that they were burn scars. Each was vivid and about four or five inches long. They sat low enough that, normally, her stockings hid them and she always seemed to be wearing stockings.

His eyes fell to the scars as he came to a stop. Halyn caught him staring at them and reached down to run finger tips over the ones on her right thigh.

"Gruesome, aren't they? Flame Lash had quite the temper." she told him.

"He did that to you?" Todoroki asked.

"One for each time I seriously angered him."

"Only four times in seven months?" he asked, surprised.

"Who said these were the only ones?"

It was a stark reminder that under that smiling face, lay a past of pain and suffering. Not that she would let him dwell on it. A smile curled her lips as she simply waved it off. Bending over, she rolled on her stockings, covering the scars as quickly as she could.

"We should get breakfast or we'll be late." she remarked.

Todoroki nodded. The day, after they reported to his father's office, was much as it had been the day before. They shadowed Endeavor as he went about heeding calls that came in, giving out orders to his sidekicks as he went. Todoroki found out quick that Halyn really was a people person. Whether it was his father's sidekicks, or the people they went with Endeavor to help, she always greeted them all with a gentle smile on her face and soothing tone in her voice.

It seemed she was good at soothing more than just him. Exactly as a hero, especially one charged with the rescue of people, should be. It actually had him asking her a question at their lunch break.

"What kind of hero do I want to be?"

Halyn looked up from her lunch, blinking in surprise at his question.

"You've never said." he pointed out.

"Well...that might be because I don't really have an idea." Halyn replied. Todoroki looked up from his lunch, taking in her expression as she leaned back in her seat. "I mean, I don't want to be the type of hero that just masters one thing, you know? A jack-of-all-trades, so to speak. I just want to be able to respond whenever there's danger. Doesn't matter to me if it's rescue work, stopping villains, or something else. I just want to help people. Like I said when we were picking out our hero names...I want to be the Adapting Hero. Always adapting to any situation. Simple as that."

Halyn gave a shrug of her shoulders and turned back to her food. For her, it was just simple as that. She didn't have to over think it, didn't have to worry about changing her mind. It would always be the same answer.

After lunch, they returned to the job, Halyn spending a while with Endeavor's female sidekicks as they went about doing their work. When she came back, Halyn had a thoughtful look on her face. Todoroki tried to question her, but she just stared at Endeavor, who had his back to them, her head cocking to one side as her tail twitched.

"Huh...they were right." she mused lowly.

"What are you talking about?" Todoroki asked.

Halyn's hands went to her hips as she rocked back on her heels. Her eyes were glued to Endeavor as she watched him listen to a report from one of his sidekicks.

"You know...I kind of agree with them. You're not as stacked as your father." she remarked idly.

Wide eyed, because he simply could not believe what just left Halyn's mouth, Todoroki turned on her. Halyn, smile on her face, simply shrugged her shoulders and turned to walk away, a sidekick calling out to her.

Wait...what!?

What the hell was that suppose to be about!?

For the rest of the day, the thought bugged him. Just what had those sidekicks been saying about his father that had Halyn looking at him like that? It wrapped around his mind, holding it, and most of his attention, captive. It had him so preoccupied with his thoughts, that it was dinner before he knew it and he had forgotten to take his bath.

As he walked towards the kitchen, where Halyn had joined Fuyumi in cooking, he decided to wait until Halyn had gone to bed to take a bath. That way, he could bathe without worrying about her needing the bathroom.

Walking into the kitchen, Todoroki paused. Standing there before him, an apron tied over her clothes, her hair pulled completely back, and humming while she dished out helpings of rice, was Halyn. He was a little surprised at how at home she looked, cooking and serving food, a smile on her face. His father was already sitting at the table, watching her out of the side of his eyes. Noticing his son, Endeavor's eyes turned to him.

"There you are, Shoto." he said.

Halyn's head turned and she greeted Todoroki with a bright smile before turning back to dishing out rice. She sat down the last bowl before turning towards him.

"Go ahead and sit, Shoto. We'll be done in just a moment." she told him before turning to join Fuyumi in finishing up the last bit of dinner.

Todoroki approached the table, watching as the two females talked lowly. Both were smiling, and laughing lowly when they came back to the table with the rest of dinner. Todoroki looked up at Halyn as she sat his food in front of him before taking a seat in the chair next to him. She looked up to see his questioning look and just smiled at him.

"Just girl talk." she assured him before turning to her own food.

Did he really want to know?

Probably not, but seeing the look the two females shared, he was curious.

Instead of asking, because he was sure neither would tell him, he turned back to his plate and started eating. Instantly, he could taste the difference in the dish. It was something his sister made quite often, but it tasted differently this time. Different, but better.

"Leander-chan helped make the food and made a few changes to the recipe." Fuyumi told them. "I think I'll keep those changes."

"Its just a few tricks I've picked up since moving here. My Italian twist on a Japanese dish." Halyn replied, smiling sheepishly. "Believe me, not all my dishes turn out so well."

If Halyn could cook this well just half the time, Todoroki would eat it anytime.

After dinner, Todoroki and his father went there separate ways, leaving Halyn and Fuyumi to clean up. Todoroki was sure his sister was loving the help. He, himself, returned to his room, leaving the door open. About two hours later, Halyn stopped by his door.

"Goodnight, Shoto." she called in to him.

"Night."

Todoroki watched as she vanished into her room. He gave her thirty minutes to get settled into bed before he went to take his bath. He made it through his bath without incident. He was sure she was sound asleep as he stood in the changing room, towel wrapped around his waist, fishing his underwear out of the basket of clothes.

He froze when the door open.

Turning stiffly, he found Halyn, drowsy, her hair mused from sleep, and wearing a pearl grey, short night gown, standing in the door way. Still looking half asleep, as if she had just woken up, she stared at him for a moment. He was very glad he had a towel around his waist, but he half wondered if she was even awake enough to notice where she was when all she did was stare at his abs and chest, then...

"Huh...I guess I was wrong."

With that, she turned and left, closing the door calmly behind her.

What. The. Hell?

Wait...was she talking about her comment earlier that day about him not being as stacked as his father? Todoroki looked down at his body. Had she really just compared him to his father and decided he was just as well muscled as him? All while still half a asleep?

Todoroki pressed a hand to his face. All he could ask himself was "what the hell?" because it made no sense to him. What, exactly, was going through her head? And then there was the fact that she hadn't outwardly registered the fact that, aside from a towel around his waist, he was naked. She had merely gave him a look over and turned around to leave. Was it because she was half asleep? Or was she really just not aware of him in that way?

So many questions and not enough answers.

He knew one thing for sure though.

Gods, girls confused him.

-0-0-0-0-

3:07 a.m.

The numbers flashed back at Todoroki from his alarm clock as he glanced at it.

At first, he wasn't sure what woke him. All he knew was one moment he had been asleep and the next, he lay awake in his futon. He laid there in the dark for a moment, staring at the ceiling before he heard it. It was low and soft, but he could tell what it was.

A cry.

Sitting up, Todoroki listened closely. It came again, a little louder this time. He had a pretty good idea on where the noise was coming from. Getting to his feet, Todoroki went to his door, opening it to listen to the currently silent, dimly it hallway. Again it sounded, this time from right across the hall. Todoroki looked across the hall at the door that stood closed before him.

Halyn's room.

The noise was coming from her temporary room.

Closing his door behind him, Todoroki stepped across the hall. Thankfully, she didn't lock the door. Silently, he pulled the door open and peered inside. The room beyond was pitch black, making the weak stream of light from the hall seem brighter than it was. That stream of light fell right across Halyn's futon and her sprawled out form.

Her limbs were all twisted up and tangled in her sheets, her skin was covered in a cold sweat, thin fingers twisting in the sheets. She was still asleep, but her features were twisted. Now and then, she would twitch, another cry leaving her lips.

She was having a nightmare.

And it was getting bad because her cries were coming more frequent, her twitching more violent. He needed to wake her up. Moving to her bedside, Todoroki crouched at her side, reaching out to shake her shoulder. His fingers barely brushed her shoulder before she jolted upward, frantic and eyes wide. To avoid being hit by her, a surprised Todoroki caught her in his arms, holding her shaking form.

He could feel the pounding of her heart in her chest, her heart was racing so fast. Her fingers instantly twisted into his pajama top, raspy breathes leaving her parted lips, her tail sticking straight out behind her and bushed out to twice it's normal size. It took her a moment to realize where she was and who it was that was holding her.

"Shoto?" she asked lowly.

"I heard you crying out." he explained, still holding her.

Her body sagged against him, her tail falling limply to the floor as all fight washed away in the wake of relief. She didn't release his shirt, though, as she pressed her face into his shoulder.

"Just memories, always memories." she admitted lowly.

"Flame Lash?" he asked, taking a guess.

He felt her give a single nod in answer. Then she took a deep breath and released it shakily. Slowly, he could feel the pounding of her heart slow down until he couldn't feel her heartbeat anymore, telling him that her heartbeat was back to normal levels.

"Sometimes, just now and then, I have these nightmares and I wake up still believing, for just a moment, that I am still there, trapped and afraid. The memories, the dreams, are so vivid. It's only when I'm asleep that they affect me so fiercely. When I'm awake, I know it's just memories and that they can't hurt me, but asleep..." Halyn heaved a sigh as she trailed off.

Whether it was consciously done or not, he didn't know, but she curled closer to him, relishing in the comfort of his presence. As if she completely trusted him in her vulnerable state to protect her. And she probably did. He was starting to realize that, for some reason, she trusted him more than others. Why him, he couldn't guess.

"Shoto."

"Yeah?"

Todoroki felt a ragged breath leave her, bellowing across the skin of his collar bones. She took another deep breath, as if preparing herself for something.

"Will you stay until I fall back to sleep?" she asked. "Please?"

He didn't know what possessed him to answer the way he did, because it could be used against him later on, he knew, but she was his friend. She had supported him, continued to do so even when he didn't ask. The least he could do was offer the same and give her the tiny bit of comfort she was asking for.

"Sure."

END

Kyandi: Aww, so cute!

Halyn: Embarrassing.

Kyandi: Yes, it is, but at least you were mostly covered.

Halyn: Very little comfort.

Kyandi: I know. I'm sorry. But, a plot is a plot.

Halyn: And a joke is a joke, apparently.

Kyandi: It wasn't a joke, just a way to move plot along. I can't help that it just happen to be funny, as well.

Halyn: Obviously.

Kyandi: Anyway, everyone enjoy and review!

Halyn: We'll return as soon as possible.

Kyandi: Bye-bye!