Face to Face

Cress opened her eyes to a blurry grey sky above her and a sharp sterile air in her nose. She blinked, clearing her vision and instantly wishing she had left her vision alone. It wasn't the sky at all. She was inside. And going by the sterile smell she assumed it was a hospital. She sat up and looked around, finding her bag in the chair.

Gasping she bolted out of bed and snatched up her bag. Heart pounding she opened it. She exhaled with relief to find her book was still inside her bag.

Muffled voices came from the other side of the door.

Cress paused and looked at the door. Two shadows were outside of the room. She tensed, praying they moved on. A few minutes passed before the two shadows moved on down the hall. She relaxed and started to change clothes. It was time to go.

…

Todoroki dressed and rushed down to the common area of the dorm. The elevator door opened with a ding, letting in the voices of his classmates.

"Morning, Todoroki!" Uraraka said.

"Did you sleep well?" Iida asked.

"Breakfast is ready!" Kaminari said.

Todoroki rushed passed them.

"Hey, where are you going to in such a hurry? Class will begin in an hour," Midoriya called.

Todoroki closed the door behind him. There was no time to explain anything to them. There wasn't even time for breakfast. He would be back in time for class and he would eat later. The only thing he had to do right now was get to the hospital.

Fresh air was replaced with the smell of cleanliness as he stepped into the hospital. Stepping up to the reception desk he asked for the girl's room number and told the receptionist he was the one who brought her to the hospital. The lady gave him the number and he headed down the hall. Making his way to his destination, he picked up on pieces of conversations, one in particular caught his attention.

"I really hope they catch that girl," a woman said. "She's a total menace to the public."

"I'm finding it hard to believe that the heroes haven't been able to take her down," another woman said. "She's only a child who's shown she rather run than fight. Why are they having such trouble catching her?"

It took Todoroki a moment to realize who they were talking about: Ciarran. He had heard about her on the news. She was a new villain who was causing a lot of trouble for the pros. He too found it odd that multiple pros would have trouble catching one girl, a girl who was only a teenager. Ciarran's quirk was a bit of a mystery as much as where she had came from. All they knew was she could fly and form rocks the color of the moon. Some suggested she had a quirk that was moon based. He wasn't so sure. Other than the color of her rocks her quirk didn't seem moon related at all.

The girl's room number appeared before his mind could go any farther on Ciarran. He stared at the door for a moment before opening it. The girl was awake, digging in her bag, and dressed. She looked as if she was about to run away. "I hope you're not planning on running away."

The girl jumped and spun towards him.

Todoroki's eyebrows rose. His suspicions had been right. She was going to run. But why? He closed the door. "It would look suspicious if you did. And after I told the police you didn't use your quirk on them. By running they'll think you did use your quirk on them."

The girl's eyebrows drew together. Her eyes swirled with caution and distrust. She swallowed. "Why did you tell them that? You saw me using my quirk."

"Because I needed to talk to you. I couldn't do that if you were hauled away."

She looked to the door, the window, and then back to him.

Todoroki watched her weighting her options. They were on the fifth floor. Did she really think she could run from him? If she did, he was certain he could stop her by trapping her in ice. "You can run if you want to. But I warn you. If you run I will tell the police that you did use your quirk on those men last night."

She glared. "You did as well. I know your country's laws are the same as mine where quirks are concerned."

"So you're not from Japan."

She flinched.

Todoroki knitted his brow. For whatever reason she didn't want him to know that. He crossed his arms. "Look, I don't care where you are from. I only want you to answer my questions."

The girl examined her escape routes again before her body relaxed. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

"For starters, why were you in my school the other day?"

"Figures you go to UA," she mumbled.

"What?"
"Nothing. I was looking for All Might. Several people say he works there now as a teacher." The girl shifted on her feet, her hand closer to her bag.

Todoroki stood ready. If she was going to bolt or attack him, he was going to stop her. "Why do you want to see All Might?"

"I don't see how that's any of your business," the girl snapped.

"It is my business if you're trying to hurt him or anyone else there." Todoroki paused in thought before asking, "How did you even get into the school? We have a state of the art security system. If you crossed over then the alarms would have been set off."

She crossed her arms and said nothing.

"You can tell me or tell the police."

The girl stiffened.

Todoroki watched her debating within herself again.

"Fine." She sighed. "It's because of my quirk. I can disappear, sort of."

"Disappear? The security system can register body heat and movement. It would have caught you."

"It's not like that." She rubbed her forehead. "I disappear but also turn into light."

"Light?"

"It's like moonlight passing through a window." She gestured at the clear glass behind her. "My body changes completely so I don't give off body heat or have a physical form for security systems to catch me. It also works on whatever I'm holding, if you were wondering. Though it only works on inanimate objects."

"I see. And All Might?"

"I need his help." She shifted on her feet again. "There's this guy who's after me. Well, he and his whole organization."

"Why didn't you go to the police in America?"

Cress sat down on the bed. "It's not that easy. This guy can put thoughts into people's heads. He calls his quirk the power of suggestion and calls himself Azazel."

"Hebrew for scapegoat or total removal."

"Whenever the police or heroes get close he uses his quirk on others to escape." She wrapped her arms around herself.

Todoroki remained silent for a few minutes before saying, "He's used his quirk on you, hasn't he?"

She nodded. "His quirk only works within a two mile radius. But, even being here, I can still hear his voice inside my head." She closed her eyes and breathed in. "I was hoping that All Might could help stop Azazel. He wants me to use my quirk to do things for him. Stealing…killing. I don't want to."

"I understand," Todoroki said. " But All Might's retired."

Her eyes shot to him before she placed a hand on her face.

Todoroki watched her. Her face started to turn red. Tears were on the verge of falling. His chest tightened. She drew in several breaths, pushing away her tears. "He still might be able to help. Maybe he has an idea on how to stop this guy. But why didn't you already speak to him? You were at my school."

"I lost my nerve." She rubbed her arm and averted her eyes. "Anyway, I'll go talk to him."

"Fine. But this time you can come through the front door," Todoroki said.

She looked at him.

"Come back to the school during lunch. I'll introduce you to him," Todoroki said.

"Fine." She nodded.

"I'm Shoto Todoroki."

"Crescent, but call me Cress."

Todoroki nodded. "You can call me Shoto." He turned to go but turned back. "Do you have enough money to pay the hospital bill?"

Cress groaned, dropping her head back. "I didn't even think about paying."

"I'll take care of it."

"What? Why? I can't let you do that."

"It's fine. My dad is the number two hero after all." Todoroki grabbed the door handle. "He won't notice a bit missing. Be sure to meet me outside of the school at lunch. I have to get back to school now before I'm late."

"Fine. But I will pay you back for this."

Todoroki nodded then left.

…

Cress opened her mouth to ask what he meant about his dad but he closed the door before she could. She hadn't meant to have someone else pay for her mistakes. Unfortunately, she still didn't have much money. Despite that she would pay him back as she had said. Somehow.

She glanced around the room, wondering what to do now. There was no point in running now. She had a meeting with All Might. And this time she was going to see it through. She closed her eyes. "Just a little longer."

"Give up, Little Bunny."

Pain stabbed her temples.

"You won't be able to do it."

"Stop it." Cress grabbed her head. "Get out of my head."

"Are you all right?"

Cress dropped her hands. Standing at the door was a nurse. "Yes, I'm fine. Just a small headache."

"Would you like me to get something for it?"
"No, it's going away."

"That's good. You have a visitor." The nurse stepped aside to let a cop come inside.

Cress tensed. Stale coffee wafted to her nose.

"I'm here to speak with you about last night," the cop said. "Is that all right?"
Cress nodded.

"Good. This won't take long."

"And after that the doctor will be in to check you out. If nothing is wrong you'll be able to leave this afternoon." The nurse smiled and left.

"Tell me what happened last night." The cop pulled out a small notebook and pen.

"Well, those guys attacked me. They wanted my valuables," Cress said. "Typical mugging."

"Did you use your quirk on them?"
"No. I didn't have too. That guy, Shoto Todoroki, showed up and stopped them."

"Yes, young Todoroki is a wonderful pro hero in training." The cop smiled. "He's exactly like his dad. Both are very powerful."

Cress wasn't so sure about that. The way Todoroki spoke about his dad…something was off.

Several more questions and minutes later the cop had all he needed. He left a few minutes before the doctor came in. The stale coffee was replaced with hand sanitizer. "Okay, let's get you checked out."

Cress tapped her toes and fingers impatient for her check up to be over.

"Okay, you are good to go." The doctor smiled. "You bill has been paid so you can leave now."

"Great." Cress grabbed her bag and bolted out the door.

Warmth rolled over her skin. Squinting into the glaring windows, Cress made her way through the city in search of a library. Upon finding it she settled in at a computer and started looking up information on Todoroki's dad. What she was looking for she wasn't sure. Maybe something that would tell her why Todoroki seemed off when speaking about his dad. She got nothing but all the rescues and villain lockups he had done, that and pictures of him. In all of them he looked angry. Nothing like his son.

Shifting her focus she looked up information on All Might's retirement. Tons of articles appeared on the screen. She clicked on a video of the fight that ended the number one hero's career. Her hand shot to her mouth. It wasn't possible. All Might was struggling to fight against a man wearing some kind of device over his face. Face…or lack there of. The man's face seemed to be covered with skin. Then the most shocking part of the video came. All Might's mighty body was replaced with a skeleton version of himself. She clicked the exit button and dropped against her chair. Her mind swirled with all this new information.

How was All Might going to help her being the way he was now?

Cress bolted from the computer. Sitting there was only going to make things worse.

…

Cress stood at the gate of UA. Staring at the building she wondered once again if she really want go through with this. It wasn't too late to turn and run. Todoroki wasn't there yet. She could leave this school and Japan. He would never know what happened to her.

"Cress."

Cress jumped. Todoroki had arrived while she was in thought.

"You ready?"

Cress nodded and followed as he led her into the building. Whispered swirled around them as they made their way through the halls.

"Who's that with Todoroki?"

"I've never seen her before."

"Do you think she's his girlfriend?"

"No way. Do you see her clothes? Todoroki is way too good for her."

Cress rolled her eyes.

"He's in here." Todoroki's voice pulled her attention. They had stopped at a door. He knocked then opened it. "All Might?"

"Come on in."

Cress stepped into the room to find only All Might was there. Her eyes widened at his form. He really was a skeleton of himself. Didn't this guy eat?

"So you're Crescent," All Might said.

"Uh, yeah. Hi." Cress nodded. "Call me Cress."

"Well, Cress." All Might waved to the couch across from him. "Sit."

Cress walked towards the couch then paused when she heard the door close. Turning back she found Todoroki was gone. She clenched her bag strap. She hadn't noticed until that moment that she wished he had stayed.

"Young Todoroki told me you wanted to talk with me," All Might said.

"Yes." Cress sat down. "Did he tell you why?"

"Only that you need my help. Tell me what's on your mind."

"Well…" Cress licked her lips and told him what she had told Todoroki.

"I see." All Might cupped his chin. "That does sound serious."

"I've written down all his major businesses, deals, people he trusts the most, places he's hit, and other such things." Cress pulled the book from her bag and handed it to him.

"Wow." All Might flipped through the book. "This is a lot. And very detailed." He looked up at her. "How did you get all of this?"
Cress shrugged. "Like I said, he has an interest in my quirk."

All Might nodded. "Being able to turn into light and pass through windows without setting off the alarms would be very handy for a villain. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to beat a guy like this."

Cress sunk into the couch.

"But I'm sure I can come up with something. There are a lot of fine pro heroes who work here. Surely someone will have an idea." All Might tuck the book under his arm and stood. "For now let's go talk to the principle."

"The principle?" Cress blinked.

"Yes, you need to be protected."

"Oh!" Cress shot to her feet. "That's not necessary. I only meant to pass this information on to someone who could stop him."

"Young Crescent, you are in a lot of danger." All Might placed his hand on her shoulder. "It won't be good if Azazel captured you."

"True. But I can't-"

"Now don't worry." All Might guided her to the door. "I'll make sure you're in a safe place."

"That's really not necessary. I can actually-" Cress's stomach rumbled.

"Haven't had lunch yet, huh?" All Might continued guiding her out of the room. "No worries. I'll buy you lunch. I'm sure you don't have much money on you."

"How would you know that?" Cress glanced back at him. "Let go. I don't need anything from you."

"Just a guess. Don't be like that." He smiled. "It would be a delight to buy a pretty girl lunch."

Cress groaned. Clearly she wasn't going to get out of this. So she allowed All Might to guide her into the lunchroom. He paid for her food then guided her to a table with a couple familiar faces.

"Hey, it's you," Midoriya said.

"Do you know her, Deku?" a pink cheeked girl asked.

"Yeah, she was checking the school out yesterday," Midoriya said.

"Did you and All Might finish talking?" Todoroki asked.

"Sort of." Cress scratched her head.

"We have spoken. I'm going to take this to the principle then to my friend at the police station," All Might said.

"Hold on a second! You never said anything about police!" Cress whipped to the adult.

"She'll be eating with you all for the time being." All Might all but pushed her down in a chair beside Todoroki. "Keep an eye on her."

"Sure thing." Midoriya smiled.

"Hey!" Cress tried to protect again but All Might walked off with wave. "Well, he's…not what I expected."

"Is something wrong?" a guy with glasses asked.

"Uh." Cress scanned the teenagers.

"Oh, Cress, these are some of our friends," Midoriya said. "Uraraka and Iida. Guys, this is Cress."

"Nice to meet you," Uraraka said.

"Yes. Welcome to UA. What brings you to our school? Are you a friend of All Might's?" Iida spoke animatedly with his hands.

"No, I only needed his help with something." Cress looked at Todoroki. When he said nothing she told them what she had told him and All Might.

"Wow. You came all the way from America?" Iida asked.

"That's how dangerous Azazel is," Cress said.

"Well, don't worry. I'm sure All Might will come up with something." Uraraka smiled.

Cress nodded. She hoped so. Turning her attention to her food she watched the stream rise of the rice before picking up her chopsticks.

"Do you need help in using them?" Iida asked.

"No, I'm good." Cress took a bite of rice. "I've studied Japanese culture. This isn't my first time using chopsticks."

"I should have known. Your Japanese is very good," Iida said.

"Thank you." Cress spent the rest of lunchtime listening to the in training heroes talk. Only when she was spoken to directly did she speak. And when lunch was over All Might came back and took her to see the principle.

"Hello, Miss Crescent. Welcome to UA. I am Principle Nezu."

Cress stared at the white creature sitting behind the desk. She had heard of rare cases of animals manifesting quirks but had never seen one before. And this guy…she wasn't sure what kind of animal he was. He looked to be a mix of a bear, a dog, and a mouse. "Yes, sir. Thank you. Oh, yeah. I forgot." Cress pulled the uniform out of her bag. "I, uh, borrowed this before. I wanted to return it and apologize for taking it."

"You can keep it," Nezu said.

"No, that's okay." Cress held it out.

The principle pushed her hand back to her. "I insist. You'll need a change of clothes."

"What for?" Frowning, Cress pulled the uniform back.

"We have spoken and agree that it's best for you to stay in our care," Nezu said.

"What?! No! You can't do that!" Cress shouted.

"And here is your pass and ID to get into the school." Nezu held out the pass.

Cress swallowed as she stared at the pass. This was not what she had wanted. All she wanted was someone to stop Azazel. She gripped her fists. "I don't want to be part of your school in any kind of way. I refuse."

"In that case we'll have to turn you over to the authorities," Nezu said.

Cress flinched.

"Miss Crescent, I know you are homeless," Nezu said.

"What?" Cress gasped. "But how did you…?"

"It's the way you smell." Nezu jumped out of his chair and walked around the desk. He paused in front of her. "You smell of grass, trees, and rocks. Things people don't normally smell like when they live in a house."

Cress looked away and bit the inside of her cheek.

"I'm not going to pry into your past," Nezu said. "But you have to understand the position you have put us in. We cannot allow a minor to run around on her own. You do have a choice. You can be turned over to the police and live in protective custody or you can stay here at the school in the dorms. I have the perfect person to keep an eye on you. With his quirk it'll be next to impossible for anyone in Azazel group to get close to you without a fight."

"And who's that?" Cress asked. If All Might couldn't help then who could?

"His name is Aizawa," All Might said. "His Young Todoroki's homeroom teacher. He can temporarily deactivate other quirks with is own."

"He can really do that?" Cress looked at All Might.

"He can." All Might nodded. "If Azazel does come we should be able to stop him easier if Aizawa uses his quirk on him. Then all that's left is dealing with whoever he brought with him."

"So you thought of a plan after all," Cress said.

"It's only a rough one," Nezu said. "Your book here is very informative about who he's got working with him. But he could add more now that you're gone. We have to be prepared as possible. And using you as bait would give up an upper hand on him."

Cress chewed on their words while chewing on her bottom lip. While she didn't mean to get herself trapped around a bunch of heroes and in training heroes this might be her only way to be free of Azazel for good.

Nezu held up the pass.

Cress reached for it, hesitated, then took the pass between her fingers.

: I've noticed that. So after this one I'm going to do another Todoroki/OC that follows the series.