The Girl From Shiketsu

XII. Frostbite

[Momo Yaoyorozu] I'm glad to hear all is well.

[Camie Utsushimi] Totes

[Camie Utsushimi] Watching the news was super scary...

[Shouto Todoroki] He's still in the hospital, but he'll be released soon.

[Momo Yaoyorozu] If you get the opportunity and feel up to it, please pass on our get-well wishes…

[Camie Utsushimi] ^^^^

[Shouto Todoroki] I will. Thank you.


"That's a nasty-looking scar you've got there." The words slipped out before he could stop himself, but strangely enough he felt little to no regret about them. The man in front of him was still somebody who had put him through nightmare after nightmare for many years, and nothing his mother said could change that.

Fuyumi was a lot like their mother in that sense, always trying to justify whatever harsh methods their father used. Natsuo had hightailed out of the house at the first opportunity, but unlike their eldest brother, he still came by every now and then. Touya… Touya would never be coming back.


"Do you… wanna talk about?" The sports drink being shoved into his face asked. Well, to be accurate, the bottle itself didn't speak, rather the person holding it did.

"About what? And thanks." He took the drink, unscrewing the cap as Utsushimi plopped down next to him.

She leaned back onto her arms, staring at the facility ceiling. "Your dad."

Shouto brought the beverage to his mouth, taking in the sweet, bitter scent before taking a sip. Did he want to talk about his father? He wasn't sure. "He's back on the job, if that's what you mean."

"We both know that's not what I mean."

"Sorry." He drank some more of the sports drink, closing the bottle again. "I don't know what to say."

"Just say whatever comes to your mind." Her usual speech pattern seemed to have been toned down, making her sound much more serious than usual.

"Whatever comes to my mind…?" He decided to take this conversation seriously, as well. "It… It's annoying. I can't explain it, but it's just… not fair."

"And what do you want?"

"What I…?" He set the bottle on the floor, folding his hands. What he wanted… He wanted his mother to be happy. Fuyumi and Natsuo, too. And… "...family. I want us to be… a family. But… I can't forget everything that happened. Everything that he did." He confessed.

When he turned his head, he found that Utsushimi was still looking at the ceiling. "That's a good wish. I think… you just need time."

"And I think you two should be drinking water opposed to these sugar bombs." Yaoyorozu suddenly joined them, picking up his bottle and shaking her head disapprovingly. She was also covered in dirt and debris, with a noticeable abrasion on her face. "Also, it's your turn next."

"Looking at you, I really don't wanna go." The girl next to him remarked flatly. "It looks hella rough."

"It's not that bad, I can reassure you."

"You don't get to say that while looking like you just survived the apocalypse!"

Shouto glanced over at the rescue obstacle course Gang Orca had set up for them, where they were being put through in pairs. From Yaoyorozu's demeanour, he guessed she cleared the objective, but now it was his and Utsushimi's turn.

"C'mon, let's go." He offered her a hand, and pulled her up. "And… thanks. For hearing me out."

"You can do the course by yourself if you're really grateful."

"Camie, don't think I didn't hear that." Yaoyorozu cut in. Once Utsushimi apologised and agreed to do it, she turned back to him. "Oh, by the way… regarding what you were talking about earlier…"

"...my father?"

"I'm sure… you just need to wait for the right moment, and then you'll understand your feelings better. Wanting a normal family… it's a good wish."

A normal family… what was that even? For him, it would already be enough if his mother and siblings could smile again. But everytime he imagined them smiling, his mind jumped to his father scowling down at him, the dark shadows on his face twisting his gut.

"Hey, you two! Get over here, we don't have forever!" Gang Orca shouted, the impatience leaking into his words.

"Good luck, you two." Yaoyorozu sent them off with a reassuring smile and a pat on the back.

"We are so going to die, just look at that smile." His partner grimaced. "Just remember, you were always my best bro."

"...thanks? I think we should trust her, though. Yaoyorozu wouldn't lie to us after all." They came to a stop as Gang Orca gave them sensors to equip before throwing them into the task without any explanations.

The environment looked innocent enough. "I'm sure it's going to be fine, Utsushimi."


"Whoa, Todoroki, what happened to your face?!"

He glanced at Sero briefly, thinking back to the words Utsushimi had used. "...an unforgivable betrayal."


"Did you have two quirks this whole time?" Shouto approached Midoriya in the dorms, finally asking the question that had been on the back of his mind since their class battles. "I have to say, I'm a little shocked."

It contradicted what he had told him back during the sports festival, so…

"No, you've got it all wrong!" Midoriya gesticulated wildly, defending himself. He went on explaining his hypothesis and that it was the first time it had occurred.

It sounded logical enough, so Shouto let it go. All it showed was that they all had a lot of space to improve, after all. He sighed, looking at his phone.

There was something Yaoyorozu often said about tactics: making use of all available resources, be they human or objects.

[Shouto Todoroki] There's a few things I'd like you to teach me about Flashfire.

Despite everything that had happened, his father was also just another resource. At least, that was what Shouto told himself.


"I'm super excited for Christmas, it's gonna be awesome!" Camie was brimming with energy, swaying from side-to-side in her bus seat. "My parents also told me they'd be home for good over the hols, so I'm totes ready!"

"I'm glad for you, but we need to finish up this first." Momo felt bad for bringing down her mood when she pointed at the upcoming building. Their course was almost over, dragging out into early December, but they had yet to complete it.

"Just two more days!"

"Yeah, just two more days."


"We should totes hang out, gimme your digits."

"No."

Camie puffed up her cheeks. "Rude. A lovely, stunning, beautiful girl asks you for your phone number and you give such a crude one-word answer? Oh, the calamari."

"I'm pretty sure you mean 'calamity', and you're still not getting my number. You're friends with the Half-n-half bastard, right? So stay off my fucking lawn." Bakugou sneered back at her.

"Just because I'm friends with Todoroki doesn't mean I can't be friends with you, too? That's so stupid, we'd totes have so much fun, just reconsider it for a bit, 'kay?"

He scrunched his brow, his eyes shifting between fed up, disbelieving and contemplative. "Okay, I've reconsidered it. My answer hasn't changed." With that, he turned around, one foot already setting down in front of the other, slowly, but surely, running away from her.

"Wha-? Bakugou! Stay! Don't leave me!" She lunged after him, wrapping her arms around his torso in a deadlock hold.

"Let go of me, woman!"

"What if we never see each other again after this?!"

"Stop being so goddamn melodramatic! Let me go!"

Momo slowly lifted her hand, stretching her pointer finger at the situation. "Should we… do something?"

"Why should we do anything?" He asked, visibly confused.

Sometimes, Todoroki had these moments where he just… didn't get it. "Forget it." She shook her head. "Let's just leave the two of them to deal with that."


"So, anyway, I convinced Bakugou to give me his phone number." Camie was leaning back into her chair, her free hand holding up a peace sign while she grinned victoriously.

Momo wasn't sure she wanted to know the entire story, Sure, she was curious, but part of her was wary to hear it. Instead, she just smiled back. "That's good for you."


Shouto held his hero license in his hands, his thumb trailing over the inscriptions. So much had happened on his quest to get this piece of plastic, and now that it was finally over, he couldn't help but feel a bit cathartic.

"Hey, hey, show me your pic!" The card was plucked from his hands and put to close inspection by none other than Utsushimi. "Hmm, you could really work on the expressions you make when peeps take pics of you. Total waste of your good looks."

"..." He never understood why people thought that. There was a burn scar over half his face, what good was there in that? "I want to be a hero, not a model."

"Why not be both? I mean, her pic was also kinda lame, but Yaomomo's gotten all kinds of weird offers."

"I'd really rather not…"

"Suit yourself." She gave him back the licence, but didn't let go of it just yet. "You know… You should have received this thing a long time ago. Yaomomo, too."

"It's not your fault. And besides… this was a good experience."

"A taste of hell, you mean."

"Well… what awaits us out there just might be described as hell." He looked around. "Where is Yaoyorozu, anyway?"

"One of the teachers wanted to talk to her. Somethin' about her course feedback sheet being too detailed or so."

"Ah."


"I know what you're about to say, and before you say it, I just want to say that nobody got hurt and it was totally legal." Todoroki held up both his hands in defence.

Momo could only scrutinise him from across the table, accompanied by the constant slurping noise from her right, courtesy of Camie and her milkshake.

"Exactly how long passed between holding your license and encountering your first villain?"

"All Might said it was about 30 minutes."

"30 minutes?" She narrowed her eyes at him, but it was difficult to actually get mad at him. He was just a magnet for trouble, and he did his hero duties, even working together with Bakugou.

"The best part was the interview, though." Camie snuck in a remark, leaning her head on Momo's shoulder so she could fit into the camera view. "I give it a 10/10."

"Bakugou seemed to disagree."

She re-adjusted the tablet's position before going on. "He's just jelly he didn't get any lines."

"Well, it doesn't take much to imagine what kinds of things he said." Momo admitted, albeit with a bit of hesitation. She did share a sense of comradery with him after those weeks they had spent together for the provisional licence course, even if that feeling might not have been mutual.

"Our teachers were pretty appalled so they made us do interview training." Todoroki scratched his chin. "It was really weird, and Mt. Lady kept saying such odd things."

"Oh, like what?"

"That she had heart problems and that my smile could kill girls. I don't get it, and everybody kept laughing at me when I asked-" He was cut off when Camie burst out in laughter, nearly spitting her milkshake all over the table.

"Oh my god, he's a clueless hunk." She wheezed. "It's so adorable."

"Ashido said something similar, but I don't get what it has to do with anyth-"

"No, no it's fine, fine! Just keep being yourself!"

Momo was busy suppressing her own laughter, breaking out into a cough instead, so she could only watch as Camie began to cheer for Todoroki's oblivious side.

She did have to defend him, though, if not for spending so much time with Camie, her reaction to those metaphors might have been exactly the same.


"..."

"Geez, Yaomomo, you've been giving that poor paper a death glare for the past five minutes." Camie prodded her cheek, waking her from her deep thought.

Momo blinked a few times, her eyes refocusing on the piece of paper in question. It was just some of her math notes she had copied for a classmate. "Sorry," she mumbled, "I was just thinking about the news."

"The stuff that happened in Deika?"

Just the fact that Camie, who almost never kept up with the news, knew about it spoke of how impactful the event had been. Momo folded the math sheet neatly, her mind wandering back to Deika. "Yeah, I just… sometimes, I wonder how meaningful our struggle really is."

"Whaddya mean?"

"Heroes and villains… what makes us different? Why do we fight? Why do… why do things like this happen?" She sighed. And this had happened right after they acquired their provisional hero licenses, too.

Camie only responded with a quiet side glance, her lips pressing together slightly. There were no answers to her questions, after all.


"I guess we all have to do internships now, huh?" Yaoyorozu's words held a sigh he could picture, despite her not being here.

"Something about it being obligatory, from what I heard." He answered, leaning onto the railing as he looked into the distance.

"Eugh, that sucks big time, I swear, we have enough to do already." Utsushimi complained in the background. Her voice was a bit faint, so Shouto shifted his phone, letting him increase the output volume.

"Our society has begin changing." Yaoyorozu said. "It's almost as if… there aren't enough heroes anymore."

Not enough heroes, huh? It was true, his father and his sidekicks have been working a lot more lately, and from what they occasionally overheard at school, things weren't looking good. "What's going to happen from here on out?" He wondered out loud.

"We're all just going to have to do our best."

"Yup, yup!"

"...yeah, I guess you're right."


[Momo Yaoyorozu] Merry Christmas! I hope you have fun!

[Camie Utsushimi] Happy Hols! Crossin fingers for good presents fam!

[Shouto Todoroki] Likewise

Shouto put his phone away when Iida suddenly called for him. Preparations for their class party were in full gears, so he took the class president's scolding at face value.

He could talk to Yaoyorozu and Utsushimi later, too.


"If you have nowhere to go, why not come with me and intern with the number one?" Shouto offered, balancing the stack of dishes in his hands as he tried to study Midoriya's and Bakugou's expressions.

He had overheard their lack of internship spots earlier, and with the way things were, the heroes had to work harder than ever. That included them, the heroes-in-training. Now was the time they had to help each other out the most.

Also, interning at his father's office with classmates opposed to being alone was definitely in his favour.

Bakugou didn't outright reject him, instead scowling in thought, and Midoriya's wide eyes quickly reverted to a contemplative look.

But Shouto had a feeling they'd agree. Neither of them were the type to throw away an opportunity like this, after all.


In the best words he could find, his father was throwing a "hissy fit".

"Dude's a hard-ass." Bakugou said straight to his father's face.

And maybe, those were the perfect words to start of their first day of internships.


Even after everything was said and done, Shouto couldn't help but feel… wronged. Played for a fool by reality. No, those words held too much meaning. The simplest way to put it would be…

...he was feeling kinda pissed off.

Something about his father speaking so casually to his friends was just pissing him off.

"I've got something to say." He interrupted, ignoring Endeavour's further statements. "You beat the way to use my quirk into me when I was a kid. And I put it into practice, with my right side."

Shouto paused briefly, taking a short breath and glancing at his right hand. "Looking back on it, I was stupid." Hurt, enraged, misunderstood and stupid. "All I was thinking about was how to best piss you off. But… when I started attending U.A., and started spending time with everyone…" Not just his friends from his school, but Yaoyorozu and Utsushimi too. "...It really opened my eyes."

Midoriya had showed him that there was still so much room for him to grow, Yaoyorozu had taught him about heroism and selflessness, Bakugou's unrelenting hard work ethic was infectious and Utsushimi always knew when to wind down and relax… Everyone had contributed to his worldview.

But at the root of all, he was a child sitting in his mother's arms, watching TV excitedly.

"Endeavour," He started once more, meeting the highest ranked hero's eyes, "when all is said and done, I played right into your hand. But remember this: The hero I admire… is the one I saw on TV together with mom." Another quick breath. "I came here to use you. You're just a convenience, that's all."

The past couldn't be overwritten that easily. Those years he and his siblings spent without their mother would never go away. The nights he went to bed exhausted and sick to his stomach would never fade from his memory. The times he'd look at other kids' fathers and wonder why he couldn't have that would always burn his heart.

That's why… this was pissing him off so much. "So, quit trying to act like my dad in front of my friends."

"Got it." Endeavour, his father, the man standing in front of him, wasn't putting on any false fronts either. "I'll watch over you three… as a hero."


[Shouto Todoroki] Can I ask you a question?

[Momo Yaoyorozu] Anytime.

[Shouto Todoroki] Is it weird if I invite you two to dinner spontaneously?

[Camie Utsushimi] Nope, when and where?

[Shouto Todoroki] My sister wants to have my friends over for dinner. Tonight. I know it's very short notice.

[Momo Yaoyorozu] Tell her we'd love to come!


"I'm so happy Shouto has so many friends!" Fuyumi gushed as she practically floated into view. "I don't think we've met yet, so thank you for always looking after Shouto! I'm his older sister, Fuyumi!"

They had come straight from the office, Midoriya and Bakugou in tow. As Shouto stepped in and took off his shoes, he noticed there were already three pairs of familiar shoes there.

"Oh, Yaoyorozu and Utsushimi are already here? And Natsu, too?" He inquired, to which is sister nodded happily.

"The two girls came a bit earlier and were really insistent on helping me with the preparations, so I let them." She shrugged helplessly, but that sounded just like them. "And Natsuo's here because we wanted to talk to your friends as a family."

Family. That word… it was once nothing more than a pipe dream, but the light in Fuyumi's eyes made him want to believe in that dream again, if just one more time.

"Todoroki! You're here!" Utsushimi's bundle of blonde hair popped into view, closely followed by Yaoyorozu, who was holding a stack of plates.

"Good evening, Todoroki. Good evening, Endeavour, Bakugou, Midoriya." She bowed politely, a small, sincere smile on her face.

"Oh, you're so well-mannered, Yaoyorozu." Fuyumi giggled. "Here, let me take those plates so you guys can talk."

"Oh, please, it's not a bother at all-"

"No, no, you're a guest, so I insist-"

"Heya! It's Baku-bro and Midoriya!" Utsushimi ignored the exchange between his sister and Yaoyorozu, instead diving in to greet his other two friends. "Long time no see!"

Shouto watched the bustling amount of people. It was unusual. This house always seemed so big and empty, but there was suddenly so much cheerfulness and noise, it didn't feel like the same building anymore.

Family. Friends. Maybe… maybe… this could work, after all.


"I'm sorry, sis, I just can't do this." Natsuo's voice cracked as he turned his head away, closing the shoji behind him.

The atmosphere died down, and Shouto caught Yaoyorozu and Utsushimi exchanging meaningful glances. Come to think of it, had they spoken to Natsuo before he and the others had gotten back?

That question would have to wait, however, as their meal continued in silence.


"Oh, if you pass me yours, I'll take it to the kitchen." Momo held out a hand, but Bakugou simply scowled at her. "We'll help, too."

"Alright, thank you." She redirected her hand to one of the empty bowls instead, and with that the four of them started clearing the table.

The tension created earlier had yet to completely disappear, and for the few brief seconds she found herself alone in the kitchen with Todoroki's father, she couldn't help holding her breath.

As she stepped back out into the corridor, she found Camie, Midoriya and Bakugou there as well, speaking in low voices as they walked slowly.

Camie was the first to notice her. "Ah, Yaomomo. We were talking about, you know…" She tilted her head, nodding towards the dining room.

"I figured as much." Momo sighed, looking over to the other two. "Do you… do you know about…?"

"Todoroki told me..."

"They were talking really loudly so I happened to overhear." Bakugou added flatly.

It was followed by another moment of stiff silence. "It's… none of our business." Momo said reluctantly. It was impolite to stick their noses into other's family issues, even if… "We should just-"

"Don't give me that bullshit." Bakugou cut her off. He then held a finger to his lips, pointing a thumb at the shoji behind him, the one that lead to the dining room, where Todoroki and his sister were.

Her confusion was cleared up when she heard their voices from the other side.

"What do you think of dad, Shouto?" That was the elder Todoroki sister.

The four of them stood in the hallway, listening to Todoroki's words that followed. Momo couldn't help but fold her hands, looking for any kind of distraction from their eavesdropping act. It was rude and unbecoming of her, but her heart still clenched as Todoroki's spoke of his strained family relations.

"Honestly, I can't say for sure. I don't know what to think about our old man. I still… just don't know." He finished, and she could picture the confused, tired look on his face. They had briefly touched on this subject before in conversations, and he would always make that same expression.

It made her feel worthless for being unable to help, but they really shouldn't interfere-

"IF YOU'RE GONNA INVITE GUESTS OVER THEN QUIT SHOWIN' US YOUR FAMILY DRAMA!"

Momo's thoughts were all abruptly cut off when Bakugou tore open the door and screamed at the two of them, but it was probably loud enough to reach both the older brother and father of the household, too.

Her first instinct was to bring her hands up in an attempt to keep him quiet, but as her fingers reached his shoulder level, she hesitated. Bakugou had something she lacked, something that she would probably never acquire. And maybe, that was exactly what this moment in time needed.

Shamelessness.

She could sense the burning shame both she and Midoriya felt in that moment, with Camie being more akin to the other blonde in that aspect, but she could never have said those words. Even if it had been on all of their minds. Because… it would have been unbecoming of a Yaoyorozu.

At the end, she failed to stop the explosive boy, who was now ranting on, but not without mentioning how good the mapo tofu had been. The tofu had been really delicious-

No wait, that wasn't the point here.

A sudden warmth brushed her arm, bringing her back to reality. It was Camie, who had linked their arms and begun pulling her into the dining room as well. "We're his friends, too. We should… say somethin'." She mumbled.

Midoriya was the first one to start speaking like a normal person. "Todoroki, I think right now, you're probably getting ready to forgive him. In my opinion, if you really hated him, you'd have no problems telling him you'd never forgive him."

Now that she was actually in the room, Momo could make out Todoroki's features. It was that sad, tired look, just like she had assumed. His sister held a similar expression, except it was masked with surprise at Midoriya's words.

"But you could never do that." Camie spoke up. "You're… a good person. We…" She looked up at her, tightening their interlocked arms. "We know that you've wanted things to work out, but now that it might actually happen…"

"You're confused. I'm sure all of you are." Momo finished for her. "It's none of our business, yes, but… we only want the best for you, too."

"It's true, you're an incredibly kind person," Midoriya picked up again, "so, to me, it's more like… you're waiting for the right moment."

"Sis, I'm gonna head out first." A new voice joined in, belonging to none other than the older Todoroki brother. He didn't even look into the room, merely walking bye and lifting a hand in farewell. "Thanks for the food."

Natsuo Todoroki's abrupt departure incited another moment of silence, and Momo took the opportunity to pick up the last stack of dishes, so they could at least clear the table before delving further into this heavy topic.


"He still thinks that Dad killed him."

Talking about the oldest Todoroki sibling lead to another round of silence amongst them, but once again, Bakugou was the first to break it. "So that's why he was makin' that face."

Nobody felt like saying anything else after that, a few minutes passing without conversation until the shoji slid open once more.

This time Endeavour stood in the doorway, a solemn wrinkle to his brows. "It's about time I take you three back to school."


Shouto glanced over at Yaoyorozu and Utsushimi as they all got ready to leave. Seemingly sensing his gaze, Yaoyorozu responded with a small smile.

"Don't worry about us, one of my family's chauffeurs is coming to get us. You guys should get going before you miss your curfew." She reassured him, accompanied by Utsushimi's nods.

"Alright, have a safe trip then."

"You too!" Utsushimi waved as he and his classmates got into his father's car. The engine started, and in his last glance out the window he saw Yaoyorozu lifting her hand briefly as well, before going back to talking to his sister.

The conversation delved into internship stuff after that, until a loud shout caused the car to swerve, allowing Shouto to catch sight of the obstacle - a villain, holding Natsuo hostage.


"You have the worst luck imaginable." Yaoyorozu sighed, fanning herself with her hat. "I don't even want to know what would have happened if-"

"What do we fight for?" Shouto interrupted her. "Why do we…"

Her scolding look softened at that, something more solemn taking over. "I… I wish I knew that, too."

"Creati, we need to go back in 10 minutes!"

"Understood, thank you!" She responded to her supervisor, setting the Shiketsu hat back on her head and adjusting it. When she was done, she shifted her attention back to him. "If you want to talk about it, just give me a call, but I guess we both have more urgent things to take care of right now."

There was regret in her voice, and he also wished they could talk longer. With the new regulations, meeting up in the mall for coffee was a dream from the past, and even this meeting now was because her internship had happened to bring her close to where he was patrolling for the day.

Getting ready to go back to hero work, she stretched her arms quickly, rolling her shoulders.

It…

"Is something wrong?" She asked, almost as if she had some kind of sixth sense to know when he was looking at her.

"No, ... it just takes me back to when we first met." He admitted. It had almost been a year since then, but he still remembered the nosy girl who had to gall to correct a stranger, all while wearing a kind smile.

"Oh, you're right!" The smile she wore these days was different. It was less reserved, and stretched across her face more. It was brighter. "It's been quite some time since then, hasn't it?"

It suited her more. Just looking at her, and looking back on all they had been through together, reassured him enough.

He allowed himself to smile a bit as well. "Yeah."

Even if their futures were uncertain, they would all do their best as heroes, to strive and grow even further.


AN: this is the part where i confess i put off reading the bnha manga for like a year, and from the occasional spoilers i saw on twitter i just kept assuming there wouldn't be enough material for another chapter.

i was wrong. why tf are there so many time skips.

now we've caught up with chap 252, but with the current arc i don't think there will be much i can write about for quite some time

(but! there will be an interlude about what happened with fuyumi, momo and camie)