Chapter 7: Who They Are

Shoto approached her in her own space, basically cornering her in her cubical. Sophie was so deeply invested in her work she didn't notice him right away. He had a moment to see her in her natural element, working on Hero Management paperwork seemed to make her glow. It was actually how he found her because she was letting off a faint warm light. She was not angry, in fact, seemed to be quite pleased even if she didn't smile at all. He wondered if she ever smiled or if she was always so ornery with the world? But he did see her smile once, with Bakugo. He clenched his fists, not liking the memory, for some reason.

"I would like to speak to you." He folded his arms and planted his feet apart, a power stance to make her see he was serious.

She stopped working and her light darkened, sucking the light from the laptop and computer away. The space around them seemed to dim until he could only see her and barely himself. She turned towards him in the swivel chair and placed her hands neatly in her lap as if to tell him she had no time for his childish bull today. Shoto was certain that she would rather speak with Satan than him at this moment.

"What?" The word was spoken with a rough edge barely considered tolerance. He's really asking for it. Perhaps patience.

"I want to know why, why does my father let you get away with what even his own children can't? Why are you so angry at me, why do you hate so much?" He hadn't meant to do it this way, he wanted to be patient. But, Midoriya had stubbornly pushed him to see himself and, he wanted to see Sophie.

Sophie's eyes closed and she stood up. "Come on. I need a break anyway." She waited for him to move, which he did slowly as to prove he had all day to chase her around the city if need be.

She led him to the top of the building, the space was off-limits but he was certain that she would get off without even a warning for coming up here. He waited for her to start talking, Sophie seemed content to let him wait as she leaned over the edge and looked down at the streets. The breeze lifted the escapees from her Ombre locks up and carried it in whichever direction it chose. He approached her quietly, making sure he would be able to hear her.

"Your dad hit me with his car when I was four, broke four of my ribs, my right arm, and caused internal bleeding. I was in the hospital for a year and had to start school late." She stated dispassionately, turning to see his reaction.

Shoto frowned. "You are lying." She had said mother had not woken up, it was definitely her mother that she was angry for.

She chuckled with barely a smile. "I am. As if Endeavor needs to drive his own vehicle. Practically gets carried everywhere." She waved her hand dismissing his father as if he was a common garden snake and not a dangerous viper. That fact that he's too heavy never came up. Foolish.

"You don't plan to tell me anything, do you?" He asked her annoyed.

For a moment her eyes looked tired, pained. She folded her arms around her stomach and looked away, the bleak profile she presented was truly beautiful. If he was interested in creating art, she would be the perfect muse. "I have my reasons for what I am doing, and I do not need to explain them to you." She told him.

"That is a good point, however, I do not feel that you are being fair to me." He clenched his fists.

"Fair!?" She shouted. "What is fair about what happened? You have the bliss of not knowing what was done but I wear the scars on my face!" She gripped his shirt and pressed herself close to him. "Nothing is fair in war, and I certainly won't even out the playing field just because you are ignorant!" Why was this happening? Why was he pushing so hard? She didn't want to talk about this with him. Didn't want him involved.

Shoto grasped her wrist and forced her to let go, he emitted a cold aura that had her backing away. For a moment he wanted to rage at her, yell and shake the answers out of her. But he let it all go with a sigh.

"I mean, it's not fair that you hate me when you really hate my father. It's not fair that you smile at him but only give me your rage." Shoto told her quietly.

Sophie blinked in surprise, totally disarmed by his easy retreat and sudden confession. Had she…been unfair? She had, she knew this, her anger towards him was completely fake, even Recovery Girl knew she was pushing herself. Wait, smiled at who? Tokoyami, when had Todoroki seen her smiling at Kage? Was he jealous? Wait...she smiled at him after that bout with Bakugo that day, how much had Todoroki heard? Seen?

"I will do my best to avoid you for this whole week and you can reciprocate. I know I'm attractive and it's hard to believe that you can't get a woman like me, but I'm pretty much going to marry Fumikage, he's just playing hard to get." She flipped her long hair over her shoulder in false drama. This conversation was not going how she had foreseen, he was being too complacent for her suddenly, she needed to get out quick.

"What are you talking about?" He asked her blankly, she had completely ignored what he was saying. Fumikage? Did she mean Tokoyami, what did he have to do with this?

Sophie sighed. "I guess a joke is too much for someone like you." She shook her head.

"That was a joke? Your face doesn't really give much away you know, most people smile." Todoroki told her, not like he was one to talk thought.

She raised a single brow. "The side of my face has two giant scars if you hadn't already noticed, it hurts to smile." She informed him. It doesn't. "Plus, you don't smile much either."

"Is this another joke? True, I don't." He admitted. Her face gave away nothing almost all the time, except for lots of anger.

"No, it's a fact. When I received the wounds, they were so deep they damaged the facial nerves, when they healed back, they did not heal right and now it hurts to talk, eat, smile, laugh and cry. So, I typically don't smile, laugh, or cry often." She folded her arms beneath her breasts. Liar.

"I see, I apologize then, for bringing you out here to talk so much." Of course, she was the victim here, he was supposed to be making peace with her, not throwing some tantrum like a child who didn't want to share. Share what? Share Sophie? She belonged to no one but herself.

Sophie shook her head and dropped her hands. "Don't bother. There isn't much to be done about it so I learned to live with it."

Shoto nodded. He felt for the first time that he was not going to anger her. "Look, can we start over? I don't pretend to know why you hate my father so much, and I know not everyone can be liked but I'm trying to be different than my father."

Sophie raised a slim dark brow at him. It was perhaps a little unfair of her to blame him so much for what his father did. Isn't it though? He's not to blame. It was hard to change though, she had spent so long hating the Todoroki family, especially Endeavor. She would need to be reasonable she guessed, he did get in on recommendations and the results were astronomical during that exam. His father owned a huge Hero Agency, plus, she didn't have to be mean to him to keep information from him. She needed to let it all go, she needed to stop hating him for all the wrong reasons. After all, it could not be easy being the son of Endeavor, he was a huge jerk to his own fans, and...his poor wife lived in a hospital. Did he hurt her too? Was that why Shoto hated his father as she did? Perhaps...they were not so different.

"Very well, I cannot say I will be friends with you, I still don't like you. But I will not be nearly as…violent anymore. Will that do?" She asked him. Just a little bit, not too much, just enough to get him to back off.

Shoto was not sure that was a good deal but it was probably the best he would get right now. He shook her hand and nodded.

"Very well, I will do what I can to prove I am not someone you should hate." He told her.

She shook her head and dropped her hand. "You do that. I am a Hero Manager after all. Prove to me that Endeavor did not create a miniature of himself and I will sponsor you too." She walked away.

Let him in, what harm will it do? She frowned; glad he could not see her face.

Shoto turned to watch her leave, was she trying to cheer him up? He had never met anyone quite like her. She put up with Bakugo's personality, easily made friends with anyone of any class, and had a power that would put her in line for being a hero. The only thing that remained constant to him was her single-minded hatred for him and his father. From what he had witnessed Sophie Griffin was passionate, strong-minded, and fully capable of adapting to multiple situations. Her powers fascinated him, maybe he could ask her about them now that she would not try to verbally rip him apart each time he spoke to her.

xXx

"Hosu? You want me to go there, why?" Sophie tilted her head, her dark brows furrowed in confusion over the request given her.

"Endeavor and his son are going there for recon and as a representative of this agency, we would like you to go with them. This is the perfect opportunity to see how a Manager handles a hero. You will be responsible for everything from finding them lodgings to providing them with the information they need on the spot." The man informed her. "You will also be respectful and remember your position, you will not disrespect Endeavor again."

Sophie sighed; she didn't want to go to Hosu for several reasons. The prime one being that Endeavor was going there; and a host of other heroes she was certain; to find and corner Stain the Hero Killer. She wanted nothing to do with it, however, she needed this opportunity to learn. And maybe, she could find what she was looking for, besides it actually surprised her that Endeavor was smart enough to know that Stain always hit the same place twice before moving on.

"Fine, I will go now." Sophie sighed resigned to the idea.

"Endeavor said he would not mind you joining him in his vehicle." He frowned, not pleased with her attitude.

"I'm certain he did. I don't plan to join him or his son on their little bonding trip together. I will use the train, it's much nicer." Like I want to spend any time with either of them, even if I did call a truce with Shoto. She thought to herself. He wants to be friends, try to be nice. After all, it wasn't as if she truly hated Shoto.

After handling everything, from their meet up to their next meal Sophie attempted to board the train to Hosu by herself. She should have guessed that Endeavor was much more stubborn than she was, he was there when she tried to pay and basically guilted her into riding with them. Shoto to be fair looked about as comfortable as she did to get a ride with his father and she felt some tiny bond with him over that. So, he did not like his father much more than she did? Endeavor has that effect on people. Sophie had time to ponder her new somewhat nicer relationship with Todoroki. She had never considered making friends with him, she hated Endeavor as much as she hated one other person. But maybe the time was right, she should talk to him. Tokoyami was right, Todoroki didn't know anything, had been wronged himself. She found herself looking at Todoroki and thinking, maybe, she could use his help.

Sophie followed them to the appointed location. On the car ride here, she had managed to pull up schedules for the Hero watch crews and unchecked areas. Endeavor invited her to join them on the search but she declined to join, she had much to do. She had to meet up with the local law enforcement and to visit Normal Hero to talk to them too. They left; Todoroki looked like he wanted to talk to her but she waved him off.

"Later, when you get back. I will have them deliver dinner to your rooms." She bowed to them both.

"You are doing a fine job Sophie, I hope you reconsider and join my agency, even for a while." Endeavor nodded before walking away, he also wanted to say more based on his look. But Sophie would rather choke on a snake.

Sophie watched them go and walked to the hotel to check them into their rooms. They would be here probably for the week, which meant she would need to make rounds around town herself and get the consensus of the people about the presence of a killer on the loose. All in all, she had a busy week ahead. She loved this job. She glowed as she met with the Hosu's law enforcement, they seemed a bit unable to talk when she spoke to them, they had looked totally moonstruck. She made a note to bring it up to Endeavor, perhaps they were scared and he could ease their minds a little. Not that he would be of use, the brute. She even spoke to Normal Hero Agency and they seemed very friendly and invited her to dinner. She wished she could but she had a job to do, talking to active heroes was her bread and butter though so she stayed later than she had planned, even watched them train.

"We have another kid from Hero Academy here, Iida I think he said his name was. Good kid, he is out doing rounds right now with Manual."

"Oh! I know him, his quirk is like his brothers. Odd I wouldn't peg him for coming—" She stopped and instantly her mind started planning. That nagging feeling, something was going to happen and she was certain it had to do with Tenya Iida.

Sophie left them with a bow and returned to the hotel they were staying at, since Endeavor would never stay at some cheap side place, she was forced to endure luxury every step to her room. She insisted on a normal room and not something crazy like what he wanted to get her. Truly a room with a spa was simply too much. And whoever heard of a walk-in at a hotel? Though the bath was divine. Sophie was drying her hair when she heard a knock on her door, so she answered it thinking it was her dinner she ordered at the expense of Endeavor. Before the door opened she already knew that a freshly washed Shoto Todoroki stood outside, when his eyes went down then shot up to the ceiling and his face started to turn red she had mercy on him.

"Come in, I'll put clothes on." She walked away from the door and into the bathroom.

"Why would you answer the door nude?" He asked her as he entered and shutting the door behind him but staying there while she dressed. She was a menace! Answering to a stranger for all she knew totally naked! What kind of person was she?

"Because I was waiting for my food." She called out. Liar. "Besides, I'm wearing panties."

"You would answer to the server in the nude?" He asked incredulously. Those were underwear? What did women wear these days? She had not even tried to cover her top half, even with her hair.

"Who cares? I'm a woman, maids are women." Her answer was muffled as she dressed.

"The maid doesn't serve the food; it could have been a man bringing it in." He shook his head. "Do you have any decency?"

"Barely." She responded as she returned fully dressed in what he assumed were her sleeping clothes.

"Is that what you wear to bed?" He asked, instantly his face heated again.

"Eh?" She looked down at her tank top and shorts with All Might on the bottom giving a thumbs up. "Yeah?" She looked back at him with a brow raised. "You don't wear a shirt?"

"Well not always but that's beside the point." Shoto wished he had not started this conversation.

"Anyway, did you need something?" She tossed her towel on the end of the bed and sat down on the edge facing him. "You wanted to talk earlier right?"

"I just wanted to check on you and see how your first day went." He approached her. "I still do."

"It was crazy busy; I talked to a lot of people and got a lot of information." She almost smiled and he could see her skin starting to glow.

"Do your powers always do that?" Shoto pointed to her hand.

Sophie looked down and slowly raised her hand. "Yeah, I guess they do. Nookomis always said it was because my ability is of the heart." She let her hand back down. What heart?

"Nookomis?" He had a feeling it was another language.

"Grandmother. It means Grandmother." She stood up and walked over to the dresser where several of her bags sat and a note taped to the wall with her name on it. Shoto knew his father's handwriting.

"Did…my dad…" Shoto looked away, this was all confusing to him.

"It doesn't change anything. I hate him, I always will. He can apologize any way he wants to, with money, things, or even a permanent job. It will never change how I feel." She looked at the note before ripping it off the wall and tearing it apart then throwing it to the ground hard, the pieces flew all over. The lights fluctuated violently as the darkness responded to her outburst.

"Your Nookomis, she must be proud of you to make it to Hero Academy." He didn't know how to keep her from that dark place as Tokoyami did. It annoyed him.

Sophie closed her eyes and swallowed the bile of cruel words that tried to come out, she promised to be nicer to him. You promised not to blame him either.

"Gookomis." She whispered.

"What?" His head tilted in confusion.

"You don't say Nookomis for someone else's grandma, it's Gookomis. It means your grandmother." She turned back to him and tilted her head, the corners of her mouth tilted up slightly and her darkness faded away.

"I see. Thank you for telling me. So, you are American, right? Where from?" He asked.

She returned to the bed and signaled him to sit down beside her. She waited for him to locate the only set of chairs in the room and then drag one near to the bed but not too close.

"I am half Native American, half Japanese. My people are the Ojibwe or Chippewa. They are mostly in the Northern areas of North America. I was born in Michigan on the reservation, when I was five, I declared I would go to Hero Academy so my tribe collected the funds to send me here while I spent my days studying. After I turned seven, they sent me here with a chaperone until I turned ten to study in Japan and learn the ways of the other half of my people." There was a sour note to her words near the end.

"You have been here alone? They didn't leave the adult with you?" Shoto was confused, his father would have never let him do anything alone. He envied her that freedom.

"It's a rite of passage with my people, mostly for the males though but our small tribe is more forward-thinking. They pay for my housing, my food, my clothes, and my education if needed. Multiple times a year a member of my tribe usually my uncle or one of the council members will come and check on me. Deliver gifts and letters, stay a couple of days sightseeing, and go home to tell everyone about my progress. Everyone is proud of me in my family. They all worked hard to send me here and each day that passes I know they are thinking of me and hoping I do well." She turned her gaze away. He didn't need to know the truth.

His eyes widened, she was close to her family? But she didn't speak of her mother and that was what he wanted to know the most, he wanted to know what happened, what caused the hatred in a child so deep it carried on for years? He was a child himself when the incident went down, the same age as Sophie when his father had gone out to fight her mother.

"Tell me about your people."

"It might take all night; you sure your dad won't get upset if you lose sleep?" She asked him. He'd probably demand marriage on the spot. Like hell.

"As long as I can do my job he won't care." Shoto didn't care what Endeavor had to say, this was an opportunity he would not pass up.

"Very well, let me call and tell them to deliver your food up here. Pull out the little table and we will sit there. Do you know how to play BlackJack?" She asked him mischievously.

"The card game? No, why?" He stood up to grab the small table and chairs.

"Oh, this will be fun." She picked up the phone.

He had a bad feeling about that, but honestly, he was glad she was talking to him. If this had been before their truce, she would have slammed the door in his face or on his face. Now he is eating dinner with her, talking about her tribe, and playing games? He was sure this was a dream but there was no way his dreams would show him the contours of her body as she bent half over on the bed, revealing the roundness of her bottom in the tiny shorts she wore. He started blushing at himself for looking at her like that, she was a young lady and he was a gentleman. Still, though, she was certainly beautiful and unashamed to show her body. He noticed something else on her leg, something that her stockings would usually cover at school, a large mark that was at odds with her otherwise smooth skin. She turned back before he could get a better look at it and he looked away quickly, not wanting her to think he was staring.

I am not an expert on the Ojibwe people, I do a lot of research when I need to know something. I really wanted to write a character with a Native American background, and I really like learning about different cultures. You will see more mixing in as we get to know her.