Chapter 12: Dark and Light

The next day she was up and out of the house early, Tokoyami was surprised to find her out in front of his house for once. She rolled her eyes and punched him for teasing her, she felt giddy today, perhaps she should be bait more often. At school she ran into Midoriya whom she teased for slipping the other day in class, he was surprised she knew.

"Of course, I knew, everything is recorded for scrutiny by the teachers, why do you think there are cameras?" She teased him. "You got a lot better, keep up the good work." She winked and rushed off to meet with her classmates.

Classes continued as usual, their exams were coming up and everyone was stressing out about the written test. Sophie was at the top of her class so she had no trouble. Plus, the Management course did not need to do a physical test as the hero courses did, they simply did a proper demonstration of management skills they learned. When the bell rang for lunch everyone started to file out the room, Shoto was towards the end when the procession stopped and whispers began again. He moved passed everyone to see Sophie standing in the hall by the windows, looking straight through the crowd, when her eyes met his he knew she didn't want him to say anything. She was uncomfortable, knowing what everyone was expecting and not willing to go back to the fighting she used to indulge in.

"I made lunch." She simply stated and turned to walk away. He pushed past everyone and followed her. Bakugo was behind him and Midoriya as well with Uraraka, Iida, and Tokoyami, it was as if they all silently were helping him.

"Thank you," Shoto said quietly to them.

"The cafeteria is this way." Bakugo ground out. "I don't know what the hell you are saying thank you for."

"No one knows right? They would simply go into chaos if they heard suddenly you were getting along." Midoriya stammered getting closer to Shoto.

"Besides, she didn't look like she wanted to fight you." Iida pointed out.

"Our Minds are the most mysterious things about us," Tokoyami stated thoughtfully.

Shoto wondered how long Tokoyami had known Sophie, he never talked about her in class and refused to answer questions about her. He must be a really good friend to keep her private life such a secret. Why did that make Shoto feel so upset? Once they reached the cafeteria Sophie moved on, Shoto followed at a distance until they were out of sight in all the bodies. He reached her side and she simply nodded to acknowledge his presence beside her. They were out by the training area; she took a seat on the bench and he sat beside her a good distance. She started to open up the food, there were two canned drinks that were very cold one went to him.

"Sorry for being so secretive. I didn't want to cause an uproar. Everyone kind of expects us to fight each other, really they just expect me to yell at and threaten you."

"So you admit you were the problem?" He teased.

She grunted, looking away to hide a small smile that she ordered to go away silently. She untied the lunch boxes and handed him a blue one decorated with feathers. "I hope you like it." She opened up the one that was for her, it was decorated with many anime characters. "Sorry...about the secrecy." Why was she being secret? She could change her opinion of someone, it was perfectly acceptable to do so.

"No, I am sorry, lately I eat with Midoriya and the others. Bakugo was the obvious choice since he has been seeing you recently. Everyone will discover in time that we get along now. Hopefully." He opened the container. "Oh, you made Soba…how long did this take?" He asked her.

"I started it last night. There is a compartment under it that has vegetables, eat them all." She told him pointedly, her eyes narrowed on him.

"I will." He smiled. "Thank you for the food."

"Thank you for the food." She began to eat her food which consisted of rice, beef, and vegetables.

"What are your powers, if you don't mind my asking?" He asked after a while of silence.

"Just what they look like, light and dark. Kind of like you are hot and cold." She stated as she took a drink.

"So, you can turn the sun off then?" He had heard that was someone's ability.

She chuckled. "No, the sun is definitely light but to turn off something that massive would kill me, besides its actually fire, the light is just a result. I do this." She waved her hand and the light around them became colorful like a prism in the sun, he didn't notice her look away from it quickly, too awed by the colors. "Light in its purest form is simply the absence of darkness. I can glow, producing my own light, which is not something I do on my own it just happens, you saw it." She pointed out to him, the glowing she did when she was pleased, or doing something she enjoyed.

"What can you do with darkness? Black holes?" Also, something he heard about.

Where is he getting these ideas? Guessing mostly.

"Not really no, if I did that, I would die." She shook her head. "If I wanted to try I could give it a go, but mostly it's something unique that my mother thought about doing and never did. But there is one thing, it is less of something I do and more of something that just kind of happens, like my glowing." She waved her hand absently and the puddle of darkness at her feet sprang up beside her, a thin blob of darkness that didn't go above her head.

"What is it?" He asked fascinated, he reached a hand out towards it and it seemed to mimic him, reaching out a strand of itself towards him and turning as if confused. He had seen this before, at the hotel, massive darkness behind her.

"Mother didn't have a name for it, I assume she didn't have it; I simply call it darkling. It comes out on its own and does whatever it wants most of the time. I don't have one for my light side but the light does seem to have its own life sometimes. They don't get along well at any rate." She ate her food absently. This was an understatement; the darkness was dominant.

"Does it, fight for you?" He moved his hand around as it followed him.

"All the time, it's the thing that forms my weapons and shields, and just about anything else I need it to do before I need it to." She smiled fondly at the strand.

"Can it only stay beside you?" He touched its surface, it wiggled as if laughing and spread itself out in little tendrils that crawled around on his hand.

"No, anywhere there is darkness it can form. Usually, it sticks to my own shadow though, it is my protection." She stroked the main body that rested beside her.

It was also how she was able to relocate herself. It was not unusual for someone to have a quirk that did many things, even if they were small things. Even more so for people like Shoto and herself, whose quirks were opposite or even just born with a combination of their parents period. The rules were not exactly set, some people had abilities that were useless in battle and others had ones that were totally unfair and cruel. That was why Heroes had to be better than their quirks, they had to be smart and skilled beyond what they were born with.

"What else can it do? What about your Light?"

"Not much, it is a great help and I certainly owe it my life with how often it saves me. I can hide in the shadows, it converges around me, and they both allow me to see and hear anywhere at any time in a four-mile radius. They also talk to me, not in a real language, more of like feelings. We are as one, which is how I managed to master control of both sides." She watched him snag a tendril then jerk in shock when it snapped off and wiggled in his fingers. Lying again?

"Oh, I'm sorry." He apologized and offered it back to the darkness. "You have a lot of abilities with your quirks."

It took the tendril back and rubbed up against his open palm. Shoto looked at her confused.

She shrugged. "I guess so, I never really thought about it, honestly most of my abilities come from trial and error and it took a while to gain control of them. I remain as balanced as possible." Do not. "Seems to like you. The traitor."

"Amazing." He watched it wiggle around and test his skin. "Why do you remain balanced?" Was she actually balanced, he didn't see the light doing this was that because it didn't have as much presence, or was it simply invisible because of what it was?

"Hm?" She put her finished container back in the little bag she brought. "Same reason you regulate your temperature at all times, I guess. You are not always hot or cold, are you? You keep yourself at a nice normal level?" She finished her drink.

"Well, yes." He never thought of it that way.

"It is the same, I cannot change that I have these powers, even if I do not want…" Say it, say the words. She sighed. "I have to find a balance within myself that will keep them both from going out of control. My mother only had darkness, she was able to have joy and happiness, to show it and glow in it." Sophie shook her head, the darkness receded back into her shadow.

"I see, would you spar with me?" He asked her.

"What?" She looked to him quickly in surprise.

"I know you probably don't like the idea, but I would like you to spar with me. You fight against Bakugo but I think you are holding back to make him look good. He may not see it but I can tell, your darkness can overwhelm him totally if you converged all of it on him. Plus, you just told me you have mastered control." He grinned at her.

"Come now Shoto, you don't need to make stuff up. I will fight you with all of my strength. So be ready to lose." She stood up and looked down at him. "I may not use all of my power against Bakugo but I've always wanted to hit you."

He gulped. "Just don't kill me." He wasn't as sure anymore that he should fight her, but she was already heading to the field.

They faced each other on the field, as he watched her the darkness rose behind her from her shadow, it seemed to quiver and Sophie sighed.

"That is what you get for liking him you fool. You will fight him, but no, I do not need you to hurt him. You may of course pull back in the event that he is about to die or be harmed. No drawing his blood." She felt none of the rage as she prepared her powers. She was in control this time. Was this because she was not hating on him anymore?

Shoto smiled. "I see your darkling is having reservations."

"Yeah, seems it doesn't want to hurt you." She sighed.

"That is reasonable." He stated, glad that at least some part of her doesn't want him buried in the training field.

"I guess." She shrugged. "Ready?"

"Yes." He lit up with flames and prepared for battle.

The darkness dropped over her and when it parted, she was wearing armor straight out of a medieval Japanese anime. From head to toe, she was decked out. In her hands, she held a katana of darkness and when she lifted it up light swirled around her, the armor began to light up with intricate designs that looked like magical etchings and the sword became decorated with bright light. He was so in awe of her he almost missed her attack as she launched herself at him and swung the blade. He narrowly missed dodging her but noticed that the blade had pulled itself away on its own as he moved. So, the darkness was really not going to hit him.

She dug her foot into the ground and swung the sword back towards him in one smooth arch. Her fighting style was quick and fluid as if she had been fighting for years this way and had found all of her loopholes. If he had been a fraction slower, he would have been sorely wounded, but his ice flew out and deflected the blow that would have cut his stomach open wide. He slid back quickly and blasted her with flames, she ducked and rolled out of the way. He pulled his flames and whipped around to find her attacking from the side. A step had a wall of ice up before her that she easily broke through with a thrust of her dark blade. The tip was poking through the ice at him and the light along the length began to glow until the ice melted away quickly to where she could kick it.

He was getting excited, she was fighting him in a way that she would not even fight with Bakugo, in a way he felt honored by this. She was going all out, even if her power with its own mind was trying to avoid him. He quickly prepared for her next attack when she stopped moving suddenly, her darkness dropped away from her and she was standing there looking over Shoto's shoulder. He looked over to see Aizawa standing off to the side of the field.

"Sensei. I'm sorry, are we in trouble for fighting without permission?" Shoto stood straight, his flames dying down.

"I'm not sorry," Sophie mumbled approaching Shoto and folding her arms over her breasts.

Shoto smiled and looked down at her, it was a mistake to do so, she was flushed and disheveled and utterly beautiful. He had a hard time controlling himself from reaching out to tuck that wayward strand of her hair behind her ear, she reached up to move it on her own almost as if she knew his thoughts.

"Neither of you are in trouble, though it is not acceptable to fight like this without permission. I was simply watching you both spar. I assume it was a spar and not an actual fight? If it was you would definitely be in trouble." He approached them.

"No, it was a spar, I asked for it," Shoto stated, not wishing Sophie to get into trouble.

"It was a spar, though you would have had a hard time stopping me, unlike prince charming over here I don't need my powers to fight." She pointed at Shoto with her thumb.

"I read your student report." Aizawa looked down at her bored. "Your fighting style is a mixture of Ojibwe and Muay Thai. How did you ever learn either of those?"

"It's old in my tribe but we still have people who practice it, for tradition's sake that is. I learned it through sheer perseverance. I did not want to come to a country I did not know without the ability to defend myself in the event my abilities did not work. As for the Muay Thai, I learned that here, I took lessons with an actual teacher."

"Hm. Lunch is almost over, Griffin, Todoroki." He nodded at them both.

"Yes Sir." Sophie bowed to him.

"Todoroki, you should guard your left, she was going to stick you when you turned." He pointed out before walking away.

Shoto looked at her and frowned.

"I wasn't going to kill you. Just trip you." She looked at him and as the teacher turned to leave, she gifted Shoto with a very rare thing, a mischievous grin that made her look absolutely stunning to his eyes.

He smiled down at her; she was amazingly beautiful. The scar on her face disappeared, there was even a glow on her skin. His heart started to ache from the sight of her, he wanted to see more of those, more grins, more smiles, and maybe even her laughter no holds barred.

"I'm glad you didn't, it would have been very undignified to eat dirt." He placed his hands on his hips.

"Hmph, totally worth it to watch though." She winked up at him and turned sharply to walk away.

"Fight over?" He felt a loss; the battle was barely the tip of the iceberg for him.

"Yeah, you are a formidable fighter. The Darkling was having a hard time fighting you though, it's hard to fight when a part of you wants to hold back no matter what you do."

"I can see that." He followed her.

She pulled a small plastic container out of her bag and he wondered how much stuff she managed to stuff into the tiny regulation bag they all carried to school. Sophie sat down and popped it open, to his surprise it was filled with cookies shaped like leaves and coated in a delicious-looking frosting. She caught his eye and he swore she almost smiled at him, he almost saw it.

"Dessert." She offered him first pick.

"What are these?" He asked taking one.

"Maple sugar cookies, my aunt sent me a whole case of maple for the year. My people are known for our production of maple and wild rice you know." She took one and bit down. "Go on, it's delicious. Before you ask, I made them." She narrowed her eyes at him, daring him to say something.

He took a bite, it was delicious, he quickly finished it and reached for another.

They sat side by side eating the cookies and went over their short battle together, he wanted to know all about the armor she wore and how it worked, it was being a show-off. She wanted to know about his ice and how he could possibly make a weapon from the ice that harnessed the fire. They were deep in conversation when the bell rang and they had to return to class. Neither of them paid any attention as they walked down the hall together discussion aspects of each other's powers and how to best utilize them. He was amazed at her ability to assess his powers and tell him the holes as well as include ways to strengthen them. Her summaries were masterful, no wonder she was the top of the class for Hero Management, but she would be far better as a hero trainer. When the whispers started to climb higher and eyes all turned to them Sophie stopped like an animal caught in headlights. Shoto was sure she was about to run or turn on him, but her eyes narrowed on the crowd, her hands came up to plunk down on her hips.

"What? Don't you all have classes to attend to?" She stood tall like a fierce warrior maiden.

They all stared in shock, Shoto reached out to touch her shoulder lightly and they all burst into loud whispers. She sighed and turned to Shoto, she held her hand out to him and waited. He hesitantly reached out and gripped her hand, she shook it firmly.

"Hello I am Sophie Griffin, I am in Hero Management Class J. I would like to talk to you about becoming a hero." She said loudly for the whole hall to hear.

He understood instantly. "Shoto Todoroki, Hero Class A. I would like that." The smile in her eyes told him he had done the right thing. She then turned to the crowd and frowned at them as a whole.

"Gossiping is foolish, even if you are not in the hero courses you all represent this academy and what it stands for. You have a duty to be the shining example to all citizens beyond our walls. And we at U. A. High do not participate in idle gossip!" She fairly shouted that last part.

She let go of his hand and signaled for him to follow. There was silence in the hall and when they were alone, he felt it safe to talk again.

"What was that about?"

"Just making a point." She sounded pleased.

"What point?" He dared to ask.

"That I can do whatever I want and change my mind whenever I want and they have no right to gossip about me."

"So, you declared to one and all that you are interested in me as a hero? Why?"

She stopped and looked up at him, her eyes unreadable. "I…don't know." She answered honestly. I do. She looked confused for a moment and then bowed before walking away.

Shoto was sure she didn't know how to feel, he was the same way frankly. This relationship was totally strange to him, she started out hating the mere breath in his lungs, now they were sparring like friends. He turned to go to class and found himself standing outside of his classroom. Did she just walk him to class? He smiled, how nice of her.

XxX

"Sophie." Tokoyami ran into her on the way back to class.

"Hello Kage, how was lunch?" She asked him.

"Good, did you fight with him?"

"If you mean argued no, but we did spar, his idea." She held up a hand to show her innocence.

"You fought him? And the school is still standing? You held, back didn't you?" He folded his arms.

She looked away and scratched her head, her eyes refusing to meet his as he stared her down. He didn't waiver and she finally buckled under the pressure of his gaze.

"Damn, I can't stand it when you look at me like that, it's like I'm looking into the eyes of an eagle and it is judging me." She sighed. "No, I didn't, I tried to fight him fairly, Tokoyami I wasn't angry with him, I didn't hate him in the middle of the fight. I felt exhilarated! I didn't have to swallow the darkness." She looked confused up at him. "Is that good?"

"Better than before I would say. If I remember correctly you destroyed one of the test grounds during the exam." He hoped this change was for the better.

"Hey I had lost control okay, I already apologized." She plunked her fists on her hips.

"The most confused you will ever get is when you try to convince your heart and spirit of something your mind knows is a lie." He told her shaking his head.

"I hate when you do that." She sighed herself. Always with the insightful one-liners.

"As long as you don't go crazy as you did before." He reached out and patted her on the head.

"Hawk." She smacked his hand away and stuck her tongue out at him.

"I still don't see why you use that as an insult, hawks are good birds."

"Eagles are better." She smirked.

"Griffin's are deadlier." He remarked.

"But they don't exist now do they?" She punched his arm and walked off to class. "See you after school."

"Yes." He waited for her to be down the hall and gone. "I see a Griffin every day, and she is the most terrifying of them all." He smiled.

XxX

"You failed to return with Nana and now you tell me that this Griffin is more than they appear to be? A little girl? A fucking child is ruining several years worth of study and experiments?" The man asked in false calm.

"More than a child, I think you should have paid more attention to your little servants master. One of your own has betrayed you." Rok settled heavily on his staff, his old bones aching and his skin cold as ice as always.

"Damn it!" The man jumped up from his seat and slammed his hands down on the table, rattling many items and sending a few to the floor. "I am on the verge of a breakthrough and I now I have to deal with you moron failures! Find out where this damn girl is from and take care of her! I am tired of paying useless assassins to kill the leader of this group, if she is just a damn child it should not be so hard to kill her!"

"You might want to capture her alive master, I think you would really like to see her." Rok chuckled.

The man frowned darkly, his hand came up to scratch at his eye, the pain agitated him further.

"Fine! Capture the damn bitch alive and bring her to me, I will not tolerate this nonsense any longer!" He sat back down. "Damn, if that fucking cow hadn't killed the perfect specimen I would be finished by now. Everyone around me is useless." He kept scratching his eye, the area inflamed and bloody.

"I wonder about that." Rok mused to himself. "I wonder about that greatly."

The man watched Rok go, his face twisted with disgust. "Stupid old man, the hell are you going on about." He mumbled rifling through the paper on his desk.

Wondered about what? The specimen he lost eleven years ago? What was to wonder about it? Even he could not predict the actions of that madwoman, stupid female only had to raise it till he was ready to harvest its DNA. The others were not perfect, they were shadows, but that one, that one had been perfect in all sense of the word. He stopped scratching his eye and looked up, what did that useless Rok mean?

I'm super sorry for the late post, I really didn't like how I wrote this originally and it took me a few more days to get it the way I like. I wanted to explain some of Sophie's abilities a bit, it's hard to tone her down from the original OP that I made, trust me she was much more OP. Will I ever reveal what her light side really does? Maybe, maybe not. owO