"The principal's office in that building," the tall boy with rectangular glasses and booming voice informed Melina.
He directed her attention to the three story building to their right with a stiff, jerky movement of his hand and entire arm as if he were a police officer directing traffic.
"Okay. Thank you," Melina responded, clutching the strap of her purse hanging over her shoulder.
"After you enter the front doors, the main office is to your left," he said, extended his left arm out straight as if he were signaling a left turn on a bicycle.
"Got it," she assured him, already walking toward the building.
This is kid is strung WAY too tightly, she thought to herself.
His willingness to be helpful was kind and genuine, but he really needed to calm down and relax. Finding the office sounded easy once she entered the correct building.
Melina had simply asked which building was the administrative building. Then she was treated to an impromptu interrogation being asked about her identity and her intentions. Following the abrupt questioning, she received a lecture on the dangers of allowing strangers onto UA High property and an apology with the explanation that he was only taking necessary precautions to protect his fellow students.
"Melina! Wait up!"
Her footsteps came to an instant halt on the second step on her way up to the front doors. For just one second, she was sure she heard Dabi's voice. Taking into account her present location, she knew that voice belonged to someone else.
Besides, she believed Dabi's statement that he was never coming back was no empty threat. Threats and promises. Hints and allegations. Her life had been far too full of all of them as of late.
The only person who seemed trustworthy and genuine was the one coming straight toward her in a slow jog. His hair ruffled and bounced with the slight jarring of each footfall. His dual colored eyes dazzled her with their brilliance. His smile mesmerized her; a little half grin full of friendly mischievousness. The little brother she didn't know she wanted or needed. So cute.
Melina smiled broadly at him as he paused on the sidewalk at the foot of the steps. Standing halfway up the small flight of cement steps, she reached eye level with him. Wow.
Little brother - only in age. Already broad shouldered and much taller than her, he was built slender but muscular. In the future, he could develop a wide, barrel chest along with thickly muscled arms and thighs like Endeavor. As long as he didn't grow into a raging asshole like his father, all of the other similarities would be just fine.
Dabi was extremely tall and gangly as a scarecrow. His lengthy arms and legs were powerful but not bulky which hid their strength. However, like their father, he was an asshole.
Why the fuck does every thought lead back to him?, she asked herself irritably, but held the gentle smile on her face. Dabi wasn't here. Someone else who was becoming extremely important to her had arrived.
"Hi," Shoto greeted her.
"Hi there. I didn't expect you to find me so soon."
"But you did expect me to find you."
Melinda did indeed expect him to find her at some point while she was on campus. Her overactive imagination mused there must be a special magnet inside of her that drew the Todoroki men to her no matter where the hell she might be.
"Disappointed?" he inquired.
"Uh uh, never," she responded, shaking her head.
"Want me to show you to the principal's office?"
"But it's right there," she returned, pointing inside the building.
They both could see the frosted glass door through the crystal clear glass on the front door. Principal's Office was printed on the door in three inch tall black, block letters.
"At least let me do this," he said, brushing past her to open the door to the building for her to enter. "See you later then?"
"I'm sure you will. Somewhere."
Melodious chimes almost like church bells rang out signalling the official beginning of the school day.
"You better get to class before you're late. Then we'll both be in the principal's office. But for very different reasons," she added with a wink. "Later, Shoto."
"See ya later, Melina."
"Ah, Miss Zusa, you are here!" All Might blurted out behind her almost scaring her out of her skin.
Once she got over being startled, Melina snorted to hold back her nervous laughter.
"Do come in, young lady," he invited, holding the office door open for her. "Principal Nezu is waiting for you."
Despite being slightly shrunken, hollow cheeked and a bit skeletal, the man had lost none of his charisma or the power in his voice. With a huge hand placed firmly on her back between her shoulder blades, he steered her through the office full of small cubicles with one large enclosed glass cubicle in the back.
The few teachers remaining in the room, who would be late for their own classes, eyed her with bored curiosity as All Might led her to the glassed in office at the back of the room marked 'Principal Nezu' specifically on the door in the same plain, bold black letters.
All Might knocked on the door with his bony knuckles. Seeing him this way almost hurt, filling her with guilt due to the consuming, all encompassing hatred for heroes she still carried buried deep within her heart.
For a moment, she contemplated what might have happened to the hero who inadvertently killed her mother. Did he die a pathetic death? Left all alone, forgotten by those who were supposed to revere him? Did he waste away into nothingness, eaten alive by remorse? She hoped so.
Bile rose in her throat as bitter and acidic as her thoughts. She swallowed, putting aside her hatred for the moment. It would still be waiting for her later. It was always was. She felt like if she left it behind completely, she would be betraying her mother by forgiving and forgetting that hero. But these people, all of these heroes, seemed so nice, kind and genuine.
"Come in," a gentle voice called behind the door.
Oh, what a sweet voice, she thought. What the fuck is going on with me?!
When the door swung open, Melina saw the most precious little mouse...man...person (mutant?) sitting behind the desk. Her hand flew to her mouth. Her knuckles pressed against her lips before she squealed from the astonishing but adorable sight of him.
Oh, my god! He's so cute!, she squealed in her head.
"Oh, hello, you must be Melina," he politely greeted her, slipping off the edge of his chair.
Oh, my god...oh, my god..., her inner voice chanted. She feared she might die of cuteness overload.
All she could see were his ears until he walked around the desk to meet her. He held out his hand - paw - for her to shake it. She reluctantly took her hand away from her mouth, biting the inside of her cheek until her eyes watered to prevent herself from gushing about his cuteness. Her hand took his.
The soft paw pads pressed against her palm and his fur felt silky smooth under her fingers. She barely resisted the insane urge to grab his hand to squeeze the round, pink toe beans to test their softness and squishability.
He isn't a cat!, she admonished herself. Possibly a mouse, but damn near human too. So no. Don't do it!
"I'm Principal Nezu," he introduced himself, shaking her hand before letting go. "I know my appearance is a bit shocking, but - "
"But you're so cute!" she burst out, quickly covering her mouth with both hands to keep anymore words she would regret from escaping. She carefully lowered her hands, whispering in her mortification,"I am so sorry."
"I've been called worse," he chuckled lightly. "Sit down, please."
All Might ushered Melina to one of the tan sofas facing each other with a coffee table in between. A teapot and three cups sat on the table. Surprisingly, All Might sat beside her rather than the principal. He poured the tea for all three of them.
The friendliness and humbleness of the recently deposed number one hero astonished her. A warm feeling spread throughout her body. She might be starting to like him the tiniest bit.
Melina picked up the saucer, carefully balancing the cup on top. Taking a tentative sniff, she smelled rose. After imbibing a small sip, she decided she liked the rose tea and went back for another.
"So, Miss Zusa, I've been told the girls of class 1-A would like for you to show them how you create your cosmetics," Principal Nezu said, sitting on the edge of the couch so his feet would touch the floor.
Melina thought she might explode from cuteness overload. Somehow she kept herself together, sipped her tea, and listened to the words coming out of his mouth.
"I am sure when making your beauty products you use a combination of several aspects of science. It would be an interesting new twist on teaching science concepts, allowing the children to have fun and experiment while learning. They won't even know they're learning."
"Botany, entomology, chemistry, biology...it combines quite a few of the sciences," she rejoined.
"Were you a teacher?" he inquired, leaning forward with interest, his teacup paused in mid air.
"I was a tutor in high school. My mother was a teacher. She adored being a teacher. She said she loved seeing her students faces light up as they learned. I understood what she meant when I began tutoring," she gushed in her excitement unintentionally offering a few tidbits of personal information. "There's nothing like that 'aha moment' when they grasp something, when understanding fully takes hold."
"Would you be willing to do the demonstration for other classes?" he questioned her.
"Definitely. I love what I do and would be thrilled to share that with them."
"Hmmm...Miss Zusa, I have a proposal for you," Principal Nezu began, sitting his teacup down on the saucer. "Why don't we try the demonstration classes for a while and see how they go? If the children like them and want to continue to learn more, would you be willing to keep teaching them?"
"Sure. I would love that!" she exclaimed excitedly.
"Miss Zusa," All Might interjected. "I also have a question. Our students moved into dorms several months ago. Would you consider moving into the 1-A dorm to be a dorm monitor? I'm sure Mr. Aizawa would appreciate a little assistance especially when dealing with the...ah, shall we say, unique issues presented by the girls. Speaking for myself, I know I would."
All Might sounded like an exhausted, put upon single father at the end of his proverbial rope. His sincere love and concern for his students was evident. Seeing that made it difficult to give him an instant, hard no on the offer.
"Uh...hmm...well...I-I'm not sure. May I have a little time to think about that one?" she asked.
"Take all the time you need," he graciously responded. "I suppose we should see how the science class goes. Pardon my enthusiasm."
"Oh, and I would need to make a special request. I have an apiary and a flower garden, work shed, and green house that would need to be moved here should my moving in become a thing. Is that a problem?" she asked, holding out her cup for a refill.
She might as be demanding too since they were making such a life changing request of her. A smile curled her lips as the blond hero filled her empty cup.
"Of course we could accommodate you," Principal Nezu interjected. "It's a very good idea, All Might," he added, holding out his cup as well as he addressed the man. "Perhaps a bit premature though. As for the present, don't you think it would be a good idea to show our guest around the school?"
"That is a good idea, Mr. Principal," All Might agreed heartily.
Teacher? Dorm mother? Or as All Might called it, dorm monitor. Oh, joy! What the fuck have I gotten myself into?!, the voice locked inside her head screamed in panic.
Melina finished her tea to wet her dry throat. Then she stood up to be ushered to the door by All Might.
"Please enjoy your tour, and welcome to our school," Principal Nezu said as he bid them farewell at his office door.
She could not believe they did not ask her any further questions or run a background check. Perhaps they had researched her, conducting an in depth investigation into her and her past before her arrival. However, she doubted it. One of the heroes greatest faults were their trusting nature, taking everyone at face value and taking them at their word.
Not that she was purposely being deceptive or intended to do harm to them. But seriously? Seems like they would be more careful who they let into their home, quite literally, no questions asked. Even the boy who interrogated her out front had been more thorough.
Neither the principal nor All Might had asked her what her quirk is which brought her incredible relief. Explaining her quirk and how it worked, more specifically how she administered it, would have been quite embarrassing.
All Might extolled the purpose of each building as they walked past them. They did not go inside as that would disturb classes. A main centralized building, at least five times bigger than the others surrounding it, housed the general classrooms where the students spent most of their school day. The buildings flanking it held the classrooms for specific areas of study or work such as the science building, the arts such as dance and music, and the gymnasium. Behind the gym the property extended into a track and field area and beyond that a mock cityscape.
Holy hell! How big is this school?, she wondered, marveling at the extensive property. This place is a city within a city.
While they walked, All Might spoke about the students, mostly the ones in class 1-A. She recognized several of the names as the friends and classmates Todoroki introduced her to at the festival. He expressed a fatherly pride, his tone affectionate and warm, when he spoke about the boy.
Maybe Shoto was the reason they were so willing to accept her with no questions asked. Since he was friends with her that lent her a certain credibility and garnered instant respect. Melina experienced a swelling of pride in her chest when All Might talked about Shoto Todoroki.
"When you move in to the dorms, your bees and everything you need will be relocated here to the science building," he assured her. "You can't do your job properly if you don't have those things."
"Well, yes, of course."
His statement made it seem they already had their minds set on her being a teacher. Perhaps they were equally serious in their offer of her living here.
The idea of living on the UA campus actually appealed to Melina. Particularly in light of the revelation that her address had been given out to every member of the League of Villains.
Toga had to be the one who spread that piece of information to everyone. After all, Kurogiri had taken her to the apartment to trash it. That girl really did hate her with a passion.
Jealousy made people become terrible monsters. But Melina believed Himiko Toga was a monster way before she became jealous of her being with Dabi. She poked a sleeping bear, rousing Toga's furious anger made worse when Dabi chose her over the girl who already had a crush on him.
The bell in the tower beside the administrative/faculty building tolled the hour announcing with twelve dings that it was officially noon and time for lunch.
In response, Melina's tummy growled. She was hungry and tired. They had been walking an extraordinarily long time.
"Are you hungry? Thirsty?" All Might inquired. "I apologize for not asking earlier."
"Yes, both," she laughed lightly. "And tired."
"I apologize for the excessively long tour. I suppose I did get carried away."
"It's fine. There's nothing wrong with taking pride in your school and students."
"How about I show you the cafeteria next?" he suggested with a smile, leading her into the building to the left of the main classroom building.
Students stared inquisitively as they passed, curious about the stranger in their school. The kids parted onto either side of them as they proceeded down the hall as if clearing a path for royalty. The worst part was the kids stopped, pressing their bodies against the wall to watch as they passed by.
Having all eyes on her made her exceedingly uncomfortable. Melina kept a neutral expression, doing her best to smile pleasantly as they stared. Keeping her eyes forward, she did not look at any faces among the throngs on either side of them.
She no longer enjoyed being the center of attention. As a matter of fact, she often wished she could disappear entirely since she caught the attention of Shigaraki and the League of Villains.
"So Miss Zusa," All Might began,"what exactly is your quirk?"
OH, NO! The dreaded question had been asked and within earshot of dozens of witnesses. Kids no doubt.
"Well...uhm, ah...it's kind of a..." She paused searching her brain for the correct words. Mind control sounded too sinister. "It's a manipulation technique. I can convince someone to follow any order I give them."
That didn't sound too bad, she told herself, breathing an audible sigh of relief.
"How is it activated?" He opened one of the double doors leading into the busy, student filled cafeteria.
Shit! She dreaded that question even more. She could lie, but what would be the point? They might want her to demonstrate her technique at some point. It's happened before when she wasn't expecting it. May as well be prepared the possible eventuality this time.
"Through a kiss," she answered bluntly, observing his lightly tanned face turn a lovely shade of red that matched the cherry tomatoes on the salad behind the plastic barrier. She stifled a giggle as he cleared his throat.
"Isn't that interesting?" he remarked, apparently not knowing what else to say. "We have a student who employs a technique he calls brainwashing. It's also a mind control technique."
Well, damn. So much for her fancy double speak but her quirk is what it is no matter how she tried to hide it.
"Choose anything you like. I'll pay for it," he told her as she observed her choices.
"Oh, you don't have to do that. I can - "
"Don't be silly, young lady. You're our guest today."
"Okay then," she agreed. "Thank you, All Might."
Although starving, she decided to restrain herself to a salad, an apple, and a bottle of water. At least here in the cafeteria, the students were too intent on getting their food and socializing to notice her. Except for one student.
As she was sitting down with All Might at a round table in the corner, Shoto arrived and inserted himself in the chair between them.
"How do you like the school?" he asked her.
"Oh, it's amazing! It's absolutely huge. I can't wait to take a tour of the classrooms, especially in the science building," she replied, stabbing her salad vigorously.
"Be careful around Hatsume in research and development," All Might warned, taking a huge bite of sandwich as if to signal he did not want to go into details.
"What does he mean?" Melina asked Shoto in an exaggerated stage whisper loud enough for All Might to hear.
"Hatsume invents things. She makes weapons and add ons to our uniforms, to help us harness our quirks and use them to the best of our abilities while keeping us safe," he explained. "She created sensors and insulation in my suit that compensate for my hot and cold powers. They adjust to my body temperature as needed to keep me from overheating or freezing."
"Oh, gotcha," she murmured. Hot and cold powers, huh. Just as I thought.
"Hey, Icy-Hot!" exclaimed the loud mouth blond dandelion with the bad attitude. "You didn't tell us your girlfriend was visiting today."
Melina glowered at Bakugo as he sauntered up to the table. She didn't like the smug grin on his face as if he believed himself to be better than them in some way.
"She's not my g-"
"Jealous?" Melina interjected, putting her hand on Todoroki's shoulder.
"Huh?" Bakugo grunted, his mouth hanging open. "It's true?"
"It doesn't matter if it is or isn't. No one is responsible for your assumptions but you" she challenged him, standing up to face him although she had to look up to meet his intense gaze. "What I am to him is certainly no business of yours."
"Whatever," the blonde muttered, thrusting his hands into his pockets and pivoting on his heel to walk away.
"Still feisty and ready to fight," All Might chuckled lightly. "You've gone from throwing rotten fruit at heroes to tossing strong words at them?"
"I just hate self-centered, egotistical jerks like that who are accustomed to getting their way and look down on everyone else," she said, feeling embarrassed by her overreaction.
"You certainly don't want to meet my dad then," Shoto muttered. "Bakugo's not that bad though."
"Yeah, well...maybe not but his attitude annoyed me," she said, thinking maybe she had been too harsh.
She most definitely did NOT want to meet Shoto's sperm donor - that's why she purposely avoided him at the festival.
"You're something else, Miss Zusa," All Might laughed. "You'll be an interesting addition to the teaching staff."
"Addition to the teaching staff?" Shoto repeated, his eyes widening as he turned them on her.
"Now wait a minute, nothing has been decided yet on either my part nor the school's," she reminded him.
"I think you're going to like it here," All Might said, summarily ignoring her protest.
Melina felt like a hapless swimmer being dragged along in a rip current in the ocean called life.
A hushed whisper ran across the cafeteria sounding like wind through the pine trees back home in North Carolina. The name spoken from their lips made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
All activity and sound ceased in the large, heavily occupied room. All eyes turned toward the door. There stood Endeavor in all of his flaming glory. Oh, and just when she thought her day couldn't become more of a train wreck.
Melina refrained from issuing any four letter interjections despite how badly she wanted to as the man strode into the room. A pins and needles sensation ran through her insides as if a thousand bees were stinging her at her once.
Students delighted by the number one hero's surprise visit surrounded him, asking questions all at once. They jumped up and down, waving their hands in his face as each one sought his attention.
Endeavor pushed aside the eager teens, moving forward like a human bulldozer with an angry expression on his face. Anger seemed to be his permanent state of being. His fierce turquoise eyes scanned the room. He was most likely looking for his son. Too bad he never bothered to search for his other son who disappeared and had eventually become lost to the family for good.
"Shoto, come on," she whispered, grabbing his hand.
"Where are we going?" he asked as they slinked along the wall at the outer perimeter of the room.
"Away from here," she responded, clasping his hand tightly in hers.
As they neared the door, coming around behind Endeavor, Melina had a devilish idea. Pulling Shoto close to her, she whispered in his ear. Her lips were so close they brushed the outer curve making him wince away from her. She was too intent on her plan to pull a dirty trick to notice his reaction.
"How much do you dislike your father?" she asked, receiving a questioning glance.
"More than you can imagine. Why?" Shoto inquired, his eyes sparkling with mischievous curiosity.
"Form an ice ball for me. About the size of a softball," she requested.
"Here," Shoto said, handing her a large, heavy perfect sphere of ice.
"You might want to leave," she advised him, pushing him toward the door behind them.
"And miss this? Hell, no," he shot back, keeping his eyes on her as she stepped away from him.
Melina was about to show the student body and teachers presently located in the cafeteria her pitching prowess. Since Endeavor was so much taller and wider than the students, she could hit him easily without inadvertently striking an innocent bystander.
All Might already knew of her throwing capabilities first hand. Shoto had witnessed her 'killer arm,' as All Might put it, the day of the festival when she cleared out the prizes from both the ball toss booth and the knock down the bottles game. Endeavor was about to receive an introduction.
Winding up like a fast pitch softball pitcher, she swung her arm around in a complete circle, lobbing the ball at him at high speed with an underhand throw. The underhand throw allowed the ball to pop up then over, sailing above the heads of the students and straight toward her target.
"Endeavor! Look out!" she yelled at him.
Endeavor whirled around. His eyes widened in surprise upon seeing the ice projectile hurtling toward his head. Pushing the students closest to him away with a hearty shove, the flames on his face and chest flared out, surrounding the ball before it smashed into his skull.
Although he melted it, the object made of solid ice was too close to evaporate into steam. The lukewarm water splashed him in the face, extinguishing his flames and soaking his hair. The water dripped from his hair, running in rivulets down his face.
Melina saw the terrible wedge shaped scar marring almost the entire left side of Endeavor's face from the widest part across his forehead down to the tapered point at his chin.
The Todoroki men were so scarred on the outside she could not imagine their numerous deep wounds on the inside. The injuries that refused to heal, not allowing them to love themselves or each other. All of them broken and angry. No wonder they detested each other so much. They were too damaged by the world and each other to be able to love one another.
"Did anyone see who threw that?" All Might inquired, his voice echoing through the room.
"I did!" Melina confessed, raising her hand so Endeavor could see her above the crowd.
"Aw, dammit," All Might muttered, his voice carrying through the unnaturally silent room.
Endeavor emitted a grunt of anger and frustration, his furious eyes fixing themselves on her. The flames surged out of his face, drying his skin and clothes, covering the scar from her sight.
"What the hell was that? And who the hell are you?" he demanded, walking straight up to her.
Oh, he might actually kill me right here in front of God and everybody, she thought to herself taking a step back from him. She could feel the heat of his flames over the entire front of her body.
"I was demonstrating a physics principle to your son here. Speed and velocity in proportion to the size of an object. However, I miscalculated because I did not take into account the chemical makeup the object when formulating my hypothesis. My bad!" she exclaimed, giggling like an absent minded professor who had more book sense than walking around sense.
"You're a teacher?" Endeavor asked incredulously, studying her skeptically from head to toe as if searching for any sign of intelligence that enabled her to be a teacher.
Melina had worn her comfortable ripped jeans and a rose pink off the shoulder top with a big ruffle that encompassed her shoulders and accentuated her breasts. Probably not the best choice because she could be mistaken for an out of uniform student.
His eyes ceased roving over her body when they encountered her cleavage. Wow, really? Apparently her fashion choice proved to be a major distraction for the hero standing in front her.
Asshole. Like father, like son, she guessed, standing back to study him critically. He had one son like him anyway which was a crying shame. She had she cried hours of tears over that man.
"You're the number one hero?" she returned derisively, dumping the airhead routine when he didn't buy it.
"Who the hell do you think - "
Shoto stepped from behind Melina to position himself in front of her using himself as a buffer between her and his father.
"Dad, please - " Shoto began only to be cut off.
"Move, son," he commanded him brusquely, placing his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Don't you touch him!" she yelled without thinking, slapping away the man's hand away.
Endeavor's flames surged out in his rising anger. He reached toward Melina.
"We need to have a talk. Alone."
"Oh, Endeavor," Principal Nezu said, making his appearance in the cafeteria in an extremely timely manner. He distracted the gigantic flaming hero to prevent him from the grabbing the mouthy woman. "How nice of you to visit today. I see you've met our new science teacher, Miss Melina Zusa."
"Nice to meet you," Melina cheerily proclaimed although that was far from the truth.
She threw up in her mouth a little due to the overwhelming revulsion induced by the man, yet held her 'fuck you but I have to be polite' smile. Stepping from behind Shoto, she put out her hand to formally greet the incensed hero. Forcing him to comply with social graces to keep up appearances, she gritted her teeth in anticipation of having to touch him.
"Yes, likewise," he rejoined, retracting his flames from his hand before shaking hers.
The way his narrow angry eyes latched on to her eyes let her know he returned her true sentiment of abhorrence hidden under a thin veneer of politeness. She had become quite the expert on how to lose friends and alienate people. Although thankfully, she had not lost a special friend in the boy standing next to her; only alienated the man she loved and his father whom she just met and didn't like anyway.
"Shoto," Principal Nezu said, coming around to stand between Endeavor and Melina. "Why don't you show Miss Zusa to the gate? I'm sure she's had a tiring morning." Shifting his gaze to her, he said,"I expect to see you in my office bright early tomorrow morning at 7."
This was the first time in many, many years she was being officially summoned to the principal's office. It conjured disturbing flashbacks from high school. Her bad attitude had made her high school life pure hell - mostly for the teachers and those few students who became targets of her bitterness and rage. She spent an undue amount of time in the principal's office and detention.
"Yes, sir," Melina acquiesced with a gracious bow. She was smart enough to know when she was being given an exit strategy so she was taking it.
Strong fingers enclosed Melina's wrist, squeezing. She whimpered from the jolt of pain that coursed through her wrist and up her arm. Her wrist was still a bit tender after almost being broken by Twice.
"Come on, Melina. Let's go," Shoto murmured, placing his other hand on the small of her back to push her forward. Once out in the hall, he hissed at her, "Are you crazy?"
"I'm beginning to think so," she returned only a little bit sarcastic.
"That was amazing though," he said, his fingers releasing her wrist.
"I'll admit it wasn't smart, but it was so worth it," she giggled apprehensively. "I'm glad Principal Nezu showed up when he did."
"He has a talent for that. It's definitely not a good idea to piss off the number one hero."
It wasn't a good idea to piss off a dozen or more villains either, her inner voice helpfully reminded her. She nervously chewed her lower lip. Her head ached. She rubbed her pounding temple with her fingers.
"Are you all right?" Shoto inquired.
"I've just got a hell of a headache. It's been a stressful day," she said.
Shoto opened the door for her, allowing her to escape the stifling atmosphere inside the building. The warm spring sunshine felt good on her skin and the cool breeze stripped away the stagnant air suffocating her.
"Is there something else wrong?" he questioned her.
"Still nursing my broken heart. No big deal. I'll get over it," she assured him.
"Hey, don't act like that," he murmured, reaching out to touch her, but she shied away. "It's perfectly okay to be upset when you have a broken heart."
"How did you know? When you said something the other day at the cafe...how did you know I was upset about a relationship?"
"I remembered the way my mom's face looked after she would cry. My mom would cry so hard, like her heart had been shattered into a million pieces, when my father would do something to hurt her," he said, staring down at the sidewalk dappled with shadows from the trees overhanging the path. "He hurt both her feelings and her body...a hell of a lot more than he should have."
Number one hero, my ass!, Melina seethed inside. The only thing she regretted about the ice ball incident was that Endeavor melted it before the projectile could knock his damn head off of his shoulders.
"Oh, Shoto, I'm so sorry," she murmured, taking a little step toward him. "Some wounds heal in time. Others never do no matter how hard we try. I'm sure it broke her heart more when he would hurt you."
"She's the one who gave me this scar," he informed her.
Melina didn't know what to say. She had no clue what abuse the woman must have suffered at the hands of her husband. What emotional turmoil could twist a mother to make her hurt her child like that?
No doubt dear old Dad was the trigger that caused her to break and do that to him. The burn was on the fire side of him, the part of Shoto that reminded his mother of his father. But to hurt her innocent child...what Endeavor did to her must have been horrible. She didn't want to think about it.
Although she had been trying to avoid touching him, Melina slid her arms around Shoto's shoulders to give him a brief hug.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that," she apologized profusely, stepping back from him quickly. "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you."
"Why would being hugged by a beautiful older woman in the middle of the school campus for everyone to see embarrass me?" he asked her, a lopsided grin on his lips and a blush on his cheeks.
"Wow, that makes it sound even more humiliating when you put it that way."
"Well, it's not. Besides, thanks to Bakugo's big mouth and your hot temper, everybody probably thinks you really are my girlfriend anyway," he reminded her.
"Oh, yeah, right," she murmured, rocking back and forth from her toes to her heels. "Are you going to correct them in their assumption?"
"Why would I?" he scoffed.
"Shoto Todoroki! You are bad!" she exclaimed in mock offense, playfully slapping his chest.
The bell from the tower chimed signaling that lunch was over and classing were resuming.
"I should go," Melina announced, turning toward the gate.
Shoto lunged forward swiftly, taking her by the arm to thread it through his for him to escort her. They walked in silence not knowing what to say. He seemed to want to protect her as much as she did him.
"I'll see you tomorrow," he said at the gate, reluctantly untangling his arm from hers.
Melina didn't realize how tightly she had been holding him and how much much she didn't want to let him go until that moment.
"See you tomorrow, Shoto."
~\..'../~
Melina stood on the roof of an abandoned warehouse with an unhindered view of the front door of the bar hideout. Although everything was tinted green, the night vision capability of the mask allowed her to see through the darkness. Nothing moved without her seeing her it. At the moment, nothing moved at all.
Opening the cylindrical map case where she kept the pieces of the automatic dart gun, she placed the two foot long black tube on the blanket where the rest of her small arsenal lay in neat rows. Upending the repurposed map holder, the firing mechanism she had fashioned using parts from of an air soft pistol fell into her hand. Screwing the cobbled together device into the end of the tube completed the blow dart gun powered by compressed gas which offered her far more power and greater distance than a lung powered device.
The next strike in this war, as Dabi had called it, belonged to her, and she had come to administer it. She must defend herself.
Never back down. Never show weakness. Never let them see your fear no matter how fucking terrified you might be. Never run even if the odds are stacked against you. Fight like hell, and go down swinging, Melina mentally coached herself, taking carefully measured breaths to keep herself from hyperventilating.
Flipping open the lid to one of the boxes containing the stinger darts, she glided her fingers over the six darts that resembled extremely large black bullets. Placing the dart gun down beside them, she picked up the 12 gauge shot gun loaded with rubber buckshot. She was about to find out who was home.
"Knock, knock, bitches," she whispered aloud, her voice slightly garbled from the digitalizer.
A crack sounded when she pulled the trigger. The bullets sprayed the door creating a barrage of sound like dozens of tiny battering rams pounding on the door.
Putting down the gun, she picked up the miniature missile launcher loaded with tear gas canisters. She had rigged them with special spring loaded pins that would break off when they hit the ground. Her father had raised her to be smarter after all.
When the door opened, Melina launched the tear gas attack by shooting the first canister over Twice's head to force the bar occupants out to the street. The second canister hit the sidewalk to spray the area with the gas creating a doubly blinding haze, obscuring the vision in front of their teary eyes with the white smoke.
As the blinded, coughing villains spilled out of the door onto the sidewalk, she picked up a flash-bang grenade, arming it then hurling it down the street as far it would go. The weapon didn't have to be right next to them to do its work.
The stunned and disoriented individuals stumbled around in the fog of confusion and gas, bumping into each other or tripping over their own feet. For a minute she watched the comical group of bumbling, fumbling villains, her eyes searching for Dabi. But he wasn't there.
She was grateful for his absence. Although she wished she didn't give a damn, she still loved him. Stupid, stupid heart.
She did not want to hurt him. It was because of him that she refrained from using lethal techniques when dealing with this pack of relentless, malevolent knuckleheads. Sparing his life prevented her from launching a missile into the bar and being done with the whole thing.
Picking up the dart gun, Melina took aim at Magne, hitting her in the chest with a dart and sending her to the ground. She skipped over Twice, feeling she had tortured him enough. Himiko Toga was also spared a dart because this one would kill her.
Growing feelings for Dabi had impaired her ability to be completely ruthless. Although definitely not a hero, she had developed one of the greatest downfalls of a hero - believing even those who want to kill her deserved mercy. That kind of thinking only allows her enemies to live to kill her another day.
The next target looked like Shigaraki with all of the bizarre bumps and lumps poking out at odd angles. She sure as hell hoped it was him as she pulled the trigger on the device.
Melina leveled the sight of the gun on Mustard, the weird kid in the school uniform and gas mask. She never understood why they allowed him to hang out at the bar. But then again, Toga was there, and she couldn't be over fifteen.
Before she could press the trigger, she observed him through her gun sight raising his gun and taking aim at her. If he shot her, the bullet would go through her eye. Damn.
"Look out!" Dabi yelled from behind her.
"Whoa!" Melina shrieked when she was snatched backwards by her hood.
Despite his best efforts, Dabi could pull her only partially out of the line of fire. The bullet hit the mask below her left eye, cracking it.
The impact of the bullet was like punch to the face with a pneumatic hammer. Pain swelled and exploded through her entire face and head, making everything, including her teeth, throb.
The optical sensor in the mask flickered, emitting a flash of white light before winking out completely. She could only see out of one of the 'eyes.' At least she hoped it was only the optical sensor in the mask that was damaged and useless.
"Fuck!" Dabi yelled, clawing at the fractured mask. "How do you get this fucking thing off?"
Melina pushed back the hood, detaching the mask from the latches holding it securely to the plastic shell covering her entire head. Without her taking it off voluntarily, he never would have been able to remove it. Twisting the entire face plate a half turn to the left then slightly to the right, she lifted it straight off to reveal her face.
"Oh, thank god," she sighed in relief when his face came into clear, gorgeous focus in both of her eyes.
"You idiot! What the hell are you doing here?!" he bellowed at her, enveloping her in a bone crushing hug.
"I've missed you too," she wheezed.
Melina held his intense gaze when he pushed her away from him to stare at her face. He scowled at her as he studied her face.
"What's wrong?"
"Dammit, Melina, why?" he wondered aloud in a soft voice barely above a whisper.
"You know why," she shot back venomously, her eyes narrowing in anger.
"Go home, Melina," he commanded her, his eyes locking onto hers. "I don't mean your apartment. I mean go back to the United States. Go home where you'll be safe."
"Where I'll be safe?" she scoffed derisively. "I almost died there too!"
"But at least you didn't have people hunting you down. Go home!" Dabi ordered her, shaking her lightly.
"No! There's nothing left for me there but bad memories!" she shrieked back at him.
"You're going to be a bad memory here at this rate!" he hollered back at her.
Melina slapped him but the padded leather glove on her hand softened the blow, removing the sting.
Dabi scrutinized the injury on her face where Mustard shot the mask. At least the mask suffered the biggest part of damage.
She was not blind, and the bullet had not penetrated her skin. A blotchy redness covered the highest part of her cheekbone. The pressure bruise was already swelling. Tiny crimson dots from where capillaries had ruptured speckled the puffy red area. She would have hell of a bruise by morning.
"Shit," he grumbled, pulling her against him one more time. "Does it hurt too much?"
"Don't worry. This pain will go away," she said, wiggling out of his grip. "But some kinds of pain stays with us forever."
The way she smiled him made him nauseated.
"Go home, for god's sake," he begged her in a soft voice. "Before someone kills you."
"Will it be you?" she questioned him, the words tumbling rapidly out of her mouth.
"What?" Was she asking him what he thought she was asking?
"Will it be you who kills me? Huh?"
"No. Because I can't you idiot."
"Why?"
Surely she wasn't this stupid. But she could be excessively cruel. Staring at her in disbelief, he inhaled a deep breath to maintain his composure. He reached to touch her face, but she flinched to avoid his touch. Sighing dejectedly, he dropped his hand.
The wail of police cars could be heard in the distance. There was also a high pitched whine that could only be attributed to a helicopter.
Dabi smiled. She wasn't completely insane after all. She was actually crazy smart for calling the police before she began her siege.
"I love you, you moron. That's why I can't kill you."
The wind began to swirl around them, moving his shaggy hair. A police spotlight lit them up from the chopper above.
"This is the police! Nobody move!" advised an authoritative voice over a loudspeaker from the helicopter.
"You what? Dabi, I - "
Blue flashing lights and whooping sirens of police cars added to the chaos as they screeched to a stop in the street below.
Melina could feel a slight sucking sensation behind her. It reminded of her when she would stand close to the grates of the air intake of the central air conditioning unit inside her childhood home. Black holes in space sucked things toward them. Oh, no!
"Dabi! Wait! I didn't hear you!" she screamed before Kurogiri pulled her into the portal.
"Good bye, Melina."
Dabi turned and ran, jumping off the roof of the building onto the old, rusted fire escape. He swiftly climbed down having had lots of practice traversing fire escapes in recent weeks. The close proximity of the buildings and the darkness aided in his escape from the spotlight from the helicopter.
The policemen who arrived in cars were too busy arresting the villains still dazed and confused in the street to notice him as he ran through the darkened alleyways.
At least for tonight, Dabi knew Melina would be safe. Kurogiri would deposit her into her apartment to live another day. He was not worried about Kurogiri taking her somewhere despite a good opportunity to kidnap her presenting itself.
The League of Villains had once again been displaced from their safe haven. They would have nowhere to keep an extremely hostile hostage because they had no place to run for cover themselves. Taking her to meet All for One would have to wait for a better time when the police and the heroes would not immediately be on their ass.
Shigaraki was going to be pissed beyond all reason. He might even have a myocardial infarction. Once again, the man had lost his not so secret hideout. It would take days, possibly weeks, to find another place to hide. That was good. House hunting, so to speak, would give him a distraction keeping him from being fixated on the Queen Bee for a little while.
Melina had bought herself a few days, possibly a few weeks of peace. As much as she infuriated him, Dabi also loved her with equal intensity. Although she had not said it, he was sure she loved him too.
Loving her made him willing to give her up in order to spare her life. He believed with all of his broken heart she understood that sometimes love wasn't enough to solve all problems. And they had a very big problem.