Author's Note: Shout out to AstroLibra, hinatayvonne, and Terrence Johnny Stanford for your reviews. I am very grateful for them. I appreciate you continuing to take the time to send your thoughts.
I'm afraid this another serious, extremely dramatic chapter. I'm shooting for the next one to bring a bit of happiness and fluff to offset the depressing drama. However, it was necessary to get this out of the way to move things along. Thank you for bearing with the last chapter and this one, the heaviness and sadness.
So, here we go...
Melina lay on the cot staring at the basketball goal. It was just after dawn. A drab gray light could be seen on the other side of the high windows close to the ceiling. Rain dropped on the metal roof, the pitter patter echoing through the building. Usually she found solace in the rain but not now. Nothing could comfort her at this moment.
She sat up, placing her bare feet on the smooth, highly polished floor. It reminded her of the floor at Todoroki Manor. She shivered recalling her conversation with Enji Todoroki. She had gotten the answers she wanted to the detriment of her emotions. Curiosity killed the cat, but there was no satisfaction to bring her back from facing those truths.
Wrapping the small gray blanket around her shoulders, she rocked backward and forward in an attempt to soothe herself. Her bees were dead. Her quirk was gone. At least she had been able to use her quirk one last time. Only time would tell if it had done any damn good on that hard headed and hard-hearted bastard.
The air in here had become stifling, making it difficult to breathe. Her body was as restless as her mind so she believed a walk might do her some good.
Rows and rows of cots held sleeping girls. It was like a forced slumber party but not very much fun. A massive curtain separated the boys from the girls in the gym. Shoto was located over there somewhere. Hopefully she could slip out unseen by him because of the curtain.
Her feet were soundless on the floor as she crept between the cots to get to the door. Stepping outside, the wind blew across her, filling her nose with the acrid stench of wet, burned wood. She gagged from the smell.
She hated that smell for so many reasons. The stink of burned things always represented destruction and death, loss and pain. She never wanted a house with a fireplace. She wanted nothing to do with campfires or cookouts or anything that involved an open fire.
The biggest irony is that the three men pulling her in so many different directions, threatening to rip her asunder, possessed a fire quirk. The Todoroki men all played a part in gradually decimating her mental and emotional health one small disaster at a time. Well, maybe those disasters weren't so small.
Her life had a running theme of being burned by fire, literally and figuratively. Receiving detrimental injuries and adding to her scars, but somehow managing to escape death in the end. Damage heaped upon damage yet continuing to limp along in life, to hurt and be hurt again. She shared quite a bit of common ground with the Todorokis.
Melina's bare feet splashed in the puddles along the sidewalk. The rain drenched her hair and soaked through the blanket meant to keep her warm. She did not know where she was going nor did she care. Submerged in her thoughts, she aimlessly wandered.
However, her roaming was not without purpose, her subconscious having a destination set for her. Looking ahead, she saw her old apartment building. She could see Yamada inside sitting at the desk.
Her body trembled under the sopping wet blanket. The rain was so cold. Her feet moved, taking her to the front doors.
Melina knocked on the door, peeking around the side of the metal doors to peer at the guard through the glass. She waved when he looked at her.
Upon recognizing her, he nearly fell of his chair. He pressed the button under his desk to allow her entrance. She came inside to stand on the carpet staying there to avoid dripping water on the tile.
"Miss Melina!" Yamada exclaimed, rummaging under his desk. He pulled out several towels and brought them to her. "What are you doing here?"
"As dumb as this sounds, I don't know. I went out for a walk to clear my head, and I wound up here. How have you been?" she questioned him a friendly manner, relinquishing the drenched blanket to him when he pulled on it.
"How have I been? You show up here looking like a drowned rat and as if you're carrying the world on your shoulders and you ask how have I been?" he admonished her gently, wrapping one of the towels around her shoulders.
"Has anyone rented the apartment yet?" she asked him, foregoing the small talk.
Trying to make polite social conversation just didn't seem appropriate at the moment when it was obvious something was wrong.
"Not yet. Would you like to go up and take a look around?" he inquired, handing her another towel for her hair.
"If it's okay, that would be great."
Melina figured she might as well go up since she was here. Nothing like marinating in all the pain and memories of that past when she was already aching inside.
They rode up together on the elevator, silence reigning, but it wasn't necessarily awkward. What could either one of them possibly say? Her 'how have you been?' question had been completely asinine, and she didn't feel like trying conversation again.
Once at the apartment, Yamada opened the door for her without saying a word. He abruptly left as if sensing she needed to be alone.
Melina cautiously walked into the empty apartment as if someone might jump out and grab her. It was possible. It had happened here before on more than one occasion.
With the rising of the sun behind the rain clouds, a silvery gray light lit up the room with no curtains to block it out. Standing in the middle of the vacant living room, she was filled with a sense of loneliness, isolation. She felt as hollow and empty as this room.
The profound disconnection from everything, her emotions and even her sense of reality, reminded her of the way she felt standing by the closed caskets at her parent's funeral. She felt so devoid of emotion, so completely numb, she couldn't bring herself to cry on that day. Presently, she might feel better if she could cry, but she couldn't.
Melina went to the bedroom. She stared at the middle of the room where her bed was located. Memories of Dabi flooded her mind. God, they had been so good together. She had loved him so much. But that was over now.
The hairs on the back of her neck raised as an electrical energy touched her. An ambient warmth reached out to her, making her fully aware of him. She recognized that presence. Inhaling deeply, trying to find her strength if she had any left at all, she waited for him to come closer.
"Why?" she asked Dabi, her voice cracking. "Why did you do it?"
"You know why," he returned, standing close but not touching her physically. "I did it to protect you."
"Because you still love me?" she scoffed.
"Of course because I still love you."
"Your way of loving me hurts so much," she said, gathering the towel tighter around her shaking body.
"It hurts me too," he reminded her.
"You're the one who ended things. Remember?" she retorted acidly.
"You've found comfort in someone. Don't worry, sweetheart. My baby brother will help you through this. He will take your pain away. I'm glad for that."
Anger surged inside of her. She spun around on her heel to face him.
"I'm not yours to just giveaway like I'm an unwanted pet," she said, her voice low and menacing. "I'd never use Shoto as a substitute for you. I love him for him...for who he is, not because he reminds me of you. I made damn sure of that."
Dabi stared at her without saying a word. The vacant expression in his eyes was hurtful and unsettling. He honestly didn't give a single damn about her anymore despite his declaration that he loved her. His indifference stung.
His sudden turnabout in emotions reminded her of his father's during their meeting. They were too damn much alike. She had gotten herself far too entangled in a web spun by three Todoroki's. There was no way out.
"Why are you here?" Melina asked. "Do me a favor and leave me alone already like you keep saying you're going to. Stop ripping the scab off the wound you created. Let me heal...please."
"Is it true? Are you pregnant? Is the baby mine?"
"It's true. Do you really need to ask if the baby is yours? Do you think so little of me that I would fall into bed with some other man that quickly?"
"If I had known - "
"If you had known, would it have changed anything?" she demanded pointedly, her tone pure acid. "But it doesn't really matter now does it?"
"I guess not."
"I'm leaving," Melina announced, backing away from him rather than turning her back on him.
She wanted to keep him in her sight, not allowing him to sneak up on her and grab her. If he touched her, that would probably be the end of her. Her fragile emotions would shatter like a cracked porcelain doll leaving her completely broken and destroyed.
"Before you go..." He ambled toward her, his eyes locked on hers.
Melina took two steps back for his every one toward her yet he was still advancing upon her due to his long stride.
"No, Dabi. Don't touch me," she said, raising her hand, palm facing him in a stop gesture.
He overtook her, coming within arms length in two steps. Her hand pressed flat against his belly, but he continued to move forward, pushing her back as he reached out to envelope her with his long arms.
"Stop, I said!" she screamed when he enclosed her body and pulled her forward to embrace her.
Her arms folded in between their bodies. She pushed her fists against his chest. She wiggled and writhed, trying to drop down to free her body from his bear hug, but he held onto her tightly almost squeezing the breath out of her.
A loud crack, followed by several more cracks like dry twigs snapping caught their attention. They looked toward the window to see Shoto on the other side, a spider web of fractures in the glass concealing his face. His palm pressed flat against the window pane frosted over by ice. The glass shattered, the shards making a tinkling sound like a wind chime as they sprinkled across the floor.
Shoto kicked out the wooden parts of the frame and the remaining pieces of glass before stepping over the windowsill to drop down onto the floor inside. The pieces of glass crunched under his boots as he walked. Apparently he had heated the glass then froze it to make it shatter. Much more efficient and less injurious than smashing his fist through it.
"I see I'm not the only one who has a bad habit of following you," Dabi said, not taking his eyes off of Shoto. "Hello there, baby brother."
While he was distracted by the arrival of his brother, Melina extricated herself from his grip and backed against the wall.
"Don't call me that. I'm not your brother. You can't be Toya," Shoto said, his voice quivering from the glut of emotion, mostly rage. "You can't be my brother."
Melina avoided eye contact when Shoto fastened his furious gaze on her. She held her breath as he glared daggers at her. Her eyes focused on his lips, noticing the slight tremble of his lower lip. Lowering her gaze, she saw the more obvious shaking of his hands that were covered in fire and ice.
"You're pregnant? By him?" he questioned, jerking his head toward Dabi. "How could you...why didn't you tell me?"
"I was going to tell you. That's what I wanted to talk to you about," she explained but her words seemed to fall on deaf ears.
"You should have seen what she did with our father last night," Dabi said, daring to throw fuel on the fire.
"What do you mean?" Shoto growled, turning away from her to glower at him.
The fire side of him glowed brighter, the flames rising higher from half of his body. The ice grew thicker on his hand, frost crawling up his arm and covering his shoulder to form a thin layer of ice.
Melina edged along the wall toward the door in an effort to escape unnoticed.
"He took her to the Manor. They got real cozy. It was sweet in a nauseating sort of way," Dabi said, slumping over as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
Melina wasn't surprised he was there last night. Stalking her and spying on her was two of his long standing habits since he met her. She continued her slow progress toward the door as not to gain their attention.
"The Manor? You mean the mistress's house?" Shoto corrected him.
The what now? Melina ceased her retreat. The mistress's house?
"I'm sure she didn't do anything wrong," Shoto said sounding as if he was trying to convince himself.
"She didn't," Dabi concurred, shrugging his shoulders. "But seeing her there, seeing what she did, I wanted to teach her a lesson. She'll never use that quirk of hers again. I made sure of that."
Why was Dabi going out of his way to make sure Shoto hates him more? He also seemed to be trying his best to steer Shoto into hating her as well.
"You've got balls, Dabi. Big brass ones."
"Thanks little brother."
"It wasn't a compliment."
"Look, take her and go, Shoto. I don't want to fight with you, especially with her here. You wouldn't want to harm her or the baby would you?" he asked, an arrogant smirk lifting the corner of his mouth.
That was an Enji Todoroki expression if she ever saw one. The over confident look of having the upper hand, of leaving his opponent with no other option but one - and it wasn't the one Shoto wanted to take.
Shoto wanted to fight him, whip his ass as a matter of pride. Present circumstances wouldn't allow him to indulge in a pissing contest with a prick. He would gladly beat the hell out of Dabi using his bare hands instead of his quirk.
"Melina, leave," Shoto ordered her.
"No," she said, going to him. She grabbed onto the back belt loop of his hero uniform. She was afraid to touch any part of his torso, not wanting to be burned by the fire or the ice. "I won't leave without you."
"Melina, you stubborn, annoying pain in the ass!" he yelled at her without turning around. "Do as I say!"
"No. Come with me," she insisted, ignoring his harsh, insulting words. "Shoto, please."
"Run along, little brother! Follow her like the sad, pitiful little puppy you are," Dabi said derogatorily, the smirk morphing into a sneer of derision. "She might do you the favor of petting you a little."
"Why you..." Shoto lifted his icy hand, preparing to launch a barrage of knife like ice crystals at him to cut him into little pieces.
Melina let go of Shoto, walking around him. She slapped Dabi with all of her strength. Her fingernail hooked on one of the staples, snatching it completely out of his face.
"Mmm," he grunted, pressing his hand to his bleeding cheek. "You always did have the arm of a pro baseball player. You never needed that damn quirk to be something amazing."
"I know that. I never let my quirk define me. That's why I'm not sad about losing it. I'm actually glad. So thank you, Dabi," she said, going back to Shoto.
Melina placed her hand on the back of his head, pulling his mouth down to hers. She kissed him; hard, possessively, hungrily. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, kissing him deeply with no reservations. For the first time ever she did not have to worry about transferring the pheromone and activating her quirk. She released him, their lips making a distinct popping sound upon parting.
"Now I can kiss the man I love the way I want to," she said, casting a fierce scowl at Dabi.
Taking Shoto by the hand, she pulled him toward the door. They were getting the hell out of here - together.
"There's no need to fight him. It wouldn't prove a damn thing anyway," she said, dragging him behind her.
"Good-bye, Melina. You've got your hands full with that one, little brother. Good luck, Shoto," Dabi said, saluting them both.
Melina held on tightly to Shoto's damp, cold hand. She slammed the door of the apartment behind them, signaling closure on that event and her feelings for Dabi. He had given her no choice.
"Look, I know you're angry with me. But we can talk about this later," she said, poking the button for the elevator.
"I am angry," Shoto agreed. "I'm extremely angry with you. But..."
He allowed the words to trail off as he grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her forward to place his mouth against hers. His lips barely made contact with hers when the elevator announced its arrival with a ding. Taking her by the hand, he pulled her inside.
Melina was captured in his crushing embrace. She didn't really mind that he was hugging her almost too fiercely because she found the comfort she had been so desperately seeking.
"Don't let me go," she begged.
"I won't," he promised.
The tears came, turning her into a sloppy, bawling mess as he held her.
When the elevator doors opened, Yamada jumped up from his chair. He opened his mouth to speak then closed it when he recognized the young man from prior visits.
"Take care of her," Yamada said, watching them leave.
"I definitely will," he told the man, leading her toward the door.
Once out on the sidewalk, she inhaled a deep breath of the air that had been cleansed by the rain.
"I'm not even going to ask why you followed me," Melina sniffled, leaning into his side as they walked. "I'm glad that you did."
"I'm still mad at you," he reminded her.
"I know. I heard you when you said it earlier," she sighed, straightening up to walk on her own.
His arm tightened around her waist, pulling her back to his side, wanting her close to him. His actions were in direct conflict with his words. She had assumed he did not want her near him, relying on him to hold her up since he was still angry with her. Damn these bewildering Todoroki men!
"It doesn't mean I won't be here for you when you need me the most," he told her. "So just lean on me all you need to."
"Wow. That made me feel even more pathetic than I already do. Thanks for that," she returned.
"You are pathetic, Melina. You're a damn hot mess, and I don't know how to deal with you anymore."
"I warned you. I told you that you weren't ready for a relationship with me."
"Yeah, well, have you forgotten what it's like to be a teenager and in love? You don't listen to advice, and you think you have all the answers. I'm ten foot tall and bulletproof not to mention immortal because of my age. I wanted to believe love conquers all, love is all you need, and all that bullshit."
"I honestly don't recall. I don't know if I was ever in love as a teenager. I found out fast how fleeting life could be so I had no illusions about my mortality. Life is unfair. I'm sorry."
"Life isn't fair, now is it? You know that better than anyone."
"Why did you follow me?" Melina asked as they walked.
"I thought you weren't going to ask," he shot back.
"Fine, fine, whatever," she sighed in exasperation, attempting to wiggle out of his sideways embrace.
His arm tightened around her like a boa constrictor. He was not willing to relinquish his hold on her or allow her to get away.
"I saw you leave the gym. You looked dazed, as if you were in a trance. I was worried so I followed you. I wasn't too surprised when you wandered back to your apartment as if drawn there. But when I saw him..." Shoto inhaled deeply, exhaling noisily through his nose like an angry bull. "I almost lost my damn mind. I couldn't believe it. You were there with him. Then to find out you're pregnant, and he is the father of your child. It was almost too much to bear. I wanted...I wanted to kill him, Melina."
She did not know what to say so she didn't say anything. Soft, misting rain fell on them, soaking them so gradually they didn't even notice.
"Is he really..." Shoto gulped audibly, nearly choking on the emotions. "Is he really Toya?"
"Yes. Yes, he is," she confirmed.
Melina gasped when he came to a sudden halt, pulling her into his arms. She closed her eyes as he held her close, her head cradled in his hand.
"I feel betrayed...hurt...furious. I'm still so damn angry with you," he growled through his clenched teeth, hugging her with crushing force before loosening his grip to tenderly hold her. "I don't know whether I want to strangle you or kiss you. If I could hate you, or even dislike you a little, this would be so much easier. It wouldn't hurt so much."
Melina knew that feeling all too well. Her arms enclosed his waist, hugging him back.
"Oh, god, Shoto," she sobbed. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I wish I could have told you before, but I was so afraid of losing you. I just couldn't...I just couldn't stand the thought of not having you in my life."
"Since you can't have him?" he asked.
Melina pulled back from him, studying his face. The anger was gone, having been replaced by a hurt and bewildered kicked puppy expression.
"No," she replied, pressing her palm to his cheek. "Because I want you."
Shoto's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed convulsively.
"What you said...after you kissed me...did you mean it?" he asked, capturing her eyes with his.
"I love you, Shoto Todoroki. I shouldn't, but I do. You were never a substitute for him. I fell in love with you because of who you are. I made sure to make that distinction to myself. I wish I could somehow make you underst-"
Before she could finish the word, Shoto grabbed her, smashing his mouth to hers. He kissed her hungrily as if he wanted to devour her heart and soul. His tongue touched hers tentatively.
Melina slowly pulled her head back, breaking the kiss and the spell that had fallen over them. They were standing in the middle of the sidewalk. People were staring. Throwing caution to the wind was one thing. Being stupid and reckless was another.
Sorrow and regret permeated Melina. Not because of her admission of her feelings to Shoto but because of what she knew she needed to do next. She would have to quit her job, leave the school, and separate herself from him. It was too dangerous for them to be in such close quarters now.
"What do we do now? What do you want me to do?" Shoto questioned her.
The rain fell harder, dripping from their hair and making tiny little rivers down their faces as if they were shedding waterfalls of tears.
"Take me home," Melina requested.
"I will."
~\..'../~
Melina sat in Principal's Nezu's office, a disturbingly frequent occurrence over the last couple of weeks. The adorable Mr. Principal held her resignation letter in his hand, the envelope unopened. Toshinori Yagi sat on the couch beside her, his expression so sad she feared he might cry. Aizawa sat across from her looking as uninterested as always, avoiding eye contact with her at all possible cost.
"I can't refuse to accept this, can I?" Principal Nezu inquired, tapping the envelope on the table.
"I'm afraid not, sir. I see no other way. I really don't want to do this, but - "
"Well, you have to do what you have to do," Aizawa said, standing to his feet. "Since you've made up your mind, just go."
After saying his piece, Aizawa left the office, leaving the others to stare behind him in, baffled by his sudden exit. So that was his good-bye to her. It was somehow fitting of that man.
"Are you sure you won't reconsider?" Toshinori asked, turning his sad eyes on her.
"No, I can't. I have to think about the baby now. I need to get some things settled in my life, decide how to live from here. Besides, I just don't have the presence of mind to be a good teacher to those kids. I'm too scattered. Too conflicted. I need to get my personal life straight for my child...and myself," she added, willing to admit there was degree of selfishness to her motives.
"My dear, I appreciate your thoughtfulness to consider these children first. But what about you? What are you going to do?" Principal Nezu asked her.
At the moment, her plan was to hole up in the hotel room she reserved for a few weeks and try to get her head screwed back on straight. Once she could trust herself to make better, more logical decisions, then she could form a plan of what to do next and proceed.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine. I'll stay in touch," she promised, although she doubted she would.
"Take care of yourself," Toshinori said, rising to his feet when she stood up.
The thin man towered over her. Bending down, he gave her a hug which was surprisingly gentle and comforting like that of a father. She wanted to cry when he let her go.
After Toshinori moved aside, Mr. Principal stepped up to bid her farewell.
"Please do come by and visit," he said, his voice flat and toneless, his emotions restrained.
Melina ignored his hand offered for a handshake. She bent down to hug him instead. He was so fuzzy and warm. She wanted to bury her face in his soft fur but refrained.
She would miss them all, even Aizawa, very much. And the kids...she couldn't bear to tell them good-bye so she was being a coward and running away without doing so.
Bowing deeply to All Might and Principal Nezu, a single tear fell before she could contain it, dripping onto the floor. As more tears followed, she hurried from the office to the front steps where Shoto waited for her. This would be the last time he walked her to the front gate.
"This is it, huh?" he murmured, shoving his hands into his pockets.
"I suppose so," she rejoined. "Thank you for walking me."
"I took the liberty of calling a car to take you to your new home," he said as they approached the gate.
"Are you crazy?!" Melina exclaimed when she saw the familiar limousine pulling up to the curb.
"I called my Dad this morning while you were packing and asked him about you staying at the Manor. He agreed that it would be the safest place for you. He was being almost nice. It was really weird. A little scary too," he mused, opening the gate for her.
"Hey! Wait! Don't take those!" she yelled at the driver who picked up her suitcases to put them in the trunk. "When I said take me home, I didn't mean your home, Shoto!"
"You've got to think about the baby. Besides, they're planning on closing the school early for summer vacation to make the repairs to the dorm building. I'll be staying at the Manor with you the entire summer."
"Do you think that's a good idea?" she asked, anxiety squeezing her stomach until she thought she would be sick.
"I don't know what a good idea is anymore...about anything," he murmured quietly, casting a sideways glimpse at her.
"That makes two of us," she concurred.
Shoto opened the car door for her, offering his hand to assist her with getting into the back seat. He leaned in, placing a quick kiss on her cheek.
"I'll see you in a few days," he said, closing the door.
Melina stared out of the window, watching him and the school grow smaller as the limousine drove away. Todoroki Manor - her new home. The hideaway for Enji Todoroki and his mistresses. She was less than flattered the man had agreed to take her and his grandchild in like stray dogs. How noble of him.
Upon her arrival, Hana met her at the door and led her to her suite of rooms while the driver took her suitcases out of the car. Her rooms were located in the same wing of the house as the master's rooms. Across the hall as a matter of fact.
She wondered if Shoto would be taking those rooms when he moved in. For all intents and purposes, he would be the master of this house, the head of a new Todoroki household.
While the driver placed her suitcases in the bedroom, she started exploring her private living room. The living room included a comfortable chair covered in a silky, royal blue fabric along with a coordinating couch striped with the same shade of blue along with white and turquoise stripes.
Floor to ceiling shelves covered one wall. They were currently empty, but she planned on filling them with books. There was also a short table and cushions in the room for taking meals. A television and small refrigerator had been included to offer further convenience.
Melina entered the bedroom through the door from the living room. Her suitcases sat in a line along the wall beside the door that served as an entrance from the hallway. The bedroom furnishings included a queen size bed, a chest of drawers, and a bedside table. Snow white and earth brown were the dominant colors in this room.
The bathroom was astounding in its luxury. The tub was sunken into the floor with steps leading down into it. There was a huge shower like the one in her apartment. Oh, how she missed that shower.
There was even a changing area including an ornate lacquered black wood and red paper changing screen in the corner by the closet. Cranes and poppies decorated the screen.
"Young Mistress," Hana called.
Melina bristled at the use of the word. However, the woman meant it as a term of the respect, as in the feminine counterpart to the master of a household, not the extramarital love interest of an unfaithful husband.
"Yes?" she answered, exiting the closet through a door on the opposite side of the room from where she entered it.
The closet was a walk through, going from one end of the room to the other behind a wall. It was like an entire hidden room.
"Master Todoroki has requested our presence for tea."
Melina visibly flinched hearing him referred to as the master. He wouldn't be the master here for long and certainly never hers.
The king has summoned me!, she thought to herself, smiling wryly.
She raised her head high, nose in the air, straightening her shoulders as she followed Hana.
Enji Todoroki waited for her in the same room in which they had eaten dinner together. She nervously scratched her neck. At least they weren't having tea in the room where dessert had not taken place. Thank god.
She took a seat across from him this time, not caring that her back was to the door. She wore denim shorts and a t-shirt which allowed her to sit more comfortably.
Hana served the tea, silent and efficient as ever. After she left, Enji began speaking without bothering to take a sip of his tea first.
"I'm glad you decided to come, Melina," Enji said. "I figured you would flatly refuse."
"Oh, I tried," she admitted, raising her tea cup to her lips. "But your son would not allow me to refuse your gracious hospitality."
Melina gazed into her tea cup to avoid looking at Enji Todoroki's face. He cleared his throat before he began speaking again.
"I made an appointment for you with an obstetrician who comes highly recommended. Your first appointment is tomorrow at two. I will be going with you," he informed her.
"O-okay," she stammered, taking another sip of the bitter green tea. "Thank you. I guess."
There was no real reason to argue. Melina knew she needed to be under a specialized doctor's care for the health and safety of her child. Him going with her was something she could live without, but unfortunately she did not see that she had a choice.
"You're a strong willed son of a bitch," she said. "You resisted my mind control."
"To a point, yes," he admitted, bringing the cup to his mouth. "I didn't become the number two hero by the age of 20 because I was weak, either in mind or body."
"Number two suited you so well. It was a statement on you personally as much as your status as a hero," she murmured sweetly, smiling at him.
She didn't know if it was ego or ignorance that made him miss her snide reference to him as shit. Maybe he never used the number terms of one and two for those bodily functions. Doing so was probably crude and beneath him.
"You're nothing more than a glorified witch with a counterfeit quirk," he stated with brutish honesty. "The only reason you can make men fall under your spell so easily is because they want to give themselves over to you. You're a manipulator and a user."
"Takes one to know one, I suppose," she muttered into her cup before drinking. "Well, I no longer have a quirk. Your oldest son made sure of that."
"That quirk was never your strength. It was your weakness."
"I know," she agreed, surprised he was intuitive enough to figure that out. "I have to admit I'm relieved it's gone."
"What are your intentions toward my son?" he asked forthrightly.
"Which one?" she challenged him, raising an eyebrow.
"The obvious one. Shoto."
"I have no intentions toward him."
"You have no feelings for him then?"
"I wouldn't say that. He's still young. It's not appropriate to act on those feelings yet."
Melina could feel her face growing warm. They had shared a few inappropriate kisses. Those kisses had been delightfully sinful. Her hand shook as she picked up her cup to wet her dry throat.
"I would be willing to agree to an arranged marriage. A long engagement would be preferable considering Shoto's age. Would you be opposed?" Enji questioned her, refilling her teacup from the teapot in the middle of the table.
"You're damn right I'd be opposed. I'm not forcing Shoto to marry me and neither are you. Why would you even - "
"I will not have a Todoroki heir being stigmatized with the shame of being a bastard, of living without a proper family name. Whether either one of us like it or not, that child carries my blood, and I will take care of my family."
"Is it a matter of control and possession with you? It's definitely not out of love. Where I come from there are plenty of single mothers, and -"
"We're not where you come from, Miss Zusa. Things are different here. I will not have allow my grandchild to grow up in shame."
"However, you'd be more than willing to ignore your children, even going as far as to disown them, consider them dead. Don't speak to me about family honor and pride," Melina growled, slamming her fist down on the table. "After what you did to Toya - "
"I told you already, he left the family. He turned his back on me first. I simply honored his wishes. He is dead to me," he said with a note of finality, folding his arms in front of his broad chest which he puffed out.
"Perhaps you actually did him a favor, Mr. Todoroki. You set him free from the prison of your tyranny."
"You know nothing about this family, little girl," he said, his voice deep and rumbling like thunder.
"Yet you expect me to be a part of it," she shot back. "I know more than you think, you bastard."
"You have no fear, no respect. You're mouthy, insolent, and annoyingly defiant. You're going to challenge me at every turn and make my life a living hell, aren't you?" His question was not rhetorical.
"Yes. Yes, I am," she answered honestly.
Enji Todoroki smiled. What the fuck? His smile was one of genuine amusement and happiness. He was a masochist as much as he was a sadist. He enjoyed receiving abuse almost as much as he liked giving it. What the hell?!
"Is that one of the reasons you hate Rei so much? Because she never put up any kind of a fight? She wouldn't throw your shit right back at you. She just took it and took it until it drove her crazy. She was too meek, too gentle for a man like you, but you wanted her quirk too much to choose someone else. She taught your sons love and kindness. And you hated that didn't you because you see those attributes as weakness?"
Instead of answering, he redirected the conversation back to his original topic of an arranged marriage between her and Shoto.
"Arranged marriages are nothing more than a formal arrangement made to suit the interests of both parties. When done correctly, they benefit everyone involved like a lucrative business merger," he stated matter of factly.
He really knew how to suck the warmth and sentiment out of anything. In two sentences he had successfully reduced marriage to work that should be done to make a profit.
"Enji, your marriage to Rei was arranged wasn't it?" Melina asked.
"Yes. Of course it was. As a matter of fact, I wasn't much older than Shoto when Rei and I were engaged. We were married after I attained the position I held for over twenty five years before becoming number one."
Oh, my god! Melina drank her tea, trying to process the startling information.
Although Enji Todoroki had the ability to be charming enough to have tricked Rei into marriage, making her believe he loved her, he had chosen to invoke an archaic ritual because he did not have the time nor patience for a lengthy fake courtship.
Melina knew from her personal experience with him he did not strive with people long if they did not bend to his insincere flattery and subtle charms, succumbing to his desires. When his patience ran out, his personality would turn on a dime without warning, and he would resort to bullying and force to get his way.
"I put many hours of research into finding the woman with the perfect quirk. Rei was the one I had been looking for so when I found her, I had to have her."
So stalking and obsession are family traditions.
"Rei is four years older than me, but I wanted to make her mine, even though I was only seventeen."
Apart from the slight age differences, the situation sounded terrifyingly familiar. The age correlations were almost terrifying. There was a two year exception, Melina being six years older than Shoto rather than just four. At sixteen, Shoto set his eyes on her, a year younger than his father when he found Rei.
However, Shoto is not his Father despite having some similarities in personality and actions. Similarities were inevitable between a father and his son. The differences between them is what set Shoto apart in the ways that made her love him.
Melina sipped her tea, preparing herself for the next onslaught of startling insight into Enji Todoroki's troubled relationship with his wife.
"The how of marrying her didn't matter. An arranged marriage was the best option. It was actually quite easy getting her and her parents to agree to the terms of the contract," Enji said with absolutely no emotion. "I never loved her. She never loved me. We both knew that going into the marriage. She wanted a way out of her home, an escape from her abusive parents. I wanted her quirk. We both got what we wanted."
At what cost to both of you?, Melina contemplated silently, turning the empty cup in her hands. Rei was set free from one prison to enter another. Enji purposely chose a relationship with a woman he already knew he disliked on a personal level, fostering and growing resentment and hatred which bubbled over to the children.
"Why did you want someone with an ice quirk?" Melina dared to ask. "Why was it so damn important to resort to such drastic measures?"
"I have to be extremely careful when using my quirk not allowing it to overpower me, overheating my body. Her ice quirk was supposed to solve the overheating problem in our children. The children were to be a flawless culmination of the two of us. Her quirk was supposed to eliminate the one, small shortcoming I have."
One small shortcoming? Oh my god, really? She picked up the teapot to refill her cup. Drinking something would help her keep her mouth from releasing the words she should not say to him.
"Because of this flaw in my power, Toya overheated, losing control of his quirk. She was a failure, and so was he."
Melina pressed her lips together with increasing pressure until they felt numb. How could he be so cruel and hateful when speaking about his wife and child?
"Shoto was the only one who came close to being the child I wanted. I devoted my life to training him, to making him the best."
"So you abandoned your other children to make sure he becomes another you? He will never, ever, be another you," she assured him.
"Many of the similarities between us, our lives and personalities, is striking, don't you think?" he questioned her.
Goddammit. Damn him straight to hell. He was right. She could not deny the fact they shared many personality traits. Events in their lives were beginning to run along parallel paths as well. Somehow she had become a part of that cycle.
Melina restrained the tears that wanted fall. She chewed the inside of her cheek until it felt like ground meat against her tongue. She would not cry in front of this man.
"Don't worry, my dear. Things could be much worse for you than falling into the middle of a rich, influential family. Your soon to be father-in-law is the number one hero. You're going to give birth to a Todoroki heir. One day you will be married to the man who will be the number two hero. He will rise to number one when I retire. You've hitched your wagon to a rising star. On that I have to commend you. What are you upset about?"
"Do you think I did this on purpose? I didn't trick Shoto into falling in love with me. I tried to talk him out of it many, many times. My pregnancy was not a calculated move on my part to weasel my way into your family and the so called good life!" Her voice faltered, the first tear falling. Dammit!
"No. I don't think that. Although you're selfish and capable of terrible things, you try not to be cruel. Most of the damage you do, you do by accident. Despite your sharp tongue, you've shown kindness to me although I don't deserve it."
His self-awareness and honesty almost frightened her. He insulted her but quickly followed it with a backhanded compliment. She would expect nothing less from this man, but somehow that had softened the blow, making him seem just a little less heinous.
"If I did think this was all a big scheme on your part, I wouldn't be willing to help you, to make you a part of this family. If I had even the smallest suspicion you had ulterior motives or that you were using Shoto, I would send you and the baby away with a big check, not allowing either one of you to remain in Japan. I'm risking exposing my greatest shame by taking you in since Toya is the father of your child."
"Your oldest son is your greatest shame? You're a horribly self-centered and downright vile man, Enji Todoroki. I hate you so much," she confessed, allowing the tears to fall down her cheeks unchecked.
"I couldn't possibly care less what you think of me. I didn't reach number one by trying to win a popularity contest. Look where that got All Might. Strength and power are the only things that insure success and keep you successful. Being everyone's favorite, being their hero because you plaster on this big, stupid smile will never insure you stay in that number one spot."
Enji Todoroki leaned back, placing his hands on the Tatami mat behind him to prop himself up. He looked up at the ceiling inhaling deeply.
Melina did her best to prepare herself for whatever awful, heart rending words came out of his mouth next.
"My greatest shame is my failure as a father...and a husband."
Melina was glad she was sitting down. She covered her mouth with her hand to hold in the cry of astonishment from hearing his unexpected confession.
Perhaps she had gotten though to him after all. Maybe his transformation would come slower given his degree of hardheadedness. His emotions being buried under layers and layers of egotism and anger were more difficult to reach and thereby harder to change. His candid statement gave her hope that a change in him would eventually come.