Shouto's whole life changed on a rainy afternoon in autumn. He was six-and-three-quarter years old. His scar was still fresh enough to remember the icy-burning touch of his mother.

He was at home, because he never left home anymore, and he was alone, because he was always alone now. The windows were all shuttered, the doors closed, the house quiet as death even though Shouto was certain, in the back of his head, that there were more people that lived in this estate. He's seen them from afar; other children, other adults, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd spoken with any of them.

There is only Father.

Mother is gone now. Thinking about her made his stomach twist with nausea. She was so confusing.

He likes to think about the other children, though. They have to be his siblings. They are definitely his siblings. The tall boy with snow-white hair, Natsuo. A nice girl with Mother's steely gray eyes. Another boy, one who looks the most like Shouto. He doesn't know much about the boy with blue fire. But speaking with him is forbidden. He hasn't seen that boy in a while.

He knows some other children too. Maybe. Their names escape him. A boy that grins like the sun. The strongest girl he's ever met. The three of them… the three of them.

It's a rainy day, but he is indoors. The cold still seeps through the walls, and he can hear the rainwater thrashing against the roof, like a living person just begging to come inside. Shouto ignores it, because he is waiting for Father. He can't be caught ignoring Father. He's in a different training room than usual, because part of the house is being rebuilt.

Shouto isn't sure what happened, and he doesn't ask.

(Blue fire. It was burnt down with blue fire—)

"Shouto," his father says his name in a strange voice when he finally arrives. He looks different, too. He only ever sees his father's face late at night, when he is awake past curfew. Yet here he is now, on a rainy afternoon, and there are no brilliant red flames to obscure his father's face.

"Shouto… do you want to be a hero?"

His left eye aches. But Shouto remembers the three of them. He remembers Mother, who insisted he could be great. He wanted that. Maybe he would be a part of something even greater. "Yes, I do."

For some reason, this seems to bother his father. His father, who is kneeling now. Eye-level. His father has bright blue eyes. Shouto knows that his left side makes him like Father.

"If you want to be a hero, I can show you how."

It isn't the first time he's heard this. Father is a hero, one of the best ones in the world. He knows this. It's why he trains with Father in the first place. Shouto also knows he doesn't have to be like Father to be a hero.

Mother taught him that. It hurts to think of her, but that lesson doesn't bring him pain. It goes along nicely with the boy and girl he likes to think about. He would be good, and together they could be great.

"Can you show me how to use ice?" He asks Father. It's a daring choice, yes. Shouto already knows how things go from here. He asks anyway. He remembers how good ice can be. It goes nicely with earth and air. Heat, on the other hand, is dangerous. "I want to use ice… only ice."

"...I can try," Father replies, simple as that. It takes a moment for it to register in Shouto's head. Wrong. Different. New. He can see his father's face now, and it's like looking at a stranger.

Shouto does not argue. He learns how to be strong, and he never has to use fire.


They're in a small conference room within UA's stadium. The window's cracked open, letting in a cool breeze, but it's still such a small room for what's essentially an unprompted parent-teacher meeting. The air feels stale. Stifling. That's probably his own fault. He's not usually indoors in full costume, he's out in the field patrolling or fighting or training, but he's stuck in here mincing words. Enji's never been much of a talker.

"Endeavor-san? Are you still there? You haven't answered my question." A calm voice crackles through the speaker, slightly distorted. It's funny that this school still uses landlines when they also have medical robots and sophisticated security cameras everywhere. Archaic. No, nostalgic. His office has a landline too, mostly just for show since he has a work cell phone.

All Might's clutching his own phone very tightly, it's the same near-indestructible model that Enji has. It was an initial call from his former sidekick that set this whole thing off.

No, that's not fair to say. This started years ago. Back when he was mired in a feedback loop of Umeko Shinsou's quirk and his hero work had fallen into decline. Back when little Toph Beifong was off doing god knows what, trying to escape her own brainwashing.

"Todoroki-san," the tiny principal interrupts sharply. Enji looks up.

"Yes," he says plainly.

There's a pause from the other side of the call. "Yes, you're listening, or yes, you know why this earthbending girl is—?"

"Yes, Toph likely has a history with this member of the yakuza." The words feel wrong, though. Damning. He has to explain, but has no idea where to start. Enji wants to tell them that this all sounds much worse than it actually is, but wouldn't that be a lie?

He knew this would come back to bite him. He adopted an idiot, after all.

All Might makes an odd choking sound, sinking into a too-small desk chair. Too small. This room is far too small for the three of them. But it's not a conversation to have out in the open where they could be overheard or interrupted.

"Well then," Nighteye continues briskly. "I'm sure there's a story there you'd like to tell us, because none of that is in her public record."

There's no accusation in his tone, but it still sends a prickly feeling of unease up his spine.

"There isn't much I can say," Enji replies evenly. He specifically avoids crossing his arms, because his therapist pointed out he does it when he's getting defensive and it's an obvious tell he should've noticed ages ago. "While Toph was under the care of her birth parents, up until age ten, she would frequently sneak out into the city. Since Toph isn't considered a reliable witness, her account of events lacks credibility."

Nedzu smiles placidly, accepting his words without question. All Might looks like he might have a heart attack.

"Endeavor, if you think it's likely that she came into contact with highly dangerous gang members, why haven't you said anything?" Nighteyes asks over the phone. "What was she doing in that time period?"

Enji inhales slowly, lowering his flames before he sets off a fire alarm. This room is so small. He keeps it short and simple. "Even if it's likely, there isn't any way to prove she was ever affiliated with any dangerous persons or organizations. And she was under the influence of a mind quirk at the time, one that specifically manipulated her memories. There was no legal obligation for me to put any of this into public record."

He knows his defense is solid from a legal standpoint, but it doesn't stop Nighteye from taking a stab at him anyway.

"You never thought anyone would recognize that incredibly powerful little earthbending girl? Not even when she went on national television and made a playground out of an enormous stadium?"

Enji clicks his tongue, disliking Nighteye's tone. "What do you suggest I'd have done instead? Keep her under lock and key? She's been living with pro heroes ever since I got her out of her parents' custody." He pauses to glare at the receiver like Nighteye was actually there. "You said it yourself, Beifong is incredibly powerful. Would you ever ask a hero student not to stand out?"

(An hour away by train, at Nighteye's agency, Mirai certainly feels like he's being glared at.)

All Might clears his throat loudly. "We're not here to put Young Beifong on trial," he says reasonably. "But if Nighteye says she's being targeted, we need to put measures in place to… well, your quirk doesn't lie, she will be attacked at some point." He rubs his jaw thoughtfully.

"There is no avoiding confrontation, I'm afraid." Nighteye agrees reluctantly. "And I am sorry about the position this puts you in, Endeavor. What we can do is… interview her to gather more information on this target. And then see if we can control the environment in which this confrontation takes place."

"But there's no guaranteed success in a situation like this, because you didn't see how it ends," Enji states, ignoring for now the tone in which Nighteye said the word 'interview'. She's not being prosecuted, so it's not an interrogation.

That idiot girl will never be held responsible for his own failures as a hero. Enji can't allow it.

"The more we know, the greater our chances are," Nighteye replies smoothly, deftly avoiding his accusation. "I can tell you more in person, but what we really need is Ms. Beifong. If you'll agree to let her talk to us?"

His gut instinct is to refuse. To keep her out of it, the same way he's kept the rest of the kids out of the developing case against Tarrlok and his conspirators. "How soon do you need her? I'm aware of how urgent this is, but pulling her out of the tournament is not an option."

It would piss her off, first of all. And it would be conspicuous to do just after her team blew away the competition in the Cavalry Battle.

"I disagree," Nedzu says politely. "Placing Ms. Beifong on academic probation is an option. Seeing that this is an immediate threat to a student's life, and given the current public opinion surrounding my school, it would be negligent of me to allow her to continue."


Life gets better for Shouto after he begins training with ice. He learns that Natsuo is three years older than him. He talks to the girl, her name is Fuyumi and she reads constantly. The house is renovated quietly and efficiently. You can't even tell where the old tatami mats end and the new ones begin. A door at the end of the hallway is closed one day, by Fuyumi, and never opened again. The boy with blue fire is gone. His name was Touya, but they never say it.

Shouto's life changed on a rainy day.

It changes again in the middle of the night, when he is nine, and Father comes home with a pretty little girl that moves earth as easily as Shouto controls ice. He remembers Toph so clearly all of a sudden, and she hugs him like she never wants to let go. She kicks and screams and throws rocks at Father, and Shouto realizes for the first time that he isn't worried at all about what his father might do to her.

His life changes again when Inasa shows him the new powers he's gained from Cato. Inasa cries. They're only fifteen but it's like they've aged a lifetime. Shouto pours him some tea, and revisits his thoughts on a team greater than the sum of its parts. He's not sure if anyone else remembers that talk, but Shouto does. This is a small difference, in the grand scheme of things, but still an important one. Inasa is important.

Now, presently, Shouto stands among the few winners from round two of the UA Sports Festival.

An air horn sounds off, ending the team battles.

Shouto, Inasa, and Toph have all made it to round three. Guiltily, he wishes they had lost. He's never fought either of them seriously before, and beating them for a crowd of strangers sounds… wrong. He'll just have to win without hurting them. That's part of the challenge of being a professional hero, anyway.

Now would be a nice time to have Shinsou's quirk, and just trick them into forfeiting.

Oh, who am I kidding? They'd kill me for pulling something like that, Shouto thinks, tired but fond.

In direct opposition to his fond thoughts, Katsuki Bakugou screeches like a beast, yanking away from his teammates. He tears at the headbands they've collected, elated and furious at the same time.

Shouto doesn't pay him any mind. He's exhausted. Looking down at his palms, they're unscathed. But he's burning up inside, feeling the tingle of power in his left hand. He's never used this much fire at once, and it's an odd contrast to the usual sting of frostbite. Shouto feels like a baked potato left out to melt in the sun.

Potatoes don't melt, usually. In this metaphor, the sun is very strong. Shouto wanders away from Team Bakugou, thinking he ought to come up with a better analogy.

"Shouto!" Inasa more or less flies over to him, a gust of wind at his back. It's a pleasant breeze, even if it makes Shouto's hair fall into his eyes. "You were crazy out there!"

Was he? Kirishima said that as well, but he'd been talking about the way Shouto spoke with Bakugou. Shouto couldn't help that. He'd had a lot on his mind, mostly fire and his mother and Hellflame-versus-Half-Hot-Half-Cold. Sometimes, Bakugou reminded him so much of his early memories of Endeavor, he didn't know what to do about it. Toph and Inasa wouldn't remember it, but his siblings do.

Natsuo was the one that got into the habit of talking back to the old man. Fuyumi frequently told her brothers they needed to work on filtering their words.

"I didn't see you fight," he looks up at the airbender, somewhat disappointed by this. Inasa's quirk usage is much like Toph's in practice. There's an innate grace to how they move, and it's nice to watch. "There was a lot of dust."

"Me neither, I'm going off of the highlights," Inasa points up at one of the big monitors around the stadium. "I heard Endeavor cheering for you, by the way."

Shouto looks down. "Yes, I noticed too."

"He didn't cheer for Toph though," Inasa adds inquisitively. "He won't say it, but he's still kinda stuck on you being his legacy, isn't he?"

Inasa is gentle as he says this, and Shouto doesn't know how to feel about that. "At least he's supportive?"

The airbender rolls his eyes. "Using Toph's parents as a metric isn't healthy either."

He ignores that last statement, instead turning to look at the huge screens mounted above the stadium stands. Shouto is indeed on television. His firebending looked even stronger on screen. Great plumes of red and yellow flames, right alongside Bakugou's percussive blasts of heat. For all the unpleasantness that Bakugou stirs up, their team had managed exceptionally well. Maybe he wasn't giving Bakugou enough credit. He cooperated with Toph successfully too, in the mock battles.

There's also a new image on the monitors, the bracket announcements for round three…

Match 1: Momo Yaoyorozu vs Inasa Yoarashi

Match 2: Toph Beifong vs Denki Kaminari

Match 3: Mina Ashido vs Izuku Midoriya

Match 4: Eijirou Kirishima vs Ochako Uraraka

Match 5: Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu vs Fumikage Tokoyami

Match 6: Tenya Iida vs Hitoshi Shinsou

Match 7: Katsuki Bakugou vs Hanta Sero

Match 8: Juzo Honenuki vs Shouto Todoroki

"You're fighting first, Inasa," Shouto says with a frown. And he'll be facing Toph shortly after that, while Shouto's on the other side of the bracket. He watches Inasa's face fall.

"Yeah, what a sucky line-up!" Inasa agrees, struggling to keep his grin as they walk towards Midoriya's team. Shouto will have to fight Bakugou and possibly Shinsou before facing either of them. Shouto isn't sure if he's looking forward to all that. Not that he's a pacifist or something, but it sounds like a lot right now. Maybe he just needs to rest first.

"But we've got time before that," Inasa continues, as if he's read his mind. "Lunch break and stuff. Hey, Toph—! Ah. She's gone."

Shouto looks up, just in time to see Toph disappear through one of the arena's exits. "Midoriya's following her…" he mumbles, a prickle of suspicion dancing over his thoughts. Ever since USJ, Toph and Midoriya have been hanging out more, and Shouto feels like he's missing out on something. "What's up with him?"


Nedzu's words douse Enji like a bucket of ice water. He sets his eyes on the rat-like principal, incredulous, as he thinks of counter points to this idea. "Nedzu-san, that would—"

"Actually, I think given the circumstances around UA right now, a subtler option would suit my agency," Nighteye interrupts him, equally polite. "We value careful deliberation and information-gathering before striking. Making this public in any capacity would cause problems. And I can say with certainty that there will be no attack directed at UA by this individual, on any UA property."

Enji grimaces. "That just means she'll be alone and in public when this happens," he mutters, even though Nighteye seems to be on his side.

"That being said, my own investigations could be jeopardized by public interference or speculation. I plan on offering Ms. Beifong an internship, and working with her direct assistance on the yakuza case."

The flames of his suit flare out in tune with his irritation. "And that just means you want to use her as bait, doesn't it?"

Goddamn idiot girl, making idiot life decisions, with an idiot guardian that couldn't fucking protect shit—

"Endeavor-san, what do you suggest I do instead?" Nighteye demands flatly, throwing his words back at him. "The future is immutable. I am doing all that I can to make the best of this situation."

The situation you've put us in, it goes without saying.

He's angry. He's angry, and he has nowhere to put it. Enji sighs.

"This is your case, and your decision," Enji says at last. Even though it's a yakuza case. For fuck's sake, Toph. "Thank you for telling me." He glances at the principal again. "Nedzu-san, she's your student. Are you still considering academic probation for Beifong?"

I will not roast the rat professor, I will not roast the rat professor—

The furry principal has very few human features, but it's clear that he's amused all the same. "I would also prefer to handle this without the press knowing, especially in regards to the classified nature of Sir Nighteye's work. I think we can revisit Beifong's academic prospects after she's spoken with Sir, and this case is resolved."

That isn't quite the answer Enji had hoped for, but it's better than pulling Beifong out of UA. He's pretty sure that idiot would turn to vigilantism if she were kicked out of school. She already had ties to the damn sword-wielding idiot he'd arrested earlier in the week, the Red Spirit.

She didn't know anything about the Spirits' involvement in the AV case, and Enji planned on keeping it that way. Especially with the Blue Spirit still at large.

"That being said," All Might says quietly, "I think we should inform Young Beifong about this now. Keeping this from her would be wrong."

Enji scowls. As if All Might knew what it was like trying to keep a household together. Telling Toph about this shit could make her fly off the handle. "If there's anything I know about that girl, it's that I don't know how she'll take the news," he says, rather judiciously. Toph could throw a tantrum, she could run away; she could run away, throw a tantrum, and meet up with another 'old friend' all in the same day…. he wasn't certain about it, but if the Red Spirit, Stendhal, knew Toph—what were the chances she could identify the Blue Spirit too?

"You know her better than us," All Might admits gently. "If you want to wait until after the tournament, that's your decision."

She seems pretty familiar with you and your protégé too, Enji wants to point out. But he doesn't. He hasn't had time to process the fact that the Symbol of Peace has a successor, what does that even mean, All Might?

"Beifong is a resilient girl," Enji admits. "But she can get reckless and emotional like any other kid. She'll probably be happy to know she can be dangled in front of a villain to pick a fight with him…" Enji wants to sit down and lay his head on a table. "With your permission, Nedzu, I'd like to tell her after she's completed the tournament."


"Toph! Hey!" Izuku calls after the girl, who's stomping her way towards a restroom.

"What do you want, Midoriya?" She answers roughly, not facing him. She has a hand pressed to the doorframe, and leans her head forward.

Well, maybe he shouldn't disturb her if she's going to the bathroom, but, well, he's already called for her—"I just wanted to know if you were okay," he squeaks.

For some reason, Toph clicks her tongue and backs away from the washroom—and then two girls walk out of the room, and Izuku quickly backs up and looks away so he's not hovering weirdly over the entrance to the girls' room.

When he looks back, Toph is gone.


Uraraka turns to Shouto, her expression twisted. "It's not Deku, it's Beifong. You think we wanted to tear up the arena like this?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Inasa seems to stall for a moment, taken aback by the small girl's vehemence. The bird-headed boy shakes his head behind her, not looking nearly as ruffled as Uraraka. "Is everything okay? You guys did great out there!"

"Thanks," Uraraka says curtly, still looking like she sucked on a lemon. At least she has the sense not to lash out at Inasa. Shouto wouldn't allow that.

But it's weird that she's mad at Toph. He really shouldn't get involved. And using fire is exhausting, he could feel the sweat gathering all over his skin. "It's a competition," he points out coolly. "What did you expect?"

The girl puffs up like a blowfish. But an angry one. It doesn't translate well, Uraraka doesn't have a face built for a proper display of anger. Still, her words have a bite to them. "Todoroki-kun, I know you like her and all, but come on! It's a competition, but this was a team battle."

… Maybe he shouldn't have said anything. Still, this doesn't seem fair to Toph. But it's not his job to explain anything to these classmates. She chose to work with Toph, after all.

"Then you should have found a different team," he says anyway. This can't be any worse than running his mouth in front of Bakugou, right?

Uraraka's brown eyes widen to the size of saucers. She looks extra pink-faced now. Hm. Not a good sign.

Inasa throws an arm over his shoulders and gives a loud, forced laugh.

"Okay, Shouto, that's a little harsh!" He says lightly, but there's nothing light about the heavy weight over his shoulders as Inasa inches backwards with him. Shouto blinks a few times, uneasy. Inasa's a big guy, and his arm is uncomfortably warm right now, just minutes after a fire-heavy fight. Shouto finds himself sweating again, moisture collecting at his neck and making him itch. "I'm sure you don't mean it like that, Toph's a tough cookie, y'know—"

"I think I know exactly what he meant," Uraraka says, her expression strangely neutral. "Todoroki-kun, you're—"

"We're gonna get some lunch now!" Inasa chirps, dragging Shouto away. "And Toph says you're smoother than me," he mutters exasperatedly. "You're spending too much time with her, you two are blunter than butter knives!" He ruffles Shouto's hair for good measure, like a good stir will reset his brain-to-mouth filter.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Shouto sighs, fixing his hair and rubbing a chilled hand over his throat. He didn't like to hear anyone badmouth his friends, but Uraraka was a nice person. If he were less exhausted from dealing with Bakugou, maybe that would've gone over smoother. Even then, he knew Toph wouldn't appreciate his help. There were some things you had to work out on your own, after all. "It's Toph's problem, not mine."

"Do you know what's up with Toph?" Inasa asks, ducking his head down. "Because she did go overboard, turning this place into a scale model of Ba Sing Se."

Ba Sing Se? Shouto shakes his head. "No it's not," he murmurs his disagreement lazily, instinctively contrarian.

"Hm? It's not what?"

Shouto nods towards the destroyed landscape. "There were three main walls, I saw it from above…"

His friend quirks an eyebrow. "Uh, so did I. I can fly, you know," he adds, bragging just a little as they take a different exit out of the arena. Shouto shoves him back, but Inasa doesn't move an inch. "If you ignore the wonky pillars, the arena looks like that ancient Chinese city, from the history books," Inasa says confidently. "Qing dynasty. She took some artistic license with it, obviously."

"Nope," Shouto replies flatly. She's not that sophisticated. "As if Toph remembers a thing about historical architecture. It's like the city on Paradis Island."

Inasa stops short, briefly strangling Shouto. "Bullshit. You mean like Attack on Titan?"

He chuckles, scratching at the nape of his neck again. Maybe he got an insect bite from training in the swamp, it wouldn't be the first time it happened. "I'd bet money on it," Shouto confirms.

"Toph reads manga?!" Inasa demands, flabbergasted.

Shouto finally pulls himself out from Inasa's arm, giving him a deeply unamused look. "...Inasa. She's blind."

"Did I just hear you ask if Toph reads manga?" Interrupts Shinsou, climbing down the stairs just behind them. A few more students trickle down behind him, mostly hero students from the Cavalry Battle—Yaomomo's team; Ashido, lightning guy, and Tenya Iida. Yaomomo looks at him and Inasa for a moment, debating whether or not to join them, but eventually follows Iida down the hall. She must be nervous about fighting Inasa.

Shinsou, on the other hand, looks tired and bored as ever, with deep purplish eye bags to match his sleepy indigo eyes. Shouto has never related more to Hitoshi Shinsou in his entire life. "I'm not surprised, Yoarashi. Why not plan a movie date while you're at it?"

"Shut up." Inasa groans—pointedly not meeting Shouto's eye, because Shouto was present last week when Inasa suggested the three of them go see a movie together and Toph tried to launch him into a river. "I forget sometimes! Toph's special, and it's not like she acts blind. But anyway, listen Shinsou, Shouto's talkin' crazy here," he huffs, giving Shouto a hearty pat on the chest. "Toph's dirt maze, did it look like Attack on Titan or Ba Sing Se to you?"

Shinsou squints at them. "It looked like… a maze." Inasa deflates like souffle pulled out of the oven. "I know she has like, an internal seismograph or whatever, but how would she know what either of those things looked like to begin with?"

Ah, Shouto has an answer for that one. "She listened to an audiobook for Attack on Titan with me." They haven't seen her hero costume yet, but those metal cables? A total rip-off from the ODM gear. Toph can harp on about being inspired by historical Chinese warriors and modern heroes like Yoroi Mushi all she likes, but Shouto knows the truth.

"They have audiobooks for manga?" Inasa looks intrigued. "Is there one for FMA? I bet she'd love FMA… wait! Shouto!" He whips back around to the half-and-half boy. "You're distracting me. What's up with Toph? You were about to tell me!"

"Is there something wrong?" Shinsou frowns, looking between the two benders. "Her team got first place, I thought she'd be here lording it over you two."

It takes Shouto a moment to remember what Inasa was talking about. "Ah. That..." He blinks a few times, stepping back to lean against the cool cement wall of the hallway. Shinsou draws near as well, obviously curious as well. "It's nothing to worry about."


Izuku freaks out for another few seconds before it occurs to him that Toph is in the girls' restroom, and hasn't vanished off the face of the planet. Unless she has. He didn't actually see her leave. Oh god. Where is she?

"Toph? You can probably hear me. Is that weird? Yes, this is weird. Are you okay?" Izuku says in a normal tone of voice. The hallway is deserted now, which works in his favor because there's no one around but Toph (if she's listening) to notice how much of an idiot he looks like right now.

The door hinge squeaks as Toph reemerges, a paper towel smushed against her mouth.

"Toph!" Izuku yelps, panicked all over again. "There's—you have some—what happened? Why are you bleeding?!"

Because there is blood, he wasn't wrong, there's spots of red dotting the paper towel and she's drenched in sweat—no that's just water, she just washed her face maybe—but that's totally blood and Toph probably ruptured her spleen and kept fighting through it—

She lifts the paper towel away to reveal a scowl. "Would you shut up already?"

"No!" Izuku puts his foot down and steps towards her. "You're hurt! And you just ran away—why didn't you say anything?!"

She shoves the towel back in, speaking around it. "I'm fine. Kami's sake, Midoriya…" Toph shuts her eyes, and yeah, that's definitely a wince, so Izuku puts a hand on her arm and pulls her—carefully—up the hallway. She stiffens up immediately, elbowing him for good measure. "What's up with you?"

"You need the nurse. I don't know what's wrong but you need the nurse—" She isn't really fighting him, which is a good sign, but she also looks dead on her feet, so that's no good—

"Midoriya," she says sternly, grabbing his sleeve and yanking him to a stop. "What are you freaking out about? I'm not that hurt."

"But you are hurt! You admit it—"

"I cracked a molar," Toph tells him emphatically, touching her jaw with her free hand. "My mouth's bleeding a little. That's it."

Izuku stares. Toph's face doesn't change one bit. "You're… telling the truth…" His shoulders sag with relief. "Oh my god, Toph, I thought you were dying!"

She huffs, letting him go. She starts walking again in the direction of the nurse's office, and Izuku stays at her side. "I'm not crazy. I wouldn't just keep fighting for a dumb popularity contest if I was dying."

Izuku doesn't think that's strictly true, but that's beside the point. "Why did you run away then? Also, I thought you liked Uraraka? That was pretty harsh to her, to all of us…"

The earthbender's face twists in dismay as they walk. "Look at how you're reacting to a bit of blood," she huffs. "I didn't—I couldn't let the cameras catch it."

Oh. That made… a little bit more sense? They were trying to get heroes to see the potential in them, and Toph had made a pretty bold claim in her speech, so of course she didn't want to show any weakness to them. "It's just some blood, though," Izuku wonders. "People expect us to get a little roughed up in the tournament, I don't think it would really hurt your chances of getting an internship. I mean, you're pretty amazing, Toph! And you looked really cool out there, even if you didn't really, uh, follow the plan…"

"We won," Toph says shortly, rubbing her jaw again. "What more do you want from me?"

"N-Nothing!" Izuku exclaims hurriedly. "I just didn't expect it! Or, well. I expected—" He grimaces. He would hate to sound cruel, but Toph would hate him more for equivocating. She's always been straightforward with him, and he should do the same. "I did expect more from you. As a teammate. You're—we're—I think we're friends, at least, so—if you wanted to be flashy, you could have told me that. I wouldn't have stopped you. But maybe I would—you didn't have to hurt yourself. Even if it's not that bad. I thought it was a lot worse. So that's on me. But why did you go that far? No, you said already, and I don't blame you for showing off… I'm talking in circles, I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend you. I'm being overbearing, aren't I?" He finally takes a breath, remembering that he ought to give Toph time to respond.

She doesn't respond.

They keep walking. Izuku winces. Maybe he should just go. But she hasn't told him off for following her, either.

"We are friends," Toph speaks up after a while. There's a look on her face he's never seen before. She almost looks sad. "I could have done more to work as a team, but I didn't care about that. Uraraka can be as mad as she wants. We're going to fight everyone individually anyway, so what's the point in being nice?"

"I see your point," Izuku murmurs quietly. "I know you joined my team to learn about Uraraka and Tokoyami. But having you on my team made you a huge deterrent to those after my points, so I didn't really mind," he admits, feeling almost sheepish now that he's saying it out loud. He didn't mean to rely on her so heavily, but she had wanted it that way. He'd have to ask Uraraka to be sure, but maybe she'd picked up on Toph's motives and wasn't happy about it.

"And it's not about me getting an internship, if that's what you think," Toph continues, crumpling up the paper towel in her hand. "Obviously I want to look good for that, but it's not a problem for me to use my quirk however I want. You should be more worried for yourself."

Oh, he knows it. Izuku lets out a breathless little laugh, and pretends it's not his nerves. "You're right, you're right… Then what are you so concerned about? You said… you were thinking about the cameras pointed at you. Since when do you care about that?"

She just sort of hums at him, a noncommittal agreement, idly tossing the bloodied paper towel in the trash. He can see Recovery Girl's office up ahead.

"We're friends," Izuku reiterates carefully. "So why not tell me?"

"You're so nosy," she complains lazily, blowing at the strands of hair in her face. Izuku bites back a reflexive apology, waiting for her to continue. "I talked to my little brother this morning."

Izuku blinks. "Your little brother?"

Toph has a younger brother?

"I thought—no, I know you live with Todoroki-kun's family," Izuku murmurs. She'd explained it briefly after USJ, when the press started to speculate about her relationship with Endeavor. She doesn't call Shouto her brother, so she can't be talking about another Todoroki, but if she had a younger brother that also lived with the Todorokis wouldn't she have mentioned that too?

"He lives with his aunt," Toph says quietly. "And I'm not his blood relative, actually, so it's—he's only six, so he doesn't really understand that."

This… this is very important to Toph. Izuku doesn't know what it has to do with anything, but it's important, just like it was important to Uraraka to become a hero to support her parents, and for Iida to live up to his family name. "What's his name?" he asks softly.

"Kouta," Toph answers, and it's the warmest word he's ever heard from her. But then her expression turns melancholic. "He hates heroes."

Izuku is stunned. "Oh," he says lamely. "He told you that?"

"He's told me that multiple times," Toph replies, a hint of frustration leaking into her voice. "And he has his reasons. I can tell he's terrified I'll get hurt, but he's—a lot like me," she rolls her eyes. "So every time I see him he's just a bratty ball of rage. He says he's not watching the Sports Festival at all, but I know he will. Or maybe I just want him to. Either way… "

"You want to do well for him. You don't want him to see you get hurt," Izuku finishes the thought, the last puzzle pieces of Toph Beifong falling into place. He knew there had to be more going on for her than just winning the tournament, but he'd never have guessed any of this. "My mom's a lot like that." Izuku pauses. "Well, she's not a little kid, obviously. Or mad at me. But, uh, she's really freaked out about me being a hero student. She cries a lot. Especially… especially after USJ."

Toph groans. "I got an earful from Koucchan after that. Kid knows how to scream. I'm already blind, I don't need to go deaf too."

He chuckles, and quickly stifles it. "Sorry. Uh."

"Midoriya, you can laugh at my blind jokes, I'm hilarious." Toph says flatly. "And I don't care. No one does. Kouta still makes me do coloring books when I visit him. Inasa asked me last week if I wanted to watch a movie."

He snorts. "I think that's more about him forgetting you're blind…"

She grins briefly. "I know, that's even funnier." They're at the edge of Recovery Girl's office now, and Toph steps inside without a word. After a moment, Izuku follows. They have a lot of time before the final matches begin, and it won't take long for Recovery Girl to fix Toph's molar.

Alright, maybe he just wants to watch Recovery Girl heal someone else, for a change.

The look of disgust on Toph's face when she gets smooched by the retired hero is worth it.

"Laugh it up while you can, Mr. Broken Fingers," Toph scowls, wiping her cheek and accepting some gummies from the nurse.

"i didn't say anything," Izuku points out, grinning. "I'm not l-laughing." Or rather, he was keeping it quiet enough that it wasn't really laughter.

"You won't be laughing when I smack that grin off your face, you calcium-deficient broccoli rabe," she says threateningly. Izuku wonders if that was just a guess or if she could actually tell he was grinning by the way he talked. Also, how did she know he had green hair?

"Hey, did they announce the bracket yet?" Toph asks suddenly, exiting the office with him.

Izuku looks around the hallway, searching for one of the monitors from the stadium. UA was a pretty high-tech school, so there were LCD screens to watch the arena from all over the place. "Yes, they have," he confirms, walking towards the closest screen. He hasn't forgotten that Toph's blind, so he reads it out for her benefit. "The first match is Yaoyorozu versus Yoarashi. That's your b—friend, right?" he asks, hoping she doesn't catch the slip-up. They seemed very close, but so did Toph and Todoroki, and asking about it would be incredibly awkward.

"Yeah," Toph confirms, fiddling with her hair tie. Her tone is neutral, but her face says that yes, she noticed his slip up. Izuku reads out the rest of the match-ups quickly so she doesn't bring it up. "You're fighting in match three? Good luck out there, Midoriya," she gives him a hard smack on the back that rattles his whole body.

"Th-thanks, Toph," Izuku sighs, exasperated, as they head towards the food stands set up for students.

"I'd say break a leg, but you'd take it as a challenge."

Izuku huffs. "I'm not that bad. I haven't broken my legs since the entrance exam."

Toph snorts. "That's not an achievement. Listen, Midoriya, this is going to sound hypocritical coming from me, but have you considered not using your quirk at one-thousand percent every time?"

Izuku flounders for a second. "That doesn't even make sense." He points out. If he thought of One for All in terms of percentage, he couldn't go over a hundred percent, it would kill him. Now, if he could properly dial down his output to five or ten percent when he punched, then all his quirk problems would be solved.

"I'm not trying to break my bones by cranking up my strength, that's just what it is!" Izuku protests. "And you're one to talk, you just rearranged a stadium to look cool for a preschooler."

The earthbender rolls her eyes, willfully ignoring his accusation. "Ok, but you don't need to be strong enough to fight god in every match, right?" Izuku flushes at the strange compliment, he's not that strong—"You just need to be stronger than Ashido, or whoever else you fight. Until you fight me, 'cause there's nothing you can do to beat me, that's just fact. Forfeit or die, Midoriya."

"I was just about to ask why you were giving me tips," Izuku says dryly. "So I should use my quirk sparingly and then surrender if I have to fight I miss anything?" Toph didn't know everything about his quirk, otherwise he'd be able to explain just why all of that was stuff he knew and couldn't execute.

"No breaking legs," Toph intones. "Where's your notebook, nerd? You should be writing this down."

"I-I'll just have to remember it for later," Izuku huffs, a little stunned that she's now teasing him. Just a few minutes ago he'd been convinced she was dying. "I won't be using my legs, anyway. Kicking with my quirk will just shatter them. Again," he points out.

Toph's face scrunches up in annoyance. "Well no, your legs are definitely stronger than your arms," she corrects him. "But keep concentrating your quirk like that and you'll fuck up anyway, so it's a moot point."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he shakes his head, not quite understanding what she means by concentrating his quirk. How else would he even use it, if it weren't concentrated…? Izuku dismisses the thought for now. "You should be a teacher," he says jokingly. "You have a way with words."

Toph laughs. "Sifu Toph," she grins. "I always thought that it had a nice ring to it."


"I told you, Inasa. Don't worry about Toph," Shouto repeats, eyeing Shinsou as well. Toph was probably still upset about Kouta, and it wasn't his place to tell anyone about that without Toph's permission. Shouto runs a hand through his bangs. Ugh, he's so sweaty. Inasa swats at him abruptly, and Shouto stares in surprise.

Inasa stares back stubbornly. "Quit scratching, Shou, you're making that bug bite worse."

Shouto hadn't even realized he was itching it again. "Uh. Sorry," he replies, because Inasa's expression makes him feel guilty for some reason.

Shinsou scoffs. "What are you, his mother?"

"I'm looking out for my friend!" Inasa declares, turning on the purple student. "You know what? I'll do the same for you, Zombie Boy. Because we're such good friends now. When's the last time you slept a full eight hours?"

Shinsou pulls a face. "I'm rescinding the olive branch." Inasa advances on him ominously. Shouto wonders when the olive branch was extended in the first place, because Inasa hadn't mentioned it. "Todoroki, take your boy back. He's way too hyped today, what the hell."

"I'm so glad you two are getting along," Shouto says blandly, watching Inasa hover over Shinsou like an overeager 190 centimeter tall puppy. "We should have a slumber party after I win the Sports Festival."

"Win the Sports Festival?" Shinsou raises a thin eyebrow, a challenge in his eyes. "Oh, my dear Shouto, I have some news for you…"

"I'm gonna buy you some sleepytime tea for your birthday next month," Inasa decides cheerfully, steering Shinsou away from Shouto. "And a nice weighted blanket too."

Shinsou gives a nervous laugh. "I'm surprised you even know when my birthday is... can you stop looming over me. What're you doing? You're joking, right? Stop."

"I figured you out, Shinsou." Inasa explains. "This is a one way trip to friendship central."

"No thanks. How do I get off this ride?" Shinsou deadpans.

"You just gotta hug me back, Hitoshi!"

"Ew, don't use my first name—Oof!" Shouto is pretty sure Shinsou just got the wind knocked out of him. Shouto has begun to tune them out at this point, though.

Ashido and lightning guy walk past them, casting curious looks at Inasa and Shinsou. When they give Shouto a questioning look he just shrugs, unfazed by the minor scuffle between the 1-B students that may or may not count as a hug. Inasa is in a really friendly mood today, it seems. It's probably for the best that Toph stays away.

"Hey, you two, listen… is there a water fountain nearby?" Shouto asks.

"Really, man?" is Shinsou's muffled response.

Inasa on the other hand pauses mid-hug to answer Shouto properly. "Yeah, I saw one over there," he points down the hall. "And hey, should I go find Toph? That way I get to nag all three of you in one day, unlock my inner matriarch—"

Shinsou escapes Inasa's loving arms, looking more awake than ever. His hair is extra wild now too. "I liked you better when you hated me indiscriminately, Yoarashi."

Shouto shakes his head, making his way over to the drinking fountain. At least Inasa's having fun annoying Shinsou. "Don't bother Toph, she'll come find us at lunch." He says, pressing the lever to turn on the fountain.

"Shoutooo," Inasa draws out his name, slumping. Shouto takes a sip of water, but then the faucet's stream dribbles to a stop. This is sad. Who knew UA had poor water pressure? "You're keepin' secrets now. I know something's up with Toph."

Shinsou scratches his head. "Relax, Yoarashi. You can ask her at lunch about it. Please, go nag her instead of me."

Shouto nudges the lever on the drinking fountain to no avail. Now he's even thirstier. Usually that only happens if he uses too much ice. "Don't nag her about it," he adds belatedly, giving Inasa a look. "And it's not a secret…"

"Shouto! You're holdin' out on us!" Inasa points at him dramatically.

"No I'm not," he replies, a rush of cool air crashing over him.

Crraack

Inasa startles at the sound. "Whoa!"

Shouto feels a piercing cold touch against his palm. Weird.

"Todoroki?" Shinsou asks, his voice oddly strained.

Shouto blinks, pulling his gaze away from Inasa. He tugs his hand off the drinking fountain, shaking away the bits of ice clinging to his fingers.

Red. Wet.

"Crap," Inasa gasps, reaching for his hand. "Oh buddy, let me see that—"

Shouto pulls back instinctively, the sharp pain finally registering in his palm. He slips a little on the floor, but manages to catch himself. His boots are from his hero costume, and the soles keep their grip on the icy floor. Ice. On the floor. "Um..."

"I'm sorry," Inasa says quickly, confused. "Are you mad? What—"

"I-I'm not mad," Shouto cuts him off, his eyes trained on what's left of the water fountain. It's covered in frost, but the metal parts of the fountain are—broken, jagged pieces. Like glass. "It got so cold, it shattered," he murmurs. "I... I don't know what..." I don't know what just happened.

Shinsou almost loses his balance, tugging his sneakers off the iced ground. He opens his mouth, and Shouto thinks he might be asking something, but it's like listening to voices through water, distorted and distant. Shinsou points to his sleeve.

Shouto's left sleeve, which has caught fire.

That's no good. Shouto feels like he's watching through a television screen, detached and unfeeling. Like his limbs have fallen asleep all of a sudden. The fire doesn't turn off upon his command. Instead, Shouto thinks very hard about lifting his right hand to ice over his left arm. It works, though his body moves robotically, leaving a trail of steam and red, red blood over his left forearm. That's right, he cut his palm.

His hand is icing over. His other hand ignites again, unprovoked.

At this point, Shouto comes to realize something is wrong.

"Inasa," Shouto says quietly. He's not sure if he's speaking, or thinking, or just mouthing the words. He blinks, and then the world shifts its angle, because he's on his knees now, unable to stand.

Inasa is shaking him, he can feel his familiar hands squeezing his shoulders. Shouto tries to look at him properly, but his eyes aren't focusing at all. Everything is blurry. He can't feel his hands. His neck burns like a festering wound.

The world goes dark.


A/N: i had you goin in the first half, eh?