Midori the Phoenix
Chapter 10: The Outcast Prodigy
It was graduation day and All Might bounced Midori on his knee while proudly watching each and every member of Class 3A come up to receive their diplomas. Mirio sat beside him in full hero gear, arms crossed and chin lifted proudly.
"Hard to believe I was in their shoes not that long ago." Mirio beamed. "I've worked so much over the past couple years that it feels like a decade."
"You've done well for yourself Mirio, and you're already in the top twenty in the hero ranks." All Might pat his shoulder. "I couldn't have asked for a better successor."
"Thanks, that means a lot to me coming from you. Sir thinks I should go to America for a time, and I think I will."
"Call Melissa, she's settled down there now I'm sure she can find you an agency to work with for a time."
"I'll do that. I've been worried about her ever since we found out her father disappeared. I'm certain the league's behind it, but we haven't been able to find any clues."
"Dave…" All Might sighed and looked down at Midori who watched the stage with wide beaming eyes. "His involvement with Karma must have gotten him kidnapped, or worse. I'd hate to think what they've done to him."
"Then let's not." Mirio touched his shoulder. "Leave finding David Shield to me, All Might. I'll volunteer for the case when I go to America, and I won't stop until I find his whereabouts. I want to give both you and Melissa some peace of mind."
"I very much appreciate that, Togata." He returned his attention to the stage, watching Shoto collect his diploma and bow. "I hear young Bakugo and Todoroki have decided to remain interns under Nighteye."
"Yes, Ground Zero and Endurance are already making names for themselves. It won't be long before either of them go solo." Mirio boasted. "I've got some major competition coming my way. I better not mess up."
~Dorms~
"Well guys this is it…" Uraraka sighed as she looked up at the building with misty eyes. "We're all going our separate ways from here."
"We've been together for three years," Yaoyorozu brushed away tears of her own. "It feels so much longer."
"Hey!" Tohru picked up a camera. "Let's take a group photo in front of the dorm as a keepsake."
"Good idea! Get it set up, I'll go grab Bakugo and Todoroki." Uraraka ran back inside just as the elevator door opened and the devils themselves stepped out with duffle bags across their shoulders. "Hey there you two are! Come on we're gonna take a group photo and we need everyone from the class together."
"Seriously, pink cheeks?" Bakugo groaned. "The old hag has been taking photos of me all day, I'm sick of it."
"Oh, come o, don't be like that Bakugo!" She grabbed his arm holding on even as he squirmed. "Everyone needs to be in it, it's a momento." Suddenly she got a glint in her eyes and pulled out her ace in the hold. "I thought Midori might like to have one."
"Hah?" He stopped struggling. "Why would the brat want one? She's barely two, she won't remember any of this."
"That's exactly my point. We'll remember her, but after today there will be another whole new generation of students at this school. I want her to remember us even if it's through a photograph. I want her to look at it and know, even if she doesn't remember all the details, that she was friends with us."
Bakugo's face softened and he gave a heavy sigh while rubbing the back of his neck.
"You're such a sap, pink cheeks. Fine, let's get this over with. Icy Hot and I have got a train to catch."
"Great!" They walked outside, Mina and Tohru setting up a tripod as everyone else collected together, Iida assigning everyone to a pleasant composition. Midori mingled around them, with Aizawa's careful eye on her from the sideline.
Bakugo stood on the first step with Shoto beside him. Midori immediately ran to them, bouncing in her dress shoes. The cute outfit the girl's had put her in, a red dress with white frilly socks, just added to her adorable look.
"Kacchan! Shoto! Up! Up!" She held her arms out to them. Her face was all smiles, which made them both wonder if Midori was even aware of what was going on right now. Bakugo acted first, picking her up then positioned her between himself and Shoto. Midori cuddled her cheek to Bakugo's then stretched her hand out for Shoto. "Too far!"
"Bossy little brat," Bakugo grunted as Shoto stepped in closer, hooking his arm around Bakugo making him grunt more. Their shoulders touched and he pressed his face on the other side of Midori's.
"Better?" He asked, peeking around to look at Bakugo's reddened face. Midori giggled in response. The rest of the class crowded in and the picture was taken. Everyone had a chance to peek at it, Midori being the last and she held the camera with Shoto's help smiling at the image inside.
"Dat's me!" She pointed a finger at herself.
"Sure is," Shoto smiled and rubbed the top of her head. He glanced up at Tohru. "Mind sending me a copy of this? I'll print it out and give it to her when I come back to visit."
"Sure thing, I was gonna send everyone a copy since I snagged everybody's new e-mails." Tohru waved her phone, and though no one could see, there were definitely tears in her voice. "Wow guys, I guess this is it, huh?"
"Yeah, guess so." Kirishima hooked an arm around Sero and Kaminari. "Sure gonna be lonely without you guys around… Now that we're all adults let's make sure to meet up now and again for drinks or something."
"Sounds great!" Uraraka nodded and then knelt down beside Midori. "It was great getting a chance to be with you, Midori." She pet her hair, tears welling up in her eyes. "We'll all come back and visit when we can, so be sure to stay sweet and remember us, okay?"
"Why you cry?" Midori frowned and squished her cheeks together pushing them up. Midori beamed at her when it made the face funny. "I like you happy!"
"Uwahhhh!" Uraraka cuddled her close sobbing now. "Midori-chan! I'm gonna miss you!"
"We all are," Yaoyorozu agreed and had to pry Midori away in order to get a hug of her own. One by one the kids of Class 3A said their goodbyes to the little girl… until only Todoroki and Bakugo were left.
Shoto stepped up, kneeling down he pulled something out of his pocket.
"This belonged to your mother, Midori." He cupped it in his hand, his face sober and eyes sad. "One day when you're older we'll talk about her… until then I think this is the best representation I have of her." He opened his palm, and the glittering gold medal from their first year sports festival gleamed back. Midori's eyes went wide with pure female admiration. "Keep it safe."
Midori held it, confused but slowly grasping what was happening, her smile began to fade. When Bakugo crouched down her eyes looked up pleadingly.
"Kacchan go away?"
"Yeah, I'm going." He rubbed the top of her head between the pigtails. "Icy Hot and I are heroes now, so stop being a brat, behave yourself, or we'll come punish you yah trouble maker."
Midori's eyes misted over with tears, but they didn't fall. She nodded obediently at his words.
"You promise? You promise to come back?"
His face warmed, and a rare genuine smile spread across his lips. He held out his pinky and she took it with hers.
"I promise, Midori."
Midori's eyes widened and glazed over as that exact phrase rang alarm bells in her head. She saw flashes and images of a young Bakugo making a similar promise, of his confident smile, his infectious laugh, and impressive back. She watched that back now, walking away from her tall and strong.
She'd always been afraid that he'd leave her behind.
The medal Todoroki had put in her hands fell to the floor and the tears fell as she ran after Bakugo.
No… you can't leave! You promised we'd stay together! You promised we'd become heroes together! Kacchan… Kacchan…
"Don't go!" Midori screamed and cried even as Aizawa plucked her up and started carrying her inside again. "Don't leave me behind!"
~2 years later~
Midori bounced the soccer ball as she came down the hallway of the new class 1A dorm. She'd become somewhat accustomed to the life at U.A. or at least as much as any four year old could. The occupants of the dorm were always changing and her guardians were always so busy that she was often left alone with little to keep herself entertained. She got really good at solo activities like solitaire, drawing, and even juggling a soccer ball with her feet. Some of those things were really difficult at first, but the more time she spent on it the easier it got.
The alone time also left her opportunities to explore, and poke into areas that not any normal kid her age could do. When Uncle Aizawa took her to the main campus she liked exploring the rooms, her favorite being the support course room. They always had all kinds of interesting stuff in there, and the teacher encouraged her curiosity.
Still it wasn't the same as having friends.
She was lonely, and wanted kids to play with for a change. She hoped that someone among the new crop of students would play with her. She wanted someone who could teach her new things and praise her when she did them well. She wanted to try real games like Soccer where you had more than one person kicking around the ball. It sounded challenging and fun, especially with older kids.
She heard the voices of two students coming from the common room, and caught the bouncing soccer ball on the fly. Hopeful and curious she walked over to see who it was.
"Ugh I hate math…" A brunette boy named Takeru scowled down at his notebook. "I can never figure out what order to put the numbers in."
"Have you tried using the reference book?" His friend, Junie, asked and leaned into him to peek at his paper.
"I tried, but I can't make heads or tails of the greek in there." Takeru slumped. "I'm so gonna fail this class."
Midori's big green eyes assessed the frustrated look on the boy's face, and then the confused look on the female. She wondered what it was about math that put such expressions on their faces.
"Damn it! It's just not coming out right. X is supposed to equal 10, and the value of Y is 2, but when I do the math with the variables they're not equaling out."
"That's because you're still following commutative law." Midori's soft yet competent voice spoke up. Both older kids turn their heads to eye Midori. She had poked her head from the opposite side of Takeru and was reading the problem in question. "Commutative law is only compatible if you're strictly using addition or multiplication, not subtraction." She pointed to the subtraction symbol and then the Y variable. Both Junie and Takeru were awestruck by the large vocabulary coming out of this toddler's mouth. "When you do the math, you need to multiply this with two before you subtract and get your answer."
"Huh? Oh…" Takeru changed his attention back to the problem… and blinked in surprise when the variables came out correctly. "Hey, you're right!" Takeru grinned big and turned to look at her. "That's amazing, Midori! How do you know high school math? Has Aizawa sensei been teaching you?"
Midori stared at him blankly for a minute. Honestly she didn't know where the information had come from. Deciding to shrug it off she just gave him a grin.
"I live in a school, silly. Of course I know this stuff."
"Of course…" Takeru's face went blue and Junie pat it supportingly. Neither of them felt all that great about being outsmarted by a four year old.
"Since I helped you, maybe you can help me!" She put the ball on the table. "Can you teach me how to play soccer? I really want to play, and I can't do it by myself. Please!"
"Oh… uh I'd love to Midori." Takeru rubbed the back of his head. "...but I really need to finish my homework. How about I teach you this weekend we can, okay?"
"Mmmkay…" Happy with that compromise, she turned away balancing the ball on her head and humming to herself. Takeru watched her as he gathered up his papers and put them in his bags.
"Man that kid is something else. Is she really only four years old?"
"Maybe her quirk is that she's just really really smart."
Midori paused around the corner, the ball fell from her head and she clutched it to her chest as she listened. She wasn't sure what made her stay, all she knew was that she wanted to hear what they had to say about her.
"Maybe she's a prodigy… can you imagine what it'll be like when she's older? She could grow up to be anything she wants with a brain like that."
Midori smiled and her cheeks flushed with pleasure at being praised.
"I dunno about that, I mean she is the kid of a villain after all."
The pleasure faded, and Midori felt all the warmth from their praise drain away, leaving her cold. Her grip on the ball tightened, friction increasing as she tried to take her mind off the pain building in her chest.
"Yeah that is a shame… She would make a great hero if given the chance." Takeru shouldered his bag. "...but there's no way the principal would let a villain kid join U.A. Especially Karma's kid."
Tears slipped out one by one even as she heard them walk away. Their joint laughter and words stabbed her over and over until she couldn't breath. She squeezed the ball tighter, her breath heaving out as the pressure in her chest started to burn. She jumped in shock as the thick soccer ball popped like a balloon and it's remains sprinkled on the floor. Midori shook, kneeling down to pick up the charred pieces in her hands. The hot tears were still spilling out, and an extra level of fear shivered over her.
"Why the hell are you crying?"
She gasped at the voice, and dropped the pieces in her hand as she closed her hands over her ears. There it was again... the scary yet familiar voice.
"Stop your crying, you stupid child. It's not like you wanted to be a hero in the first place, right?"
"No, that's right I didn't." She quickly wiped the tears away sniffling. "I don't want to be a hero."
"Then there's nothing to cry about. What those kids say doesn't matter. So don't cry, because you're better than that."
"That's right…" Midori sniffed and pressed her back to the wall, She looked at her hands, and rubbed her fingers together. She felt the heat building up and burning through her fingertips. "I'm not a hero, I've always known that." The hurt subsided and was replaced with cool disdain. "So there's no reason to cry."
~Several Days Later~
"Mirio!" All Might shot up from his desk as Lemillioin strutted into the room costume and all. "It's good to see you, my boy."
"Likewise, All Might." Mirio exchanged manly hugs then stood back and gave all the other teachers in the room a wave. "Been awhile since I've seen this campus. Glad to see not much has changed."
"How are things in America?" All Might asked anxiously. "Has there been any new developments in the case?"
"We managed to track down the lab he'd been working in. There's notes and files on projects he's worked on but nothing revolving around Karma or the league. It's all old work from the company he was contracted to."
"I see," All Might sighed. "Two years, and still nothing."
"Don't lose hope, All Might." Mirio placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Melissa hasn't. We've been working closely together the last few years. She's been helping me a great deal, and is remaining positive despite the drawbacks on the case."
"Sweet Melissa… always the optimist. I heard she's become a spokesperson for quirkless kids."
"Yep, she's creating a program that helps out quirkless kids unleash their untapped potential. She says she wants to help all kids build confidence and have faith in the future. She's a wonderful woman." Mirio scratched his cheek blushing a little when he got sly looks from Midnight. "Anyway, how are things here? Is Midori doing alright?"
"She's growing more and more everyday, and has become somewhat of a prodigy." All Might boasted. "Just the other day I saw her bundled up in the corner of her room reading a Shakespeare play."
"Really? You sure she wasn't just pretending?" Mirio wondered, but beamed at the image it created in his head.
"Nope, she was even reciting it word for word. She's reading, writing, doing math way beyond her age level. Aizawa claims he hasn't taught her a thing, but I think he or one of the other teachers is secretly tutoring her… and she's just soaking it up like a little sponge."
"That's great to hear… I'm gonna poke over to the dorms and visit her."
"I have some paperwork I need to catch up on, but why don't we meet for dinner tonight. My treat?"
"It's a date," Mirio gave a thumbs up and laughed. He exited the teacher's lounge and started heading out of the school. He waved to some familiar faces and paused now and again to soak in the nostalgia of his Alma mater.
When he reached the dorms things were very peaceful, and quiet. Birds were chirping, the wind blew the leaves of the trees, and the fresh scent of spring filled his nose. Walking closer to the front door, the peace of the moment was ruined by an inaudible series of words strung together in a run-on sentence.
Curious and amused Mirio followed it to its source, and spotted the famiiar green haired pixie curled up in a ball and hiding on the side of the building.
"I thought that was you."
Midori's head shot up, frazzled that she'd been caught mid-rant, but then she saw the bright and bold smile of Lemillion and relaxed.
"Big Brother Mirio..." She smiled a little and giggled when his big hands ruffled her hair. "You're back from America. It's so good to see you! Does Papa Might know you're back?"
"Yep, I just came back from visiting with him." He crouched down to eye level with her. "He tells me you've been a good girl, and staying out of trouble, I'm glad to hear it."
"Don't let Papa fool you, Uncle Aizawa and the other teachers will tell you I'm nothing but trouble." She teased and hugged her legs tighter to her chest. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too," he reached out brushing a hand over her curls again. He saw the different expression on her face… the cool and distant smile that wasn't anything like the ball of sunshine he'd seen only months ago. "Are you alright? Is there something going on that I should know about?"
"It's not important." She rocked back and forth a little, her head turned down.
"I have a hard time believing it's nothing." He plucked her up and hefted her up high, she managed a little giggle when he tossed her up and caught her again. "Come on, why don't you tell me about it while I grab a cup of tea."
"Mmmm…" she hugged him around the neck burying her face there. "Okay."
~A few minutes later~
"I want to ask you something." Midori took the seat across from him and kicked her feet back and forth on the chair.
"Sure, fire away Midori-chan." Mirio poured himself tea and took a long sip before setting his mug down.
"What do you know about Izumi Midoriya?"
"Hmmm…" surprised by the question, Mirio looked up at Midori. Her face was serious and just a bit confused. "Your mother?"
"I know she was a student here. Kacchan and Uncle Shoto knew her really well, and I heard all the talk and rumors. I guess I just wanna separate fact from fiction." She gave a careless shrug.
"You know the way you speak is not at all the way a kid your age should sound…" without losing his smile Mirio looked down at his mug of tea thoughtfully. "What do you want to know about her?"
"Did you like her?" She leaned forward on her hands. "You know, before she became a villain and stuff."
"I liked your mother very much, Midori. She was smart, strong, and resilient. You remind me a lot of her, in fact." He tensed up when Midori winced at what he said. "Not that I think you're villainous, you just have a lot of her good qualities that's all."
"That's what a lot of people say." She sighed heavily. "I remind them of her, and that I'm just like her. It's… strange."
"Strange how, and why does that seem to bother you so much? Your mom was a good person, Midori. She just made bad decisions that's all." He took her hand and pet it.
"I know that. I hear the talk, and read the online articles that paint her as a kind of vigilante… but it's just... I… well… when… and..." she fidgeted and poked her fingers together, not sure how to continue the conversation.
"Midori… it's okay. If you have a question just ask." He motioned her to keep talking. "Tell me what you really want to know."
"It's just…" She took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "Are you and the other heroes sure that Karma is dead?"
The question caught Mirio off guard, and his expression turned uncharacteristically serious.
"Why would you ask that?"
"I keep having dreams about her." She admitted and held her head. "I keep seeing pictures in my head. Things like her as a kid, going to school, playing and arguing with Kacchan… No one's ever told me stories, or given any details about stuff like that but it all feels so real to me. Like it actually happened."
She shuddered as a cold chill ran through her.
"...and then last night… I spoke to her for the first time."
~Dream~
Midori turned around in a circle, the small apartment was both strange and familiar to her. There were ghosts of a woman singing as she cooked in the kitchen, of a man with white curly hair and a big booming voice, of a little girl in an All Might Jersey bouncing around on the furniture declaring "I am here!"
"Where am I?"
"Where it all started…" A voice, very much like her own but with deep husky tones, spoke from behind her. Midori turned again, and tensed up as she looked at her own face, but one that was scarred and eyed filled with trauma. This woman had seen things, horrific things.
"Are you… Karma?"
"Yes," She stepped from the shadows, older, probably about 20 or so, and full-figured. Her black costume had tears and patches, but the one clean piece was the black trench that flowed around her like big black bird wings. "Four years have passed, but I still haven't been freed from my prison."
"Prison?" Midori watched Izumi hold out a hand, her fingers brushing across the walls and setting them aflame.
"Yes… and I'm tired of waiting, I'm tired of hiding in the shadows…" eyes glowing and quirk flowing out she turned to Midori. "Set me free, unleash the power hiding inside you!"
Midori screamed as the entire apartment went up in flames, trapping her inside of it.
~End of Dream~
"Then I woke up…" She looked down at her hands. "...and I got my quirk."
"You got your quirk?" Mirio smiled brightly at this. "That's wonderful, Midori-chan. What is it?"
Midori frowned and she reached her hand out towards the candle on the table… The fire flickered and then went out, the heat radiating into her hands and then erupted out of her palm.
Midori Todoroki, Quirk: Combustion- Can manipulate and concentrate heat into a central point allowing it to increase in temperature and ignite.
The sudden explosion of fire made Mirio jump and he rushed around the table to take her hand. He looked them over, saw no damage done to them. He let out a quick sigh of relief and looked into Midori's sober expression.
"Does it hurt at all when you do this, Midori-chan?"
"No…" She closed her fists and brought them back to her chest. "It just surprised me, that's all."
"Well that's good at least." He closed his hand over hers. "Midori-chan. You're scared, I can tell. You're scared that Karma might be trying to control you somehow… but I don't think that's the case."
"Then why is all this happening?" She shoved away, jumping off the chair and hugging herself. "Why do I hear her voice in my head? Why do I know things about her when I shouldn't? Why Do I feel like she's always watching me?"
He didn't have all those answers, Mirio thought with a frown. He didn't know what was going on inside this little girl. Just hours ago All Might had been praising the girl as if she were a prodigy… a smart, and gifted little girl who wasn't even in double digits. Mirio was starting to think that prodigy may be the incorrect way to describe what Midori was.
"I don't know, Midori. All I know is that she's a part of you... but she can't control you unless you let her. Your actions and choices are your own. No one can force you to do anything you don't want to do… and no one can tell you what NOT to do." He smiled at her and knelt down so that they were eye level. He turned her so that she faced him and took her chin in his hands to lift it up. "Listen to your heart, not your head, and I can guarantee you'll never regret your decisions."
Midori felt her whole body go rigid. Somehow she felt as if she'd heard those words before, but in a different context, and from a different person. Whatever the case, Mirio was right. It was her decision on what to do.
"Mmmm…" Her smile was slow but genuine. "You're right. Thanks, Big Brother." She stood up on her tip toes and hugged Mirio around the neck. Comforted, she lay her head under his chin cuddling in. Big Brother Mirio always made her feel so warm and at ease; his presence bright and cheerful like the sun. "You really are a great hero."
~Ask Briry~
Briry: I may have rushed this chapter a bit. I went through two time skips in two chapters so I'll slow things down a bit for the next chapter so I can properly give context on what's gonna happen.
Next Chapter: The Prodigy and the Protege