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Power coursed through her veins, fire bloomed from her palm, and agony burned across her mind. There was undeniable heat, but it was cold and -
Touya felt her head slam against the ground.
(She sees what doesn't exist and feels what isn't there -)
"...Touya?"
(There's a silhouette in the distance that she knowsknowsknows but doesn't know why -)
"Touya? Touya!"
(The Earth is shaking beneath her feet and there's power in the air and she can'tcan'tcan't breathe -)
"TOUYA!" Rei screamed, pressing a frost-covered hand against her forehead. The cold shocks her out of the daze. "Please be awake. Oh my god -"
"I'm awake," Touya wheezed, biting her lip until it bled so she could focus. Static buzzed behind her eyes and Quirks weren't supposed to awaken like this -
It took her a moment.
Her Quirk had just awakened.
Her eyes snapped open. "...Okaa-san?"
"You didn't hurt me," Rei whispered, kneeling to brush the hair away from her face. Her hand traces her left arm with panic clearly visible in her eyes. "...Are you okay?"
She looks to her left and, oh -
Her normally fair skin had the color of a light sunburn and was rather hot to the touch. The fire had burned the sleeve and shoulder of her jacket to dust. Adrenaline and something clouded her mind and nerves made it difficult to focus on a line of thought.
Touya's hand spasmed.
She tasted blood and tears and bile and regret on her tongue. "I... I could've burned you. I didn't want to hurt you. I'm sorry."
Rei shook off her coat and draped it over her trembling shoulders. "Never apologize for something that wasn't your fault." Her voice shook. "You're safe, and that's what matters."
Touya peered over Rei's shoulder.
Though her vision was still painfully blurry, - a concussion, surely - she could make out Mother, who aside from a bit of frost on her fingertips, didn't have a hair out of place. The wall of ice that she had summoned to block Touya's attack had a sizzling hole in the middle - Mother must've dodged the rest, then. On skates?
But -
Rei was okay.
(Are you?)
Rei turned her head. "...I have to clean up here. Go get dressed, okay? I'm gonna have to call your Otou-san -"
Touya flinched.
꧁꧂
[11:22] Rei: Get off duty as soon as you can.
[11:22]Rei: We're at The Rink.
Rei is typing...
[11:24] Rei: Touya got her quirk.
Enji is typing...
꧁꧂
Touya closed her eyes.
It did nothing to help the pounding in her head, but she was beginning to think that a concussion wasn't the only cause of pain. Had the knockout happened to her male counterpart? The lines had felt achingly familiar, as did the silhouette, but nothing came to mind.
She couldn't remember.
It was terrifying.
And, while she had hidden symbols and clues scribbled in her Quirk notebooks, they couldn't do much about the smaller details. Her father was fluent in English and would pick up on words she couldn't have known. She needed education and she needed it yesterday.
Enji put a warm hand on her shoulder. "Blue flames, you said?"
Touya pretends not to hear the thrill in his voice.
(It'd be easier to -)
Rei answered with a nod, though her voice was a tad pained. "Color of her eyes, hot enough to melt my ice." Her mother hadn't spoken a word about exactly how Touya had awakened her Quirk, and the show of trust gave her the slightest bit of hope.
Being stuck in a Quirk Specialist office didn't encourage her to hold onto it.
"Nanami-san works with other Pro Heroes and their children," Enji assured the both of them. "She's as professional and confidential as we'll receive."
"Ah, that's me~! Sorry to end your shift, Endeavor-san! Your wife is gorgeous, by the way... and I assume this is Touya-chan?" The woman was wearing an eyesore of a yellow pinstriped suit and comically large glasses. It appeared that her eyes were popping out of her skull.
Professional.
Touya's eye twitched. She was beginning to question what was qualified as a professional in this world.
The walking eyesore sat down at her desk. "Children often awaken their Quirks just after their fourth birthday," Nanami-san explained, flipping through a binder full of papers. "There are exceptions - most commonly caused by either genetics or environmental circumstance. Did any of you experience irregularities with your awakening?"
"I was an early bloomer," Rei frowned. "I showed my first sign of Cyrokinesis seven months before my fourth birthday."
"And how far away is Touya-chan from her fourth birthday?" Nanami-san adjusted her glasses.
"Eight days," she answered smoothly.
"Endeavor-san?"
Enji cleared his throat. "I believe that Hellflame awakened on my fourth birthday, right on schedule."
"Perfect contradictions," the specialist hummed, wiggling her eyebrows. "Fascinating indeed. I suppose opposites do attract, ne?"
Nobody made a sound.
"Moving on," Nanami-san huffed, "you described Touya-chan's Quirk as a blue fire of sorts? Could you go into more detail, Todoroki-san?"
I'm literally right here.
Rei tapped her chin. "It seemed more... aggressive, compared to my husband's. I believe the base temperature was hotter than his as well."
"Hotter than Hellflame?" Enji frowned, a glint growing in his eyes. The Flame Hero didn't need his Quirk on display to be intimidating. "Touya?"
Oh -
"I thought they were like the stars," Touya answered quietly, keeping her eyes glued to the floor. "Blue stars are the hottest, followed by white, yellow, orange... and then red. My flames should be hotter, right?"
Rei hummed.
Nanami-san stared. "And you know this how?"
"I read it in a book," she said confidently.
"She got into the library, then," Rei sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Is this after I found your notebooks?"
Touya slumped in her seat. "Yes, Okaa-san."
"Your daughter is awfully bright," Nanami-san chirped, ignoring the deadpan look from the entire family. "Now, Touya-chan, would you mind showing me your Quirk?"
Rei's temperature flickered. "Is that necessary, Doctor?"
She unzipped her coat - Enji had brought her a change of clothes before the appointment - and rolled up her sleeve. "It's okay, Okaa-san. It doesn't hurt as much as you think."
Nanami-san scribbled something down.
Touya stared down at her palm, ignoring the concerned look from her mother. "How big?"
"The size of a candle should be enough," the specialist answered, not looking up from her papers. "If you can control it, that is."
Sounds like a challenge.
Touya closed her eyes and wasn't really sure where to begin. During the awakening, she had felt a warm tug at the back of her gut and... the energy of sorts. It was identifiable enough to have a theory, yet too vague to have a solid idea.
Meditation had been something she'd been capable of in the past, but the three pairs of eyes didn't make it easier. Touya liked to think of her meditative state like the night sky - searching for answers in the stars - or the drifting wind of thought. Did Mindscapes exist? It was something to explore later.
It didn't take her long to feel the heat circling her body. Slowly - just a trickle, like the flame of a candle - she leads the heat to her palm and -
Rei grabbed her wrist and her control slipped. "You're going to set off the fire alarm."
Touya blinked.
"I apologize for my short-sightedness," Nanami-san bowed her head. "Thank you for your intervention, Todoroki-san. You've prevented a big bout of trouble."
Enji, who looked the most disappointed of the group, crossed his arms. He wouldn't take his eyes off her. "Is there anything else?"
"Of course!" The specialist chirped, turning her bug-eyes back to the red-haired girl. "I'm guessing you want to be a hero like your Otou-san?"
Touya nodded.
Nanami-san didn't look impressed.
"Yes," she says firmly, turquoise eyes sharpening at the present doubt. "I want to be a hero."
(Do you?)
"Heroes need an iconic Quirk and build," the specialist began, turning to face the Pro in the room. "Not only the name. Ultimate Moves, more subtle moves... What'll it be, Touya-chan?"
"Should it not be Cremation?" Enji frowned. At Touya's shake of the head, he furrows a brow. "It's the most fitting name for a Quirk of your nature."
"I don't like it," Touya frowned, staring down at her palm. Stop talking. Stop talking. "...I don't think I can be intimidating as the name Cremation suggests."
Nanami-san raised a brow. "Oh?"
"Fire doesn't have to burn," she muttered.
Enji's eye twitched.
Stop talking, she internally hissed. What happened to choosing your battles wisely?
But she couldn't stop.
Touya's eyes flashed. "I want my flames to be a guiding light - a symbol of hope. I don't want my Quirk to be seen as a shortcut to murder."
Her words silenced the room.
"If I can create flames, I should be able to control heat too, right?"
(The Old Touya's flames were too hot for his body to handle. But what if he found a way to cool down?)
"And where did you learn about thermodynamics?" Enji crossed his arms. Oh, that was a scary look.
"...I saw beginner theory in her notes," Rei hummed. "Nothing named, but it had connected heat and energy defined fairly accurately. I wouldn't be surprised if she stumbled upon the term." Touya felt the tension rush out of her shoulders.
"I'm not experienced in physics," The specialist chirped. "More of a biology girl, myself! I have no idea what you're talking about, is what I'm trying to say. Have you decided on the Quirk name, then?"
Is this woman bipolar? Touya wondered, looking anywhere but her father.
Enji confirmed Cremation before she could protest and the specialist snapped her binder close with a snap. "Good, good! You'll have to come back in another year for a progress report, but you're all done, Touya-chan! Thanks for bringing her in, Endeavor-san, Todoroki-san." A quick bow. "It was an honor!"
Touya not-so-secretly hopes that this is the last time she has to speak to Nanami, but the bug-eyed woman didn't hold much of her attention after the encounter. Enji's eyes glaring down at her were the priority, and she had half a mind to return it.
And, while her father was known for his resting grump face... angry didn't seem like the right word to use. Nobody tried to speak on the car ride home, but the silence wasn't a painful one. When they finally make it back home, Enji offered Touya a hand.
There wasn't time to rest.
While she had proved herself to be promising intellectually, it was time to prove her prowess with a power that tried to burn her alive. Entropy would either be her greatest strength or her eventual downfall, and failure was not an option.
(Failure is blood and clipped wings and a shattered horizon; failure is despair and darkness and a night without stars.)
Failure is Death.
There was no other choice.
Touya took Enji's hand.
꧁꧂
(Part Two End)
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