Rule #29: Change your perspective; your faults & weaknesses might just be your strengths

The following morning found a tired and bedraggled Toru slumped over her breakfast and trying her best to hide the grin that was threatening to spread across her face. Across from her sat an equally bedraggled Todoroki with his hair pointing in all directions and one shoulder of his large t-shirt had slipped off to reveal the bare skin beneath as he ate. It was quite the contrast from his usually prim & proper appearance and even better, he had yet to notice his red and white crackle-painted toe nails!

"Alright there, kiddos?" Matchstick greeted joyfully as he shuffled passed in his obnoxiously pink polka-dot pyjamas, placing his umpteenth empty tea cup and breakfast plate in the dishwasher. Toru merely grunted around a mouthful of rice while Todoroki gave a quick nod in the hero's direction.

"Well" Matchstick clapped his hands once, gaining the teens' attention, "You'll be please to hear that Endeavour is out of town on business—meaning you're with us today, Katy" At this, he ruffled Todoroki's messy bed hair affectionately whilst Toru snorted into her miso at Todoroki's confused expression, "Meet me up on the rooftop when you're done"

"…Whose Katy?" Todoroki asked after a pause as he watched Matchstick shuffle towards his dorm to get ready for the day.

"You" Grinned Toru.

"Me? I'm not Katy…" Todoroki turned back to her, still confused.

"She's this old classical singer" Toru explained puling out her cellphone and searching for the song that Matchstick was no doubt referencing, "He's probably referring to this song…" She skipped to the chorus and hit play.

…'Cause you're hot then you're cold

You're yes then you're no

You're in then you're out

You're up then you're down

You're wrong when it's right

It's black and it's white

We fight, we break up

We kiss, we make up

(You) You don't really want to stay, no

(You) But you don't really want to go-o

You're hot then you're cold

You're yes then you're no

You're in then you're out

You're up then you're down…

"…I wouldn't take it personally, Matchstick gives everyone nicknames; hell in the last couple of days he's given me at least three!" Toru continued as she removed herself from the table and went to place her empty plates in the dishwasher.

"…Why?" Toru turned to see that Todoroki was still confused.

"Uh…it's like a term of endearment" Toru tried to explain. How can he not know…?

"Endearment? But he called me a girl…"

"Yeah, but y'know, it's like when your siblings tease you, right? Like, they'll call you names and such, but they still care. It's kinda like that"

"Oh"

"I'll, uh, see you on the roof" Toru retreated from the room, to get ready for the day.


Dressed in her activewear (a pair of hot pink sweatpants, a loose grey hoodie tank top that sat overtop of a pastel pink sports bra that could be seen through the long arm holes which reached down to her chest and no shoes) Toru met Todoroki in the elevator headed for the roof. A quick glance at the other teen showed that he had changed into a loose off-white tank top and a pair of grey sweatpants were matched with a pair of sneakers that had seen better days.

DING! DONG!

"…Uh, hello…?" Toru called as the two teens drew nearer to where Matchstick currently sat in a meditative position amongst the rooftop garden.

"Hm?" Matchstick—simply dressed in a pair of black leggings— peeled open his eyes, "Oh, good you're here. Toru we'll be working on your chakra gates—" He patted the ground next to him and Toru sat down across from him, "—and Todoroki, I'm sure you've got your own exercises to be working on" Todoroki nodded his assent before moving over to the rock garden where he began to run through his katas.

"Sooo,…are you ready to begin, Lil' Lady?" Matchstick turned to Toru who had laid her legs flat on the ground with the soles of her feet touching each other in the butterfly pose.

"Ummm…yesterday you said you could teach me to gain control of my Quirk without the use of the emotional switch—How?" Toru asked.

"First you must gain balance within yourself before you can use your Quirk to its fullest potential" Matchstick replied sagely.

"Is that how it worked with yours?" Toru tilted her head in question.

"Mmhm" Matchstick nodded before pulling out a tea cup filled with some kind of thick creamy liquid, "And the first step to gaining balance begins with this. Drink up"

"Uh, okay" Toru hesitantly took the aforementioned cup and took a large slurp from it. It took a moment for the odd taste to settle over her tongue, before she quickly spat it out, getting most of it on the ground and her chin. "EURGH! It tastes like creamy garlic and caramel juice!"

"That's because it's durian juice! Yummy!" Matchstick took a long swig of his own cup.

How can he drink that? Toru scrunched her nose up in disgust as Matchstick licked his chops, happily exhaling as he set down his own cup next to Toru's abandoned one.

"In order to master your Quirk, you must open all the chakras" Matchstick turned serious once more as he explained, "Toru, tell me everything you know about chakras"

"Uh…they're rainbow coloured?" Toru replied.

"Oh, I see. I guess we'll start with the basics" Matchstick rose and led Toru over to the far corner of the rooftop garden where a creek lay containing several pools of water at varying levels and flowed into each other.

Crouching down at the edge of the top pool, Matchstick picked up a crooked branch and began poking at the algae floating on the surface as he explained, "The water flows through this creek much like the energy flows through your body. You see, there are several pools where the water swirls before flowing on. These pools are like our chakras"

"So chakras are like pools of energy that spiral inside our bodies?" Toru questioned, her eyes trailing over the lazily moving water.

"Exactly! If nothing else were around, this creek would flow pure and clear. However life is messy and things tend to fall in the creek, and then what happens?"

"The creek can't flow?"

"Yes! But if we open the paths between the pools—" Reaching out over the first pool, Matchstick used the branch to lift out the algae blocking the way which allowed the clear water to flow into the next pool and so on.

"—The energy flows!" Toru exclaimed.

Moving over to the edges of the rock garden so that the pair were out of the way of Todoroki's training, Matchstick sat the pair down and began to teach the teenager. "There are seven chakras that go up the body. Each pool of energy has a purpose and can be blocked by a specific kind of emotional muck—be warned, opening the chakra gates is an intense experience and different for each person. Are you ready?"

"…Yes" Toru nodded.

"Right, close your eyes and let's begin" Matchstick instructed, "First we'll open the earth chakra which is located in the base of the spine. It deals with survival and is blocked by fear. What are you most afraid of? Let your fears become clear"

Flashes of images passed in front of Toru's closed lids as she tried to focus on frightened her most. Being forgotten by her friends and family, being told to kill your teacher within the year or else, nearly loosing her closest friends to a man-made sickness driven by vengeful men, being held captive and leered at by strange men, the dark-eyed men who prowled the night searching for easy prey…

The list just went on, but soon one particular fear came to the forefront of her mind, one which always set her on edge no matter what she tried. It was the memory of a man drunk on the idea of revenge and power. A dark figure surrounded by a ring of towering wildfire and monstrous tentacles of every size and shape flowed around the muscular figure like hair in the wind.

"AHH!" Toru physically cowered away from the vision before her. Her heart felt like it was trying to jackhammer out of her chest!

"Toru, your vision's not real" Matchstick's gentle voice echoed throughout Toru's mind and she clung to it like a lifeline, "You' re concerned for you survival, but you must surrender those fears. Let your fears flow down the creek"

Clenching her eyes shut, both physically and mentally, Toru heaved a big shuddering sigh as she imagined the fearful image washing away. "Congratulations! You have opened your earth chakra!" Smiled Matchstick when Toru reopened her eyes and wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Phew" Toru sighed, absentmindedly taking note that Todoroki had paused in his exercises and was watching concernedly.


Next the pair moved over to seat themselves next to the koi pond where Matchstick had turned on the sprinklers behind them to both water the garden and create ambience for the next task. "Next is the—" Matchstick began.

"—Water chakra?" Toru guessed.

"That's right! This chakra deals with pleasure and is blocked by guilt. Now look inside yourself at all the guilt that burdens you so. What do you blame yourself for?"

Toru closed her eyes once more and linking her hands together thought back on what made her feel guilty. Koro-Sensei stared up at the sky with happy tears in his eyes as each one of his beloved students uselessly pinned down a limp tentacle so that Nagisa could pierce his heart. "I helped kill someone" Toru meekly confessed.

A brutally beaten Tamaki lay limply and lifeless in her lap as she tried her best to resuscitate her friend. Behind the teen, her grandmother's tortured body lay lifeless on the table. "I got my friends and family hurt"

A young pale and sickly Toru lay in the hospital bed, practically hooked up to every machine in the room as she listened to her mother and doctor outside the cracked door. Mother was exclaiming that she couldn't afford to pay for both the transplant and school tuition. "I made Mother chose"

"A-accept the reality that these things happened; but do not let them cloud and poison your energy. If you are to be a positive influence, you need to forgive yourself" Matchstick stumbled a little as he took in Toru's confessions.


After a brief break which Matchstick used to build a small fire in the empty pit, the two sat down on either side of the flickering flames and began again. "Third is the fire chakra located in the stomach"

"My fire chakra would like to eat something other than durian juice" Toru complained as her stomach growled hungrily, demanding to be fed lunch. But Matchstick merely laughed it off.

"Hahahaha! Good one! Anyway, moving on, this chakra deals with will power and it is blocked by shame. What are you ashamed of? What are your biggest disappointments in yourself?"

A tearful Toru sat huddled in the furtherest bathroom stall of the mall with hands covering her mouth in an attempt to stifle any loud noises, least she be discovered by the creatures prowling around outside.

Outside she could hear the singing taunts of her peers as they mocked her new appearance. How even among the star-studded and mind-boggling inhabitants of this new city, she was still seen as weird and ugly—the jagged scar on her chest being the vocal point of many questioning stares and pitiful looks."I'm never gonna show myself again, I can't"

"You will never find balance if you can't accept yourself for who you are. You are scarred and therefore, a survivor—beautiful and whole" Matchstick retorted softly, gazing at the girl with caring eyes.

Toru heaved a shuddering breath as tears collected in the corners of her eyes but refused to fall. "Hmm…" Matchstick mused, "That chakra gate opened less like a flowing creek and more like a burping dragon"

BUUURRRP! Toru belched, making a face at the second-hand taste she received from the durian juice. "…Tastes like garlic and caramel, but also…chives?"

"Mm?" Matchstick just shrugged in response.


As the day drew on, Toru and Matchstick hopped around the garden, each time choosing a different spot for a chakra gate to be opened. This time, the pair were seated on the roots of the apple trees growing there. "…The fourth chakra is located in the heart. It deals with love and is blocked by grief. Lay all your grief out in front of you"

Grammy, Mother, Tamaki, Koro-Sensei and Yukimura-Sensei stood together holding hands; each of them peaceful and smiling. Toru felt happy that she got to see all of her favourite people alive and well, but it didn't last long. It was almost like they were glitching—the scene in front of her twitched and crackled before being replaced with them as she last knew them.

Grammy hanging from the ceiling like a macabre chandelier, Mother knee-deep in bills and empty bottles, Tamaki lying lifeless in her arms as help finally arrived, Koro-Sensei staring listlessly up at the starry night sky as it slowly melted into dawn and Yukimura-Sensei who was there one moment and gone the next.

"You have indeed felt a great loss, little Spitfire" Matchstick spoke as the gathering tears finally fell from Toru's red eyes as she murmured each person's name, "But love is a form of energy and it dances all around us. Your family's love for you has not left this world; it's still inside your heart just in another form. Let the pain flow away"

Profiles of 3-E and 1-A flitted through her mind—it was the camaraderie in the little things, like having lunch together or beating another class at sport's day that made Toru smile despite her tears.

"Very good"


"The chakra gate is the sound chakra and is located in the throat; it deals with truth and is blocked by lies—the ones we tell ourselves" Matchstick slurped on his juice.

Did we do the right thing, killing Koro-Sensei? The entire class of 3-E sat fast asleep at their desks, each one of them using their personally designed yearbooks as a pillow. Outside, dawn had begun to break and the government's goons had been thwarted; but no one felt a sense of peace.

"He was a villain; he had to go" Toru muttered vehemently though the words fell flat.

"You cannot lie about your own past, you must accept what has happened"

"No…he wasn't villain, not to us" Toru sighed, "We just didn't want him to die at the hands of the cold-hearted government soldiers"

"Very good, Spitfire, you have opened the chakra of truth"


"The sixth gate of chakra is the light chakra and is located in the centre of the forehead" Matchstick instructed as they sat on the sun-warmed bricks; sweat trickling down their figures in the afternoon sun.

"Is this the one you think I opened during the Sports Festival?" Toru asked.

"Uh huh. When that emotional switch was flipped on that first time, you were able to use your Quirk in ways you never had before—temporary though it was"

"Oh"

"Anyway, this gate deals with insight and is blocked by illusion. The greatest illusion of all, is the illusion of separation—things you think are separate and different, are in fact connected"

"Like the countries of the world?"

"Yep" Matchstick nodded, "We are all one people, but we live as if divided"

"That's pretty deep. So we're all connected, right? Like everything in life is connected?"

"That's right; even the separation of the four elements is an illusion"

"Huh?"

"If you open your mind, you will see that all the elements are one, four parts of the same whole. Even light is a part of a fire that has been purified and refined"

"Really?"

"Really, really" Smiled the hero.


"This is the last gate, right?" Toru questioned as the afternoon sun gave way to dusk. Having seated themselves atop the cooling air handler box, Toru could see everything—over the side of the agency's building, down all those stories to the ant-like people below and out across the rooftop where greenery was all that you could seen. And parked nearby with his feet dangling over the small bridge's side, sat Todoroki with his feet in the water below.

"Yep" Nodded Matchstick as he shifted in place, trying to get comfortable, "Once you open this chakra, you'll be able to use your Quirk to its fullest potential"

"Let's do this!" Toru replied determinedly.

"The thought chakra is located at the crown of the head; it deals with pure cosmic energy and is blocked by earthly attachments. What attaches you to this world?"

Flashes of family and friends passed in front of Toru's closed lids; all of them smiling and laughing. Little instances of camaraderie and laughter where they just enjoyed themselves even when it felt like the weight of the world was on their shoulders.

"—Now, let all of those attachments go; let them flow down the river, forgotten"

"What?! Why would I let go of my friends and family? I mean you just spent all day telling me to keep them around! Why would you want me to abandon them now?"

"I'm not telling to throw them away, Spitfire"

"…You're not?"

"No" He shook his head, "We're merely just creating a headspace that allows you access the furtherest reaches of your Quirk without being controlled by your emotions"

"…Really?" Toru spoke meekly, "So I don't have forget about them? I…I'm not alone?"

"No, you're not alone" Matchstick patted the girl's knee inc comfort.

"O-okay"

"Do you wanna try again?"

"Okay" Toru nodded before closing her eyes and trying again.

"Now, think of your attachments and let them go—"

In her mind's eye, Toru could see all the people she loved, all her closest friends and family tying her to the earth, just lazily float away as if they were floating down a river. Even though it pained her to do so, Toru just stood and watched.

"—Let the pure cosmic energy flow"

The image was soon replaced with a magnificent view of the world from space, with the stars glittering all around them. Beneath her feet sat the aurora borealis twisting and turning in its multicoloured glory, and solidifying when she walked along it like a path. And finally, up ahead at the end of the glowing path sat a large silhouette of herself, completely engulfed in light.

She burned so bright, but Toru never felt in harms way nor did she become blinded; instead she walked towards the silhouette with hand outstretched, drawn to it like a moth to a flame. When her small fleshy hand came in contact with the large jagged scar over the silhouette's heart, Toru felt power like never before flow through her. It was like someone had opened the floodgates and all this power came rushing out.

With eyes alight and burning bright like torches in the dark, Toru collapsed to the ground gasping for air like she had just emerged from being submerged underwater. Sweat clung to her brow and her tank top clung to her like a second skin, sticky and soaking. All around her, the world had been cast in a white haze, almost like she was looking at an old picture.

Absentmindedly —as her chest heaved with each breath she took, sucking in air—Toru noted that what lights had been placed around the garden, had exploded and their now free filaments were glowing brighter than was even possible. It appeared that it was her that was draining the power from the lights and she knew that if she didn't stop soon, she might accidentally take more than just the rooftop lights. Though it took a moment or two, she was eventually able to deactivate her Quirk, allowing the light in her eyes to fade and the bubbles of swirling light floating in the air around them to disappear.

"Well done, Toru"


At the end of the day, Toru found herself walking back to the agency in comfortable silence with a pot of steaming Tokyo ramen clutched in her hands and Todoroki at her side with his own pot of sesame and ginger soba noodles, that they had purchased from the noodle festival down the street.

Both teens were exhausted from the day, though in very different ways. Todoroki had spent the day running through katas and other exercises by himself, pushing himself as he felt the need to prove his father wrong. Toru on the other hand had spent the day opening all of the chakra gates, something which left her emotionally exhausted and wanting nothing more than to hide away from the rest of the world.

Toru was pretty sure that Todoroki had been listening in as she went about opening her chakra gates seeing as it had been his suggestion to attend the noodle festival for dinner when he had found her still laying on the rooftop earlier that evening. Though at first, she was pretty sure she just about gave him a heart attack seeing as she had lain with her legs stretched out along the rooftop with her head hanging over the side; like she was hanging upside down on a couch.

Toru was soon pulled from her thoughts by Todoroki's hand on her arm as he abruptly stopped her from going any further. A questioning look was shot in his direction, however it was the arrival of two new people that answered Toru's unspoken question.

Todoroki slowly pulled Toru behind him, protecting her from the two drunken men who leered at the girl when they approached. "Hey, hey!" Slurred the husky man to the left, "What's the hurry, doll?"

"Yeah, why don't you ditch this kid and come hang out with some real men?" Added his lanky friend.

Ugh! Is this what I have to look forward to every time I go out?! Toru huffed, shifting in place as one hand delved into the depths of her sepia-brown peacoat and the other stayed gripping onto the tensed arm of Todoroki who stayed barring her way.

"You should leave"— Todoroki bit out, trying to deter the drunken men away from his friend, "—Before someone gets hurt"

"Aww! Look at this, Nori, someone's feeling big for his britches!"

"Well, isn't that just adorable, Lee!" Nori reached over and pinched Todoroki's cheek much to his displeasure.

After sifting through all the junk in her pockets, Toru eventually found what she was looking for. When fingers clasped onto the cool metal beneath, she quickly removed the item from her pocket, quickly checking to see if it was the pin she was after.

Before the situation could go any further, Toru slipped out from behind Todoroki, placing her free hand on the boy's arm in reassurance before turning to the drunken men before her. "Toru?" Todoroki questioned as the girl stepped forth, taking on a rather cheesy attitude.

"Hiya boys! Wow! You two are ripped!" Toru gushed cheesily, much to the appreciation of the two men who grinned in reply, "Look, I'd love to chill but my daddy keeps me on a super short leash. Yeah, it sucks, but what are ya gonna do? Helicopter parents"

At this, Toru pulled out the pin she had been fiddling with and showed it to the two men in front of them. When they caught sight of the emblem engraved on the front, both quickly turned into pale stuttering messes. "T-t-that's a Yakuza pin!" Cried Lee.

"Not just any Yakuza pin! That's from the Aizukotetsu-kai syndicate!" Nori added hysterically.

"Sorry, we bothered you!" Both mean chorused before scampering off into the night with their tails between their legs.

"Okay, bye!" Toru cheerily waved after them before turning back to a bug-eyed Todoroki. "Shall we?" Toru gestured towards the street ahead of them, indicating that she wanted to keep going.

"…Toru…" Todoroki began cautiously eyeing the girl as his thoughts began to spin.

"Hm?"

"Why do you have a Yakuza pin?"

"Oh! I nicked it off of one of the syndicate's members when he visited the compound a couple of months back"

"…Are you saying you're a part of the Yakuza?!"

"What? No! I just live in one of the compounds run by the Aizukotetsu-kai syndicate. People are crappy, but rent's good"

"…Oh…sorry"

"It's fine" The two walked back to the Endeavour agency in silence and although Toru her eyes forward, she could almost feel when Todoroki would send glances in her direction as he tried to figure her out.