Their Hero Academia - Chapter Seven: Izumi Todoroki and Trying to Make Amends

"Mama! Daddy! Look! Ice! Ice!" She had been so happy the day her Quirk had come in, showing off her power to her parents by making ice cubes.

"Oh, how wonderful, darling!" her mother had said.

"That's good," her father had said, smiling. He smiled so rarely, always seemed so lost in thought, but he always smiled for her and her mother.

And then she had started feeling warm. Too warm. "Ow! Hot! Hot!" And little flames danced from her hand…

Under normal circumstances, Izumu would have been glad to see her parents. But these were hardly normal circumstances. Not when she was lying in a bed in U.A.'s Medical Building. Not after what had happened on the Training Ground. She had pushed herself too hard and had collapsed during training. That too, would be cause for concern, but not as much as she was facing now. If she'd had more endurance… maybe she wouldn't have collapsed.

Maybe she wouldn't have injured Haimawari. Her memory of the event was fuzzy, but she knew she had seen him racing towards her as she had collapsed. He would have been at ground zero when she had ignited.

Mr. Aizawa had been direct, but not unkind, when he had told her what had happened. She had badly injured the young man, burns over most of his body. If it had not been for Doctor Izumi (He was injured by one Izumi, saved by another. The irony was not lost on her), he very likely would have died. And only the doctor's unique Quirk had saved him from a lifetime of permanent injuries.

He had told her, had not tried to tell her that she should not feel guilty. Instead, he had told her to use that guilt to motivate herself, to make sure it never happened again. She would.

She should never have tried to absorb that much heat at once. Unlike her father, she couldn't just lower the temperature to make ice. She absorbed the heat into herself. And that had to go somewhere, manifesting as flames. She could hold it in for a little while, but the amount of heat she'd absorbed, coupled with having already reached the limits of her endurance during the training exercise, had overwhelmed her. And when she had passed out, all of it had come racing out at once.

"We'll just bring you home for a few days," her mother said, "so you can recuperate properly. You'll be feeling fine in no time." Momo Yaoyorozu, the hero called Creati, was still a highly attractive woman, even entering her forties. She had traded the ponytail and wide made of hair of her youth for a sharper, shorter cut, and carried herself with the grace and wisdom Izumi had always known her to possess.

She hadn't wanted her parents called in at all. Students got hurt all the time during training at U.A. It was to be expected, given the intensity of their training and the many ways in which Quirks could go awry. They had a fine medical staff, even beyond Doctor Izumi. And students pushing themselves too hard were nothing new either.

But it had been a fight to even allow her parents to let her attend U.A. in the first place. Her mother in particular had been extremely against it, worried over her health. They had settled on a compromise, one suggested by her father. She would be allowed to attend, but they were to be called if anything disastrous went wrong with her health. And pushing herself to exhaustion definitely counted for that.

"I do not wish to return home," she said, looking to her father for support.

"You collapsed, Izumi," he said. Shoto Torodoki's hair was a little less shaggy, no longer hiding the scar on his face. He had long ago accepted it, wore is as a badge to remind the world what her grandfather, the disgraced and fallen former Pro Hero Endeavor, had done to him and his family.

He looked over to her mother, then back to her. "We need to look out for your health. If you push yourself too hard…"

She could make her already fragile state even worse. "But if I do not push myself," she said, "I will not improve. The only way to surpass my limitations is to push them."

"We're not asking you to drop out," her mother said. Concern lined her face. Izumi was her parents' only daughter. Her mother's pregnancy had been a hard one and combined with Izumi's own health issues, it had made the prospect of other children daunting. So all their worries were invested in her. "Just to take a few days off from more intensive training. You can keep up on your regular studies still."

It sounded perfectly reasonable. She understood her parents, understood their caution and worry. But she also knew how they worried and how they would draw new ideas with her home again. It would be a very short journey from coming home for a few days to staying longer to not returning to U.A. at all. The arguments would be logical and well-reasoned. And if she was forced to endure them, she could see her resistance wearing down.

Which was why it could not be allowed to happen.

"Doctor Izumi already recommended the same to Mr. Aizawa," Izumi said firmly. "So I am already excused from active Heroics training for the next week. Here or home changes nothing about it. So I would prefer to stay here."

In spite of the seriousness of the situation, her father let out a small laugh. "Such a stubborn girl," he said.

Her parents exchanged a glance and as one, both said to the other, "She gets that from you." This, in turn, prompted them both to laugh. Her father's short and sharp, her mother's longer, fuller.

"My health is always my concern," Izumi went on. "I am aware I cannot last as long, run as fast, or work as hard as some of the others. But I am where I want to be. I want to be as good a hero as either of you. And I cannot do that if you treat me like a fragile flower."

Her life had revolved around her health for as long as she could remember. Long doctor visits, the best specialists an absurdly considerable fortune could buy, enough medications to fill a large truck. Constant reminders that she just couldn't keep up with her friends. And even the bullying that Katsumi had protected her from. But she truly was getting better. Getting stronger. Even months ago, she wouldn't have been able to absorb that much heat fully rested, let alone exhausted. That had to be proof of something.

She took in a breath. "Please."

Her mother looked like she was going to disagree, but finally managed a nod. "All right," she said. "But I want you to have a visit with your regular doctor. Doctor Izumi has my utmost respect, but her primary training is emergency medicine."

"Probably as good a deal as you're going to get, Izumi," her father said.

That was… better than she could have hoped. She unclenched a hand she didn't realize she'd been clenching.

"I can agree to that," she said finally. "Thank you."

"Get back here, you hooligan!"

"Screw you, old woman!"

There was the sound of running in the hallway, until Katsumi appeared where the curtains parted, frantically looking behind her. "Crazy old lady didn't think I could jump over her, but I showed her. Got halfway down the hall before she could even get turned around!"

She seemed to realize that it wasn't just Izumi in the room and had the self-awareness to look slightly sheepish.

"Ah, hello, Mr. Todoroki, Mrs. Yaoyorozu."

Her eyes widened, then narrowed with anger as she drew her own conclusions. She dropped into a fighting stance. "You're not taking Izzy! You can't! I'll… I'll fight you! You'll have to go through me first!"

She really didn't mean to—Katsumi looked so serious—but Izumi actually burst out laughing. Her parents just looked confused, looking back and forth between the two girls.

"Katsumi," she said. "That was never an option under serious consideration." Not the whole truth, but it would prevent Katsumi from getting angrier. "And we have reached a further agreement to allow me to stay.

"But thank you for your support."

"Oh," Katsumi said, deflating slightly. If she knew Katsumi—and she did—her friend had probably been looking forward to a fight. "Well… good."

A shriveled hand suddenly gripped Katsumi's wrist. "Got you!" Recovery Girl said. "And I told you, no more visitors!"

The ancient Hero used her free hand to put her wheelchair into reverse, dragging Katsumi with her.

"Hey! Let go of me, you crone! You can't do this! I've got rights!"

When they were both gone, her parents both looked over to her, incredulous. Izumi just shrugged. "Katsumi is always watching out for me," she explained.

There was another shared glance between the two of them, the meaning of which she did not fully grasp. In point of fact, her father's expression was quite confused, while her mother seemed to be trying to communicate something she couldn't even guess at.

"I see Bakugo and Kirishima's daughter is the same as ever," her father said.

"Your… friend is quite devoted," her mother observed.

"She is," Izumi agreed. "I am quite lucky."

Once she was back at the dorms, Izumi sought out Asuka Tokoyami. She could have gone to any of her closest circle of friends about this, but what she needed right now was the kind of bluntness only the bird-headed girl could provide. Toshi would try to soften the blow, Shota would inevitably get derailed into telling her how awesome she'd been prior to that fateful moment, and she simply did not have the energy to navigate a conversation with either of the Iida twins. So she needed someone who would tell it to her like it was. She just counted herself fortunate enough to have made her way back without having run into Haimawari. That was another good reason to avoid Toshi or Shota as sources of advice. They shared a floor with Haimawari.

She found Asuka in her room, the door open. Her friend's room was tastefully decorated, with bright, floral prints on the walls. Asuka was at her desk, where she was typing on a green computer, the monitor of which was shaped like a frog's head. "Asuka?" she asked. "May I come in? I need to talk to you."

Her friend stopped typing and looked to the doorway. "Sure," she said. "Come on in."

"Thank you," Izumi said as she stepped inside. Asuka gave a slight nod to the spare chair in the room and she took a seat.

"How're you feeling?" Asuka asked.

"Well enough," she replied. "I am on several restrictions as far as Heroics go for a time, and I must see my doctor, but I am being allowed to stay. How is Haimawari?"

"Physically fine. Doc Clock fixed him up. We brought him back as soon as she cleared him to leave. Toshi and Shota got him to bed."

"And mentally?"

"Harder to say. He was more concerned about how you were. But he did almost die. Who knows how he'll handle it when he gets time to process it."

Not exactly what she had wanted to hear, but also exactly why she had come to Asuka in the first place. Bad enough that she had potentially damaged her own career, but if she had waylaid someone else's as well…

"I would not know how to begin to apologize to him," Izumi said. "A simple "I'm sorry" does not seem sufficient for setting someone on fire."

"Probably not," Asuka agreed. She placed a finger on her face, near her beak. "But you should still try. I'm sure he knows you didn't mean to do it."

"Would… would some kind of apology gift be appropriate?" Perhaps that was it? Certainly, money was no object in that regard.

Asuka shook her head. "Definitely not. Don't make it look like you're trying to buy his forgiveness."

There was a brief flash as Frog Shadow appeared, manifesting over Asuka's shoulder. "But if you're throwing money around, we could use a new phone."

"Really?" Asuka asked her familiar.

Frog-Shadow just shrugged. "Your phone's boring. No games!"

Green-feathers ruffled with irritation. "I can't take you anywhere."

"You never go anywhere fun, anyway!"

Izumi got the feeling she was now intruding on something rather personal. "I, ah, I shall leave you to your discussion, Asuka. Thank you for your honesty."

Izumi stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her to give Asuka and Frog Shadow their privacy. She had known the bird-headed girl nearly all her life and considered her one of her closest friends, but she still could not even begin to understand the relationship between the girl and her Quirk. Granted, there was much about most of her classmates and friends she did not understand.

Chihiro Kaminari was outside her dorm room, sitting on the floor, occasionally looking down at a text book or scribbling something on a piece of paper. She looked up. "Get the advice you're looking for?" she asked.

Izumi raised an eyebrow at that. "How did you…?"

"I'm not that dumb, Todoroki. I was there and I saw what happened to Haimawari. And you're probably one of the kindest people any of us knows. So yeah, you're probably worried about what to do next. And everybody knows Tokoyami won't sugarcoat anything."

"I hurt him, Kaminari. I am not sure how you walk back from that."

Kaminari shrugged, but it wasn't a dismissive one, as far as Izumi could determine. She brought up both of her Extension Cords, sparks dancing from the tips, then pressed the double-prongs of each together, setting off a spark that set her twitching for a moment, before she pulled them apart.

"You and me, we're not that different," Kaminari said. "Your flames got out of hand, I can electrocute somebody or fry my own brain if I'm not paying attention. See, I did that on purpose just now, but it doesn't take much to set off a spark if I'm not careful. All our Quirks can be dangerous if we're not careful. Yours, mine, even Shoji's."

Her right Cord pointed at Izumi. "The real important thing is learning and not letting it happen again. We all came here knowing it was going to be a rough road and we might get hurt. Just gotta make sure it's never the same way twice."

Izumi nodded. The demonstration may have been a bit much, but she understood the point. "I… Thank you, Kaminari. I shall keep that in mind."

The sound of hooves cut off any further discussion, as Mineta ran down the hall and into her room. The door reopened for a moment and she stuck her head out. "If anyone asked, I was here all night!" The door closed again.

Kaminari stared at the closed door for a moment. "You might want to get gone before whoever Mika was running from gets here. It's probably going to get loud."

Yes, she was never going to completely understand all of her classmates. But she especially was never going to understand Mineta.

It was not until the next morning that she was able to speak to Haimawari. Though exhausted by the day, she had slept poorly, replaying the events of the previous day over and over in her mind, trying to figure out what she should have done differently and what she could say now.

She let him eat breakfast with Shota and Asuka, eating hers instead with the Iida twins. They were too distracted with sketching something to bring up the events of yesterday. It brought her a little respite, at least.

Finally, though, she had to approach Haimawari and the others. "May I," she began, finding her voice faltering. He did not flinch from her, but seemed slightly uneasy in her presence. That… that had to be something. Something she could hold onto, build up from. "May I speak to you, Haimawari, privately?"

"Come on, Shota," Asuka said, rising. "I'll help you with that homework problem before class."

"What homework…." Shota began, until comprehension dawned on his face. "Right. Homework. Gotta go. See you in class!"

She would have to thank Asuka for that later.

It left the two of them alone. Everyone else in the Common Room was busy enough. Everyone had seen what had happened. They would likely not be disturbed. Even if Haimawari looked like he would rather be anywhere else. "Ah… sure," he said. "We can talk."

She took the seat opposite him and took a deep breath. "I'm told you tried to save me yesterday. Thank you."

At this, he did smile. "Just doing what heroes do. Felt like I was moving before I could think."

Izumi nodded. "I'm told many of us have had a moment like that."

The silence hung before them like an uncomfortable cloud.

"I hurt you," she said when she could bear the silence no more. "Badly. You could have died because I pushed myself beyond my limits. Because I was not strong enough to control or contain my Quirk."

He looked down at the table and folded his hands in front of him. "I definitely didn't think I'd come that close to dying on my second day," Haimawari said after a moment. "But I'd do it again. Even when I caught on fire, all I could think was "at least I went out doing the right thing.'"

"I am sorry," Izumi said. "You should never have been put in that position. Never should have had to face that."

"Isn't that why we're all here?" he asked. "Because we can't help racing into danger? You don't have to apologize to me, Todoroki."

"I must," she said, now looking down herself. She realized she was crying. "If anything more sever had happened… If Doctor Izumi had not been able to… I do not know what I could have done."

He reached across the table and took her hand. "P—p—please," he said. "Don't cry. I said you don't have to apologize to me, and I meant it. But if it means that much to you, I accept your apology. And I forgive you."

She looked up. He was smiling and there was not a hint of malice or fear in his eyes. "I was afraid you would hate me," she said. "Or fear that I might hurt you again."

"Don't really have it in me to hate people," he said. "Got plenty of room for friends, more than I'd like for fear, but no fear for my friends. I've got plenty of doubts all on my own. Like what I'll do when my back's to the wall."

"I would guess you'll probably rush in and try to do the right thing again."

He laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"So," she ventured. "We are… all right? Things are "good" between us?" Why did people have to be so complicated?

"We're good, Todoroki," he said.

"After everything," she said, "I must insist that you call me Izumi. It only seems right."

"Only if you call me Isamu."

"It is a deal."

"See, Izumi?" her father said. "You just have to make sure you let the fire out. Careful where you put it though."

"I know, Daddy! I know!"

"Just keep it balanced," her mother had told her. "And you'll do just fine."

"We know you'll make us proud."