Their Hero Academia –Chapter Eleven: Izumi Todoroki Tries to Sort it All Out
"I'm in love with you, Izzy. Been in love with you for a long time."
For a moment, the world seemed to freeze around Izumi Todoroki, as her longtime friend Katsumi Kirishima-Bakugo confessed her longtime love for her. There was nothing in anything she had experienced, nothing in anything she had ever done, that could have prepared her for this, told her how to react. She was not good, she knew, with reading people or knowing how most people would react to things. And in that exact moment, she desperately wished that she was.
Katsumi had been her friend for longer than she could remember. She had been her protector, always there when she needed her. And in return, she had been one of the few people Katsumi would always, always listen to. And that was something even Toshi did not have. She truly valued Katsumi's friendship, in spite of her friend's sometimes rough edges.
Never, not even if she had been given a lifetime to guess, would she have thought that Katsumi might be in love with her.
Memories came, unbidden. All the times when she had calmed Katsumi down, stilled her from some disastrous path. All the times she and Katsumi had shared their thoughts and secrets, all the times Katsumi had gone out of her way to look out for her. Just the day before, when Katsumi had threatened to fight her parents if they tried to take her away from U.A.
Clearly, Izumi was a blind idiot for not seeing this sooner.
Izumi considered herself to be a straightforward and honest person. Perhaps not quite to the degree that Asuka Tokoyami was, but she was not a liar and she did not avoid difficult situations. She had asked for this, asked Katsumi to tell her what was the matter. And yet, in that moment, all she desperately wished that she could be anywhere else. Because she truly had no idea what to do next.
"Katsumi, I…" she began. Some sort of response was required; Katsumi had bared her soul and was looking at her with expectant eyes. But she quickly realized she had no idea what she was going to say next.
It was almost a relief when a sound like a rocket split the air. Both of them looked up and watched something streak across the sky towards the dormitory, with a sound like thunder. It looked like a comet, or a missile, and then… It impacted with the fifth floor of the dormitory, shattering the wall with a colossal BOOM! Though she prayed no one was hurt, it if meant she did not have to have this conversation right now…
"What the fuck was that?" Katsumi yelled. "Are we under attack?"
The thought chilled Izumi to the bone, a chill that had nothing to do with her Quirk. If any of her friends had been injured… "We must find out," she said.
Katsumi frowned, clearly annoyed and frustrated that her heartfelt confession had been interrupted. But as hot-headed as she could be, Katsumi was not so selfish as to put herself first in a situation like this. "Ngh… no, you're right, Izzy," she said. "C'mon!"
It was quite possibly one of the worst mornings Izumi had ever had. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Katsumi's confession and how there had been no time to discuss or process it. Her sympathies lay heavily with Haya Tanaka, the girl from the morning. To have lost control of your Quirk like that… It reminded her too much of how she'd injured Isamu. In both cases, everyone involved had been very lucky.
But she had barely been able to concentrate on her school work. She had made careless mistakes in her classes. FireFox, their flame-powered powered math teacher with a head like a red panda, hadn't noticed, but Hawkeye, the blonde daughter of retired Pro-Hero and former U.A. teacher Snipe, certainly had during her English lesson.
Lunchtime was a merciful relief.
She told Toshi and the others to go on without her and waited outside the classroom for Katsumi. When her friend exited the classroom, she stopped her with a small touch on the upper arm. "Katsumi… may we finish our conversation from this morning?"
Katsumi brightened slightly at that, though worry quickly filed in after. She'd spent most of the morning rather sullenly hunched over in her desk, almost looking like she was trying to hide, something Izumi never thought she'd see. "I'll… I'll go get us lunches and bring it back here, okay, Izzy? I know you gotta eat to take your pills."
Izumi blinked. She'd been so preoccupied she'd actually forgotten about that. Amazing. That was how distracted she'd become. "I… thank you, Katsumi. For remembering."
It left her waiting for Katsumi again, though. And that meant she was alone again with her thoughts, absently pacing the rows of desks in the classroom. She could run (granted, not for terribly long, but she could when required), avoid the conversation entirely. Or perhaps she could simply freeze herself in a block of ice and wait around in suspended animation for a few centuries (she was fairly certain her Quirk would have prevented that, even without the need to release the heat involved).
Run away… or stay and have a conversation she truly, truly did not wish to have. Because there was no way it would end without her hurting Katsumi. Katsumi was the strongest person she knew and yet a few words might deal her the most terribly blow of all.
All of her options were terrible ones. No matter what she did, she was certain she was going to hurt her dearest friend in all the world.
Katsumi soon returned with two trays of food. "Got a few things I knew you'd like," she said. "Including cold soba. Because you have no taste."
Izumi raised an eyebrow at that. "There is nothing wrong with cold soba. My father enjoys it as well."
"Then you've both got no taste," Katsumi teased.
They are in silence for few minutes, before Izumi finally found the courage to speak. "Katsumi," she began, "about this morning…"
Katsumi looked up from her food. "I… I shouldn't have said that, Izzy. I've gone and made everything so fu—so weird."
Izumi shook her head. "You followed your heart. It must have taken considerable courage to tell me that. I'm not sure I would have had the same courage, were our positions reversed."
"Blame Toshi for that one. He's the one who figured it out. He's the one who convinced me to talk to you. For somebody whose entire strategy is "get high up, then fall," he can be pretty smart sometimes.
"…But don't tell him I said that."
"Your secret is safe with me," Izumi assured her.
They lapsed into silence again, eventually broken by Katsumi. "You're not in love with me," she said.
Izumi looked down. Katsumi deserved nothing less than her honesty. She had bared her soul and Izumi could do no less in return. "I am sorry," she said. "But I am not. I love you as I love my family, as I love Toshi and Shota and Asuka. There is no one I consider to be a better friend. But I am not in love with you."
Katsumi looked down and Izumi could swear she could see some of the light leave her friend's eyes, see something inside of her die just a little. "Thanks for being honest with me," she said. She forced a smile that even Izumi could tell she didn't really feel. "Is there… anybody you do like? Because I can make them ask you out if they're too chicken. Been told I'm very convincing." It was a fast and sudden pivot, but not wholly unexpected. Katsumi was trying to find firmer ground to stand on.
That was a question in and of itself. "There is not," she said after a moment. "I do not know if I have ever experienced romantic attraction... or even lust. I can appreciate aesthetic attractiveness, such as the way you look when you smile, or Toshi's muscles when he takes off his shirt…"
"Ick, ick, ick, he's like my freaking brother, Izzy."
"But romantic attraction… No. I've never felt that."
"That's… that's kinda sad, Izzy."
Izumi nodded. "I am not sure I agree. Perhaps I am still waiting for the right person, or perhaps there is no right person for me. I do not know. I can only see where life takes me."
She frowned and looked down. So many serious conversations is so few days. Her parents, Isamu, and now Katsumi. "Katsumi… are we still friends?"
Katsumi locked eyes with her for a moment. "Yeah. We are, Izzy. I think… I think I need some time to work some things out, figure out who I'm gonna be if being in love with you isn't getting me anywhere. But you're always gonna be my friend. I love you, even if I ain't gonna be in love with you. Just gotta figure out what that makes me."
"Thank you, Katsumi. I really hope you find someone who can make you happy."
"Me too, Izzy. Me too."
Izumi rose and indicated that Katsumi should do the same, which she did, albeit with a puzzled look on her face. Izumi pulled her friend into a tight hug, holding it for several long seconds. She was not typically physically demonstrative and she could feel Katsumi jerk in surprise before she returned it.
"You will always be my friend, Katsumi. Never, never forget that."
Izumi always did enjoy the opportunity to see her friends and classmates in action. True, she was envious of the freedom with which they moved and used their Quirks, but there was something about seeing them in action that did send a bit of a thrill through her heart. Still, she regretted that she was being forced to sit this round out and would for the rest of the week as well. She had significantly overextended her Quirk, after all. But it meant that she would fall behind the others. She would have to work that much harder to catch up.
From what she understood, however, her costume should make it somewhat harder for her to overextend herself like that again. After her parents had visited her, her mother had apparently made a call to the Iida Twins' mother, Mei Iida, and suggested several potential modifications to her costume, which the support equipment designer had passed on to the school after making them into reality in the space of a long night. The combined forces of Momo Yaoyorozu and Mei Iida were apparently very hard to argue with.
Her base costume was split between orange and a pale blue. Her left boot, right leg, left half of her tunic, and right glove were blue, while the right boot, left leg, right half of her tunic, and left glove were orange. Silver bands encircled the cuffs of her boots and gloves, matching the silver belt that contained basic field aid supplies and her own medications. Finally, a silver harness completed the costume. The harness, along with the silver bands, was designed to help offset some of the hear she absorbed, letting her discharge it more harmlessly than letting it out as flame, as well as pulling heat all on its own when she absorbed dangerously high amounts.
The third team of the day had taken the field: Sora Iida, Shota Shinso, and Asuka Todoroki. The grouping was a bit unfair, in her opinion. Sora's Quirk provided high mobility, Shota's high versatility, and Asuka's provided both. But Hero work was often unfair, and sometimes there were foes and situations to be faced that could not be handled by a particular Quirk. Adapting even in the face of that was something they would all have to learn.
Sora's costume harkened back to her father's and uncle's (Izumi's uncle as well, since the elder Tensei Iida was married to her Aunt Fuyumi), having a heavily robotic styling. Silver boots, gloves, helmet, and chest plate contrasted well against the red of the rest of her costume, along with folded silver wings like a jet's on her back. Izumi knew that Sora's costume (and that of her brother, Tensei, which looked virtually identical, save for being blue where Sora's was red) incorporated significant support gear that the twins had designed themselves to enhance their Jetpack Quirk.
Asuka's primarily wore green: light green leggings, a light green tunic with a dark green stipe, white boots and gloves, and a dark green cape. Izumi would not call herself the best judge of aesthetics, but it struck her as a bit plain. Then again, Asuka was noticeable enough on her own, between her bird-head and her Quirk. Perhaps that was enough.
Shota's costume was a bit of a mishmash of colors. He wore navy blue boots with white stripes, white leggings, a navy blue tunic with white arm bands, and blue gloves. On his chest, he had a series of jagged yellow lines, which Shota had told her was a representation of the sound waves for "Plus Ultra."
Izumi watched as Sora took off, getting an aerial fix on the flag, while Asuka summoned Frog-Shadow to carry herself and Shota through the streets in great leaps. Robots tried to stop them, but between Frog-Shadow and the immense power of Shota's voice, they were quickly smashed. With Sora's flight power, keeping the flag and getting it back to the others was easy.
Until the flying robots arrived. One swatted Sora out of the air easily, sending her crashing to the ground with an impact that made Izumi wince. Even knowing that injuries could be treated easily enough by the U.A. medical staff, it was not fun to watch someone get hurt like that.
Shota let out a low pitched sound, one Izumi could practically feel in her bones, even from the observation stands. It made her feel faintly… unwell. But its effects on the robots were even more incredible. Where the soundwaves impacted with the robots, the robots simply… weren't anymore, dissolving away into dust.
She was grateful Shota was such a happy, gentle soul. The thought of his power turned towards malicious ends was truly horrifying and that was only the abilities they had discovered so far. He was always trying to hit new high and low pitches, to see what they would do.
Asuka took up the flag, trying to get to the exit on Frog-Shadow. Unfortunately, their efforts weren't in time. The buzzer sounded with time running out. A failure, but perhaps not as overwhelming of one as the previous group. But she would already see where things could have gone better. Izumi would have to reflect some, but she could likely complete her analysis without much trouble.
"Damn," Katsumi said. "Almost thought they had that one. Who knew Loud Kid had it in him?"
"He is full of surprises," Izumi agreed. She was just thankful Katsumi was still speaking to her. Yes, they had agreed they were still friends, but she suspected heartbreak was not something that mended so quickly. She would have to be especially mindful of Katsumi and how she spoke to her and what she asked of her now, before the two of them could find a new normal. Whatever normal was, anyway.
Katsumi went on. "Let's see… with you and the Newb sitting this one out, that means the last group is gonna be me, the other Jetset, and…"
She stopped, silently mouthing the names or identities she'd assigned to their classmates. "Crap. Mineta."
Izumi hid a small smile behind her hand. Katsumi truly had no filters and was very free with her reactions. She'd seen it get the explosive girl in trouble many times, but at the same time, she somewhat envied the freedom with which she acted and spoke. "I am sure it will not be so bad," she said. "I think you have threatened her enough to belay her worst impulses. You have led the horse to the waters of fear and made her drink."
Katsumi just stared at her before cracking a smile of her own. "Was that a joke, Izzy? Are you doing jokes now?"
"Perhaps it was."
Katsumi actually laughed at that. "Just when I think I've got you figured out."
Later, when classes were over and homework was done, Izumi found herself watching television in the common room with Toshi, Shota, and Asuka. The dormitory had been repaired by the time they'd returned, a testament to how quickly U.A. could get things done. And other than a few things knocked off her bookshelf, nothing in her room had been damaged. Isamu had been invited to join them, but had mentioned that he needed to make a call home. He'd seemed reluctant to be making it, but Izumi understood that. Parents were very complicated even at the best of times.
She hadn't been paying too much attention to the movie they were watching, some old classic monster movie, but Toshi and Shota liked it, and her friends being happy was enough for her. However, the television suddenly caught her attention as the film stopped and the logo for the local news affiliate appeared on the screen.
"…interrupt your broadcast to bring you this special report from downtown Musutafu," the newscaster, a furry man who looked slightly uncomfortable in his suit, "where we are receiving reports of several Pro-Heroes engaged in battle with a gigantified Villain. We're going live to the scene now…"
"Turn it up," Toshi said. Shota, who had the remote, complied.
The scene shifted to the downtown area, where a giant, fire breathing lizard monster was lashing out at anyone and everything. Giant claws, a massive tail, blazing fire breath, all of it was being unleashed. Citizens ran from it, screaming, even as it let out a massive roar.
"Any idea who that is?" Asuka asked.
"No Villain I recognize," Toshi said.
"Me neither," Shota added.
Fortunately, there were Pro Heroes on the scene already. The veteran Hero Kamui Woods could be seen pulling civilians out of the Villain's path (he'd experienced a bit of decline in recent years, before rebranding himself as a Rescue Hero), while other Heroes attempted to stop the beast, but none of them were having any effect. Its hide repelled their attacks and none were strong enough to stop it.
"That's… not far from here," Asuka said. "Do you think we should be worried?"
The broadcast answered the question for them, as a great voice came from somewhere offscreen. "There's no need to worry… for I AM HERE!"
Out of the sky, a green, black, and white figure (with red shoes) dropped, slamming a powerful fist into the creature's head.
Toshi lit up. "Dad!"
Deku's blow snapped the giant lizard's head back. He hit the ground with a hard impact that cracked the concrete, and followed up with a hard flick of his fingers, sending a burst of air into the lizard monster's midsection. It cried out in a screech that sounded more confused and fearful than hurt, its eyes locking on him.
They watched as Deku hesitated, gearing up for another blow, but stopping midway through another punch. Instead, he held a hand up to the lizard. The lizard monster stared for a moment and it looked almost as though clouds were clearing from its eyes. It reached out with its giant hand, brushing the tip of one of its claws against his hand. And then it simply vanished, replaced on the ground by a woman.
A… naked woman. Fortunately, the television camera cut away, as Deku wrapped his cape around her to try and preserve her modesty.
"…just lost control," the woman who had been the lizard monster seemed to say, before the camera cut away to Deku, reporters mobbing him with questions.
"That was awesome!" Shota declared. "He did the air flick! He did the air flick!"
Toshi grinned. "Okay, that part was pretty awesome. But it was even more awesome how he stopped her without having to really hurt her." He frowned. "Especially since it didn't look like she was at fault…"
"How do you think he figured that out?" Izumi asked. She'd seen no signs that it was anything more than a run of the mill giant Villain attack.
Toshi shook his head. "I dunno."
"That look in her eyes, though," Asuka said, "it reminds me of the girl from this morning. *chirp*"
Toshi frowned. "You know, I think you're right…"
"That is troubling," Izumi said. Toshi and Asuka had filled the rest of the class in on what had happened. To lose control like that… Well, she'd already personally seen what happened when you lost control. People got hurt. Yet she had a feeling her own loss of control was nothing like what these others were experiencing. Hers had been pushing beyond her limits. This… was something else entirely.
What was going on in the world?