I do not own MHA
The water licking her skin was ice cold but her body wouldn't move out of the downpour. Would there be any point to moving? Staring up at the unchanging sky of her Mindspace she hugged Frost tighter. There was no point in moving. The rain falling now wasn't even real but it was so cold not even Sho's ice was colder than this. A small whimper filled the air as the white wolf beside her tried to keep her warm. There was no point in staying warm either. Closing her eyes, she didn't see the flowers around her begin to turn black.
Mom was dead. The bond she'd felt had snapped that could only mean she was dead. Heart aching her lungs felt useless. From the pain she'd suffered too. Rolling onto her side she buried her face in Frost's fur. The urge to scream and shout was almost overwhelming but that wouldn't help. Instead she only wanted to lie here surrounded by her despair where no one could see her fall to pieces. Not even Frost was able to make the agony sinking into her skin vanish. She didn't want to wake up. If she stayed here then no one could hurt her.
"Frost," she whispered.
Shifting back into human form, Frost didn't allow her own pain to show as she ran a gentle hand through Izu's hair. She was supposed to be the strong one. Biting her lip to keep from shaking she fought back her emotions. Right now, she needed to take care of Izu everything else could come later.
"Izu," she said softly. Keeping her touch gentle she hated how her other half was shaking. Right now, she had to protect Izu from anything that could hurt her. That didn't make the cold seeping into her bones go away.
"Can I stay here…"
Something inside her shattered at the request. If Izu stayed then… no thinking about the future wasn't what she needed to do. Izu was the most important person in her life. If she needed time away from the world then Frost would provide that time.
"Of course I'll take care of everything."
Even if it hurt in the long run. Even if this was a mistake. She'd accept the consequences with a smile. Hugging Izu tighter she pretended not to notice the way everything around them turned to ice or how much it hurt to breathe. She was the strong one; she had to be the strong one. After all, both of them couldn't break at the same time.
(Dabi)
He was tempted to use his quirk to heat up the girl in his arms since she was colder than the artic in the middle of winter. Frowning he glanced around wondering where the hell security was right now. There was no way he could take care of a child especially one in such a vulnerable state. The tension in his body didn't fade even slightly as her body shook in his grip before her eyes opened. For a moment there was only pain in her golden eyes then it vanished as if it had never existed. Moving slowly she pressed a hand against her forehead with shaky movements. Something had happened; he'd be blind not to notice. Noticing her rub her arms he held out his hand allowing a brilliant blue flame to appear.
Instead of speaking she sighed softly. He knew what her expression meant, it was the same one he saw in the mirror for years. When backed into a corner the only thing she knew how to do was be the strong one. Offering him a small smile that looked wrong on her face, relaxed slowly. This wasn't the same girl he'd been speaking to earlier, that girl didn't have such cold eyes. Hiding her face in her hands she didn't look at him despite how closely he was holding her. For a moment she wanted to stay here but that wasn't an option. The sports festival was still going on and she needed to tell Toshi about her mom. There wasn't time to roll over or bask in how horrible she felt. Tapping him on the chest she motioned for him to let her down.
"Thanks."
Putting her down, he frowned. Stopping her from doing something foolish was the best idea; she didn't need to fight right now. She needed to take a moment to sit and think before she hurt herself or someone else. Clenching his fists to keep from reaching out he knew he was nothing but a hypocrite. Yeah, he should stop her but if he did that would show she wasn't strong enough to stand on her own. Laying a hand on her head he smirked despite feeling sick.
"Don't fight in this condition," he warned. If it was him, he wouldn't hesitate to fight. He just wished that someone had given him this advice although he'd never have listened.
"Aw, is that worry," she asked. Her tone was light, almost teasing, but her eyes were darkening the longer she stood there. Taking a breath that seemed to physically hurt she straightened before meeting his gaze saying, "I'm fine."
The lie in her voice was heard by both of them. The pain in her expression matched his own as she smirked back at him. They were both too strong to let their pain stop them or was this stubborn pride.
Taking a step forward, she winced but didn't stop moving. Right here, right now, she needed to stay in control of her emotions. Straightening she pretended that her heart wasn't being torn apart and that every single step didn't make her want to fall to pieces. To protect Izu, she would stay in control until her other half was able to face the world again. Hearing him whisper for her to be careful she sighed. Of course, she would be careful, this body was Izu's after all not her own.
Stalking into the bathroom – she just needed a moment to breathe – she stared into the golden eyes facing her in the mirror. There was part of her that knew this wasn't fair, but this was all they knew. When Izu fell apart she took control. That was how their world had always worked, yet her hands were shaking. Being strong was her only option, wasn't it? Gripping the sink tightly until it cracked in her grip she bit her lip. There was no time to think about this right now. Pushing down her emotions until it wasn't hard to breathe she started moving.
Izu would go to Toshi. Her other half had so much faith in the man and so did she, but he was too optimistic to listen to her. Maybe it was instinct that led her to the announcer's booth or maybe it was something else but she knocked on the door all the same. Izu would've gone to Toshi, she didn't want Toshi. Any other time the scrambling from the other side of the door would've amused her but now… all she wanted was for this to be over with. Smiling at Present Mic when he opened the door with an expression of confusion she wondered how horrible she looked for him to wince.
"I-"
Her voice broke. Gritting her teeth she pushed down her emotions that threatened to overwhelm her, instead she met Aizawa's eyes. She'd never asked him for anything, but he recognized the pleading expression on her face so easily. Grabbing his crutches he didn't dare to think about what could be bothering his student before shoving past his boyfriend to talk to her. Part of her, the cynical one that hated almost everyone outside of her pack, wanted to wallow in confusion. How did he know something was wrong? Standing there outside the announcers booth she told him in slow measured words about the one feature of her quirk that she'd kept hidden from everyone. Not even Katsuki knew about her ability to form bonds with people or how it affected her when they were in danger.
He listened with quiet contemplation as she told him about the broken bond with her mother and what it meant. Looking away from him in favor of staring at the wall she didn't notice his breathing increase or the way he barely held back a growl. The golden eyes that he'd grown accustomed to were dull when she explained that Izu had locked herself away but she didn't tell him the consequences of her other half vanishing. Leaning heavily against his crutches he trembled before snapping into action with a glare that could melt the arctic.
With a harsh hit against the door to summon his boyfriend he gave the order to have a police team sent to her house. The way she eyed him as he explained everything she'd told him to the blonde was somehow heartbreaking; she hadn't expected him to believe her. The fact the blonde hero started shaking the longer Aizawa spoke was troubling but when he suggested finishing the festival early she jolted. Her class had worked hard to get this far, to just cut it short wasn't possible especially not when they were so close to accomplishing their goal.
They needed this.
Bristling even as her body shivered, she bit her lip to hold back a snarl. They needed this! Digging her nails into her palm so harshly that it almost made her bleed she tried to calm down. Rationally she knew that Aizawa wasn't her enemy. Rational could bite a bullet. It wasn't just about her classmates either Izu needed this too. Stilling when her teachers dark eyes met her own she settled just a little.
"That's not an option," Aizawa stated before she could lose what little control she had left. Shoving his hands into his pockets the blonde hummed gently as he thought over the other mans words then nodded. Grabbing his phone he moved away to call the police leaving her alone with her teacher. A teacher who stared at her with suppressed worry. Wishing that he wasn't covered in bandages, he said, "we can't let you go home nor can I let you continue competing."
Wincing at the tone he used she didn't even open her mouth to argue. Now that he'd said the words it was easy to admit she didn't want to compete. In fact, she didn't want to be in this stadium at all, she just wanted her pack. The issue was they were competing. If she told her classmates about this, they would throw away everything they'd worked for to make sure she was alright. She wanted to tell them. She wanted to collapse in a puppy pile until all of this felt like a bad dream. None of that was an option; they'd worked too hard to sacrifice everything now when they were so close to winning.
"I'll go to Momo's," she whispered. Other than Katsuki's it was the only place she felt safe enough to hide in. Let's be honest; the only thing she was doing right now was looking for a place to hide. The mere idea of going to Katsuki's house and telling them what happened made her tremble.
"Not alone," he ordered. That order would've enraged her if this was any other situation. He wasn't the leader of her pack he had no right to order her around; even just an hour ago she'd have thought that. Now she was too unstable to do anything more than give a nod.
Right now she wasn't able to think much beyond her current goals; if she didn't have one then she doubted her body would keep moving. Turning on her heel she wasn't actually thinking of who to take with her after all there was only one person she trusted above all the others and he was needed here. If it was logic making the choice then she might pick Momo, but right now she was only driven by emotion.
Even before getting their quirk, they were pack oriented. Either their mother or Katsuki they wanted to cling to someone just to know they were cared for. The part of them that was touch oriented was driven away by the bullies when in public but shined brightly when they were alone with their pack. After Katsuki it would be Shoto that Izu would want to cling to, but Izu wasn't here. Aizawa didn't try to stop her from walking away it was likely he knew how much effort it was taking to keep herself under control. Unlike Izu who wanted to lock herself away until the pain stopped she… didn't really have a choice but to keep moving at least until they were somewhere safe.
(Kaminari)
He noticed the abject feeling of wrongness around her the instant he saw her eyes. Frost had bright eyes that glinted with mischief; he was half in love with those eyes. The brilliant gold was tarnished with pain that he couldn't begin to decipher. Staring as she moved toward their class with deliberately slow movements he frowned; it was almost as if she wasn't able to move faster than this. His hand twitched when her own missed at grabbing the railing. Lightning flickered through his blood as he shot to his feet and vanished. Just because he channeled his quirk outside his body didn't mean it was impossible to do the opposite.
This skill wasn't something he used often despite being the first one he learned. While channeling his lightning outside his body could fry his brain for a short amount of time it wasn't painful nor did it do much besides embarrass him, using this was worse. Before he realized the strain this put on his body he'd used it all the time to move faster and speed up the world around him if only for fun then he'd been hospitalized after collapsing leading to him finding out a truth that terrorized his family. Using his lighting internally caused damage to his muscles and nerves due to the impulses of electricity. With enough use that damage would become permanent; right now, he didn't care about that.
She might have a cold name but her skin had always been warm yet when his hand closed around her arm to keep her from falling she was freezing. Pulling her close he tensed when she slumped against him. This wasn't right. Frost was bold, brave, nothing in this world could touch her. Who had been foolish enough to make her feel like this?
"Frost…"
Meeting her gaze, he waited for her to tease him like usual but it didn't happen. She was trembling. It wasn't the sort of trembling from cold either but from emotional anguish. It took all his control not to light up the area. Some very stupid person had hurt her. Leaning against him fully she took a deep breath that to calm her shaking shoulders.
"What happened?"
It was Iida that asked the question. His dark eyes drilling into the girl as their classmates waited stiffly. Anyone who'd heard him would think he was going to war. The only people not here were Ojiro, Todoroki, and Bakugou; but that didn't stop the tension from rising the longer it took Frost to answer. Gritting his teeth to keep from growling, Denki slipped his arm around her shoulders. He wasn't a violent person, yet right now he wanted to hurt someone preferably the person who'd caused the pain in her eyes. Stilling finally she relaxed in his grip, as the warmth he provided let her feel safe enough to finally breathe.
"The pack bond we have with mom b-broke."
The stadium was wild with chatter but it didn't matter. Those words – her anguish – was loud enough to drown out everything around them. He didn't know how their quirk worked, in fact knowing didn't matter, his own instincts were all he needed to realize what she wasn't saying. Tugging her closer he kept his quirk under tight control. He hadn't met her mother, not many of them had but she'd spoken about the woman almost non stop when given the opportunity. Meeting Iida's eyes he silently asked a question that the taller boy didn't know the answer too, what did they do now?
"Izu needs time, so I'll be the one in control for now. Momo can I stay with you?"
"O-of course," she said. The tears stinging her eyes burned but she gave the smaller girl a gentle smile. Well, she tried to; in truth, she barely managed a grimace before looking away.
Iida was biting his lip considering the situation with sharp eyes then he straightened. The glint in his eyes didn't fade as he nodded to himself. While it was true that their three powerhouses were terrifying it was Iida they'd chosen to be their leader. They'd chosen him because out of all of them, besides Asui, he could keep his cool. He hoped he could keep his cool. Breathing sharply he glanced down at the arena before frowning slightly. If they called off the matches then it would only look bad on the school; that couldn't happen.
"We'll tell the others and meet you at Momo's," he said bluntly. They didn't have any options besides splitting up right now. Meeting Kaminari's eyes he gained a nod in return, the blonde would take care of Frost.
(Todoroki)
There was a burning in his blood that had nothing to do with his quirk but the ice blue eyes looking down at him. In truth he'd tried for years to pretend that he didn't hate his father; it was hard to think of any good qualities the man had. Instead of trying to surpass All Might himself, he'd pushed it onto his children. Sadly the man was a worse father than he was a teacher; given how horrible he was at teaching his paternal instincts were abysmal. The man didn't even realize that his training counted as abuse, but the real issue was outside of training. Fuyumi was the person who took care of him while their father immersed himself in his work.
It was terrifying how oblivious their father was to his own actions. At this point, he was getting ready to rub the man's nose in all the trauma that he'd put them through. The only reason he hadn't told Aizawa everything was Fuyumi; how she could still love the man unconditionally was something he would never understand. His sister was too kind for her own good or the neglect had messed with her head. Either way, she was the only reason he hadn't aimed his teacher at his father despite how much he wanted to see a fight between the two men. Aizawa would win.
Rubbing his shoulder, he tilted his head when Izuku didn't come from the opposite corner. Was she running late? The frown that painted his face got worse when Midnight turned away from the arena to talk to Aizawa through her headpiece. Something was wrong. Glancing up at his classmates he knew from their postures that he was right. Clenching his fists he bit his lip; why was everything going wrong all of a sudden? Where was Izu? Stilling when Midnight's hand landed on his shoulder he barely glanced at the woman as she answered his silent question.
"Izuku Midoriya is withdrawing…."
Tuning out Midnight who moved to address the crowd. This couldn't be right. Izu wanted to show everyone she wasn't weak. There was no way she would allow herself to be pulled from the competition even if she was bleeding to death. Something had happened. He needed to know what was happening; he had to find her. Turning away from the confused crowd, he tried not to run to his classmates. This was a mixture of dread and fear that he'd never felt. Was Izu hurt? No, he couldn't jump to conclusions. He needed to stay calm.
Keeping his eyes glued to the floor he didn't notice his father approaching until the man reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder. It was instinct that caused his ice to lash out although it did little against the man's flames. Maybe it was the shock on the man's face but he wanted to laugh. Did the man really think he would let him close let alone lay a finger on him? Glaring up at the man who had made his life hell he didn't hear a word he said. If this man got in his way, he would ruin him. Almost snarling he tensed ready to launch himself at the number two hero if only to cause the man some kind of pain. It was only the gentle hand that wrapped around his own that stopped him.
Stilling, he met the darkened eyes of his class president. What had he been about to do?
"Todoroki, calm down physically Midoriya is fine."
Blinking slowly he thought over the other teen's words before relaxing completely. Izu was fine, but where was she? Silently pleading for answers he didn't feel any better at the haunted glint in Iida's eyes. The other boy wasn't going to give him any information right now, was he? Why?
"Midoriya wants you to finish this festival by showing them what class 1-A can do."
What did that matter? If she was hurt then this festival didn't mean a thing to any of them. He knew that Iida agreed with him just by the expression on his face. The festival didn't matter, but if it was what she wanted, then he would respect her choice.
"And then?"
"You'll get your answers," he stated. The words were said so softly that he almost didn't hear him. So it was that bad. Breathing out slowly he nodded, he would wait. Turning away from his father completely he knew that the man was simply shocked; soon enough he would track him down. Right now, that didn't matter.
Sitting through Bakugou's fight against Ojirou was torture, but just like him they had no desire to drag out this sports festival. He honestly wanted to leave right now instead of facing down Bakugou in the finals. Watching the blonde bounce across from him when Midnight called their match to start he frowned. It was the dark serious glint in the blonde's eyes that got his attention. He didn't know much about Bakugou but he did know that the other teen was fed up with this festival too. They needed to get this over with so they could go to her side however the vindictive rage hadn't subsided yet. This was the finals, right? Izu wanted to show the world that their class was strong, so they would put on a show for her that everyone would remember.
(Frost)
Sinking into the pain that tugged at her very bones was such an appealing thought. What was the point in fighting it? Momma was gone. She'd failed to protect her mother, just like she'd failed to protect Izu. When it truly mattered, she was useless. Staring into the green eyes that she loved so much she knew it was only a matter of time until they changed. If she never existed then Izu might have a better life. Pressing her hand against the mirror, she hated the tears she saw leaking down Izu's face. Even now her other half refused to even think about coming to the surface.
It was her fault. What right did she have to pain when she wasn't even real? She was nothing but a tool for Izu to use there was no point in indulging in the idea of being more. Nails digging into the glass it took everything in her not to scream. She should've stayed home today. She should've insisted that momma come to the sports festival. There were so many things that she should've done. Instead, she was useless. Momma was supposed to be alive. It was her fault. Trembling she barely noticed her hand slipping off the mirror until she was on the floor. Biting her lip she hugged herself tightly as she tried to keep from losing control.
She was the strong one. There was no point to her existence if she wasn't able to safeguard Izu's happiness. Why was it so cold? Whimpering she curled in on herself until her forehead was pressing against the floor. Everything was cold. She needed Izu; they needed to switch. No! Izu needed time. Her other half didn't want to face the world, she couldn't. There was no other choice, she had to be strong until Izu was able to breathe again. Nothing else was important right now; she wasn't important right now.
The truth was…
"Frost!"
Jolting up she tried to blink away the tears stinging her eyes; to pretend she hadn't been falling to pieces. Yellow was the only thing she could see before she was warm. The arms wrapped around her were too much. If she gave up and sank into his embrace would she still hurt this much? Bringing her arms up to shove him away she tensed when a gentle hand pressed her face closer to his chest. She had to push him away. Weakness wasn't something she could allow not when Izu needed her to be strong. She had to be strong.
"It's okay."
It's not.
"You can let go."
No, she couldn't.
"I've got you."
Her fingers gripped his shirt tightly as he brushed his fingers through her hair in silent reassurance. The single-action was enough to shatter her. Choking on a sob she barely managed to muffle a scream before her tears were soaking his shirt. Pressing against him closely as he pulled her closer she wished more than anything that she wasn't supposed to be the strong one.
