UA High School.
"Up NEXT! From The Hero Course, Midoriya Izuku, VERSUS! Also From Hero Course, Todoroki Shouto!"
A prestigious and top-tier Hero school in Matsutafu.
The crowd whooped and cheered, and Hibiki watched with crossed arms as the 'Peppermint' Akemi told her about and Izu-chan walked onto the stage.
In her halls, walks her intelligent and proud students.
"Ready?!?!"
Experienced educators who are professional heroes...
"START!"
And three muted, caged children.
"But dad... I don't wanna go there..."
"Shut UP!"
A glass bottle shatters against the wall, and she flinches.
"Dammit, you're already a burden enough..." The man mutters and growls, tapping his foot impatiently, "If you're gonna live here yer gonna have ta listen to me. Got it?!"
Tears swell and spills, and shrinking in on herself she meekly nods. Her father curses under his breath and Hibiki silently walked to her attic.
Todoroki stroke first. Hibiki watched with silent wonder as Izu-chan holds up his hand, and a whirlwind exploded outwards, shattering the ice into a million pieces.
A child's scream.
Hibiki hits the floor and rolls. Mum is out working late again, and dad...
Dad's mad.
She clambered to her feet and crawled away, but a foot stomped onto her back. Chips of wood sliced into her skin, and Hibiki sobbed, no longer able to scream.
"Dammit, getting blood on the carpet... Clean that up later." She choked out a whine as she was grabbed by the hair and lifted off the ground. "If I find any trace of it, and I mean any, You're DEAD."
Hibiki nodded, sobbing and tears streaming down her face. The man released her and she scrambles to the corner, huddled up and wept.
Akemi held up a hand and activated a shield to clock the wind as Izuku flicked his finger, protecting her class from the cold wind. Ochako patted her shoulder in thanks, and behind her Sato whined about being unable to feel the power.
"Argh!"
"Stop it Geikyō— it's not her faul- Ahh!"
Akemi shakily climbed to her knees, only to fall once again as her mother flew in her direction and hit her.
The two female trembled as the man standing in the corner panted. The ever-present smile on his face gone.
"You. Useless. Burden. Of. A. CHILD!"
Akemi screamed as the unseen force sized her by her neck and tossed her across the room. Hitting the wall she feels something in her tiny chest crack, and she cried.
It was a brutal fight. Akemi winced as Todoroki fired one attacks after another, and Izuku counters them with his fingers.
Another whirlwind explodes, and she winces.
Akemi trembled silently before him. The sleeve of her sweater torn and worn out.
A hand grabs her by her neck, right at her windpipe and Akemi gasps, as nails dug into her vine and a knee was slammed into her stomach.
She retches, and spit flew from her parted lips. Akemi screamed as her father tossed her into the cold, hard marble floor, her head slamming painfully against it with a resounding crack.
"Now, now, Akemi." He kneeled down before her and lifted her by the chin. She glared with all her strength into those squinted golden eyes, so much like her own but also so different. "We won't want anything to happen to your poor little light, would you?"
Her eyes widened with unmasked terror, and he releases her, letting her drop to the floor.
"...What do you want." Her voice was filled with venom.
"Stay quiet, and no one will be harmed... After all, " A laugh, "who would listen to a foolish, imaginative little girl?"
He hisses slightly as the wind power from Midoriya's punch blows him back, he flips in the air and builds up a much higher wall of ice behind him, then glares through the smoke.
"That was a lot powerful than before." He stated, loud enough for Midoriya to hear as he pushed one of the ice pieces away. "Are you trying to tell me... To stay away...?"
He huffs out a puff of smoke, and tusked as his right side trembled. Dammit.
"What, you're that beat up just from defending and running away?" He asks, and watches as Midoriya lowered his head shakily. "Sorry... But thanks, Midoriya." He glances up to his father, "That guy's face is clouded over thanks to you."
"With your arms like that, you can't fight anymore, can you?" He steadies himself and readies another blast of ice, "Let's finish this."
His ice burst forth, and Midoriya raises his hand.
"Where are you looking?"
His ice explodes, and he is blown to the edge of the ring.
"You..." He glares with shock, as he looks at his green-haired classmate, and his bruised, broken finger. "With your broken finger?" He gets up and growls, "Why are you going so far...?!"
"You're trembling, Todoroki."
He recoils. Did he notice?
"Quirks are physical abilities, too... There's a limit to how much cold you can take, right?" He watches with wide eyes as Midoriya lifts his arm with pure determination alone. "And isn't that something you could solve by using the heat from your left side?"
He continues to lift his forearm, how much that hurts, he doesn't know. "Everyone's fighting with everything they've got... To win and get closer to their dreams... To become no. 1." He cracks his fingers, "You want to win with just half your strength?!" He clunches the broken digits into a fist. "You haven't put a single scratch on me yet, you know!" He finally glares up and roars across the distance.
"Now come at me with everything you've got!"
Todoroki growls, and dashes forwards again.
Why?
Why me? Why not anyone else, why me?
Akemi's sobs echoed into the night.
In her room, Kōki closed her eyes, and within the safety of her blankets, she silently cried.
He was blown back again and again as Midoriya evaded his attacks, using his broken fingers to blow him back.
Hibiki trembled on the floor. Blood leaking from her nose and the corner of her mouth as another glass bottle shatters against her skull.
Outside the door, her cousin winces, and shrunk in on himself.
Why couldn't he help?
He flew back as with his thumb, Midoriya blows his ice to splinters again. He grunts and slams against his own ice.
"Why are you going so far...?"
He watches as Midoriya runs towards him wobbly.
"A cool hero..."
"That's what I want to be!"
His eyes widened.
"Shouto."
His eyes came back into focus as Midoriya hits him solidly in the chest, "Everyone's giving their ALL!"
"There's no way I can know of your circumstances..."
Hibiki closed her eyes, blood mixed with tears leaked from her eyes and the numerous cuts near them as she held out her and brushed her fingers against a small mouse.
"Or your resolve..."
I wanna die... She sobs and her voice cracks. As her wounds disappeared and reappeared on the tiny little creature, who curled up and squeaked in pain before falling limp. I wanna die...
"But for you to become no. 1 without giving your all..."
She crawled to her feet and gently holds up the tiny mammal, it's small dead body indicating her fate if she hadn't done what she did.
"Only to completely reject your father..."
I wanna die, I wanna die I wanna die I wanna DIE!
"Right now I think you should quit screwing around!"
Blood dripping. Wide, electric blue eyes started into weak, dull golden ones.
'AKEMI!'
As Shouto coughs and retches, his father stares down on him emotionlessly.
"Stand up! If you're downed by something like this, forget beating All Might, you won't even be able to take out small fry villains—"
His mother rushes to his side, defending him.
"Please stop! He is only five!"
"He's already five! Get out of my way!"
A smack, a cry, and he looks up to find his mother collapsed on her side.
"Mum...!"
Shut up...
"I don't wanna, Mum..."
"I- I-" he clunches his mother's shirt and cries. "I don't want to be like Dad... I don't want to become someone who bullies you, Mum!"
He sobs into her chest, and she gently strokes his hair.
"But, you want to be a hero, don't you?"
He looks up, and her gentle smile smooths his heart.
"It's okay, for you to be one..."
He watches as Midoriya draws close.
"...as long as you have a future you feel strongly about."
"That's why... I will win!"
The three chained children who walks the halls of UA.
He hits him square in the chest; quirk fired up to power his punch.
Kimura Akemi...
He flies back with force, dazed.
Ueno Hibiki...
"I'll surpass you!"
And Todoroki Shouto.
I cried so much, writing this. Oh my God I'm such a horrible person!
