-Kaera's POV-
Knock! Knock!
I groaned in response as I rubbed my eyes and looked at my phone. 6AM. Dear God… Why am I awake so early? I put my glasses on since I had taken my contacts out the night before.
"Entiii? (Whaatttt?)" I groaned aloud in Telugu without thinking. Slowly, the door opened to reveal Toshinori with an apologetic smile, looking like he also had just woken up. His usually already messy blonde hair was even more shaggy than usual if that was even possible.
"Sorry, Rose. But we both need to get up if we are going to have enough time to eat breakfast before our morning tea meeting with Principal Nezu," he explained, his voice deeper than usual and a bit husky from just waking up. I blushed, but instead of the burning sensation I felt in my stomach, I took off my glasses and turned back over on my stomach on the bed, pulling the covers over my head in the process.
"I won't eat breakfast, so I'm gonna sleep another 20 minutes," I called to him before closing my eyes, " Good night!"
After that, I heard the door close and relaxed, removing the covers from over my head thinking I was alone again. My assumption was proven incorrect when I felt a weight on the bed quickly followed by the feeling of Toshinori's large, warm hand on my head as he started gently pushing back the hair that had fallen over my face.
"If you're trying to convince me to wake up, playing with my hair is pretty much the least effective way to do so," I muttered dreamily as he gently stroked my hair.
The bed gently shook as Toshinori let out a deep chuckle, and I couldn't help but think about how nice it sounded, as his low voice interrupted my thoughts, "Rose, you need to get up. We'll get breakfast on the way. It'll be my treat." I groaned, but finally agreed, muttering frustrations and curses under my breath in English, Spanish, Telugu, and Hindi, earning another chuckle from Toshinori.
After that, the morning was pretty uneventful. I went over to my apartment and changed into some tan caprisd, a navy blue sleeveless button up shirt, and a pair of navy blue low top converse sneakers before throwing my curly hair into a high ponytail and meeting Toshinori at his cars.
Once we reached U.A., we quickly walked up to Nezu's office; however, before that, Toshinori turned into his hero form, ignoring the questioning look I shot him. Upon reaching the office, we were immediately welcomed in by the high pitched voice of the furball principal.
"What's the meaning of this, Nezu? I'm missing out on valuable time I could be using to train my so-" a man with red hair and piercing blue eyes and a beard and mustache made of actual fire was interrogating the furball but stopped immediately when we came in the room to glare at Toshinori, "Whe the hell are you here?"
"Wooahh! All Might is here, too! This must be pretty important to have the Top 3 pro heroes all called here!" a man with huge diamond shaped yellow sunglasses, yellow headphones, and weird little triangles under his eyes exclaimed before giving me a flirty grin, "And who is this cutie? Isn't she a bit young for you, All Might?"
I rolled my eyes at this. These two were already seriously grating on my nerves. It's too early for this crap. Just as I opened my mouth to say as much, the furball cut me off.
"All Might, Kaera-san! I'm so glad you both made it on time!" Nezu greeted kindly, "This is Endeavor, the number two pro hero, and Hawks, the number three pro hero. I invited them to have tea with us. I anticipate that they will be able to really help us with your situation." I glared at this, and the Endeavor guy seemed about as thrilled as I was.
"Look, Nezu-san, I really don't want to involve anyone else. There's nothing to handle. I've got it under control," I stated, trying to keep my voice steady as I felt my temperature rising.
"Relax, Kaera-san. I'm simply suggesting that these two can help you control your quirk. Which you clearly need help with since you seemed to be seconds away from melting my office," the principal responded, clearly not bothered by my increased hostility.
"This is a waste of my time. You invited the number one hero here. Why not have him train the insufferable brat?" Endeavor sneered.
My glare intensified at his obvious disdain for Toshinori. I felt the pain erupt from my back. I was trying really hard to suppress my quirk this time which seemed to, thankfully, be reducing the temperature of my flames as well as the size of my wings. Endeavor looked surprised for a moment before quickly returning his face to a scowl. Hawks just seemed entertained as he laughed.
"I see it now! Tell me, Kaera-chan, can you fly with those wings?" Hawks asked excitedly, coming towards me. I backed away nervously. I was gonna panic soon, and my quirk wasn't deactivating.
"Kaera," Toshinori's usually loud All Might voice bringing me out of my panic as I turned to see him smiling at me, "You can trust Endeavor and Hawks. They are fantastic heroes! There is no need to panic!"
"Don't patronize me, All Might!" Endeavor growled before turning his attention to me and yelling, "How old are you? Why the hell can you not control your quirk at your age?!" The temperature increased in the room as I got more agitated and upset.
"Listen here, Flame Face! I grew up in a country where suppress all evidence and information about quirks. My quirk did not surface until I watched a villain brutally murder my husband and daughter right in front of me," I seethed, " I was 22. I'm 27 now and have spent the past four and a half years suppressing my quirk. So do us all a favor and take your condescending attitude and shove it! Not everyone grew up with a silver spoon in their damn mouths!"
The room was silent. Toshinori's smile had started to look forced. Nezu had pity in his eyes, though he didn't seem surprised. Hawks and Endeavor stood frozen, an expression of shock on both of their faces. I took several deep breaths to try and calm down so I could deactivate my quirk. Silent tears rolled down my face as the burning on my back subsided slightly, a sure sign that my quirk had deactivated. What happened next shocked everyone in the room.
"Be at the Todoroki estate at 6AM sharp tomorrow. And don't eat before coming. Training will be hell, and don't expect me to take it easy on you just because you're friends with All Might," Endeavor stated in a fairly even, but irritated tone before walking out of the office.
"Well that was a surprise! Kaera-chan, come to Kyushu after you master your flames, and I'll teach you how to use your wings!" Hawks exclaimed happily as he waved bye to everyone before walking out as well. I just stood there in shock as Toshinori returned to his normal form with a puff of smoke, coughing up a bit of blood as he did so.
"What the actual fuck just happened?..." I asked out loud, turning my gaze towards Toshinori and Nezu.
"You just took the first step towards controlling your quirk," Nezu answered happily, sipping his tea, "Now you may want to go home and rest. It sounds like you have a big day tomorrow." I simply nodded and followed Toshinori out of the office, still in shock.
"Rose," he called out to me softly, and I turned my conflicted gaze to him. He gave me a reassuring smile before gently grabbing my hand and interlocking our fingers.
"Rose," Toshinori repeated his voice happier sounding yet still quiet enough not to startle me in my fragile state, "You were able to reign in your quirk on your own today. With Endeavor's help, I believe you'll be able to use it without hurting yourself as well. And I promise you, I will be by your side every step of the way." My emerald eyes raised to meet his electric blue ones, and I let out a breath I didn't realize I had been holding.
"Why, Toshinori?" I inquired, my voice soft and laced with vulnerability, "Why are you always by my side? It must be a burden to you." Toshinori gave me a soft and genuine smile as he reassuringly squeezed my hand gently.
"You are anything but a burden, Rose. I enjoy being by your side," he responded, his deep voice thick with such strong emotions that I couldn't quite pinpoint, "And as for why… That, my dear Rose, is a conversation for another time."